Freedom (Part One)

The night´s silence was a fragile veil stretched over the dark expanse ahead. Iris could feel the weight of the air pressing in around her, filling every quiet step she took across the desolate terrain. Ed and Finn walked beside her, their movements relaxed and not as careful and restrained as when they´d entered the sector a few hours ago. Shadows stretched across the ruins around them, broken stone walls and twisted metal frames like the bones of some long-forgotten beast, their edges lit by the silver gleam of the moon.

They had come far from the safety of their makeshift base, deeper into hostile territory. This was deep inside the Ghoul sector. Beyond this lay only the Shroud, that boundary so tantalizingly close that Iris could almost feel the chill of freedom radiating from it. Each moment pulled her further from the oppressive world she’d always known. 

Yet, now that she was here, just a breath away, there was a heaviness to her steps that she couldn’t shake, an ache in her chest that she couldn’t quite name.

Finn paused beside her, scanning the bleak terrain again. He gripped the hilt of his weapon- a curved blade glinting like ice under the moonlight. “Too quiet,” he murmured, voice barely louder than a whisper. “No patrols, no signs of Ghoul activity. This doesn’t sit right.”

"On the bright side," Iris said. "This could be a perfect hiding for your troops." She noticed how she said "your" instead of "our" subconsciously, almost as if she already didn´t consider herself a part of the rebellion anymore. Was she ever even part of it? She hadn´t helped them at all, in the end, although that had been the deal. She was bound to him, he could´ve used her for as long as possible. If that wasn´t enough, he had fulfilled his part of the deal by teaching her Technomancy and was now willingly sending her away, almost as if he hadn´t expected anything of her in the first place. She wasn´t sure whether to feel angry or flattered at that. 

Nobody could be that selfless. 

"Almost perfect, needs a bit of renovation, though," Ed remarked with his fingers rubbing his chin, looking at the decimated houses. 

Finn grunted, unconvinced, but he said nothing more, leaving only the soft crunch of their footsteps on broken gravel.

Iris kept her focus on the Shroud in the distance. It was barely visible from here- a thin, dark, ghostly veil stretched across the horizon, faint but unmistakably effective. She imagined what lay beyond it, the world she’d only dreamed of in stolen moments. A world where she didn’t have to look over her shoulder every second, where freedom was more than just a concept whispered in dark corners.

“What do you think you’ll do first?” Ed’s question broke the silence. He’d turned his gaze to her, his face unreadable in the low light, yet his tone held an odd softness that caught her off guard.

She hesitated, her mind spinning through a dozen answers she might have given. But at this moment, as her dream stood within reach, she realized the simple truth.

"I . . . don´t know," she said, candid with her answer. 

But the moment was fleeting, evaporating like mist. Her mind drifted to those she would leave behind. “What about the others?” she asked, her voice a quiet murmur. “Are they alright?”

Finn nodded slowly, his tone careful, almost as if he were choosing each word with deliberate thought. “They’re safe,” he said. "Lancer is doing the rounds today instead of Ed, Siri´s probably brewing some more poison, and Max must be taunting Kieran."

"He´s suspicious," Ed said.

"We all are," Finn´s voice came back. "That nobleman could send an army down on us in seconds!"

“It’s all we’ve got, Finn . . .” Ed said, his gaze as steady as a steel blade. "I trust him."

Ed then continued. “Let´s focus on getting back quickly. We got the info we needed. Lancer may be powerful, but he´s no Replicant. Iris, you need to leave. You’ve waited too long for this, and things are . . . things will turn ugly.”

For a moment, her resolve wavered, a spark of doubt flaring in the back of her mind. She felt the urge to turn back but forced it down. "I know."

As they moved closer to the border, the landscape grew harsher, more desolate. The ruins were scars left behind by Ghouls. The air grew colder, the silence thicker, the shadows deeper. And somewhere, just on the edge of her awareness, she felt the faintest tremor of something dark lurking in the distance.

A chill slid down her spine. She’d felt this before, in the darkest moments when the Ghouls were near. Her mind tried to push it away, but the feeling clung to her, persistent, clawing its way into her bones.

“Do you feel that?” she asked, her voice barely more than a breath.

"Feel what?" Finn asked, confused. 

The Shroud was so close now she could clearly see it. Just a few more minutes, and she’d be free. But the feeling only grew stronger, pulsing around her like a heartbeat.

Without warning, a shadow burst from the darkness, streaking towards them with a deadly speed. Iris barely had time to react as the figure lunged, eyes eerie and blood-red. A red-black appendage was erupting constantly from his back like fire, although in a specific shape and form, radiating dark and unnatural energy.

“Ghoul!” Ed shouted, his blade flashing as he moved to intercept it.

Iris staggered back, her heart pounding as she reached instinctively for the power locked beneath her skin. The Ghoul´s gaze locked onto her, its eyes narrowing as though it sensed the weakness, the vulnerability. It lunged, its sharp hands flashing in the dim light, and Iris knew, in that instant, that she couldn’t escape.

But before the creature could reach her, a dark form dropped from the shadows, a blade slicing through the air with deadly precision. Ed deflected the Ghoul´s blow.

“Go!” he barked, his voice hard, laced with urgency. “Iris, get to the Shroud. We’ll handle this.”

She hesitated, torn between the promise of freedom and the instinct to stay, to fight beside him. But Finn’s voice cut through her indecision, fierce and unyielding.

“Don’t waste this, Iris! Go!”

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to move, her gaze lingering on them for a fraction of a second before she turned, running towards the direction of the Shroud with every ounce of strength she had left. The sounds of the struggle faded behind her, swallowed by the darkness, and she pushed herself faster, her breaths coming in ragged gasps.