The dream began with screaming.
Not loud.
Distant.
Like something buried underwater.
Nancy ran through unfamiliar woods, branches clawing at her arms as fog curled around her ankles. The sky above her was wrong—silver instead of black, cracked with veins of light that pulsed like a heartbeat.
And ahead—
Someone was waiting.
A woman.
Long dark hair moving in wind that didn't exist.
Ancient eyes.
Sad eyes.
Nancy slowed.
Because somehow—
she already knew her.
"Nyra."
The woman smiled faintly.
Not surprised.
You remember faster than the others did.
Nancy frowned immediately.
"Others?"
But the dream shifted violently before she could get an answer.
The ground split open.
Darkness poured through the cracks like liquid shadow.
Nancy stumbled back as voices screamed around her—
Hundreds of them.
Terrified.
Dying.
And in the center of it all—
Nyra stood alone.
Crying.
"They called me a monster," she whispered.
The darkness behind her moved.
Alive.
Hungry.
"But they created me first."
Nancy's chest tightened painfully.
"What happened to you?"
Nyra looked at her then.
Really looked at her.
And for the first time—
Nancy saw fear in her.
Not power.
Not anger.
Fear.
"I loved the wrong people," Nyra said softly.
Then everything shattered.
Nancy woke up gasping.
Cold sweat clung to her skin.
The cabin was dark except for pale moonlight spilling through the window.
Her heartbeat wouldn't slow.
Inside—
Nyra was silent.
Too silent.
Beside her, Kai stirred instantly.
Of course he did.
One tiny panic-induced movement and suddenly this man activated like emotional security alarms.
"Nancy?"
She pressed a hand to her chest.
"…I had a dream."
Kai pushed himself up slightly, still half-asleep but immediately focused on her.
"Bad?"
"I don't know."
Which honestly felt worse.
For a moment she just sat there trying to steady herself.
Then quietly—
"I think it was her memory."
Kai's expression sharpened immediately.
"The entity?"
"Nyra," Nancy corrected automatically.
A pause.
Kai blinked.
"…it has a name now?"
"She has a name."
"That somehow feels more concerning."
"Agreed."
Inside—
Nyra sounded deeply offended.
I am memorable.
"You're emotionally traumatizing."
A pause.
Fair.
Kai rubbed a tired hand over his face.
"What did you see?"
Nancy hesitated.
Because the truth was—
she didn't fully understand it herself.
"…people were dying," she admitted quietly. "And she said they created her first."
Kai went still.
Not scared.
Thinking.
Which was occasionally more dangerous.
"She remembers her past now?" he asked carefully.
Nancy swallowed.
"I think she always did."
That silence after that sentence?
Extremely uncomfortable.
Outside—
something moved.
Nancy froze instantly.
So did Kai.
A second later—
a sharp knock hit the cabin door.
Once.
Twice.
Urgent.
Leo's voice came through the wood.
"Kai?"
Another knock.
"You guys awake?"
Nancy exchanged a look with Kai.
Because Leo never sounded nervous.
Ever.
Kai stood immediately.
"What happened?"
The door opened fast enough to slam the wall.
Leo looked pale.
Actually pale.
Well.
That was new and horrifying.
"There's someone outside," he said quietly.
Nancy frowned.
"At this hour?"
Leo looked directly at her.
"That's the problem."
A pause.
Then—
"She says she knows Nyra."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Inside—
Nancy felt Nyra recoil so violently it stole her breath.
Fear.
Pure fear.
And for the first time since the war ended—
Nancy realized the past wasn't done with them yet.