Lyra Nexus's Arc

Chapter 15 of 27

The logs were stacked and ready. But wood alone would not build everything. Lyra ran her hand across the shelter frame and knew the gap. The forge needed spear shafts, and the shafts needed grips. The tools needed handles wrapped tight. She needed bindings. She needed holsters for the blades to come. All of it needed leather, and the cube held none. She looked toward the far edge, where a small pond of glowing blue water fed a stand of trees. Deer drank there. She had seen their brown code move at the water's edge. Pixela Code stood near the pond already, watching the water shimmer. Her pink code ran fast under her skin, faster than anyone in the crew. She had joined Lyra to break past the walls that boxed her in, and she hated standing still. Lyra had learned that speed was the one thing Pixela trusted about herself. Lyra crossed to her and held out the carving knife. Its blade caught the pond light, clean edges glowing. "You are the fastest program we have," Lyra said. "Go to the pond where the deer drink. Ambush them. Bring back leather." Pixela took the knife and turned it once. "They spook fast. I'm faster." She said nothing more and moved. She circled wide, keeping low behind the trees. Three deer stood at the water, brown code flowing down their flanks, antlers traced in yellow light. They dipped their heads to drink. Pixela froze at the tree line. Then she broke. Her body blurred pink across the ground. The deer bolted, but she was already there. The knife flashed. She caught the nearest by the neck and drove the blade into the seam of its code. It dropped in a burst of light. The other two scattered into the dark. Pixela crouched over the fallen deer and worked the knife along its side. She peeled the hide free in one long pull. The leather came away as shimmering strands, folds of code stacked thick in her hands. She rose and carried the bundle back to the forge. She dropped the hides at Lyra's feet. "One deer. Six hides." She wiped the blade clean. "Two got away. I can catch them if you want more." Lyra knelt and lifted the top hide. It was strong, the strands tight and even. Enough for bindings. Enough for holsters and grips and wrapped handles. She looked at the pile of logs, the half-built forge, it was a start. But still much work to do.