Chapter 1
Cassie skirted the edge of the hallway as she made her way to class. There always seemed to be people standing in the middle of the hallway talking.
"Hey, Cass!"
She looked up and smiled.
"How did you do on the Biology exam?" Kyle bounced up to her, freckled face stretched with his trademark grin.
She winced a little at the word.
"It went horrible," she said, "Anatomy is not my strong suite."
Kyle threw back his head and started singing, "The head's connected to the, neck bone. The neck's connected to the-"
Cassie shoved him into the wall, but she couldn't help but grin. "You're an idiot," she said.
"Yeah well, you're a-" Kyle was cut short as a big burly guy rammed into him.
Cassie turned to watch him go "Wasn't that Tony?"
Kyle glanced back at the guy just as he turned the corner. "The football player?" he rolled his shoulder, rubbing where the guy had run into him. "Maybe. He didn't look too good though."
"Cassie!" Cassie caught a purple blur out of the corner of her eye just as she was thrown against the wall. "My darling, how have you been?"
"Hi Paige," Cassie pushed at the girl, hoping to pry her off.
"Hey Paige," Kyle shoved his head in to the mix, trying to catch the other girl's eye. "Did you see that video last night?"
"We're having cuddle time," Paige glared through her bangs. "Back. Away."
Cassie coughed, Paige's grip tightening around her sternum. Funny how the terms only came after the test. "Um, Paige," she tapped her friend's arm, "Paige,"
"Well, you should have. There was this video-you know what mutant's are, right?"
"It is the time of the cuddle. No one shall interrupt the time of the cuddle." Paige tightened her grip, her purple feathery sweater tickling Cassie's face.
"This man threw a bus. It was crazy! Apparently the government's been trying to keep it hush hush."
"My darling smells so lovely today."
"Paige." Cassie said, "You're sweater-"
"It's supposed to hit humanity fast. Like, humanity's gonna evolve with a snap!" Kyle snapped his fingers dramatically.
"What are you all doing?"
The three turned to see Mr. Hiechfield standing in the hall, a look of perplexed amusement on his face. "The bell range five minutes ago," he said. "Shouldn't you get to class?"
"Oh, yes sir," Kyle saluted. "On our way."
Paige disentangled herself, and Cassie let out a sigh of relief. There was purple fuzz stuck all over her. She picked off a piece before deciding the whole thing was pointless.
"Oh, yes. Cassie Parks, right?"
She looked up, realizing Mr. Hiechfield was still staring at her. "Yes?" she said.
"I believe they wanted you in the office," he said.
#
Cassie bit her thumb, and stared out the taxi window. She swallowed, trying to keep calm.
The taxi eased to a stop. Cassie sat up, her shaky hands fumbling with her wallet. She ignored the red lines on her thumb and thrust the money forward.
"Let me get you the-"
The door slammed before he had finished. She was already running for the revolving door.
"There was an accident." The school receptionist had looked so calm.
Cassie jabbed at the elevator button. It's light flickered, the car above stopping at another floor.
"Come on," she bit her thumb. The 3rd floor light dinged on, and again the car froze. She looked at the stairs, then the elevator, then at the stairs again.
She chose the stairs.
It had seemed so cliché how in movies they always ran up the stairs. Cassie had always scoffed at them. Now she was running up the stairs, taking two at a time. The elevator has probably reached the ground floor by now. She huffed, looking up at how many floors were left. I should have waited. She could almost see the elevator, see it passing by her with its passengers while she ran up the stairs.
The fourth floor door banged open. Cassie stumbled out into the hallway, vowing once again that she would start exercising. She gasped, trying to figure out which way to go.
She chose left.
Cassie found her father pacing outside of the operating room.
"How's mom?"
Jonathan looked at her, his glasses reflecting the ceiling lights and hiding his eyes in their image. "Cassie."
That one broken word almost undid her. Cassie swallowed, the fear in her chest getting stronger. "Dad," she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. He stood stiff a moment, like he had forgotten what to do, what it felt like to hug someone. Finally he reached his arms around her. "Dad, what happened?" she whispered.
"There was a crash," he said. "Some…boy in the road. It-" his voice broke.
"Is mom gonna be okay?"
"I don't know. You're brother… "
Cassie head snapped up. "Nick? He was in the car? Is he okay—where is he?"
"He's down the hall," Jonathan waved his hand in the general direction. Cassie pulled away, looking up at him. His eyes were glazed over. All his attention was on that operating sign.
Cassie looked at the operation doors then down the hall. "I'll be right back," she whispered.
The door was slightly ajar to the room. She paused at the entrance. Inside she could barely make out a figure on the bed, a small lump under the sheets. She sanitized her hands before entering.
Her three year old brother was bruised and pale. Cassie sat beside him in a chair, one hand reaching out to his face. His white blonde hair slipped through her fingers—it needed to be cut again. Cassie could feel tears welling in her eyes. She quickly blinked, swallowing the lump in her throat. If I don't cry, it's not real.
The door slid open and Cassie whirled around. The nurse-a tall black woman with red nails-smiled at her, walking up to the bed. She lifted up the IV bag, putting a new one in its place.
"How is he?" Cassie's voice came out in a whisper.
"For the kind of wreck he was in, he's doing great," the woman pat Cassie's shoulder. "the car seat protected him quite a bit."
"He'll be okay?" A tear escaped and Cassie quickly brushed it away.
"He'll be as good as new in a couple of days, you just see."
Cassie's lips trembled. "Thank you," she said. She leaned forward and quickly kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be back," she whispered.
The door clicked softly shut behind her. She quickened down the hall, her rapid heartbeat offset by a flicker of hope.
She stopped a few feet away from her dad, watching him pace back and forth. "The nurse said Nick will be fine," she said.
Her father looked over at her and nodded before slipping back into his pacing. Cassie couldn't tell if he'd heard her or not. She stood behind him, switching between twisting her fingers and biting her thumb.
The operating room light went out. They both tensed, their eyes trained on the door. The doctors stepped out, a older man with graying hair leading the pack. Cassie swallowed, wavering between hope and fear.
"How is she?" Jonathan asked.
The doctor smiled, but his eyes looked tired. "The surgery was successful. She's still in critical condition, but she's doing much better. For now she's going to be placed in ICU."
Jonathan nodded. He sank into the chairs along the wall. His expression was the same, but some of the tension had left his body.
Cassie gripped her hands tightly. Some of the knots in her stomach were finally easing. "That's great," she whispered. "She's going to be okay," she smiled at Jonathan, "everything's going to be okay."
Jonathan looked up at the doctor. "When can we see her?" he said.
#
A strange sound awoke Cassie. It was an insistent beep. She groaned, sitting up in the E-Z chair. It had been three days. Three days since her mother's surgery, and she still hadn't awoken. Cassie rubbed one eye sleepily, and looked over at Nick who lay asleep in his hospital bed. He was to be discharged today.
She slid out of the chair, squinting in the early light. "Dad?" she murmured.
Jonathan wasn't anywhere in the room. She stretched, standing up. . Something was wrong. That beeping kept ringing softly, an insistent pulse of trouble. Cassie slid on her jacket and stepped out into the quiet hall, making her way up the corridor. Ahead was her mother's room where they had put her after she stabilized. T he lights inside were bright, and the noise was growing louder.
Cassie froze, her heart speeding up. "Mom," she whispered.
Her father stood outside the doorway, twisting his hands together.
"Dad?" Cassie ran up to him, "What's-"
"Clear!" the words stuck in her throat. She turned, mouth still half open. She could see the nurse through the doorway. The woman bent over, placing the paddles on her mother's body. Her mother's body jumped, her back arching.
"Again!" the body jumped again. Cassie strained her ears, hoping to hear the pulse of machinery that would tell her if her mother lived or died. The high pitched hum continued. The paddles descended again, the body jumping on the bed.
"No," she whispered. She felt like throwing up. Her father clutched the wall, as if it would hold him up. His face was as pale as the whitewashed walls.
"Death of the patient Melissa Parks at-"
"No," Cassie whispered. It was like all noise faded away, All she could see was that pale body laying on the bed, bandages still covering her arms and legs. "No!" she ran forward, vaguely aware of her father collapsing on the floor behind her. She ducked under the arms of one nurse, rushing towards her mother's side.
"Mom," she was crying, she couldn't stop. She leaned forward and breathed into her mother's mouth, pumping at the chest like somehow she could change it. She could change it. "Oh, God, please," she bent down again, breathing into the mouth, tears and snot leaking down her face, her hands pushing at her mother's chest.
Arms wrapped around her and pulled her off, the words, "I'm sorry," like noise through water.
"Let go!" she screamed. She struggled to push those arms off, but their grip held, forcing her towards the door. She couldn't stop screaming. Mom. Please, no-
It had to be this way. The thought whispered through her mind as the needle descended. Her consciousness beginning to fade. There was no other way.
So this story isn't your typical X-men fanfic. I wanted to write it from a different angle besides sending my characters to the mansion. The story is to follow the first three X-men movies rather loosely. Magneto, and possibly Mystique should appear in it later on, but I don't think the X-men will be making an appearance.
Hopefully you will find it interesting. It's always nice to read something different, right? Anyway, let me know what you think!