Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed
Here you go guys! The sequel to Running and Hiding. So sorry that you've had to wait so long, but my muse went on strike. I've got a replacement, but she's just not up to the job like my last one was… so I'm still having issues! lol
For all you peoples who haven't read Running and Hiding, you probably need to to understand this… probably. But what do I know, you might not!
I know, I'll give you a quick recap of what happened in it. Ok basically, some demon trapped the Charmed ones, Chris and Leo in his lair which was kinda like a maze (but with booby-traps) and tried to break them by showing them their worst memories. Unfortunately for Chris, the demon discovered how bad his life had been and decided to stick with his memories. So, between the memories and the dangerous situations in the maze, Piper, Paige, Phoebe and Leo discovered his identity and his powers.
By the way, in my story, Leo hit Chris as a child (which some of you were not very happy about) but I promise you there is an excuse for it (which will be revealed later), it's not just me being sadistic (honest)
Right, quick recap of Chris's powers this story (coz even I get confused with them sometimes!)
He's got orbing, telekinesis, invisibility, camouflage, energy shields, illusions, empathy, telepathy, very acute hearing, pyrokinesis (fire), cryokinesis (ice), speed (he can move faster than the speed of sound), phasing (moving through solid objects).
As you can probably tell, I didn't think it was very fair Chris only having Tk and orbing in the show!
Phew! Wow I talk a lot! Ok, enjoy what I've done so far…
Living With The Memories
Chapter 1
Someone was coming…
Hurried heavy footfalls were approaching where he stood so loudly that even if he'd only had the ordinary level of hearing he still would've heard them.
He could also feel emotions, strange emotions that weren't his own. He was getting unnatural waves of anger, and glee at the destruction that covered the city. But Chris recognised the feelings by now, they were the same sort of feelings that he got from most demons, and this one was no different.
The witch-lighter hastily became invisible, and waited.
Sure enough, a minute later a demon hurried past.
Chris held his breath and tried not to make a sound, but inside he was fuming. This was just a low-level demon, one that he could easily defeat. But thanks to Wyatt monitoring all his demons, the moment one was killed in an area supposedly devoid of anything but demons, the place would be crawling with more.
So he stayed quiet and waited for the demon to move out of hearing range.
Once he was gone, Chris turned visible again. He'd lost count of how many times he'd had to do that that night. He was in the most dangerous part of town the part where no one lived anymore, and where the demons swarmed in numbers. However, it was the area where the most supplies could be found. The areas around it had already been scavenged until there was nothing left.
He'd been lucky tonight, he'd found several unopened cans of tinned fruit and a sweater – which he was in sore need of. Winter was coming fast, so if he didn't find enough clothes to keep out at least some of the cold then he was a goner. Forget being killed by demons or even Wyatt, he'd be torn from this life by a little thing called exposure, or possibly pneumonia.
A faint pink light on the horizon interrupted his thoughts, a light that would quickly begin to light up the ruined city. Sunrise.
He had to move swiftly. Without the cover of the darkness to protect him, he would quickly be caught unless he got out of this part of town soon. If he ran, and used his speed, he might just make it out of this area to somewhere marginally safer.
He camouflaged and used his speed to run as quickly as possible. He would've been better off being invisible he knew that, but he still hadn't mastered using his invisibility and speed at the same time yet. That was something he really had to work on.
As he reached the more familiar streets that had become home, he slowed to a more normal-paced jog. It was as he was passing an abandoned warehouse he felt it. It wasn't really anything major, just a slight twinge to his senses, a feeling that there was something there.
He told himself that it wasn't safe, and that it was probably a trap set by Wyatt or something. But in the end, his curiosity got the better of him, and he entered the warehouse to investigate. Once inside the dark building, he followed where the source of the feeling seemed to be coming from… the basement, and then through a manhole to the sewers.
In the dank and the dark, Chris was really starting to feel apprehensive about his decision to investigate. Yeah, good going Chris, he thought sarcastically to himself, let's just follow your gut, and see where it leads! Dark warehouse? Spooky basement? Filthy sewers? Why not?! What on earth could go wrong?
He'd been walking along for about 5 minutes before the feeling he'd been having started to take form as something he recognised. Emotions, thoughts… it was like the emotions and thoughts off lots of people, but they were all sort of… muffled somehow.
He could also feel a slight compulsion to leave and walk the other way, but it wasn't a natural experience. It was as though he was being mentally pressured to believe that he wanted to go the other way. He forced himself to keep walking. He knew what was happening. Someone had cast magical wards, to protect something, or hide something. However, they weren't very strong wards; they'd only keep the very lowest and weak-minded demons out.
The young witch-lighter carried on following the dirty tunnel through all the wards. He was close now; he could feel it. In fact, if he listened hard enough, his acute hearing meant he could hear the sounds of people walking around, talking, and children laughing. It was a sound that he hadn't heard for a long time, people living in relative safety.
Suddenly, his hearing alerted him to sounds further down the tunnel. He wasn't alone. There was about 4 or 5 people stealthily hurrying towards wherever he was. It was probably a scout group, he realised. The people living here couldn't all go out for supplies, so they sent small groups to do it for them.
Chris was torn with what to do. If they were hiding down here, it probably meant that they were also against Wyatt. But could he trust them? And would they trust him? He listened to their thoughts for a minute, and decided that they sounded trustworthy enough. He only hoped that they thought the same about him. One thing was for sure, winter was coming, and he wouldn't survive another one on the streets. He needed them.
So he waited in the tunnel for the group to reach him. Sure enough, when they did, he saw that there were 5 of them. As they saw him, they were instantly on alert. They all raised their respective weapons, whether they were guns, athames or energy balls, and aimed them at Chris.
Chris raised his hands in surrender and tried to look as unthreatening as possible. He took a step forward to try to ask for help, and the most nervous-looking of the four shot him.
He was caught off guard; he didn't have time to defend himself. The bullet tore through his left shoulder, the impact knocking him off his feet. He looked down at his shoulder and saw a dark stain spreading out on his shirt. However, through the pain, and people yelling for the medic, his only thought was, Shit, another ruined shirt before he lost consciousness…
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Chris woke with a start. He sat up and looked around wildly for a second, before realising where he was and lying back down again with a sigh.
It was only a dream, one of a series since the incident with the demon. The incident where his family had discovered his true identity, and he'd had to relive some of the worst moments of his life. These strolls through his past had stirred up some unwanted memories that he'd almost forgotten, and given him painful reminders of the ones he hadn't. Before, his memories had given him nightmares sometimes, but they were bearable. Now however, they were becoming increasingly difficult to live with.
This last dream was one of the mildest ones so far. Sure, he'd been shot, but the incident hadn't permanently scarred him (at least not mentally or emotionally anyway).
Most of the nightmares he'd had in the last few weeks had resulted in him waking up screaming, or shaking with fear. And every time they did, when he woke, he always found Piper there to comfort him. She would wrap her arms around him, just like her future self had done when he was young, and she'd stroke his hair and say something that always make him feel that everything was going to be ok.
He felt really guilty for continually waking her almost every night. However, whenever he suggested he go back to sleeping at the club, she refused point-blank. So, he was sleeping in the guest bedroom at the manor (with Paige and Phoebe moved out there was one now).
He looked at the clock beside his bed; it was only 5.30. He groaned, there was no way he'd be able to go back to sleep now, he might as well get up and start working on his demon quota for today. His hunt for the demon that turned Wyatt was so much more difficult now that his family knew that they were his family. So if he got up now, he'd be able to vanquish some demons before they were even awake. Perfect.
He got out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and a clean shirt, and went to the attic to look at the book of shadows. He had a job to do.
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So, what did you think? I think it's not my best work, but please review and tell me what you thought. All reviews are welcome… although I do prefer nice ones… hint, hint
Also I need your help, I have a few ideas for things that could happen in this story (for the middle somewhere), and I have some ideas about the ending (a basic long term thing of how it's gonna end). But I have nothing else, so any ideas you're willing to give me would be great. In fact, without any ideas this story will probably wither and die (it would be very traumatic, and I'd probably cry!) So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me out! (even if it's weeks after this has been published when you're reading this… your ideas are very welcome too!)