Chapter One:
It was late night on the Canadian highway, but the driver showed no sign of tiring. His hands lay calmly on the wheel, one occasionally lifting up to run his fingers thru his wild, black hair. His cool, blue eyes stealing glances from the woman sleeping in the passenger's seat beside him.
She was beautiful. An "Asian Rose" as the driver, her husband calls her. A tuft of hair falls across her face. Her husband smiles and reaches over to gently brush it away. She senses his movement and awakens, revealing brown eyes that sparkle like gold. She smiles at her beloved, stretches, and then takes his hand.
"Sleep alright, darlin?" he asks.
"For sleeping in a car, I did," she replies.
She yawns and looks behind her. Laying in the back seat, with the middle passenger belt buckled around her waist, was their youngest child. But she no longer was a child, she was a young woman of a budding fifteen years. She lay fast asleep, her long, coarse hair flung over her shoulder so as not to lay on it. Her lips were painted black, as her attire: polyester flares, a shirt that laced up the sides with a glittering red rose printed on the chest, and a leather vest that once belonged to her dad.
"She looks so angelic sleeping like that," the mother said.
The driver grunted. "Too bad she won't stay that way."
"It's just a phase," his wife explained. "She just wants to be different."
"She shouldn't be lookin' ta be different," the man said biasedly. "Ya know she actually wants ta be a mutant?"
"Logan!" his love chastised. "Her sister is a mutant. You know she looks up to Julee." She paused. "She might even know that you are, too."
Logan looked at his knuckles with hatred and despise. "How?" he barks.
"Back...oh...when Marnie was about five," she began. "Julee was 20 and Ami 17.
"Julee had flown in to visit during spring break. You wanted to celebrate the reunion with dinner and a show.
"We were just getting out of the restaurant and down a few blocks to the theater when the local Youth Friends of Humanity from Ami's school attacked, knowing Julee was a mutant. I grabbed Marnie in my arms as the gang surrounded us. They weren't expecting you to be a mutant when you unsheathed your claws. Had you not, we might have died. You honestly don't remember?"
"I've tried ta ferget," Logan said.
"Why?" inquired his Asian Rose.
"I'm ashamed o' what I've done, Natalie," Logan admitted. "I know Marnie is a flamin' female duplicate o' me. I don't want her ta follow my footsteps. Why d'ya think I've told you an' the girls ta hush up?"
"Logan, she's almost 16, for crying out loud! She has a right to at least know!" Natalie declared.
Meanwhile, in another vehicle, a group of very drunk teenagers are cruising around.
"Dude! Turn it up! This song kicks!" shouts the guy in the back seat with two girls on each side of him, swooning.
The driver satisfies the request and everyone starts singing. "Wild Thing! You make my heart sing! You make everything, goovy! Wild Thing! I think I love you! But I wanna know..."
"Oh, Tommy!" the blonde girl in the passenger seat says. "Like, making that fake ID to get beers was, like, such a good idea!"
"Yeah!" agrees another blonde in the back seat. "I dunno when I've had so much fun!" She pulls the guy next to her as she hikes up her dress.
"Me neither!" shouts the brunette on the other side of the guy. She grabs his head and pulls him over to her and purrs. "Wanna see a neat trick I can do with my tongue?"
"Hey Tommy?" calls the blonde in the back seat. "Why're we goin' so slow?"
"Just some old farts," the driver says. "Lemme run them off the road."
Back in Logan's car, Natalie shrieks. Logan goes off-road to avoid a collision with a passing car.
"Stupid kids!" Logan growls. "Need ta learn ta drive!"
"Mom? Dad?" a faint voice comes from behind. "What's goin' on?"
"It's alright, sweetie," her mother coos. "Just some crazy drivers. Go back to sleep."
"How long have I been asleep?" Marnie asks.
Logan looks at his watch. "Almost three hours."
Then came Marnie's next question. "How much longer 'til we're home?"
"About an hour." Logan adjusted his rear-view mirror to see his darling daughter. She saw his eyes from where she was sitting and smiled. In the mirror, she saw smile lines form around her daddy's eyes just before he flipped the mirror back to it's normal place.
Suddenly, white headlights were flashing about as a car zig-zagged across the highway. "What are they doing?" Natalie asks bewildered. But before Logan could even react, it just as suddenly went dark.
After a few minutes, Logan came-to. His wounds healing at almost the speed of light. His vision was blurred a bit. He sniffs the air. Blood. He smelled blood. Lots of it. Never a good sign. He tried to move but found himself trapped.
When his vision eventually cleared, he looked beside him. Natalie was unconscience and suffering from severe bleeding. He looked to the back seat to see if Marnie was alright. What he found, instead, was her seat belt, torn in two. He looked before him. His windshield and the drunkards' were smashed-by Marnie's body. Logan's little girl had been launched from her seat and thrown into the windshields after they shattered. Her body was almost mutilated beyond recognition.
Logan roared, terrified. "MARNIE!" He tries to free himself to get to his baby. Sirens were heard in the distance, as well as a SNIKT! and the sound of metal cutting metal.
It was late night on the Canadian highway, but the driver showed no sign of tiring. His hands lay calmly on the wheel, one occasionally lifting up to run his fingers thru his wild, black hair. His cool, blue eyes stealing glances from the woman sleeping in the passenger's seat beside him.
She was beautiful. An "Asian Rose" as the driver, her husband calls her. A tuft of hair falls across her face. Her husband smiles and reaches over to gently brush it away. She senses his movement and awakens, revealing brown eyes that sparkle like gold. She smiles at her beloved, stretches, and then takes his hand.
"Sleep alright, darlin?" he asks.
"For sleeping in a car, I did," she replies.
She yawns and looks behind her. Laying in the back seat, with the middle passenger belt buckled around her waist, was their youngest child. But she no longer was a child, she was a young woman of a budding fifteen years. She lay fast asleep, her long, coarse hair flung over her shoulder so as not to lay on it. Her lips were painted black, as her attire: polyester flares, a shirt that laced up the sides with a glittering red rose printed on the chest, and a leather vest that once belonged to her dad.
"She looks so angelic sleeping like that," the mother said.
The driver grunted. "Too bad she won't stay that way."
"It's just a phase," his wife explained. "She just wants to be different."
"She shouldn't be lookin' ta be different," the man said biasedly. "Ya know she actually wants ta be a mutant?"
"Logan!" his love chastised. "Her sister is a mutant. You know she looks up to Julee." She paused. "She might even know that you are, too."
Logan looked at his knuckles with hatred and despise. "How?" he barks.
"Back...oh...when Marnie was about five," she began. "Julee was 20 and Ami 17.
"Julee had flown in to visit during spring break. You wanted to celebrate the reunion with dinner and a show.
"We were just getting out of the restaurant and down a few blocks to the theater when the local Youth Friends of Humanity from Ami's school attacked, knowing Julee was a mutant. I grabbed Marnie in my arms as the gang surrounded us. They weren't expecting you to be a mutant when you unsheathed your claws. Had you not, we might have died. You honestly don't remember?"
"I've tried ta ferget," Logan said.
"Why?" inquired his Asian Rose.
"I'm ashamed o' what I've done, Natalie," Logan admitted. "I know Marnie is a flamin' female duplicate o' me. I don't want her ta follow my footsteps. Why d'ya think I've told you an' the girls ta hush up?"
"Logan, she's almost 16, for crying out loud! She has a right to at least know!" Natalie declared.
Meanwhile, in another vehicle, a group of very drunk teenagers are cruising around.
"Dude! Turn it up! This song kicks!" shouts the guy in the back seat with two girls on each side of him, swooning.
The driver satisfies the request and everyone starts singing. "Wild Thing! You make my heart sing! You make everything, goovy! Wild Thing! I think I love you! But I wanna know..."
"Oh, Tommy!" the blonde girl in the passenger seat says. "Like, making that fake ID to get beers was, like, such a good idea!"
"Yeah!" agrees another blonde in the back seat. "I dunno when I've had so much fun!" She pulls the guy next to her as she hikes up her dress.
"Me neither!" shouts the brunette on the other side of the guy. She grabs his head and pulls him over to her and purrs. "Wanna see a neat trick I can do with my tongue?"
"Hey Tommy?" calls the blonde in the back seat. "Why're we goin' so slow?"
"Just some old farts," the driver says. "Lemme run them off the road."
Back in Logan's car, Natalie shrieks. Logan goes off-road to avoid a collision with a passing car.
"Stupid kids!" Logan growls. "Need ta learn ta drive!"
"Mom? Dad?" a faint voice comes from behind. "What's goin' on?"
"It's alright, sweetie," her mother coos. "Just some crazy drivers. Go back to sleep."
"How long have I been asleep?" Marnie asks.
Logan looks at his watch. "Almost three hours."
Then came Marnie's next question. "How much longer 'til we're home?"
"About an hour." Logan adjusted his rear-view mirror to see his darling daughter. She saw his eyes from where she was sitting and smiled. In the mirror, she saw smile lines form around her daddy's eyes just before he flipped the mirror back to it's normal place.
Suddenly, white headlights were flashing about as a car zig-zagged across the highway. "What are they doing?" Natalie asks bewildered. But before Logan could even react, it just as suddenly went dark.
After a few minutes, Logan came-to. His wounds healing at almost the speed of light. His vision was blurred a bit. He sniffs the air. Blood. He smelled blood. Lots of it. Never a good sign. He tried to move but found himself trapped.
When his vision eventually cleared, he looked beside him. Natalie was unconscience and suffering from severe bleeding. He looked to the back seat to see if Marnie was alright. What he found, instead, was her seat belt, torn in two. He looked before him. His windshield and the drunkards' were smashed-by Marnie's body. Logan's little girl had been launched from her seat and thrown into the windshields after they shattered. Her body was almost mutilated beyond recognition.
Logan roared, terrified. "MARNIE!" He tries to free himself to get to his baby. Sirens were heard in the distance, as well as a SNIKT! and the sound of metal cutting metal.
