So this is my first story I've posted - ever - so I'm not expecting it to be phenomenal. Any suggestions, hints, clues, etc. are super welcome & appreciated, especially in the lines of character consistency.

The Story :: I tried to keep this as authentic to the world as we've seen it so far (currently I finished Season 1, Episode 12, Rumble, & haven't seen it since). I got to thinking - if the Tomorrow People are evolved humans, whose to say that it hasn't happened before? That some other race hasn't evolved as well?

Disclaimer - the normal - I do not own any of the characters, shows, etc (Don't know if this is necessary, but most people seem to do it, and like I said, it's my first story.)

Hope you like it - but even if you don't - feedback welcome!

~ Taken ~

"Well, what do you think?" Ultra's security guard leaned back in his chair with a cocky smirk, and Laura resisted the impulse to smack him.

"Good," she nodded slowly, eyeing the monitor. "Show me again. Slowly." It was her first real lead in over a year.

He swiveled back to the computer, backing up the image. It froze, and started forward at a snail's pace. Two men were fighting in a forest, teleporting back and forth, each trying to outdo the other. Even at the slower pace, the teleportation was faster than she could believe; they would be gone, and only a slight disturbance in the air would warn of their reappearance. One was knocked down, and he twisted, impossibly slowly, to grab a gun. The gun's flare distorted the screen for a millisecond, and then the second man fell, crashing to the ground silently. The first man straightened, dropping the gun, before he vanished. She leaned in closer, heart beating faster. This was indeed what she was looking for. "He's still in the city?"

"Supposedly," the guard shrugged. "The boss calls them 'Tomorrow People.' I've heard they're hiding underground like rats."

She straightened, passing over a hundred dollar bill. "Tell me everything you know about them." Her eyes lingered on the screen where the surviving man had vanished. "About him."

She shoved the map away from her in frustration, her instruments clattering to the floor. Laura glared at a blue-tinged crystal glittering softly in the candlelight. With a quick flick of her hand, the crystal levitated off the floor and floated over to her. She wrapped its leather string around it before folding it into a clean cloth and sliding it back into her pocket. She needed a focus, and for that she needed to go back to the hidden quarters of Ultra and it's security guard.

"No way," the man hissed at her, grabbing her arm to drag her towards the door. "If they find out I'll get canned. I need this job."

Laura slowly pulled her arm free of his belligerent grasp, smiling at the man standing on the other side of Ultra's vast entrance hall. The guard was obviously curious, but everything about his stance screamed his hostility. Laura switched her gaze to the guard next to her, the one who had been feeding her information on Ultra for the past six months. Her almond eyes were cold and hard, unforgiving. "Unless you want me to tell that friend of yours exactly what you've been doing, you'll help me."

He glared at her, steadily ignoring the other guard who had started to walk towards them, hand on his weapon. It was the first time Laura had visited the complex in the middle of the day, but in this case, the added threat of additional security and oblivious civilians should help.

"You wouldn't dare," he hissed at her, leaning closer. "They'd do anything to keep this a secret."

"I can take care of myself. As for you?" She raised one shoulder slowly as her voice trailed off, smiling as the man paled.

"I can't - it's too risky."

She pouted, taking a step past him. Towards the oncoming guard. He yanked her back and swore softly. "Fine! I'll do it. I'll need help."

She smiled at him, lying a hand across the one on her arm. "When are you next on single duty?"

He shook his head. "Never. Only during breaks." He sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this. I want triple."

She smiled, and nodded.

He swallowed. "Be here tonight at ten. I'll call you when Ben goes on break."

"Hey Greg? Everything alright?" The other guard called, stopping about twenty feet away. His weapon inched out of its sheath, slow and deliberate.

"Everything's fine, Ben. She was just leaving."

Greg let go of her arm reluctantly, and Laura spun on her heel, lazily sauntering out the front door.

Laura waited in the dark shadows of the building across the street, tapping her impatience down. Her phone buzzed once, and she jogged across, meeting Greg at the front door of the building. He glanced around as he pulled the door open for her, quickly locking it after she was through. "The tapes are on a loop. You have five minutes." He jogged up the stairs, shoving a detailed map of the facility at her. "Floor three, third door on the left will let you into the science department. Door 5A is cold storage. That's where you want to go." He stopped in front of the elevator, hitting the up button. A second later it pinged, and the doors slid open.

"Just remember," Laura spoke sweetly as she stepped inside, hitting the button for the third floor. "If they find me, they find you."

"I know," he said softly as the doors closed on him.

The elevator whirred upwards, pinging as it reached its destination. She glanced down the hall, glad no one was there to see her. The hall stretched out in front of her, and she started to jog, her shoes slapping hollowly on the floor. Large block letters spelled out different departments as she passed them; RESEARCH & SIMULATION, TECHNIQUE ADVANCEMENT, D-CHIP RESEARCH, ABILITY MANIPULATION. The third door on the left was the last one in the hall, announcing SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY RESEARCH STATIONS. She jingled the handle; it was locked.

Stepping back, the woman lifted her hands from her sides, staring at the door. The still air started to move, swirling around her. The pressure and speed built, her short hair whipping around, stinging her face and neck. With a thought, she channeled the energy at the door, forcing it into the cracks and edges, building the pressure up behind the door's locking mechanism. With a loud crack, the lock snapped open and the air stilled. She smiled, trying the handle again. It turned easily, and she let herself into the room.

White walls, flat lab benches, microscopes, white lab coats; her impression was of a science classroom. Everything was pristine, easy to clean and disinfect, cupboards lining the room. She eyed one of the cupboards, flicking her hand at it. It popped open, the doors slamming as they hit the cupboards on either side. Scientifically labeled containers, a microscope, and other equipment she didn't recognize lined its shelves. The woman walked on.

The door 5A was a massive door for a walk in fridge or freezer, like the kind large restraunts would use. Next to it, an electric lock glowed balefully at her. She frowned, glancing between the lock and the door. There was no way to easily break into it; it was too heavy, and the electronics prevented many of her tricks. She didn't have time to come up with an alternative strategy; she would have to be obvious, and Ultra would know they had been broken into.

With a frown, she pulled out a small metal disk. It had a swirling symbol painted onto it, the deep red glistening like fresh paint - or fresh blood. It snapped onto the electronic lock like it was magnetized, and soon sparks started spitting out from its sides. The woman backed away, ducking behind a metal desk.

It started to hiss, a snapping crackle that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She gritted her teeth and covered her ears as it increased in intensity. A sudden bang, like the backfiring of a car, shot through the room. The woman stood up and walked towards the wall. The metal disk was smoking on the floor, curled and twisted with half-melted currents of metal distorting its previously smooth surface. She left it where it was and pulled open the door.

The cold air rolled out into the main room, tendrils of fog drifting around her as she strode into the fridge. Tiny two-inch wide plastic drawers covered the walls, reaching up to the twelve-foot-high ceiling. How much time did she have left? She didn't know. She started checking labels randomly, looking for names. Her phone rang when she was still on the first wall, rapidly moving towards the back.

"Hello?" She snapped, pulling out random drawers to double check their contents. Slides, small containers, a desiccated mouse; the last one she snapped shut with a grimace.

"Where the hell are you? Ben will be back any time now!"

"I'll be back in a second. Is there anyone else in the building besides you and him?"

"There's a few researchers on five. Hurry up."

The phone called ended with a snap. It was possible that the researches hadn't heard the small explosion if he hadn't, but she wasn't counting on it.

A name! Finally! 'Steven Jameson,' the tiny drawer was labeled, and she quickly scanned the other names, looking for the one she wanted. 'John Young' was near the bottom, and she snapped the container out, emptying the contents into her palm. There were three vials filled with blood; she grabbed the newest one and dropped the others on the floor, shattering them. As she walked back to the door, the cold air started to whip around her, spiraling in the confined area. The drawers started to shake and rattle in their places, and she heard several things breaking. A drawer whipped out of its socket and she ducked automatically, wincing as it hit her arm. The wind was strong enough that it started to steal her breath away, and she bolted forward, holding tight to the vial of blood. She slammed into the fridge door, stumbling forward in the calm air of the main room. Light headed and dizzy, she leaned against the far wall and watched as drawer after drawer was sucked into the spinning vortex, smashing their contents against the floor and walls. The small vial of blood was cool in her grip, and she slid it into her pocket and headed for the door.

"Hey!"

Laura stepped out of the elevator, eyeing the security guard rushing towards her. He was drawing his weapon, pulling at the radio attached to his shoulder. She glared at the electronic thing, and the guard swore, yanking his hand away as it started to spark and crackle. As he glanced away from her she lunged forward, one hand closing around his gun wrist, the other folding over his jaw. Immediately his eyes rolled back as he started to tremble, his veins turning black where she touched him. She let go of the corpse and stumbled away, nauseous and trembling.

Pounding footsteps had her straightening up, gathering all the strength she had left. Greg slid to a stop, staring at his colleague on the ground. He dropped to his knees, feeling the man's neck. "I can't feel a pulse -" He flipped Ben onto his back, then recoiled in horror, his face white.

The skin was pulled tight across the guard's face, eyes rolled back in their sockets, face distorted in a frozen scream. Covering his lower jaw was a black handprint, tendrils of veins stretching across his face and throat. Even as they watched, the black marks were slowly fading. Within minutes, they would be gone.

"What did you do?" The man whispered, unable to take his eyes off the corpse. "How - how do you expect- ?"

"Help me with the body," she said softly. At his wide-eyed horror, she hissed, "Do you want to be found out?"

He gulped, then took a step forward. She grabbed his hand as he came near, digging her nails in as he tried to jerk away from her. He threw a punch as his veins started turning black, streaking away from her grip on his arm. He stumbled, gasping, and she grabbed his throat with her free hand. He stiffened, eyes rolling back in his eyes as he fell to his knees. Her fingers spasmed tighter as she tried to let go, and she fell backwards as she wrenched herself away.

Laura's body trembled like a leaf as she sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. The intensity of the tremors slowed enough so she could drag herself to her feet, and she stood still for a moment before she trusted herself to move.

She slowly descended the stairs, stumbling out Ultra's front door and into the night.

"Keep your guard up!" John snapped as he landed a debilitating blow to Stephan's side. Stephan gasped, stumbling away.

"Alright," the younger man groaned, straightening before he nodded at John. John grinned, instantly teleporting behind Stephan. Stephan swung around, managing to block the first couple of his friend's blows before John kicked him in the shin, knocking him to his knees. "Damn it," Stephan groaned as he rolled to his back on the training mats. "Isn't it enough that I get pounded on by Ultra? Do I have to train here too?"

"Do you want to survive?" John asked.

Stephan glared at him. The phone buzzed, and John walked over to check it. Stephan sat up as he tossed it to him, groaning as he read the message.

"I guess it's time to get pounded on by Ultra," John smirked.

Stephan shot him a disgusted look as he got to his feet and headed for the door.

The alarm blared, startling Laura awake. She rolled off the couch, glaring at the clock. Her whole body ached, pain lancing through every muscle she used. An empty pizza box lay on the coffee table, surrounded by a variety of candy wrappers. With a groan she shoved herself to her feet, stumbling over to the coffee maker to make a new pot. It gurgled as it started to brew, and she headed to the bathroom to wake up.

Her image stared back at her in the mirror; gaunt and obviously tired, she looked sick. Her hair was limp and dirty, her eyes had dark bruises under them, and her cheekbones were more prominent then she had ever seen them. She splashed water on her face before heading back to the kitchen for coffee and food.

"What's going on?" Stephan asked one of the Ultra agents who were heading over to the briefing room.

"Breech last night. A couple of guards were killed."

Stephan almost stopped dead, glancing around for Jedikiah. He didn't see him at first; then his uncle straightened from a hunched over position. Stephan quickly worked his way through the crowd and the computer consuls, edging closer to his uncle.

"Sir?" Stephan softly asked when he got close enough. "What happened?"

Jed glanced at him, mostly distracted as he flipped through pages of information. "Good. You're here. I need you to look hard for any connection to that band of Tomorrow People. See if there's anything we missed. Think you can do that?"

"Yeah," Stephan said, confused. "But why?"

Jedikiah closed the folder and slapped him on the shoulder. "Later. Now get back with the other agents."

Stephan reluctantly left his uncle's side, blending back in with the other agents as Jed walked to the front of the room. {Cara,} he called telepathically. {Something's up at Ultra. Something serious. We're briefing now.}

{Great. Keep me updated.}

{Will do.}

Laura took a deep breath, staring at the vial of blood resting in a bowl of hot water. It had been soaking for the past half-hour as she tried to get its temperature as close to body temp as possible. It should be ready, but she was exhausted. She hadn't planned on casting the spell this soon, but her plans had to change. Ultra would be on her case soon, if they weren't already. The 'Tomorrow People', telepaths all, might be ready for her if she delayed. Even if they couldn't kill, the one she was going after could. If she hesitated with him, she would likely end up dead. A faint smile creased her lips. She always liked the dangerous prey. The realization decided her. Laura plunged her hand into the hot water and grabbed the vial of blood.

The oblong crystal she had tried to use earlier lay in a bowl filled with pristine sand, which rested on a map of the city. She uncapped the vial, slowly pouring the thick liquid over the crystal's surface. It slowly started to drip off, staining the sand a soft red, but most of the blood spread across the crystal's surface, coating it. She tossed the empty vial aside, lifting the crystal by its string before removing the bowl of sand. The crystal started to twist on its string as she shoved her will at it, the spiraling arcs slowly gaining length and speed.

Blood pooled towards the bottom of the crystal, but didn't drop off. The crystal's arching movement started to change, to drift to the left, and she moved the crystal in that direction. The first drop of blood fell, hitting the map with a splat. She moved the crystal in that direction as its swings started to get more powerful. The second drop fell, and then a third. Soon a fourth and fifth drop had fallen, and the crystal's swing decreased in energy. The crystal stopped moving, pointing at a forty-five degree angle, at a point near the center of the drops of blood. Laura smiled as she moved her hand closer, lowering the crystal enough so that it's tip barely brushed the map.

She placed the crystal back in the bowl of sand, and wrote down the locations of all the drops of blood, as well as the central location.

"Yes, I need a taxi immediately." She spoke into her phone as she grabbed her purse. "The Broadstreet Subway station." It was the closest underground access to the crystal's pointed location.

"So all teams on standby; be ready to deploy at any time. Research and Tracking, I want you checking the building and surveillance for any clue the intruder might have left. Get to it." Jedikiah quickly wrapped up the meeting, after giving a quick run-down of what had happened at the facility the previous night. Steven's eyes flickered up to the overhead screen, where a picture of the security guards was displayed. They looked like they had died in so much pain; he jerked his eyes away. "Steven, over here please," Jedikiah called as he switched off the monitors.

"Do you know how they died?" Steven asked softly when he joined his uncle.

"Not yet," Jedikiah replied tersely as he headed for his office. "Close the door behind you."

"I didn't see any connection to the Tomorrow People, if that's what you're wondering."

Jed slapped the folder down on his desk and gestured for Steven to take a seat. "I think John is involved."

"What?"

"I don't have evidence - not yet at least."

"John can't kill like that." Steven flatly refused to believe it. It wasn't that he doubted John's ability or willingness to break into Ultra; it was that John wouldn't torture anyone to do it.

"Maybe not. But he's still with Cara, isn't he? We need to know for certain if they were involved."

Steven blinked. "I'll find out."

"Good." Jedikiah looked down at the papers filling his desk, and Steven stood to leave. "And keep this quiet, got it?"

Steven nodded. "Just between you and me." He left the building fast, jogging down the stairs and out onto the street. {Cara?}

{Yes?}

{I need to talk to you and John. Right now. I'll be there soon.}

{Weren't you just at Ultra? Is that safe?}

{It's necessary.}

{I'll get him.}

Steven waited impatiently for the train station to empty before taking the next train. It was lucky that it was still early; he managed to get the entire compartment to himself before teleporting into the lair. "John, Cara!" He called, jogging up the steps to TIM's room.

"Over here. What's going on?" John shoved the door open as Steven approached.

"Ultra was broken into last night. Two guards were killed - it was awful. I hadn't ever seen anything like it." Steven pulled out his phone and pulled up a snapshot of the security guards. "Ultra doesn't even know how they died, but they looked like they were in massive pain."

"Does Jedikiah know you took this?" John asked as he stared at the photo.

"No - I don't think so. I thought it was worth the risk."

Cara looked sick and quickly handed the phone back to Stephen. "I understand the mystery, but why the urgency?"

"Jedikiah thinks John has something to do with it."

"What?" John exclaimed. "He thinks I'd do that?"

"I don't know. I think he knows something he's not telling me. I'm pretty sure he was worried about Morgan."

"Hey guys?" Russell slid to a halt in front of the door, grabbing the doorframe to stop. "Someone's here."

"Who? Where?" Cara snapped.

"They're on the other side of the wall. We don't know who. Charlotte heard them moving. She's pretty certain there's only one or two people."

John whipped past him, jogging down to where Charlotte stood. The others followed slower. "Russell, can you get everyone out of sight and ready to evacuate if it's Ultra?" Cara asked him.

"Got it Chief," he grinned at her annoyed expression and started rounding up the others.

John was kneeling next to Charlotte, who was gripping his arm tightly. Stephan could see her hand trembling. "I don't want to go back there," she whispered.

John smiled sadly and pulled her into a hug. "I promise I won't let that happen. Can you go with Russell? Please?"

She hugged him tightly, and Steven barely heard her soft whisper. "Be careful." She ran past him, vanishing after Russell.

The three of them glanced towards the closed off door as it rattled in place. They could barely hear a woman swearing softly, then the bang of metal against metal rang through the cavern.

"If it's Ultra, you better take off, Steven," John warned, glancing at him.

Stephan grimaced, and the disturbance of his teleportation caused John's leather coat to flap wildly. John and Cara split up to cover each side of the door as it shuttered in its frame. John held up his hand, and a long steel pipe was jerked across the room to smack into John's hand. The door started shuttering, shaking hard against the frame. It suddenly burst open, slamming against the wall. Dust flew everywhere, and someone stumbled through the opening, coughing her lungs out. John grabbed her arm, flipping the woman onto her back as Cara swiveled in front of the door, eying the open space. John heard the snap of her teleport, and a moment later she walked back through the door. "Clear. She's alone."

The woman was struggling not to cough, holding her one arm over her mouth. The other hand was held open in the air above her head, and she was staring at John and Cara as if they were demons. {She's in pretty bad shape,} John said. Sunken almond eyes, dark limp hair, and her clothes were hanging off her frame as if they were several sizes too big. She was thin, had the look of having lost too much weight in a very short amount of time.

{What is she doing here?} Cara snapped back.

{Well, we can ask her.}

Cara rolled her eyes before squatting down next to the woman. "What are you doing here?"

"I got freaking lost. Can you believe that? This doesn't happen to be some underground club, does it? Do you happen to have a proper exit?" The words boiled out, anxious and hoarse as the woman tried not to cough.

"We have an exit," John said cautiously. Something about her didn't seem quite right to him. Cara stood slowly, glancing at John before offering the woman her hand. The woman hesitated before grabbing it, and Cara helped pull her to her feet.

"My name's Laura," the woman said softly, eying the nearby couches with a little confusion. "Sorry about wreaking your door."

John glanced at the door and shook his head. "It's not wreaked yet."

Laura smiled hesitantly. "I must say, it was really lucky that I ran into you two. For a while there, I thought I was going to be lost forever!" She shook her head, glancing around the place. "It is rather cozy down here, isn't it? What's the name?"

"Sorry, it's a private establishment," Cara said. Her voice wavered, and John glanced at her sharply. Cara swayed on her feet, and he lunged forward, catching her as she fell. John lowered her slowly to the ground, feeling her neck for a pulse.

"Oh my god!" Laura exclaimed, placing her hand on John's shoulder as she leaned closer. He could feel the tremble of her muscles even through his shirt. "Is she alright?"

He shrugged, moving out of her grip when she didn't let go immediately. He was twitchy and unsettled, and something about Laura disturbed him. Cara's pulse was strong against his fingers, and he shook her gently, whispering her name under his breath and in his head. Laura placed her hand against his shoulder again as she knelt down next to him.

John clenched his jaw, turning to ask her to move away when the world spun around him. He stuck his hand out to the side, scraping it against the concrete floor as he fell sideways. Laura just watched him, the air of false sympathy gone. She stood, looking slightly unsteady, but maybe that was just John's own disorientation.

He dragged himself towards Cara, feeling ready to throw up as the world tipped crazily along its axis. "Wake up," he mumbled, leaning into her prone form. "Please, wake up." {Wake up!} He screamed, his mental voice drifting and unstable. Even if she had been awake, he wasn't sure she would have heard him.

John closing his hand around her wrist and tried to teleport, his stomach wrenching violently in protest. {Russell…Steven…Russell!} His heart was jack hammering in his chest; he didn't know if they could hear him.

He glance up as the woman slammed the metal door shut, some kind of strange symbol glowing on its face. She stepped away from it, raising her hands and starting to chant. The door started to glow softly, the gray of concrete and steel becoming more vibrant and darker; John stared in disbelief as warm browns and golden colors started to take over, a beautiful wood-grain patterning slowly emerging. She lowered her hands, and instead of the old subway door, a finely detailed wooden one stood in its place. The glowing symbol had been replaced by a replica of deeply carved wood and silver inlay.

{CHARLOTTE!} John screamed with all of his might, knowing her mental telepathy was one of the strongest of all of them. {CHARLOTTE! Please, HEAR me!}

Charlotte sat against the wall, stiff and worried, hugging her knees tight to her chest. John would be fine; he was strong, and fast, and trained by Ultra. He would be fine. The others were standing in groups or alone; Russell was running back and forth, trying to make sure everyone had multiple escape strategies in mind. He shook his head, glancing back towards the main room where Cara and John were. Steven would be gone by now, headed back to Ultra. They would be alone.

She tried to reach out, to feel for John, to reassure herself that he was alright. She couldn't feel him, couldn't feel Cara either. Disappointed, she started to draw back. Her telepathy could be strong, but she still couldn't hear the others. When she had been at the Citadel, she had withdrawn into herself, closing her mind off from the world.

Then she heard it - something faint, layered over by a static whispering. It sounded like wind. She frowned, closing her eyes to focus on it. She pushed through the interference, snatching at the thing that sounded like words. It was distorted and distant, but she thought she heard her name.

{Hello?}

{ … lott … ELP!}

"JOHN!" She shot to her feet, bolting towards the door.

"Everyone out!" Russell yelled as he grabbed Charlotte before tossing her back into the hands of one her friends. "Let me go!" She screamed as Russell teleported. {I'm coming!} She kicked the guy holding her in the shins, and he dropped her, swearing. She vanished before she hit the floor.

Russell teleported to the edge of the main room, glad he had been able to intercept Charlotte before she jumped into a situation she wasn't prepared for. He spun sideways, expecting to see Ultra agents everywhere, or at least a kill squad spread across the room. Instead, John and Cara were on the ground, and a strange woman was glaring at him from next to a polished wood door.

She yanked it open, and pale light spilled into the underground station. Russell teleporting forward, catching a glimpse of white plaster walls, wooden cupboards, and a billiard's table. He appeared behind her, but she turned to face him, throwing a punch he easily dodged. He kicked her hard behind the knee, snapping his fist towards her head as she fell. She twisted sideways, her hand slapping his wrist. Pain lanced up his arm as black marks streaked across his hand. He jerked away from her as his hand went numb, the black streaking slowly fading from his skin. She rolled away from him, and he teleported over to John.

"Look out!" John slurred, his eyes wide and bloodshot as Russell grabbed at him. Russell jerked as something tickled his neck, and he reached up as it snapped tight around his neck. He dug his hands into the cord as he fell to his knees, quickly getting lightheaded. The woman walked over as the cord yanked Russell over backward, her brown eyes cold and hard as she studied him. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster, his lungs screaming for air as she turned away. John rolled sideways, grabbing a pipe off the floor as he struggled to get to his knees. She grabbed the pipe as he swung it at her, yanking it out from his grip, before bringing it down on his head.

"No!" Charlotte screamed as she bolted forward. She launched herself into the woman, knocking the pipe out of her hands as the girl's momentum carried them both away from John's prone form. Charlotte's hands were wrapped around the woman's throat, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Laura wrapped her hands around Charlotte's wrists as they fell through the strange door, landing on the carpeted surface beyond. The girl's angry screeching turned into an agonized howl, and her metal scream lanced through the room. The woman shoved her off, clapping her hands to her ears.

The cord loosened around Russell's neck and he choked in air, coughing as it hit his lungs. He rolled to his knees as Charlotte's mental screech slowly faded, and he yanked the cord from around his neck. Russell stared in disbelief at Charlotte's still form, her wide, unseeing eyes staring straight at him. He surged to his feet as the woman dragged John the last few feet into the room, lurching forward to try to get to them in time.

She straightened as her brown hair whipped back and away from her face, and Russell felt wind hit him strongly in the back. He lunged forward as the door started to swing, catching the handle only to have the wind rip out of his grasp.

The wind vanished as quickly as it had come, and Russell yanked the door open, knowing even as he did so it would be useless. The door's handle had changed from the charming brass handle back to cold mass-produced steel, the wooden surface hard metal once again. He walked out into the concrete hallway, staring around at the exposed piping and metal fencing that once again made up the innards of the abandoned subway station.

Russell backed out of the doorway, the deep bruise in his neck reminding him of the reality of the situation. He couldn't stop picturing the blood running down the side of John's head and Charlotte's wide staring eyes. She had looked dead. His throat ached as he swallowed hard, knowing he should get Cara and teleport to the next safe house. But for the longest time, he couldn't move.

He couldn't face the possibility that when he turned around, he would see Cara's eyes staring at him in death.