Chapter 1
It was a bright and sunny day in New City. Helen Magnus sat behind her desk, filling out paperwork on a trip to Mexico City she had undertaken. The trip was to find an abnormal that possessed the powers to manipulate time. She was surprised to find that the abnormal was no longer there, nor was there any trace of said abnormal.
As she worked on her report, Will walked into her office.
"You wanted to see me," he stated, as he walked to her desk. Relaxing, he sat in the chair in front of her. He felt refreshed from their trip to Mexico City. There was no time to truly relax but he had made the best of it.
"I have an assignment for you and Henry. There are two abnormals I would like you to make contact with. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful at this as they do not have a phone. I believe they may be in danger." Helen placed her pen down and handed Will two folders that sat on the edge of the desk.
Will looked through the folders before responding to Helen's request. The files usually include a picture for each abnormal, however, neither folder contained much information.
"So, where are we headed this time?" Will said looking up from the folders.
"Colorado. There has been some news that a few of the scientists involved with the Cabal are attempting to retrieve abnormals which they performed testing on several years ago. Both David and Sam are among these abnormals. They live just north of Leadville, Colorado. You can fly into Denver this afternoon."
"Today? Can't Kate go with Henry? We just got back last night," Will complained. He had hoped for a few days reprieve before traveling again.
"Kate is on another assignment for me." Helen raised her eyebrow at Will. "Since both of them have been exposed to Cabal experimentation, I am unsure of any changes in their abnormalities. Both Sam and David are empaths; however, David's is with animals. They live north of Leadville, away from the community. I understand that it may be difficult to find their home, so I have the coordinates in this GPS for you." Helen handed Will the small GPS unit. "Please let me know what you find when you get there." She looked back to the document she had been working on prior to Will entering her office.
Will knew there was no way to fight with her about this trip. He closed the folders and stood up. Leaning on her desk with both hands, he said "fine, but I still need a few days of down time." Walking out of her office, he began to read more of the folders.
Taking the Sanctuary private jet was much nicer and easier for them to get to their destination. When they arrived at the Denver airport, Henry and Will immediately acquired a car for their transportation. Will was glad Helen had thought about the GPS for them. He had never been to this area before, but the landscape was more beautiful than in pictures.
As they drove along the highway they found the drive to be quite scenic. Will pulled out his camera and took several pictures. The sky was a clear, deep blue today, with only a few puffy clouds placed here and there. It took them just over two hours to get to the nearly hidden road, which the GPS told them to take.
With Henry driving, Will continued to take pictures of the amazing landscape. After a few minutes on the gravel road, the climate changed. It went from balmy sunshine with only a warm breeze, to light snowflakes and dark clouds. These clouds seemed to come out of nowhere. The farther the pair drove, the darker the clouds became. Aside from it becoming dark from the clouds, the snowflakes began to get larger and larger.
Henry continued to drive up the steep embankment. The car which he was driving was definitely not appropriate for traveling at such a steep incline. The snow falling made it more difficult for him to follow the trail. The gravel road was soon covered with snow.
From what Will could see on the GPS, they were only about a mile from their destination when the car started to slip on the snow. Henry turned to Will.
"Dude, it looks like we're walking the rest of the way," he said, as he came to a stop. "There's no way we'll get up there in this thing."
Will agreed with his friend. They exited the car and retrieved their gear. Both had jackets and hiking boots already. Henry grabbed the first aid kit out of the trunk, just in case, while Will made sure he tossed a few extra water bottles into his pack.
"Alright, let's get going before it gets dark here," Will said grabbing the GPS unit and walking along the snow covered trail.
Henry followed not far behind. He was glad it was only snowing and not raining. The ground would be muddy instead of covered with the fresh blanket of white snow.
The men tried to follow the snow covered path; however, as they continued on their journey, it became more difficult for them to find the trail. The snowflakes became larger still. They were large and wet, landing on the ground. The snow covered the green grass that had been there not long before. As they walked, the embankment became steep. Slipping several times, they slowed their pace.
Will was still leading them on their journey. Unaware of a rock below the snow, he carelessly stepped down. He lost his footing and slipped down the hill. He stopped a few feet from Henry.
"They need a slippery when wet sign here," Will joked, as he regained his composure.
From a distance they could see the form of another person walking toward them. As she got closer they could see that she looked to be about 35, with long dirty blond hair pulled back in a pony tail. She continued walking toward them.
"Looks like we've got company," Henry said to Will as they started back up the hill. She stood above the rocky embankment that Will had previously been walking along. Will followed Henry up the hill.
As Will reached the slick area he had already encountered, he watched his footing more carefully. The rocks were covered by the freshly fallen snow, which made them extremely slippery. Henry reached the top of the hill first, with Will trailing behind. Again, he lost his footing on the slick rocks. Instead of sliding down on his rear as he had before, he lost his balance as well. Will tumbled down the hill on his side, only coming to a stop with aid from a tree.
Lying dazed on the snow, Will stared up at the tree that had stopped his fall. Luckily he hadn't fallen too far, only around 15 feet. Henry and the stranger made their way down the hill to where Will was.
"Will, you ok?" Henry asked him upon reaching his friend.
"Uh, I think so," Will reached up to Henry's outstretched hand, and let Henry pull him up. Feeling dizzy, Will grabbed hold of the tree next to him. He tried to shake off the dizzy feeling.
"Come on. Let's get you to my cabin to make sure you're alright," the woman said grabbing hold of Will's elbow.
"Thanks," Henry said. "I just can't take him anywhere without him getting hurt." He snickered as they slowly made their way back up the hill.
Reaching the top of the hill, the woman turned around to face Will and Henry.
"The cabin is only about 5 minutes from here. It's not too far." She looked at Will. "You sure you're alright? That cut on your head doesn't look good."