"Jemma, slow down." A small voice urgently whispered.
The response she got was a mere finger to the lips and a gentle pleading look. They had been walking all day, and just as they started setting up amp for the night they heard the dogs barking. It had been a few days since the group had thrown the authorities off their trail, but Jemma had become predictable. There were only so many trials she could use to take the kids north without being seen.
This was Jemma's fifth trip north taking young mutant runaways to the school that would keep them safe, a school she had never actually attended herself. After three successful trips she was considered lucky, but she pushed her luck by taking more.
The thing that worried Jemma about this trip was that they had been chased with fire. The kids were exhausted and couldn't outrun much more in way of dogs and wildfires. They pushed on with Jemma's promise that they were due to arrive at the school by midday tomorrow.
They continued on the path, tripping on roots and getting scratched by braches, and Jemma stopped suddenly with an arm held out to the side.
"What's happened?" the same girl asked.
"Wildfire." Jemma whispered back, turning toward the kids "There's a lake about a half mile from here, I want all of you to stay in the boat shed until wither I or the sunrise gets there."
Jemma took off back down trail, leaving no room for protest.
"Well, what now?"
"We do what she says and go to the lake."
"But what if-"
"Trust her, she's done this before."
Running in the direction they were pointed to, the group of five spotted the lake at the bottom of the hill. When they arrived at the boat shed they bunkered down together for the night.
The sunrise came with no sign of either Jemma or a still burning wildfire.
"Come on guys, it's time to walk to the school."
"Can't we wait a little longer for Jemma, Adrienne?"
"She said to go at sunrise, so we go with or without her."
"That's a little harsh."
"Well that's what she risked Corey, for being a human helping mutants."
"There's no way Jemma is human," Corey argued "with all she's done, she has to be a mutant."
"Have you ever seen or heard about her mutation? No? Okay then?" Adrienne turned toward the door "Let's go."
They were greeted at the large front doors by a woman with white hair. She got them food and directed them to their dorms, but all five stayed in the common room to wait for Jemma. A man rolled in a wheelchair rolled into the room with the woman, Storm, behind him.
"Welcome, all of you," he started off, looking around the room "did Jemma leave you at the drive?"
The kids looked around at each other. Gretel, the youngest, looked down at her lap. Ben and Toby, the twins, looked nervously at each other. Corey looked to Adrienne, the oldest, and she sighed before speaking up.
"She went back last night when we were running from the police and their dogs and fire."
"And you haven't seen her since?" he asked, all heads drooping down sadly.
"We'll send out a team then, Storm, to find her."
"Professor!" a young man ran into the room out of breath.
"Yes Bobby?"
"Jemma's coming up the drive, injured."
"Bobby, get Hank and Jean to prep the infirmary." The Professor commanded, as he and Storm looked out the room's window looking over the drive.
Sure enough, it was the same young woman who'd brought four, now five, groups of mutant children to the school. She wore her oversized black coat despite the warm weather, presumably to hide her injuries from the children watching from the window. She walked slowly and stiffly, showing her exhaustion and injury with body language. Jemma started swaying when Hank ran out onto the drive and carried her to the infirmary.
Storm, Ororo she'd been called, consoled the children. They all knew it'd be a while before they could visit their leader.
Jean walked into Professor Xavier's office about an hour later.
"She'll be fine. She has some second degree burns and a bullet graze. From what we can guess, she went back to take the police off their trail and got caught in the wildfire."
"The children she brought are worried, is she ready for visitors?"
"She's sleeping now, but later, yes."
Waking up, Jemma felt sorer than ever, but it was to be expected after last night.
"Ah yes, you're awake, how do you feel?"
Jemma turned to see a large, blue man walking toward her. She would've been nervous if it wasn't that she'd escorted so many mutant children to the school. She stayed quiet, but gave as much a smile as she could at the moment.
"Well, you have some second degree burns and a bullet graze, so I wouldn't expect much more." He said with a small smile as he sat next to her.
"Would you like to see your visitors? They're quite eager."
"No," she forced out "I don't want to hurt them more, emotionally, if you get my drift."
"No, I don't get your drift." He answered with a questioning look and raised eyebrow.
"My emotions and theirs aren't exactly stable right now, it's why I never stay."
"You're an empath?" he asked "You never told us you were a mutant."
"You didn't ask, so I didn't tell." Jemma responded flatly.
Hank, she remembered, patted her knee, smiling at the memory her response triggered. He remembered saying the same years before.
"Well welcome to what the students call mutant high, you're welcome to stay."
"I'm a college student, I need to get back…"
"But what?"
"They found out what I am and what I was doing," she answered "they literally chased us out of town with pitchforks and fire. It's what happens when you deviate in a small town, even a college town. I doubt they'll allow me to come back."
"We'll get that sorted out in time," he assured the girl, her pained expression worried him in multiple ways "for now I'll get you some pain meds so you can rest."
Jemma nodded, not looking up to the doctor's face. He came back with the promised pain meds, and she was finally allowed rest after days without sleep.
When she woke again, a young man was there to greet her.
"Guten Morgen," he said, standing from the chair "Hank and Jean said to take you to breakfast when you woke, and just on time it seems."
"I'm surprised you haven't asked about me being blue yet, usually new students ask by now." He said in response to her silence.
"Well, Jean left some clothes in the bathroom, so get showered and dressed so we can get French toast before it runs out."
"Thank you," Jemma managed to get out "or, danke, I should say."
"We'll work on the pronunciation and horrible accent later." He said with a large smile and laugh "Now go, I'm hungry."