What Charles fears most is darkness. He wakes panting for breath, his eyes and mind caught in a black hole. As his eyes adjust to the dim light filtering through the hotel window and his mind catches on the multiplicity of minds surrounding him, he breathes a sigh of relief. He stretches, pads over to the unremarkable chair that the hotel has chosen to decorate this room with and sits. Closing his eyes, he casts his mind back on the images that haunt him when he sleeps.
"No.." a young boy whispers. He's going to try and run outside. He's not sure if he'll make it. The footsteps are faint at first but they are getting louder. The boy is frozen behind the blue curtains in the guest bedroom, one of many in this house.
"Found you," the other boy smirks as he pulls the drapery back. "You can't hide from me, Charles. I know you," he says, almost sweetly as he drags the boy out by his hair.
And then darkness after Cain locks him in the wardrobe.
Charles is shivering. It's not what Cain does, it's the constant threat of violence he carries that terrifies him. He can never rely on the other boy becoming predictable. How long will he be here? What will Cain do when he gets back?
Charles comes back to himself slowly and he is suddenly aware that there's someone on the other side of the door. He wraps his cardigan tightly around himself and forces himself into a semblance of normality.
Erik is outside, no doubt waiting for Charle's mind to alert him to his presence and let him in. His mind feels subdued this morning, absent of the usual rage that characterizes it. He barely looks at Charles when he opens the door.
Charles falls back silently as Erik comes into the room. They're on their way to Dayton to convince a young mutant to join the school. They usually talk strategy and have breakfast before trying to convince parents to let their child come and attend a school for mutants. A voice from long ago whispers "freaks" in his mind and he can't help but wince.
Erik stares at him for a moment and then looks away quickly. "I was thinking that we could do some reconnaissance before speaking to the parents," he says in a voice slightly rough from sleep. "Not a bad idea," Charles says idly picking at a piece of thread on his pyjamas. Erik gives him a sharp look and he wonders if his difficult night is written on his face.
Recruitment has become difficult with the government requiring every mutant to register and many choose to hide instead of having to be on what is essentially a conscription list. Fortunately, Charle's talents means that he can shield those under his protection from this fate. He understands why some parents would rather their offspring not take a risk coming to his school when the world feels so against mutants.
They sit at the tiny table and drink strong hot coffee while they eat their toast. Charles licks a crumb off his finger and stills when he realises that Erik is watching him out of the corner of his eye. He pretends he hasn't noticed and looks at the papers he has brought with him.
"So," he says rather lamely. "We'll go and park the car outside their house. I should be able to get a good read on the parents that way."
"Sounds fine," Erik replies, his lean face unreadable.
After Shaw's demise, they had banded together to run the school. Charles still isn't sure why Erik didn't leave. His surface thoughts up to that point had indicated an imminent separation from Charles. He doesn't like to infringe upon his friend's privacy. Between them, the school is virtually the safest place in the world and Charles is glad that Erik chose the path that he did. One day maybe, he'll find out why his friend changed his mind.
They leave the hotel silently and get into the black BMW that's parked in the hotel car park. Driving down the road, Charles can tell that it's going to be sunny. He still feels cold after his dreams and he gazes mutely out the window throughout their short journey.
"We're here," Erik says softly as they pull in. The street is a sorry sight; it is filled with neglected houses and there is rubbish being blown about by the wind.
It's early in the morning and well before people have left to go to work. "I'll start then, shall I?" Charles says with a weak smile, more lips pressed together than anything and he pushes his consciousness out and feels for the minds in the houses.
The child is an immediate spark and Charles finds the dim grey presence of the child's mother as well. He immerses himself into the mother's mind.
Darkness.
"Stay in there, I don't know what you are" the brown haired woman is saying. "God, please save us from this abomination," she pleads. Charles can hear a child crying through a heavy, wooden door. "Mommy, Mommy" the child's high voice cries.
"I'm not your mother," the woman says, suddenly vicious and kicks the door. The child shrieks.
Charles has seen enough. He flinches, withdrawing from the woman's mind.
He feels shaken and thinks he probably looks it too. This has cut slightly too close to the bone. Opening his eyes, he notices that Erik is watching him.
"The situation isn't good," Charles says at last. Erik nods and they both stare at the peeling paint on the blue house across the road. "So, we'll do a complete withdrawal then. Can it wait for an hour or so while we get supplies?" he asks. Charles winces, fights the urge to look down. "I don't believe it's in Jean's best interest if we leave her there any longer. Unable to fight the urge any longer, he looks down at his hands.
They get out of the car. Charles sends the woman in the house to sleep and sets about making her forget her daughter.
Erik unlocks the door with the slightest twitch of his ability. Inside, the house is filthy and the stench of neglect is overpowering. Charles knows that the child, Jean, is upstairs somewhere. He reaches out with his mind and feels for her. Her mind is a maelstrom as it meets his. She sends him an image of a bedroom with a locked door. He's slightly shocked, she's only the third telepath he's encountered and that's including himself.
Charles moves towards the staircase and finds a hand on his shoulder suddenly. Startled, his eyes meet Erik's. "Be careful," he says withdrawing his hand.
His shoulder burns from the contact as he ascends. He finds the door and Erik pops the lock open. A small girl with dark hair is huddled on the bed, her wild eyes darting around the room. All the things in the room start to rapidly move around the room. "Watch out" Erik shouts as a chest of drawers hurtles towards him. He finds himself pressed against Erik who has pulled him out of the room and away from a flying lamp that was make contact with his head. Charles steps away from Erik, afraid for some reason and pushes his mind into the girl's, no, Jean's mind. He's drowning in her fear and he can feel himself choke on it as he tells her mind to sleep. The house becomes quiet once more and Charles walks into the bedroom. Jean is sleeping in her ragged pink pyjamas. She can't be more than eight years old. He picks her up and carries her out through the dirty house and puts her in the back seat of the car, leaving Erik to put Jean's meagre belongings in a bag.
Outside, Charles breathes in the fresh air and tries to get a handle on his emotions before Erik comes out of the house. A few minutes pass and Erik leaves the house with a small yellow backpack and comes over to lean against the car beside Charles. The weight of the emotions in the house across the road is palpable and Charles can hardly breathe.
"I think it would be best if we called Azazel," Erik suggests quietly breaking into Charles' thoughts. Charles stares blankly at Erik for a moment before agreeing. He searches for Azazel's mind and feels the familiar flow of his thoughts collide into his suddenly.
"Azazel?"
"I'm here."
"Sorry to bother you. We have a bit of a situation here."
Charles pushes his memories of the girl's house towards Azazel.
"It never stops happening, does it?" he asks bitterly.
"No, no it doesn't," Charles replies.
"I'll be right there."
With a thanks, Charles ends the conversation.
Azazel pops into existence less than two minutes later. His face is distressed as he looks at Jean sleeping in the car. He opens the door and takes her into his burly arms.
"She should sleep until we get back, I've made sure of that" Charles says. "Get Hank to take a look at her when you're back at the school."
Azazel nods and vanishes.
"Well, it'll probably take us about two days to get back," Charles says going to open the car door. Erik stops him by placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him an unreadable look.
"Is everything alright?" he asks softly.
"No, it really isn't," Charles says his mouth twisting.
Erik nods and slides his long fingers down to grasp his forearam. Charles can't help but feel that he's being told something but he's not sure what. His mouth suddenly dry, he considers the situation.
This physical contact between them is new and he isn't sure what to make of it. He can feel Erik's eyes boring into him but he can't bring himself to meet them.
Wordlessly, Charles steps away and gets into the car. It's going to be a long two days.