Chapter 1:

All Bailey Winters wanted was a cold drink and a full tank of gas. Yet, a moment after she had entered the gas station and stepped in line behind two others, a man with a gun stormed in. Now, she had no choice but to watch the robbery unfold before her very eyes.

"Give me the money! Not from the register! From the safe! From the safe!" The robber angrily pointed his gun at the young clerk behind the counter.

"We don't have a safe, sir!"

The gunman shoots the man standing first in line. The woman behind him was about to scream when the gun pointed at her. If the gunman shoots her, Bailey would be next.

"You have three more tries, boy." The gunman looked over his shoulder at the clerk, who shook like a leaf. "Shall we try again because I know that you do have a safe here."

"But I don't know the combination." The gunman pulled the hammer back on his gun and wrapped his finger around the trigger.

Bailey moved out of line and pushed the woman behind her. She saw the look of shock and anger on the gunman's face. She didn't even blink. She didn't even move when he shot her in the stomach.

Just as he was about to shoot her in the chest, he heard his heart beat. It started to pound against his chest. The gun fell from his hand. A moment later, the man fell to the floor, dead.

Bailey stood over him. She pressed her hands against her wound. Blood gushed out and dripped on her shoes. She looked at the clerk and then at the people behind her.

Matt Parkman was called to the scene. As he approached the yellow police tape, he watched the police question those that were held hostage inside. He saw the Coroner's Office carry out the body of the gunman. His eyes fell on a young woman being carried out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. His attention then turned to his FBI friend, who had called him about the robbery. "You know that I was suspended, so why call me?"

"Because I need you. It's bad enough that Sylar and Ted are out there, and now this happens."

"What? A robbery? Robberies happen all the time, and most of the time, the police handle it. So, what makes this one any different?"

"Because the gunman was in perfect health and suddenly dropped dead. According to eyewitnesses, the girl did it."

"The girl? Maybe, he just had a heart attack."

"We'll see." She looked away for a moment. "You know, I wouldn't have bothered you with this, but with recent events, this can't be ignored."

"You think she is like me and Ted?" The FBI agent nodded. "Look, maybe the guy had a heart attack, and she…"

"Just go to the hospital with me. Try to read her. She wouldn't talk to the police or me except for giving us her name, which I am running through the FBI database."

"And then what? What if nothing comes up, and the guy died of a heart attack?"

"Then, nothing, but with people like you running around, I'm not taking any chances." She approached her car. "Are you coming, or not?"

"I'm coming," he replied, and he got in the car.

As she slowly opened her eyes, Bailey saw a cop sitting in a chair nearby. She tried to sit up, but a sharp pain ran along her left side. She sighed and slowly touched where her wound was, remembering the robbery. "Can I get some water, please?"

"Sure."

Standing up from the chair, Matt walked over to a small tray with a bottle of water on it. He brought it over to Bailey. Handing it to her, he felt a shock when Bailey touched his hand. As he rubbed his hand, he noted her stare.

"Sorry. It seems to be a habit lately."

"What? Shocking people?" Bailey laughed but then grimaced. "I'm Matt, by the way."

"Bailey."

"Bailey. Interesting name."

"Thanks. So… Am I under arrest?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you're here."

"I just need to ask you a few questions. That's all." He moved away, sitting back down in his chair.

"That's all?" Bailey stared at him. "You're here for answers. Answers that I can't give you."

"Why do you think I am here?" Matt returned her stare.

"You want to know what happened in the gas station." Bailey drank her water. "You want to know if I killed him. What if I told you that I did? Would you arrest me for murder?"

"Did you kill him?" Bailey almost chokes on her water. "You did save that woman and probably everyone else in there."

"So, you are different."

"What do you mean?"

Bailey's doctor walked in. He glared at Matt. Shaking his head, he looked down at a manila folder in his hands and then up at Bailey. "If you don't mind, officer, I think my patient needs some rest. I also need to speak with her. Privately."

"Sure. I'll go." Standing up from his chair, Matt looked at Bailey, who smiled at him.

"Do yourself a favor. Go home, and don't come near me again." She looked at him, slowly nodding. "It was nice to meet you, Matt." She watched him leave the room.

Standing outside the hospital, Matt called his FBI friend. He heard the line ring a few times. Then, she finally answered. "You were right," he said.

"I know. I know a few things about our friend."

"Our friend?"

"Yeah. Apparently, a month ago, there was a similar death in her hometown in upstate New York."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the police had found a guy's body in the middle of the woods up there. The guy died the same exact way as our robber. She killed him."

"We don't know that."

"Matt, his heart just ceased. I haven't compared it yet to the autopsy on the robber, but I bet you anything that it is the same. Has she told you anything?"

"No. No, she hasn't."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, I believe that she killed these two men. I need her to stay where she is until I get there. Can you do that? Can you keep her there, Matt?"

"Yeah, I can."

Slowly sitting up in bed, Bailey realizes that Matt has returned, standing in the doorway to her room. Sighing, she looked away. Then, she gestured for him to come in. "I guess you didn't get my message."

"What? Go home? I got it." He slowly sits back down in the chair near her bed. "What did your doctor want?"

"That's none of your business."

"Sorry. I was just wondering." He continued to stare at her.

"Trying to read my thoughts? I could block them, if I wanted to."

"How do you know that I can read thoughts?"

"When I touched your hand. I guess you could say that I got an impression of who or what you are. Don't worry. I'm not like that guy from the, Dead Zone."

"So, what are you like?"

"I don't know." She returned his stare. "Lately, things have been… Difficult."

"How so?"

"Things have just been difficult."

"I noticed that you didn't call any family or friends to let them know that you were here. Any reason why?'

"I didn't want to worry them. Are you really asking me about them or about the guy that was found dead in my hometown?"

"Now, who's reading thoughts?" Bailey laughed. "You knew that my FBI friend was going to run your name through the database, didn't you?"

"Yeah. I knew, and she knows."

"She does. Why did your name come up in connection to his death?"

"I was the last one to see him alive." She looked out the window nearby.

"Tell me about him."

"Nothing to tell." She bit her lip. "He got what he deserved. Otherwise, he would keep doing what he was doing." She looked at Matt.

"Did he hurt you?" Bailey closed her eyes. "Did he try to kill you?" He was now standing nearby.

"He tried… Look, it just happened. Okay? It just happened."

"And that's why you ran away?" He reached for her hand, but she pulled away, refusing to look at him. "Nobody knows where you are, do they?"

"I'm tired, Matt. Really tired. Please, go away." Tears slid down her face. "Go away, Matt."

"Okay, Bailey." He stepped away. "But I'm coming back." Bailey nodded but didn't look at him. "I'm coming back. Get some rest." As he left the room, he heard her cry.

Matt bumped into Bailey's doctor. The man gave him a harsh look and tried to walk past him. Matt followed him, grabbing him by the arm. "What's going on with Bailey?"

"Can't tell you. You're not family or friend."

"I'm a friend, and she needs help. Doesn't she?" He continued to stare at the doctor. "What's going on with her?"

"Sorry. I can't disclose that to you." The doctor broke free and moved away. "What would you like me to say? That she's dying and may only have a month to live?"

Standing in the doorway, Matt watched Bailey sleep. He rubbed his eyes and nervously touched the mark on his neck. Quietly entering the room, he took a seat beside Bailey's bed.

Waking up, Bailey looked at Matt. She smiled, but he didn't smile back. Her smile faded. "You know, don't you?"

"That you're dying? Yeah, I know. How long have you known?"

"For awhile."

"So… What is it?"

"Don't know. Doctors don't either. Something with the electric current in me… I don't know."

"Those men died from an electric current." Matt and Bailey looked up to see the FBI Agent standing in the doorway. "Did you have anything to do with that?"

"If I did, would you arrest me?"

"Yes, I would. It's called, murder." The FBI Agent entered the room.

"She didn't mean to. It was self defense both times." Matt looked at his friend and then at Bailey. "Right? It was self defense?"

"It was, and I didn't mean to kill them."

"Well, what about the next guy, or the one after that, and the one after that…"

"Enough! What's with you?" Standing up from his chair, Matt confronted his friend.

"What's with me? What's with you?" Matt stared at her. "Look, can I talk to you outside in the hallway, please?"

"Sure." He followed his friend out of Bailey's room.

"I don't know about you, but we can't let her go."

"She's dying. She doesn't have a lot of time."

"I don't care. What if she kills someone again? Is it going to be self defense the third time?' Matt sighed and looked away. "Look, I feel bad about her situation, but if she can't control whatever ability that she has, she could kill maybe more than one person next time."

"We don't know that."

"Would you like to take that chance? Would you want the responsibility, if she did?"

"So, what? We arrest her, put her in what we put Ted in, and then maybe Homeland Security will come for her? Is that it?"

"At least, we will keep her from harming anyone else. As soon as she is able to walk, I'm taking her in. I'm sorry, Matt, but that is how it has to be." She walked away from him.

"Damn it!"

The next day, Matt walked into the hospital. He approached Bailey's room. He saw her sleeping under the covers of her bed. "Bailey. Bailey? We need to talk. Bailey?"

Pulling the covers away, Matt looked down at a bunch of pillows. The IV was unhooked. Wires twisted and turned along the bed. Where did she go?

"She made a call late last night. I'm having it traced right now, but it may not matter. Whoever helped her could be long gone, and so could she. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid, Matt. I didn't need to add another one to Sylar and Ted and to whoever else that has these abilities are out there. It's getting out of hand, Matt." She stared at him. "It's getting out of hand."

"She didn't strike me as a murderer."

"Well, the nurse is lucky that she just knocked her out, but she could… She will kill again, and that falls on us. Now, we have to find her before that happens. What else are we going to do, Matt?"

"I don't know, but you're right. We have to find her. I will find her."