Chapter 2

Bailey woke, feeling a crushing weight on her chest and stomach. She looked down; putting her head on one side when she saw Justin and Lofi curled up on her stomach and cuddled close to each other. Bailey liked the way Lofi's straight dark hair contrasted with Justin's auburn curls. Lofi had his chin nestled against the crook of Justin's shoulder and his right arm rested across Justin's stomach. She realized they were shivering and then realized she was too. Her breath misted in front of her and she blinked three times. She sat up, making sure the boy's heads stayed on her lap and didn't slam against the hard ground. She looked around, feeling with one hand for the bag she had packed before they left. She pulled out a blanket, unfolding it and throwing it over the boys. Then she pulled out a second blanket and slipped it under their heads.

She eased away from them, lying beside them on the cold ground as she looked around, hooking her hands behind her head as she did. They were lying the burned out husk of what had once been a skyscraper. The smell of burned wood and scorched metal made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. She had realized it was winter when she felt the cold, but now she noticed the snow. It sparkled and made the wreckage look almost beautiful. Then she caught sight of something under a pile of rubble and shoved the boys away from her as she crawled over to it, eyes wide with urgency and fright.

Both boys sat up, looking around blearily. They stared at each other, black and gray-blue eyes going wide with terror, when they realized their close proximity. Then they jumped apart and went red. Lofi held out a hand, "We will never speak of this again."

"Agreed." They shook briefly, then moved away from each other as quickly as humanly possible. Then they turned their attention to Bailey. She was hunkered down next to the pile of scrap. Her shoulders shook and she seemed to be crying, dirt was streaked on her face from her tears and from digging in the rubble and dirt. They stared at her, not sure of what to do. Terry's voice made them jump, "What's wrong? What did you do?"

Terry's gold flecked blue eyes sparkled with concern as he looked at Bailey. He pushed back his thick blond hair and hooked it behind his ears as he looked at the other boys for an explanation. Justin glared at him as he muttered defensively, "We didn't do anything!"

Terry rolled his eyes, giving both boys a withering glance. He strode over to Bailey and knelt beside her. He looked down at what had caught her attention so completely and his eyes narrowed. The mangled, bloody hand of a child was half hidden under the rocks. He pulled Bailey away from the rocks and stopped her from looking back at the body by grabbing her chin and forcing him to look at her. He jerked his chin at Justin, "Put the blanket away and look over in that direction. I found a car that might run, but you'll need to hotwire it. I wiped the dust off the windows; you'll know which one it is."

Justin nodded, folding the blanket quickly. He swung the bag over his shoulder, adjusting it to make sure it didn't collide with his bag, as he started off. Lofi followed him, but not before trying to trip Justin. Justin hissed, jumping over Lofi's foot and scrambling up the hill of debris till he reached the top. Terry stayed silent for a moment, waiting for Bailey to stop shaking. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She looked up at him. "I should never have tried to mess with time. It's not a good idea, unless you're a Time Lord."

"I thought those were extinct." Terry muttered as he pulled her to her feet.

"Not entirely." She almost smiled, until the wind blew and shifted the snow away to reveal the devastation beneath. Bodies that had lain hidden beneath their shroud of snow were now exposed. Bailey stared at them, clutching Terry's hand and nearly cracking the bones as she murmured, "It's my fault, the whole damn thing."

Terry didn't try to deny her statement. Bailey let go of him and scrambled away from the bodies. She was over the pile of rummage in seconds. She rolled down the pile, putting her hands in front of her to stop herself from rolling headfirst into an overturned van. She heard Lofi laughing as she got to her feet and brushed herself off, glaring at the two boys as they stood next to the now running sports car. Terry appeared and glared at the smaller boys as he hissed, "Shut up, do you want to attract attention?"

Lofi shrugged, "Whose attention would we attract?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe theirs." Justin pointed and they all turned. Huge, alien creatures loomed over them. Lofi coughed, stepping back as he muttered, "This is not good."

Bailey blinked three times, her legs trembling with pent up adrenaline and her eyes flashing as she said, "Get in the car." Her voice went slightly higher as she repeated, "Get in the car!"

Terry shouted at them, "Get in!"

Lofi and Justin didn't argue with him. They dived into the car, leaving the doors unlocked. Terry reached Bailey's side and grabbed her around the waist as Justin revved the engine and reversed sharply. Bailey and Terry both jumped onto the roof of the car. Terry steadied Bailey, keeping his arm around her tightly to make sure she was balanced, as they knelt on the roof of the car. Bailey pulled loose, leaned over the side of the car and knocked on the window. Lofi rolled it down, grinning at her as he asked, "Do you want the gun, or the really big gun?"

"Which one would work the best?"

"I would recommend the really big gun."

Lofi handed it to her and Bailey smiled as she got to her feet and hoisted the gun, which was almost the same size as a bazooka, onto her shoulder. She fired at an alien. Terry blinked when the alien exploded. He looked down at Bailey, "Where did you learn to shoot?"

"My dad taught me." He looked disbelieving, so she continued, "He said I needed to be marginally proficient in every way possible to defend myself if necessary. He taught me how to shoot, how to defend myself if I ever need to." She handed him the gun. She knelt again and knocked on the window. Lofi looked out at her, "Do you want the other gun?"

"Yes." He handed it to her. She started to aim the gun, but the aliens veered off and flew away. Bailey put her head on one side. She looked up at Terry, "Why did they do that?"

Justin slammed on the brakes. Bailey slid down the windshield, stopping herself by digging her heels into the front of the car. She left behind two identical gouges. She looked up at Terry, "I think I should've figured out a way to communicate with Fury before we came here. It might've saved us some time and trouble, not to mention lots of annoying explanations."

Justin and Lofi climbed out of the car, both climbing onto the top of the car and grinning at each other. Terry glared at her. "Just wait till I get you back to our time."

Lofi stifled a remark, but couldn't help his choking cough. Justin had no such stipulation, but one glare from Terry stopped him in his tracks. He stepped back, nearly falling off the top of the car. Bailey slid off the car, smiling at the group in front of them, "Can you take us to General Fury now?"

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"You're telling me you're from the future, why should I believe that?" Agent Perkins looked at the four teens and contemplated throwing them out. The four had been brought in by the team of reconnaissance agents that had seen them when they were out on patrol. The children had been blindfolded before they had been brought in. But Perkins was almost certain they had some slight inkling of where they were.

Justin stared at the man. He appeared young, but he had deep lines carved into his forehead and around his mouth. He started to grin, but stopped himself as he spoke up, "Well, I could tell you who my –"

Bailey clapped her hands over Justin's mouth, jerking him back slightly as she hissed, "You can't tell them anything. Do you want to mess up the time stream anymore?"

"No, I'll just leave that to you."

Terry sighed, "It's not like she meant to mess anything up. She usually just messes up little things."

"I don't mess up all that much." She slammed her hands down on the table, flinching as it cracked and chips of metal flew off in all directions. Bailey blinked three times, looking up nervously at the agent. He pretended not to notice.

Lofi rubbed his temples as he looked up at Perkins and smiled, "Can you please do something productive and kill me now?"

"I'll do it." Justin muttered as he glared at Lofi.

"You're not killing anyone." Terry separated the smaller boys as they lunged at one another.

"Don't you remember how depressed you got last time? And that was accidental. Imagine how bad it would be if you did it on purpose." Bailey looked back at Perkins, apprehension flashing in her eyes for a moment before she turned back to Justin. "It was really bad. He would try to hurt himself constantly."

Perkins shut his eyes, clenching his jaw as he repressed a sigh. He walked to the door and was gone in seconds. Justin glowered at Bailey. "I hate you sometimes."

"The feeling is mutual." Her face was blank, voice completely serious.

Terry sat down again, making sure he was in-between Bailey and Justin. Bailey smiled at him, leaning against his shoulder. Her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing slowed instantly. Justin rolled his eyes. "She could sleep through the apocalypse."

"In a way, she is."

"I'm not asleep." All three started at her voice. "Sleep isn't productive. This is just something I do when I know my body wants to sleep." She was on her feet in a second. "Let's go."

Bailey knelt, inspecting the door and fiddling with the lock. Justin bounded over, "How are you going to get it open? Do you still have your lock picking kit I bought you for Christmas? I thought you'd like it."

"Yes, I still have it. I don't have it now." Bailey looked up at Terry. "Look away, I'm about to break something."

Terry groaned, "Don't you da-"

The snap echoed round the room. Bailey tossed Lofi the doorknob. "Keep it."

Lofi stared at it, then threw it at Justin's head. Justin ducked and the knob rolled across the floor, clanging hollowly across the cold concrete. Bailey stared at it as it came to a stop. Then she was on her feet and slipping out into the hall. The boys were forced to run after her as they tried in vain to keep up with her pace. The tunnels were damp, dark and smelled musty. Bailey rounded several corners, almost tripping as she hopped over a rusted train track. She looked down at it briefly, "We're in the subway."

The boys didn't question her, knowing she was right. Justin caught up with her, "Why are we down here?"

Lofi sighed, "If what I think happened. There's only one reason we're down here: It's the best place to hide." He glared at Bailey, "This is your fault."

She nodded noncommittally, saying nothing as she sped up slightly. Terry swatted Lofi on the side of the head. Lofi winced, glaring up at him. Justin laughed aloud, speeding around a corner before grinding to a halt and staring at the group in the tunnel. They didn't notice him at first, but what he did next ensured their full attention was focused on him instantly. His eyes lit up, his whole body seemed lighter and he shot forward at a run, as he shouted, "Mommy!"

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Thank you Fell4 for reviewing. I hope this made some kind of sense.