CHAPTER TWO

...The room was hot and the floor was cover in blood. She was grateful that the screams had not carried down the halls, as she made her way out the door and towards the next shadow. Her heart felt frozen solid, but her angry soul welcomed the feeling. Mercy would be denied to them, and rightly so. All their kind was evil, and evil was something she knew very well. She was a monster, one that had caused others untold suffering, but even she had learned the meaning of compassion. These men knew nothing of that, and she would make sure that they do not live long enough to learn.

She saw a shadow ahead of her and moved towards it. She drew herself up, her gaze fixed on the back of his neck. She painfully forced her body to obey her, covering her knuckles with a thick layer of bone, and then moved to strike with a back fist.

...then there was blood...

Marrow jerked out of her dream, having fought her way back to consciousness. Pain laced through her in layers as she moved to sit up, trying to calm her breathing enough to hear other sounds, but nothing. She looked around the room, trying to make out details but there was mostly darkness. Panic griped her at her situation, tightening her chest up with an unbearable pain. What if she never got her powers back? What would she do then?

The door to the bedroom creaked open, and a surge of fear constricted her throat, as light spilled into the room. Marrow forced herself to swallow and turn her head towards it, while remaining seated. A shadow filled the doorway, short in stature but with long legs and a narrow waist, unquestionably a female. She couldn't make the details out in this semi darkness, not without her powers. She could feel her stomach tightening up again in fear and it pissed her off.

"Yeah, what do you want?" she asked in a challenging tone.

"I brought you some clothes" she woman replied in a soft musical voice as she stepped into the room and set the clothes down on the dresser. "I thought you might need them if you decided to walk around. My name is Xian by the way, I am a friend of Ha--"

"Look, babysitter" Marrow interrupted rudely, "I don't need clothes to walk around, in case you didn't realize that" she said with a sneer. "I also couldn't care less what your name is!"

Xian let her hands dangle at her sides, and with a nod of her head towards Marrow's direction she returned downstairs.

Marrow having expected an argument didn't know how to react to Xian's departure "Well, fuck."

Marrow stood at the entrance to the living room, having taken the time to shower and dress in some of the clothes that Xian had delivered earlier. She knew that she should apologize for her behavior, but she was not sure how that would go.

"Hey..." she greeted.

Xian turned, sitting sideways on the sofa in order to face her, acknowledging that she was there, and yet she did not reply.

"Look, about earlier..." Marrow began reluctantly. "I didn't mean..." she gestured towards both of them. Pausing in her apology she sat down next to Xian on the sofa, looking straight out in front of her. "I...I'm sorry, ok?" she finished softly, and forced herself to look up. She was very surprised at what she found there.

"You're not very good at this whole apology thing, are you?" Xian asked with a soft smile on her face.

"No," she felt herself blushing as she replied. "Not really..."

Xian took her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded, fighting laughter at the girl's embarrassed look. "Hmm, would you like some food? Cecilia made something for you earlier, but you had fallen asleep by the time she brought it up."

"Yeah, in a while." she replied.

At first Xian didn't understand why Marrow was just sitting there, but looking at her face she realized that she was grinding her teeth. Ah, now she knew. "Are you in a lot of pain?" she asked softly. "I could try to help you, if you want." She closed the distance between them but stopped herself short of touching her.

Marrow looked at her strangely for a moment, while she thought about the offer. "No, thanks," she replied.

"Please..." Xian protested. "I know you're in pain." It was strange, that she was so worried about her. "Admitting it will not make you seem weak, not in my eyes." She felt a kinship with the girl in front of her, the pain and the pride, were things she was very familiar with. Her anger was like a beacon, lighting up everything in her path. So much like her own, only she was much better at hiding it.

Marrows eyes fluttered closed as she nodded her agreement.

Relief washed through Xian, and she managed to let go of the breath she had been holding. She held up her hand slowly "I am going to touch you..." then a small smile touched her lips, "but I won't hurt you".

"I know." Marrow uttered the words without meaning to, and was surprised to realize that she meant them.

Xian used her hands to cradle the back of Marrow's head gently, then closed her eyes and began her work. Trying to suppress her pain receptors would take a while, since her telepathy was not at the same level as the Professor's. I can do this became her mantra. After a few minutes she heard Marrow sigh in relief, and that alone made her grin.

Xian opened her eyes, still pushing the last of Marrow's pain away. It was not easy work, since she was not trained in this. Her psychic possession powers worked differently and the telepathy was a recent thing. They still sat on the sofa, and her hands were still holding on to Marrow, she tried not to think about how that felt. The contact seemed like her only connection to reality, she was not exactly sure what drew her to help in the first place, but the reason didn't matter, only this moment. Still, her work was complete and it was time to let go.

She allowed Marrow's awareness to return slowly. Their minds were still connected at the most basic level. It was a very comfortable feeling, but Xian forced herself to withdraw. "Is that better?" she asked with what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Yes..." answered Marrow breathlessly, "I had almost forgotten what it was like..." she continued in a choked voice, and leaned back on the sofa, trying to pull away.

"Shh, everything will be fine" Xian whispered, and then gathered Marrow into her arms, allowing her to expel her pain and frustration. She kissed the top of Marrow's head and then began to make some soothing noises, but that only made Marrow bury her face against her neck and cry harder. Xian could not believe what was happening. Where was the rude girl that greeted her earlier, the cold-hearted killer everyone spoke about? This could not be her; this girl was soft, vulnerable, and so very proud. She had never felt so close to another human being in her life, and her heart thumped against her chest in realization.

The weeping finally stopped, and Xian felt Marrow begin to tense up in her arms. "Don't be ashamed to cry" she began, but seemed to lose her ability to think clearly as Marrow lifted her head, and looked at her with tearful blue eyes. "Don't be ashamed...," she repeated, and then as if possessed by her own powers she leaned forward and brushed her lips tenderly across hers.

Absolute silence fell in the room, as they sat looking at each other. Xian reacted first, her emotions swirling deep inside her. "Look, I didn't..." she began, her voice thin with uncertainty "I mean...y-you don't understand." and winced at what she just said.

"You better go" Marrow said as she detached herself from Xian's arms, putting some space between them.

"Marrow?" she appealed softly, and reached out to as if to touch her.

"Don't!" Marrow drew a deep shuddering breath "Please, just leave."

Xian was not surprised at Marrow's response, nor could she blame her, but it still hurt. So she stood up on shaky legs, and with her face red from embarrassment, she removed herself to the kitchen to reheat Marrow's dinner. Hoping that it would give her enough time to pull herself together, and come up with some type of apology that actually made sense.

Marrow didn't know how long she sat there, but she seemed to have developed difficulty breathing. That kiss had been a shock, but she did not regret it, no one had ever kissed her like that. It had been very brief, and yet it had conveyed so much, it had been the first time in her life she had not felt alone. She knew she had hurt Xian with her reaction, she had seen the confusion and hurt settle over her features when she had been asked to leave. Then her heart leaped into her throat as she realized what she wanted to do, what she had to do. So, she gathered her courage and stood up with a single purpose, going through the same doorway Xian had earlier.

She found her in the kitchen, reheating food and placing it neatly on the table. Hesitating on the entrance to the kitchen, Marrow watched Xian move around gracefully for a minute and made a decision to put all her uncertainties to rest. As new and unfamiliar as it was to her, this feeling was not something she could just let go, at least not without exploring it further.

Marrow moved into the kitchen and walked until she was standing right behind Xian. Slowly, she reached out and touched her shoulder, and Xian turned in surprise at the contact. She must have been distracted, if I managed to sneak up on her, Marrow thought in amusement, but then she noticed that Xian's eyes were bright with unshed tears and her hair was somewhat mussed, as if she had run her hands through it in frustration. Marrow thought she looked worried and a little hurt, and felt an ache in the region of her heart. Damn, what is happening to me?

Xian did not say anything, but her posture relaxed slightly as she watched her. Marrow felt a small smile touch her face, and after working up the nerve, she leaned forward and kissed Xian hesitantly, placing her mouth gently against hers. Xian's lips were moist and yielding, and Marrow never thought that kissing a woman would be so intense. Now you've done it girl. You can't take any of this back,her mind screamed as she began to wonder if she had done the right thing.

Suddenly, Xian was kissing her back, touching her tongue with her own gently, but with undeniable passion. Marrow moaned as she was consumed with arousal, it was making her lightheaded, so Marrow pulled away and took a shuddering breath, trying to calm her rampaging heartbeat.

"Xian..." she said as she ran the tip of her fingers over Xian lips. "I--I've never..." she said, removing her fingers away from Xian's mouth, "What is happening to us...?"

"I don't know..." Xian answered sincerely, "I really don't know." Then she kissed her again hungrily, their mouths opening to each other without reservation. Xian kissed her with all the pent-up emotion she could not yet understand. "Marrow..." Xian said softly, as she lovingly kissed her way down her neck.

"Sarah..." she gasped "My name is Sarah..." she repeated as she grabbed Xian and pushed her back against the kitchen counter. Marrow wanted her, with an intensity she had never experienced. She ran her hands up Xian's arms, over her shoulders, and down her back as she kissed her. She could not seem to get enough of her, but as Xian wrapped her arms around her tightly, Marrow gasped in pain.

Xian stepped back in alarm, not knowing what had happened. She looked at Marrow in concern and saw that her shoulder was seeping blood, so she reached out and took a towel from the kitchen counter, and pressed it firmly against the wound to help stop the blood flow. Marrow's breath hissed out between her lips, as she reached out to grab Xian's hand, her fingers clenching around her wrist. "Sorry," she said quickly, a muscle in her jaw clenching, as she let go of her hand.

"It's ok." Xian said as she guided Marrow to take a seat at the table. "I should really look at your shoulder and see if we can stop the bleeding," with a lingering look, Xian left the kitchen to search for the medical supplies she needed.

END CHAPTER TWO