Cassandra gets to "speak". Let me know what you think. Still taking it slow. Have to with Judge Dredd cause he ain't gonna go down without a fight. He never does

Review please, B

7. Don't Even go There!

I stare at the slammed door, shocked and confused. Frozen, I stand behind the chair where he had been sitting. My hands are still raised at the level of his wounded neck. He had just stood up and walked away, as if I had done or said something wrong. I was helping him. I was complementing him. I was expressing my admiration for him. How can that be considered wrong? How can that upset him? I don't understand. I don't understand him. Will I ever be able to figure him out? Maybe if I read his mind I could…

'No!' I resolve forcefully.

I have promised and I intend to keep that promise, no matter his manners and behavior. Besides, he was incredible today and he saved my life. When the corrupt Judges rolled in, he threw himself over me; shielding me with his own body. He could have protected the Captain, but he chose me. What does that mean? Is it because he needs me to find and point out the corrupt or…

I stare at the closed door and shake my head. There is nothing to read into this except that Judge Dredd is all Judge. That is all he is. He lives and breathes it. Nothing else matters or exists. He cares about nothing else than the law and upholding it.

'What kind of life is that?'

Giving up, I take a seat on the couch. Here I can be more comfortable, but still see the door. He is in there. Doing what, I do not know. Probably pissed about something that I said or didn't say… or that he said or didn't say… or that I did or didn't do… or that he did or didn't do, or…

'STOP!' My head yells at me.

I'm right. Enough is enough. I can't change who and what he is. And, I don't want to. We are still alive because of who and what he is. Just like we are still alive because of what I am. So, he should go on being Judge Dredd and I should go on being a mutant freak.

Slowly, I exhale and sink back into the couch. My eyes close and I let my mind completely open. Ever since Peachtree, my psychic abilities have increased in power; I can dig deeper and faster than before. I can also enter several people's minds at the same time and enter from a further distance. What used to completely hinder me, like thick stone walls and metal, are now getting easier to get past.

'What is happening to me? Is it some kind of evolution?'

I expand my mind and drift, pushing my way through layers of dirt, rock, and cement until my head starts to pulsate with pain. Little by little, I come back to myself. I have to do it gradually. Severing the link rapidly can be dangerous. I could lose my own mind in the process.

Dazed, I look around and my gaze falls on the clock in the kitchen. Almost 20 minutes has passed. I guess pushing myself past the restrictions of the underground is still giving me trouble. I should concentrate on practicing more on…

The door opens and Dredd steps out, shattering my thoughts. He is wearing his helmet as usual, l but I know that his eyes are on me. They are usually on me. I'm his responsibility, his protégé, almost like his child… and I hate the idea of that.

"I'm going out," he mutters and I rise quickly off the couch.

"Where?" I demand to know without worry that I will upset him.

I never worry anymore. I wonder but I do not worry. We are way past the point of origin; when we were Assessor and Rookie. It happened at Peachtree when we ensured each other's survival. You can't escape an experience like that unchanged. It's not possible.

'So you don't fool me, Dredd. You're not the same! You can't be!'

"We need supplies and the Captain is dead."

The Captain! What does this mean for us? Who will replace her and how will this person feel about us haunting down higher level corrupt. Dredd will not take 'No' for an answer. And, he doesn't know tact and finesse. He speaks to superiors like he speaks to perps. What if he gets himself suspended?

"You're hurt! You shouldn't go anywhere."

"I'm fine…. Thank you… for tending to my burn," he forces out, with a painful scowl.

Thanking someone doesn't come easy for him. I am aware of this so his simple thank you means a lot. It means that he is actually becoming… human. Maybe he is more than a Judge.

'Don't kid yourself,' a warning rings out, telling me not to read anything into it. '…I sense anger and control…' This is him. This is what I felt the first time we met. It is what he is made of. Yet… I did sense something else behind the control… but maybe I was wrong.

Even though I know how he will respond, I still say it. "I should go instead of you, or at least go with you."

"NO!" He yells out, predictably. He clears his throat and repositions himself as if awkward, before continuing in a more pleasant tone. "You stay here. I've already lost the Captain. I'm not losing you too."

His words wash over me like warm silk out of the dryer, flushing my cheeks. A small smile escapes, warming up my face even further, and I take a step towards him. I'm unable to stop myself. He draws me in. Ever since we first met, he has had this effect on me. He is a fascination, an obsession, and being around him is surreal. I couldn't tell him this. He wouldn't want to hear it. He would probably get mad and slam the door again. He is a Judge and that is all. No time or patience for childish and feminine emotions. Strange enough… it's one of the things I like about him. He wouldn't be Judge Dredd without it.

Hard lips turned downwards is all that I get back before he walks out the door. No returning smile… not that I had expected one… but I guess it would have been nice. It would be nice to be the one he smiles at.

'What are you thinking, Cassandra? Don't even go there.'

Warning bells are ringing off in my head again, alerting me to stop while I still can. I'm playing on the edge, getting dangerously close to where there is only crash and be crushed. If I was to become romantically attached to him, he would break my heart. I know he would… for he has none of his own.