Chapter 10

The last two days had been boring. She always thought that prison would have been filled with people fighting all the time, but things had been quiet. It was probably due to the fact that there weren't many female inmates; she didn't even have a cellmate. Nevertheless, she suspected that things at the male prison were actually difficult. Pamela was sure that Dillon could protect himself against any threats, but Ziggy was another story. She hoped that they were both okay.

How did she end up caring so much, anyway? She was grateful for their help, sure, but they were still strangers. Dillon's face would pop up in her head sometimes. She still felt bad about dragging him into this mess, and was convinced he hated her for it.

None of it mattered though. She was probably never going to see him again.

"You're free to go."

Pamela jumped, clutching one hand to her chest. One of the officers was staring at her with an impatient look on her face.

"What?"

"You're free to go." The officer repeated in annoyance. "The Power Rangers came to bail you out."

"What?" Pamela was dumbstruck. Why would the Power Rangers help her?

The officer rolled her eyes. "You can change back into your own clothes, and leave."

Her cell opened, and she picked up her waitress outfit, which the officer had been holding. Pamela changed back in the bathroom, and was escorted by the officer towards the exit.

To her immense surprise, Dillon and Ziggy were both there, along with the yellow ranger, and two other guys that she assumed were the red and blue rangers. Dillon was talking to the guy in red, as if they were discussing some sort of secret plan.

I guess the boring times are over.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

The yellow ranger approached her first. "Hi, I'm Summer Landsdown."

Summer. That was a pretty name. "You're the Yellow Ranger?"

"That's right." She smiled proudly, offering Pamela her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Pamela said, taking her hand. "Are you the leader?"

Summer laughed. "Me? Oh, no, Scott is." She pointed at the guy who was still talking to Dillon.

Pamela nodded, and turned to the guy next to Summer.

"I'm Flynn McAllistair." He had a thick accent, and gave her a smile that lighted up his whole face.

"Hi, Flynn. I like your accent."

He chuckled, and they shook hands. "Oh, thank you. It's Scottish."

She nodded. "From the color of your shirt, I assume you're the Blue Ranger?"

"Aye."

Pamela turned to look at Ziggy, who looked as if he had just won the lottery.

"Hey, Pamela."

"Hello, Ziggy. How was prison?"

"Oh, you know, it was very boring, nothing really happened while Dillon and I were there, but I'm sure you have plenty of stories..." His tone of voice made her believe that something did happen, but she chose not to push the subject.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't, actually."

Dillon and the red ranger had stopped talking, and the leader of the team gave her a curious look.

"Hi, my name's Scott Truman." Did all the Rangers have to be so good looking? Scott seemed to be as charismatic as the other two, but Pamela found that there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. They shook hands, and she nodded.

"Oh, yeah, the red one and the leader. Pleasure."

"Dillon told me plenty of things about you..."

Now that sounded absurd. "He did? We barely know each other."

"...and convinced us to get you out of here." Scott finished.

Pamela finally dared to look at Dillon. All her suspicions about him being angry with her were now gone, but how did he and Ziggy manage to get released? She didn't ask, figuring they'd explain all of it later.

"Thank you." She smiled slightly at him.

He nodded. "You're welcome."

Pamela followed Scott and the others, walking side by side with them. Summer told her that they were heading to their base, where they kept all of their ranger technology, and orchestrated their plans against Venjix.

Once they were there, Pamela noticed that the place was filled with vehicles.

"Welcome to the garage." Scott said.

"So this is like your own personal Batcave?" Pamela asked, looking around.

Summer giggled. "Something like that."

Pamela then realized that Dillon's car was actually one of the vehicles.

"Oh, it's your car." She said, turning to him. "Where's my...?"

Flynn, who had disappeared the moment they got inside, came back holding her bag. "Here you go."

She held it lovingly in her arms. "Thank you so much. I was worried about this."

Flynn was now giving her an anxious look. "Listen, I had to open it to know what was in there, and..."

Pamela quirked her eyebrows. "And?"

"There's a lady in one of the pictures, and I know her."

She gulped. "What?"

Flynn looked at her bag, and Pamela handed it to him. She could not understand what was happening. The blue ranger opened her bag, and picked up one of the pictures.

"This lady." He said, pointing at Robin. It was a picture of her aunt holding Pamela as a baby.

"That's my aunt Robin. She died trying to help me get here..." Flynn shook his head. "What is it?"

"When I came here from Scotland, I went back on a bus to help some people outside the city. There was a woman... she was hurt, and bleeding pretty badly, but she was alive. I helped her get on the bus and get here." He pointed at the picture once again. "It's her. This lady."

No fucking way. She could not believe what she was hearing. How was all of that possible?

Dillon, Summer and Scott exchanged looks. Ziggy squeezed her shoulder gently, and Pamela's eyes focused on Flynn.

"Do you know where she is right now?"

"Right here, honey."

Pamela turned around. It was Robin. She looked extremely pale, and her eyes were filled with tears. She had bruises all over her face, and her arm was patched up.

It's a freaking miracle!

Pamela bit her tongue, trying to hold back the tears, but failing miserably. She ran towards Robin, and hugged her carefully. "I can't believe it! I thought... I thought..."

Robin caressed her back. "I know, I know. I thought I was dead too."

They stared at each other without saying anything more, and the silence was broken by Scott's voice.

"Come on, guys. Let's give them some space." The Red Ranger led all the others out of the scene. She was grateful for it. Her aunt kissed her forehead, and Pamela gulped.

"That whole speech you gave me was a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

Robin snorted. "In my defense, I thought it was the last one I'd ever give you. The rangers told me about you being arrested, so of course I had to get here now that you're free."

Pamela smiled. She was feeling too many things at once. She was tired, hungry, relieved... and scared. She still didn't know what had become of Jenny, Harriet and Alex. Were they still alive? What about their families?

"Do you know anything about my friends?"

"I'm sorry, Pammy. I don't know anything. But they could still be out there."

She wanted to believe that. If her aunt came back, why couldn't her friends? But then she remembered that her parents hadn't come back.

"Yeah. Maybe." She wiped her tears off her face. "Where are you living right now?"

"I'm living in a little house not too far from here."

"Great, I'll go with you."

"No, honey."

Pamela's brows furrowed together. "What do you mean no?"

"I think you should stay here with the Rangers."

"What? Why? I..." She blabbered, not understanding what Robin meant. "No way. And do what? Clean up their stuff?"

Robin smiled, touching Pamela's cheek. "You could help them with anything they need. You'd be contributing in saving the city."

"I don't even know these people."

"Didn't you promise me that you'd open up your heart?" Robin reminded her.

Pamela barked a laugh. "I thought you were dying. I'd have said anything."

Robin's hand left her cheek, and her expression turned serious. "Pamela, please. You can't hide forever. You have a chance to make new friends, and help them save people. There really aren't many of us left."

She shrugged. There was no way she was winning this argument. "Okay, fine. If it makes you happy, I'll stay."

"Good."

"Can I at least come visit you, then?"

"Of course. I left my address in your sketchbook."

They hugged one last time, and Pamela closed her eyes, trying to hold back any more tears. With a sigh, she went upstairs to find the rangers.

"Hey, guys? My aunt left. Guys?"

The room was empty, but something caught Pamela's eye. It was a big computer with a giant K on it.

"What the hell is that?"

"Hello, Pamela. I'm Doctor K."

Pamela screamed. That thing can talk?!

"Woah, you scared me! I thought you were gonna say 'I want to play a game'."

"I beg your pardon?"

She shook her head, turning away from the computer. "Never mind."

The Rangers entered the room, and Summer ran towards her. "Hey. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Pamela looked at Flynn. "Hey, I don't have the words to express how grateful I am. Robin is my only family. I thought she was gone forever." She took his hand. "Thank you."

Flynn cleared his throat. "Oh... there's no need to thank me."

Letting go of his hand, she turned to Scott. "Can you tell me what's up with this Doctor K? The computer scared me, and that's why I screamed."

"Don't worry, it freaked me out the first time I saw it too." Ziggy said.

"Doctor K is the one behind all the ranger technology. He gave us our series operator morphers. He's the reason we are Power Rangers." Scott explained.

"Ziggy told me that you guys have been defending the city right after Venjix's air strikes started. How did you get together so fast?"

"Fortunately, the series operators volunteered as soon as I presented the idea to Colonel Truman. They all passed the tests with remarkable results." The creepy computer said. Scott had mentioned a he, but how could they be sure that Doctor K was actually a man?

"Colonel Truman?" Pamela asked.

"My father." Scott replied grimly. He looked upset, but said nothing further.

"I see." She looked around and noticed that the ranger suits were behind a glass. "Red, blue, yellow... black, green and pink?"

Summer nodded. "Dillon is now the new black ranger. We still need to find suitable operators for green and pink."

Pamela's eyes went wide. "Woah, hold on a second." She turned to Dillon. "You're a Power Ranger?"

Dillon smiled. "I am."

Pamela didn't know what to think of that. At least now he had a purpose. She felt envious of him once again. "Interesting." She muttered. "So, how do you guys plan on getting two more rangers?"

Ziggy, who had been pretty quiet the entire time, smiled like he was about to turn into confetti. "I'll actually be holding auditions tomorrow. You could help me out, if you want."

He wanted her to help him hold auditions to find Power Rangers? Pamela wanted to say no. She wanted to leave. She didn't want to get attached to these people. But Ziggy's face was full of joy, and she didn't want his smile to go away. Damn Robin and her speeches. "Yeah, sure. No problem."

Ziggy nodded, and Summer took her arm and led her away from the others.

"Come on, Pamela. I'll show you your new room."

The room was surprisingly big, or at least bigger than the one Pamela used to have back in Kemingdale. It had two beds, a closet, and a nightstand with a lamp on it.

"This looks cozy."

Summer edged closer to her. "Listen, I know we just met, but I want you to know that if you need to talk, I'm here for you. We've all been through so much in such a short time, and it'd be better to deal with it together."

Pamela rubbed a hand over neck. It was just like with Ziggy. She wanted to tell her no. She didn't want to talk, they weren't friends, and she didn't want to deal with anything. But she also didn't want to be mean and upset the blonde.

"That's very kind. Thank you."

"I'm happy that you chose to stay with us. I was scared of being the only girl around here."

Summer was too nice. Her attitude reminded her of Jenny. "Well, now you don't have to be."

The yellow ranger smiled. Her eyes were shining, and Pamela could have sworn she was trying to hold back tears. "Would you like to get something to eat?"

That question made Pamela grin. She was starving. The meals at the prison had been dreadful, and she was sure that the city's heroes had plenty of quality food to share. "I'd love to."

They left their room to eat alongside the other rangers. Ziggy couldn't stop talking about all the candidates that had signed up to be Power Rangers. Scott and Flynn spent the entire dinner discussing strategies and the powers of their suits, while Summer explained to Pamela how she had rescued Scott on her motorcycle during the battle of Corinth. Dillon had been quiet the entire time, focusing mostly on his food. Pamela found herself staring at him when he wasn't looking.

After dinner was over, she thanked Flynn once again, picked up her bag, and went back to her new room with Summer. It still sounded surreal. She was now living in a garage, with superheroes, Ziggy, and a talking computer that reminded her of Jigsaw. This couldn't be her new life. It was all too weird and confusing, and her emotions were all over the place. Once Summer was asleep, Pamela took her things and went downstairs.

Could she actually leave? She didn't know, but she hoped no one was awake to question her.

"Where are you going?"

She let out a scream, and noticed that Dillon was lying against his car, holding some sort of pocket watch.

He looks so hot standing there like that...

"Damn it, Dillon! You scared me."

"Sorry." He did not look sorry at all "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here. I can't stay."

"Why not?"

"Why are you interested? You got a thing for me?" She didn't know what caused her to say that, but maybe a little teasing would piss him off and make him leave.

A smile dangled on the corner of his lips. Not the result she was expecting. "Perhaps." Pamela raised her eyebrows. "Or perhaps I'm just curious." No longer smiling, he looked at her, waiting for an answer. He was starting to infuriate her a bit.

Pamela's forehead puckered. "I can't stay in this place. It's pointless for me to be here. The Rangers don't need my help, and I don't know any of you. I also have friends that I have to find, and I can't do it if I'm stuck in this garage."

Dillon's expression was blank. "Fine. Suit yourself." He started to walk away. "But for the record... it's not pointless."

Pamela gulped. Once Dillon was out of her sight, she tried to turn around to leave, but remained still. Had his words gotten to her? In all honestly, she wasn't even sure if she could at least get the door open. She didn't know if her friends were actually alive, she didn't own a vehicle, and she didn't know how to drive. What would she do if she ended up in the wasteland again? What would she eat? Where would she sleep? Staying with the Rangers sounded like her best chance. She didn't want to give up on her friends, but she also didn't want to make any rash decisions. They had bailed her out of prison and given her a place to stay. She remembered Ziggy asking her to help him with the auditions to find two more rangers. And the more rangers, the closer they'd get to defeat Venjix.

I hope I don't regret this. She chose to stay.

I swear I rewrote this chapter a billion times. The good news is that the action finally starts next chapter where we'll meet a certain dark-haired villainess.