Chapter 13 – Enclosed Spaces

Rogue felt her skin set on edge the moment the sound broke through her sleeping state, forcing her into wakefulness. The sound of thunder rumbling from above had erupted between bouts of sleep throughout the night, but this time… there was something about this particular sound that screamed something else. At instinct's call, Rogue opened her eyes. When the mask of sleepiness faded, she set them high on the ceiling above. A moment or two later, the sound erupted again. Like thunder at first but then another…and another…as she counted them, she realised the sound erupted in consistent intervals. And the realisation set her heart racing a million miles a minute as she slipped out of her bedding and began to dress.

Only one thing made that noise.

Rogue got up quietly, her gaze still set on the ceiling above. Her hands trembled slightly as she pulled on her boots. Only Logan's stern teachings, burned into her very consciousness, kept her on track of her actions. She was about to slip out of the bed when she remembered the slumbering Cajun in the bed across from her. She turned to face him, expecting to find him still asleep, only to find his bed was empty. Momentarily stunned, Rogue just about jumped out of her own skin when a hand wrapped around her arm from behind and began to pull her towards the door.

"Don't have time chére. Don't ask questions, just follow moi."

Unable to answer or refuse, she followed his lead. Instead of leading them to the tunnel entrance again, he led them to the kitchenette across the room. Ignoring her confused look, he reached for what appeared to be the ordinary handle of the small oven door. His fingers brushed against the back of the handle and pressed lightly on a concealed button that made an audible click. A moment later, the section of the back wall that the kitchenette was attached to began to move backwards until the entire wall was at least three feet away from where the main wall started – leaving a gap large enough for them to crawl through –which they did a moment later. Remy led her by the hand and they were suddenly in the dark.

"Give it a second chére."

As if on cue, a blue ring of light flickered to life, tall enough for a person to fit through should he bend to fit. From within the ring a pair of twin sliding doors opened with a hiss.

"Ladies first, chére."

Gulping back her uncertainty, Rogue did as he asked. When they were both inside, more lights flickered to a dim blue light. They appeared to be in a sphere room no bigger than a small car. Padded seats lined the walls and Remy made a point of sitting in one without her leave.

"Sit down. We may be waiting a while."

Rogue felt the mystery of her surroundings come to an end. Her brow furrowed with disbelief.

"Surely ya don't expect t' wait out what's up there in here? We're sittin' ducks!"

"And y' suggest we go up dere where its duck season?"

Rogue didn't know whether to strangle him or knock sense into him.

"We can't hang tight and wait them out. It never works. Trust meh when ah say ah know it doesn't end well for us if we stay where we are."

His expression softened as he took her hand in his. Though she wouldn't admit it, she nearly jumped at the contact as he spoke.

"Chére, trust moi when I say dat we are literally invisible. Dis thing has every kind of shield protection programmed into its shell structure – we're in a blind spot. Not even Apoc himself would see there was anything here except rock, dirt and the old pipes leading to the lake. We're undetectable. We're safe."

Rogue felt her throat close up on her at his assurances; she felt no safer for him saying them. She had never trusted technology to keep them safe. It didn't stop bad things from coming after you, not in her experience. It just delayed it a little until the flaws in the mechanics became exposed and she had a horrible feeling that this was exactly the case. They were sitting ducks in a metal pod and sooner or later, it wasn't going to hold them safe forever.

Noting that they had finally come to an impasse, Remy tugged her towards the seat beside him. Hesitantly she complied but her entire body felt rigid with the need to move- to get out of the enclosed space… to run as fast and far as her legs could carry her. Remy could feel her anxiety, her fear of doing nothing except wait. The silence barely lasted a minute before she spoke.

"This is a bad idea -"

"Chére, I've had my fair amount of runnin' from dose metal heads. This isn't the first time I've used one of dese. We'll be fine."

Rogue bit down on her lower lip to silence herself. She realised now that no amount of arguing was going to get her her way with this one. The small consolation that he had led her this far without fail wasn't a warming thought but it kept her quiet.

Minutes passed then an hour and Remy could feel how tightly wound up with anxiety Rogue was he could practically feel it singing in the marrow of his very bones. His hand had stayed locked around hers like a lifeline. But it wasn't enough to calm the tension coming off her in waves. He would have to change tactics if they were both to have any peace of mind in this waiting game.

"I have sixteen first cousins in mon famille- dat's just de first cousins, not including de twenty-eight second cousins dat call moi oncle because I am old enough t' be one. But I have only one older brother. Mon Pere taught us all we know to survive et he is de best man I know. Mon Frere, Henri, is eleven years older den moi et we don't look alike. Most people don't realise we're brothers- or believe it when we admit it."

At her bewildered, confused look, he nudged her with words of reply.

"Do y' have family waiting for y' chére?"

At her bemused look, he added with a squeeze of her hand for encouragement.

"How many in y' family?"

She hesitated. He would've been shocked if she hadn't hesitated before replying.

"There's mah father, my two older brothers and my sister and her husband."

She kept the answer truthful but non-detailed. Still, he couldn't help the smile as he replied teasingly.

"A fellow bebe of the clan huh?"

"Ya the youngest in your lot?"

"Mais I have a large extended family. More dan most can boast of dese days. Mon famillie is a little…"

He flailed for a word to encompass the craziness that was his large family of thieves.

"…Eccentric. Close, but crazy."

A small smile perked in the corner of her lips.

"Ah envy ya. Mah family isn't exactly…close knitted."

"Why is dat?"

He began stroking the back of her hand as he held it between them. He felt her pulse was still thrumming with tension as she spoke but her anxiety was waning in the midst of their conversation.

"Mah father re-married by the tahme ah came along. He already had mah step-siblings who are twelve years older than meh. And mah mother already had a grown son when she married him. Mah eldest brother- Kurt, he's seventeen years older than me... he refers to be as his baby sister. Ah used t' hate bein' called that but right now… ah don't mind it so much."

Rogue bit her lower lip as a sinking feeling overcame her at the thought of her favourite brother. Ah'd give anything t' hear him say that right now.

The low whistle that escaped him broke through her saddened thoughts.

"Y' Mere must have had her hands full wit' three teenagers et a petite bebe."

A small sniff of amusement in the dark was her only response, so he asked. Curiosity killed the cat…

"Were y' a little hell raiser?"

"Ah remember mah brother tellin' meh once that ah was a bossy little brat. But if ah remember right, he wasn't a golden boy himself."

A chuckle escaped him as his thoughts drifted back to the little girl who told him she liked his eyes, said they were beautiful and laughed at the oversized coat that had practically drowned his eight-year-old body. Somehow the word brat didn't fit her, nevertheless, he teased.

"A woman who can contend wit' such a petite fille as y' describe must be a remarkable one herself."

Rogue nodded quietly but he felt the sudden bout of sadness that slipped between the cracks of her current mood. He couldn't help his next question.

"What happened t' her chére?"

She turned her gaze to their interlocked hands, refusing to meet his eyes even in the dark.

"Ah know ya just started this t' try and distract meh from what's happening but… ah don't talk about mah mother with anyone. Ah…Ah can't."

He squeezed her hand apologetically.

"Desole. I-"

That rumbling noise above sounded louder suddenly, causing them both to stop and listen as the sound thrummed through the walls of the pod. The seconds ticked by at a slow, sluggish pace. Each second packed with an abundance of cold anxiety pumping through their veins, setting their hearts at a rapid pace as they waited for something to happen…for the worst to happen. Gambit was never a nervous individual, but the sweat trickling down his brow made him wonder if this was his one and only instance. Rogue's hand clamping hold of his was the only thing that kept him on track in the endless minutes that followed the thundering feet of the monstrosities above.

Sentinel patrols; the very doom of Apocalypse' forces. The Sentinels machines had once been a machine made by the humans to decimate the 'mutant threat' in the early days. Now, with Apocalypse at the helm, they hunted both mutant and humans alike. There wasn't a place to run or hide from their DNA sensors. Well, except for a protection pod made of the very same programming and metal structure as the Sentinels themselves. But Rogue had been right. They couldn't outlast them in the pod forever. Gambit had no doubt that the Sentinels were now searching through the forest for people fleeing the city and that it would make it almost impossible to move onwards without being caught. Their chances of survival were dwindling quicker than he had anticipated. But if he couldn't smuggle them out of harm's way… then he would never hear the end of it from his family. A thief caught was a reputation worse than death in his world. And he had no intention of risking such an embarrassment. A low chuckle pained his chest. To think he was thinking of being embarrassed about being caught when they could very well end up dead in the next few minutes…

It was with that morbid thought that his gaze slipped back to the woman who was to be his wife. He sent a silent prayer to the universe. He would not live with himself if she died because of his own inability to keep them both alive long enough to walk down the isle.

Minutes passed and the thundering sound above became fainter, as if moving away from them. With a sigh of relief, Remy slumped back against the wall and let his head tip back as he uttered a quick thank you in French. Rogue felt a deep breath she had been holding finally give way. Though she felt only a slight sense of relief, the fact they weren't being torn out of the ground from above was a fairly good indication that Gambit had been right. And it was on that thought, she realised she had been holding said man's hand in a vice-like hold ever since they got into the pod. Flushing, Rogue began to dislodge her hand from his grasp…but he didn't let her go. Looking up, she found him studying her closely. Those warm eyes seemed to glow even in the dim blue light. That feeling she had felt in the minute leading up to the kissearlier returned with full effect. She couldn't explain her attraction to this man, only that if they lived through the night, there wasn't anyone else she could think of to be with at this moment. Rogue couldn't help the feeling that she would be kicking herself for this later but…

"Gambit ah…"

She swallowed hard, trying to remember his words from earlier about respecting each other too much to do something crazy like this. But a minute later, she decided that there were worse things to do when their lives were so perilously close to the edge of the knife.

Closing the gap between them, her lips pressed gently against his, her free hand reaching for his neck to draw him close. He barely resisted the action before his mouth returned the kiss with full-force- only for her to draw away a few moments later, rendering him speechless. Her kiss-swollen lips panted deep breaths as she stared back at him with a look that left him lost for words. Finally, she managed to form a response.

"That was for… distracting meh, earlier. Ah needed that."

He managed a gentle nod before righting himself to stand in their cramped surroundings. With a deep exhale of air, he pushed the pod door open and they began their ascent into the tunnel outside. His hand subconsciously grasped hers as he led the way.

XXX

More to come soon!