Chapter 37 Closer to Freedom
Logan, unlike Rogue only had one Sentinel to take care off. Rogue had been worried that the security would be increased since her escape, but it hadn't been.
But still one sentinel, would be tough even for Logan.The first thing he had to do was approach the metal beast without being detected. That was the easy part. He was now standing behind it. He released his claws, the sound nearly deafening to his ears, especially when he was desiring silence.
The sentinel picked it up, turned it's red lights on and started searching the ground where the noise had come from. But he was now ready. Logan jumped on the oversized right leg of the metal giant, his claws digging in all the way. He did that over and over, until the leg was practically shredded.
The sentinel started to fall over, Logan jumped and rolled out of the way. The metal mutant hater landed, the crash making him wish that he didn't have super sensitive hearing. Using his claws once again he dug into the downed sentinel, this time using them as leverage to help him get up on the oversized robot.
He reached the top quickly, jumped up and started running to the sentinel's face. It's lights were still on and the thing was trying to sit up.
But Logan would have none of that. He jumped with a howl of pleasure and let his claws rip through the robot's sensory devices, not stopping until the lights dimmed and them turned off completely.
Everything took less than a minute and a half. The sentinel was now a junk pile. And it never had a chance to sound the alarm. But Logan heard something he wasn't wanting to hear. Something unexpected.
Voices. And they were coming closer. Obviously they had heard something and where coming to investigate. Fortunately they hadn't sounded the alarm.
Walking quickly to the edge of the sentinel he flipped off and over, at the same time he retracted his claws so that he could grab on a tree branch, he held onto it for a couple seconds, listened with his ears and then let go.
Logan now had less than a minute to get inside the compound and deter the guards from sounding the alarm or from seeing the sentinel. But that would be no problem for Logan, In fact it was going to be pure pleasure.
One bloody nose, a broken arm, and a broken jaw later.. none his... Logan was done with the guards and was heading north. Toward the mutant area. He was met with no interference, and the only sound he heard at the moment was his own beating heart.
Arriving at the designated area, he smelled her before he saw her. But then found her with his eyes. Rogue was leaning against the back of a building looking right at him. She was quite pleased to see him and didn't bother to hide it.
"Been waitin' long?"
"Nah, just arrived about a minute ago... I see that it went well.." she motioned with her head to indicate the still quite camp.
"The danger room simulation was harder." Logan said, offering her a toothy grin.
She frowned at that already lost in what they were about to do. "It's not over yet.. are y'ready Logan?"
"Which one first?" He said looking around him.
She pointed at the building she had been leaning against.
"This one was Scott's, we'll free them first."
"Anything you say darlin"
She walked up to the door. Looked back at Logan and after he nodded her head letting her know that no guards were in the immediate area, Rogue brought back her fist. And put it right through the door.
Ripping it off its hinges she threw it behind her and past Logan. The sound of shocked voices was louder than the metal door hitting the cemented ground.
Logan and Rogue walked through the doorway at nearly the same time. What they saw was saddening. Scared people huddled on the floor and beds, their worried faces betraying their fear of what they thought was going to come. The small building was so full of mutants that they could hardly walk past the doorway without bumping into anyone.
Logan smelled more dirty people than he had in his life, their unwashed bodies so potent that he was sure even Marie could pick up the smell. He also heard grumbling of stomachs and the ever present beeping of the suppression collars that was so loud it hurt his ears.
But they were there to change that.
Rogue took a couple steps forward, a moonbeam coming through a window making her nearly shine in the dark, it also amplified her strips of white hair.
And then a small voice cried out.
"Momma that is Rogue, she's come to rescue us!" Logan found the owners voice, a small boy of about seven who was sitting up in bed, his mother behind him holding onto him from behind.
There were loud murmurings after that. And Logan picked up a few stray words.
"It can't be possible."
"Then Why is she with a guard?"
"Who is that man with her?"
"Can it be true?"
A old man who looked to be the leader, got up slowly out of a bed and approached Rogue cautiously. His eyes not leaving her face. He motioned for everyone to be silent, the voices quieted down. Until only a few stray whispers were heard.
"Is this true, are you here to free us?"
"Yes, we both are," Rogue was still looking around the room obviously searching for Scott. "Where's Scott Summers?"
The man suddenly looked down and then behind him, his eyes resting on a young blond's face for support.
"Go ahead father tell her." his daughter urged him.
He turned back around.
"They took him two days ago, nobody has seen him since... I'm afraid the rumors are that he has been killed."
His words were soft yet reluctant, and Logan heard a trace of fear also interlaced in the words.
Rogue stood there in silence looking at the man, her shoulders suddenly fell and for a moment Logan thought she was going to scream. But in the time it took him to walk up behind her and put a supportive hand on her shoulder Rogue was already regaining her composure.
She looked behind Logan, gave him a sad look, and then turned back around, before she did he saw determination replace her despair and knew action was about to come.
His hand fell off her shoulder as Rogue took a couple more steps into the crowd. A quite bold move for the girl that was afraid to be touched. Even if she was nearly totally covered.
"We haven't much time," she pulled a small object out of her pocket and indicated for the man to come toward her "we have a key, we can remove your collars." She placed the key in the mans collar and removed it, then motioned for the daughter to come up behind him to help him. "Removing the collars is painful, but the feeling will pass." During those words that man started to shake violently, but is stopped before he lost his footing and fell to the ground. The man then told his daughter to go toward Rogue she removed the woman's collar as well and then when the man regained control of himself and his daughter she handed him the key. He then started to unlock people's collars one after the other. Some people had more violent tremors than others, probably due to them being there longer. Both Logan and Marie helped where they could, others joining in as they were released from the power inhibiting collar.
But it was taking too long, they only had one key, and there was at least a hundred people, in that building alone. And more buildings full of powerless mutants.
"What do we do now?" Someone suddenly shouted across the room at Logan and Rogue.
"What do you think?" Logan grunted, he then released his claws, "You fight till your free!"
And that is when the lights turned on, the surrounding compound lit up and the alarm sounded. Rogue, who had been attending a young girl who was shaking lightly on the ground caught Logan's eyes. He raced to the door and listened attentively. At first he didn't hear anything but then the noises in the night air picked up. And what he heard wasn't good.
It sounded as if an army was forming. A Large army. Logan suddenly had an itching to be part of the coming action. He realized that Rogue was beside him, and she seemed to sense his feelings.
"We can't leave yet Logan, not enough people are free."
But that wasn't all that was on Logan's mind.
"If we didn't sound the alarm who did?"
"I'm not quite sure."
"But you think you know."
"Yes."
Before she could tell him the leader came up behind them.
"We have freed about forty people, at least twenty three are able and willing to fight." He indicated to a small crowd of people that were behind him.
"I Believe it is time for us to go out there.. right now.. the rest can follow as they are freed."
"Why is that?" Logan asked his voice moderately calm for him.
"Because Samantha who is a telepath," he motioned toward a woman who was about fifty, her once grand motherly face now scarred on the right side of her face. "says that there are more free mutants fighting the soldiers as we speak... and one of them is Scott... and they are outnumbered and in need of help."
"Scott! are you sure?" Rogue took a couple steps toward the identified telepath and waited for the woman to respond. The woman smiled meekly at Rogue and then shook her head in the affirmative.
Rogue's eyes started watering from her sudden happiness. Logan watched as she slowly realized that everybody's eyes were on her, waiting for her to say something. She wiped her tears on her sleeve, stood up a little straighter and then addressed the crowd. Her words started out soft almost shy but as they kept on coming so did her self confidence.
"This is it people, this is the chance y'have all been waitin' for, we may be outnumbered, the odds may seem against us, but we will succeed. If not through our newly re-gained mutant powers, than through our determination and the will to survive. Believe in yourself, count on each other, and this day will be ours."
Logan would have never known Marie as a leader, as a giver of speeches and a motivator of actions. But seeing it confirmed his beliefs that Marie was destined to do great things. To be an unforgettable person. Not just to him but the people that surrounded her.
The crowd started cheering, and looking at each other with sudden hope.
Rogue then took off flying out of the building and into the night sky, her body just a couple feet off the ground.
The people started to follow her.
Logan ran by her side.