Previously on Ordinary People. Dawn and Will manage to escape, but they still find themselves in a strange forest with nowhere to hide. The trap set by Inspector Brown and Kelsey Walters of the Government's Secret Service failed to arrest Sarah and Tara and Casey and Alec find themselves in a heated battle.
And tonight an ordinary person will meet fate…
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR "LIONS ROAR"
"No matter how much I want it to, I know nothing will change. People die. There's nothing I can do about it. I've seen too much already. Too many deaths. Too many broken hearts. It's frightening to know that it won't stop. It's still going to be there when I go to sleep and it's still going to be there when I wake up. They are the more advanced species. They are the stronger breed. But even lions roar when they're threatened. And even they can't change our futures." – The Narrator
(Dawn Freeman – Unknown)
The sky had a pinkish hue as the morning rose up into the day. The clouds reflected the sun's brilliance. Silhouettes of white shapes drifted across the blue. Dawn flew over the mysterious forest. Green and brown passed beneath her. Endless trees floated by in the valley that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. In the distance she saw what looked like the skyline of buildings along with a large body of water, so she decided to head in that direction.
Dawn mused to herself about the people reading about her life and how they were doing when she suddenly rammed into something very hard and very invisible.
She fell down to the forest below and went unconscious.
(Alec and Casey – Subway Station)
Wayne stood in front of his two captives. Hardly a scratch on him. He cracked his knuckles. A staunch expression on his face. A few soldiers were taken away for medical attention, but the majority remained where they were. Pointing their weapons at them. All rifles clicked. All targeting systems locked. The soldiers waited for a move.
Alec kneeled on the ground. His wrists locked in handcuffs. A bruise on his forearm. The purple circle hurt, but he didn't show his pain. The bottom lip was split and blood coagulated in the corner around the wound. His cheeks hurt too. Too many rifle butts to the face. He looked down. Silently wishing that everything would disappear. Silently hoping that everything was a bad dream.
Casey nudged him.
He looked her.
She winked. "Don't worry," she whispered. "We'll get out of this. Just follow my lead."
(Sarah and Tara – Sarah's Apartment)
Tara kicked the wall in misplaced anger. "Damn it, Sarah! You should've let me punch one of them!"
"You did punch one of them."
"But I didn't get to beat him up."
Sarah sighed. "You sure you don't want to sit down? You're not lightheaded? Need some water?"
"I'm fine."
"You're angry. You need to sit down."
Tara knew that Sarah was right. But she didn't want to admit it. She stomped towards the bed where she sat. Making as much noise as she could. There was a lot of misplaced anger within her heart. Having someone who constantly reminded her of her father only made it worse.
The bed was softer than she expected. She sat down in the comfort, running her hand across the surface, taking in the relaxation it gave her. She was still angry. But it was hard to stay that way when she felt so comfortable.
Sarah nodded her head. "Better?"
"No," she replied, lying back. She put her arm behind her head as a substitute for a pillow. Cool air blew in through the open window. The early sunlight of the rising morning crept up the blanket and onto her face. She closed her eyes to block the rays from blinding her. She sighed. "What was father like before he died?" she mused into the wind.
"What do you mean?"
"I bet he told some boring story about what Grandpa used to tell him," she chuckled to herself. "He did that a lot."
Sarah smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, he did."
The Secret Service Agent took a deep breath. There were two options that he could do. Interrogate them then and there or take them in for processing. Either way, he needed to make a decision fast. He needed information that they had. Wayne looked at her. And then to him. Sizing up the two of them. A young woman. Turned into water. A young man. Superhuman speed. Terrorists.
He crossed his arms, choosing his words carefully. "You were the ones who we attacked, aren't you?"
Alec looked down.
Casey glared defiantly at him.
"Did you go to 'The Mother' to change your appearances?"
Neither of them replied.
He kneeled down and looked at her. "I'm not the bad guy."
"Scab," she spat.
Wayne chuckled to himself.
"You're an evolved human just like us! And you work for The Government like a pet!" She stood up only to be knocked down by a rifle handle. She spat at his feet. "You're nothing but animals to them."
He nodded his head, as if he understood what she said. "I made a decision to serve my country. You have to understand: a terrorist is a terrorist. It doesn't matter if they are evolved or not. What matters is that they want to harm innocent people and harm my home."
"They use you to get us, and they feed you promises, but in the end, what do you think they're going to do to all of us? Do you think they'll just pat you on the head and tell you that you did a good job? They're going to kill you too. You and everyone else like you."
He stood up, adjusting his uniform as he did so.
Casey nudged Alec again and winked again.
Wayne nodded to the soldiers. "I can see that this is pointless. You will now be processed by The Government."
Her body became liquid and the handcuffs slipped off of her wrists.
Alec quickly stood up and charged his shoulder into the nearest soldier.
Casey lunged at a soldier, knocking him into the pillar behind him. She twisted around, brought her arms up and around; the forceful push of her aquatic limbs threw the soldiers that surrounded her backwards. She attacked anything that moved, using her power to cut, throw, or disarm them.
Alec, still handcuffed, had some trouble. He speedily dodged the close hand combat, but had little success throwing his own attacks. Awkwardly, he kicked at their knees or rammed them into the walls at incredible speeds.
Wayne, annoyed that they persisted in their attempts to escape, grabbed him by the shirt collar and threw Alec to the ground. He kicked him in the face. He pointed his finger and fired a laser beam.
Alec jumped in the air and brought his hands out from behind his back. The laser beam struck the handcuffs, cutting the chain in half. Glad to have his arms back, Alec moved in.
Wayne blocked a punch. Kneed him in the stomach. Shot him with laser blast. The young man tried to fight back, but with his inexperience and with Wayne's superior skill, the battle was more like a beating.
Casey smashed her fist into a soldier's head. Her opponents were down. But Alec was in peril.
She closed her fingers into a fist. Anger. A cold, hard coating of water surrounded her skin. Quietly, she snuck up behind him and struck the secret agent in the back before he could beat Alec any more.
She swung her fist again and punched the surprised man in the face.
"Alec!" she commanded. "Get us out of here!"
He regained his balance.
Wayne swung his arms and caught her chin. With his leg he pushed her to the ground. He put his hands together. A bright white light emanated from the space between his palms. A powerful blast of energy unleashed itself at her.
Alec sped into overdrive.
He grabbed Casey as the photonic blast crumbled the wall behind her.
Wayne saw her one second and in the next she was gone. He looked around the empty subway station. Fallen soldiers. And a pair of empty handcuffs.
He opened the com-link on his wrist. "Kelsey, what's your status?"
Static. Coughing. She sounded like she was coughing. "Two of them showed up, but they," she coughed again, "but they got away."
"There are possibly two more coming your way. Keep your eyes open."
A sound to the left.
"Wake him up."
Dawn stirred. She felt something hard against her back. It was coarse, with little bumps and ridges poking her skin. Something rough was against her arms. It felt like rope. Itchy rope. She kept her eyes closed. Taking in the sounds of her surroundings. Someone was having a conversation with someone else.
"Wake him up," the voice said again.
"What are we going to do when he does?" said a new voice.
"We'll figure it out when he wakes up," said another. "Wake him up."
She felt a blunt object jab her shoulder. She opened her eyes. Four individuals stood in front of her. Two men and two women. They were dressed in an odd arrangement of dirty clothes, most of which were green or brown, and leaves or branches from the surrounding forest.
The man who had poked her had long black hair that hung partially over his ears and curled on his neck. A childish face and a round, plump figure. A man next to him had curly light brown hair. He had a strong jaw line with stubble infesting his chin. The first woman had long black hair that extended past her shoulders. Her nose was a little bit rounded at the tip. Soft complexion. Soft eyes. The young girl beside her had long brown hair. Parted on the side, a partial amount covered the left side of her face.
Instinctively, she broke the bonds and grabbed the weapon. Snatching it away from the owner. Dawn twirled the stick between her fingers, grinning childishly. She looked at the man who had jabbed her with it. "Would this be yours, He-Man?"
One of the women brought her hands up and a force field surrounded her so that she couldn't escape.
Dawn tapped the invisible barrier with the stick to test its strength. It seemed pretty strong. She whistled in awe. "Nice trick."
"Who are you?!" the man who she had called 'He-Man' commanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she retorted.
"You'd better talk."
"Or what?" She shot back. "I took your stupid stick away." Dawn smiled to The Readers. "I love being a bad ass."
The man who had poked her turned to the woman who had put up the force field. "Put it down. Let me have a piece of him."
"Calm down, Manuel," she said.
Dawn grinned. "Yeah, Mitch. Calm down."
He turned to her again. Furious. "Shut up. What is your objective?!"
"You just told me to shut up. I can't talk."
"Listen, you piece of sh-"
"It's obvious that intimidation isn't going to work," the other man interrupted Manuel. He snapped his fingers, creating the spark for a small ball of fire. It floated above his fingernail. "But maybe this will."
Dawn shrugged. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't. It depends what you want to know. If you're gonna bring me into The Dark Room like those other guys, then I highly suggest you get it over with." She crossed her arms. "I'm not telling you what I don't know."
The woman lowered her arms and the force field between Dawn and the two men fell.
The fire manipulator turned around. "What'd you do that for?"
"He obviously doesn't work for The Government."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He thought we were going to bring him into The Dark Room. He must have been the one who set off the alarm earlier."
"I was the one who set off the alarm!" Dawn said enthusiastically. "You're good."
The woman outstretched her hand. "I'm Jeanette. The man to your left is Manuel. Next to him is Philip. And this is Lacie."
"Nice to meet you all."
Manuel crossed his arms and nodded his head in acknowledgment. Philip shook her hand, a half convinced apologetic expression on his face, and so did Lacie. Jeanette smiled. "I must apologize for tying you up like that, but we had to make sure you weren't one of The Government's pets."
"Why? Who are you people?"
"We're part of an underground organization called The United. We are a group of evolved humans who've escape the military base that you also escaped from. Our sole purpose is to bring down The Government and everything it stands for."
She laughed. "I don't think four people counts as an organization."
"There's a lot more of us. Lacie?"
A milky white film covered the young girl's eyes. The trees and the bushes. The rocks and the dirt. The images shimmered like a warped painting to reveal people standing behind them. Every single one of them were dressed in camouflage like the original four.
It was a small army.
"Whoa," Dawn said.
"We also recruit soldiers to our ranks," Jeanette added.
"That was cool. Is that her power?"
Lacie nodded, gently flipping her hair out of her face. "I can camouflage myself or others in the immediate surrounding. It's useful when there's a large group of people that need to be hidden."
Philip smiled at the awe-struck woman. "We're always looking for new soldiers, if you're interested, mister?"
"Oh," she laughed, "I never gave my name, how rude of me. My name is Dawn, but this isn't my body." She un-possessed Will. "It's his." Will's body fell to the ground. She put her arm underneath his and supported his weight. He was still unconscious. She looked down at the body that she was in. Mr. Blaire's suit crinkled a little. Dawn chuckled. "Sorry, this isn't my body either and I'd leave it, but he's sort of a bad guy, so I don't want to risk anything. Besides," she smiled, "he has an awesome power. I'd like to toy with it a little."
Philip looked at his companions. Confused, but genuinely entertained. He smiled. "We both have a lot of things to explain."
A silence filled in between the two. Their minds slowly turned. They remembered Mike. His face. His mannerisms. Every aspect about him drifted through their eyes.
"How did you find out he died?" Sarah asked.
"He told us to wait at the diner," she said. She remembered it vividly. The memory seared in place. "We waited there for a long time, but then Justin got us into some trouble. We left the diner because he needed medical attention… We were at the hospital for at least three days. He never called us. We never got a word of where he was. Then we heard about the explosion in New York. It was all over the news. In the papers. Danny and I assumed that the both of you died in the explosion. And… that was it."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"How did he really die?"
Sarah swallowed what was left of saliva in her dry mouth. She took a deep breath. "I wanted him to stay with me. I asked him to stay with me because I didn't want to be alone. I didn't think I could handle it. We got closer to where he was going to drop me off when a police barricade stopped us. He told me to turn myself in. I agreed. When we got out some trigger happy kid shot him. Just like that. He was the only person that was innocent and he was the one who died. He told me that I had a choice. To make the right one. Even as he died, he wasn't thinking of himself."
"That sounds like Dad," she said with a smile.
"He was a great man."
Tara's lips moved, rambling words into space. "He was the most important person to me… I trusted him with anything. But… there was no one to trust anymore. I had to rely on myself."
She looked at the young woman, making sure that she had eye contact. "You may think hiding away in your little shell is the safest option for you, but it's not. Nothing good can come from thinking only about yourself. Me, me ,me, it can't be that way. That's how I used to be. I hunt down the criminals of this city because they don't respect that. They kill. They break the law for selfish reasons and they need to be punished. I'm thinking about the welfare of the city. I'm not the selfish person I used to be. Your father taught me that."
All the talk about her father brought back the old emotions. She looked at Sarah. The corner of her lip curling down. Tara couldn't help but say what was on her mind. "You taught me something too, Sarah."
Sarah nodded her head. "What was that?"
"You taught me not to trust in strangers." A sharp edge to her voice.
"I can't change the past, Tara. Accept it."
"I can't accept it, Sarah! You took away my dad!"
"I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. You need to stop blaming me for what happened."
"Why? Why do I need to stop blaming you?"
"Do you know what's happening?!" Sarah grabbed her shoulders and shook her, looking deep into her eyes. Tara's response was silence. The Guardian Angel sighed and turned to the window. She looked at the city. Her city. Somberly, she shook her head. "A war is coming, Tara. A war is coming and people are going to die."
"How do you know that?"
"Look at the signs. There are people running around with power afraid of the other people who are even more scared with stronger power. The Government has a task force hunting evolved humans. There are terrorists destroying governmental facilities and fighting The System. How long do you think this will go on before someone takes it too far? Who's going to declare war first? Us or them?" Sarah turned back to the young woman on her bed. "People die in war, Tara. Your father was a casualty and I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do about. But I can do something about this. The war is going to happen and I'm not going to let my city get caught in the crossfire. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. If you want to go running around the streets by yourself looking for your friends, then go ahead. You think you can take care of yourself, then go."
Tara furled her eyebrows and stuck out her bottom lip. Her fingers clenched together to make a fist. She was so furious she couldn't speak. Sarah challenged the young woman. A stare down. It was frustrating how selfish she could be.
Static on the police scanner buzzed as another distress call came through and broke the silence. Sarah looked out at the city, letting the police officer reveal the rest of the message. Without a word she climbed out of the window and jumped out.
Tara sat very still. She reviewed the conversation in her head. Thinking about all of the things that made her angry. The young woman walked to the window, punched the glass and spit out to the street. Without a word, she went to the door and slammed it behind her.
New York City. A broken metropolis. An open wound. Melted concrete and incinerated wood. There was nothing left but memorials. Cemeteries. The entire city was a tombstone. A remembrance of death. Dark shadows of escaping pedestrians imprinted on the walls of standing buildings. Forever their lives stood immortal. A memory to the destruction that many people lost their lives on that day.
Alec didn't know where else to go. He ran to it. He didn't expect to see what he saw. Gently, he put Casey down, supporting her weight as he did so. Together they looked up.
He was almost speechless.
"Why did you take us here?"
He looked on. Dumbfounded. "I don't know. It was the only place I could think of and we were close anyway… this used to be my home."
Casey grabbed his hand and walked towards Ground Zero. "This used to be a lot of people's homes."
"Why did this happen?"
"No one really knows. The media blamed it on a man named Sylar."
"Who?"
"A serial killer. He must have died in the explosion."
They found a small area where they could hide amongst the ruins. Casey sat down first, followed by Alec who was still amazed by the entire sight. He connected in his mind what could have happened. Bomb explodes. People need help. Men and woman reveal their powers to help. Government becomes afraid of the new phenomena. Government puts the country in a State of Emergency. Evolved Humans are targeted as potential terrorists. Casey and her team try to free the captives and tries to fight back. The Government sends in their task force to stop them. And that all leads to where they are now. Hiding underneath a charred building, the top portion gone, crumbled under its own pressure.
He looked down at his shaking hands. He stuffed them in his pockets. "Have you ever wondered what our lives could have been like if we never had powers?"
"No," Casey said. "Not really."
"We wouldn't be running from The Secret Service."
"Yeah," she agreed.
"I'd probably be working in some business office."
"You would not."
Alec grinned. "You'd be some great politician or something."
"I wanted to be a teacher when we were in High School."
"You'd make a good teacher."
"I can't see you working in a cubicle."
He laughed. She chuckled.
Casey looked down. They talked about what could have happened like it would. But the sad realization was that nothing would be the same. Their dreams of possibilities were broken like the decaying city.
"We need to leave the country," Alec said. "If we want to survive we need to leave the country."
"What about everyone else? Will? Dawn? Danny? He's still out there somewhere."
"We can come back for them. But right now, we're being hunted. We can't rescue your friends when we got targets on our backs. The best thing to do is to lay low and think of a plan and then we can find everyone else."
Casey looked at him. This was the first time in a long time that he took a stand and said what he wanted. He wasn't the lost soul he was in the subway station. He looked resolved. He looked confident that he was making the right choice. She nodded her head. "Okay. But we have to leave now."
Alec nodded his head. And stood up.
A gun shot.
Alec's head whipped back. Blood spurting out of his temple like a water fountain. Casey screamed in horror. Dotted red splats spilled over her body. Her face became stained with red. Without a sound he fell to the floor.
She turned her head to see a sniper hiding in the New York City debris.
Another gun shot.
Continued…
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