Pt. 2!
She hadn't moved in 4 hours.
She was sitting on a makeshift cot, staring off into space, tears in her eyes. Her temples were still fiery red with painful-looking veins spreading to her eyes and her cheeks. Now she had begun to rock back and forth slightly, still muttering blank apologies under her breath.
"You found her like this?"
Marcos, John, and Lorna stood observing Clarice, her pale face bringing concerned looks from almost everyone in the Underground. Marcos had stepped up and waved a hand in front of Clarice's face. She didn't even register the movement.
"Yeah," John said, "This other mutant was doing something to her. When they saw me, they ran. And when I got to Clarice she was...like this."
"I don't understand," Lorna started, "The dude who did this just disappeared?"
John sighed. He didn't understand either. "They just dropped into the ground. It was almost like they got sucked in."
"I've heard of mutants who can alter the density and materials, make things like stone liquified. Maybe that's what we're dealing with."
"Maybe," John's eyes stayed on Clarice's rocking form.
"We'll talk to Sage. See if she's heard about any mutant with those abilities in the network," Marcos said before he and Lorna walked away.
He made his way over to her, kneeling so they were face to face. Placing a gentle hand on her cheek, his finger brushed up against the red spreading from her temples. It was hot to the touch.
"Lily, it was all my fault…" Clarice murmured shakily, "It's all my fault."
Lily? Who's Lily?
"Her mind is troubled."
John whipped his head around to find a pale blue face with deep black eyes as dark as that night sky. Thick black hair draped itself over her shoulder as she crossed her arms self consciously over her stomach.
"Her mind is troubled," she repeated, gesturing to Clarice.
John furrowed his brows after staring at her for a moment longer. She was a refugee from across the border. A thick accent lied in her words as she spoke. His eyes darted between her and Clarice.
"What do you mean her mind is troubled?"
The mutant took a tentative step forward. "I—her brain is scrambled. Bad memories are at the forefront of her mind. Painful memories."
John looked back at Clarice once more before turning back to the mutant. "What's your—"
"Emil." She blurted out, "My name is Emil. Sorry. I didn't mean to read your mind or hers but strong emotions are emanating from the two of you. It was out of my control."
An empath and telepath. It's an impressive combination. A dangerous one.
"No, that's okay. Do you know what type of memories she's seeing right now?"
Emil shifted her gaze to Clarice and gasped, her dark eyes somehow getting darker. "Bad ones."
"What do you mean?"
Emil shuffled on the balls of her feet. "I don't know if I should say—"
"Please don't hurt us," Clarice trembled.
John's head snapped back to look at Clarice, his brows furrowed. Clarice's figure began to shake as she bit down hard on her lip. Her breath picked up as a lonesome tear rolled down her cheek.
"Emil, was it?" John started, his tone slightly darker and more desperate than before. "I don't know what's wrong with her. I need to know what's going on. Can you help me?"
"I—" Emil looked conflicted, "I don't like invading peoples' minds without their permission. It's wrong. It's harmful."
"I'm telling you right now, kid, you will be doing more good than harm."
Emil took one last look at Clarice before inhaling deeply and making her over to the shaking woman. She placed her hands on Clarice's pale cheeks, just below the fiery veins. A few seconds passed before the whites of her eyes turned as dark as the iris'.
"I cannot guarantee anything good will come out of this," Emil spoke sternly.
John nodded absentmindedly. He watched to see if Clarice had any reaction to Emil's influence.
"I see...a building. A house, I think," John perked up. "She's in a room with another girl and...a man. The...the man has a…"
Emil trailed off, her eyes narrowing. Clarice's trembles became much more prominent.
"What? The man has what?" John stood up and moved to the side and just behind Emil.
"Gun," Clarice whispered.
With that, Emil ripped her hands away from Clarice's face with a gasp. She stumbled into John's hard chest, his arms steadying her. John looked over her head to see that the fiery marks on either side of Clarice's face spread about an inch past the corner of her eyes.
"What?" John spun Emil around so she could face him. "What did you see?"
Emil kept her eyes shut, her head shaking back and forth and lips pressed tightly together.
"John?" Lorna's voice sounded from behind them, her steps hastened. Marcos was close on her heels. "What's going on?"
John didn't look back to face her. He placed his hands on Emil's shoulder, squeezing carefully in order not to hurt her but tight enough to urge her to look at him. "Emil? What did you see?"
The empath's dark eyes met his, shining with concern and seriousness.
"You need to get inside her mind."
Oop how yall liking this plot? I found it a little iffy at first but i'm kind of enjoying writing this. As usual, i didnt proofread but i think everything is mostly grammatically correct. R&R!