Hi there! Chapter 5 is now up. Please, review, review, review! ~~~~ means a flashback. ** means thoughts. ------ means a time lapse.
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Chapter 5: Clash
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The sun rose over the distant horizon, as it had for countless years. Outside, several jays twittered their morning songs. Not a single leaf twitched in the silent, cool air. While the rest of the world was cheerfully beginning its daily routine, one room in a peaceful mansion remained perfectly quiet. Inside, as a few lone rays of light creeped into the open window, a still figure stood in the entrance.
Kitty exhaled as she leaned heavily against the doorway. She held back the water in her eyes while gazing around the silent room. The bed had been made neatly, but not by its owner. She forced a half smile at the crooked pillow. *He always used to leave it like that.* She tiptoed into the room, not daring to touch anything as if it would break at her fingertips. She straightened the pillow and noticed a few stray blue hairs float up into the air. "Kurt, I told you that you were shedding." She looked up, waiting for a response, but found none. She sighed once more as she gently sat down on his bed and pulled her knees to her chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mansion was dark and still, aside from an occasional flash of lightning. It was well past midnight, the day that everyone had come back from the beach. At the realization of Kurt's disappearance, every one had gone into a panic. Logan was out looking even at this time in the night- and Kitty was one of the only occupants of the house awake. She had sneaked down the hallway when she heard the front door open. She ducked behind the stairs and listened to the scene below.
"Logan, did you find anything?" He had walked in slightly hanging his head, drenched with rain. The Professor had wheeled up to him and handed over a towel.
"Charles, that kid is no where. I finally got some tracks going up to the county road 5 when I found the van."
"Was it stopped by the side of the road?"
"Oh, it was stopped- just not in a good way." Logan sat down on the couch while rubbing the towel through his hair. "The van was mauled."
By now, Kitty had tiptoed down the stairs and was listening from outside the living room.
"There was blood on the steering wheel and some down by the pedals. It looks like he slammed into a tree.. but the car was straight in the middle of the road. No spin marks or anything.." Charles put his chin on his hands as he tried to imagine the situation.
"I suspect that he banged his head on the wheel when he braked. The crash pushed the pedals back and may have cut or even broken his foot."
"You couldn't see any tracks leading away?" Logan shook his head slowly.
"No- if it wasn't for this damn rain, I might have been able to smell him or follow the tracks." He banged his fist on the table in frustration as Professor X calmly held out his hand to calm Logan. "We'll find him. If we have to put his picture on the news, that must be a last resort."
Kitty held her breath as she let the crash scene sink in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She blinked several times to hold back the tears, but to no avail. When she leaned back onto the bed, she hit his radio remote and a Beatles song came on. That was simply too much. "Kurt..w-why did we have to fight? The day before th-that happened?" What she wouldn't give to see him here, living and walking, laughing and smiling. Her thoughts were interrupted as a 5 minute news brief came on.
"..and in national news, a strange phenomenon has been occurring in the vicinity of I-81. A series of small fault lines have suddenly and unexplainably appeared in short intervals heading west. These small earthquakes have caused several pileups and a few hospitalizations. Scientists have tried to explain this odd-"
She didn't hear the rest as she hurriedly ran downstairs.
----------------------------------
Time had left. All sense of being had been reduced to sleeping and eating. Kurt's throbbing head wound wasn't healing much. It must have been more serious than he imagined. The rope around his wrist was beginning to make his skin raw, even through his fur. And, oddly, a sharp pain in his left foot had developed. Kurt raised his head slightly to check it. Yes, it was terribly swollen. Something deep inside him screamed for him to escape. *You have no idea where you are! These idiots might be lost themselves. But I don't have my watch- or my wallet! You can survive! Just port out of here! I might reappear in some cliff or something..* His mind argued with itself for quite some time before the pain in his foot forced him to want to escape.
"Sorry to pop out on you guys, but this road trip is just not for me." Toad had no time to react as Kurt was instantly replaced by a BAMF and a cloud of brimstone-smelling smoke.
"That fuzz freak is crazy!" Pietro had turned around just in time to see him appear several hundred feet away.
"Quick, pull over!"
BAMF! Kurt appeared about 50 feet above the ground- he didn't want to take any chances. In a second, he glanced around the country. Highway, plains, fields, mountains?! Kurt finally gained the strength to port again, except he forgot that he was still going almost 30 miles an hour. Slamming into the ground, he tumbled several feet before coming to a stop in some grass below the highway.
"He's down there! Pietro, get him!" In a flash, Quicksilver was at Kurt's side. "Now, I would have thought you knew better than that, Nightcrawler." Kurt's foot was screaming in pain at him. He weakly tried to focus on Pietro bending over him.
"Hey guys, he doesn't look too good.." Lance and Todd came down the slope and started to run toward Kurt. *Don't let them get you again. You've got to port.* His headache was only magnified by the use of his powers. He had to somehow teleport to just one last hiding place. In his mind, Kurt imagined the cornfield he had seen only moments before. *Concentrate..corn, yellow stalks, half a mile away..* BAMF!
"Hey!" Pietro fell back at the explosion of smoke. "Jesus, where did he go this time?" They listened for the sound of a returning bamf, but couldn't hear Kurt as he reappeared over 2000 feet away. "Aw, forget it. He's gone for good. Besides, he won't last long without this." Lance held up the precious watch, before walking back up to the van. The rest of the gang followed.
"Think he'll make it back to Westchester?" Toad was taking just the last couple of bills from the 'borrowed' wallet.
"Nah, the condition he's in, he won't last more than a day." The gang acted as if nothing had occurred, and they started the van to continue to California. Another car ran over a newly cracked watch dropped in the road.
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"Thank you for riding WesTrak, 'The Future Frontier Wagon.' We are happy to serve you. The train will be arriving in Denver shortly. Please refrain from getting up until the train has reached the station. Thank you!"
Remy was torn from his restless sleep at the cheerful announcement. "Remy paid a pretty penny for dis ride, an he don want a giddy voice in his ead when he's sleepin!" He stubbornly closed his eyes again after checking for the wad of bills deep in his pocket. It only seemed like a second before the train jerking to a stop shook him back to reality once more. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed his backpack and made a mad race off of the crowded train.
"Don't lose sight of him." Trek, Blaine, and Alek all watched Remy leap off the train as they followed him into the station.
Remy didn't look back as he wandered outside into the sunshine. In the distance, a tall mountain range lined the horizon. Above, large thunderheads were forming in the afternoon warmth. He glanced around at the nearer surroundings. The airport, DIA, could be seen several miles away. In the other direction, downtown Denver loomed into the sky. Straight north and south, there was almost nothing but plains."Well Rem, ere's de decision. East or west? 'ey, for all you know, dis could be the decision of a lifetime." He finally decided to turn east and head away from the mountains.
"There he is boys." Remy's followers had finally exited the station. Their target stood no more than a hundred feet ahead. "Remember what Mr. Kain said. A thousand a head, alive."
Remy began to round a corner when an all-too familiar hand gripped his coat. "You know, you guys really need a life. Followin' me all de way up here." The hand whipped him around before he could react. Trek was inches from his face.
"Why don't you remove those contacts?" As he said this, he pointed at the false brown eye color that hid Remy's ruby red eyes. Blaine and Alek held Gambit's arms as Trek showed a very tiny metalic claw. "Or should I help you?" The claw came centimeters in front of Remy's eyes, but he dared not to blink.
"Remy don know what you talkin about."
"Shut your trap, mutie. We know exactly what you are."
"You're one too, Blaine. I know it jus as well as you do. So why are you so intent in followin Remy?"
"Oh, no. You have it all wrong. We're not natural freaks. We were enhanced to find and kill defects like yourself."
Remy's eyes narrowed as he tried to read what Trek was thinking. However, Trek saw through the disguise and recognized his confusion.
"Haven't you ever heard of bounty hunters from Mu-Tech?"
------------------------
The gentle breeze rustled the corn stalks over Kurt's head. He had remained perfectly still for a half hour, afraid that if he moved, Pietro might come after him. He peeked through the edge of the corn. "The car's gone.." The sigh of relief was cut short by the streaking pain from his foot. Landing on the ground like that must have done something to it- perhaps it had been hurt all this time..
Above all, he wanted to find a phone. Or even tell where he was. He shakily stood up on one foot and peeked over the corn to gaze at the mountains. "Mountains? I've been in the freaking car for 3 days and they've barely brought me past the Appalachians?!" He suddenly took a closer look. The peaks on these mountains seemed sharper, taller. He had only lived in the country for 1 semester and wasn't familiar with western states or geography yet. But, he vaguely remembered a history lesson when Mrs. Malone showed a map. "The..Rocky Mountains. Stretching from Canada to Mexico.." Kurt now tried to picture what the US looked like. "East coast, Appalacians.." He imagined the gigantic area called the Great Plains that nearly stretched the length of Germany. "Plains..Rockies, west coast." He just wasn't used to comprehending such a great distance. "The Rockies are in the west. But which side of them are I on? Am I looking west over them toward the coast and California.. or am I looking east over them from California to the plains?" Kurt suddenly got this lost, disoriented feeling in his stomach. "Mein Gott, I have no idea where I am.."
The throbbing pain in his foot allowed him to distract his mind from this terrible fear of being alone.
The day was growing shorter, as light turned to dusk. Kurt had slept off and on in the cornfield, hoping that his pain would go away. His foot only looked worse.. he came to the conclusion that he must have broken something. The feeling in his gut didn't make anything better, either. He had no watch, no money, no way of calling home. People wouldn't exactly react kindly to a blue demon creature asking for a pay phone. At the moment, he was thankful to know what side of the mountains he was on. "Sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Who would've thought that such a simple saying vould turn everything around." He was unusally comforted to see the sun dipping down over the mountains. "So, I am on the side with the Great Plains. Now...all I have to do is figure out what state I'm in. Then find a town. Then get some change. Then go to a phone. All..while looking like this." He disgustedly kicked the dirt and sat down to stare at his hands. "Kurt, this vould be so much easier if you hadn't been born this way."
-----------------------------
It had all happened so quickly. Remy had raised both his feet and slammed into Trek as he attempted to use the claw. Trek's two comrades fell down to his side, forgetting for one faithful moment that Remy was free. They turned around only to see him running out onto the streets.
"Grab him, you can't let him get away!" As they pursued, all three of the hunters turned on their 'gear'. Blaine had previous operation that enhanced his sight to locate mutant skeletal structures. In a sense, he had his own x-ray vision in his eyes. He could also see in heat vision by the push of a button. Trek had high range sound system installed into his left ear, designed to tap into phone or radio conversations. It could even listen for the heavy breathing of a running target. Alek had the essential gear. His one amputated arm now functioned as a tranquilizer gun or gas sprayer. The three of them together made the perfect hunting team. Remy seemingly didn't stand a chance.
"Split up, keep radio contact! He cannot get far into the city!"Trek barked orders and they all ran down opposite alleys, going towards downtown Denver.
Remy's legs begged for him to stop running, but he knew he couldn't. If he was ever caught by Mu-Tech associates.. he just couldn't think about the lab now. "Okay Rem, dese guys know cities all too well. You gotta get to de country, outside of Denver."He rounded one last corner, before backtracking through an alley. "That should slow 'im." Finally, he tried to walk causally to blend in. Slowing his breathing, he calmly called for a cab.
"I don't hear him anywhere. The radar can't contact him in this crowd. Over."
"I had a visual for a moment. He's heading down 18th! Meet there!"
The hunters had lost their prey.
Night was well set in by the time Remy dared to leave the safety of the cab. He handed the driver a wad of bills and asked to be dropped off on the highway. With a tip, the driver happily obliged. He was now wandering aimlessly along the side of the road, figuring out what had happened that day. "De local bullies are more den jus bullies, non?" Looking down the fields, he spied a cornfield in the distance. "Per'aps not popcorn, but anything could work now." For effect, he patted his empty stomach. Without a second thought, Remy was going toward the field.
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Kurt's ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps. "Nein..nein..not now." The elf ducked lower into the brush, hoping to hide from whatever was coming his way. The dark figure loomed against the moonlight for a moment, before taking an ear of corn from the field and sitting down. *Great. How do I get out of this one?* He silently watched to see what the shadow was doing. It broke a few stalks of corn and seemed to be trying to light a match. When the flame caught the meager 'wood', it glowed higher and higher.
"Whoever's over there, you can stop hiding." Kurt jumped at the figure's sudden statement. "I know you're there." He hesitated. But that small fire looked so warm..
"Who are you?" Remy smiled when the shadow responded to him. "Name's Remy. We both seem to be in de same situation, so you might as well come over and elp wit dis fire." Kurt listened intently to his accent. He almost sounded southern, but French at the same time. Odd..
"I..don't think I should come out."
"Why not? Remy's too tired to do anyting to you."
"I'm.. not exactly what you would call people-friendly."
"Ah, a loner?"
"No, just a defect." Remy cocked his head at this familiar statement. *De ja vu..*
"Tell me..whoever you are.. how do you feel about mutants?" Kurt's eyes opened wider. What if this guy was trying to find out if he was one? What if he would kill him?
"..Mein foot is hurt. I fear it's broken." Remy nodded.
"..My legs are tired from running." Kurt watched him rub his hands together in the cold.
Both had come to a mutual understanding.
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So, what do you think? Please, please, please review! I have many reviews.. but all from the same people posting more than once. ^_^;; Not that it's bad, I just want to know who all is reading this. Continue, oui, non? ;) Thanks for reading so far! Chapter 6 will be up soon!
~Tikirz
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Chapter 5: Clash
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The sun rose over the distant horizon, as it had for countless years. Outside, several jays twittered their morning songs. Not a single leaf twitched in the silent, cool air. While the rest of the world was cheerfully beginning its daily routine, one room in a peaceful mansion remained perfectly quiet. Inside, as a few lone rays of light creeped into the open window, a still figure stood in the entrance.
Kitty exhaled as she leaned heavily against the doorway. She held back the water in her eyes while gazing around the silent room. The bed had been made neatly, but not by its owner. She forced a half smile at the crooked pillow. *He always used to leave it like that.* She tiptoed into the room, not daring to touch anything as if it would break at her fingertips. She straightened the pillow and noticed a few stray blue hairs float up into the air. "Kurt, I told you that you were shedding." She looked up, waiting for a response, but found none. She sighed once more as she gently sat down on his bed and pulled her knees to her chest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The mansion was dark and still, aside from an occasional flash of lightning. It was well past midnight, the day that everyone had come back from the beach. At the realization of Kurt's disappearance, every one had gone into a panic. Logan was out looking even at this time in the night- and Kitty was one of the only occupants of the house awake. She had sneaked down the hallway when she heard the front door open. She ducked behind the stairs and listened to the scene below.
"Logan, did you find anything?" He had walked in slightly hanging his head, drenched with rain. The Professor had wheeled up to him and handed over a towel.
"Charles, that kid is no where. I finally got some tracks going up to the county road 5 when I found the van."
"Was it stopped by the side of the road?"
"Oh, it was stopped- just not in a good way." Logan sat down on the couch while rubbing the towel through his hair. "The van was mauled."
By now, Kitty had tiptoed down the stairs and was listening from outside the living room.
"There was blood on the steering wheel and some down by the pedals. It looks like he slammed into a tree.. but the car was straight in the middle of the road. No spin marks or anything.." Charles put his chin on his hands as he tried to imagine the situation.
"I suspect that he banged his head on the wheel when he braked. The crash pushed the pedals back and may have cut or even broken his foot."
"You couldn't see any tracks leading away?" Logan shook his head slowly.
"No- if it wasn't for this damn rain, I might have been able to smell him or follow the tracks." He banged his fist on the table in frustration as Professor X calmly held out his hand to calm Logan. "We'll find him. If we have to put his picture on the news, that must be a last resort."
Kitty held her breath as she let the crash scene sink in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She blinked several times to hold back the tears, but to no avail. When she leaned back onto the bed, she hit his radio remote and a Beatles song came on. That was simply too much. "Kurt..w-why did we have to fight? The day before th-that happened?" What she wouldn't give to see him here, living and walking, laughing and smiling. Her thoughts were interrupted as a 5 minute news brief came on.
"..and in national news, a strange phenomenon has been occurring in the vicinity of I-81. A series of small fault lines have suddenly and unexplainably appeared in short intervals heading west. These small earthquakes have caused several pileups and a few hospitalizations. Scientists have tried to explain this odd-"
She didn't hear the rest as she hurriedly ran downstairs.
----------------------------------
Time had left. All sense of being had been reduced to sleeping and eating. Kurt's throbbing head wound wasn't healing much. It must have been more serious than he imagined. The rope around his wrist was beginning to make his skin raw, even through his fur. And, oddly, a sharp pain in his left foot had developed. Kurt raised his head slightly to check it. Yes, it was terribly swollen. Something deep inside him screamed for him to escape. *You have no idea where you are! These idiots might be lost themselves. But I don't have my watch- or my wallet! You can survive! Just port out of here! I might reappear in some cliff or something..* His mind argued with itself for quite some time before the pain in his foot forced him to want to escape.
"Sorry to pop out on you guys, but this road trip is just not for me." Toad had no time to react as Kurt was instantly replaced by a BAMF and a cloud of brimstone-smelling smoke.
"That fuzz freak is crazy!" Pietro had turned around just in time to see him appear several hundred feet away.
"Quick, pull over!"
BAMF! Kurt appeared about 50 feet above the ground- he didn't want to take any chances. In a second, he glanced around the country. Highway, plains, fields, mountains?! Kurt finally gained the strength to port again, except he forgot that he was still going almost 30 miles an hour. Slamming into the ground, he tumbled several feet before coming to a stop in some grass below the highway.
"He's down there! Pietro, get him!" In a flash, Quicksilver was at Kurt's side. "Now, I would have thought you knew better than that, Nightcrawler." Kurt's foot was screaming in pain at him. He weakly tried to focus on Pietro bending over him.
"Hey guys, he doesn't look too good.." Lance and Todd came down the slope and started to run toward Kurt. *Don't let them get you again. You've got to port.* His headache was only magnified by the use of his powers. He had to somehow teleport to just one last hiding place. In his mind, Kurt imagined the cornfield he had seen only moments before. *Concentrate..corn, yellow stalks, half a mile away..* BAMF!
"Hey!" Pietro fell back at the explosion of smoke. "Jesus, where did he go this time?" They listened for the sound of a returning bamf, but couldn't hear Kurt as he reappeared over 2000 feet away. "Aw, forget it. He's gone for good. Besides, he won't last long without this." Lance held up the precious watch, before walking back up to the van. The rest of the gang followed.
"Think he'll make it back to Westchester?" Toad was taking just the last couple of bills from the 'borrowed' wallet.
"Nah, the condition he's in, he won't last more than a day." The gang acted as if nothing had occurred, and they started the van to continue to California. Another car ran over a newly cracked watch dropped in the road.
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"Thank you for riding WesTrak, 'The Future Frontier Wagon.' We are happy to serve you. The train will be arriving in Denver shortly. Please refrain from getting up until the train has reached the station. Thank you!"
Remy was torn from his restless sleep at the cheerful announcement. "Remy paid a pretty penny for dis ride, an he don want a giddy voice in his ead when he's sleepin!" He stubbornly closed his eyes again after checking for the wad of bills deep in his pocket. It only seemed like a second before the train jerking to a stop shook him back to reality once more. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed his backpack and made a mad race off of the crowded train.
"Don't lose sight of him." Trek, Blaine, and Alek all watched Remy leap off the train as they followed him into the station.
Remy didn't look back as he wandered outside into the sunshine. In the distance, a tall mountain range lined the horizon. Above, large thunderheads were forming in the afternoon warmth. He glanced around at the nearer surroundings. The airport, DIA, could be seen several miles away. In the other direction, downtown Denver loomed into the sky. Straight north and south, there was almost nothing but plains."Well Rem, ere's de decision. East or west? 'ey, for all you know, dis could be the decision of a lifetime." He finally decided to turn east and head away from the mountains.
"There he is boys." Remy's followers had finally exited the station. Their target stood no more than a hundred feet ahead. "Remember what Mr. Kain said. A thousand a head, alive."
Remy began to round a corner when an all-too familiar hand gripped his coat. "You know, you guys really need a life. Followin' me all de way up here." The hand whipped him around before he could react. Trek was inches from his face.
"Why don't you remove those contacts?" As he said this, he pointed at the false brown eye color that hid Remy's ruby red eyes. Blaine and Alek held Gambit's arms as Trek showed a very tiny metalic claw. "Or should I help you?" The claw came centimeters in front of Remy's eyes, but he dared not to blink.
"Remy don know what you talkin about."
"Shut your trap, mutie. We know exactly what you are."
"You're one too, Blaine. I know it jus as well as you do. So why are you so intent in followin Remy?"
"Oh, no. You have it all wrong. We're not natural freaks. We were enhanced to find and kill defects like yourself."
Remy's eyes narrowed as he tried to read what Trek was thinking. However, Trek saw through the disguise and recognized his confusion.
"Haven't you ever heard of bounty hunters from Mu-Tech?"
------------------------
The gentle breeze rustled the corn stalks over Kurt's head. He had remained perfectly still for a half hour, afraid that if he moved, Pietro might come after him. He peeked through the edge of the corn. "The car's gone.." The sigh of relief was cut short by the streaking pain from his foot. Landing on the ground like that must have done something to it- perhaps it had been hurt all this time..
Above all, he wanted to find a phone. Or even tell where he was. He shakily stood up on one foot and peeked over the corn to gaze at the mountains. "Mountains? I've been in the freaking car for 3 days and they've barely brought me past the Appalachians?!" He suddenly took a closer look. The peaks on these mountains seemed sharper, taller. He had only lived in the country for 1 semester and wasn't familiar with western states or geography yet. But, he vaguely remembered a history lesson when Mrs. Malone showed a map. "The..Rocky Mountains. Stretching from Canada to Mexico.." Kurt now tried to picture what the US looked like. "East coast, Appalacians.." He imagined the gigantic area called the Great Plains that nearly stretched the length of Germany. "Plains..Rockies, west coast." He just wasn't used to comprehending such a great distance. "The Rockies are in the west. But which side of them are I on? Am I looking west over them toward the coast and California.. or am I looking east over them from California to the plains?" Kurt suddenly got this lost, disoriented feeling in his stomach. "Mein Gott, I have no idea where I am.."
The throbbing pain in his foot allowed him to distract his mind from this terrible fear of being alone.
The day was growing shorter, as light turned to dusk. Kurt had slept off and on in the cornfield, hoping that his pain would go away. His foot only looked worse.. he came to the conclusion that he must have broken something. The feeling in his gut didn't make anything better, either. He had no watch, no money, no way of calling home. People wouldn't exactly react kindly to a blue demon creature asking for a pay phone. At the moment, he was thankful to know what side of the mountains he was on. "Sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Who would've thought that such a simple saying vould turn everything around." He was unusally comforted to see the sun dipping down over the mountains. "So, I am on the side with the Great Plains. Now...all I have to do is figure out what state I'm in. Then find a town. Then get some change. Then go to a phone. All..while looking like this." He disgustedly kicked the dirt and sat down to stare at his hands. "Kurt, this vould be so much easier if you hadn't been born this way."
-----------------------------
It had all happened so quickly. Remy had raised both his feet and slammed into Trek as he attempted to use the claw. Trek's two comrades fell down to his side, forgetting for one faithful moment that Remy was free. They turned around only to see him running out onto the streets.
"Grab him, you can't let him get away!" As they pursued, all three of the hunters turned on their 'gear'. Blaine had previous operation that enhanced his sight to locate mutant skeletal structures. In a sense, he had his own x-ray vision in his eyes. He could also see in heat vision by the push of a button. Trek had high range sound system installed into his left ear, designed to tap into phone or radio conversations. It could even listen for the heavy breathing of a running target. Alek had the essential gear. His one amputated arm now functioned as a tranquilizer gun or gas sprayer. The three of them together made the perfect hunting team. Remy seemingly didn't stand a chance.
"Split up, keep radio contact! He cannot get far into the city!"Trek barked orders and they all ran down opposite alleys, going towards downtown Denver.
Remy's legs begged for him to stop running, but he knew he couldn't. If he was ever caught by Mu-Tech associates.. he just couldn't think about the lab now. "Okay Rem, dese guys know cities all too well. You gotta get to de country, outside of Denver."He rounded one last corner, before backtracking through an alley. "That should slow 'im." Finally, he tried to walk causally to blend in. Slowing his breathing, he calmly called for a cab.
"I don't hear him anywhere. The radar can't contact him in this crowd. Over."
"I had a visual for a moment. He's heading down 18th! Meet there!"
The hunters had lost their prey.
Night was well set in by the time Remy dared to leave the safety of the cab. He handed the driver a wad of bills and asked to be dropped off on the highway. With a tip, the driver happily obliged. He was now wandering aimlessly along the side of the road, figuring out what had happened that day. "De local bullies are more den jus bullies, non?" Looking down the fields, he spied a cornfield in the distance. "Per'aps not popcorn, but anything could work now." For effect, he patted his empty stomach. Without a second thought, Remy was going toward the field.
----------------
Kurt's ears pricked up at the sound of footsteps. "Nein..nein..not now." The elf ducked lower into the brush, hoping to hide from whatever was coming his way. The dark figure loomed against the moonlight for a moment, before taking an ear of corn from the field and sitting down. *Great. How do I get out of this one?* He silently watched to see what the shadow was doing. It broke a few stalks of corn and seemed to be trying to light a match. When the flame caught the meager 'wood', it glowed higher and higher.
"Whoever's over there, you can stop hiding." Kurt jumped at the figure's sudden statement. "I know you're there." He hesitated. But that small fire looked so warm..
"Who are you?" Remy smiled when the shadow responded to him. "Name's Remy. We both seem to be in de same situation, so you might as well come over and elp wit dis fire." Kurt listened intently to his accent. He almost sounded southern, but French at the same time. Odd..
"I..don't think I should come out."
"Why not? Remy's too tired to do anyting to you."
"I'm.. not exactly what you would call people-friendly."
"Ah, a loner?"
"No, just a defect." Remy cocked his head at this familiar statement. *De ja vu..*
"Tell me..whoever you are.. how do you feel about mutants?" Kurt's eyes opened wider. What if this guy was trying to find out if he was one? What if he would kill him?
"..Mein foot is hurt. I fear it's broken." Remy nodded.
"..My legs are tired from running." Kurt watched him rub his hands together in the cold.
Both had come to a mutual understanding.
-------------------
So, what do you think? Please, please, please review! I have many reviews.. but all from the same people posting more than once. ^_^;; Not that it's bad, I just want to know who all is reading this. Continue, oui, non? ;) Thanks for reading so far! Chapter 6 will be up soon!
~Tikirz
