Then He Left - Part 5
Part 5: Dreams
Emma:
In her head, her dreams played out. Her dreams were of Jesse, but these were no dreams they were nightmares, horrible parodies of the life they had shared as part of the team. Before the dreams with Jesse had a soothing effect on her, similar to the man himself in the waking world, but now he was gone and her dreams turned on her.
She was standing in the alley, the first night she met Shalimar and Jesse, when Jesse massed in front of her to protect her from the bullets. This time felt different, Shalimar was still there, still doing the same thing, but Jesse moved in front of her, she relaxed as she thought everything was okay, then Jesse phased, the bullets passing through him. Three bullets in quick succession punctured her chest, her lungs filling with blood, suffocating her, her heart ruptured. Jesse turned to face her as she fell to the ground, shock evident on her face.
"I should have let them kill you", he said before vanishing into the night.
She tried to scream, but only blood came forth, she tried to wake up, this was her dream, why could she not leave?
Then the scene changed, another fight against rogue mutants. Shalimar and Brennan were embroiled in battles of their own, Jesse massing in front of her, protecting her as she used her mental abilities, like some many times in real life, working together smoothly. She felt the calm roll over her as Jesse blocked energy and bullets from hitting her. As he calmly dealt with assailants who got to close when she was distracted. Then he phased, he stopped protecting her. Shocked, she didn't even see the large feral charging through him, crashing into her. Then it went black.
The light hurt her eyes as she woke, unsure where she was. Then Adam's face floated into view above her, "Emma, can you hear me?"
"Yes", her voice cracked, her throat dry and unused.
"Emma, how do you feel?"
"I feel, I feel," her eyes widened in panic, "I can't feel my legs, Adam, I can't feel my legs"
"I'm sorry, Emma, I tried to repair the damage, but you are paralysed from the waist down. The mutant severed part.."
She didn't hear him, her legs were useless, her mind reeled, this was a dream, it had to be a dream, she couldn't tell any more. Jesse would not let this happen to her, he wouldn't, he couldn't. It just was not in him to do this. Or at least it never was before, before Kovakhstan. She must be dreaming, must be dreaming, the words going over and over in her head, like if she thought it enough times it would become true.
Then everything changed again, but this time it was different, everything was new. This wasn't a memory, this was something else. She was in a warehouse, she was lying on the ground, a gun held to her head, a hand holding her hair, forcing her to watch the scene in front of her. She could not make out the words, but she could hear the screams, feel the emotions.
Lying on the ground, a mere ten yards away was the broken body of Brennan, the wise-cracking mutant twisted at an awkward angle, his spine hanging out of his body, the blood pooling around him, his lifeless eyes watching the scene in front of him. Adam was screaming at someone to stop it, he was trapped, his hands phased into the metal walkway above him, his feet a clear two feet off the ground. He pleaded for the person to stop. She could see the anguish in his face, feel the pain he was going through as she took in the final pair in the warehouse.
In front of her, Shalimar was on her knees screaming, it hurt Emma to see the proud woman driven to such a state, tears running down her face, as she begged for the pain to stop. No mercy was shown as a new scream ripped from her throat, Emma saw Jesse standing in front of her, he was different, colder, she could not feel him any more. He looked different, his hair cut short, his eyes no longer warm and caring, but cold, calculating as he stood there, his body massed out but his hand phased into Shalimar's chest, crushing her heart, ripping her lungs apart slowly. He seemed oblivious to the screams, the pleas around him focusing only on the pain.
"How does it feel?" the woman holding her down asked, "How does it feel to know you created the killer you see now? You caused this, you and you alone, how does it feel to have the blood on your hands?"
Then the screams stopped, Shalimar slumped to the floor, dead at Jesse's feet. He looked up towards Emma, and smiled, "That was for you"
She screamed, screamed louder and longer than ever before, the banshee itself would have covered it ears, then nothing.
She lurched up from the bed, screaming. Three people ran into the room. Brennan and Adam immediately tried to calm her down. She stopped screaming, touching the bed, feeling the emotions of those around her, she reached out for Brennan, feeling the pulse in the wrist of the hand that gently pushed her back to the bed. Shalimar came closer, her eyes clouded with worry. The young empathy reached out, touching her face.
Her voice sounded so quiet in the room, "Is this real?"
The others looked at each other in confusion.
The City:
The figure had taken Jesse to a large mansion on the opposite side of the city. Several staff from the house had met the car as it drove up to the house. Gently, they lifted the young mutant from the car onto a waiting stretcher. At their mistress' behest, they took him to her chambers.
Two of the staff remained with the young man, charged with the task of cleaning him up, checking he had no injuries before letting him rest until the mistress wanted him. Working quietly and efficiently, the two women removed his clothing, scrubbing the blood from his body, amazed that for the state he was in that none of the blood was his. No cuts could be found on him at all, no bruising. They marvelled at the young man who lay before them untouched by the violence they knew he had been involved in. Both knew however that no all wounds are visible, some are hidden, some are not ever going to heal. Dressing the man in a set of jogging trousers, they gently laid him onto the bed. He had not woken, not stirred once during this whole time.
The two women left taking the bloody clothes with them as their mistress entered, she thanked them as they left. She quietly closed the door behind them. Shedding her dark cloak, placing the gun into a small safe, she sat in a chair beside the bed. The curtains were drawn but a slight shaft of moonlight illuminated the young man's face, in sleep he appeared so young, so innocent. She smoothed his hair gently, brushing it away from his face. She drew the covers up, placing them around his shoulders, tucking him in like he was a small child.
"Sleep now, my young man, sleep," she said, her soft voice barely audible in the darkened room, "Sleep for tomorrow is a new day for us"
She sat back in her chair, contentedly watching the man sleeping in her bed, a small smile playing on her lips.
Part 5: Dreams
Emma:
In her head, her dreams played out. Her dreams were of Jesse, but these were no dreams they were nightmares, horrible parodies of the life they had shared as part of the team. Before the dreams with Jesse had a soothing effect on her, similar to the man himself in the waking world, but now he was gone and her dreams turned on her.
She was standing in the alley, the first night she met Shalimar and Jesse, when Jesse massed in front of her to protect her from the bullets. This time felt different, Shalimar was still there, still doing the same thing, but Jesse moved in front of her, she relaxed as she thought everything was okay, then Jesse phased, the bullets passing through him. Three bullets in quick succession punctured her chest, her lungs filling with blood, suffocating her, her heart ruptured. Jesse turned to face her as she fell to the ground, shock evident on her face.
"I should have let them kill you", he said before vanishing into the night.
She tried to scream, but only blood came forth, she tried to wake up, this was her dream, why could she not leave?
Then the scene changed, another fight against rogue mutants. Shalimar and Brennan were embroiled in battles of their own, Jesse massing in front of her, protecting her as she used her mental abilities, like some many times in real life, working together smoothly. She felt the calm roll over her as Jesse blocked energy and bullets from hitting her. As he calmly dealt with assailants who got to close when she was distracted. Then he phased, he stopped protecting her. Shocked, she didn't even see the large feral charging through him, crashing into her. Then it went black.
The light hurt her eyes as she woke, unsure where she was. Then Adam's face floated into view above her, "Emma, can you hear me?"
"Yes", her voice cracked, her throat dry and unused.
"Emma, how do you feel?"
"I feel, I feel," her eyes widened in panic, "I can't feel my legs, Adam, I can't feel my legs"
"I'm sorry, Emma, I tried to repair the damage, but you are paralysed from the waist down. The mutant severed part.."
She didn't hear him, her legs were useless, her mind reeled, this was a dream, it had to be a dream, she couldn't tell any more. Jesse would not let this happen to her, he wouldn't, he couldn't. It just was not in him to do this. Or at least it never was before, before Kovakhstan. She must be dreaming, must be dreaming, the words going over and over in her head, like if she thought it enough times it would become true.
Then everything changed again, but this time it was different, everything was new. This wasn't a memory, this was something else. She was in a warehouse, she was lying on the ground, a gun held to her head, a hand holding her hair, forcing her to watch the scene in front of her. She could not make out the words, but she could hear the screams, feel the emotions.
Lying on the ground, a mere ten yards away was the broken body of Brennan, the wise-cracking mutant twisted at an awkward angle, his spine hanging out of his body, the blood pooling around him, his lifeless eyes watching the scene in front of him. Adam was screaming at someone to stop it, he was trapped, his hands phased into the metal walkway above him, his feet a clear two feet off the ground. He pleaded for the person to stop. She could see the anguish in his face, feel the pain he was going through as she took in the final pair in the warehouse.
In front of her, Shalimar was on her knees screaming, it hurt Emma to see the proud woman driven to such a state, tears running down her face, as she begged for the pain to stop. No mercy was shown as a new scream ripped from her throat, Emma saw Jesse standing in front of her, he was different, colder, she could not feel him any more. He looked different, his hair cut short, his eyes no longer warm and caring, but cold, calculating as he stood there, his body massed out but his hand phased into Shalimar's chest, crushing her heart, ripping her lungs apart slowly. He seemed oblivious to the screams, the pleas around him focusing only on the pain.
"How does it feel?" the woman holding her down asked, "How does it feel to know you created the killer you see now? You caused this, you and you alone, how does it feel to have the blood on your hands?"
Then the screams stopped, Shalimar slumped to the floor, dead at Jesse's feet. He looked up towards Emma, and smiled, "That was for you"
She screamed, screamed louder and longer than ever before, the banshee itself would have covered it ears, then nothing.
She lurched up from the bed, screaming. Three people ran into the room. Brennan and Adam immediately tried to calm her down. She stopped screaming, touching the bed, feeling the emotions of those around her, she reached out for Brennan, feeling the pulse in the wrist of the hand that gently pushed her back to the bed. Shalimar came closer, her eyes clouded with worry. The young empathy reached out, touching her face.
Her voice sounded so quiet in the room, "Is this real?"
The others looked at each other in confusion.
The City:
The figure had taken Jesse to a large mansion on the opposite side of the city. Several staff from the house had met the car as it drove up to the house. Gently, they lifted the young mutant from the car onto a waiting stretcher. At their mistress' behest, they took him to her chambers.
Two of the staff remained with the young man, charged with the task of cleaning him up, checking he had no injuries before letting him rest until the mistress wanted him. Working quietly and efficiently, the two women removed his clothing, scrubbing the blood from his body, amazed that for the state he was in that none of the blood was his. No cuts could be found on him at all, no bruising. They marvelled at the young man who lay before them untouched by the violence they knew he had been involved in. Both knew however that no all wounds are visible, some are hidden, some are not ever going to heal. Dressing the man in a set of jogging trousers, they gently laid him onto the bed. He had not woken, not stirred once during this whole time.
The two women left taking the bloody clothes with them as their mistress entered, she thanked them as they left. She quietly closed the door behind them. Shedding her dark cloak, placing the gun into a small safe, she sat in a chair beside the bed. The curtains were drawn but a slight shaft of moonlight illuminated the young man's face, in sleep he appeared so young, so innocent. She smoothed his hair gently, brushing it away from his face. She drew the covers up, placing them around his shoulders, tucking him in like he was a small child.
"Sleep now, my young man, sleep," she said, her soft voice barely audible in the darkened room, "Sleep for tomorrow is a new day for us"
She sat back in her chair, contentedly watching the man sleeping in her bed, a small smile playing on her lips.