Chapter 3
Starting to Heal
"You'll live, Freak, long enough to serve as a warning to others and then I'll come back and finish you off for good. For good.for good."
Emma sat up with a start as her assailant's final warning reverberated in her dreams. Her heart was beating wildly and she could feel sweat standing out on her forehead. As her heart rate slowly returned to normal, she looked around the medical unit. She was all alone except for Adam who was sound asleep sitting upright in a chair.
"Sleeping Beauty awakens." Jesse entered the room smiling. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm not real sure." Emma admitted. Her voice was still raspy but talking no longer made her wince in pain. "You're up early. Not even Adam is awake yet."
Jesse laughed and pointed to the clock on the wall. "I don't call noon early. We figured you needed the rest and none of us wanted to wake Adam. I think he only fell asleep a couple of hours ago. But for what it's worth, you look a lot better than you did last night."
The barest of smiles touched Emma's lips. "I haven't seen a mirror but if that's true, I don't want to know how I looked last night." She looked away, her eyes clouding over. "I've never felt so helpless in my life, Jess. I've been attacked before but never beaten. I couldn't defend myself." Tears filled her eyes once more.
Jesse awkwardly hugged her, not wanting to hurt her. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Adam will figure it out when he wakes up. In the meantime, are you hungry? I made omelets for a late breakfast. I could bring you one."
Emma wrinkled her nose. "No thanks, I've had your omelets before. What I really want is a shower. Just knowing what's written on my back is driving me crazy."
Jesse gave her a dubious look. He was fairly certain that Adam wouldn't want her up moving around just yet. "You sure you're up for that?"
"Don't treat me like an invalid, Jesse." Emma pushed him away in an uncharacteristic fit of anger. She barely hid the grimace of pain the movement caused her. But just as quickly as it came the anger left and she hung her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't.. It's just. I think I need to be alone for awhile."
The Molecular studied her for a moment. The last thing she needed, in his opinion, was to be alone. He knew her well enough to know that she would just brood over what happened. Intellectually he knew that but still he didn't want to upset her further. He reached out to help her up but then realized something. "You can't wash that off, Emma. It's magic marker. Do you know how hard you'd have to scrub to even fade it out a little? With your injuries, I don't think you could do it."
"I can't let that monster's words stay on my skin. He attacked me and I couldn't do anything to stop him; don't tell me I still can't do anything."
Emma looked so miserable that Jesse's heart went out to her. It was obvious she was struggling not to cry. He held up his hand motioning for her to stay put. Leaving the lab for just a few minutes he returned with a magic marker in his hand. "Raise the back of your shirt."
Emma looked at him dubiously. Seeing the almost goofy grin on his face, she finally gave in. Jesse sat behind her on the bed and uncapped the pen. Emma had to suppress a shudder as the feel of the marker against her back brought back memories of the attack. Sensing her discomfort, Jesse struck up a monologue of humorous, mindless chatter as he went to work turning the ominous threat into something she could live with until the marker faded out.
*****
Adam woke to the sound of giggling. For a moment, he continued to sit there and watch his two youngest teammates, especially Emma. The physical effects of the attack were obvious even at a distance. Visible bruises starkly stood out, violent purple and blue, against her otherwise pale skin. The young woman's arm protectively cradled her battered ribs. But Adam was glad to see the desperate terror that had been so evident in her eyes had faded. He'd been worried that she would have a hard time bouncing back from the attack emotionally. He smiled; he should have known better.
"So what's next? Drawing on the walls?"
A little of his worry returned at how quickly Emma jumped at the sound of his voice. Jesse cupped his hand protectively over her shoulder. After a moment the fear retreated but was still partially there.
Jesse capped the pen and set it aside. "Just cleaning up some unfinished business."
Crossing to where his teammates were sitting, Adam admired Jesse's artwork. No trace of the words Die Freak Die remained. In its place was a cute and cuddly teddy bear. Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head. "How do you feel?"
Emma sighed. "My head hurts and I don't think there's a spot on me that's not sore."
"You're voice sounds better but don't over use it. Any dizziness or nausea?"
"No, it's okay. Adam, why wouldn't my abilities work? What was wrong with me?"
Adam pulled a stool close and sat down. "I don't think anything was wrong with you. I spent most of the night looking over your scans and there is no reason why you shouldn't have been able to project images onto your attacker. I think your attacker shielded your powers so you couldn't defend yourself."
Jesse frowned. "How is that possible, Adam? Does this guy have some new technology or something?"
"Or something." Adam looked around. "Where are Brennan and Shalimar?"
"They didn't want to wait around doing nothing so they went to the safe house to talk to Darius and the others to see if they saw anything out of the ordinary yesterday."
"They did what?" Adam's eyes darkened in sudden anger. Emma flinched against the sudden shift in his mood. Seeing that, Adam forced himself to calm down. "Brennan and Shalimar should have known better. They don't know what they are dealing with. It's not safe."
"Adam, Brennan and Shal can take care of themselves." Emma argued. Although she didn't say it, both Jesse and Adam heard an unspoken unlike me in her voice.
"If I'm right, none of you are safe from this guy." He spoke into his ring. "Brennan, Shalimar. Answer me."
"Adam, we have a problem." Brennan's voice sounded strained.
"Get back here immediately, both of you."
"We're okay Adam. Emma's attacker was here before us. Darius and the others are dead."
"You'll live, Freak, long enough to serve as a warning to others and then I'll come back and finish you off for good. For good.for good."
Emma sat up with a start as her assailant's final warning reverberated in her dreams. Her heart was beating wildly and she could feel sweat standing out on her forehead. As her heart rate slowly returned to normal, she looked around the medical unit. She was all alone except for Adam who was sound asleep sitting upright in a chair.
"Sleeping Beauty awakens." Jesse entered the room smiling. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm not real sure." Emma admitted. Her voice was still raspy but talking no longer made her wince in pain. "You're up early. Not even Adam is awake yet."
Jesse laughed and pointed to the clock on the wall. "I don't call noon early. We figured you needed the rest and none of us wanted to wake Adam. I think he only fell asleep a couple of hours ago. But for what it's worth, you look a lot better than you did last night."
The barest of smiles touched Emma's lips. "I haven't seen a mirror but if that's true, I don't want to know how I looked last night." She looked away, her eyes clouding over. "I've never felt so helpless in my life, Jess. I've been attacked before but never beaten. I couldn't defend myself." Tears filled her eyes once more.
Jesse awkwardly hugged her, not wanting to hurt her. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Adam will figure it out when he wakes up. In the meantime, are you hungry? I made omelets for a late breakfast. I could bring you one."
Emma wrinkled her nose. "No thanks, I've had your omelets before. What I really want is a shower. Just knowing what's written on my back is driving me crazy."
Jesse gave her a dubious look. He was fairly certain that Adam wouldn't want her up moving around just yet. "You sure you're up for that?"
"Don't treat me like an invalid, Jesse." Emma pushed him away in an uncharacteristic fit of anger. She barely hid the grimace of pain the movement caused her. But just as quickly as it came the anger left and she hung her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't.. It's just. I think I need to be alone for awhile."
The Molecular studied her for a moment. The last thing she needed, in his opinion, was to be alone. He knew her well enough to know that she would just brood over what happened. Intellectually he knew that but still he didn't want to upset her further. He reached out to help her up but then realized something. "You can't wash that off, Emma. It's magic marker. Do you know how hard you'd have to scrub to even fade it out a little? With your injuries, I don't think you could do it."
"I can't let that monster's words stay on my skin. He attacked me and I couldn't do anything to stop him; don't tell me I still can't do anything."
Emma looked so miserable that Jesse's heart went out to her. It was obvious she was struggling not to cry. He held up his hand motioning for her to stay put. Leaving the lab for just a few minutes he returned with a magic marker in his hand. "Raise the back of your shirt."
Emma looked at him dubiously. Seeing the almost goofy grin on his face, she finally gave in. Jesse sat behind her on the bed and uncapped the pen. Emma had to suppress a shudder as the feel of the marker against her back brought back memories of the attack. Sensing her discomfort, Jesse struck up a monologue of humorous, mindless chatter as he went to work turning the ominous threat into something she could live with until the marker faded out.
*****
Adam woke to the sound of giggling. For a moment, he continued to sit there and watch his two youngest teammates, especially Emma. The physical effects of the attack were obvious even at a distance. Visible bruises starkly stood out, violent purple and blue, against her otherwise pale skin. The young woman's arm protectively cradled her battered ribs. But Adam was glad to see the desperate terror that had been so evident in her eyes had faded. He'd been worried that she would have a hard time bouncing back from the attack emotionally. He smiled; he should have known better.
"So what's next? Drawing on the walls?"
A little of his worry returned at how quickly Emma jumped at the sound of his voice. Jesse cupped his hand protectively over her shoulder. After a moment the fear retreated but was still partially there.
Jesse capped the pen and set it aside. "Just cleaning up some unfinished business."
Crossing to where his teammates were sitting, Adam admired Jesse's artwork. No trace of the words Die Freak Die remained. In its place was a cute and cuddly teddy bear. Leaning over, he kissed the top of her head. "How do you feel?"
Emma sighed. "My head hurts and I don't think there's a spot on me that's not sore."
"You're voice sounds better but don't over use it. Any dizziness or nausea?"
"No, it's okay. Adam, why wouldn't my abilities work? What was wrong with me?"
Adam pulled a stool close and sat down. "I don't think anything was wrong with you. I spent most of the night looking over your scans and there is no reason why you shouldn't have been able to project images onto your attacker. I think your attacker shielded your powers so you couldn't defend yourself."
Jesse frowned. "How is that possible, Adam? Does this guy have some new technology or something?"
"Or something." Adam looked around. "Where are Brennan and Shalimar?"
"They didn't want to wait around doing nothing so they went to the safe house to talk to Darius and the others to see if they saw anything out of the ordinary yesterday."
"They did what?" Adam's eyes darkened in sudden anger. Emma flinched against the sudden shift in his mood. Seeing that, Adam forced himself to calm down. "Brennan and Shalimar should have known better. They don't know what they are dealing with. It's not safe."
"Adam, Brennan and Shal can take care of themselves." Emma argued. Although she didn't say it, both Jesse and Adam heard an unspoken unlike me in her voice.
"If I'm right, none of you are safe from this guy." He spoke into his ring. "Brennan, Shalimar. Answer me."
"Adam, we have a problem." Brennan's voice sounded strained.
"Get back here immediately, both of you."
"We're okay Adam. Emma's attacker was here before us. Darius and the others are dead."