Chapter 7

Have you ever seen a picture of Jesus laughing? Wouldn't you think he'd have a beautiful smile?

~Kate Bush

"They haven't been tried." Adam offered weakly.

"Their genetic structure is undeniable proof. As far as we're concerned they are not human. They'd put them to death right now if they didn't know that doing it publicly would do more harm to the others that they know are out there."

"They can't do this. We can't let them do this."

"Come outside. Let me talk to you."

"I have a contact. A group of people that might be able to help you friends. They've offered help with mutants in a fix before, I can see if they can do anything."

"Mutant X?" Adam asked.

"Yeah. I've been in contact with them before when people come in with obvious powers. They get the person out of jam and we think nothing more of it. This situation might be a little harder to deal with, but it's worth a try."

"It's a wonderful idea." Adam sighed. "But it won't work."

"Why not?"

"Half of Mutant X is sat in cages in that building right now." His face fell. "You're 'Daniel54', aren't you." Adam asked.

"Just Daniel in the real world, Daniel Foster. I assume you're Adam." Adam nodded.

"You know I always had you down as a psionic, not a feral. You've done some good work for us."

"Adam." Brennan called him over. "Jesse and I want to go in, get Shal and Emma out of here now. Jesse can get in there, I'll run interference. We'll have them out of here before they know what's going on." Adam looked back at David.

"What's the cover like on those rooms?"

"There's at least twenty armed men stood around various doors into the room. All have access to camera screens of what's going on inside. You can't get in without being noticed. You wouldn't have time to get both of them out - even if you could get into the rooms and get them out of the cages - before they came in with guns. It's impossible." Adam shook his head and turned back to Brennan and Jesse.

"We can't go in now. You're no use to Shal and Emma if you're shot or if you're powers are revealed and you end up in the same position as them. We'll have to wait."

Shalimar opened her eyes to find that she was no longer trapped in the small box. Instead she was in a typical prison cell, long thin bars covering one wall and a raggedy bed in the corner. This must be the place Adam had told her they would take them. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool, they must have sedated them to move them. She moved to the bars and looked out. There were other people in the cells around her, all quiet, saying nothing. Some exchanged curious glances with her, some leered unrestrained through the bars, and some reached out to her as though asking for something. She shuddered. Trying to look sideways down the row she found she could just about see all of the cells opposite her, but none of those beside her.

"Emma!" She shouted out of the cell. All of the others winced. "EMMA! Emma if you're there, answer me!" Footsteps clattered down the corridor, stopping outside her cell. Dark lifeless eyes greeted her.

"You will be quiet or you will regret it." Was all the man said.

"Is Emma here? Is she OK?"

"Shalimar?" The voice was Emma's, from further down the row.

"Emma!" She responded, and that was all Shalimar remembered.

She woke again with a throbbing headache. Putting her hand to her head she found blood on her temple. Moaning she dragged herself upright. A face in the bars opposite giggled.

"You'll not be doin' that 'gain in a 'urry." He laughed to her. "Kenny's not nicest of blokes. He's not here now though."

"You could have warned me."

"Naw, no fun in that."

"My friend, the one that called out to me, how many cells further down is she?"

"She's right next door, she is. But in a little box of her own, yep. Ha! She's pre-packed! Already in the coffin." The strange man found this hilarious and fell about. Ignoring his hysterical laughter, Shalimar moved as close as she could to Emma's cell.

"Emma, are you there?"

"Shalimar? I'm here. Are you OK? You went quiet."

"I'm OK. How are you holding up? Have they explained what's going on?"

"I'm having problems keeping the emotion out. This place... I can't..." Shalimar could hear her crying softly.

"Hey, it's OK. I'm here, can you focus on me?" Shalimar felt something like an invisible hand touching her forehead and Emma's tears subsided.

"How can you stay so calm about this Shalimar?" She asked quietly after a moment.

"I don't know." And quietly they talked for the rest of the night of the past, the present, and the undeniable future.

She woke to noises, loud noises. Opening her eyes she found people running down the corridor and stopping beside her cell, in front of Emma's. She breathed in as she saw the wave of psionic energy, black and frothing at the edges like the sea. She felt the pain wash over her and realised that Emma had not been able to focus on her when she had fallen asleep and the emotions were dragging themselves out of her control. She grabbed hold of a guard as he ran past too close to her cell.

"Let me out." He told him. "I can stop her. She's hurting herself. PLEASE! SHE'S HURTING HERSELF."

"This one came with her, maybe she can stop her." The guard told the man standing out of Shalimar's line of sight.

"Pleasepleaseplease." It became a mantra for her as the man considered it.

"I don't care, just don't let it kill us. And stop this bitch before it kills its self."

The guard had the cuffs on her before she had realised he had them out, but she didn't care. She had to stop Emma. As soon as she could she ran into the cell and fell at Emma's side, forgetting that her hands were restrained. They had already opened the small box, obviously not as scared of Emma as most of the others were, and Shalimar used her shoulder to push Emma into an upright position.

Emma's eyes were open and she gazed at Shalimar, projecting her power. Biting her lip as visions, those same visions they had shared not two days ago, flooded into her vision, Shalimar tried not to cry out. Other pictures joined them, ones she didn't recognise. The thoughts and memories of the others in the prison she realised after a time. Terrible things floated before her eyes, things she had no wish to see. Finally they tapered off, and she was left listening to both of their sobs. Dragging her breathing back under control, Shalimar checked Emma over. Her eyes were closed, but she seemed to have relaxed into Shalimar, her breathing no longer strained. Nodding to his superior, the others moved out of the cell, locking it again, leaving the two alone.

Shalimar sat down on the stool provided, shifting her hands in the handcuffs and watching as the guards left the room. There was a window into a booth in front of her, but no one sat there. When she was about convinced this was either some kind of torture technique or they were doing something to Emma while she sat here, the door of the booth opened and Adam and Jesse walked in. She was immediately standing and walked over to the window.

'Shalimar' she saw Jesse mouth as she stood there. Finding an intercom switch, Adam flicked it on.

"Shalimar are you OK?"

"I'm holding up."

"There is no sound monitoring in this room, only video. We're going to get you out of there, OK? Then we'll go after Emma."

"No."

"No?"

"No, Adam. You're not going to get either of us out. There's too much monitoring in this place, and too many guards. We would never get in to get Emma. We would probably not get out of this room. I'm here to say goodbye."

"What!?!"

"I don't want you here tomorrow, I want you to go back to Sanctuary and start working as usual. Emma and I are in complete agreement on this." Adam had paled.

"No, Shalimar. We can't give up on you like this."

"I heard about the stunt you pulled while we were in transit. Is Brennan OK?"

"He's recovering. He'll be fine. We can still get you out of there without him."

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt in this Adam. Please." Adam's throat closed. He couldn't believe this was it.

"I can't..." He struggled to continue, but Shalimar understood.

"You can. You all can." She leant her head against the cold glass that separated them, wishing that just for a moment she could fall through it into the safe arms of her family. Jesse stepped up and laid his hands on the glass, and she thought for a minute she might ignore their wishes and phase through. He didn't. Instead he simply drew a line around her face, as though he would take her chin in his hands if the glass did not separate them. Sighing he leant his own forehead to the glass.

"I could get you out now, Shal. It wouldn't take much. Only a small phase."

"No Jesse. You can't risk your life now. The cameras would see everything. I will NOT let you die for me; Emma and I are in complete agreement on this. I'm sorry."

"Goodbye Shalimar." He whispered. And they watched in agony as she walked away from them.

"Goodbye."