A/N – I saw X-Men2 just a few days ago, and I am totally in love with it!! It was soooo good!! I thought the plot was excellent, as well as the lines, and how the characters played off each other, and how enough strings were left untied that a third movie is almost absolutely necessary!! Last night I had to watch the first movie again just because I had to!! *mad dancing around* I am infatuated with the scene where Wolverine gives his healing ability to Rogue. I don't know if I'm alone in this, but my personal opinion is that Bobby should get another girlfriend and let Wolverine have Rogue. I've never read/seen any comics or TV shows on X-Men before the movie, so please don't eat me alive if I'm twisting things around!! ^ ^;; I just think they (Wolverine and Rogue) look cute together, and I love how Wolverine is always protecting her. ^-^
Yikes, that was quite a rant… ^ ^;; I'll get onto the fic…
Disclaimer: me no own, pesky lawyers no sue!!
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Chapter 8 – The Winter
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The fluttering curtains and light from the rising sun are all that is left after his departure.
Graham…He has not returned for three days, and I am worried. I remember the fear in his eyes, and at the time I had thought he was afraid of punishment. After thinking for these three days, I realize that the punishment was furthest from his mind.
There was only one thing he had been afraid of.
Rejection.
Graham…Fear of the coming pain, like a tidal wave about to crash you into the sand and rip your body to shreds. Except the only thing to be shredded would have been his heart…
I stand by the window, and my eyes flicker over the rooftops for a sign, any sign, of his return. Deep down, there is a secret wish that he will not return. His reappearance would signify a question he wants answered, and I don't want him to ask it.
I don't know the answer…
In my heart, I may…
But my mind is not ready to come to that conclusion.
I sigh, and close my eyes. The wind blows my curls about my face, and they tickle my skin. It may be my imagination, but the sound the whispering air makes across my ears almost sounds like crying…
I cry with it…
GRAHAM…~*~
It is night. Despite my lack of a partner, I will continue with the mission I was sent to do. It is my duty to this world and the Guardian World.
It is also a way to distract myself away from thoughts that rain questions and difficult choices upon me day and night.
A light drizzle that had lasted most of the day leaves the pavement slick and shining like silver. Glancing up and down dark allyways, I must be careful. Without the spell Graham is normally there to cast and freeze time, any sort of commotion I make will bring the residents of the buildings around me to their windows.
Treading carefully, staring at the ground and lost in my thoughts, I almost miss the sudden, menacing presence that engulfs me. My head snaps up and around, my eyes training on the creature as it speeds towards me. With each passing second its pinkish haze becomes darker, until it is an angry fuchsia. I duck, and feel it pass mere inches from my scalp, its burning heat singeing a few strands of my hair.
I know it will come around for another pass. But when I whip around to meet it, my recently injured ankle is twisted in the wrong direction. My leg courses with pain, and I come crashing down. The mist thing is upon me instantly, burying itself in my nose, blinding my eyes, filling my throat with it's burning vapor, and I feel myself beginning to suffocate. Desperately, I fill my palms with energy, throwing my power in all directions in the hope that something will damage the creature. With a hissing sound I land a hit, and choke on the fresh air that fills the space the thing withdraws from. Gasping and clutching my throat, I breath deeply, watching as the glowing mist circles me, its glow pulsing threateningly.
Then it vanishes.
My eyes widen, and I nearly swallow my tongue in fear. I can still sense the thing's presence, but I can no longer see it or feel where it is.
I am utterly, sickeningly vulnerable.
From the corner of my eye I see it, and twist around on my side to face the threat- and find nothing. Then, a flash of its presence behind me, and I turn- once again, nothing. My fear intensifies when I realize that it is toying with me, waiting until my fear is great enough that it wears me down, and I am ripe for the killing. I attempt to stand up, but find it impossible with the freshly injured foot. Gritting my teeth and shutting my eyes tightly to hold in the tears, I pull myself upright and balance on the one good foot. I extend my awareness desperately for any sign of where my attacker has disappeared to.
"AHHH-mmff!!" I bite my hand to keep from crying in pain. My back suddenly feels as though it is on fire, a direct result of being hit by the creature. My hand suffers another fierce clenching of teeth as my good leg is hit. I stumble for balance, and lash out with my energy as the mist lashes out at me again. My attack makes contact, but my victory is nothing compared to the damage being inflicted upon me. A sickening smell fills the air, made even more so by the realization that it is my own burned flesh. Where Graham had only been beaten and bruised, I am being burned.
And there is nothing I can do to stop it.
If I run, it will chase me and attack me until I fall.
If I fly, it will try to suffocate me again, blinding me until I bash myself into a wall or am impaled on an iron rail spike or flagpole.
There is no escape.
The hits increase in speed and number. My entire being feels as though it is on fire. I can't concentrate through the pain enough to fight back. I can only huddle on the rain-soaked ground, salty tears running down my cheeks as my teeth clench in a desperate attempt to keep silent. My ears fill with the sound of my own pathetic whimpering; with each burning contact the thing becomes more and more solid, until it is the equivalent of being battered by an enormous brick.
A brick that burns with the heat of a red-hot poker.
My will snaps, and survival instinct flames to life. With no regard to the throbbing appendage, I use the injured foot to launch my broken body into the clear night sky. The moon fills the air with a cold and silent glow, watching yet another game of predator and prey occur in the form of me and my approaching attacker.
Pointing my face in the direction I can only hope is my apartment, the ribbons billow out in my wake as I fly. The wind whistles in my ears and stings my already dry eyes, bringing forth even more tears.
I give a cry of agony as my skull makes contact with a fiery solid object waiting invisible in my path.
My vision becomes fuchsia with the mist blanketing my head.
I choke and gasp, clawing at the suddenly yielding mist invading my nose and throat once more.
Amidst my panic, I forget to stay aloft.
My mind is almost unaware of my rapid descent as it slowly becomes dark…
They say one's life flashes before their eyes at the time of one's death…Heart slowing… breath ceasing…
I hope so…
Bright flashing light at the end of a tunnel, pain fading…
I just want to see his face one more time…
The sensation of being held lightly by strong arms… floating…
And tell him…
I see his wide and fearful eyes above me…
I'm sorry…My eyes fall shut, and the silent night is absolute.
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*fans face* Whew, that took a while to get out. I don't know if that sounds choppy to you, but I'll be doing the 'blah, blah, go back and re-write it' thing with this too. Maybe.
Was that too predictable? Cliché? I'll bet you can guess who caught her… ^ ^;; Well, anyway, the next chapter, despite being a big step in resolving a lot of major issues, will NOT be the end. I have a few more things I want to happen before everyone gets to go home happy. ^ ^
