A/N: Sorry about the long wait, but this fic is turning out way differently than I had anticipated, not to mention the fact that I've been pretty busy. That's hardly ever happened to me before. So anyway, thanks go to the reviewers who actually took the time to review this fic. That means a lot to me. Really it does. And I think I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this fic. Unless it changes again… But, that's not the point! (wink, wink)
Before I forget, it's been awhile since I wrote the last chapter and if things begin here a little differently, don't mind it or me. I'm just a clueless loser who has no talent whatsoever. Now…on with the story!!
* * *
Emma and Shalimar got lucky. They were able to find a ride with an old couple who posed no threat whatsoever. After all, they were elderly. The only bad thing was that the couple couldn't stop telling them stories about when they were young. It seemed to go on for hours and hours as all thoughts of earlier left the minds of both women.
As grateful as Emma was to hear lots of different stories, especially when they came from Adam, she was beginning to get bored. She figured she wouldn't want to hear anymore after this little experience. Shalimar, on the other hand, was bored right from the beginning. She didn't like trips down memory lane and these people weren't making it any easier for her. At one point, Shalimar wanted to just kindly tell them if they could be quiet, but she didn't know how elderly people took to that kind of news so she just gritted her teeth and kept on listening.
Suddenly, out-of-the-blue, the old man looked at Emma and Shalimar through the rearview mirror and asked them a question. "So, where are you two headed?"
Emma and Shalimar exchanged glances at the sudden turn in conversation. Emma spoke up. "We're headed to a concert."
The old woman slightly turned in her seat. "Oh, really? How nice. Well, I hope the both of you have a very swell time. I can still remember my first concert. It was on a very nice summer day when…" And before either of the gals knew it, another round of storytelling had begun.
Emma groaned loud enough for only Shalimar to hear. "I like stories, but even this is too much for me! Shal, how much longer until we reach that damn town? I'm gonna go crazy if I hear anymore 'when we were young' stories!" Emma slumped down in her seat and laid her head back against the headrest.
Shalimar scowled. "You're telling me. I was already going crazy when they started up with the whole thing! I'm surprised I've even lasted this long. Usually I'd nod off but somehow, I can't do it this time." Shalimar looked at the old woman and interrupted her for a short while. "Um, excuse me. Not to be rude or anything because I'm really enjoying these stories, but how much longer till the next town? Me and my friend are really anxious to get there."
"Oh, that's alright dear. We know how much you youngsters enjoy a true classic tale. Honey, how much longer till we get there?" The old woman turned to her husband and waited for an answer.
"Till now. We're already here!"
Emma and Shalimar shot up and looked out the windows. It was already dark since the man drove only about 55 mph during the whole trip, no surprise there. Both of the girls got excited as they saw building after building pass by them. Finally! No more stories.
Shalimar turned to the man. "You can just drop us off at the nearest inn."
Emma nudged her in the side and whispered, "An inn? What about a hotel? We can afford that!"
"I know but we need to save whatever money we have for important stuff."
"What can be more important than that?!"
Shalimar smiled. "Oh, you know. The really important stuff. Like souvenirs and partying! If Adam's car hadn't broken down, we wouldn't have to spend anything for staying in places overnight. I have a friend who would have gladly let us stay at his place. But unfortunately, he doesn't live here so now we have to spend our 'fun money' on something that's cheaper than a hotel, which is an inn. If we spend it on a hotel, then we won't have anything to party with. Get what I'm saying?"
Emma nodded. "Yeah, except for one major flaw. Did you ever consider how much it would cost to get a tow truck to come and get Adam's car? Or how much it would cost to get a new tire? That's probably all of our money down the drain."
Shalimar moaned. "Emma! Did you have to bring that up? I was totally basking in my moment of glory when it happened to be shattered by that problem. What are we gonna do? I don't want to spend it on some stupid car. Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do."
"Yes. No partying or souvenirs. Just a fixed car and the concert."
"No! I was thinking more like no car. Souvenirs and partying here we come! Oh, and the concert too."
"Shalimar, you know we have to get the car fixed. Otherwise, we can't get to the concert or the clubs." Emma smiled at Shalimar's reaction.
Shalimar sucked in a deep breath before blowing it out slowly. "You know? Sometimes I hate it when you're right. Alright fine. We'll fix the car. Even though it'll blow up our chances of having fun. Happy now?"
Emma gave her a victorious grin. "Yup! Now I'm happy! And I'll even agree to sleep in an inn."
Emma's victory was cut short by the old man's voice. "We're here! Do you girls need help with your bags?"
Shalimar got out and headed towards the trunk to get their things. "No thanks. Me and Emma can handle it from here."
Emma followed Shalimar's lead and got out also. "Yeah. Thanks for giving us a ride though. We'd still be stuck somewhere out there if it weren't for you. Thanks again."
The old woman smiled. "Why, it's no problem to us dear. We were glad to help you out."
All three heard the trunk slam down. "I gonna go check us in, Emma. I'll be right back." She turned to the woman. "Thanks for helping us out. Maybe we'll see you around sometime, okay? Goodbye." Shalimar turned and headed inside the main office for the front desk with both of their bags.
Emma watched her go in before turning back to the couple. "Well, I hope we meet up with each other sometime soon. I really enjoyed the time we got to spend with you. Bye." She backed away from the vehicle and waved. They waved back and before Emma knew it, they were out on the road, their backlights getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the night.
Emma turned and waited for Shalimar outside on the sidewalk. She watched as the feral received the key to their room and grabbed the luggage as she hauled herself out to where Emma stood. Shalimar put Emma's bag on the ground. She playfully shoved Emma. "I don't know what I was thinking when I saw myself holding your bag. I'm pretty sure you can carry it yourself. Am I right or am I right?"
"No. You're wrong. I mean, look at my arms. They're weak and I can barely hold myself up. I'm so tired! You can go ahead and carry it. I don't mind." She gave Shalimar a smug grin.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny. But I, however, do mind. Don't you think I'm tired myself?" Shalimar posed and pretended to look tired.
"No. You're supposed to be strong, remember? You are a feral and that's your nature."
"Well, how about you? You're a telempath. Can't you just make yourself think you're energetic? After all, tiredness does come from the mind. That's why everyone gets tired, right? Cause it's all in the mind."
"No, it's not. People get tired because their bodies need rest. It's not a mind thing. At least I think it's not."
"Well, even if it's not, I think we should get inside."
"Oh? Afraid you're losing the argument battle? Ha! That proves it. Even you can get beaten at times, Shalimar!"
"No. We should get inside now because it's RAINING!!!"
Emma looked up and realized that it was indeed raining. Quite hard, too. "Damnit!! Why didn't you tell me sooner? Now I'm getting all soaked!"
"Come on! Follow me!" Shalimar grabbed her bag and ran off in the direction of their room, leaving a soaking Emma struggling to run with her bag.
"Shalimar! You're not getting away that easily!" She threw a psi blast towards Shalimar's head. It hit Shalimar square in the back of the head, causing her to stumble and fall down in the water puddles that were already forming on the ground. Her suitcase and the key to the room landed a few inches beside her. Before she could grab them, Emma came by and quickly swiped the key. She ran to the doors and proceeded to open one when she realized she had no idea if it was the right room or not.
Shalimar saw this and got up from the ground, standing in the rain and smiling at the panicked look on the young woman's face. "What's wrong, Emma? Not as smart as you thought you were? Now it's my turn to play!"
Emma yelped and tried to run away, but Shalimar caught her before she even took 3 steps. Shalimar grabbed her around the waist and started walking backwards to the outside pool. Emma was putting up a good struggling fight, but not good enough in Shalimar's case. In order to keep Emma from squirming and to gain more control, Shalimar turned Emma around and threw her over her shoulder, facing the pool and breaking out into a run.
The gate was in the way but Shalimar paid no attention to it as she jumped over using her feral strength. Luckily there was no one else there to see her. Before throwing Emma in, she decided to let Emma say a last few words. "So, any last words before I spell out your doom?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Play with this!" Emma turned her head and shot another psi blast to Shalimar's head. This caused Shalimar to drop her and she ran to the gate, desperately trying to climb over. She was already soaking wet from the rain, and she didn't want to get in the pool to get even worse. She managed to climb over and drop to the ground, but Shalimar had already gotten out of her stupor and knew exactly where Emma was.
Shalimar jumped over the gate once again, and landed before Emma. "Bad little Emma. I think now's the time for your punishment." And with that, she grabbed Emma once again, but this time, she opened the gate and ran to the pool, not giving Emma a chance for any more last words. She jumped into the deep end, taking Emma down with her. As soon as they hit the bottom, Shalimar let go of Emma and swam her way up to the top. She came up breaking the surface of the water and gasped for air, laughing as she pictured the reaction that might be on Emma's face when she also came up. Shalimar hated water, but it was times like these that made it an exception to her.
Unbeknownst to Shalimar, Emma didn't have time to take a breath when she hit the water's surface. The cold shock of the water caused her to release whatever leftover oxygen she had in her lungs. She had tried to hold on to Shalimar, but the older woman had already let go and swam to the surface. Now Emma was left on the bottom, trying to swim up but to no avail. The loss of oxygen caused her energy to go below the normal rate and she found she couldn't move anymore.
As dotted spots of black came into her vision, she couldn't help but think about death. Who would've thought? I never thought I'd die in the pool of an inn. Especially when one of my teammates was close enough to rescue me…
Her thoughts died down as the darkness overtook her vision and she fell into a deep unconsciousness…
* * *
Oh, my gosh! What's going to happen?! Will Shalimar realize Emma's condition, or is this the end of our favorite one-of-a-kind telempath? The next chapter will reveal all!
Don't forget to review. I really would like to see what ya'll thought of this chapter. I think I did pretty well with it. Well, that's what I think at least. But then again, it's not about what I thought, it's about what you thought. So what do you think? Great? Stupid? All comments welcome, including flames.
