DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters from 'Mutant X'. They're not
my property. They belong to Tribune Entertainment.
***
*********
Brennan opened the door to the apartment the following morning. A faint and unpleasant odor began lingering beneath his nose. He stopped with the intention of asking about this strange smell and if it had only been a brief imaginary odor, but then, just as quickly he replaced that question with another, more important one: Shalimar.
When he and Emma entered inside, they heard the sound of the shower from the bathroom. "Shal? Jesse?" he called to them. When he did not receive a reply, Brennan walked over to bedroom. He door was closed. He opened it slowly and soon found Shalimar asleep on the bed.
Brennan stood there in his place for two seconds before he approached the bed and kneeled down next to the sleeping Feral. "Shal?" he whispered. When seeing her lack of response to his call, Brennan placed his hand carefully on her warm waist while his eyes observed her face. He saw the bandages and the bruise on her lower lip. "Shit, what happened to you?" he whispered. His worry rose even further when his eyes lowered themselves to the opening of her robe where, what appeared like it had been a scar, was peeking out almost shyly beneath the shadow of the green material.
Glancing at her closed eyes he then brought his fingers to the opening and removed the soft piece with enough distance so his eyes could capture the entire image of her wound.
A thick uneasy feeling slid down inside him when he noticed the bandages and the deep, however small, scars above it; four angry lines of torn tissue ruining the soft surface of her skin while the white material that was supposedly protecting the small wound beneath them was placed on so roughly that if he would dare to remove it, Brennan would tear off more of her skin.
He kissed her cheek and kept his lips there for a while, on the soft surface. His warm breath touched her skin while his eyes took in the zoomed image of her thin eyelids; she appeared calm in her rest while her breathing, as normal as it was from the feeling it gave, made her quieter than one could usually expect.
Slowly and carefully he then covered her body once again before hearing quiet footsteps behind him. "You think she's alright?" he asked, his eyes lying upon her.
She stopped next to Brennan and kneeled down along with him. "She's..." Emma placed her hand on the Feral's cheek; it felt dry. "She feels tired. Very tired." The Psionic had been in more than simple shock. She could sense earlier while approaching the apartment that something was amiss but to see her friend like this had drawn an uneasy line in front of her. Caressing her cheek, she watched her tenderly.
Without warning she began feeling the wetness creeping up behind her eyes. The oddness was appearing. Why did she begin like this? Of course there was shock and perhaps even disappointment for this site of Shalimar but why did this sudden and unpleasant grieving feeling suddenly begun swimming up to the surface? Sadly, any further thoughts were temporarily on hold when the bathroom door opened.
Brennan rose quickly and turned to meet Jesse standing at the doorway in the same clothes with which he first came here. He didn't wash his hair; it would only steal more time with the drying and all the other 'rituals' which usually follow.
It had been a long time and there was some feeling of rejoice with seeing his friend once more but the concern over the wounded Feral had quickly drowned the pleasanter feeling. He simply approached Jesse and embraced him warmly. "Hey, man," he spoke with a voice close to a whisper.
"Hey," Jesse returned the embrace with the same amount not wanting it to be more. there had been some reservations left. If he had only been more aware of the growing and strange concern for Shalimar; he felt a soft punch inside his gut; but he hoped it had been something else.
"You're good?" Brennan asked him.
Jesse nodded. His eyes sparkled with a gram of untamed hostility. Some of it was towards Brennan but the rest and bigger part was aimed towards Shalimar's attackers.
As their gazes remained temporarily locked at each other, clinging almost unwillingly, both could sense some unusual and tense air between them. Not to let it continue, Jesse walked over to where Emma had been sitting and placed his hand on her tepidly-feeling shoulder.
The Psionic quickly looked up at him with a smile which widened. "Jesse. God!" She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him with the unconscious decision to squeeze the entire capacity of air out of him; perhaps a job possible to do had she not been so less masculine than her male friends.
"How are you?" he asked her softly, enjoying the warm embrace of his friend almost like a scarf around his neck.
"I'm happy to see you," she replied. She would have been even more excited if Shalimar hadn't been in the state in which she was. "And you?" The worry had overcome her as well from the moment she had stepped into this apartment.
"I'm happy to see you, also," was his answer. Their voices were not raised above the level which could signal a rude awakening for Shalimar; they felt her slumber had been more important.
"What happened to her?" Brennan asked almost immediately when once again he stood next to Shalimar's sleeping body.
As a response Jesse signaled over to them to join him in the living room instead.
When they gathered in the living room with the bedroom door safely closed to not allow any loud voices close to Shalimar, Jesse began: "I thought I told you on the phone."
"Just that she was attacked," Brennan responded.
"Ok. Right," Jesse placed his hands on his waist. "Well, she just told me that they surprised her in that little alley and that they seemed stronger and quicker. She seems too weak to reveal any more details," he said shortly and simply.
"Aha," Brennan watched him briefly with doubt that was weirdly appearing, quietly inside him; he then turned his gaze over to Emma who had sensed that look like a sharp sword.
Quickly she diverted her blues over to the Elemental. She felt that he had some faint uncertainties of the recollection. "He might be right," she responded. Emma knew he needed her guarantee.
Silently, Brennan sighed and returned his gaze to the Molecular. "That was all?"
"Yeah," Jesse confirmed.
"How long has she been asleep?" Emma asked.
"When I brought her here she fell asleep for about an hour... then..." he paused to bring back memories from the previous night. "She woke up at around 5 to take a shower."
"In the morning?" Brennan crossed his arms.
"Yeah. I didn't think she had that much strength... which she should but," he sighed. "I don't know. She then fainted again because she felt even more tired and has been asleep ever since."
Emma glanced at the bathroom door as Jesse's voice only dug out nothing but increasing concern from her.
"Ok. Get your coat or whatever you have. We're going back to the alley," Brennan said quickly and decisively.
"Now?" Emma wondered.
"Why me?" Jesse asked.
"'Cause you were there, now come on!" Brennan ordered.
Jesse threw one more uncomfortable glance over at Brennan and then grabbed the jacket from the table.
Brennan reached for the door but stopped before he took the handle. He turned his head towards Emma with deep concern in his eyes.
She could have sighed profoundly to this as his eyes rapidly reached deeper than she had anticipated which not only surprised her, it also disturbed her. "I'll stay here," she reassured him with a soft voice.
A faint smile briefly appeared on his lips, before he turned around and opened the door.
*********
The sunlight, so luring and welcoming above the streets filled with people and few cars, seemed to sadly fall into grayish darkness in this small alley. As he stood there, on that line between the sunlight and the building's shadow, Brennan felt somewhat surprised at himself for never acknowledging this place, although it appeared to be of no special interest.
"Where did you find her?" he asked Jesse.
The Molecular lifted his hand, pointing to the empty spot near the aging wall. "There," he said.
Following his direction, the Elemental walked over to the unmarked spot and observed for any hopeful hints. There was that bad odor originating from the filthy and still moist ground which sent repulsive signals to Brennan; that smell reminded him of the tiny traces his nose had picked up when he arrived at the apartment and now he knew that he did not imagine it.
Looking at the black-colored tiny pond, barely with an inch of depth, he could see nothing but filth. Making a bigger circle, although the shadows had played little tricks on his eyesight, not letting him see everything which was available, he did notice a small object near an old can of soda close to the wall.
He bent down and picked up the metallic object. Its length was the same with Brennan's little finger and it finished off with a sharp edge. "Hmm..." he sounded.
Hearing this, Jesse approached him and noticed the bright object which, if there had been sufficient light it would perhaps give out a fake glow. "Looks like... err..."
"Yeah, I don't know either," Brennan said while moving the object within the space of his palm. The fade light did not give either of the two mutants further possibilities of observations so Brennan placed the object in the pocket of his coat.
Jesse turned to his left and came closer to the wall. The stench persisted to irritate the inner skin of his nostrils, much like Brennan, when he lowered his gaze and noticed a darker stain close to the bottom. Swatting, he could now tell that the stain had been dried blood. It unexpectedly drew quick shivers inside him as he observed the print; something had commanded him to raise his hand and touch the slightly rugged surface with two fingers; when he did, the moment the surface was felt under his fingertips, the previous shivers appeared once more only this time larger. He hoped it wasn't Shalimar's.
"What's that?" Brennan asked.
"Blood I think," Jesse replied. His hand was resting on his knee now.
"Do you think it might be...?"
Jesse's head moved slightly to his right but his eyes were disabled from capturing Brennan. "Shal's?"
"Yep." Jesse returned his gaze to the stain. "I doubt it... she hadn't lost much blood."
This sentence felt like sudden cold water being splashed on Brennan's face. "What?" Jesse stood up before turning to fully face his friend. He did not mention the condition in which he had found the Feral... not yet.
"Just how bad was she bleeding?" Growing fretfulness was sensed in the Elemental's tone.
"Not much! When I found her here only..." he sighed. "There were tiny drops from her forehead and some blood on her hand but I doubt that it was hers." He reserved the shouting although he could sense its frequency would appear in the close future.
Brennan's look did little to approve of Jesse's answer but he accepted it nevertheless. "Aha." Running his hand through his hair he quickly cursed inside him that he did not use the opportunity at Emma's place to take a shower. "What about the wound on her waist?" he then asked.
Jesse stared blankly back at him for a second when he realized that he had forgotten to mention that to Brennan. "Ah, yeah... but Shal found that one out. I didn't know about it 'till last night."
"But you didn't mention it neither to Emma nor me."
"Well, you already know about it so..."
"Yeah," he interrupted him. Brennan did not say anything further but simply spun around, with hopes to find more clues. He knew that the majority of the tension was originating from Jesse but he was trying to hold himself for becoming an equal source.
They needed more clues or perhaps even better, for Shalimar to wake up and tell them.
*********
***
*********
Brennan opened the door to the apartment the following morning. A faint and unpleasant odor began lingering beneath his nose. He stopped with the intention of asking about this strange smell and if it had only been a brief imaginary odor, but then, just as quickly he replaced that question with another, more important one: Shalimar.
When he and Emma entered inside, they heard the sound of the shower from the bathroom. "Shal? Jesse?" he called to them. When he did not receive a reply, Brennan walked over to bedroom. He door was closed. He opened it slowly and soon found Shalimar asleep on the bed.
Brennan stood there in his place for two seconds before he approached the bed and kneeled down next to the sleeping Feral. "Shal?" he whispered. When seeing her lack of response to his call, Brennan placed his hand carefully on her warm waist while his eyes observed her face. He saw the bandages and the bruise on her lower lip. "Shit, what happened to you?" he whispered. His worry rose even further when his eyes lowered themselves to the opening of her robe where, what appeared like it had been a scar, was peeking out almost shyly beneath the shadow of the green material.
Glancing at her closed eyes he then brought his fingers to the opening and removed the soft piece with enough distance so his eyes could capture the entire image of her wound.
A thick uneasy feeling slid down inside him when he noticed the bandages and the deep, however small, scars above it; four angry lines of torn tissue ruining the soft surface of her skin while the white material that was supposedly protecting the small wound beneath them was placed on so roughly that if he would dare to remove it, Brennan would tear off more of her skin.
He kissed her cheek and kept his lips there for a while, on the soft surface. His warm breath touched her skin while his eyes took in the zoomed image of her thin eyelids; she appeared calm in her rest while her breathing, as normal as it was from the feeling it gave, made her quieter than one could usually expect.
Slowly and carefully he then covered her body once again before hearing quiet footsteps behind him. "You think she's alright?" he asked, his eyes lying upon her.
She stopped next to Brennan and kneeled down along with him. "She's..." Emma placed her hand on the Feral's cheek; it felt dry. "She feels tired. Very tired." The Psionic had been in more than simple shock. She could sense earlier while approaching the apartment that something was amiss but to see her friend like this had drawn an uneasy line in front of her. Caressing her cheek, she watched her tenderly.
Without warning she began feeling the wetness creeping up behind her eyes. The oddness was appearing. Why did she begin like this? Of course there was shock and perhaps even disappointment for this site of Shalimar but why did this sudden and unpleasant grieving feeling suddenly begun swimming up to the surface? Sadly, any further thoughts were temporarily on hold when the bathroom door opened.
Brennan rose quickly and turned to meet Jesse standing at the doorway in the same clothes with which he first came here. He didn't wash his hair; it would only steal more time with the drying and all the other 'rituals' which usually follow.
It had been a long time and there was some feeling of rejoice with seeing his friend once more but the concern over the wounded Feral had quickly drowned the pleasanter feeling. He simply approached Jesse and embraced him warmly. "Hey, man," he spoke with a voice close to a whisper.
"Hey," Jesse returned the embrace with the same amount not wanting it to be more. there had been some reservations left. If he had only been more aware of the growing and strange concern for Shalimar; he felt a soft punch inside his gut; but he hoped it had been something else.
"You're good?" Brennan asked him.
Jesse nodded. His eyes sparkled with a gram of untamed hostility. Some of it was towards Brennan but the rest and bigger part was aimed towards Shalimar's attackers.
As their gazes remained temporarily locked at each other, clinging almost unwillingly, both could sense some unusual and tense air between them. Not to let it continue, Jesse walked over to where Emma had been sitting and placed his hand on her tepidly-feeling shoulder.
The Psionic quickly looked up at him with a smile which widened. "Jesse. God!" She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him with the unconscious decision to squeeze the entire capacity of air out of him; perhaps a job possible to do had she not been so less masculine than her male friends.
"How are you?" he asked her softly, enjoying the warm embrace of his friend almost like a scarf around his neck.
"I'm happy to see you," she replied. She would have been even more excited if Shalimar hadn't been in the state in which she was. "And you?" The worry had overcome her as well from the moment she had stepped into this apartment.
"I'm happy to see you, also," was his answer. Their voices were not raised above the level which could signal a rude awakening for Shalimar; they felt her slumber had been more important.
"What happened to her?" Brennan asked almost immediately when once again he stood next to Shalimar's sleeping body.
As a response Jesse signaled over to them to join him in the living room instead.
When they gathered in the living room with the bedroom door safely closed to not allow any loud voices close to Shalimar, Jesse began: "I thought I told you on the phone."
"Just that she was attacked," Brennan responded.
"Ok. Right," Jesse placed his hands on his waist. "Well, she just told me that they surprised her in that little alley and that they seemed stronger and quicker. She seems too weak to reveal any more details," he said shortly and simply.
"Aha," Brennan watched him briefly with doubt that was weirdly appearing, quietly inside him; he then turned his gaze over to Emma who had sensed that look like a sharp sword.
Quickly she diverted her blues over to the Elemental. She felt that he had some faint uncertainties of the recollection. "He might be right," she responded. Emma knew he needed her guarantee.
Silently, Brennan sighed and returned his gaze to the Molecular. "That was all?"
"Yeah," Jesse confirmed.
"How long has she been asleep?" Emma asked.
"When I brought her here she fell asleep for about an hour... then..." he paused to bring back memories from the previous night. "She woke up at around 5 to take a shower."
"In the morning?" Brennan crossed his arms.
"Yeah. I didn't think she had that much strength... which she should but," he sighed. "I don't know. She then fainted again because she felt even more tired and has been asleep ever since."
Emma glanced at the bathroom door as Jesse's voice only dug out nothing but increasing concern from her.
"Ok. Get your coat or whatever you have. We're going back to the alley," Brennan said quickly and decisively.
"Now?" Emma wondered.
"Why me?" Jesse asked.
"'Cause you were there, now come on!" Brennan ordered.
Jesse threw one more uncomfortable glance over at Brennan and then grabbed the jacket from the table.
Brennan reached for the door but stopped before he took the handle. He turned his head towards Emma with deep concern in his eyes.
She could have sighed profoundly to this as his eyes rapidly reached deeper than she had anticipated which not only surprised her, it also disturbed her. "I'll stay here," she reassured him with a soft voice.
A faint smile briefly appeared on his lips, before he turned around and opened the door.
*********
The sunlight, so luring and welcoming above the streets filled with people and few cars, seemed to sadly fall into grayish darkness in this small alley. As he stood there, on that line between the sunlight and the building's shadow, Brennan felt somewhat surprised at himself for never acknowledging this place, although it appeared to be of no special interest.
"Where did you find her?" he asked Jesse.
The Molecular lifted his hand, pointing to the empty spot near the aging wall. "There," he said.
Following his direction, the Elemental walked over to the unmarked spot and observed for any hopeful hints. There was that bad odor originating from the filthy and still moist ground which sent repulsive signals to Brennan; that smell reminded him of the tiny traces his nose had picked up when he arrived at the apartment and now he knew that he did not imagine it.
Looking at the black-colored tiny pond, barely with an inch of depth, he could see nothing but filth. Making a bigger circle, although the shadows had played little tricks on his eyesight, not letting him see everything which was available, he did notice a small object near an old can of soda close to the wall.
He bent down and picked up the metallic object. Its length was the same with Brennan's little finger and it finished off with a sharp edge. "Hmm..." he sounded.
Hearing this, Jesse approached him and noticed the bright object which, if there had been sufficient light it would perhaps give out a fake glow. "Looks like... err..."
"Yeah, I don't know either," Brennan said while moving the object within the space of his palm. The fade light did not give either of the two mutants further possibilities of observations so Brennan placed the object in the pocket of his coat.
Jesse turned to his left and came closer to the wall. The stench persisted to irritate the inner skin of his nostrils, much like Brennan, when he lowered his gaze and noticed a darker stain close to the bottom. Swatting, he could now tell that the stain had been dried blood. It unexpectedly drew quick shivers inside him as he observed the print; something had commanded him to raise his hand and touch the slightly rugged surface with two fingers; when he did, the moment the surface was felt under his fingertips, the previous shivers appeared once more only this time larger. He hoped it wasn't Shalimar's.
"What's that?" Brennan asked.
"Blood I think," Jesse replied. His hand was resting on his knee now.
"Do you think it might be...?"
Jesse's head moved slightly to his right but his eyes were disabled from capturing Brennan. "Shal's?"
"Yep." Jesse returned his gaze to the stain. "I doubt it... she hadn't lost much blood."
This sentence felt like sudden cold water being splashed on Brennan's face. "What?" Jesse stood up before turning to fully face his friend. He did not mention the condition in which he had found the Feral... not yet.
"Just how bad was she bleeding?" Growing fretfulness was sensed in the Elemental's tone.
"Not much! When I found her here only..." he sighed. "There were tiny drops from her forehead and some blood on her hand but I doubt that it was hers." He reserved the shouting although he could sense its frequency would appear in the close future.
Brennan's look did little to approve of Jesse's answer but he accepted it nevertheless. "Aha." Running his hand through his hair he quickly cursed inside him that he did not use the opportunity at Emma's place to take a shower. "What about the wound on her waist?" he then asked.
Jesse stared blankly back at him for a second when he realized that he had forgotten to mention that to Brennan. "Ah, yeah... but Shal found that one out. I didn't know about it 'till last night."
"But you didn't mention it neither to Emma nor me."
"Well, you already know about it so..."
"Yeah," he interrupted him. Brennan did not say anything further but simply spun around, with hopes to find more clues. He knew that the majority of the tension was originating from Jesse but he was trying to hold himself for becoming an equal source.
They needed more clues or perhaps even better, for Shalimar to wake up and tell them.
*********