I DO NOT KNOWN ANY OF THE X-MEN OR ANYTHING RELATED TO THEM.
Chapter 14
"There is nothing here." Storm said as she dropped the canceled ticket that she was holding onto Xavier's desk. The group had meet after dinner to try to figure out what to do. So far the only thing they had found in Sarah's bag, besides clothes, was a bunch of canceled bus and train tickets all of which had the date marked off so that there was no way they would be able to determine anything about where she had come from.
"There is no way we can figure out where they are from any of these tickets. Without a date and time they are useless." Jean said.
"The times crossed out too?" Scott asked.
"It is on these." Jean answered.
"I'm sorry," Sarah said, "I don't remember doing any of this."
"It is OK." Xavier said reassuringly. "I doubt even you knew what you were doing."
"You don't remember anything?" Logan asked.
"No." Sarah answered shaking her head.
"I thought after last night you remembered everything?" Scott said.
"I remember most things but some things are still fuzzy. I don't know where they are."
"The one thing they needed to hid the most." Xavier said. "You know where they are Sarah, it's hidden in your mind but there is something that wont let you get to it."
"So she is still under their control?" Scott asked.
"Yes," Xavier responded, "I don't know what might trigger a response from her. A word a movement could cause her to try to leave again."
"Great." Scott muttered.
"I wish I could help," Sarah said, "but all I remember is coming from the station here."
"Well it looks like you saw most of the country on your way." Storm committed.
"She might not have." Xavier said.
"What do you mean?" Logan asked.
"These tickets could have been planted on her to throw us off."
"Great," Jean said dropping the tickets she had in her hand on the desk, "now what?"
Just then there was a knock on the door. "Come in." the Professor called. Marie entered the room
"Excuse me Professor, but..."
"Where is she!?" A very large, angry, and dirty man screamed, cutting Marie off and pushing her roughly out of the way.
"Steve!" Sarah said her eyes wide with fear. "How did you find me?"
"A friend called me. Told me where you were. Now say good-bye to your little friends here we're going home."
"She's not going anywhere with you." Logan said stepping between him and Sarah.
"Really and what are you going to do about it? Huh, hey I remember you. You're..."
"He's my husband." Sarah cut in squeezing herself between Steve and Logan. "And he's right I'm not going with you. So why don't you go back where you came from."
Steve grabbed her arm and shook her, "Shut up!" he screamed and threw her across the room. She hit the bookcase and fell to the floor. "And as for you." Steve said turning to Logan, "Stay away from my cousin." As he started to approach Logan, Logan saw his eyes go white and fall to the ground. He looked at Marie.
"Thanks." he said.
"Sure." Marie said and sat down in one of the professor's chairs.
"How much you want to bet his friend was one of Stryker's men?" Scott asked.
"Rancor." Logan corrected, "Stryker is dead, but I think your right. I think some one working for Rancor called him. The question is why."
"We have to go." Sarah said calmly, standing up slowly the gash on her forehead closed quickly. "We have to go now."
"Where?" the professor asked.
"We have to go." Sarah repeated urgency now in her voice, and grabbed Logan's arm tightly and starting for the door.
"Why?" Logan asked, pulling her back toward him so he could see her face, as he did he her the door lock. Thanks Jean. he thought. "Why do we have to go?"
"We have to." Sarah said turning back to the door.
"Why Sarah?" The professor asked, "what will happen if you don't?"
"What?" Sarah asked, turning to look at the professor.
"What's going to happen if you don't go?"
Sarah did not answer.
"You don't know do you?" The professor said gently. "Their hold on you is so strong that you don't even know why you do things, do you."
"No," Sarah said relaxing her hold on Logan a bit. "I don't remember everything."
"It's OK." the professor said, "Now I want you to think hard. What will happen if you don't leave."
Sarah closed her eyes trying to remember. Finally she said quietly, "They well send me back to Steve."
"What?" Logan asked.
"They will send me back to Steve."
"OK," the professor said, "and what will happen if you don't bring Logan back?"
Sarah thought hard and then said, "I don't know. I don't think they ever told me."
"They might not have." the professor said.
"Do you still want to leave?" Logan asked.
"Yes." Sarah answered.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"It doesn't make sense." Scott said, "She knows these people will hurt her, yet she still wants to go back? I don't get it."
"It does not have to make sense." Xavier said, "Their hold is strong. The will they focussed on to her is stronger than her now."
"How do we stop it." Scott asked.
"Professor?" Marie said, "What if Sarah is programmed to return to the base if she sees Steve."
"That could be true," Xavier said, "and I believe the word is conditioned."
"Then isn't someone waiting for her now?"
"You maybe right." Scott said.
"I thought we had until tomorrow night." Storm said.
"Last night," Scott said looking at Sarah who was now leaning against the wall, her hand still on Logan's arm but her grip was weaker. "What if Sarah was supposed to check in with someone? And when she didn't show up they sent that creep," pointing to Steve who was still out cold on the floor, "to force her to come back now."
"Rancor is not a patient person." Sarah said.
"So what are we going to do?" Storm asked, "We can't have them coming here. Some of the children are still having nightmares about the last time soldiers came."
"We're going to the train station." Xavier said.
