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Luke growled at the orderlies who had circled him looking both determined and scared. He snapped at one who tried to grab him.
"Luke!"
He turned to the door hearing Nikki's cries; while he was distracted an orderly threw a rope around his neck.
Snarling he attacked the orderly.
Nikki scrabbled up the side of the building, using a dumpster to help him up. He'd had practice with this many years back, before he started being institutionalized, and also when he had escaped from these places before. He clambered onto the roof and walked across it, balanced as a cat. It was a flat roof, and had a large metal pipe coming from it, covered with a grate, which Nikki knew was the ventilation system.
He pulled at the grate, and kicked it a few times until it finally came loose, then let himself down it, crawling through until he came to a floor grate, which he again kicked until it fell through. He dropped carefully down and looked around, not having a clue where the hell he was.
Apparently, he was in a broom closet. He practically fell out of the little room and found his bearings when he discovered the kitchens, now dark and empty. He ran towards the area where his room had been and heard the sounds of a fight before he saw it.
He came around the corner and saw some orderlies tackling Luke, who, although fighting for his life, was obviously out numbered. He recognized one of the orderlies as Alex, who'd practically molested him in that closet, then had him locked up in solitary.
His eyes glowed as he grinned maniacally, then quietly crept up and jumped onto Alex's back, pulling his hair and biting into his head hard. Luke pulled free of another orderly, the tang of fresh blood in his mouth driving him crazy. Turning he bit another orderly in the throat, crushing his windpipe.
'Nikki,' He called mentally lunging at another orderly, 'Why'd you come back in!?'
Alex reached up to grab the boy off his head, but Nikki screamed and dug his thumb into the guard's eye. The guard also screamed and collapsed, and Nikki fell with him, getting his arm trapped underneath the guard's body.
He panicked and pulled frantically to get free, yelling an answer to Luke's question over his shoulder.
"I couldn't leave you here!"
Luke lunged at Alex tearing in him all the while freeing Nikki's arm in the process. Alex's screams trailed off into gurgling whimpers.
Nikki pulled out from underneath Alex and cradled his arm to him, watching the blood fly. The stress of that day was too much for him and he relapsed, totally immersed in his previous psychosis. He looked without seeing at the blood covering the floor and trailed a finger in it, drawing simple lines through it onto the tiled floor.
Panting, Luke looked around finding that Alex was the last orderly there. Turning his head he found Nikki drawing with his finger in a puddle of blood.
'Oh God...' He thought to himself as he approached the boy, 'Nikki, Nikki. Come on...' He nudged him with his head and whimpered.
Nikki raised his bloodstained fingers to the wolf, offering them for him to lick. He smiled and wiped his other, also bloodstained, hand clean on his shirt and trousers.
He dropped his hand and frowned; now looking uncertain, "Luke?" He called, looking around, "Come back, don't leave me..."
Whimpering, Luke sat down and licked Nikki's cheek, 'Snap outta it kid.' He pawed at the air in front of him.
Nikki sat back against the wall, practically hugging it, and sniffled, slightly tear, "Luke..." he whimpered plaintively, "Come back."
Not knowing what else to do, Luke laid down next to Nikki resting his head in his lap, 'I'm right here.' He sent soothingly tempted to try and just carry the boy on his back out of the building, but afraid that it might send him even deeper into shock.
Nikki played with the wolf's ear, accidentally wiping blood on it, "You're a wolf not Luke. Where is he?" He asked, a bit less upset now.
Luke's ear twitched unconsciously, he sat up, 'Can you stand?' He sent hoping that Nikki was returning to his senses.
Nikki nodded and stood up, stumbling a little, but righting himself. He rubbed his arm where Alex had yanked him around. "My arm hurts, He said, but it was more of a statement than a complaint, "Where's Luke?" He asked again
'He's going to meet us at the Institute for Mutants,' Luke stood up wagging his tail, 'He sent me to take you.
Nikki didn't seem to have a problem with this, "Okay... where we going?"
'It's called Xavier's School For The Gifted,' Luke sighed inwardly glad that they were finally getting out of this Hell hole, "You have to unlock the door again, can you do it?' He asked sitting by the door trying his best to ignore the dead bodies sprawled out around it.
Nikki reopened the door, the blood on his hands now tacky, and wandered outside, looking up at the dismal sky with no emotion at all.
Luke followed behind him, worry shining in his yellow wolfish eyes.
'It's just down the street a little, think you can make it?'
Nikki's attention snapped back to the wolf, "Huh? Make what? I can make cartwheels." He said, demonstrating.
'That's great.' Luke shook his head continuing onward every now and then glancing up at the stars until they reached a dirt road, 'I believe this road leads into Bayville.' He turned looking back at Nikki.
"I believe.... in luuurve..." Nikki drawled, giggling, then turning serious. "Mhmm... lead on Macdogg."
Luke rolled his eyes and began walking down the road unconsciously listening to Nikki's ramblings.
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A/N: Next Chapter we meet the X-men… Please Review!
