Part VI - You Lose Some..You Win Some..
Smoke filled my lungs as I rushed into the burning cabin. I couldn't see, and could barley breathe.
"Kitty!" I yelled. Coughing on my own words. My eyes began to tear up. I had to find her quick, that is, if she was even in here. I began to search the room. The fire kept me from moving too fast. That's when I heard a noise. A thudding sound came from beneath me. The floor? I looked down at the floor, and I heard the noise again. Dropping to my hands and knees I searched for a trap door. I couldn't find one. My head began to feel heavy, time was running out. Taking one of the last available breaths of air, I jumped. That is, I began to jump, up and down on the floor using my speed. I created something like a drill, and a few seconds later I broke through the floor. Hot splinters went flying everywhere.
"Kitty!" I yelled again. I now stood in an underground room.
"Help.me." Said a weak female voice to my right. I raced over and grabbed the girl. Her body felt limp in my arms. Using all the oxygen and energy I had left, I leap from the room, and raced out the door. As I did, part of the roof caved in behind me. I had barely made it.
I kept running, I was so tired and out of breathe that I was now going normal speed. Finally, I couldn't keep it up. I dropped to my knees, laying the girl down, and falling to her side.
I am not sure how long I laid there. It felt like an eternity. After I had enough fresh air in me to breathe comfortably, I looked at the girl whom I had saved. Ash covered her face, shoulders, and arms. Her hair lay tangled and singed. But after a few seconds, I knew who she was. I had done it, or at least I thought I had. I had saved Kitty Pryde. I checked her pulse, it was weak, but she was still alive, that is what mattered.
As she lay there beside me, it almost appeared as though she slept pleasantly. A vast difference from what her life was really like. I could not help but feel pity for her. And pity is not something that I usually felt for people, actually, I don't think I ever had. I just wondered what it was that this girl knew that ruined her whole life. I wasn't sure, but I had an underlying feeling that this was just the beginning for Kitty Pryde and me.
***************************
Pietro sat on the windowsill watching the rain pour down. His face bore a pensive expression; he appeared to be in deep concentration. But, his thoughts were interrupted..
"Who are you? No! Get away! Fire! Help! Help me!.." She screamed shrilly than sat straight up. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead. Pietro watched her. She had not yet realized that he was in the room. For that matter, she hadn't even realized that she wasn't dreaming. The room was dark; the only light that shined in through the window was from the moon.
Kitty felt the nightstand for a lamp. Finding it, she switched it on. She thought she had seen something out of the corner of her eye, she looked towards the windowsill, it was empty. Only a blanket hung down to the floor. She still had the unnerving feeling that she was not alone, but she saw no one in the room.
'Where am I?' Kitty thought to herself. Further scrutiny of her surroundings made her come to the conclusion that this was a motel room. Not the nicest one either.
"Haachuuuu!!!!"
Kitty tensed up, she knew that she was not alone.
"Darn it!" Pietro whispered to himself. Now she knew he was here. He should have known better than to be out in the rain.
"Who's there?" Kitty asked in a fearful, yet authoritative voice. She slowly climbed out of bed. "I know you're in here. Show yourself...please."
Politeness? She must be preparing to try and kick my butt. Little does she know that I am too swift for her, huh! I let myself be caught up in my moment of ego. The light in the bathroom, where I was, switched on.
"Ha!" She said, jumping in front of me.
"Ah!" I playfully yelled, swiftly moving behind her. I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Eek!" She looked baffled as to how I did that so quickly. "Alright! Enough games!" Her cheeks turned pink as she glared at me, mad I had scared her. "Who are you, and what am I doing here?"
I smiled at her defensiveness, then turned somewhat serious. "Listen Ms. Pryde, my name is Pi..."
"How do you know my name?" She snapped cutting me off.
I gave an agitated sigh, "Ahhhh.. If you would just let me talk, I'll explain that."
"Alright. But you'd better have a good explanation, or I'll." She stuttered over her words.
"Or you'll what?" I asked, beginning to challenge her. Wups! I didn't want to scare her off, I had to play it carefully. If she ran off, it'd be a lot harder to find her if she was actually running from me!
She crossed her arms and scowled at me. I held my hands up, and backed up.
I began, "It all started a couples week ago, when Wolverine contacted me.." At the mention of Wolverine I saw a change in her eyes, I knew I had her full attention! I went on the recount the past few weeks and my dealings with Todd and Jubilee. By her reaction I could tell that she believed it all, but I had to close the deal. ".. After I had a little rest and caught my breath, I sneaked you to my 'borrowed' car, and checked us into this motel. And.." I reached in my pocket and closed my fist around my only proof, "...I still have this." I opened my fist and held out the locket that Todd had given me. A sparkle came to her eyes as she took it, then a look of sorrow covered her face as she held it to her heart.
I saw her begin to tear up, "Ms.Pryde?" I leaned towards her. I wasn't very good at comforting people.
She gave a laugh, and wiped a tear from one eye. "Ms.Pryde. Ha! And to think, if none of this had ever happened, that wouldn't even be my name right now!" She smiled, and tried to laugh her tears away, but I could see the painful look in her eyes, I saw beyond that.
"What do you mean?" I asked sympathetically.
She laughed again. "Oh it's silly really. You see I was engaged to be married. Actually, it was secret. You might think how romantic, a secret engagement..." She paused to discreetly wipe away another tear.
"Actually, I wasn't thinking that at all." I mumbled in a barely audible tone.
"What?" She looked up, almost shocked.
"Oh nothing. Go on." I smiled.
"Oh yes well...anyway, that's certainly over now. I'm still just Ms.Pryde." She glanced out the window, a distant look in her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. "Enough about that. You win some, you lose some. By the way thank you so much for saving me from the house. And I must admit you did a good job tracking me down. I thought no one would figure out where I was, at least no one that wanted to help me."
"Speaking of which, what happened at the cabin? How did they not get you, and how were you unable to phase through the walls and get yourself out?" These were just a few of the many questions I had for her. The others could wait.
"Oh yes. Well, they came to the cabin looking for me, but I was able to hide in the underground room. They had no idea that I was there. Anyway, they apparently didn't want to leave me a place to come back to, so they set fire to the house. I knew I could get out, but I wanted to wait till they had left, and I could still hear them outside. Well, by the time that I didn't hear them, I realized I was practically unconscious. I hadn't realized that smoke had been seeping in through the floor and I was nearly overcome with smoke. I hadn't the energy to phase through the wall. That's when I heard you. I didn't know if perhaps you were one of them or not, but I had to take a chance. I remember calling for help, then everything went blank. That's all I remember. I'm just glad you got there on time. A few more minutes and.."
She shook her head at the thought that it could have killed her. I had a feeling though that it was not her own death that she feared. There was a bigger picture, something I didn't see yet...
"Your welcome." I said after a moment of silence.
She smiled, still holding the locket to her heart, "You can call me Kitty."
I nodded, "I'm Pietro. Nice to meet you." I then reached over and pulled her hand to me. I took the locket out of her grasp and hooked it around her neck. "Not everything that we keep close to our hearts, has to be kept close to our minds."
I then stood up and offered Kitty my hand. She looked at me with an expression, almost of amazement. Even I was shocked at how nice a thing I just said. She smiled at me warmly, a sincere smile that showed in her eyes, the first of many more to come. Little did I know that the image of that expression would be one to stay with me forever.
Smoke filled my lungs as I rushed into the burning cabin. I couldn't see, and could barley breathe.
"Kitty!" I yelled. Coughing on my own words. My eyes began to tear up. I had to find her quick, that is, if she was even in here. I began to search the room. The fire kept me from moving too fast. That's when I heard a noise. A thudding sound came from beneath me. The floor? I looked down at the floor, and I heard the noise again. Dropping to my hands and knees I searched for a trap door. I couldn't find one. My head began to feel heavy, time was running out. Taking one of the last available breaths of air, I jumped. That is, I began to jump, up and down on the floor using my speed. I created something like a drill, and a few seconds later I broke through the floor. Hot splinters went flying everywhere.
"Kitty!" I yelled again. I now stood in an underground room.
"Help.me." Said a weak female voice to my right. I raced over and grabbed the girl. Her body felt limp in my arms. Using all the oxygen and energy I had left, I leap from the room, and raced out the door. As I did, part of the roof caved in behind me. I had barely made it.
I kept running, I was so tired and out of breathe that I was now going normal speed. Finally, I couldn't keep it up. I dropped to my knees, laying the girl down, and falling to her side.
I am not sure how long I laid there. It felt like an eternity. After I had enough fresh air in me to breathe comfortably, I looked at the girl whom I had saved. Ash covered her face, shoulders, and arms. Her hair lay tangled and singed. But after a few seconds, I knew who she was. I had done it, or at least I thought I had. I had saved Kitty Pryde. I checked her pulse, it was weak, but she was still alive, that is what mattered.
As she lay there beside me, it almost appeared as though she slept pleasantly. A vast difference from what her life was really like. I could not help but feel pity for her. And pity is not something that I usually felt for people, actually, I don't think I ever had. I just wondered what it was that this girl knew that ruined her whole life. I wasn't sure, but I had an underlying feeling that this was just the beginning for Kitty Pryde and me.
***************************
Pietro sat on the windowsill watching the rain pour down. His face bore a pensive expression; he appeared to be in deep concentration. But, his thoughts were interrupted..
"Who are you? No! Get away! Fire! Help! Help me!.." She screamed shrilly than sat straight up. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead. Pietro watched her. She had not yet realized that he was in the room. For that matter, she hadn't even realized that she wasn't dreaming. The room was dark; the only light that shined in through the window was from the moon.
Kitty felt the nightstand for a lamp. Finding it, she switched it on. She thought she had seen something out of the corner of her eye, she looked towards the windowsill, it was empty. Only a blanket hung down to the floor. She still had the unnerving feeling that she was not alone, but she saw no one in the room.
'Where am I?' Kitty thought to herself. Further scrutiny of her surroundings made her come to the conclusion that this was a motel room. Not the nicest one either.
"Haachuuuu!!!!"
Kitty tensed up, she knew that she was not alone.
"Darn it!" Pietro whispered to himself. Now she knew he was here. He should have known better than to be out in the rain.
"Who's there?" Kitty asked in a fearful, yet authoritative voice. She slowly climbed out of bed. "I know you're in here. Show yourself...please."
Politeness? She must be preparing to try and kick my butt. Little does she know that I am too swift for her, huh! I let myself be caught up in my moment of ego. The light in the bathroom, where I was, switched on.
"Ha!" She said, jumping in front of me.
"Ah!" I playfully yelled, swiftly moving behind her. I tapped her on the shoulder.
"Eek!" She looked baffled as to how I did that so quickly. "Alright! Enough games!" Her cheeks turned pink as she glared at me, mad I had scared her. "Who are you, and what am I doing here?"
I smiled at her defensiveness, then turned somewhat serious. "Listen Ms. Pryde, my name is Pi..."
"How do you know my name?" She snapped cutting me off.
I gave an agitated sigh, "Ahhhh.. If you would just let me talk, I'll explain that."
"Alright. But you'd better have a good explanation, or I'll." She stuttered over her words.
"Or you'll what?" I asked, beginning to challenge her. Wups! I didn't want to scare her off, I had to play it carefully. If she ran off, it'd be a lot harder to find her if she was actually running from me!
She crossed her arms and scowled at me. I held my hands up, and backed up.
I began, "It all started a couples week ago, when Wolverine contacted me.." At the mention of Wolverine I saw a change in her eyes, I knew I had her full attention! I went on the recount the past few weeks and my dealings with Todd and Jubilee. By her reaction I could tell that she believed it all, but I had to close the deal. ".. After I had a little rest and caught my breath, I sneaked you to my 'borrowed' car, and checked us into this motel. And.." I reached in my pocket and closed my fist around my only proof, "...I still have this." I opened my fist and held out the locket that Todd had given me. A sparkle came to her eyes as she took it, then a look of sorrow covered her face as she held it to her heart.
I saw her begin to tear up, "Ms.Pryde?" I leaned towards her. I wasn't very good at comforting people.
She gave a laugh, and wiped a tear from one eye. "Ms.Pryde. Ha! And to think, if none of this had ever happened, that wouldn't even be my name right now!" She smiled, and tried to laugh her tears away, but I could see the painful look in her eyes, I saw beyond that.
"What do you mean?" I asked sympathetically.
She laughed again. "Oh it's silly really. You see I was engaged to be married. Actually, it was secret. You might think how romantic, a secret engagement..." She paused to discreetly wipe away another tear.
"Actually, I wasn't thinking that at all." I mumbled in a barely audible tone.
"What?" She looked up, almost shocked.
"Oh nothing. Go on." I smiled.
"Oh yes well...anyway, that's certainly over now. I'm still just Ms.Pryde." She glanced out the window, a distant look in her eyes as she tried to regain her composure. "Enough about that. You win some, you lose some. By the way thank you so much for saving me from the house. And I must admit you did a good job tracking me down. I thought no one would figure out where I was, at least no one that wanted to help me."
"Speaking of which, what happened at the cabin? How did they not get you, and how were you unable to phase through the walls and get yourself out?" These were just a few of the many questions I had for her. The others could wait.
"Oh yes. Well, they came to the cabin looking for me, but I was able to hide in the underground room. They had no idea that I was there. Anyway, they apparently didn't want to leave me a place to come back to, so they set fire to the house. I knew I could get out, but I wanted to wait till they had left, and I could still hear them outside. Well, by the time that I didn't hear them, I realized I was practically unconscious. I hadn't realized that smoke had been seeping in through the floor and I was nearly overcome with smoke. I hadn't the energy to phase through the wall. That's when I heard you. I didn't know if perhaps you were one of them or not, but I had to take a chance. I remember calling for help, then everything went blank. That's all I remember. I'm just glad you got there on time. A few more minutes and.."
She shook her head at the thought that it could have killed her. I had a feeling though that it was not her own death that she feared. There was a bigger picture, something I didn't see yet...
"Your welcome." I said after a moment of silence.
She smiled, still holding the locket to her heart, "You can call me Kitty."
I nodded, "I'm Pietro. Nice to meet you." I then reached over and pulled her hand to me. I took the locket out of her grasp and hooked it around her neck. "Not everything that we keep close to our hearts, has to be kept close to our minds."
I then stood up and offered Kitty my hand. She looked at me with an expression, almost of amazement. Even I was shocked at how nice a thing I just said. She smiled at me warmly, a sincere smile that showed in her eyes, the first of many more to come. Little did I know that the image of that expression would be one to stay with me forever.