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Chapter 5: Storms

The first thing Adam noticed when he came to, was that his hands were tied, bound behind him to the chair he was sitting in. There was a dull ache in the back of his head. He wondered how long he'd been out, and whether the 'kids' were okay. (He had no right to call them kids, but he couldn't help it—he'd always seen them that way. Like he was their father, protector, or whatever). He gazed around groggily at his surroundings. It was very dark, as there were no windows in the room. His eyes became accustomed to the darkness, and Adam's interest perked as he realized he must in Dr. Jules' laboratory. The room was filled with all sorts of equipment and computer terminals. Suddenly a door off to his left flew open, and all the lights flicked on, making Adam's eyes sting.

"Ah, Adam, I see you're awake. Perhaps this time you will be more cooperative," Jules said as he walked into the room, followed closely by the henchman that had hit Adam on the head.

"Don't count on it," Adam said defiantly. Dr. Jules just grinned and sat down in a swivel chair to Adam's right.

"The lives of your friends may depend on your cooperation."

"Just what exactly do you want from us?" Adam demanded. He was losing it, getting frustrated, letting Jules get to him. He couldn't lose it. His team's lives' depended on him keeping his cool.

"You will see," was all the doctor would say. Just then, the two other henchmen who'd chased after Jesse and Brennan burst into the room. Jules stood as they walked over. "Were you successful?" he asked.

"Well…yeah," answered the one man hesitantly.

"You don't sound sure."

"Well, we gave them trouble, just like you said, but we may have gone too far," the other man stammered.

"What do you mean, too far?"

"We blew one of the snowmobiles up while the one kid was on it, and we didn't see him get up afterward."

"I wanted them alive! I need them!" Jules hissed angrily.

"Need them for what, Jules!" Adam shouted, struggling against his binds. Inwardly his stomach was in knots. He hoped they were okay.

"You would do well to bite your tongue, Kane!" Jules shouted back, and left the room in a huff.

"We need to get outta here," Brennan said as the snow began to fall harder. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, sure," Jesse mumbled. He let Brennan help him to his feet, but he gasped with pain and fell to his knees after only one step.

"What is it?" Brennan asked, concerned.

"I think…I hurt…my side. It hurts really bad," Jesse whispered, his face contorted in agony. Brennan looked down at Jesse and frowned. There was blood seeping through the molecular's jacket. Brennan looked closer and his eyes narrowed.

"Jess, did you get shot?" Jesse looked down.

"I don't remember getting shot," he said slowly, and then, all of sudden, his eyes widened. "Oh, it must've happened when those guys had gained on us. Remember they were almost riding next us? He must've gotten a side shot at me."

"We have to put pressure on it," Brennan said, and pulled a penknife from his back pocket.

"What're you doing?"

"I'm gonna cut up my jacket and use it for bandages," Brennan answered, hardly taking his eyes off his work.

"Oh. You should use my jacket. Shal'll be mad if you cut yours up—she got it for you for Christmas."

"She won't be mad. Besides, you'll need yours. It's gonna get cold when the sun goes down." Jesse was quiet for a moment. He was starting to feel it now, the pain. He probably hadn't felt it before because of the cold.

"Hey, you still with me?" Brennan asked, concerned.

"Yeah, just thinkin'."

"About what?"

"I didn't even realize I'd been hit, didn't even feel it. I should've phased it—but I didn't even see it coming." Jesse felt a stab of anger at himself. Because he was hurt, it would take them longer to get back to the Inn, and Adam and the girls would be in danger because of him.

"Yeah, well, you're lucky. Those guys had shotguns. Big bullets, big mess, and there's no exit wound. That means the bullet's somewhere inside you. It's not bleeding too bad right now 'cuz it's cold, but we need to get you to a doctor." Jesse winced as Brennan tightened the makeshift bandage. "There," he said when he finished. "Do you think you can ride?"

"Yep," answered Jesse, determined.

"Okay, it's not going to be easy, 'cuz that snowmobile is a one seater, but we'll just have to manage."

"Don't you think we should warn Adam about those guys with the guns?" Jesse suggested with grunt, as Brennan helped him over to the snowmobile. Brennan straightened, and called out through the com link.

"Adam. Adam it's Brennan, come in. Adam!"

"That's weird," said Jesse. Neither mutant could shake the feeling that something was definitely wrong.

"Yeah, let's try the girls. Shalimar, it's Brennan." There was a moment of static, and then Shalimar's voice rang out loud and true.

"Brennan! Thank God. Are you okay? Is Jesse with you?"

"Yeah, Jesse's with me. We were snowmobiling when two guys came out of nowhere and started shooting at us. Jesse got hit."

"He got shot! Is he okay?"

"Well, I have the bleeding under control right now, but we'll have to get him medical attention." Jesse rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Geez, I'm right here…I'm fine, Shal. Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, Emma and I are looking for Adam. We think Jules has him tied up somewhere in the building. Those guys that were chasing you were probably Jules' men, too."

"You're probably right," Brennan agreed. "Listen, you and Emma need to be careful, there's no telling what this guy is up to."

"We can handle it," said Shalimar with a self confident smile. She was always ready for a fight.

"All right, we'll be back as soon we can," Brennan said, ending the conversation. He slid onto the snowmobile in front of Jesse. "It's gonna be bumpy, so hold on." They sped off through the falling snow, just as a bigger storm began to roll in.

Emma and Shalimar had been creeping around the back side of the large ski resort, peeking in windows and looking for clues to where Adam could be.

"This is really getting annoying," Shalimar complained.

"What?" Emma was accustomed to the Feral's mood swings, but this was not the time or place for it. It was distracting.

"I just hate sneaking around like this." Emma stopped and stared at her friend.

"It was your idea," she reminded her. Shalimar sighed, and continued walking. She hated sneaking around because it wasn't doing anything. She wanted action; a fight. At this very moment Adam could be…no she wouldn't even think it. They would reach him in time. They always had before, hadn't they?

Just then both girls froze as a door opened from the side of the building, less than 50 yards in front of them. The girls pressed up against the wall, Shalimar's eyes flashing feral as she used her sensitive hearing to listen to what the two men were saying.

"Jules is crazy, going up against that scientist. What's his name?"

"Kane," the second man answered.

"Yeah, that's it. Didn't he bring four of those freaks with him?"

"Yeah, but Darek and I took care of the boys. Superpowers don't mean jack if you're up against a shotgun." Both men laughed.

"I still say Jules is crazy."

"Yeah, well, Jules is Jules. Nobody knows what goes on in that head of his." The two men lit up ciggarettes and stoond there smoking.

"Hey, weren't there two girls?" The first man asked.

"Yeah. Wonder why he didn't bother with them?"

"Maybe he forgot."

"Nah, Jules never forgets…let's go ask him about it though." The two men tossed their ciggarettes in the snow, and headed back into the building. Shalimar stepped away from the wall and turned to Emma.

"Oh I can't wait to kick their butts," she said.

"Was that a hidden door they came out of?" asked Emma, who'd been watching closely.

"Must've been. And I'll bet you ten to one that Adam's behind that door." The two girls made there way over to the part of the building where the two men had exited.

"This is the area," Shalimar said, and felt around for a depression in the brick. "Here," she said, and went to push it open…

They had been riding through the snow for half an hour, when Brennan suddenly stopped. He shut off the engine, and slid off of the vehicle slowly as to not jostle Jesse's injuries. "How you doin'?" he asked. Jesse didn't answer, he just sat there, buried in his jacket. "Jess! You with me?" Brennan shouted, grabbing the molecular's shoulder. Jesse looked up, his face ashen.

"mmm…tired," he mumbled. "It's cold."

"Oh no, you gotta stay awake, bro, you hear me? Here, let me check that bandage." It was just as Brennan feared. All the jostling from the snowmobile had made the wound bleed worse, the redness seeping through Brennan's makeshift bandage.

"Why'd we stop anyway?" Jesse's words were slurred. Brennan knew he was at risk for hypothermia. He couldn't believe Jesse had gotten so bad so fast.

"Well, I was having trouble seeing 'cuz of the snow," Brennan admitted. He didn't want to tell Jesse that he thought they were in the path of a full fledged snow storm.

"So we're lost?" It was more of statement than a question.

"No, I just have to remember how to get back," said Brennan. "Besides, we're over halfway there anyways. Just another mile or so." 'If I'm going in the right direction,' he thought grimly. He slid back onto the snowmobile and turned the ignition key. He frowned as the vehicle didn't respond.

The engine had died.

Sorry for the cliffhanger, had to stop it here. Well, I didn't have to…I just felt like it.

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