Forcing the Matter By Silence in Dreams
Disclaimer- No, I still don't own anything... all things Dark Angel belong to James Cameron. I own the girl, though...
Chapter Two
This time, a little more is revealed/happens…
"Is she gonna wake up?" A far-off voice asked. "She's been out all night, and we still don't know what her deal is."
"Calm down. You can go to work... I can handle this."
"We don't know what she's doing here... I'm not leaving you alone with her." The girl forced her eyes open, and immediately groaned. The lights were too bright... if this was what a hangover felt like, she was never going to drink...
"She's awake..." The female voice said, and she heard someone come closer, and something cool ad wet appeared on her brow. "Hey, girl. You have a name?"
"Caytlyn... you got water?" She whispered.
"What were you doing here?" The male asked, and she felt a look pass over her.
"Had to hide... thought I could lose them."
"Why were they after you?"
"Wanted... me. Taken... and sold."
"Prostitution?"
"No, other," she murmured. A few murmured words and suddenly she was gently pulled into a sitting position, and a glass of water was put in her hands. She looked up with wide eyes, and finally caught a glimpse of her rescuers. A man, sitting in the wheelchair, who was white, with slim silver glasses. He had bright hazel eyes, and dark blond hair spiked up. Very nice... The woman was just as beautiful, in a dark, sultry way.
"Who are you?" She asked, then hurriedly added, "Not to be rude or anything."
"I'm Logan, and this is Max," The man said, wheeling closer. She took a sip of water, then gently set the glass down on a table. "What were you being sold for?"
"I came up in the private elevator, right?" She asked, suddenly nervous. These people had seemed nice enough at first, but when she told them, they'd want to sell her, too. Just like everyone else... She was used to being alone, but then someone had caught her. The man had-
Logan nodded, and Caytlyn yanked herself back mentally. "Yeah... how did you get around the security card?" The woman, Max, asked.
"I'm a freak," She said. "I forced the elevator to recognize a code that wasn't put in."
"How did you do that?" A voice asked. Logan again.
"Same way I stopped the bullets. If I focus enough, I can force things to do what I want," She said quietly.
"Why did you collapse, then?" Max asked, sitting on the arm of the couch Caytlyn was on. She pulled a foot up, wrapping her arms around the knee to pull it to her chest. An innocent motion, but one that was sexy anyway.
"Because it takes so much out of me. It... hurts," She said. "I can do it, but it costs me... and I used too much in too many short amounts of time."
Logan was studying her now, intently. He leaned forward in his chair, and Cayt shrank back slightly. "And you're human?"
"What else would I be?" She shot back. "I'm just a freak."
"No, not a freak," Max said, tilting her head and getting a far off look in her eyes. Logan looked at her, something passing over his face before it was gone.
"Then why else would-" Cayt stopped herself, glancing away. Damn... she wasn't going to just tell them everything... hell, she didn't even admit everything to herself. Besides, if they knew why she was where she was... They would probably try to sell her, too.
She changed the subject quickly, and asked, "What happened to those guys?"
"Let's just say they found better things to do," Max said, a small smile flirting at her lips. "They decided that their time was better spent fixing themselves."
Caytlyn looked at her, confused as well as in awe. Max was so confident, and had made those men leave, even after she had broken into their apartment...
"I... why?" She asked.
"They bugged me." Max shrugged. Logan caught sight of the utter confusion crossing the new girl's face, and frowned slightly.
"Why were they chasing you?"
"To sell me. I'm one of a kind, an artwork to them..." She said disgustedly. "I'll get good money, because I'm young and can force matters... hell, it's even in my name," Caytlyn said bitterly.
"What do you mean?"
"They called me Matt," She said. "Short for 'Forcing the Matter'. Cute, innit?" She turned away, and sighed deeply. "Look, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll leave."
"Hey," Max said, stopping the girl from getting up. "You're not going anywhere, not 'til we take care of those guys. Slavery doesn't fly in these parts anymore."
"I... no. I can't ask you to do this. I can take care of myself." Cayt said, trying to get up, only to be pushed back down.
"Yeah, by fainting," Max said, sneering elegantly. "You got no place to stay, and no way to keep safe. You're staying here."
"Tch, no." Cayt pushed Max's hands away, and stood up. "I have to go, and I can keep myself safe enough." Suddenly, she found herself on the couch, arms twisted behind her back. "What the-?"
"You're staying," Logan said, his voice somewhat gentler. "You're not a hostage though... right, Max?" He asked pointedly. Cayt felt her arms being released, and she sat up.
"Not a hostage... uh huh. Which is why I can't leave."
"Just until we help you," Max said.
"What if I don't need your help!" Cayt asked heatedly. "I can take care of myself, and I don't want any more people hurt!" She stood up, and began to storm out, before stopping.
A gentle voice called after her, "Who's been hurt?"
"Why do you care?" She asked. She didn't mean to be rude, but if she was, maybe they would see that she really wasn't worth helping. "I'm nothing."
"Caytlyn," A voice said, and she turned to find Max behind her. "If you let them keep doing this, what makes you think others will be safe? And how long until they begin selling you as a prostitute?"
"You're a person," Logan said. Kay whirled around, and pointed her finger at the two of them.
"No... my family sold me," She said, voice shaking. She'd never told anyone this... barely even let herself acknowledge that she had once been normal. "After the Pulse, s-something happened to me. They knew I was different, even though I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything, but they got rid of me anyway."
And after that, a small voice taunted, you can tell them how you learned the hard way what you could do. You can tell them how you can only do small things, and it hurts like hell... but no one wants you. You're a freak, and you know it... how long until they decide to sell you?
"You... oh, God," Max murmured. She looked at Cayt, her eyes compassionate, and Cayt glanced away.
"Yeah, me," She said. "I gotta go."
"How many times we gotta tell you?" Max asked, sounding gentle now. "We're not going to hurt you, and we want to help."
"No one wants to help me... no one is coming for me," She said, trance-like. Max and Logan exchanged worried looks, as the girl shook her head slightly, and her eyes abruptly cleared. "I... sorry," She said, and whirled around. She made to leave, and the two made no move to stop her this time.
See, they didn't really want to help you... now they're just letting you walk right out the door. Not that they could help you anyway... No one ever could, she thought.
Still too exhausted to force the elevator, she moved to the door leading to the hallway. She'd just go, and... go where? She'd run away, and it wasn't like she had anywhere to call home... No matter. She could force her way in somewhere, only for one night... then slip out of town, getting a job, new name.
She yanked open the door of the elevator in the lobby, only to run into a man as she got out of the elevator. The man grabbed her by the shoulders, his hand over her mouth before she could scream. She was dragged back into the elevator, just as someone else entered the lobby, dressed in a black leather jacket... someone else... she had nothing left, she couldn't handle two at once.
The guy's eyes widened, and slipped into the elevator as the doors closed. Cayt's captor hit the basement level button, and the elevator started downward. Immediately, her holder whipped out a gun, as soon as he was sure there were no cameras. Oh, god... he was going to kill the man, right in front of her...
"Don't move," She heard, and closed her eyes. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad then...
"Whoa, hey... innocent bystander here," the new guy said. Squinting through her eyelashes, she saw him hold his hands up like surrendering. "Besides," he said, and she caught a sudden blur of motion, "You're the one who shouldn't be moving."
The arms around her dropped, as her captor swung his gun up further. The gun went off, and Cayt froze. Oh, god... someone was going to die, and-
The elevator dinged, and the door slid open, as the young man kicked out, foot passing close by Cayt's head to snap the other man's head back. He dropped, just as more men came into view. None of them had guns, not drawn, anyway. Cayt was jerked to her feet by the young man, who muttered, "Not good..."
He jerked her into motion, running behind the nearest car, just as gunfire exploded behind them. The man crouched and moved forward, looking everywhere. He shot her a glance, beckoning her after him. Eyes wide, Cayt followed, confused. Who was he, and why was he helping her?
Coming to the next car, he yanked a door open, and got in. Cayt froze- no one wanted to help her, and she was finally going to die... suddenly, a hand stuck out of the door, waving impatiently. She ignored it, bolting into the car, as the door slammed shut behind her. The young man reached up, and checked for keys, but found none.
"Of course," he muttered, looking disgusted. He slammed his fists against the steering wheel, then glanced in the rearview mirror. The men were coming closer, checking every car...
Cayt reached across the man's lap, as he asked, "What're you-"
She slammed her hands against the ignition, focusing on the engine. It roared into life, as she slumped back, and the man stared at her. "Drive!" She snapped, and he jerked, then complied. Gunfire shattered around them, but luckily hit nothing, as Kay leaned back, pale and only half-conscious. The driver glanced at her a few times, but kept driving.
A few minutes later, he glanced over and asked, "So, uh, who are you? I usually like to know a person's name once I save them." He sounded cocky, but still slightly hesitant.
"Cayt," she murmured. "You?"
"Alec," he said. "You, uh, gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," She said cautiously. "As soon as I just have some rest..." Hunger also gnawed at her stomach, but he didn't need to know that; he less he knew, the more likely he was to let her go.
"Why were those guys after you?" he asked, after a few minutes. "What happened?" Cayt closed her eyes, and sighed inwardly. In one day, she'd escaped, only to almost have people killed twice already, because of her... she couldn't tell him too much, because he might be just like everyone else.
"They wanted their merchandise back," She said quietly. Alec stared at her, glancing at the road, but looked at her, lips twisted in a slight frown.
"Mer-... you're a prostitute?" He asked, incredulous. "You look a bit young and pale to be-"
"No!" She snapped. "People buy me and sell me when they get tired of me... mostly because I won't obey."
"A prostitute," Alec said, something odd in his voice. Amusement, almost.
"No. Just a girl with power that people want." She looked out the window, but not before she caught the slight smirk flirting at Alec's lips fade away.
"Power? What?" She glanced over, to see Alec focusing on the road again. "Oh. What you did with the car."
"Yeah," She murmured. Silence fell after that, heavy and awkward.
"So, uh... handy trick. Anywhere I should be taking you?" Sitting up, she looked over, concerned. "Besides away?"
"What? No...where've you been going?"
"Away," he said, his voice smirking, but his face innocent.
"Well, keep going away... just drop me off somewhere." She looked out the window again, watching as he pulled closer to South Market... "Not here. Away, as in not of the here!" She said, looking at him anxiously.
"Whoa, whoa... why not here?" He glanced over at her, and recognition flickered in his eyes for a second. "This is where you escaped from." She nodded, and he changed directions, swerving across a lane of traffic, as two other cars collided in confusion. She looked at him, shocked, and he smiled slightly, before commenting seriously, "I get what it's like... more than you might think."
She looked at him again, confused, before falling into silence. She didn't know what to talk about, or even where he was taking her... she just hoped he wasn't going to sell her or anything, now that he knew. There really wasn't anything she could do about that... She was out for the day, no power left. Hell, no juice for the next few days, at least, if not longer.
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