Chapter Five
I tried to move but something was holding me down. I opened my eyes and see a white ceiling. I tried moving again but to no avail.
"Look whose finally awake," a voice said, "Good. Now you can watch as I complete my experiment."
The person came to stand over me and I looked into his face. Why was that face so familiar, I thought struggling against my shackles.
"Release me," I said angrily.
"No, my dear. I need your body, just like I needed your friends," he said, hitting a switch, causing the table to rise so that I was in a standing position. My eyes landed on my friends. On the other side of the room, Jean, Scott, Logan, and Rogue were suspended in cylindrical, glass chambers, a single tube attached to their bodies.
"With their help, I will create a mutant so powerful, nothing will stop me from total world domination," he said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
Suddenly, he turned, and walked back to me. He reached beside me and flipped a switch, causing the machines in the room to whirl. Across the room, the others opened their eyes and began to yell in pain.
No, I thought, shaking my head from side to side. Tears of frustration flowed freely as I realized I could not help my friends.
"Soon," he said, "Soon, my daughter will be born, and together we will rule the world."
Laughing, he hit a switch which lowered the table back to its original position. He reached over me and pulled down a lever on the wall. More machines began to whirl. Soon the pain began and like my friends, I started to scream.
"Ro," Logan shouted, shaking me, "Ororo, wake up."
Hearing my name and feeling the shaking, I opened my eyes and looked up into Logan's worried face.
"Are you okay?" he asked, helping me to sit up and wiping my tears away.
"I think so," I said, pulling my legs close to my body, resting my chin on my knees.
"What happened? I heard you screaming," he said, sitting next to me.
"Its a recurring nightmare I've been having lately. I always wake up when the machine comes on, causing this horrible pain. I don't know what it means," I said, not wanting the share the other details.
"Ya think you can go back to sleep?" he asked.
"The real question is do I want to."
I really wanted to play the damsel in distress role and have Logan play my Prince Charming, I thought, smiling at the thought of Logan as a Prince Charming. But I knew that would never happen. Besides, I couldn't play that role even if I wanted too. I was a Goddess and Goddesses were never in distress.
"You must be okay, you smilin'."
"Just had a funny thought," I said, kissing his check, his beard tickling my lips, "I'll be okay. Thanks for coming to the rescue."
"Anytime. I'll stick around until you go to sleep," he said, moving the chair next to the window.
Knowing Logan was in the room made me feel better as I snuggled under in the covers and closed my eyes. Hopefully, my Prince Charming will keep the dream dragon at bay.
I awoke the next morning with the sun shining brightly on my face. Stretching, I remembered the events of the previous night. I wonder how long he sat in the chair, I thought, glancing at the empty chair as I headed to the bathroom. After my morning ritual, I went looking for Logan.
Giving me a tour last night, Logan made sure I knew where his room was. I knocked and waited. No answer. I knocked again, thinking, although very unlikely, that my host hadn't hear me. Again no answer.
Knocking gently, I slowly opened the door to see if he was there. No luck.
Okay, I thought, going back out and closing the door behind me. Where can he be?
I followed the same path Logan took as he led me through the cabin. Our journey had ended in the kitchen, which now stood as empty as the rest of the rooms.
Trying to keep my emotions in check, I looked outside to see if the motorcycle was still here. My instincts told me it wasn't before I stepped out on the deck and looked at the empty spot where the bike was parked yesterday.
Many thoughts started racing through my mind at once. Still struggling to control my emotions (not easy when you're alone in the woods and have watched the Jason/Friday the 13th movies), I figured Logan wouldn't leave me in the middle of nowhere. Finding comfort in that thought, I looked for something to eat. Not seeing anything enticing, I remembered the candy bars that Logan got for me on the way up.
Retrieving them from my bag, I went back to the kitchen and sat out on the deck to eat and wait. Not necessarily in that order.
Some people may wonder why a woman once revered as a Goddess would be worried about being stranded in the wilderness, especially if she can fly. Well, the answer is simple enough. This was a non-X-Men weekend which meant I didn't have my uniform nor the neat gadgets such as a compass or communicator handy other that the cell I was carrying for emergencies.
Now, if I could predict the future and knew that Logan would pull one of his disappearing acts, then I would have never bothered to invite him. But since I'm not and wanted to have a selfish, something-I-never-thought-I-would-do weekend and spend it with Logan, I figured I would deal with whatever situation that popped up. Patience is not just for fishing, but for every other facet of life, especially when dealing with a mutant named Logan.
He pulled up as I popped the last peanut M&M in my mouth.
"Well, look what the motorcycle dragged in," I said, smiling down at him from the deck.
Frowning up at me, he grunted a response, letting me know that one, something was wrong, and two, he wasn't in a good mood.
"Logan," I said, gliding down from the deck, "What's wrong?"
"Nuthin'," he replied curtly as he gathered the bags and went into the house, the door slamming behind him.
Well, damn, I thought, turning towards the lake. I see someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.
The relief of seeing him was quickly replaced by annoyance. What happened between last night and this morning, I wondered as I walked slowly along the lake's edge. Lost in thought, I didn't see the trap until it was too late. Stepping down, I felt the jaws of the animal trap clamp down on my right ankle. Screaming in pain, I fell to the ground, reaching for the trap. As if on cue, the ground gave way, and I fell about eight feet, landing on my back, knocking the wind out of me.
Coming too, I stretched my hands out, touching dirt walls on each side. My ankle was being pulled by the dangling animal trap. After realizing where I was, the excruciating pain in my leg was slowly being over shadowed by a stronger feeling.
The walls felt as if they were closing in. I opened my mouth to scream but it was filled with the dirt and dust from the fall. I tried to call on the wind to lift me free of my earthen prison but the panic I was feeling was overwhelming even the simplest of my brain's function. Time seemed to creep by. I spent the time trying very very hard to suppress my claustrophobia and not lose control. Fighting for control mentally and trying to pool my physically strength to pull myself up out of the hole began to sap all of my energy. Soon, all I could do was lie back and focus all my energy on my mental struggle.
Fighting a losing battle, I struggled to focus my energy away from the rising panic. Fuck that, my mind screamed as it slowly gave in to the strong phobia. Soon the walls started closing in, creating an eerie darkness that engulfed me. Unable to function, my brain did the last thing it could do to save itself, it shut down.