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- CHAPTER EIGHT -

No Choice

The car speedily made its way through the nighttime suburban border of New York City. It was going fast for the small roads, and for most of the journey Storm had been gripping onto her seat as Logan performed dangerous manoeuvres to pass traffic and other so called obstacles. Storm didn't have much of an idea as to where they were going; the initial idea was to put distance between themselves and the mansion. Now they had done that.. there seemed to be nothing to do. Nothing to do but help the captured mutants. But where do you start with that? When you know you'll be killed if Sentinels catch you?

Her thoughts were disturbed as Logan spoke, and she quickly looked across to him. "Keep an eye out for any Sentinels."

"Do you think they'd start following us?"

"Definitely."

Storm looked outside slowly, peering across the road. "Logan! Stop!" And he slammed on the brakes, causing the car behind to angrily blast his horn as it came tearing alongside and past them.

"What?"

"Look, down there!" she pointed down the junction, at a street which looked rather ransacked. Smouldering rubbles was scattered on the road, and various scars of brutal attacks were evident on some of the buildings. Logan leant forward slowly, looking by Storm and down the road she watched.

"Sentinels.." he muttered quietly. His hands tightened on the steering wheel and with a screeched of the tyres the car abruptly turned and raced across the opposite lane of traffic and down the destroyed road.

"Logan!" cried Storm as she clung onto the car door for balance, "What are you doing?"

"They're after mutants," growled Logan as he pressed the car into a higher gear as the car shot down the road, "We gotta help."

Storm quickly looked round at him, "Logan, these Sentinels will be long gone, or else they'd be upon us now. Why don't we – argh!"

Logan had just slammed on the brakes, causing Storm to fall forward against the restraints of her seatbelt. He had stopped outside a house, which had its front door hanging weakly off its hinge as it sat wide open. The pair stared at in silence. "C'mon," muttered Logan, wrenching open the car door and running up the path towards the attacked house. Storm quickly exited, and followed him round. Together the pair made their way into the house, whose hallway light was still switched on, and burned ghostly out onto the dark street through the broken doorway.

Storm quietly walked into the hall, staring at the cracked walls and damaged furniture that lay on the stained carpet. Crimson stains. This had been a difficult fight. Logan was up ahead, wrenching open the door and peering into the dark rooms beyond. He was sniffing each time he opened the doors, eyes cautiously glancing around. He then came past Storm, running up a few steps on the staircase. "There's no one here," he muttered quietly as he looked down at her.

"Sentinels took them?"

Yeah.." said Logan softly as he made his way down the staircase slowly to join her in to lit hall. "They'll have gone to wherever the X-Men were took." He looked around the hallway slowly before he watched the open door. He quietly slipped over to it, shutting the door in it's frame and lodging it in place, he then flipped the switch for the hall light and they were plunged into darkness.

"Logan, what are you doing?"

"We can stay here," he replied quietly, making his way through the closest door off the hall, "Just while we think up a plan."

"But Logan, this is someone's house!"

"Storm, I don't think they'll be needin' it at the moment!" He looked around the living room, which seemed to have survived the attack; only a table had fallen over, perhaps by someone running for the door. As he straightened the table upright, he spoke, "Go get some blankets off the beds upstairs if you don't want to sleep in someone's bed. Bring 'em down here and we can use the sofas. I'm gonna see what food they got in the kitchen."

Storm watched him through narrowed eyes before she turned and made her way upstairs. Logan skulked off into the mutant's kitchen where he inspected the fridge. The door was quietly pulled open, the dark kitchen lit by the ghostly white lighting of the fridge's insides. The first thing he laid eyes on was a six-pack beer. It was pulled out and set on the worktop. He saw sealed packets of cold meat on the top shelf, they too came out. He turned to make his way to the cupboards, but suddenly stopped. Lying on the floor, amongst a few broken plates was a toddler's high chair, a pink teddy bear sat inside it – old and huggable judging by its limp state. He quickly turned his back on the destruction, frowning as he headed to the cupboards. He sifted through for packets of food, pulling out a few and gathering the bunch in his arms. Without laying a single glance at the fallen high chair, he made his way out of the kitchen where he saw Storm sat cross legged in front of the fireplace, upon a thick duvet, watching the glowing flames of a fire.

The curtains had been closed so no one would see the light.

"How did you do that?" he asked her quietly as he kneeled by her side.

Storm slowly looked round, knocking long strands of ivory from her face, "A lighter and yesterday's newspaper," she said quietly. There was a withdrawn look on her face as she focused her eyes back on the fire. A silence fell about them as the pair fell into a sombre state. "There's a baby room upstairs," Storm said quietly, breaking their brooding quietness.

"And a high chair in the kitchen," muttered Logan quietly. He slowly looked up at her, seeing the saddened expression on her face.

"How could they do this?" she asked quietly. She glared at the fire, the reflection blazing in her angry eyes, "Even though, I knew the Mutant Registration Act could happen one day.. I never expected to see such heartless things.."

Logan remained quiet, looking down at the six-pack of beer he held. He slowly pulled one out, sighing quietly, "Yeah.." He pulled back the opening, the sound catching Storm's attention. She looked round slowly, eyes watching the can. She was about to say something, probably disapproving. But she sighed, relenting and nodding as if in agreement. After the night they'd had, she couldn't blame his choice.

"Do you think.." began Storm quietly, pausing as though debating whether or not she should say the words about to come, ".. do you think we should see if we can get any clothes? I mean.. this isn't very practical when running away from Sentinels," she made a humourless smile as she gestured to her long nightdress.

Logan initially looked surprised at her suggestion, for she had been adamantly against taking advantage of others on their journey so far. But her proposal was logical and necessary. Lowering the beer, he made a slight nod of his head, "Good idea. I'll be fine in what I've got. Some boots might be helpful, but I'm not bothered."

"I think I'll go and look.." said Storm softly as she rose to her feet, nodding to Logan. She swept from the room quietly, her gentle footsteps ascending up the dark staircase. Storm made her way across the upstairs landing, her bare feet treading with silence on the carpet. Her gaze avoided the open door of the baby's room as she made her way into the master bedroom, fighting to ignore the disrupted bed covers where the sleeping mutants had been snatched from. She reached the wardrobe, her hands hesitating on the handles as she watched it sorrowfully. With a glance around the room, as though expecting someone to catch her, she pulled open the doors and began to sift through the hanging items.

On his third beer already, Logan was having no objections to taking advantage of the house owners. He continued to stare morosely into the fire, glance disturbed as the can was tilted into his line of sight every now and then when he drank. He waited for Storm to return, but meanwhile, he was happy to sit in silence. But that silence wasn't lasting for as long as he hoped. Logan's advanced hearing could picked up the distant engine of helicopter blades, several of them They were becoming louder, only proving that they were heading this way. Logan shot to his feet, the can falling to the floor where it rolled against the fireplace pitifully as Logan sprinted across the room, yanking back the door and heavily running up the staircase. "Storm!"

The helicopters were now so loud, that even Storm would be able to hear them.

"Storm!" he desperately looked around the dark hallway, eyes moving from door to door. He threw himself through one of them with a nosily slam, the force startling Storm who made a surprised cry as Logan came running towards her. With only one leg into a pair of trousers, as Logan tackled her, she was easily knocked off balance with a second scream; punctuated by the hiss of, "Get down!" Logan pushed her down to the floor, his hand going over her mouth to silence her screams. He looked up, staring out of the window at the distant lights coming closer through the sky.

"How is this helping?" murmured Storm below the press of his hand. He promptly pulled his hand from his lips, looking from the window and down at her.

"The Sentinels have their own radar," he whispered quietly, "the Sentinels will be automatically controlling these helicopters of soldiers. The Sentinels' radar.. I remember it. Briefly. It was tested on me back at Alkali Lake." He watched her gently, continuing when he got no understanding from her, "Remember? I was one of the experiments for the early batch Sentinels? Their radar doesn't pick up adamantium. Adamantium blocks their transmission. It's not me they're searching for." He steadied himself over her, watching the window and the oncoming helicopters, "It's you. If they find you, they know I'll be there too."

"That doesn't explain why you've just tackled me to the floor," whispered Storm.

"I'm a shield," said Logan shortly, his face was suddenly lit up by the blazing headlamps of the underside of the helicopter. The rotating blades were now deafeningly loud as the helicopter came upon the house. Logan quickly lowered his head out of the beam of light. "They can't see you with their radar. I'm blocking it." The helicopter was right above the house now, small objects on nearby surfaces were rattling quietly, and the trees outside were whipping the window with their blown branches. "If they don't leave.. they've got us."

Storm, who has been looking back out of the window and up at the passing helicopter quickly rested her eyes back on Logan, "Got us?"

"We don't stand a chance if they know we're here." The helicopter was still hovering above the house, the pilots within clearly confused as to how their signal of Storm had suddenly disappeared. Logan closed his eyes slowly, the concentration of wishing and pleading evidence on his face.

"Logan! They're going!" whispered Storm hurriedly as she looked upside down out of the window. The helicopter sounds were moving off, the beam of light leaving the window of the house. Shadows fell back around them as the helicopter departed, and continued across the city in search of more transmissions. Logan opened his eyes, looking around as he listened intently. He waited for a short while before he carefully pulled off her. He extended a hand to her and pulled her up to her feet, Storm took this opportunity to shove her leg fully into her new trousers and pulled them fastened around her waist.

"Sorry about grabbing you like that," said Logan quietly, rubbing the back of his neck slowly, "I should've given some warnin', I guess."

But Storm shook her head making her way to the bedroom door and descending the staircase with a relieved smile, "Don't be sorry, you just saved both of us and given us more time to plan."

"Yeah.." said Logan quietly as he followed after her.

"Actually, an idea came upon me whilst I was up there," called Storm as she reached the hallway. Logan looked at her curiously as he continued to walk down the stairs behind her. "If we try and track where these helicopters are coming from, then perhaps we can trace their paths and find where all the mutants are being taken to?"

"Could work," said Logan quietly, "but.. we could easily be caught."

"I know," sighed Storm quietly as she turned to face him, "But anything we do now means taking a risk."

"So, basically, we got no choice?"

"Yes," answered Storm quietly, giving him a weak smile before she quickly turned and made her way through to the living room where the fire was gently lowering, "We'll go before sun rise. Use the car, and try and find some Sentinels. Let's just hope they don't come back before then."

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