~~ Mason ~~
The little city of Mason was hardly more than a collection of buildings grouped around a railroad. Like so many towns like it, it was created to house the railroad workers who eventually had kids and decided to just stay there. Picturesque, in every meaning of the word, Mason boasted the largest building in almost one hundred miles in every direction. The inhabitants routinely forgot to mention that that building was once a great mansion of a wealthy family that was donated to the town and was also where all government business of the town took place. It was also the local inn and tavern.
With the arrival of the President they both had been closed down. Needless to say, the regulars were a bit put out. They stood in doorways and watched the doors of the Mason Town hall, muttering to each other about how they hadn't voted for the crooked politician anyway.
Of course security knew every word the disgruntled men said. After the arrival of the mutant, they were all on edge and thankful that everything had worked out. General Matthias hadn't called in to report in almost three hours, but his deadline ws four, so all was well.
The President wasn't concerned in the slightest. He was busy playing hide and seek with his three year old daughter on the second floor of the mansion. His son, 16-year-old David, was engaged in deep conversation with the pretty young guide. His father shook his head briefly. No doubt David was more interested in the house than in the girl, though the exact opposite could be said about her. David looked a lot older than he was- maybe it was the way he carried himself.
"Daddy, find me! Find me!" Janet called. She was hiding behind a statue of some old dead guy, it was one of the few places to hide at all, but her three year old mind didn't register that.
"Okay, ready or not, here I come…" He was just beginning his search (the roundabout way, of course) when he heard a commotion. He looked up, decided that playtime was over and scooped his daughter up.
"What's going on?" David asked one of the guards.
"Intruder, now if you'll follow me…" The plain clothed guard led the family to safety with the calm efficiency of one who knows they have all angles covered. David hesitated a moment though, a black guard with golden hair… was that allowed? And wouldn't he have stood out like a sore thumb? The guard noticed him pause and turned towards him with a reassuring smile. It quickly faded as his eyes strayed from David's face to something behind him. Motivated by the recollection of hundreds of late-night murder movies, David fell to the ground and covered his head, just as a blaze of bullets seared the air. The guard didn't even flinch. He smoothed his hair with one hand and held the other up in front of himself, as if to command the bullets to stop.
They did.
"You would risk the life of your ruler to kill me? Then there is no reason for me to be here." David stared up at the man who he was beginning to identify as the real intruder. Every hair on the back of his neck rose as the man stared down at him.
"C'mon. You don't think we're stupid or nothin' do ya?" David tore his eyes from the imposter and noticed a group of tattered looking people standing across from them.
"Oh, of course not." The bullets, still suspended in mid-air suddenly flipped so that they pointed towards the group. "I take the lot of you very seriously indeed." He gave a small chuckle and the bullets sped towards the group as though they hadn't been stopped at all.
One woman with flaming red hair frowned deeply and held her hands out. The bullets stopped before they got halfway towards the group.
"So ya' like metal, huh? I'll give ya some." The speaker balled his fists and three blades slid neatly out of his hands. Beside him, a tall man with shades on pulled out a deck of cards and began calmly shuffling them. Yet another one of them began toying with a spear made of ice.
David glanced at the intruder on one side of him and the mutants on the other. Without another thought to the matter, he scooted to the other side of the false guard and led his father and sister away. It's best to leave the singing to the professionals, and David gathered that this would be quite a concert.
~~ Evan and Scott ~~
"He wakes soon."
"Cool. But how did he get down here to begin with?"
"Boys bring. I heal. Others too."
Evan followed the stranger across the room to where Haiden was lying, a pale skeleton in the scanty light. Beside him was Todd, though he looked like a fate worse than death. "Are they… okay?"
"Alive."
Evan looked at their thin forms and realized that the phrase was exactly what he was looking at… a fate worse than death.
"How do we fix them?"
"Do we?"
"What does that mean?"
"Some times, the only one who can help is the one who needs it. Without will, there is no life."
Evan thought long and hard about that. "So they don't want to get better?"
"Yes."
"Why not?" Evan wondered out loud.
"What is your purpose?"
"My… purpose? I don't know."
"My purpose to heal. When my purpose is taken, my will is as well." He looked deep into Evan's eyes, as if trying to tell if Evan was understanding even the littlest bit of it.
"So they lost their purpose and then lost their will to live. Okay. So how do we fix that? What did Todd live for? Flies. Making trouble. I barely know the other guy. So we've really accomplished nothing."
"I pray for lost souls. You pray for him." The man pointed back to Scott and then settled down in a chair between Todd and Haiden. Then it was as if nothing else existed to him. He didn't even look up when Zieet and Glive left rather loudly thanks to a stool that 'attacked' Zieet. Evan sat by Scott. And yeah, he prayed.
The little city of Mason was hardly more than a collection of buildings grouped around a railroad. Like so many towns like it, it was created to house the railroad workers who eventually had kids and decided to just stay there. Picturesque, in every meaning of the word, Mason boasted the largest building in almost one hundred miles in every direction. The inhabitants routinely forgot to mention that that building was once a great mansion of a wealthy family that was donated to the town and was also where all government business of the town took place. It was also the local inn and tavern.
With the arrival of the President they both had been closed down. Needless to say, the regulars were a bit put out. They stood in doorways and watched the doors of the Mason Town hall, muttering to each other about how they hadn't voted for the crooked politician anyway.
Of course security knew every word the disgruntled men said. After the arrival of the mutant, they were all on edge and thankful that everything had worked out. General Matthias hadn't called in to report in almost three hours, but his deadline ws four, so all was well.
The President wasn't concerned in the slightest. He was busy playing hide and seek with his three year old daughter on the second floor of the mansion. His son, 16-year-old David, was engaged in deep conversation with the pretty young guide. His father shook his head briefly. No doubt David was more interested in the house than in the girl, though the exact opposite could be said about her. David looked a lot older than he was- maybe it was the way he carried himself.
"Daddy, find me! Find me!" Janet called. She was hiding behind a statue of some old dead guy, it was one of the few places to hide at all, but her three year old mind didn't register that.
"Okay, ready or not, here I come…" He was just beginning his search (the roundabout way, of course) when he heard a commotion. He looked up, decided that playtime was over and scooped his daughter up.
"What's going on?" David asked one of the guards.
"Intruder, now if you'll follow me…" The plain clothed guard led the family to safety with the calm efficiency of one who knows they have all angles covered. David hesitated a moment though, a black guard with golden hair… was that allowed? And wouldn't he have stood out like a sore thumb? The guard noticed him pause and turned towards him with a reassuring smile. It quickly faded as his eyes strayed from David's face to something behind him. Motivated by the recollection of hundreds of late-night murder movies, David fell to the ground and covered his head, just as a blaze of bullets seared the air. The guard didn't even flinch. He smoothed his hair with one hand and held the other up in front of himself, as if to command the bullets to stop.
They did.
"You would risk the life of your ruler to kill me? Then there is no reason for me to be here." David stared up at the man who he was beginning to identify as the real intruder. Every hair on the back of his neck rose as the man stared down at him.
"C'mon. You don't think we're stupid or nothin' do ya?" David tore his eyes from the imposter and noticed a group of tattered looking people standing across from them.
"Oh, of course not." The bullets, still suspended in mid-air suddenly flipped so that they pointed towards the group. "I take the lot of you very seriously indeed." He gave a small chuckle and the bullets sped towards the group as though they hadn't been stopped at all.
One woman with flaming red hair frowned deeply and held her hands out. The bullets stopped before they got halfway towards the group.
"So ya' like metal, huh? I'll give ya some." The speaker balled his fists and three blades slid neatly out of his hands. Beside him, a tall man with shades on pulled out a deck of cards and began calmly shuffling them. Yet another one of them began toying with a spear made of ice.
David glanced at the intruder on one side of him and the mutants on the other. Without another thought to the matter, he scooted to the other side of the false guard and led his father and sister away. It's best to leave the singing to the professionals, and David gathered that this would be quite a concert.
~~ Evan and Scott ~~
"He wakes soon."
"Cool. But how did he get down here to begin with?"
"Boys bring. I heal. Others too."
Evan followed the stranger across the room to where Haiden was lying, a pale skeleton in the scanty light. Beside him was Todd, though he looked like a fate worse than death. "Are they… okay?"
"Alive."
Evan looked at their thin forms and realized that the phrase was exactly what he was looking at… a fate worse than death.
"How do we fix them?"
"Do we?"
"What does that mean?"
"Some times, the only one who can help is the one who needs it. Without will, there is no life."
Evan thought long and hard about that. "So they don't want to get better?"
"Yes."
"Why not?" Evan wondered out loud.
"What is your purpose?"
"My… purpose? I don't know."
"My purpose to heal. When my purpose is taken, my will is as well." He looked deep into Evan's eyes, as if trying to tell if Evan was understanding even the littlest bit of it.
"So they lost their purpose and then lost their will to live. Okay. So how do we fix that? What did Todd live for? Flies. Making trouble. I barely know the other guy. So we've really accomplished nothing."
"I pray for lost souls. You pray for him." The man pointed back to Scott and then settled down in a chair between Todd and Haiden. Then it was as if nothing else existed to him. He didn't even look up when Zieet and Glive left rather loudly thanks to a stool that 'attacked' Zieet. Evan sat by Scott. And yeah, he prayed.