Chapter Eight

Salem heard Faith's screams, and his hair stood out on end. He began to run now, hoping to catch up with her so that he could fight with her against whatever had taken her. He had not seen any animals all day other than the ones that were with the group. Things had been too quiet, and he had not been surprised to hear her scream.

Oh my Gods! he thought. She doesn't even have a weapon, not even shoes to protect her feet! It was then he stumbled over something, looked down to see the most gruesome thing he'd ever seen, and let go with a long, loud scream to match Faith's own. It was Faith's foot, just the severed foot, nothing else!

He looked around, trying to find something to cover it with, only to find himself retching. He could hear the boys running behind him and prayed they'd catch up soon. There was no way he could rescue Faith by his ownself!


Lex had been following Faith and Salem, watching the ground carefully but only now and again catching a human or cat footprint. There were footprints all around, but he had never seen anything like those prints before. It had been a while since he had found a print, and he had about given up hope on finding her quickly. Glancing back to Clark, he said, "Haven't seen anything in a while," only to have his words drowned out by Faith's screams. He raced like a madman in the direction the screams were coming from. He was soon met with Dawson running beside him and Clark zipping past them. Up ahead in the path, he spotted something black and thought, Oh my Gods! They've killed Salem!

Salem was stretched out on the ground, still retching when Clark reached him. "Salem, what . . . ?"

"They got her!" He pushed something toward Clark, and Clark could see it was Faith's foot.

"What are they?" Clark asked even as he looked away from the foot.

"I don't know!" Salem cried between throwing up. "Save her! Please save her!"

"We will," Clark swore even as Lex and Dawson caught up to them. "Lex . . . " He did not say anything more but gestured at Faith's foot.

"She may still be alive, Clark. We've got to get to her!" He scooped Salem up, heedless to the spewing vomit that continued all over his body. "I'm not leaving you, Salem. Whatever it is could come back for you."

The shock of that stopped Salem in the middle of throwing up, and he began to tremble in Lex's arms. He could not remember a time he had ever been so sick or scared.

Pulling off what remained of his shirt, Dawson wrapped it gently around what remained of Faith's foot and picked it up. It was gruesome and sickening, but it was Faith's and there was no way he was leaving it for some Gods-awful animal to eat it. He followed just as quickly behind Lex and was startled to find that Clark had ran so swiftly that he was now nowhere in sight.


Clark had no ideal how fast he was running. He only knew he had to get to Faith before it was too late. He could not imagine a world where he did not have her for Lex to lean on when he would not lean on him. He was not a fool. He knew that the only reason why Lex had admitted his feelings for him was something to do with Faith, and he had loved the girl since that day like a sister. When he finally caught up with Faith, he almost fell over her . . . or rather, what remained of her. "LEX!" he called back. "I FOUND HER!" He knelt next to her, trying to figure out how to stop her blood, and saw her lips part in something. "What?" he asked, leaning down closer to her. "What is it?"

"Don't . . . stay here, Clark . . . Run . . . Get the others out . . . "

"I'm not going anywhere, Faith."

Lex could hear Clark talking so he knew he was close. He could also here twittering in the bush. It was unlike anything he'd ever heard before. He turned to look back for Dawson and realized that the boy was right on his heels. "Don't wander off, Dawson. Whatever we do, we need to be together. I wish Clark had not run on ahead. I hope he doesn't run into something he can't handle."

"Her foot," Dawson said.

Lex could tell the boy was about to go into shock. To tell the truth, he wasn't in much better shape himself, but he knew he had to hold it together for all of them. It was then that they burst into the clearing and saw Clark kneeling beside what appeared to be the remains of Faith. They had been too late! Lex felt tears running down his face. Why had the damned girl had to be so stubborn! He loved her like a sister, but he knew that she had never believed it. Why had she had to die this way, and what had done it to her! He still did not see anything. His ears were filled with all kinds of strange noises, but he had no ideal what was making them. "Dawson, I think Faith . . . might be . . . " He could not bring himself to say the word.

"Dead?" Dawson asked. "That can't be! Nothing could kill Faith unless she let it!"

Lex could tell the boy was in denial. "Brace yourself." They had finally reached Clark and looked down. Faith lay in a pool of her own blood, and they could see her insides at several locations. Her legs were completely gone, and an arm was missing as well. But then her lips moved, again telling Clark to get the others gone before they came back.

"They?" Clark started to repeat.

"Faith!" Lex knelt beside her. How could she have gone through so much and still be alive?

Dawson knelt down at her head. He tried to smile despite the tears that ran freely down his face. "I got your foot," he said.

Lex looked at him for a moment. He felt for the kid. He didn't know how Faith had remained alive this long, but she was fading fast. He didn't know how Dawson would take it when she did. He noticed that the boy had not looked down the rest of her body but kept his eyes firmly on her face. Despite her wounds, Dawson still thought she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

Faith reached up with a trembling hand and groped toward the direction of Lex's voice. "Lex . . . You have to get them out of here . . . "

"Not without you, kid," Lex replied. "Just got to figure out how we're going to move you."

"Can't move her," Dawson stated. "We don't know how bad we'll hurt her." His hand reached down to stroke the hair out of her face.

Even then, despite the pain that raged through what was left of her body, Faith couldn't help a small, sad smile at Dawson's gentle touch. "You have to . . . " she tried to tell them even as her smile vanished. "Listen to me . . . You don't have . . . time to stay here . . . Please . . . " she pleaded, her voice a near whimper. "Don't let them get you too . . . "

"What are they?" Lex asked. He couldn't imagine a creature that could do this much damage as these had done to Faith.

She started to answer but then heard them moving back. "They're coming back now . . . You have to . . . "

"We're not leaving you," Clark repeated yet again as he got to his feet. "Whatever these things are . . . " It was then that the dinosaurs stepped into view, and his words froze on his tongue. "Don't move," he whispered.

Lex's eyes left Faith and looked up. "Holy shit!" he whispered. "What the Hell are they!"

"Dinosaurs!" Salem breathed. He couldn't believe his eyes but recognized the things for what they were. "Raptors!"

"Raptors?" Dawson asked. "But they're supposed to be . . . extinct."

"Well, they're not," Clark returned. Though they had stopped moving, he could see that the dinosaurs were not stopping. They knew they were there; they had used poor Faith to bait the trap to catch them. "Lex," he took charge before he even realized what he was doing, "get them to safety." It was then that his mind stopped working, and he literally flew into action.

Clark's feet left the ground, and he headed for the nearest raptor at the speed of light. He hit his jaw, sending the dino stumbling back and buying him enough time to fly around it. Still not realizing what he was truly doing and only knowing that he had to find a way to stop them and save the others, Clark yanked the beast up by its tail.

Lex's mouth flew open even as he watched Clark in motion. What had happened to his lover! It was as though the man he loved had disappeared and a Superbeing stood there! He watched as Clark knocked the dinosaur backwards, and it fell into some dinosaurs behind it. They started to jump on him, but the dinosaur lifted up into the air and began to hit the others! It was only then that Lex realized that Clark was swinging it like a club! The raptors began to fight amongst themselves, chewing, biting, and clawing at anything that got in their path, and Clark continued to wield the first like a whirlwind.

Dawson watched in shocked amazement. That couldn't be Clark! What had happened to him! Why he was . . . a Superman!

Even Salem watched amazed, his mouth open but no words coming out.

"Dawson! Lex!" Faith cried. "What's happening!" She could hear the sounds of a struggle, but blood blocked her vision.

Dawson knelt back beside her. "Clark is beating the tee-total crap out of those raptors! I've never seen anything like it! He picked up one and has been using it like a club on the rest! We've got a chance, Faith! We can get out of here! We're taking you with us!"

"Don't," she whispered to him. "I don't know . . . how Clark's managing it . . . but leave me here," she pleaded.

"We're not leaving you here, Faith. You're family, and we love you," Lex told her.

"And you're coming with us, kid," Salem added, "whether you like it or not!"

"Please . . . Just leave me . . . I don't want to . . . to live . . . to keep up with the lie . . . Look, kid . . . I know you're worried about the bill . . . Like I told you, just . . . just pay Lex . . . "

Dawson looked into her eyes. He knew she could not see him. "Fuck the bill!" he boldly told her. "It's you I'm worried about! If the only way I could ever get a second ride was to demand that the bill be paid, I'd demand it all day! We're going to get you out of this and get you well again! I'll be there for you, Faith. Don't worry. You'll be okay again." His hand reached out and took hers. He brought it to his lips and kissed it. It hurt him to see her like this, but he was thankful that she was still alive. If he had to take care of her every day for the rest of his life, he'd do it and be thankful for the chance to be next to her. He prayed she would live. He did not want to lose her.

"Dawson . . . " Faith choked out. "I know it's hard for you to understand this . . . but . . . but I don't . . . want to live . . . Just let me die . . . "

"Why don't you want to live!" he asked her. "You hate me that much!"

"I wish . . . I could . . . hate you . . . I wish . . . I could hate you all . . . "

"Then stop fretting. You're in enough pain without agonizing over if you can get us to leave you or not. We're staying here until Clark can get free. None of us have weapons. How'd you get away without one?" He thought if he could keep her talking, she'd stay with them and not pass out.

"Didn't . . . think . . . I just . . . knew I had to . . . get away while I could . . . I don't want . . . to keep living . . . keep lying . . . "

"Then don't," Salem purred to her. "None of us want you to keep lying. Let it go."

"I . . . can't . . . "

Lex had not taken his eyes off of Clark. He could not believe how magnificent he was, and despite the danger, felt warm heat rushing through his body! "Faith," he told her as he looked back at her, "Clark is keeping all of us safe. I don't know how he's doing it, but he's fighting them and he's hurting them! None of us want to lose you! Stop living a lie! Let go! Let your family in! Let love in! If you live past this day or if you only live a few minutes, none of it's worth living without love! All you have to do is open your heart. Every one here loves you, and there are others back at the camp who love you."


Katrina had been walking and talking with Celina about the events of the day, about what had happened with Morph who still did not feel himself worthy of being a part of their family, and asking her sister what she could do to help.

"I don't know what to do," Celina admitted, her sad blue eyes turning out toward the ocean, "except to keep telling him. You know how his father used to make him feel. I thought he was past that, but obviously . . . " Her words broke off as she was hit by a wave of emotions that were so strong that she was driven instantly down to her knees.

"What's wrong!" Katrina cried out in concern as she knelt beside her sister.

Celina closed her eyes. Normally, she would have fought against the emotions and forced them out, but this time, her instincts told her she needed to listen. "Faith . . . " she breathed out, seeing the sight that was taking place around the girl. "They found her, but . . . Oh Bast, Katrina, she's dying and she wants to!"

"She wants to! What happened to her!" Katrina managed to gasp out, holding on to Celina.

"I don't know," Celina cried in response, "but whatever it is, it's torn into her so badly that she's pouring blood and . . . and only has one arm left!" She tried seeing through the others' eyes in hopes of catching sight of the battle that she could sense raging, and it was through Lex's that she found the fight. The sight so surprised her that her fur and hair stood out on end.

Not for the first time did Katrina wish that she could see what her sister was seeing, but alas, that was not one of her powers! "What do you see, Celina?" she begged her sister to tell her.

"Clark's fighting them off! But, Katrina, he's flying!"

"Flying! How can that be?"

"I don't know and neither does Lex, but we're seeing it!"

"I am sending for Tom to come and get you. Go back to the others. Warn them there is danger. I must go to them."

"Be careful," Celina told her, managing to turn off the vision for then and grasping her sister's shoulders. "Katrina, those things . . . You know I've researched Earth in Wesley's books, and I swear those things looked just like dinosaurs!"

"But they're extinct on this world!" She wanted to add, And blown-up on ours, for they had had dinosaurs on their planet.

"So we thought," Celina agreed, "but obviously they're not!"

"Warn the others." She hugged her sister and immediately took to the sky, flying rapidly toward the fighting and hoping she'd be in time.

Katrina had barely left her when Morph and Tom arrived. Tom was toting the children on his horse's back, but Morph quickly changed and wrapped his arms around his wife in a reassuring hug. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"We have to get the others gathered," she told him, "and fast."


"Angel, keep watch. I don't know what's going on," Jack told him. "I am going where Faith's screams are coming from. It's not like her to scream for any reason, so she must be in a really bad fix." His hand went reassuringly to his sword. "Check out the rest of the house the best you can. When Wolverine returns, if I haven't returned, have him go back as soon as 'Ro gets this mess cleaned up and bring our group here. My skin is crawling as it often does before a battle."

Angel nodded agreement. He knew how Jack always seemed to sense when a battle was about to take place, and he knew it would not do any good to tell Jack not to go by himself so instead he told him, "I'll take care of that, but if you need me, call."

Jack nodded. "I will," he answered and took off running in the direction of the scream.

Angel turned to look at Kitty and spoke before she could blast him for letting his Captain run off into danger alone. "I always do what my Captain tells me to do, even when it's against my better judgment, but if Faith is only mad and is screaming because she's mad, it wouldn't pay for me to show up. Jack can handle her but only when they're alone together."

Kitty's brown eyes went to the outside from over Angel's shoulder. "You realize she's probably not just mad but being attacked?"

Angel was torn between staying at the house and minding Jack and following behind him. "Some one has to stay here and make sure that things are safe when the others return, but I need to go after him. You're right; she might be being attacked." Without another word, Angel took off following behind Jack. Jack might court-martial him later, but he doubted it. He'd just be mad at him if Faith turned out to be all right.

Left alone, Kitty paced with Lockheed cooing on her shoulder. "I know, 'Heed," she agreed. "If the others would come on, we could go. They should've been back by now." It was then that she was rewarded with the smell of brimstone.

"See?" she could hear the Irish man's mouth even before she saw him. "I told ye they could be trusted!"

"Shut it, Cassidy!"


"Lex," Faith managed to get out, "it's not that simple . . . I just can't . . . " It was then that her words erupted into a fit of coughs, and blood spewed from her lips. When her lungs again settled, she told them, "Look. Saving me . . . is a lost cause . . . and I don't want . . . to live any way . . . so just let me go . . . You can't save me . . . There's not enough time . . ." She was breathing hard and having to fight even harder to get her words out.

"We're not going to just give up on you, kid," Salem protested.

"You don't . . . have much . . . choice . . . " Her eyes were starting to drift shut even then, but she struggled against the need for her eyes to close. "Lex . . . take care of . . . the boys for me . . . and Dawson . . . I've got a sword . . . for you . . . Lex knows the one . . . "

"Save your energy," Lex told her. "You'll need your own sword, and you can take care of the boys when you get better." Clark was still beating dinosaur butt. They never seemed to stop, and yet he never tired! It was then that Lex saw Clark hit one of the dinosaurs with the first so hard that the second flew out of sight and hit the ground with such an impact that the earth trembled from wherever it had landed. "Damn!" Lex muttered. "I wish you could see Clark, Faith. I've never seen him like this! He's so magnificent! He'd put Hercules to shame! They just keep coming, and he keeps trashing them!"

She was tired of fighting, tired of living, and tired of lying. Though she could hear Lex's words, they were starting to fade out to her ears. She could feel Dawson still holding her hand and Salem, who had leapt out of Lex's arms, purring against her face, but she knew she neither could nor should hold on. She let her eyes close.

It was then that Katrina arrived on the scene. It took her a moment to get moving as she saw Clark throwing another raptor straight at another group. She saw Faith laying on the ground, reached out, and laid her hands on Faith. A blue light shot from her hands and engulfed Faith, beginning the healing process. She only hoped that she was in time. This was going to be a difficult healing for so many parts were missing and so much blood was lost.

Dawson watched, wanting to be able to do something. He did not let go of Faith's hand until he realized that he had a part of Faith that could perhaps be reattached. He crawled to where her feet would have been and put the foot in the correct position.

Katrina realized what he had done but could not acknowledge it. She had to concentrate all of herself upon Faith. She needed something to replace some of the blood Faith had lost. She reached out and grabbed Dawson's arm, transferring some of his blood into Faith. She did not take too much but then reached out and took some from Lex. She released Lex. She still needed more blood. She did not know if real cat blood would help or not, and she knew she could not give her blood from her. She felt some one kneel beside her. Her glazed eyes saw that it was Jack Sparrow. She reached out and grabbed him.

Jack did not move. He was not sure what Katrina was taking from him, but he would give it willingly to save Faith. He watched as Faith's missing parts began to form, closed his eyes, and began to pray. He did not want to lose this stubborn girl, because even though she had shut him out at every opportunity, he still loved her.

Seconds later, he felt Katrina slump and knew she would have to rest a little while. He laid her down beside Faith and waited for Faith to wake up, knowing that it might take quite a while for her to do so and that they would probably end up carrying both of the ladies out. He looked at Lex, Dawson, and Salem, wondering where Clark was when he heard something getting thrown again. He had not been able to see him from his position on the ground.

Clark! That couldn't be Clark! Or, at least, it did not seem to be Clark. How in the world did Lex handle that! he wondered. He was relieved that Will did not have those energies or strengths. "We may have to carry them out," he told Lex, "and maybe we should start now so that Clark can get free."

"I don't want to leave him," Lex said.

Angel stepped into the circle. "Couldn't stay, Jack. You might get mad and keelhaul me, but I couldn't leave you alone to face dinosaurs! Clark needs help! You three get the ladies and Salem to safety; I'll help him." Angel stepped into the fray and was about to help Clark with the fighting when Clark used the last dinosaur to knock out three more. "We've got to go, Clark. Man, you were fantastic! Were those real dinosaurs?"

Clark's eyes were glazed over. Angel kept talking to him until he came back to himself and his blue eyes shone at him. Clark was astonished to find himself in the air and even more so to find that he was toting a dinosaur by the tail! He released the dino and dropped to the ground. "L-L-Lex?" he managed to call out.

Lex, who had not moved, rushed to Clark and gathered him close. "Baby, you were magnificent! But we need to get out of here." He'd show him later just how magnificent he thought he had been. "Are you able to travel?"

Though Clark's mind was filled with questions, he knew his love was right and that they had to get moving before more dinosaurs came. He nodded slowly. "Faith . . . " he asked, "is she . . . ?"

"No. You saved all of us and Katrina healed her, but now we've got to carry both the ladies to safety. They're unconscious."

Clark nodded and, with Lex's support, got to his feet.


Connor had started running right after Angel had released him. There were things in these woods he wanted to get away from, but nothing he had encountered had scared him more than Angel! The more he walked and looked, the less familiar things he saw. He had to come to the realization that he was lost. He had no ideal where the others were. He was afraid to call out lest some hidden danger find and kill him.

He heard something scuffling along behind him, snuffling the ground, and crunching fallen branches underneath its feet. He knew it was after him. He climbed up and took to the trees, looking for hanging vines. In Neverland, there had always been a vine on a tree. Here, there didn't seem to be any. He was about to climb back down when he saw the biggest, ugliest creature he'd ever seen pass under the tree. He tried to hide in the tree branch, pressing his body close against it.

What was that thing? he asked himself. There wasn't anything like that in Neverland! If it had been, it would have gobbled up Pan and the Lost Boys a long time ago! He'd have to tell the others about it when he got back to camp. Of course, they probably wouldn't believe him.

He started back down the tree, hoping to find vines closer to the ground, but he still didn't see any. He realized that he'd have to walk. He began to walk in the direction he hoped the camp lay as quietly as he could. Connor heard something coming behind him, and he ran to another tree and tried to climb up but wasn't fast enough as he felt something swipe at him from below and felt himself falling to the ground.

The fall knocked the breath out of him, and he lay there, dazed, believing his time had come. He was not ready to die. He prepared for the attack, his hand reaching out and grabbing his dagger. He couldn't see what it was that had pulled him down, but just as he readied to defend himself, the creature ran off in the direction the other one had gone. He felt the earth shake as the other one thundered off, but as he was trying to get to his feet, he was suddenly covered by a group of smaller ones pecking at him.

He slashed at them with his knife and kept slashing at them. The ones he hit were soon attacked and devoured by the other ones, but they did not go away. His back was against the tree, but he could not get to his feet. He would not scream when they finally came for him. He wanted James to be proud of him as he met his fate.

He heard a roar from another area and wondered which creature was coming this time. His mind was blown when he saw what he thought was a girl running toward him. She was beautiful yet there was something different about her, something . . . inhuman . . . He realized what that was as she was suddenly covered with black and orange fur and continued transforming into a tiger.

What a Hell of a way to go -- pecked to death by birds or eaten by a tiger! He felt faintish but managed to hold on. He knew that if Frederic had been there, he would have fainted, but he couldn't take the coward's way out. Whatever came first would feel the bite of his blade!

The raptors attacked as one. They were everywhere at once, pecking at him again, but the cat surprised him as she attacked the raptors, knocking half a dozen off of him with a single swipe of her massive paw. Blood ran down Connor's face even as he continued fighting the raptors. He felt himself growing weaker. Several of them had gone for his legs, and they were bleeding. The blood seemed to drive the raptors into a frenzy, and then the ground shook.

Connor wondered what the Hell could be coming now, and his dazed eyes took in a gigantic Tyrannosaurus Rex heading their way. He realized why the first two raptors had been running so hard. His weakness was getting the better of him, and he knew he'd never be able to fight the T-Rex. Suddenly his vision clouded, and he fell forward unconscious, straight onto the tiger's back, as she knocked the remainder of the raptors away.

The tiger turned her head to look in the direction the boy had, and a soft growl escaped her. Damn it! Of all the things she needed now, the absolute last was one of those! She slid under the boy's body, getting him more fully onto her back, and took off running in the direction she'd last seen Vang.

Connor began to drift in and out of unconsciousness. The only thing he realized was that he was on something that was moving. He grasped both arms out and grabbed a hold of something to hold him on. He did not want to fall off. He passed out again just as the tiger came into sight of another one. The two exchanged a few, quick growls, then took off together.


Wolverine was rapidly covering ground getting back to get 'Ro to take care of the problem when he almost ran over a group walking up the hill -- Captain Xena, Gabrielle, and two he did not know but recognized as being their rescuers. "We'd best return to camp. Jack wants us there as quickly as possible. There's danger. He wants all the people gathered together." Wolverine followed up with his instincts, adding, "He wants those of us who are good fighters to watch and be ready in case we're attacked."

Xena really wanted to go up that hill and see what was at that house, but she knew a direct order when she heard it. She ran behind Wolverine. "Where is Jack?"

"Waiting at the top of the hill. He wants 'Ro immediately." He did not elaborate. He knew Xena would find out later what was going on.

"That might be a little difficult," Gabrielle nodded, her eyes scanning the beach and falling on the huddle of grieving Halliwells and their company.

"I can see that," Wolverine said, "and I hate to break up a grieving party, but her presence is definitely required swiftly." He walked up slowly behind 'Ro and slipped his arms around her. Placing his lips next to her ear, he whispered, "We got problems up the hill. Jack needs you to come as quickly as possible."

Ororo closed her eyes. Of course she was needed elsewhere. She was needed everywhere these days, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold up to it. Still, she did not let any sign of her increasing tiredness show and opened her eyes to look into Carl's.

"I'll take care of her," the Gnome promised Ororo.

She knew he had fallen hard for Paige and that he would not leave her for anything. With a nod, she whispered to him, "Tell the girls I'll be back as soon as I can." She released Paige who fell even more fully into Carl's arms and stood with Logan.

"Take me with you, little darlin'. My ol' legs will never make it up that hill as fast as your winds will carry us." He put his arms around her and gave her a big hug.

Her hands touched his as his hug surrounded her. She closed her eyes. Logan couldn't have known how much she needed his touch at that time yet he was there for her nonetheless. With a thought, the winds picked them up and, as her eyes opened again, began to carry them toward the top of the hill.

When they arrived, Wolverine told her about the blood on the walls. "There's some kind o' alien wildlife here. We met a group that told us it was dinosaurs, if you can believe that. I haven't seen them with my own eyes, so I'm not believing it till I actually see them. Jack wants to move the people up here. He thinks they'll be safer than being out in the open. There's already been an attack up here. I don't know how many people've been killed." He pushed the door open for her. "Shadowcat?" he called. "Are you still here?"

"We're here," Kitty started to tell him but was broke off by the Irish man rushing forward.

"Wolverine, 'tis been a long time!"

"Sean!" Wolverine exclaimed even as he reached out his hand to grasp his old friend's hand. "What brings ya here?"

"I was part o' Wisdom's crew, an' our ship wrecked here."

"Ours did too. Who's Wisdom?"

"Pete Wisdom," Sean clarified. "The real Captain o' the ship. Kitty's husband." He felt eyes cutting into his back and did not need to look to know that it was Kitty.

"Where's he now?" Wolverine asked.

Sean started to answer, but Kitty spoke before he could. "He's dead, all right! And you," she nearly bit Cassidy's head off, "can't you ever keep your Irish mouth shut! So you were right about trusting them, but what if you'd been wrong? I was only trying to keep the rest of you from being killed!"

"COO!" the dragon on her shoulder agreed.

Kurt started to reach out to calm Kitty, but she whirled around and stormed straight through him and then the wall behind him. He saw her tears as she walked through him, and his heart grieved for her and sympathized with her pain.

The Chinese man who stood beside the Priest finally spoke. "Fine job, Sean. Really. You knew she was next to breaking down."

"Enough, Chong," Kurt whispered to him. "All she needs is for the two of you to fight too."

"Sounds like you had a really tough time of it," Wolverine told him. "How long have ya been here?"

"We lost track o' the days a while back," Sean admitted.

"Is it just the four o' ya?"

"It is now."

"My Captain owns this house and island. He didn't know about the dinosaurs. If he had known, I don't believe he would've bought it. Like it is, we've been blown here by a blizzard and stranded. Two ship fulls of people an' animals."

"A blizzard!" Chong asked.

"Yeah. Last night, we were attacked by a Demon who threw a snow blizzard at us. Totally destroyed the ships, but luckily, we all lived through it."

"A Demon?" the Priest repeated, and Ororo noted for the first time that his hooded cloak hid his features completely.

Chong knew what the Priest was thinking and cleared his throat, bringing the others' attention to him before things could get even uglier. "By the way, your Captain had to go after one of your crew. I believe her name was Faith?" Kurt nodded, and Chong added, "Angel went as well."

"Figures," Wolverine said. "Faith's always getting into trouble. 'Ro," Wolverine broke off, returning to her, "Jack's wanting you to have cleaned this one room. He couldn't think of any other way to get the blood off the walls except to ask ya to do it. I hated to drag you away from the girls, and I wouldn't have if it hadn't been so important to get a safe haven for everybody."

She nodded in understanding. "Is this the only room with blood?"

"As far as I know," Wolverine told her, "but we didn't get any further in. We'll check the other rooms while you're cleanin' this one." The house was large with many rooms. The men separated and went to check the other rooms but did not find anything.

Wolverine returned to 'Ro just in time to catch her as she finished the job and instantly slumped. When they had first met, he had thought that he would never be able to tote her due to her being so much taller than he, but he had since learned otherwise. There were plenty of beds upstairs that had never been slept in, and he carried her to one of the rooms that had a huge balcony off of it. He didn't know how safe it would be in case of attack, but he knew the other rooms were all too much enclosed. "Rest a little while, sweetheart. Then we'll go back an' get the others. There are no other rooms needin' attention."

Despite his words, Ororo was already inching towards placing her feet on the floor. "Logan, I can not. The girls need me."

"You need to rest, 'Ro, even if only for a few minutes. You're pushing yourself too hard. Rest, an' I'll keep watch."

"I'll rest after the girls are safe."

"I'll go with you to get the girls, but please rest for a few minutes. It would not do for you to fall out on 'em. They need your strength, and unfortunately they are drainin' you as you will keep givin' until there is nothing left for your own self! All I'm asking is for you to rest for just a few minutes, little darlin'."

"Just a few," she finally relented, knowing that Cole would be with the girls and he and the others left on the beach should be able to protect them, "but then we must go straight away."


Kurt had gone downstairs to check the basement and was turning back when he saw what appeared to be an engraved marking on the wall and realized it was Kitty. "Liebchien, come out of there. Ve need to talk."

"What is there to talk about, Father?"

"Call me Kurt. Father's too formal."

She glanced at him, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. "You are a Priest. Doesn't everybody call you Father?"

"Yes, but I'm not the Father of the world. It gets tiring. I'm still a young man. Sometimes I feel like I'm very old. I get tired of carrying the veight of the vorld on my shoulders. You have to stop blaming yourself, Kitty, for everything. You are not to blame. You're a victim as much as anybody else here is."

"Kurt," she replied, his name slipping from her mouth before she could stop it, "you don't understand. I . . . I could have saved Pete. I should have. But I chose to save another instead." She hoped that he did not realize who that other one was.

"You could not have saved Pete. I saw with my own eyes how many you did save, Kitty, including myself. Pete was trying to save us, as well. You are not to blame for the others' deaths. The Fates decreed it, and the dinosaurs carried it out. Ve are lucky to be alive, and most of that, is because of you. Thank you for saving me."

She smiled sadly despite the tears that slipped down her cheeks. "I'm glad I was able to save you," she admitted, inching closer to him and further out of the shadows, "but I should have found a way to save Pete too. I'm sure I could have if I'd tried harder."

"No, you could not have, my child. He vas too far away at the end of the group, and even though you have great powers, you can not save more than one person at a time. I realize I was the one you saved when Pete was killed, and for that, I am grateful. I, too, could blame myself for his death, but it would have happened sooner or later as he was the kind vho always protected others. He vould've been killed while saving some one else. He vould not vant you to blame yourself for his death. All you can do, my dear, is the best you can do, and you always do that."

She nodded mutely yet still she knew that she should have chosen Pete over Kurt. She couldn't tell that to Kurt, however. What was she to say -- that though Pete was her husband, she'd been too lost in a Priest's fuzzy blue fur to save him instead when her loyalty should have been to Wisdom?

Kurt was a stranger to the feeling this woman brought out in him. He knew she was torn apart and felt that she had been disloyal to her husband. He figured it was because he was a Priest. If he had had one ideal that she was interested in him, his heart would have leapt in his chest in anticipation for he found her to be more than sexually attractive though he knew that he could only have her friendship. After all, he was a Priest, and she was the Captain. "Ve had best return upstairs before the others think something's happened to us."

She nodded and reached up a hand to scratch Lockheed who was hugging her face. "After you."

Kurt slowly made his way back up the stairs. He knew better than to argue with her. Kitty followed behind him, wiping her tears away as they walked.

To Be Continued . . .