The night was cold. Surprisingly cold for summertime. A figure ran through the woods, a small bundle huddled in his arms. The voices behind him tumbled together in mixed confusion. They were looking for them, he knew. They'd done a bad thing.
He ducked behind a grove of trees to avoid the beam from a flashlight. They were coming too fast. He'd promised her he wouldn't do it, but he had to. He had to save the little bundle in his arms.
"Over there!" Yelled one voice, "I heard something!"
The footsteps that had been gaining on the figure and it's bundle turned and walked the other way.
He sighed with relief. They were gone, for now.
He edged himself out from behind the trees and slowly began to move away from the voices. Trying not to make noise, he quickly ran away from them. He'd had no idea they'd actually try to kill them for what they'd done.
Slowing to a walk, the figure looked over his shoulder. There seemed to be no one following him.
He turned back around to face forward. Something hard came out of nowhere and cracked across his face. He fell to the ground and the bundle was pushed from his arms. The person who had hit him went after it with the object raised. The figure looked on, dizzy and disoriented. He knew that if he didn't go after it, the man would kill the one thing he cared about.
He closed his eyes and hoped that he was going to the right place. There was a muffled noise and he found himself kneeling next to the small bundle on the ground. He picked it up, stood up, and delivered a quick to the man who had hit him. The man hadn't seen it coming.
With a small gasp, the figure began to run again, trying to quiet the tiny bundle he held to his chest.
He looked up and saw the small clearing. That would be where she was standing, waiting for them. With a relieved gasp, he ran faster toward the clearing. His eyes were wide with anticipation. They were going to make it! They were going to get out and they were going to be fine!
The thought seemed to warm him against the cool chill in the air as he came up over the hill, into the clearing, and...
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Kurt awoke in a cold sweat. The dream had been all too real to him. What had it meant?
He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. He felt the small scar there. A scar from an incident he wanted to forget.
With a shivering gasp, he got up and headed toward the door. Maybe he just needed to splash some cold water on his face.
As he walked down the dark hallway, he thought back on his dream. There had been nothing remotely scary about it, yet it had scared him to no end. The terror the figure in his dream had been feeling seemed to eek its way into Kurt's own heart.
He went into the bathroom but didn't turn on the light. He could see in the dark and there was no need to risk waking someone up.
He reached over and turned on the water. He let the cold water run over his hands before splashing it over his face. With a deep sigh, he looked into the sink, watching the water run down the drain.
The door opened, startling Kurt. He turned around just as the light came on, illuminating Storm standing in the doorway.
"Kurt?" She asked, "Are you alright? You were talking in your sleep. The walls are like paper in this house." She said in response to his confused look.
"I am fine." Said Kurt, "I had a bad dream is all."
"Oh. OK." Said Storm. She moved into the bathroom and sighed, "I just wanted to make sure. You seemed pretty scared."
"It is nothing. It vas only a dream."
"Maybe you should tell me about it?"
"I don't think so."
"OK. Come talk to me if you change your mind. My ears are always open."
Kurt nodded and smiled, "Thank you."
Storm returned the smile, "No problem. Night."
She left the bathroom and closed the door. Without thinking, Kurt reached over and turned off the light.
The dream was almost gone now. Kurt could barely remember what had happened in it. He sighed, opened the door, and headed down the hallway toward his bedroom.
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Rouge was making some toast when Bobby walked in. It was Saturday, but they always woke up early so they could spend some time together.
"Morning, Bobby." Rouge said, pouring a glass of milk and sitting at the counter.
"Morning." Bobby said through a yawn.
"How'd ya sleep?"
"I've slept better. You?"
"I slept like crap. I kept thinking about T.J."
"I was, too."
"Why were you thinking about me?" Came a voice from the door. The two looked up to see T.J. standing at the door, arms crossed.
"I was worried about you." Said Rouge, standing, "You ran off and I didn't know if you were OK."
"I was fine. I just...freaked out for a second there. I'm fine, really."
Bobby was at the toaster, "Want some toast, T.J.?" He asked.
"No thanks. I'll just have something to drink if that's OK."
"Of course it is." Said Bobby, opening the refridgerator, "We've got orange juice, milk, grape juice, and...who here has prune juice?"
T.J. chuckled, "Orange juice, please."
Bobby took out the orange juice and poured two glasses of it. He handed one to T.J. and went to the toaster to prepare the toast that had just popped up.
Rouge noticed that T.J. was rubbing her head, "Are you all right? Did you sleep OK?"
T.J. looked at her and smiled, "I'm fine. I just had a bad dream last night is all."
"Ooh. I hate that." Said Bobby, taking a seat next to Rouge.
"Can you tell us about it?" Asked Rouge.
T.J. shook her head, "No. I don't really remember all of it. I just remember being terrified, is all."
"Terrified of what?" Asked Storm, entering the kitchen.
"T.J. had a bad dream last night." Said Bobby.
"Oh, really? Can you remember it?" Asked Storm as she heated up some tea.
"I'm not sure." Said T.J., "All I remember is alot of running and someone getting hit over the head with something. There were all these voices. I woke up before I could find out what had happened."
"Those dreams that don't make sense are the worst kind." Said Rouge through a mouthful of toast.
"Kurt had a weird dream last night, too." Said Storm.
Rouge looked up at her, "Really? What about?"
"He wouldn't tell me. He was in the bathroom, splashing some water on his face. It must have really scared him."
Bobby stuffed a large peice of toast in his mouth before speaking, "Why do you think he wouldn't tell you?"
"Bobby! Swollow, first!" Said Rouge, pushing him by the shoulder.
"You don't want anything to eat, T.J.?" Asked Storm, sitting at the counter.
T.J. shook her head and swollowed the juice she had in her mouth, "No, thank you. I'll get something if I want it."
Storm nodded, "OK."
They all looked surprised when the door swung open and Logan stepped in.
"Logan!" Said Storm.
Bobby swollowed a bite of toast without chewing and began to gag.
"I just heard from the Professor." Said Logan, "He's coming back and he wants to meet..." He couldn't seem to come up with a word and just motioned toward T.J.
"They're coming back now?" Asked Storm.
"He said they'd be home in a couple hours."
"Did he mention what the President wanted to speak to him about?"
"No. He said he'd tell us when he gets here."
Storm nodded and hurried out of the room. Logan said an emotionless good morning to Rouge and Bobby, then left the room.
"I notice he just left me out of that one." Said T.J.
"He doesn't seem to like you that much." Said Bobby, trying to recover from choking on his breakfast.
"Well, I did kind of attack him and Storm in that church." Said T.J.
"What church?" Asked Rouge.
"The church in Boston. Where they found me. I was hiding out there."
"You were hiding out in a church?" Asked Bobby.
"It was abandoned, Bobby." Said T.J., "I was the only one there."
"They found you in a church?" Asked Rouge.
"Yeah, why?"
Rouge didn't answer. She remembered Storm telling the Professor that Kurt's location on Cerebro led to an abandoned church in Boston. It couldn't possibly be the same church...could it?
She decided to ask something that had been on her mind since meeting T.J.
"Hey, T.J.? Where did you get that necklace?"
T.J. clutched her necklace out of habit, "I've had it ever since I was little. My mom always told me that my father gave it to me."
"Your father? Who's your father?"
"I don't know. He left after I was born. That's when my mother and I came to America." There seemed to be sadness in her voice as she explained it.
"Where are you from?" Asked Bobby.
"Germany." Said T.J., "We're from Germany."
I finally found a way to end the chapter! Yay! She's from Germany...hmmm. Who else is from Germany? Let's see here...
Anyway, it's finally picking up! Enjoy!
