"How long has it been?"
Storm looked up. Logan had not moved from the window where he'd been standing. Jean was standing in the doorway.
"Five hours so far. But that's from when we noticed they were missing. They could have left anytime after the funeral."
Jean and Storm jumped up in fright as Logan suddenly banged his fist on the window.
"I should've kept a closer eye on her."
Jean walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. She felt his body go tense and then relax.
"No-ones to blame. You couldn't expect to watch her all the time. Especially since there was a funeral. Let's just hope the professor and Scott arrive soon."
Storm stood up. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse. She prayed that this nightmare would end soon.
"It's no use just standing around. Jean and I will wait for the professor. We can check on the children while we wait. Logan you should get some sleep."
Logan nodded and headed off to his room.
Jean and Storm waited in silence. When all they could here was the faint whispers of children, they headed upstairs.
"Kitty, here Kitty Kitty. I'm not going to hurt you."
Kitty kept running. By now she was deep in the forest, far from where Rogue had stopped the car. She ran through trees and bushes. At first she ran with her eyes closed but when she had nearly walked right into Rogue she decided that it was better to go eyes open. Her heart was racing so fast, faster than her legs were running. She had a stitch in her side and cuts and bruises from times she had been careless. They had been driving when Rogue suddenly stopped the car. She reached over and Kitty, noticing in time Rogue's ungloved hand, had used her power to get out the car. From there she ran.
"Shadowcat, do you want to see Bobby, I know a way."
She didn't know what Rogue wanted but she now understood one thing: Rogue was the one who killed Bobby. Keeping up her pace she shouted over her shoulder making sure it wasn't loud enough for Rogue to know where she was.
"You did it didn't you. You killed Bobby."
She heard the footsteps behind her die down. Her plan had worked. Before Rogue could have time to think, Kitty rushed in the direction of the car. She knew that there was an emergency phone in the car and she had to call for help.
"Your right!"
Kitty stopped in her tracks. Her heart was beating so hard against her chest she felt as if it was about to burst out of her. Rogue's voice had sounded to close. She began to run again but her pace had slowed down. She couldn't contain her curiosity. Then from somewhere far behind she heard Rogue's voice.
" I killed him. I didn't mean to. Please believe me Kitty."
" You killed him and almost killed Pyro."
Rogue's voice was soft. It sounded like she was the wind. Kitty could see the car in the distance. She was almost there. In a moment of sheer relief she began to cry tears of joy.
" It wasn't my fault."
Rogue's voice was harsh and bitter. But Kitty didn't care. Soon it will be over. The car now stood in front of her. She began to walk. She had hardly any energy left in her. Her hair was a mess, her face stained by her tears and she was limping slightly. But she had a smile on her face.
She whispered as reached for the phone, "It's all your fault Rogue. It's …"
Rogue watched as Kitty fell to the ground.
"No Kitty, It's your fault"
She dropped the log she had used to knock her out.
'Now,' she said to herself, 'time to set the scene, what do prefer car crash or drowning?'
Rogue noticed the emergency phone lying by her body. She picked it up and put it in her pocket. She put Kitty's limp body in the car and then got in the passenger seat. It would be suspicious if it looked like she drove. Leaning over Kitty she started the car and began to drive. She swerved the car into trees and bushes until she finally reached the lake she touched Kitty's forehead as the car began to sink into the thin ice. She got out and sat at the edge of the lake. Taking her time she made sure the phone was dry and working. Then she jumped back into the lake. It could have been because she had held onto Bobby for so long or just sheer determination but the cold didn't affect her. Using what she had left of Kitty's power she pulled her body out of the sinking car and swam to the surface making sure she held onto Kitty's hand with her own ungloved hand. As they reached the edge she felt Kitty's pulse, it was slow and almost gone. She felt a weird sensation in her heart. Is it what she felt or what Bobby felt? It was to late now. All she could do is wait.
The phone started to ring for the second time. Logan stared at it as if willing it to stop. He was standing in Storm's office. She was downstairs talking to some of the elder children and Jean was reading Pyro's mind. She had said that so far all she knew that Pyro had been talking to Rogue when Bobby had come in. She heard pieces of their voices but his memories were unstable. The question which was on all of their minds was did Rogue touch Pyro to defend Bobby or was there some other reason? The phone continued to ring. Logan walked over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
Logan could here a buzz on the other end. There was a sound like someone struggling to breath.
"Hello?"
"Logan…"
"Rogue where are you, is Kitty with you?"
" We were driving, Kitty was driving, and we had a fight. We both just so upset because of the funeral. Logan we went off the road and the car went into the river. Kitty was knocked out and the doors were stuck…"
"Calm down Rogue. Where are you…"
"I tried, I tried to get out but I couldn't so I had to, just one touch, but…"
"Rogue, but what, where are you now, Rogue!"
"She's hardly breathing, she's going to die."
"Calm down and tell me where are you."
Logan listened. He could here Rogue crying at the other end.
"At the lake, west from the mansion."
" I'm on my way"
Rogue sat at the edge of the lake watching the stars. She was thinking about Pyro. She never meant to hurt him, to be completely honest she missed him. She began to think about all their times together. Did they ever have a moment alone? Bobby seemed to always be around. Maybe he knew that she and Pyro liked each other. Like he was one to judge. She looked at Kitty's lifeless body, had Bobby really liked her that much, did he like her more than he liked Rogue?
"Rogue!"
She looked behind her. She could see Logan's outline between the trees.
"Over here. Logan, I'm over here."
She watched as he came through the trees towards her. It was hard to tell whether he had a look relief or shock on his face. He bent over Kitty, his back turned to Rogue. After a few minutes he spoke to Rogue,
"What happened?!"
His voice was sharp and there was an accusing tone, he suspected her.
"I told you, the car went into the lake. She was unconscious and I needed to get her out the car."
She avoided his eyes. Slowly she stood up. Logan lifted Kitty's body and they walked towards the car. Rogue climbed into the passenger seat. Logan put Kitty carefully onto the back seat and then climbed in and started the car. Neither of them said a word. Rogue began to feel a burning in her chest. She closed her eyes, leaned back and tried to relax.
"Pyro, do you ever felt like you don't belong?"
Rogue looked over at Pyro. They were sitting outside enjoying the sun, Rogue was lying on the grass and Pyro was playing with his lighter. She watched as his frowned, mesmerized by the way a few strands of his hair that gently fell over his face.
"Most of the time. Why, finally realised not everything they do is right."
Rogue sighed. She'd been hoping Pyro would understand what she meant. She began to look at the sky again.
" Don't see it as a curse Rogue. What you have is a gift. One that shouldn't be contained."
She sat up and looked at him. His face was serious. It always was when it came to their abilities. She moved the stray hair out of his eyes. He turned and looked into hers. For a moment Rogue felt her lips tingle as he moved closer. But the moment passed as Rogue heard Bobby's voice. She looked over to where he was helping Kitty with her assignment. Pyro leaned closer to her.
"You deserve better," he whispered.
He'd been saying this for a while. She never knew how to respond, so she just changed the subject.
" If you hate it so much here why don't you go."
Pyro smiled. He stood up slowly while speaking.
"I'm waiting for someone."
"Who?"
Rogue watched as he walked away. Finally he turned around and said,
"You."
Rogue watched him walk away. She lay back down when he was gone, closed her eyes and fell asleep.
She opened her eyes. They had stopped just outside the mansion. She had forgotten that day with Pyro. It had been the best day of her life. Logan was looking at her.
"Look, kid, before we go in I want you to tell me the truth."
"I have been telling you the truth."
" If that's true why don't things add up? Bobby Drake didn't just drop dead because of the fire; there were hardly any burns on him. Same with Pyro. And Kitty can't drive and neither can you but you touched Bobby who knew how to drive. Your not telling the truth, so what…"
Rogue had grabbed Logan around the neck. It was so unexpected he hardly had time to react. He felt light-headed, everything was spinning. As he fainted he looked into Rogue's eyes and saw a dark red gleam in them. Rogue watched as Logan became unconscious. She let go. Using all her strength she shoved Logan and Kitty out of the car. They would know this time. She had no excuse; all she could do is escape.