It was boiling hot when Sophie finally woke up again.
"Where are we?" she asked, stretching luxuriously in the passenger seat of the car and blinking owlishly in the bright light.
"I'm not sure really," Josh answered, his eyes never leaving the road. "Somewhere near though." Sophie watched him for a second thinking, near where? Why can't you say it?
"Are you alright?" she asked eventually.
"I'm fine," he replied firmly, yawning and closing his eyes momentarily.
"Josh!" Sophie shrieked, grabbing the steering wheel and forcing the car back onto the right side of the road. Josh jumped, knocked Sophie's hands off the wheel and settled back into his 'driving mode'.
"Josh, your exhausted! You've been driving all night, pull over."
"I'm fine and the sooner we get there the better."
"You are not, pull over now!"
"No way! Anyway we can't stop, it's to dangerous."
"Oh so instead we're going to die because you fall asleep at the wheel and crash into another car?"
"We're not going to die!" Josh yelled, swerving across the road as he stared furiously at her.
"Josh!" Sophie yelled again, forcing him to look back to the road and get them on the right side again.
"And I'm not going to fall asleep either! Got it?" Sophie nodded, mutely wondering why she got into the car with this mad man. Although he has had quite a shock, she thought scolding herself.
"Have you always been this stubborn?" she asked, examining the interior of the car. Josh laughed and shook his head, "no, only since you've been around."
Sophie raised an eyebrow and he hastily explained.
"I meant only since you've been around causing me trouble,"
"Well I'm very sorry," Sophie replied indignantly.
"I'd much rather have someone here then be doing this on my own," Josh admitted after a moments silence.
"Good, because I'm also glad you kidnapped me when you did."
"I didn't kidnap you!" Josh roared, the car skidding off the road and across some grass.
"It was a joke!" Sophie hastily cried, grabbing the dashboard for support.
"Oh," said Josh, stopping the car in the middle of the grassy clearing.
"It wasn't that bad a one," Sophie grumbled, pulling herself out of the car and stretching her invisible wings behind her.
"Maybe I do need a break," Josh conceded, following her and flopping on the grass at her feet.
"Maybe?" Sophie asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Yes maybe," Josh replied defensively, pulling her down next to him. "Besides, you were the one who kept distracting me."
"I'm not going to even answer that."
"You just did!" Josh said, laughing.
"Oh, shut up!" she snapped mock angrily, hitting him on the arm.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, you're such a wuss!" Sophie laughed.
"Am not!"
"Am too!"
"Am not!"
"Am not!"
"Ha!" cried Josh, "you know that never works, right?"
"Well I do now," Sophie replied sulkily.
"Awww, has Sophie gone in a moody with Joshie?"
"Since when have you been Joshie?" Sophie said finally, after letting out a small giggle.
"Since for ever and ever!" he cried, throwing his arms back dramatically and laying flat against the ground.
"God, you really have gone out of your mind!"
"That's not a very nice thing to say about God!"
Sophie laughed, stood up and grabbed Josh's arm using her weight to pull him along.
"Where we going?" he asked, not being helpful at all with the walking thing.
"Back to the car, you can sleep on the backseat and I'll drive."
"You can drive?" he asked, blinking at her slowly.
"Yes, you're not the only teenager who's been breaking the law! Why are you so surprised?"
"I don't know. I just guess I'm thinking of you still being a lil Goody-Two Shoes-"
"Oh shut up and get into the car," Sophie snapped, irritated. She didn't know where these people got it from, he didn't even know her that well for Christ's sake!
"Sorry," he muttered, forcing his eyes to stay open as he crawled down onto the backseats and lay there looking up at her, "I'm being a prat aren't I?"
"A bit of one," Sophie conceded eventually. She moved round the car and fitted herself into the driving seat, adjusting it slightly to suit her. As she placed her hands on the steering wheel she remembered all the times her dad had helped her, coaching her over the complicated parts of driving and generally being a comforting presence as she faced the difficulties of driving. She finally pulled herself down to Earth again as she pulled back onto the empty road and realised she didn't know where the hell she was going.
"Josh?" she called back to him, "how am I supposed to know where to go?"
"There's a leaf-let," he murmured groggily, "shows you where you are and all that."
"Huh?" Sophie muttered to herself, slowing down as she fumbled around the dashboard looking for it. "Oh there it is!" she cried, her fingers meeting paper as she plucked at the compartment by her seat. She found herself staring at a little piece of paper which had a tiny red dot moving along a black line, labelled, 'you'. She let out a little gasp and kept her other hand steady on the steering wheel, her fingers going white as she took in the rest of the journey. How do they do that? She asked herself as she took a small turning on her left. It's just plain weird.
She had been driving for while when suddenly she realised how dark it was getting and the fact they hadn't eaten for at least a day.
"I'm starving," she muttered as she smoothly pulled up next to a little shop.
"Me too," yawned a voice from next to her ear causing Sophie to jump so hard she was glad she wasn't driving.
"Omg! Did you have to do that?!"
"No, but I have some money if you want to get something to eat."
"In that case I forgive you,"
"Good, now come on. I'm getting old here."
A little while later they were back no the road, Sophie feeling a lot less hungry but very drained. She'd been driving for most of the night and the rest she'd got earlier had been very disturbed and filled with some very strange dreams. She yawned slightly, leaning back into the seat as she flexed her shoulders. It looked like another night driving or stopping somewhere to sleep but Josh had said that wasn't an option earlier.
"Josh, are you up to driving again? It's just any second I'm going to nod off."
"I really shouldn't, I'm exhausted just sitting here." he replied, frowning.
"Well I really can't keep going, next place I see that's suitable I'm stopping."
"We can't stop!"
"You drive then!" Sophie snapped back, earning a silent glare from Josh. He didn't say anything back though. Soon enough Sophie found a small space in a nice spot off the road, next to a large forest. "This should do," she announced, quickly pulling over and stopping the car.
They both got out and surveyed the dank surroundings. The silence wrapped itself around them eerily for a second before Josh stated that he was going for a 'slash'.
"Gee, Josh! Enough info already."
He laughed and began wondering towards the forests natural cover.
"And don't be long!" She called loudly after him, immediately wishing she hadn't.
"Don't worry babe," he answered, eyes twinkling, "I'll be back ASAP."
"It's not that I'm scared!"
"Of course not."
"It's that I'm worried…for you!" She yelled back, trying to somehow save the situation.
"I can take care of myself, don't you worry."
"I'm not!"
"You're the one who said you were."
"Oh yeah," Sophie muttered, petering out lamely.
"And now I really have to go, literally!"
Sophie laughed uneasily as she watched him dashing off, feeling a slight twinge of apprehension as she realised how secluded they were. And how alone she was in the near darkness.
A soft wind blew against Sophies skin bringing goose bumps all over her arms. Suddenly a drop of rain hit her on the cheek and as she turned her face upwards, it began to thunder.
"Oh shit," she muttered running towards the car. Behind her she could hear Josh swearing as he ran back up the hill towards the safety of the car.
"Get the bloody doors open!" he roared as he tugged on the doors unsuccessfully.
"I can't! I don't have the keys!" Sophie shrieked back over the various howls of the weather. Josh stared into the car and spotted the keys stuck in the ignition.
"You stupid cow!" he yelled furiously, "you left them in the bloody car!"
"Oh and how the hell did I do that Josh? I locked it from the outside and then pushed my hands through the window and put the keys back in?!"
"Good point. Come on, let's get under the trees." They ran hand in hand into the darkness of the forest, feeling a bit calmer as the worst sounds of the weather faded out and now the rain was being kept off them.
"What happened with the car then?" asked Josh, panting slightly.
"Well, it started to rain so I ran towards it and the door wouldn't open," Sophie frowned, recalling the last time she got out of the car. "And, I got out before you so I couldn't have locked otherwise I'd have locked you in."
"True, unless you locked the car after I got out and went for a wee."
Sophie giggled.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Sorry," she answered gasping a little, " but it sounds so weird, the word wee coming from your mouth." She giggled again, pressing her hands across her mouth.
"Oi you!" Josh cried, struggling after her as she quickly walked away. "Get back here!"
"No way!" she laughed back, still half hysterical as she tried to get away. Josh launched himself at her and the only way for Sophie to escape was to fly and so she did. Josh was left far below her as she surged upwards through the tree canopy and out into the open sky. Suddenly she heard a snicker far below and saw four strange people walking towards Josh, who seemed unaware. He was too busy watching her carefully. She dived down, grabbed Josh's arms and, struggling, pulled him into the sky with her.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he gasped as the ground dropped from beneath his feet.
"Helping you," she whispered back, twisting him so he could see he others.
"Who are you?" he asked brazenly, despite dangling precariously over them and it being four against two.
"My name," said a slim, tall man, "is Magneto. These are my friends Sabertooth," he indicated to a stocky half-man half cat thing. "This is Mystique," he indicated to a slim, naked woman with strange blue, bumpy skin, "and this is Pyro," he next indicated to an attractive young man who smiled arrogantly up at them. "They are my friends and comrades in arms."
"Comrades in arms against what?" Sophie asked, having a suspicious feeling she already knew.
"Why, fighting the humans of course. We are a noble cause-"
"Getting past all that shit," Josh said coldly, "you basically kill, harm and maim humans and your own to get whatever you want. Only a little while ago you tried to take over the world by turning all the top people in power to mutants!"
"Oh so you heard about that little charade, did you? It was very hushed up," Magneto replied, sounding slightly impressed.
"Yeah, well I have my ways."
"You mean your father."
"What?" asked Josh, taken by surprise.
"You're dads in the government, is he not?"
"How did you know that?"
"Let's just say I have my ways, too."
"Ok, this is all very nice," Sophie said tiredly, her grip on Josh becoming a little unsafe. "But what do you want?"
"We want you two, my dears, to join us in our fight for justice-"
"Oh not again," muttered Sophie.
"Enough of this," Magneto said with surprising finally, " get them down, Pyro."
Suddenly a huge wave of fire rushed up towards them and Sophie let out a shriek. Completely forgetting she was holding Josh she brought her hands up to her face and dived low towards the ground.
"Gee thanks, Soph," Josh muttered as he picked his bruised body of the ground.
Sophie winced and landed lightly next to him. "Sorry," she whispered.
"Now can we get out of here?"
"How exactly?" he muttered out the side of his mouth as Magneto and his cronies approached.
"I can fly you, I'll wait for an opportunity."
"If there is one," Josh replied pessimistically.
As though silent commands had been given Pyro, Sabertooth and Mystique formed a tight circle around them and Magneto came striding through the centre. It all looked very impressive. That is until Sophie decided to ask Magneto why he had a bucket on his head.
"This is not a bucket," he snapped, clearly affronted. "It is to keep Charles out of my head and my thoughts."
"Still looks like a bucket to me," she muttered, shrugging.
"What's got into you?" Josh hissed, poking her hard in the ribs.
"Nothing I just wanted to know why he had a bucket on his-"
"I told you child, it is not a bloody bucket!"
"Tut tut! If I really am a child as you so charmingly put it shouldn't you be watching your language around me?"
"Sabertooth, grab her."
There was a quick movement behind Sophie and suddenly felt herself caught in a vice like grip. "Help," she managed to gasp out as the pressure on her ribs got to a much higher level.
"Stop it," Josh snarled, moving angrily towards the struggling pair when Pyro leapt in front of him. A short lick of flame made him back away, still fuming.
"She's just a girl," he tried again, unsuccessfully.
"Excuse me?" Sophie choked out indignantly, her eyes watering.
"Shush, I'm trying to help you!"
"Sabertooth, loosen your grip. I want to have a person to take back with us. Preferably two." Magneto said coldly, his eyes assessing to two rapidly. Mystique stood behind him, her hand resting on his shoulder as she watched them with golden cat-like eyes.
"Let.Me.Go," Sophie hissed threateningly.
"Somehow I don't think so my pretty," Sabertooth replied in a rough voice.
"Fine then," Sophie snapped. With amazing strength her now visible wings pushed out against Sabertooth, knocking him off balance. With a quick kick to his nether regions, Sophie was once more in the air. During the struggle however, Josh had been grabbed and was now in the same position Sophie had been herself a few seconds ago.
"Go on then, Sophie," teased Magneto cruelly, "fly far away."
"Go on, get out of here," Josh managed hoarsely. "You can get to the school, tell them."
"You think they'd come and help you?" asked Pyro incredulously, dropping Josh's arms so he could face him. "They're selfish fat cats, traitors! You think they'd come to rescue a pathetic little fool like you?"
"They're not the traitors," Josh spat out.
"Of course not, not to a little hero boy like you."
"Not long ago you were that little hero boy," Mystique said lightly, only her eyes threatening. Obviously she didn't take to Pyro that well.
Pyro hissed and moved towards her, "don't you dare mention that ever again."
"Children, children! Too the matter at hand!" Magneto warned them angrily.
"What matter?" Sophie yelled over her shoulder. She just couldn't resist it. While they had been bickering she had silently cruised down, grabbed Josh's upraised arms and leapt back high into the sky. Already they were fading into the distance, but not before she saw Magneto turn viciously on his so called 'friends'.