Chapter 5: All The People

I'm trouble
Yeah trouble now
I'm trouble ya'll
I got trouble in my town
I'm trouble
Yeah trouble now
I'm trouble ya'll
I got trouble in my town

- 'Trouble', by Pink

Reid opened his eyes, a dull pain pulsing just above his brows. Raising his head, he realized that the pain came from the large steering-wheel-shaped bruise that now covered most of his forehead. He'd fallen asleep leaning his head against the wheel, and now a horizontal red bar was branded across his forehead from temple to temple. Groaning more in annoyance than pain now, Reid rubbed the tender mark before shaking himself, doglike, and settling back into his seat.

He was almost in Pennsylvania now, with roughly four more days left before he reached the California border, if he stopped only when absolutely necessary. His hands, as he set them back on the wheel, felt cramped after only a day and a half of driving. His legs were tight and restless, and Reid had to get out and stretch before his body would allow him to do anything else.

The unsettling feeling of not being alone in his own head was noticeably absent, Reid discovered as he got back into the car. The presence that haunted him was, it seemed, still sleeping. Reid sneered to himself; he felt rejuvenated after a dreamless night, and stronger, somehow. There was something… some kind of feeling that was so subtle he couldn't really name it, but definitely unfamiliar. Almost as if someone was… looking after him. Whatever it was, it gave him the energy to start the car and pull off the shoulder with a decisive whoop, almost like the old Reid.

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"So what are we doing?"

"I don't know," Caleb responded with a sigh. "Keeping ourselves out of prison, I guess. That's kind of top priority right now." Tyler grunted, crossing his arms. The usually-simple maneuver was made more difficult by the bulky cast that still enclosed his right wrist.

"What about Reid? Are we just gonna-"

"We can't do anything for him from jail," Pogue interrupted blandly, leaning against a slab of stone. He glanced at the empty corner where the fourth member of their quartet normally would have been sprawled. "Besides, Kat probably has a better chance of stopping him than any of us."

"I don't know about that," Caleb admitted. "It was hard enough for me to stop Chase, and I'm the strongest of all of us. Reid by himself is fairly strong, plus the ascension and the second personality's complete lack of remorse. I don't know if Kat is ready to take him on."

"Then why did you let her go," Tyler asked, frowning. Caleb shrugged.

"Because honestly, I don't think I could take her on without one of us getting seriously hurt. She may not have the Power, but she's pretty tough all on her own. And I don't think she would have held back from hurting me however bad she needed to, if I stood between her and Reid." Pogue grinned a little.

"Lucky boy," he commented. "Hope he can hang on to her."

"Hope he can hang onto himself," Tyler corrected darkly. Then, lighter, "But you know, I think Kat can take care of herself, at least until we get this cleared up and we can help her."

"So," Caleb continued, "on to more pressing matters. Like, what exactly are we gonna tell the police? It was almost impossible to wipe Reid out of their minds. No way are we gonna be able to do it for the rest of us, too."

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"So are you visiting or going home?" Kat opened her eyes blearily, turning her head to stare at the young woman sitting next to her.

"Neither," she answered, shifting in her seat. The woman, barely more than a girl herself, cocked her head.

"First time to Cali?"

"No," Kat said firmly, hoping that this would give the stranger a hint. She was not in the mood for chitchat; she was in the mood for sleep. Nice, nonthreatening sleep.

"I've never been. My mother lives there; it's why I'm going. My dad and her got a divorce last summer and the custody battle finally ended up tossing me across the country," she finished sullenly. Kat eyed her, finally taking in the curly hair, carefully-made-up eyes and pouty lips.

"I'm so sorry," Kat replied flatly, turning her head to look out the small airplane window. She felt a modicum of guilt, but then remembered the idle bit of talking she'd engaged in with Leks before he'd offered her a ride: she'd used up all her chitchat energy for the day. Maybe for the week. There was nothing to feel guilty about in ignoring this brat.

"Yeah, it really sucks," the girl continued blindly. "I had to leave all my stuff behind; it's getting flown out in, like, a week. Is all your stuff on the plane?" Without pausing, she went on. "And my dad is being a total asshole and not letting me bring my car with me."

"Oh," Kat said noncommittally, hoping it would be taken for a grunt.

"It's a 2005 Porsche, too. Bright blue. I got it detailed just last fall. I got so mad when he said I couldn't just fly that out here as well as all my-"

"Oh, shit," Kat interrupted, rubbing at her hands. "My liaphornitious is acting up again." The girl stopped mid-squeal and blinked suspiciously.

"Lia-what?" Kat glanced at her hands worriedly, and bit her lip.

"Liaphornitious. It's a rare skin disease that involves toxins leaking from your pores. It's really itchy, but at least there's no rash this time… This one time, I was making out with this really cute guy, only my liaphornitious spread and he, like, totally got it all over his face. Anyway, I'm Kat," she ended sweetly, grabbing for the girl's hand. "Nice to meet you!" The girl yelped and jerked her hand out of reach, swallowing.

"…Oh," she said finally. "Well."

When Kat closed her eyes again, she was uninterrupted.