I don't own X-Men! Eventually, you will meet the X-Men, but not in this chapter. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that I don't own Indiana Jones either!
Dark Night Falls
A group of kids stand in front of a school. One kid fights their way out, but gets forced into a car by the rest of the group. The final shove reveals that the kid is a girl, and does not appear much older than sixteen. Unfortunately or fortunately, as our case may be, the door on the other side of the car was wide open and the girl tumbled out onto the pavement. But when she stood up and looked warily for the group that had harassed her, she could find no one. The buildings around her were rubble and dust and debris were everywhere.
She began to walk towards what she thought may have been another human being. But when she got there she had to bite back a cry of horror; for she had found a mutilated corpse. A hand on her shoulder startled her to jump.
"Girl, this place is no longer safe. The military is after mutants like you an' me, an' this is what's happenin' to our kind. You best run along and stay away from spotlights, they killin' everyone they can find…" it was an old man that had placed his wrinkled, pock-marked hands on her shoulders. When he released her shoulders, he noticed the state of her clothing was in much better than anyone who could have survived. "Go quickly and don't let the military catch you."
With that, the old man turned quickly away from the brown haired girl in her nearly spotless black top and slightly dusty blue jeans and fled off towards the sirens, luring them away from the girl. The girl just stood there for a few moments in shock, but shook her head and got her brain thinking and her feet moving. She opted to take the old man's advice, and she stayed as much in the shadows as possible. Sirens came towards her, and she began to frantically look for a place to hide, only to be pulled into what appeared to be an abandoned old apartment building. A hand stifled her surprised scream!
"Keep quiet!" a man's voice whispered, his hand never leaving her mouth in case she had the urge to scream. They stood together in the shadows inside the doorway as the sirens zoomed past them. The man waited a few minutes more before he removed his hand and turned the girl around to face him, "It's not safe to be out there, you should know better!"
"I… Where am I?" the girl held her head in confusion and turned her stare to the dusty, debris covered floor.
The man frowned at her, "You're in… or what's left of Rochester, Minnesota."
"But… that can't be right! This definitely doesn't look like my home town… What's going on?" the girl began to shake in slight shock.
"You were born here?" the man blinked in surprise, "You have no idea what is going on?"
"Well, one minute I'm at school being pushed around by a hoard of bullies, and then I'm flung through a car and roll out the other side into the street. But then the hoard is gone, and everything looks so different…" the girl bit her lip in concern. "Then this old man came up to me and told me that the military caused all this and that I was some kind of mutant and it wasn't safe for me… I don't understand what is going on! All I know is that this is definitely NOT my home!"
"Shh! Keep it down!" the man covered her mouth again, "Now, listen to me. I'll help you as best I can, but you need to keep your voice down! You don't want them to find us, do you?" He removed his hand.
"I don't think I do, but who are 'they'?" the girl gasped in shock as she heard sirens again. The man noticed the sirens a few minutes latter than the girl, but he quickly pulled her to his chest, blocking her sight as the old man that had helped her was destroyed by a pinprick of light. The sirens once again disappeared and the man stared down at the girl whose hands and face were buried in his brown leather jacket. "Shh, it's all right, it's over..."
"They just killed that nice old man that helped me…" the girl pulled away from the man and stared up at him with tears threatening to leak out.
"He should not have fallen, but we must be thankful that we have a chance to get away before they return," the man placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm Marcus."
"Analira," the girl replied softly.
"Nice name," Marcus gave her a brief sad smile. "Follow me," he turned quickly and walked towards the back of the rundown building, only to pull down on a drape-cord. Analira watched in shock as the dusty floor moved to reveal a secret passageway. Marcus had disappeared down the underground passage, and Analira was quick to follow him as the door to the passage began to slide shut. "We're relatively safe down here, but they would find us if we lived down here."
"So, where are we going?" Analira asked curiously.
"It's just around this bend. It's not much, but it's our home…" Marcus opened the door, his eyes smiling as four tiny blurs rushed to him.
"MARCUS!" the four blurs were distinguished as children by Analira's keen eyes.
"Marcus," a rather subdued woman came out carrying a two year old in her arms.
"Vinatsyr," Marcus nodded to the woman.
"Another one?" Vinatsyr merely glanced at Analira as if she was no more important than dirt.
"Ack! Jinaka!" a boy around Analira's age appeared dragging a pouting five year old on his ankle.
"Everyone, this is Analira. Analira, the four clustered around me are Colketta, Haryen, Qentega, and Indiri. The boy with the girl on his leg is Sanil and the girl is Jinaka. The woman holding the kid is Vinatsyr and the kid is Laffayetta."
A little girl with sandy-brown hair ran up to Analira and held up her arms to be picked up. Analira let a warm smile wash across her face as she lifted the little girl into her arms and onto her hip, "Hello I'm Analira, but you can call me Lira."
"I'm Indiri, but everybody calls me Indy," the little girl smiled up at the teen.
"It's nice to meet you, Indy," Analira smiled all the wider. "I'll bet you were nicknamed after Indiana Jones!"
"Who's that?!" Indy blinked in surprise.
"He's a famous archeologist that goes on marvelous adventures, usually against the Russians or the Nazis. Would you like to hear about it sometime?"
"Yea!" Indy grinned happily as she clapped her hands.
"Indiri, get down, now," Vinatsyr demanded coldly, her eyes flashed darkly at Analira.
"Vinatsyr, calm down, Lira has done nothing wrong," Marcus shot the cold-woman a glare.
"What is her power? Did she tell you?" Vinatsyr growled.
"Power?" Analira blinked in confusion.
"She means your mutant ability," Sanil stepped forward.
"Okay… I think you lost me, because the definition of a mutation is a change or being changed. So, you mind running that by me again, and this time explain what a mutant is?" Analira cocked her head to the side in confusion and curiosity.
"You don't know?" Marcus gasped in surprise.
"Lira!" Indy tugged lightly on Analira's hair, "Watch me!" Analira turned her head to the side and watched as Indy held a flower in her palm.
"That's a beautiful flower, Indy," Analira smiled sweetly at the girl.
"Does Lira want the flower Indy made?" Indy asked.
"Sure, why don't you tuck it behind my ear, then I'll look pretty, just like you," Analira kept on grinning.
"Kay!" Indy placed the flower in Analira's hair, but the plant kept growing, until it became a headband for Analira, holding back most of her dark brown tresses. The other three children around Marcus' feet called to Indy and ran out of the room.
"Thank you very much, Indy," Analira winked at the little girl as she placed her on the floor.
"See you later, Lira!" Indy quickly went and Jinaka with her to play with the others, leaving Sanil, Marcus, Vinatsyr, and Laffayetta alone in the room.
"Hope you don't mind, but I think I need to sit down," Analira sighed tiredly as she sat down in a pile of dust.
"You are not a mutant," Vinatsyr growled.
"Actually, I'm not sure. One minute I'm at school and everything is green, bright, and sunny. Then the next thing I know, I'm in what seems like a totally different world," Analira moved until she sat Indian-style, placed her wrists lightly over her knees, and began to reverse breathe.
"What are you doing?" Marcus blinked worriedly.
"Calming down, cause everything that you, that old man, and everyone else has told me just sank in."
"Humph!" Vinatsyr snorted, "You're in shock."
"No, I'm definitely past shock. I think I'm on the verge of acceptance or denial."
"Deny away, little girl," the lady smirked.
"…" Analira let her body relax as she breathed in the air around her, calming her anger towards the woman called Vinatsyr.
"Did you hear me girl?!" Vinatsyr growled.
"I've heard you, but I will not let you cow me," Analira opened her eyes as if seeing a new light. "I am not here to harm you; I'm here to stay away from whatever is so dangerous about those sirens…" Analira's eyes flashed as Laffayetta was nearly thrown to the ground in Vinatsyr's rage. Analira growled as she caught the now screaming child. She held the child close to her and began to hum soothing the young girl back to a near decent slumber. "Never throw a child," Analira glared at Vinatsyr, "especially when you're around me."
"You don't even have any powers, you weakling!" Vinatsyr nearly scowled with rage as she pounded out of the room, her stomping shaking the concrete floor.
"I'm sorry about Vinatsyr, she's usually like this," Marcus sighed. "Sanil, could you watch out for Lira and show her a room?"