Hey, thank you for the reviews. Sorry it took me so long to update. It seems to be a bad habit. I intend on finishing this one soon though i'm WAY far behind on posting what I have
It was cold. It was always cold when the sun set, but right now it seemed more so than usual. The shadows that the trees cast had iced over the damp from the rain earlier.
I shivered and tried to warm up. It was at times like these I wished I had a power. Something to do with fire would've been nice. Then I could've just lit a branch on fire and warmed up that way.
I breathed on my hands, letting the warm of my breath settle into my fingers. I shook with the cold still, but I could feel the exhaustion pull at me again and my mind wandered helplessly, trying to find someone who wasn't there anymore.
I fell into an uneasy sleep. I never rested properly, but now I was haunted by dreams and more commonly nightmares. I shifted in my sleep, trying to shake the demons that chased me.
"Stupid freak! You don't deserve the air you breathe!" David's hands were ice against my skin as he tightened his vice like grip. "Even by the standards of mutants, you're a freak! No one could ever love you!" My mother was standing a few feet away.
"Mom!" I tried to say, but it came out weak because of the lack of air. One hand tried to pry his grip away from me while the other reached for her. "Help… me…" She shook her head, causing her long hair to fall in front of her.
"You must be strong now Alex. I found someone, so I don't have to love you." She stated, coming forward to lean her head on David's shoulder. She smiled at him in that tender way.
I shook my head in disbelief. I reached for her telepathically and she was gone from my mind. I struggled to reach for her, but I couldn't reach pass the bounds of my own mind.
"Mom!" Finally, I couldn't stand it any longer my vision started to fade.
David twisted into something else, merging with my mother. He laughed, the sound booming into the darkness that seemed to go on forever.
"Listen... there is no one to call to, no one here to save you. You're on your own kiddo. You have to save yourself." He changed his voice to imitate my mom. "You have to be strong now!" he let out another laugh.
"Go to hell!" I growled at him. He smiled and raised one of his other arms. He had four somehow, all of them the size of my thigh. He held me by the throat effortlessly with one. He dropped me as he gestured to the expanse. It seemed to light up as he swept by.
"Little lady, you're IN hell!" he laughed again as the area was lit up by the lava and the rock warmed beneath my fingertips. I was on a plateau, high above the normal levels. Demons, monsters and the damned milled about on those levels, most seemingly focused on my. "You're damned to be here with us. You killed someone and loved every moment of it." I shook my head as I tried to get away from him. He looked like someone I had seen before.
"Do you see something you like? I could've sworn you wouldn't like me like that!" he wiggled his eyes suggestively before he gave me a mocking smile. "Do I look familiar?" he stepped forward. "Well, I guess you would have to. Takes a killer to know one!"
"No! I am nothing like you!" I shouted at him.
"Take a look sweetie, I AM you." I screamed when his face came out of the shadows, identical to my own, except male. I closed my eyes to cry.
When I opened them, I wasn't in hell anymore. Everything was white, almost like when me and Mom would accidentally slip into each others dreams.
I saw my mom. She was so far away, I could barely see her.
"Mom!" I shouted to her. I ran towards her, determined to join her.
:You have to be strong Alex. I love you.: She began to get farther and farther away, even though I ran as fast as I could. Soon she was gone.
"No Mom!" I shouted, slowing. I reached towards her, as though I could grab her from the horizon. :Mom: I tried to shout, but it just echoed back at me. She was truly gone. I couldn't feel her anymore. "Mom!" I screamed, but she didn't answer. I sobbed, I felt the tears slip from my eyes. "I'm all alone."
I jerked to the side when I suddenly saw someone appear.
"I'm not here to hurt you." She snapped. She turned to face me, her expression cold. "I'm not them. I wouldn't be here if I was." Her words were cold and hinted at tightly reined power.
"You have to be… why else would you be looking for me?" I said as I slowly backed away. Part of me just wanted to believe her and run forward to get a hug from the woman, but the part of me that had forced me to run, the part that held my common sense, wanted me to run as fast as I could the other way.
"Because your mother was connected to some powerful mutants and asked them to take care for you if something happened." She replied. I stopped moving.
"You don't care that I'm…" I reached up to touch the horns. They seemed to be growing a bit faster now and were nearly an inch and a half long. "A mutant?"
For a moment it seemed like she wasn't about to reply, but the small upward turning of her lips made her seem softer, more friendly. It was almost invisible, but I was used to the invisible signals. Mom used them all the time.
"I'm one too." She said. :I'm a telepath.: Her lips didn't move. :I won't hurt you.:
"I..." I was shaking. I really wanted to trust her, to let her in, but… I couldn't. I started to shake my head, trying to shake off the pounding that formed there. "I can't, it hurts too much!" Pain began to crawl down my spine. "No, it hurts too much! Just leave me alone! No!" I screamed and fell backward.
And jerked forward, almost unable to breath. I looked around the familiar trees and leaned back, trying to make the pain abate. The stars were still shining and the moon was high above me.
I began to shake and I only let one strangled sob escape, though the tears flowed undeniable.
----
Emma jerked awake, her eyes scanning the room around her. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and went to the window, pressing one hand against the cool glass.
Her nightmares still woke her regularly, but for once, that wasn't what woke her from her sleep. No, this time it was a dream that felt far too real for her comfort.
The scream that the girl had released had flooded Emma's shields and swamped them, forcing Emma to feel her pain. She had jolted away from that pain. Moments later she woke up.
Even now she could feel the residue pain on her chest. It felt like her ribs were cracked and bruised, just an echo of it, but that was what it felt like. She let out a shaky sigh.
It hadn't just been a dream. Somehow, Emma had been drawn into the girl's dream and had, in fact, been in the girl's mind.
"I will find you. I won't let you be in pain alone." Emma whispered against the glass. When she withdrew her hand, she already was resolved to find her on her own. Something told her that anyone else would drive her away forever.
Hours later, she was landing the blackbird in a clearing near where she had seen the girl. She stepped onto the grass and dropped her shields.
Everything was oddly silent. There was nothing within easy reach of her telepathy. And what was odder was that there was no sound in the forest. Everything was silent. There were no birds chirping, there wasn't even the chattering of a squirrel.
Emma pushed outward on her telepathy and when she still sensed nothing she growled under her breath.
"Damn it, I'm not about to hurt you, why can't I find you?" At last there was a faint echo within her mind. "I won't hurt you, I promise." Slowly, she felt someone not too far away, not much, very, very faint, but enough for Emma to start walking towards the trees.
She found the girl curled up against a tree near a shallow stream. Her eyes were closed and she was shivering. Every so often she would shift in her sleep, letting out a small sound of pain. She curled tighter into a fetal position after a few moments.
Emma crouched down and reached to place a hand on the girl's shoulder, but hesitated when there seemed to be a flare of red. It receded after a few moments. She shock off her unease and touched her shoulder.
Unlike last time, where the girl reacted immediately, she only jerked awake. Her eyes flew open and she cowered against the tree, trembling violently. Her eyes glowed a violent red.
Emma reached to rest her hand on the girl's shoulder, making sure the girl saw what she was doing. There was a flinch but she didn't move away when she was touched. In fact, she seemed to cower a bit more into the tree.
"Hey, I'm not about to hurt you." Emma said, trying her best to reassure the girl. The ruby eyes stared at her for a few moments before she looked around. Her eyes changed and returned to normal. She shivered.
"You're… back…" she whispered. She coughed and Emma was worried to see that she had problems regaining her breath. "You're… a… tele…path… like… Mom." She tried to smile, but failed, turning it into a coughing fit. "She said… I had… to be… strong… I have… to…" She didn't finish what she was about to say. She closed her eyes. "You… aren't… them?" Her voice was rough.
"No, I'm not. I promise I'll never hurt you. I'll protect you." Emma tucked a strand of hair behind the girl's ear.
"I'm glad… you came… back." She whispered after a few moments. "I was… afraid… you'd… be scared… by the dream. Thank… you."
Emma just gave the girl a tiny smile. "Come on, let's get you help." She picked up the girl without too much difficulty and began to make her way to the blackbird.
"I… trust… you." The girl whispered into Emma's ear. There was something in the way she said it that made it special. Emma doubted that she said it often. Something in Emma stirred.
She made her way back to the blackbird carefully, her charge light in her arms, weighing next to nothing. She carefully strapped the girl into a chair and set course back to the school.
She flicked on the communication stations, which immediately gave her the sound of Scott's voice.
"… Your ass back here!" She smirked at his tone. When he started to yell, however, she glanced back at the limp body in the seat near her. She was still unconscious.
"Scott, please lower your voice. I found her. She's hurt and right now asleep. I would prefer to keep it that way." She flicked the switch back to receiving.
"Sorry. How is she?" he replied.
"Not well. Is Charles nearby?"
"I'm here Emma." His voice seemed a bit tired, but there was no trace of condensation.
"I think that she might be a dream walker." There was a surprised sound and Emma smirked at Jean's reaction.
"Are you sure?" that came from Scott.
"Considering she drew me into her dream and she remembers talking to me, I'm pretty damned sure." She snapped. Her patience with Scott lately wasn't the best, probably because of his attitude concerning anything to do with her.
"We'll look into it, later. How far are you?" Charles asked.
"I'll be back in about two hours." Emma looked over her shoulder at the girl. She was tossing her head back and forth. "Out." She flicked the communications off set the plane to autopilot.
She stood and went to the seat next to the other. She watched her for a few moments, tossing and turning, before she sighed. She lowered her shields and reached for the troubled mind, hoping to soothe it into a more peaceful sleep.