Chapter Three: The Carrot Cake

Elizabeth and Samson were hungry and cold and tired that was the end of it. Now, as they were huddled sitting on a rock, trying to keep warm with the animal hide coat, trousers, and linen dress that they had, they whispered cautiously about their next choice of action. To make a fire to cook an animal would be a butterfly massacre in terms of ruining the future, not to mention that neither of them really knew how to make a fire and kill and animal, anyway.

As such were the conditions after four days in a place somewhere around Chicago, although this was 1842 when the city of Chicago was not a city at all and the surrounding areas were just miles and miles of forest.

Elizabeth and Samson did not like this. They were not "woodsy" people. They stayed in glass skyscrapers and slept on scientifically engineered mattresses that kept their spine aligned. Now, they just knew that they were hungry and that they really wanted that ten thousand euro bonus. This bonus was offered to any of the agents who could catch one particularly elusive target. Elizabeth and Samson already had a lead since they both knew what he looked like. To abandon the mission now would be to abandon the one thousand euro bet with their colleagues that this mission would be the one. This time, they would get him.

Things didn't look good and they knew that it was stupid of them to count on being so successful in such a time. Cities were much better places to visit in the past since there was a lot of people that would just give you an odd glance then think nothing of it. In the woods, when you met a person, they remembered you, and talked about you, and that sort of publicity was not very desirable for a time traveler.

"G'morning?"

The two of them jumped, turning to see what was behind them. Samson blinked and the woman froze. However, woman was not the best term as old woman was. Indeed, she was very old with wrinkles down her bony face, which was the only thing exposed in the air. Her hair was snow white, matching her gloves and boots, but was dressed with a dark navy sort of bonnet that matched her dress and cloak. All and all, she looked like a regal woman that could have easily been quite beautiful in her youth, but looked upon the two with contempt.

"What do you suppose? Put it off as ghosts?" Elizabeth stood, always sorry for all the people that would tell stories that they really did see these people, even though they were gone in the next moment.

Samson grimaced. "Better not," is all he said.

"Why not? We'd better go anyway; we've been here long enough," she raised an eyebrow at him, rubbing her arms.

"Well, let's ask her if he's seen a guy..."

Elizabeth grinded her teeth. "Let's not," she replied. "That would be what one would call, 'stupid.'"

"C'mon, Liz! We can act all ghostly, and ask her, and if she hasn't, we'll disappear. But if she has, then we've got 'im and that bonus. It's worth a try, ain't it?" Samson pouted. "Oh please, Izzy Lizzy?"

She sighed, pursing her lips. She glanced at Samson coldly, then blinked.

The old woman was reanimated, and she gave each of them curious looks. "What are you two doing on my land?" she scowled.

It gave the two shivers. Samson replied, taking his raccoon fur hat off to his heart, "Excuse me Ma'm, but no one told us this been you land, Ma'am. We're ac'tly looking for a man, perhaps you've seen him? Youn'-looking, 'bout thirty-five, forty. Not real short, but real skinny-like. Black hair too, the blackest you've ever seen."

"No, I haven't seen anyone of that nature. In fact, I haven't seen anyone at all for a four days, now. Perhaps your man went missing with my grandson. I'm not sure he left on purpose; I did say I was making carrot cake, and he always comes home early for that." The old woman now looked sort of mellow, and a fit of worry weaved into her frown and wrinkles.

"Has no one eaten your carrot cake, Ma'am?"

Elizabeth stopped time and whacked Samson in the arm. "What are you trying to do, get us sacked?" she demanded.

Samson frowned playfully, but continued, "Listen, I'm hungry and we need to eat if we've going to stay here any longer. Might as well bunk up in some lady's house."

"We're not going to stay!" shouted Elizabeth, which would have made crows fly if they could move. "We're going to go back, accept our failure, and get the ten thousand the next mission, right when we're sure the target's still in the time period!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course he's here! 'Member what Aifric said when she was tracking him? Stayed ten days in 1692, ten days before she got a glimpse of him, which is when he left. Never leaves until we catch up to him, Liz. Never. He's still around here, somewhere. Whatcha' scared for, Liz? Scared to take a little risk for a big reward?"

Elizabeth couldn't express how ridiculous and greedy Samson was, because right then, he blinked, and the old woman said:

"No one at all, and it'll spoil pretty soon." She looked humble now, although her better sense seemed to fight with her. "You're welcome to come to my home and rest for some time if you'd want. I wouldn't mind the company."

Elizabeth really couldn't resist. Her stomach was growling and her heart was yearning for those ten thousand Euros even though she knew it was awfully greedy of her. The wind was blowing too, and perhaps if they could find a place to stay until the sun warmed the place up a bit, perhaps they could have enough spirit to catch this man once and for all.

The old woman, Mrs. Luther, as she turned out to be, had a nice cabin in the middle of the woods. There was an coal stove in the middle that warmed the house pretty nicely, a pine table with a few handmade chairs, and a single bed with a bear skin as a blanket, with all the other sort of books and pictures that made a home nicely decorated. Elizabeth and Samson didn't find themselves particularly comfortable there, but it was a nice change from the cruel outdoors.

"Here you are. Would you like any tea? Coffee?" Mrs. Luther put a plate of carrot cake in front of both Elizabeth and Samson at the table, despite their protests. She looked about eighty years old and although she didn't walk as such, she probably shouldn't be living alone without her grandson to help her. Nevertheless, they couldn't help but to get comfortable and ask for some coffee.

The carrot cake was simply splendid. Elizabeth related it closely to any store-bought cake that she had tasted, but Samson described colourfully his days as a little boy at his "Grammy's," just waiting for that carrot cake every autumn. They spoke small talk, but surprisingly Samson did a great job of complimenting Mrs. Luther on anything he could think of and steer clear away from any questioning of their lives.

Mrs. Luther seemed to have a simple life, but she was reluctant to speak of it as well. She had a husband, a long time ago, it seemed, and a son too, but then the husband died tragically that she did not speak of much. Her son lived with her and took a wife. They only had one son, and both of them died a few years ago from pneumonia. Now it was only her and Thomas, her grandson.

It was nearly midday and the sun shone so warmly that Mrs. Luther had turned off her coal stove. The heat was disrupted, however, when the door opened quite suddenly.

"Thomas!" Mrs. Luther gasped, shuffling towards the man. "Where have you been?"

The man, however, with his rifle in one hand and a fox skin in the other, was looking very confused at the two guests, who were looking with their mouths wide open at him. "Who--"

Adam stopped with his mouth halfway open.

He didn't stop because his words were caught nor because he figured out who the guests were. He stopped simply because time stopped, and everything was still. Elizabeth and Samson exchanged looks, signalling that neither were the ones who had blinked.

"You two!"

Their target, separate man with dark hair appeared suddenly, leaning in the chair at the other end of the table. He looked irritated, and his arms were crossed casually. He frowned. "No, don't you talk!" He held up his hand and closed his fingers together. "I'll talk for you."

Elizabeth and Samson, however, couldn't speak regardless, because once he closed his fingers, their jaws went up and as much as they tried, their mouths just wouldn't open.

"Yes, that is Adam... well, you know as Joseph Allen," the man spoke referring to the man at the door, although neither of them said anything. "And yes, I am a mimic. Yes, I do exist, and yes, I am reading your mind. I'm sure you've heard of me?" He paused, licking his lips. "No? In that case, let me introduce myself. The name's Petrelli. It's very nice to meet you, too. But, I'm afraid you can't know that."

Elizabeth and Samson felt their heads go involuntarily forward so that Petrelli could touch them. He did, and once he leaned back, they blinked a few times, looking at each other and the room. Then, they tried to speak again, and were surprised to find that they couldn't.

"I shouldn't follow this man," he was speaking, although when Elizabeth and Samson heard it, it was like it was the only thing that existed. It was hard and it was a solid voice that sat in their brain and they didn't question the thought. They merely followed it. "This man is not worth any of my trouble. In fact, I'm making more footprints in the past than he is while trying to follow him. He isn't doing any harm, just merely observing. Researching. I should just go back home and tell everyone else at the Temporal Corps what I think."

Elizabeth and Samson nodded readily, completely accepting this. They couldn't bring themselves up to fight it.

"I should go..." Petrelli repeated, raising an eyebrow.

The two nodded again. They sat and they nodded.

The man continued, with an expecting look, "Now..."

They both took a deep breath and blinked. The two chairs were empty.

Peter Petrelli leaned back in his chair again. He took one cup half full of coffee, and drank it with a sigh.

A/N: Whaat? A cannon character that's not Adam? How strange!

Mind that Peter acts a lot less whiny and pathetic that he is in the show. I believe this was written before he lost his powers and was all set up to be the next messiah or something.

Hey, if you're reading, mind dropping a review? Are you enjoying it? Like? Dislike? Wowed by how far I've taken this off cannon?