So here's the next chapter, sorry about the wait. Hope you enjoy it! Also, I added a link to a picture of what Cameron looks like to my profile for anyone who's interested.
Disclaimer: I still don't own the movie...
"A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success."
Pogue POV
As soon as I walked into the house I knew something was wrong. For one thing it was at least ninety out and the air condition wasn't turned on. Weird enough, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else.
I had spent the night at Kate's house, her parents were out of town and this was the first chance we had gotten to spend time together since the sudden appearance of Cameron. Truthfully, I probably should have been at the library doing research like I had told my parents, considering all the information I had found out about Cameron's supposed abilities did nothing but support the idea that she could in fact be psychic.
Apparently her mom's family had been persecuted in Europe due to supposed connections to the supernatural and the occult. They had fled to America in the hopes of starting a new life in the new world free from past oppressions. They had blended into the new society well but every few decades the names of one of their decedents would appear in some sort of news archives for a connection to some sort of freak accident.
Still, it didn't make any sense. If Cameron really did have powers, were they from her mother's side or her father's? I had no idea. She wasn't awake yet, but to be fair it was only around noon, I slept later than that all the time. Whatever, I'd let her sleep. She has enough going on anyway.
I flopped down on the coach as I snatched up the TV remote and hit the power button. Nothing. I hit the button again, still nothing. "What the?" I muttered to myself, I had just changed the batteries. They couldn't be dead already.
Hitting the power button on the TV didn't work either. I even checked on the plug, jostling it slightly before hitting the button again. Just the air conditioning not working wasn't that big of a deal, that thing always cocked out right when we needed it. But the TV too? That didn't seem right. I tried a table lamp, which didn't work either, before crossing the living room and opening the door that lead to the cellar. Something was wrong with the electricity. I found the box of circuits and followed the list of directions on the inside of the door. I flipped the circuit breaker and tried a light switch, still nothing.
Annoyed with the lack of progression I felt inside myself for my power, lashing it out words in an effort to allow the flow of electricity. It flew outward, striking a wall of unfamiliar energy. The barrier was thick but unsteady, all it took was two more hits before it gave way and my power flew outward allowing the electricity to start up again.
"I wonder what that was." I said with a sigh. "At least this place will finally cool off."
A loud trill sounded over head and I left the basement to grab the phone as it rang again.
"Hello?" I asked the receiver.
"Pogue? Oh, you're home!" My mom said in a surprise voice. "I didn't realize… Is Cameron awake? I didn't get a chance to check on her this morning. For some odd reason neither your father's nor my alarm went off this morning and when we finally realized what time it was we were already running late."
"Yeah I came home and the power wasn't working but I fixed it."
"Fixed it or 'fixed it'?" My mom asked, concern in her voice.
"I got rid of the problem Mom, it'll be fine." I coaxed.
"Pogue! I hate when you use, if you get addicted-"
"That isn't going to happen mom. Don't worry about it."
I heard my mom sigh slightly before a voice yelled in the back ground. "I have to go honey. Please check on your cousin and make sure she's alright. She's been quite lately and I'm afraid…"
"Nothing's going to happen to her mom. I'll make sure nothing happens to her, I'll keep her safe." I promised.
I hung the phone up and ran my fingers through my hair with a sigh. I let my legs carry me upstairs and to the last bedroom on the left hand side of the hallway. Cammie's room. My hand formed a fist and I knocked on the door once, twice, three times. No answer. I tried again. Still nothing.
"Cammie?" I called, pushing the door open slightly in the hope for a response. None came. I waited another thirty seconds before pushing the door open completely and walked into the room. The room looked completely different from the last time I had been in it during the day. The walls were a newly painted light green, Cameron's choice of colors, and the collection of stuffed animals and dolls was gone. Though Cammie didn't know it, but the week she was sick I didn't visited her during the day because I hadn't known what to say to her, but I came in every night while she was asleep just to check on her.
Reid had laughed at me every time, calling me a creeper and saying I was on the verge of stalking. Honestly, I really didn't care. It's not like he understood how hard it was losing her in the first place; he couldn't imagine what it was like getting her back. The first thing I wanted to do when I saw her after two years was lock her in a room and never let her out of my sight again. Yeah, I know it sounded controlling but after she had made a break for it not once, but twice, I had every right to be.
"Cammie, come on wake up." I said, walking over to the bed and pushing on the pile of covers. I expected my hand to hit a hard form, a body, but they didn't. The only thing I felt was more blanket. Panicking slightly I ripped off the covers, desperate to find my cousin. She wasn't there.
'Maybe she's in the bathroom.' I tried to convince myself. "Cammie!" I yelled once more in the bed room. Still no answer. I ran to the bathroom. "Cameron?" I asked, pushing open the unlocked door. She wasn't in there either. "Cameron!" I yelled as I searched through the upstairs. She wasn't there. I ran downstairs, searching through my colossal house in a desperate attempt to locate my missing cousin. "Cameron Elizabeth!" I screamed, she hadn't been in the dining room, the living room, the study, the library or the sitting room. "This isn't funny!" I grabbed my hair, pulling it slightly due to the stress of the situation.
Kitchen, I didn't check the kitchen yet. I ran into the room looking around for any hit of my little cousin. Then I saw it. On the kitchen island sat that stupid tracking bracelet she had protested against so thoroughly almost two weeks ago. Next to it laid a crumpled piece of paper. I wasted no time closing the distance between me and the island, I snatched up the paper and my fears were confirmed.
Aunt Trixi and Uncle Wayne,
Thank-you for everything you've done for me. I don't know what to say, or how to say it, so instead I would just like you to know that I'm sorry for worrying you and that I'm sorry for everything, for the accident, for lying and for taking up your time. But it'll be alright now, I won't inconvenience you anymore.
Cameron
"Shit!" I swore loudly, grabbing my cell phone from my pocket and dialing Caleb's number. He picked up on the second ring, thank God.
"Shesgone." The words came out so fast it took me a second to register that I had actually spoke.
"Slow down Pogue. I can't understand you."Caleb told me.
"She's gone." I repeated slower this time as I tried to control my panic and fear"I came home…She's not here, she left a note…She's not coming back Caleb…I don't…I'm not sure…" I couldn't even form coherent sentences I was angry at Cameron for leaving.
"Give me twenty and we'll all be there." He said before hanging up his phone.
What seemed like hours later I the front door to my house opened. "Pogue?" Reid called.
"Kitchen." I yelled back and as soon as I spoke Reid, Caleb and Tyler pushed open the swinging door and entered to room.
"She's really gone?" Tyler asked a look of surprise on his face. "Why would she leave?"
I wordlessly handed over the note and watched as it was read one by one by each of the guys read it.
"That's it? That's all she said?" Reid asked. I nodded, rubbing my face with a hand.
"You said you put a tracking spell on her right?" Caleb asked me and I felt like an idiot for not thinking about it earlier.
"Yeah I did." I muttered before walking into my dad's study and pulling out a paper map from one of the drawers.
"What are you going to do?" Reid asked as I unfolded it and took out a thumb tack.
"Just watch." I felt for the power inside of me and concentrated on the string of it that I had connected to Cameron. The tack in my fingers was guided across the page by an invisible force and came to rest on the dot labeled Boston. "There, that's where she is."
"That's kind of vague…"Tyler pointed out and I just shook my head.
"It doesn't matter, it's a start. We're too far away now, but the closer we get the more I'll be able to sense her. The map is just because she's so far away; once we get within the city limits I'll have no issue finding her."I sighed and stood up. "Can you drive?" I asked Tyler.
"Yeah no problem man."
"Then let's go." I wasted no time pushing past them to get to the Hummer. They were right behind me, Caleb climbing in the back to join me as Tyler and Reid took the driver and passenger seat respectively.
"Why would she just leave?" Caleb asked as Tyler pulled out of the drive way. I knew he knew there was more than I was telling them.
I shifted in my seat slightly, not really knowing what to say. "She said she knew it was going to happen." I finally decided on.
They didn't understand.
"She knew what was going to happen?" Tyler asked.
"The accident. She told me she had been dreaming about it for days before it happened, she even told me she was getting visions about it and that it was her fault."
"And you didn't tell us about this why?" Caleb asked.
"Because it sounds crazy." I snapped slightly.
"Dude, you do realize that we have magical powers, right? If Cameron does have dreams about the future-Well, it isn't exactly normal, but we're not going to think either of you are crazy. She's your cousin that makes her our family too." Reid consoled me "Does she actually get dreams about the future?"
"I don't know." I confessed "I mean, I think she does, everything I researched about it supported the idea. But it's not like it's something you can just prove, you know?"
"I still don't get why she'd blame herself for the accident just because she knew it was going to happen. Or why she'd run away not once, but twice because of it." Tyler said as he hit the gas pedal even harder. I could tell Reid, Tyler and Caleb wanted to find her before anything happened just as badly as I did.
"I don't know about the first time…But the second one is kind of my fault." I confessed.
"How is it your fault?" Caleb asked.
"She told me about her visions and I didn't say anything, I just left the room. Then I avoided her for a week. She probably thought I was going to get her admitted to a mental institution or something. I just wanted to get my information straight before talking to her, but that doesn't justify her leaving. God!" I hit the door with a fist "What the hell was she thinking?"
"I don't know man, but don't take it about on the door." Tyler snapped.
"She can't just keep running like this. It's not healthy. You know what the worst thing about this whole situation is?" I asked, not really looking for an answer. "As soon as she sees one of us she's going to make a run for it again. If that happens…The spell only works for so long, if I lose her this time I doubt I'll ever see her again."
"We." Caleb corrected. "If we lose her. We're not going to let that happen, not again."
"So what are we going to do about it?" Reid asked.
"Here's an idea," Tyler began and we spent the remainder of the car ride figuring out how we were going to deal with the situation at hand.
Once we got into the city I instructed Tyler on which way to go. I was following the tugging in my stomach and it led us to a rundown part of the city.
"What the hell is she doing here?" Reid asked as Tyler stopped in front of a rundown apartment building.
"No idea." I confessed as I got out of the car and shut the door behind me. "Alright Reid, you know what to do." I said as Tyler and Caleb followed me into the building and up four flights upstairs. I followed the tugging to a door that was just as run down as the rest of the building.
"You ready?" Tyler asked me, I nodded yes.
"Just don't kill her Pogue, she pulled a really stupid move and I know how you get when you're angry."
"I can handle it Caleb." I snapped as I extended my hand to knock, hitting the door again and again but trying to not sound too eager.
The door opened and I felt a wave of relief wash over my body as I noticed Cameron sitting in a small kitchen table. That was, until I saw the man who had opened the door was at least 21. All previous warnings from Caleb were forgotten and at that moment all I really wanted to do was beat the crap out of who ever had opened the door before grabbing Cameron and, forcibly if necessary, take her home.
But when I turned my attention once again to my cousin she was already running across the living room and making a beeline for the fire escape.
No way in hell was I letting her get away again.
Cameron POV
I watched as Pogue glared at Gale, rage visible and evident on his face. At that moment I knew he was too preoccupied with this strange man to really notice me. I also knew that wouldn't last. For one thing Tyler and Caleb looked like they were about to push their way into the room and drag me out even if it was against my will. For another I knew Gale could only keep them out of the room for so long.
It was because of this I quickly put on my backpack before running through the living room to the window that was connected to the fire escape.
"Who the hell are you?" I heard Gale ask as I shoved my body through the window.
"Move." I heard Caleb snap before a small scuffle sounded. I didn't wait around to hear what happened next, I was too busy running down the fire escape.
Jumping of the final stretch of the metal contraption I landed perfectly on my feet and prepared to take of running. Before I made it anywhere a strong hand snaked out and grabbed my backpack using the hold to whip my body around. Reid waited till I had turned around to face him before grabbing my arm in a tight hold. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked me, his usual easy going complexion replaced with anger and rage.
"What the hell are you doing Reid? Let go of me!" I demanded, trying to get my arm back. It didn't work; he was much stronger than me. I should have seen this coming. I should have known that if Reid wasn't with Tyler, Caleb and Pogue when the door opened that he couldn't have been too far behind. Clearly they had thought this through, having him wait in the alley in case I tried to make a break for it again. I felt like an idiot.
"I don't think so." He said with a small laugh. "What the hell are you thinking? Do you have any idea how scared Pogue was when he realized you were gone?"
I ignored his comment "Let go of me now Reid!" I screamed, the familiar sensation of range and power filling up my chest. I didn't care, I wanted to lash out, I wanted to make him let go of me. I needed to get away; I knew that if Pogue got a hold of me, there was no way I was going to get another chance to run away again.
"Ben!" I screamed, hoping he was still close enough to hear me. "Ben!" I screamed again before Reid clasped a hand over my mouth. I struggled violently against his hold, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. I was scared, scared of what would happen to me if I didn't get away. Fear was replacing my rage, the power in my chest was changing from a defensive mode to an offensive mode, and I knew that if I lashed out right now I would risk seriously hurting Reid. I didn't want to hurt him, but right now I had no control over myself, let alone my powers.
A strong force pulled me out of Reid's grasp and into a protective embrace. "What's going on Cameron?" Ben asked, stepping in front of me.
"He's my cousin's friend." I whispered desperately trying to control the power that was leaking out of my body. I let out a small scream and grabbed my stomach; it hurt, holding everything in.
"He's not a normal human." Ben warned, staring at Reid like he was about to attack.
"What?" I yelled my body sinking to the ground as another flash of pain consumed me. A scream escaped my lips and Ben bent down to comfort me.
"It's going to be ok Camera." He consoled me "No way in hell I'm going to let him hurt you."
"What do you mean he's not a normal human?" I asked Ben before turning to Reid "What does he mean you're not normal?"
Reid shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to make of Ben's assumption.
"His aura, it's like yours, only more black." He explained, rubbing my shoulders as I screamed again. Ben could see the aura's of different people. People who were normal usually had a yellowish color they let off. Me, I let off a variety of blue and black colors that had fascinated Ben from the moment we had met. If someone had an abnormal color aura, it usually meant one of two things. One, they were dying, but death let off a distinctive color, a gray that slowly consumed a person. Or two, they weren't normal; they had special qualities that separated them from the rest of humanity. Qualities such as magical powers, for example.
"What?" I asked, looking at Reid for an explanation.
"Alright lover boy, hand over the girl before you say anything you'll regret." Reid warned Ben and I lost it. No one, no one was going to hurt Ben and get away with it.
I didn't lash out with my power. Instead I pushed away from Ben and lunged at Reid, knocking him to the ground. The older boy was taken by surprise; I took advantage of the opportunity to punch him in the face. I didn't get a chance to hit him again after that. He was pissed, his eyes flashed black and I was knocked into a wall.
"Cameron!" Ben yelled, running toward me. He didn't make it. Reid's eyes flashed black again and Ben hit the wall opposite me, not to hardly, and he couldn't move. He struggled against the invisible force that held him there. My eyes went wide and I stood up, backing away from Reid as he came toward me. His attack hadn't hurt, it had just surprised me.
"Ben, are you ok?" I asked
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't move." He assured me as Reid took another step towed me.
Thank God
"Stay away from me." I warned Reid.
"I'm not going to hurt you Cammie." He tried to assure me.
"Yeah, sure. That's why you threw me into a wall!" I snapped back, taking another step away from the still advancing Reid. He didn't look worried though; he looked like he was trying to get me away from him.
I didn't understand why until I backed into a hard surface. I stumbled forward, surprised at the unexpected force. Pogue caught me before I fell to the ground, pulling me into a strong one armed hug. Reid had tricked me, had made me focus on him while my cousin snuck up behind me. I tried to push away from Pogue, it didn't work. He just hugged me tighter.
"Let me go." I pleaded, close to tears.
He just shook his head.
"There you go, you have Cameron again. Now can you let my brother down?" Gale asked Pogue who nodded at Reid to comply.
"What the hell Gale?" I demanded, still trying to push away from a relentless Pogue. "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry Cameron, but I think it's time you face the ghosts of your past." Gale whispered, walking over to his brother to make sure he was ok.
"You think I need to face my ghosts? It's none of your concern!" I screamed managing to escape Pogue's hold long enough to make it across the alley to Gale.
The older man looked slightly concerned for his safety. I knew why too. He knew what I got like when I was angry. "It is my concern Cameron." He simply said, supporting a week Ben. "My brother's madly in love with you and what you're doing to yourself is killing him. He can't help you, but I can. Besides, it's not like I helped them find you. They did that on their own. I just agreed to not stand in their way. I think you might even have more in common with them then you think."
"You…you…you ass hole!" I managed to finally get out. The clump of anger and power escaped my chest and hit Gale who, supporting a look that implied he had been expecting it, hit the wall his brother had just been released from.
My body swayed from the sudden loss of energy, but I didn't let that stop me. I was so angry.
Gale let out a groan of pain as Pogue grabbed me around the waist; preventing me from getting any closer to the man I had just attacked. It didn't matter, I was angry and I was out of control. I felt my eyes flash black as Gale started gasping for breath. I may have been doing it, but I didn't want to, I didn't want to kill him but I couldn't help it.
"Cameron, stop it." Ben yelled, voice strong and commanding. The sudden distraction was all that was needed for the link of energy between Gale and me to break way. He fell to the floor, breathing deeply and just staring at me.
"Gale I'm so-"
"Just go Cameron." He whispered, rubbing his throat.
"What the hell was that?" Pogue asked, looking at me like he had no idea who I was.
He didn't, he never would, so why did he keep trying?
"Just let me go." I pleaded.
"Are you going to make a run for it?" He asked and my silent response was all it took for him to start leading me toward the street.
"It's going to be ok Camera." Ben called after me, trusting his brother's judgment concerning the safety of the strange boys.
"It's going to be ok?" I hissed as Pogue pulled me toward the Hummer. I ripped my hand out of his grasp and I instantly saw Caleb, Reid and Tyler stiffen, ready to pounce if I tried to run. "How the hell is it going to be ok? Just fucking leave me alone Pogue!"
"Watch your language." He demanded, trying to grab my arm. I didn't let him, instead I pushed away, not interested in going anywhere with them.
"Leave, me, alone." I repeated, slower this time.
"That's not going to happen Cameron Elizabeth Parry." He said equally as slowly.
"Why the hell not?" I screamed, grabbing my hair in frustration.
"Because we're your family." Caleb said, gesturing to himself and the other sons.
"We care about you." Reid said.
"And it doesn't matter where you run to." Tyler told me.
"Because we'll find you every time." Pogue said, pulling me into a tight hug as the tears in my eyes threatened to spill over. "We love you Cammie, it doesn't matter what happened in the past. The only thing that matters is now."
"No, no, no, no." I whispered and let Pogue drop me onto the back seat of the Hummer. Every filed in, Reid sat to my left, Pogue to my right and I was once again stuck on the hump.
I took off my backpack and threw it into the back. I was still angry, I was still afraid of what was going to happen if they found out. But as Pogue pulled me into a hug I allowed myself to stifle my sobs in his shirt. He rubbed my hair sympathetically, whispering words of comfort into my ear.
Once I stopped crying Pogue whispered something I didn't quite catch to Tyler and, half an hour later, he pulled to the side of the street on a completely deserted road. We had taken the back way home, which meant more driving time but less cars. We hadn't seen anyone else on the road for at least twenty minutes.
"Alright Cammie." Pogue said, looking at me with a serious look on his face. "We need to know what happened."
"Last night I-"
"No," Caleb said, knowing I was just trying to stall "That's not what we meant."
"Please, I can't…" I whispered with a slight shake of my head.
"We have a right to know." Reid said as kindly as he could.
"It's a long story…" I trailed off, knowing that wasn't going to deter them in the slightest.
"That's alright." Tyler said, shutting off the car. "We're not going anywhere. We've got time."
I stared wide eyed at the four boys in the car. They were going to hate me, I just knew it.
"Cameron." Pogue said and I looked up at him "No matter what you say, we're not going to hate you. We're not going to hurt you, and we're most definitely not going to want you to leave." He reassured.
At that moment, trapped in a car in the middle of nowhere with family and non family alike, I couldn't think of a reason not to tell them. If they hated me after my story was done then I could finally go my separate way without any protest.
As I looked to my past for answers, I saw the face of my mother, my father and my brother. Of all the people whose story I was destined to tell, of people whom I had loved dearly and unconditionally. Who, even in death, I was still connected to. Who I had to speak for, because if I didn't, then they would have died for nothing. And for the first time in a long time, I knew what I had to do, even if I truly didn't want to. But it wasn't about me anymore, it was about them. It was about offering closer, it was about explanation.
I cleared my throat, "They started on thirteenth birthday…" I began, knowing at that very moment, that no matter what happened, whether it be good or bad, my life would never be the same after the story was told.