A/N: Took longer than I thought. Had to watch the movie again. Make sure you don't watch it with your sisters and mother when you take pain killers. Everytime Griffin came on screen, I startled giggling and getting weird looks. Lawl. Anyways: read, review, and enjoy!
Chapter 4
Allison woke up when she thought she sensed something. It felt like… It felt like someone teleported. Near her. She knew what it felt like when she did and it felt distantly the same. Allison sprung out of bed and pulled on her shoes as fast as she could. Once her shoes were on, she pulled her green military-esque jacket from the wall hook by the door and teleported to the alley by her apartment. Something caught her eye.
It was a scar; something she'd seen before when messing around with her ability in New Zealand. The scar looked like someone cut through the world. It wasn't very big and seemed to be fading. Allison knew you could use these almost like a portal. 'Do I take a chance? If I find more like me…' She'd heard the word Jumpers when the Paladin people attacked her. Jumpers. Plural, as in many. With a shrug and quick look behind her, she walked through.
Her footing stumbled as she set foot on the other side of the scar. 'Where ever this is…' Quickly, Allison looked around. 'Where ever I am, it's a major city…' The street was flooded with traffic. People were breezing past her on the sidewalk. Allison looked for who ever teleported, hoping she could find the person.
Her luck was slim, as she didn't know how to identify the Jumper. She sighed and noticed a stand on the other side of the street, seeming to be selling newspapers. Hope came back to her and she dashed across. Allison dodged incoming traffic and made it. She beamed as she walked up to the vendor. "Excuse me," she said to the man running the stand. "Can you tell me where I am? Kinda got lost…" 'Ain't that the truth?'
"You're in upper Manhattan, darlin'. D'yah need help with directions?" His accent was thick and sounded from farther up in the states.
'Maybe Maine?' Allison shook her head. "No thanks. I should be able to get home alright. Thanks anyways." The man gave a nod and she walked away. She sensed another jump, this one closer than the last. 'Maybe a few feet away!' She took off in a sprint down the sidewalk. Once again, she couldn't pin point it. Allison grumbled and teleported back to her living room, no intent anymore of following the mystery person. She pulled off her jacket and tossed it on the sofa. Allison walked over to the small kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. Just as she was about to open it, she sensed something. Peering around the corner, she saw a woman standing in her living room. "Holy shit…"
The woman looked towards her and smiled nervously. "Hi there," she said in an accent. "Um…" The woman squinted at Allison. "Hey. Aren't you the one from the bar?"
Allison's jaw dropped. 'Damn. A Jumper, I assume. Not a Paladin?'
"You bumped into me," the woman said again. "Small world. I'm Tess!" She walked nearer to her and held out her hand.
With slight hesitation, Allison moved a step closer and shook her hand. "I'm Allison…" She paused, neither of them saying anything for a moment after the shake ended. "Were you…following me?"
Tess laughed and said, "I thought it was the other way around."
Allison frowned. "Sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just curious."
"You've never met another of our kind, have ya?" Tess questioned. She shook her head and tossed the unopened water bottle on the sofa carelessly. Tess made a sound of disapproval and said, "Shame."
Allison crossed her arms over her stomach and asked, "Why?"
A sigh was heard from Tess before she said, "Paladins are killin' off most of the rookies and newborns. Not gunna be many of us left soon." She nodded, signaling she understood what Tess was telling her. "Here. Why don't yeh follow my jumpscar and I'll introduce you to one of two of the most sought after Jumpers."
Looking around nervously, Allison gave a nod. 'What do I have to lose, right? Won't hurt to meet others like me…' Tess disappeared and Allison saw the fractured look of her jumpscar. She stepped through it. It brought her to a musty and unfamiliar place.
She steadied herself, putting her hands into her jean pockets as Tess stood with her arms spread apart. "This is the place!"
Allison looked to her left, sensing something of a Jump. "Tess, I-" A man's voice, which was connected to a guy walking out from around a corner. His jaw fell open slightly. The guy stood there, gaping at Allison for a few seconds. She finally realized why he looked so familiar and felt her jaw drop a bit. "Why's the chick from the pub here?" he asked with a look of shock.
"Griffin," Tess said in an almost stern tone, "this is Allison. Allison, this is my big brother Griffin."
Said Griffin narrowed his eyes a bit at Allison. "That doesn't answer why she's here…"
Tess's voice got a little hyper, sounding excited as she told him, "She's a Jumper. A rookie."
Allison watched as Griffin pulled off his jacket, revealing fairly tan arms with some muscles. "Don't have time for this right now, Tessa," he said flatly while pulling on another jacket. It looked much cleaner and new compared to his previous one. "I found 'im."
Tess's eyes went wide. Allison was just trying to keep up with the conversation. "Where?"
"A pub in Ann Arbor, Michigan." Griffin looked Allison over before Jumping, leaving the two.
Allison looked at Tess. "Who, what, and why?" 'Sure,' she thought, 'I don't know either of them, except their names, but I should stick with them. We're the same.'
"Ya forgot where, when and how," Tess joked. She sent Allison a smile and said, "We're following this Jumper named David. He's Jumping all over. We're just waitin' for the Paladins to go after 'im."
Allison nodded ad questioned, "So you're following this guy?" Tess gave a nod. "C-Can I come along?"
A warm smile from Tess was the assumed approval before she hurried through Griffin's barely there jumpscar. Allison smiled and followed her, thinking to herself, 'I finally found a friend.'