Disclaimer: This does not belong to me.
Chapter 1—Marie
Marie studied the blonde boy next to her and smiled as he stared up at the photo of New Orleans on her wall. Next to the photo was a large map of the United States, now covered with pink lines she had drawn in with a permanent marker, plotting the course she hoped to one day travel. Marie had always wanted to travel. She wanted to see the world and all that it had to offer—she wanted to experience new things, and simply get away from the small town she had grown up in. Marie wanted an adventure.
"Okay," said Cody, "what's so great about the Big Easy?"
"Mardi Gras, the French Market, Jackson Square, Bourbon Street, Café Du Monde. Need I say more?" she replied with a thick southern drawl.
"Sounds like a boring trip to me."
Marie rolled her eyes and grinned. "It'll be fun. It's a new place to see after being stuck here all my life. You don't want to spend your dying days here, d'ya?"
"No." Cody glanced at Marie and sighed. As much as he didn't like to admit it, Marie had a point. He too had spent most of his life in Meridian, and if his parents had their way he'd stay there until his dying day. Unlike Marie, however, Cody had never really thought about traveling the United States or the world…not seriously anyway. "And you're going to go to the Big Easy after graduation, huh?"
"Yeah, why?"
"It's gonna be awful lonesome on your own," he observed casually, his eyes glancing over at the teen girl before returning to the picture on the wall. It had taken ages to for him and Marie to get to the point they were currently at. After years of knowing each other Cody had finally gotten Marie to agree to be his girlfriend. It hadn't been easy either. Marie was one of those girls that feared commitment, mostly because she had big dreams and those dreams had never really included a boyfriend, or love in general. But Cody had managed to win Marie over, and he was going to fight tooth and nail to keep her as long as possible. It was generally expected by his folks and her that they would get married one day and have children together. It made sense since the pair had known each other since birth.
Marie shrugged. This was an awkward subject for her. She had dreamed of traveling after graduation all her life, and now that it was coming up in another year she was starting to realize that her dreams weren't close to actual plans. Marie was just hoping that things would fall into place as she traveled—making plans weren't her specialty. "My folks don't really care where I go after high school, not after they found out they're going to have a baby of their own. Being alone won't be so bad, I'll make friends."
"What if I came with you?"
"You?" Marie chuckled as she turned to face him. While she had never really wanted a boyfriend before, she had come to delight over the fact that of all the guys to end up with she had ended up with Cody. He was the general good guy next door type with a friendly smile and big heart, and it helped that he was easy on the eyes as well. She had harbored the biggest crush on him for years, but had convinced herself nothing would ever come of it, and that if something did it wouldn't be for long since she wanted to see the world, and for Cody the world was Meridian. So hearing him suggest that he come with her on her travels was more than enough to make Marie's heart skip a beat. If she could somehow keep this relationship she had fallen into with Cody then her world would be made.
"Yeah, why not? It'd be something new like you said—and, I'd be with you, wouldn't I?"
"Don't kid with me, Cody. It ain't funny."
"I'm not kidding. I'm serious. I want to travel with you, Marie. After the Big Easy we can see the rest of the States and then maybe go to Europe. Let's see the world, huh?"
"Really?" Marie looked into Cody's eyes with a small flutter in her stomach. They had had never really discussed their future before, mostly because they were so young and both knew what others thought their future would be like. Marie had always hated thinking so far ahead because she was of the belief that things changed too quickly to have anything set in stone, but looking in Cody's eyes right now she was inclined to believe that maybe, just maybe, she had been wrong on that account. At this exact moment Marie truly believed that she was in love with Cody, and by the look in his own eyes she knew he felt the same way.
"Marie, I'd follow you to the ends of the earth if I could," whispered Cody cupping her chin gently.
"I'd like that. I really would," replied Marie breathlessly. Cody gave her a genuinely shy smile and leaned closer to the petite brunette. She closed her eyes as soon as she felt his lips on hers.
It was soft at first…and wonderful. Marie had never felt so alive or open than in this one moment. As she returned the kiss, Marie felt as though she could read Cody's mind; that she was looking into the depths of his soul. In fact, it was as though she could actually see his innermost thoughts and feelings…his past and present…his future.
Marie froze in shock as a new feeling shot through her body from head to toe, one that didn't seem quite right. Her eyes popped open just as Cody's did and the only thing she could see in his mind was fear. Marie desperately tried to pull away from the blonde teen at the same time he tried to pull away from her. Veins seemed to pop out across his body and into Marie's as though it were draining his life and transferring it to her.
Both teens were breathing raggedly the moment they broke apart. Cody fell back onto the bed, his body jerking with a seizure. Marie gave an ear piercing scream as she felt Cody's mind take over her own.
Downstairs:
"You think it's all right to leave them alone up there?" asked Priscilla as she softly played the keys of her piano.
"Lord, woman, Marie is almost seventeen…of course we can trust her," was Owen's good natured reply as he turned the page of his newspaper. Priscilla nodded quietly and turned her attention to the song she was playing. Owen smiled knowingly at his wife before closing his eyes and allowing the music to take him away.
Marie's scream jolted both of them out of their reverie, striking fear into the depths of their souls.
"Marie!"
Owen was the first one into the bedroom, his eyes wide as he caught sight of Cody having a seizure atop the bed. A glance to the corner of the room found Marie sobbing uncontrollably, her words a jumbled mess to the ears of her parents.
"Priscilla, call an ambulance!" ordered Owen as his wife entered the room. He was now standing beside the bed, grabbing a pillow to try and stop the teenage boy from hurting himself. Priscilla sprinted out of the room as Marie watched on, her words finally becoming clear.
"I didn't mean to hurt him! I swear I didn't! Oh God! Oh God! What have I done?"
"Marie! For Christ sakes, stop your crying! What happened?" demanded Owen as he struggled to steady the comatose boy.
"It was just a kiss. One kiss. I didn't mean to hurt him! I swear! Oh God, what's wrong with me?" Marie dropped to the ground in another torrent of tears as Owen looked on helplessly. A dark thought ran through his mind, forcing him to study his adopted daughter with disbelief. He fought the conflicting emotions in his head as his wife re-entered the room.
"An ambulance is on the way," she announced in a strained voice. Priscilla turned to the daughter she had cared for the past seventeen years in an effort to comfort her. "Oh, sugar, what happened?"
Marie screamed as Priscilla tried to touch her. "Don't touch me!"
Priscilla jumped back in shock and glanced over at Owen with tears in her eyes. Neither one was quite sure what to think at that point, but both knew something had happened that could never be undone.
Hours Later:
Marie huddled at her door and listened through the crack to her parents' voices as they drifted upstairs. She hadn't spoken to anyone since…she didn't even know what to refer to the incident as. Cody had been taken to the hospital and Marie's parents had followed to make sure he was alright. Marie hadn't moved from her corner until she heard her folks return, giving her reason to creep out onto the staircase to listen for news of Cody. Silent tears had rolled down her cheeks as the words "coma", "unconscious", and "barely there" hit her. The brunette had then retreated to her room and closed the door; save for a crack to listen to her parents in case there was more to be said.
As the doorbell rang Marie closed her eyes. She knew without a doubt who was behind the door, and from the sounds of the introductions she had been right in her guesses. The newly arrived guests were none other than Cody's parents, their lawyer, and a police officer.
The lawyer spoke first. "My clients do not intend to press charges, but they don't want Marie anywhere near Cody again. She's dangerous."
"Has she said anything since the incident?" asked the officer.
"No," answered Priscilla so softly that Marie had to strain to hear it.
"Marie's a good girl. We both love her," started Cody's mother, "but today something really bad happened. I don't know if it was an accident or on purpose, but you must understand, Marie—"
Cody's father cut in boldly. "Marie needs to be locked up. You've seen the papers, Owen. Your daughter is a mutant."
The silence reached Marie painfully. She looked at her hands and shuddered. They were right. She was a mutant. A freak. She waited to hear her parents protect her from a ghastly future locked away behind bars. But it never came.
"Where would we put her?" asked Owen, sighing deeply.
"For tonight, a jail cell," answered the lawyer. "Tomorrow I'll make a few calls and find her a better place to stay…permanently. She needs to be away from others."
Priscilla frowned. "Can't we just get rid of her…mutantness? She's still our daughter, adopted or not. I've raised her and I don't want to see her put in some lab to be tested like a rat."
"There isn't a cure for being a mutant, ma'am," replied the lawyer. "I'm sorry. The Mutant Registration Act is going through Congress right now…but until the government tells us what to do with her and others like her it's up to each individual state to take care for problems like these."
"I think the best option is an asylum. Your daughter is not capable of living among us. She needs to locked up until a better solution comes along," said the cop reassuringly. "She'll be okay in an asylum."
Upstairs Marie was motionless. But as soon as her parent's consent reached her ears she jumped into action. She knew that if they took her in she would be locked up forever. And Marie knew what happened to mutants locked away from the public eye—and she didn't want to be another lab rat, despite the promises of the lawyer downstairs.
She quietly closed her door and locked it. Marie grabbed a dark pair of jeans, knee high socks, black tennis, a black long sleeved shirt, a black pea coat and a dark brown scarf and set about getting dressed. She didn't have a moment to spare. Within minutes she was ready for travel. She grabbed her messenger bag and threw in all her jewelry and money, along with some extra clothes and other vital needs. She ran over to her window and opened it, letting the faint moonlight hit her hands.
Her hands. Marie sighed and returned to her dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer. She dug through its contents frantically until she found what she was looking for: a pair of elbow length brown leather gloves that she had once used for Halloween. She quickly pulled them on, grabbed her bag and crawled out the window.
The teen quickly and silently walked across the roof to climb down a nearby tree. She ran to the edge of her backyard and turned around for one final glance at the place she had called home for close to seventeen years.
"Bye mama, papa," she called out in a whisper. "I know we'll never see each other again…I'll never be Marie again." And then she quickly disappeared into the woods as a nameless runaway.
By the time Owen, Priscilla and the police officer broke down the door to her room, Marie was long gone. There was no note, no explanation, save for the open window.
Priscilla picked up a small teddy bear off of the bed as she sank down onto it, and hugged the soft toy tightly. She could still smell her daughter's sweet scent, and wept silent, bitter tears for the night's actions.
As the officer excused himself to call his supervisor, Owen leaned out the open window and sighed. There were tears in his eyes as reality hit him. He would never see his daughter again, that he was sure of. They had betrayed Marie, and she knew it.
The phone rang and Owen bowed his head in shame. He walked down the hall to answer it. The only thing he said into the receiver was, "We failed. We lost Marie."
The caller on the other end hung up, and Owen finally broke down into tears. Priscilla found him on the floor sobbing his heart out before wrapping her arms around him in comfort.
Marie was no more.
A/N—As of May 17, 2007 Chapter 1: Marie has been revised.