CH. 6
"Welcome To The World"
The duo had been riding along the road for hours now, Logan figured they needed to put as much distance between them and the M.R.D. And Victor.
Sophia had been holding onto his torso for most of the time now, she seemingly was frozen, he had thought she might have fallen asleep, but the firm grip she maintained, made him question that conclusion.
His torn, ripped, and bloody clothing flapped in the wind, he would need new clothes soon enough, but first, they had to find a place.
The sign they'd just passed told Logan he'd be able to get clothes in a few miles.
When they pulled off the highway and parked at a general store, Logan went to get up but found Sophia still clung to him.
"Hey kid, you awake?" Logan asked, relaxing back in his seat, cleaning his neck around, and trying to see her, or what she was doing.
She was silent and her face buried in his back, her fingers were interlaced, keeping her arms wrapped around him.
"Sophia, what're you doing?" Logan questioned, beginning to grab at her fingers to free himself.
"Why do they hate us?" he heard the girl ask, her voice muffled by still being hidden in his back.
Logan immediately figured she spoke of the M.R.D., he didn't have much of an answer, and he didn't want to.
"I don't know," Logan replied, getting free and promptly got off the bike, and heading toward the store, paying the girl no mind.
"Why did Victor want to hurt you, and me?" Sophia asked, glued to the motorcycle, seeming almost fearful to leave it behind.
"He's a sick piece of shit, and he would have killed you, maybe more," Logan explained, his tone growing darker at the end of his sentence.
Having stopped and turned to look at her reaction, he saw the look of horror and disgust on her face.
Lowering his head, he took a moment before clearing his throat and puffing up again. "Welcome to the world," Logan grunted before stepping into the store.
Stomping into the store, Logan could hear the song "Everyone Wants to Rule the World" playing over the speakers.
"Are you alright?" The cashier asked, looking him up and down with a worried expression overtaking her face.
"Fell off my bike, do you have shirts and pants?" Logan answered dismissively.
"Uh, over there," the woman said timidly, pointing to the other side of the store.
Following her finger, Logan marched over to find his new clothes, he found his sizes quickly, he had to do this just about every year around this time.
"Should I call someone?" the clerk asked from the counter, while looking out at the motorcycle, he assumed.
"No, I'm alright, just messed my clothes up," Logan lied, as he came up to the counter and set a pair of jeans and a six-pack of T-shirts.
"There's blood all over you," the cashier exclaimed, shrinking back a bit to keep away from him.
"How much for this stuff?" Logan asked, pulling out his wallet and rummaging through it.
Ringing up the clothes quickly and keeping as much distance as she could, she stepped back again. "Forty-nine, sixty," she replied.
"Keep the change," Logan said, setting a hundred-dollar bill down. "Got a bathroom?" he added, following her finger again.
Slipping in and changing clothes, he left the damaged clothes in the garbage bin and exited the store.
He stole a final glance at the clerk just as he swung his leg over the motorcycle.
"Hold on to something," Logan grunted, only barely waiting for the girl to wrap her arms around him, he assumed what had happened to her was sinking in now.
The duo rode hard and fast all day, and a word between them was not uttered, Logan figured she needed some time.
Darkness was falling across the land, and a lonely truck stop with a motel became their resting place.
Pulling in, Logan got off the motorcycle, unclasping Sophia's hands compared to waiting on her.
Wordlessly, Logan stepped into the lobby and saw an elderly woman at the counter.
"Welcome, are you interested in renting a room?" the old woman asked as Logan placed his hands on the counter.
"Two, actually," Logan replied, before rummaging for his wallet, he placed it on the counter next to him.
"Alright, let me get that set up for you," the woman said as she tapped on a keyboard.
Logan's thoughts drifted to Victor's actions today, he had almost got Sophia, how many others had he said goodbye to, because of that man?
"Cash or card?" he heard the woman ask, pulling him from his thoughts. "Hm?" Logan hummed, returning to his senses.
"How would you like to pay?" the woman reiterated, sounding more patient than he probably deserved, Logan thought.
"Cash," Logan answered, quickly pulling out a one-hundred-dollar bill, and setting it on the counter.
"That's too–" the woman began to say before Logan spoke over her, trying to end the interaction.
"Change?" Logan said, glancing back to see Sophia still sitting on the bike, with her head hung low.
"Sure," the woman said, rummaging through her cash register, and handing him the money back he needed.
Stepping out of the motel, Logan handed a key to Sophia. "Here, you're in that one," he said, nodding to the room he gave her the key to.
Wordlessly, the two retired to their rooms, Logan bedded down immediately, they would need to get up early if they were to stay ahead of the authorities.
The song "Roadhouse Blues by The Doors" played over the speakers, people milled about, and it was half past noon when James heard his name called.
"Jim, someone's on the phone for Ya!" the bartender called out, holding the phone up for James to see.
Getting up from his lunch and beer, to see who had called him, though he figured he might know who it was.
Grabbing the phone, James set it up to his ear. "Thanks, Weston," the lumberjack said, nodding to the bartender before switching his attention to the other person on the line. "Hey hon, wha–," he said before being cut off.
"It's a nice place you have here, Jimmy," came the sinister voice that had plagued James' past.
"Victor!?" James exclaimed, eyes widening in fear, stepping closer to the phone, he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was listening in.
"Happy Birthday," Victor said ominously before the line went dead, James' breathing quickened and his head started to soak with sweat.
Dropping the phone, James was not fazed by the clatter it made as he began to run for the door.
"Jim, you forgot to pay, Jim? JIM!" Weston yelled after the lumberjack to no avail.
James sprinted into the parking lot and saw his new Ford Bronco had claw marks on it, and the tires had been slashed, he had been here.
Rushing toward the road, and making a break for his house on foot, he prayed he wouldn't be too late.
Several minutes before he made it to his front door, jumping up the porch, James tried the door, it was locked.
Without a second thought, James threw his shoulder into the door, smashing it to the floor, revealing the gruesome sight.
Blood painted the walls, furniture, and even the windows, James braced against the door's threshold, his lower lip quivered at the knowledge of what had happened here.
Stumbling through the house, her scent was faint, but he followed it back to their bedroom, and saw it.
His lover lay splayed across the broken bed, bits of clothing dotted the room, James felt tears prick at his eyes as he came closer to the mutilated body.
Her brown skin was stained with red of her own blood, her black hair had patches missing, James caressed her face as sobs escaped him.
His cries turned to wails and transitioned into a screaming roar, straining his vocal cords to their limits before he lowered his head.
Then his rage flared at the sound of footsteps behind him, turning with malice in his eyes, James saw Victor standing in the doorway.
"Like your present?" Victor asked with a sinister grin. "I know I did," the maniacal killer added with an evil chuckle.
James unsheathed his bone claws and barged at his enemy, running him through with both claws, before repeatedly jabbing them into Victor's torso, before James was grabbed by a clawed hand.
Struggling against his attacker, James felt his be pierced and croaked out a scream of pain before he–.
Logan woke up, sweat covered his entire body, his heavy breathing made it hard for him to hear anything, and his eyes searched wildly for something to ground him.
When nothing came to him, Logan raised his hands to his head, the adamantium claws were fully unsheathed.
Through it all, his ears picked something up, crying, soft crying, close, but not in his room.
After a moment, it clicked in his head who the crying voice belonged to, Sophia.
Standing up from his bed, he looked for his jeans and quickly saw they were where he had left them on the floor near the foot of the bed.
While he was putting them on, he noticed red stains on his bed, buckling his pants on, a quick sniff concluded it was his own blood.
Grabbing his T-shirt, Logan pulled it on, and stepped through his door, and walked up to the door where Sophia was staying.
He heard Sophia's sobs stop abruptly and sniffles soon replaced them. "Who is it?" the girl's voice asked, her words still shaking from the emotion in her voice.
"It's me, kid!" Logan said, trying to hide the shake in his own voice, the last thing she needed was an emotional wreck to try and console her.
"What do you want?" The girl said, reverting to a more defensive tone, though still tinged by her earlier crying.
"Open the door," Logan said, putting his hands on his hips while he waited for the teenager to open up.
"It's late!" Sophia replied, accidentally letting a single sob half-escape her mouth.
"Sophia, let me in," Logan said, his voice softening as he placed a hand on the door and leaned closer.
A moment passed and the door opened up, Sophia stepped back and ushered the wanderer in, hiding her face, specifically her eyes.
He closed the door behind him and turned back to the teenager. "Are you ok?" Logan asked softly, his hands resting on his hips as he waited for a response.
Before she could speak, her tears burst forth again, and her breath hitched before turning back into sobs.
His hands lifted up in front of him, what he was supposed to do, he didn't know, he wasn't usually the emotional support person.
Sophia stepped closer to him, which made him begin to take a step back, and his arms opened up as the teenager laid her head in his chest.
"Why did this happen to me?!" Sophia wailed between heavy sobs, her body melted into his chest, and even his heart ached for her and the pain she exuded.
"Why did my parents throw me away?!" She sobbed into his shirt, her agony tore at his own emotional state.
"Am I not worth it anymore?" she begged anyone to answer, and Logan began to piece together what had happened to her.
"Mutant shit to abandon!?" the teenager's sobs grew louder, and only now did he realize his arms had enveloped her.
"I- I don't want to die!" she cried out through the several tears that slipped down her face. "But what do I have?!" she exclaimed in dismay.
She had been through shit, horrible things no one should have to, he had been too, but he wished she had not been.
"Kid, I–," Logan sputtered out before her cries grew in volume again, he knew her pain more than he would have believed if he did not hear it himself.
He hugged her tightly, her hands were pinned against her body, so he loosened her grip, but felt her stay.
Deciding to transition this to somewhere else, Logan led her to the bed and sat her down, he took up the chair that was situated near the bed, just across from her.
Logan felt her grab at his hand, and so he allowed her to take it, while he thought of what to say.
He mulled over his words before he spoke. "You did nothing wrong, Sophia," Logan said in an even tone.
He watched her keep her head bowed as her crying softened, even if only a bit.
"I don't know what happened to you, but I know that you did nothing wrong," Logan said emphatically, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.
Her bloodshot eyes rose to meet his own, and she blinked tears away, Logan figured he might have gotten through.
"They threw me away, I didn't want to be like this," Sophia said, her voice breaking at the end of her sentence.
"There's nothing wrong with you, your parents are in the wrong, not you!" The wanderer exclaimed.
Her head again bowed, and the weight of the world fell upon her shoulders. "Why were you crying?" she asked, surprising him.
"What?" He asked, his words mixed confusion and realization, as it clicked in Logan's head what she was asking.
"I could hear you," Sophia answered, looking up at him again, sniffling lightly and rubbing her nose.
"Old memories," Logan replied, pursing his lips a bit, as the memory was trying to reoccur unbidden by him.
"I dreamed you didn't get to me, and he did," Sophia confessed, putting her other hand over his.
"We'll get you to the school before anything happens to you," Logan said, speaking with determination, he would not allow her to suffer more if he could help it.
He watched her face process his words before catching his gaze again. "Can you stay in here tonight?" the teenager asked.
Leaning back in his seat, Logan thought it over before speaking. "If that's what you want, I will," the wanderer answered.
"Please," the teenager replied, sounding almost hopeful, something Logan was glad he might have helped.
"Alright," Logan said standing up and getting his hand back, moving toward the door, he locked it and returned to the chair. "You get some sleep, I'll be here," Logan added as he squirmed in the chair a bit.
Sophia retreated back into the blankets and pulled her jeans out from under the covers and set them on top of her. "Goodnight," the teenager whispered.
Logan settled into their he would be staying for the remainder of the night, knowing full well he would not be getting any sleep with the nightmares plaguing him.
"Goodnight."