The Price of Freedom

[PoliteSuccubus]

Amy

(OCC: I had this all typed up...and hit refresh instead of spell check. GADS!)

Amy was happy when the bus had a twenty minute layover in some small Oregon town. She was hungry and needed to stretch her legs.

She only had seventeen dollars left after she'd bought a muffin and a hot chocolate from the Mocha Shack in the parking lot. The shower she'd stolen was no match for the long bus ride, and she was wearing the only clothes she had. Her panties were...ripe, and she'd thought about washing them in the bus sink, but then what? Wear wet panties?

Then she saw a curious thing...

A boxy truck pulled up to a little machine set in the wall. Three men were in the truck; one stayed, one got out and stood by the back doors hand on his gun, and the last one opened the doors and pulled out a box. He went to the machine, opened it with a key, and took out papers and put in stacks of cash. Then they got back in the truck and drove away again.

She went over to the machine and sipping her hot chocolate felt it with her airsense...the lock was too complicated for her current skill level, and she could cause a blast but that would be noisy and shred the money...but somewhere there was a money truck...and engines need air to run, men need air to breathe and guns need air to fire...

 

[AmenRa]

Michael had said goodbye to Hayden, and he made his way to his rented room. He sat on the bed and strummed his guitar. He had found Hayden, so at least he knew there were others that had made it out with him. He remembered hushed voices in the night and short images of faces. But most of all, he remembered running.

They had given him the knowledge to use available resources, and he had told himself he would not unless he had to. He knew that any crime committed would leave a trail, and whether it was a murder or a computer hack-in did not matter...a trail was a trail. Hayden had found that out already. He figured if there were others out there, then they might be experiencing it as well.

He had drifted off to sleep. He awoke with a start, coming fully awake in an instant and trying to pinpoint the loud noise that had awakened him. There had been a loud crash, and then gunshots. It wasn't his room, but it was close. He reached out with his limited telepathic abilities.

He felt five others in a room three doors down from his, their minds full of expectation and worry. Then there was another mind, and in this one he felt pain. And yet still, another. And in this one, he felt fear. And this presence was receding. He heard a clamor outside his window, and more gunshots.

He dared to look out. A man, dressed like the street thugs he had seen around here, was clambering down a fire escape near his window. Police officers were yelling out the window three down from his. A few more shots were fired, these coming from the officers towards the escaping thug.

Michael put it all together. The SFPD had raided that room, and a gunfight ensued, with one of the drug dealers shot and one of the officers as well. The one fleeing had been the shooter, and now SFPD were hell bent on his capture.

Some fleeting thought caused Michael to drop from the open window. He descended the three stories quickly, but came to a stop just before the cold asphalt and settled onto his feet. A telekinetic push against the street had caused him to fall harmlessly.

The thug was up ahead, about to round a corner. The glow of the street lamp illuminated him perfectly. With his mind Michael felt the bricks of the wall the thug was running beside. He found one that was loose in it's mortar. Michael reached out with his hands, channeling his telekinetic energy, feeling the brick, willing it to move. As the thug rounded the corner, the mortar gave way, and the brick slid free. Michael closed his hands into fists, and the brick flew through the air, striking the scumbag in the head and knocking him to the ground.

Michael ducked into the shadows as he watched the cops come into the street and run to where the thug lay. Michael realized two things: one, the cops would be in the room a while and would undoubtedly question anyone who came up the stairs, and two, his guitar was in his room, all alone, without him.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eve

Eve sighed and shook her head. Beads of sweat were rolling into her eyes and she refused to blink, lest she miss anything. She watched, avidly, her hands stretched out in front of her, her mouth open, slightly slack.

"Okay, that's enough for today," came a deep, male voice and Eve groaned. She pouted slightly and whined, "But papa! I only get to watch cartoons on weekends!" A chuckle sounded behind her and she looked back, her young twelve year old eyes staring into the warm liquid brown orbs of Doctor Stockman.

"Yes but you have an early appointment tomorrow," he saw the quivering lip, the liquid eyes and quickly ruffled the little girl's hair, "I promise if you're a really good girl, you can watch them all afternoon next week,"

Eve smiled happily and dramatically rolled her eyes, "Okay papa, just for you," she whispered as he turned off the little television set and picked her up, carrying her back to her little room. They passed several doors and Eve closed her eyes quickly, just as she had been taught from a very early age. She didn't know why she wasn't allowed to look, but she knew that she would have nightmares if she did. Stockman had told her that, and she believed anything that her papa said to her.

"Papa? How come your hair is black and mine is blonde?" she asked, naturally curious. He chuckled, "You're not old enough for me to explain that just yet my dear, but you'll find out, I promise you,"

"Papa, tell me you love me bestest of all,"

"I love you, Eve,"


Eve sighed and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. The dirty women's room in the gas station wasn't the ideal location for her little flash of memory, but when they came, she found that she lost herself in them. She wiped a tear from her cheek and then suddenly smashed the reflective glass in front of her with a closed fist.

The mirror cracked, webbing and splitting like a spider's web. She blinked and sighed, looping a strand of black dyed hair behind her ear. She remembered doing that... stealing the dye from a small shop she had been raiding for an exercise and dying it the exact same colour as her 'father's'.

She sniffed again and blinked, trying not to cry. She never cried. Never.

Eve fell to the ground, curling up into a ball and soon hot, stinging tears were rushing from her eyes. Unable to stop, she just curled up and let it all out. All the frustration, the loneliness, the betrayal and the pain. She couldn't help it... it was just... just too much.

 

[hawkeye18]

Samuel continued to follow the sounds of the sirens as he made his way down the unfamiliar San Francisco streets. He had hated being alone, never knowing what do when he was faced with a decision. That’s why Samuel secretly liked being in the compound, and training with the others. They seemed to give him a sense of purpose. He grimaced and wondered if the scientists he had called "father" had spliced that particular gene into his DNA strands.

The sound of screeching tires around the corner brought Samuel out of his little flashback. He hadn't had one in weeks, and the anger made his cheeks flush. He tiptoed around and peeked at the lone squad car. The driver, a policeman even plumper than Samuel, was half standing outside of his open car door, talking into the CB radio Velcroed to his shoulder.


"Copy that Base. I may have a possible 10-66 sighting. Requesting a Code 11, repeat, I need a swat team here as soon as ..."

But that was the last word he got out. Samuel's arm stretched out across the thirty foot expanse from the corner to his squad car, causing a slight tear in the shoulder of his hoodie, making him wince. When he reached the cop, Samuel's hand enveloped the officer's face, cutting off his oxygen. In a fit of rage and any of his fellow 'brother's and sister's' being caught, his skin hardened and he whipped his arm around, tossing the officer thirty feet into the concrete wall.

As he ran to the police car, Samuel heard the other end of the radio repeating the man's request. With his still elongated hand, Samuel picked up the radio and pulled it back to him.

"Please repeat Car 99, was that a Code 11 you requested?”

Samuel pressed down on the button, trying to distort his voice as much as he could.

"Uhhh, that’s a negative on the Code 11. It was uhh, ummm a false sighting, that all. Okay?"

"Phil? Are you okay? I'm sending backup to you area, what’s your 20?"

Samuel panicked. "Uhh, negative, negative. Will meet at the rendezvous point in ten minutes. Car 99 out."

With that Samuel threw away the radio, turning it off. He didn't have a lot of time, and he could feel his heart beating in his ears. He was standing in the middle of a group of warehouses. Maybe they had seen Rick run into one of them. He had to hurry though if he was going to find him before the San Francisco Police Department did...

 

[ultimate_nerdslut]

Floating...

Noelani felt weightless as she was carried through the endless blue that made up most of the world's surface. Her eyes fell shut as she continued to just float out into the darkness. Would this be the end of her?

Probably not...

Noelani had a way of coming through things that no normal person had ever made it through before but wasn't that what the doctor had always told her? That she wasn't normal? That she was special?

Her head hurt just thinking about that.

How exactly had she wound up so far off shore? She had been staying in Hawaii for a few months. Everything had been going just fine up until a few days ago when these men showed up at her work. She had a natural affinity for water, go figure, so of course she worked in the water with a very nice man named James. He was a marine biologist and had been diving into some of the lagoons. Noelani was more than happy to be his assistant.

Until when she woke up she found some strange men outside their boat. The good doctor knew sign language and even as she tried to wake him it didn't seem to work.

'Doctor!' She yelled into his mind. The girl watched as her short time lover woke from his sleep. He looked up at her as if very confused. 'There's no time to explain... there are some strange men on the dock... They mean us harm...'

Wow... Her voice sounded funny in her own head but was it the voice she would have been born with? She didn't know but it wasn't the time to worry about such things. The doctor had risen from their bed and made a fairly quick getaway on his boat. Noelani knew that there would be quite a bit of talking now, as much as she preferred to talk with her mind to the people she wanted to it was hard to explain. The doctor knew how to speak with his hands like she did and while he was rusty he got most of it and she retaught a lot of it to him with just everyday signing.

It had taken a while to explain her whole childhood. She didn't like to go into great detail, some of it had been pretty damned painful but she remembered blacking out for the most of it. No sedatives really just completely passing out. James didn't really seem to know what to think.

But it didn't matter...

He wouldn't make it once the men found her.

Noelani continued to float out in the open ocean trying to remember what happened exactly. James had played dumb but they knew... And he refused to turn her over, when they showed him their weapons.

She could tell he was afraid... so the young woman came out from behind her older lover and offered herself to the men... and once they had her secured... seemed silly to be putting so many chains on a girl like herself... a gunshot rang through the air.

Noelani's shocked face looked back to see the handsome man crumple to the floor. Her silent scream didn't ring out but it was easy to see she was in pain and that was all she could remember. Hm...

'What happened back there... and... how did I get way out here?' She asked herself. Judging from the stars, she was headed east... How far east was she? Well... A little wave would take her closer to her destination... she supposed it was time to go to the mainland.

 

[Angelus]

Josh knew that there was something that he had to do to calm this man down and quickly. He was awared of this person's ability, about what he could do and he seriously did not want that to happen to him. He stood there and looked at the man whose hands and eyes were still on fire and moved towards him. He didn't want to make any sudden moves but the only thing that he had to give him was in the coat that he was wearing.

"I just have to get something out of my coat. I know that you have no reason to trust me but I ask that you do as I can help you to get out of this."

It was then that his phone rang and he looked down at it, Oh god, not now.

He wanted it to stop ringing but he knew exactly who it was and why she was ringing which was why he was here. He looked at the man as he reached into his coat and grabbed the card that was in there. He then pulled it out to show it to Mr. Haggon.

"There is a number on the back of this card. If you ring it she will tell you where you can meet her and help you to hide. Please, trust me on this."

The phone started to ring again which caused Josh to look down at it, letting out a deep breath. He knew that he should answer it but he couldn't at the moment. He looked up at Mr. Haggon and an idea came to him, it was the perfect moment.

"I just have to get this call Mr. Haggon. It is the person that I was speaking of before, the one that can help you. If you let me answer it now then you can speak to her. It would save your call from being traced; not that it can happen."

 

[blaster8]

The History of John "Draco" Hera

There was light in the cave that lay hidden in the mountains, and in that cave sat a creature on a throne of carved rock, that had veins of a yellow, glittering metal running through it. In fact the walls around the throne glittered with the same metal; the cave glittered in the light of a fire that lay at the creature’s feet. But this was no ordinary cave, and this was no ordinary creature sitting on that throne. No, this cave was his lair. John sat there on the throne of rock and some glittering metal that he didn’t know the name of, but liked all the same, and stared at the fire, as if daring it to leave its confines and burn throughout the cave. But his focus wasn’t at the fire, it was in the fire. He found that he could organize his thoughts better by visualizing them in the flames, and at this moment, he was contemplating how he would behave if he ever had to speak with anyone, let alone enter a populated area. None of the morons at the complex that called them scientists knew he could speak; they hadn’t cared to find out. So, anyone sent by the complex to recover him would most likely treat him as an extremely dangerous animal, rather than an intelligent person. Boy, would they be surprised when he answered their baby talk with his own sweet talk.

The problem he saw was that once people knew he could talk, then they would want to talk to him. John knew that there were some long winded people out there, particularly one scientist who called himself Dr. Dennis Orfe. It was a rare day that the wind-bag didn’t talk for four hours straight. The other scientists tolerated the man as much as possible, but a lot of times they told him to either shut up or find someone else to talk to. He preferred the later, and the only person that he believed wouldn’t be able to complain about his incessant chattering was John. That was double-edged sword for John: one, he learned most of what he knew from the guy, but two, it really did try John’s patience. So, John developed the idea of simply walking away from the man when he felt that he was about to lose his patience, because doing that while this man talked to him would indicated that he understood language, and there went his source of information. Those scientists would button up so quick, that it made a professional gunslinger look slow. John didn’t know what a gunslinger was, but he had learned that particular phrase from the wind-bag himself. When John walked away from Dr. Orfe, the man usually got the hint, but didn’t put two and two together to figure that John’s walking away was intended to get the man to stop talking to him. Thank goodness for that.

So, John figured that when people started to talk to him, and he felt that his patience was about to snap, he would just walk away, provided of course, that didn’t he feel the need to kill something. If he did feel the need to kill something, then he would stick around, and let his patience snap.

John finished up that line of thought, and then turned his thoughts to focus on the wind-bag, Dr. Orfe. That man was incapable of being silent, it seemed. Nor did he seem capable of keeping secrets. There were many late night shifts that the long winded doctor had to himself in that lab, when all the other doctors were at home, taking the night off. Someone had to stay and watch John. So, what did the man do to pass the time? He talked to John. And he revealed a lot of information, ranging from his personal love life (which by the way, was nearly non-existent), to the latest scientific research in the field of genetics. It also extended into gossip about the other scientists and - this was very important for John to remember - to John’s origins. John learned from the good natured man (remembering this information tended to put the wind-bag in a better than normal light with John) that he was born in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, but the government intervened and took John before his parents could take him. They were told that he had died of a rather dangerous disease that they doctors hadn’t detected. They weren’t allowed to see the body of their only days old son. John had ceased to exist to the outside world the moment those government agents laid eyes on him. The government, did however, compensate for his parents’ “loss,” with a generous heap of money, and 10 years of covert surveillance. All that information was archived, and accessible by the scientists at the complex. Therefore, if the scientists knew the information, then Dr. Orfe did too. And if Dr. Orfe knew it, then he would talk about it. And that’s how John came to know his true name and heritage.

John felt sleep coming upon, for although he didn’t feel like it, he hadn’t slept in days. Something about the dragon genes those scientists put in him made him capable of going several days without sleep. He was sure he would find that handy one of these days.

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

Amy came back to the bus stop and asked for a ticket for the first bus out of town. She paid in twenties for a bus leaving for LA in a half hour and went into the bathroom.

The whole thing had gone pretty well, but as she examined the seeping bullet would where a shot had grazed her she grimiced.

"Note to self. " She muttered as she cleaned it and slapped a few band aids over the three inch long graze. "Bullets don't need air to fire."

She didn't think they'd be looking for her any time soon, she'd knocked the guards out and when they woke up they'd be woozy, have to make a report, so forth and so on, and she'd stayed in the shadows, so they wouldn't have a good discription of her.

 

[Brains123]

(Sorry keyboard not working right have to copy and paste to post.)

Rick watching as the man slowly makes his way towards him watches as he begans to reach into his coat. In response Rick raises his hands and points them towards him.

"I just have to get something out of my coat. I know that you have no reason to trust me but I ask that you do as I can help you to get out of this."

It was then that his phone rang and the man looked down at it.

Rick in response lowers his hands but still weary he keeps them poised towards the man. He keeps looking at the man as he reaches into his coat and grabs a card that was in there. He then pulls it out to show it to Rick

"There is a number on the back of this card. If you ring it she will tell you where you can meet her and help you to hide. Please, trust me on this."

The phone starts to ring again which causes the man to look down at it, letting out a deep breath.

"I just have to get this call Mr. Haggon. It is the person that I was speaking of before, the one that can help you. If you let me answer it now then you can speak to her. It would save your call from being traced; not that it can happen."

Rick nodding lets the man answers it and waits for him to hand the phone to him.

 

[Angelus]

Josh pulled out the mobile and slid it open in a smooth movement as he looked at Mr. Haggon. The last thing that he wanted was to be turned into a burnt corpse which he knew was going to happen if he did anything to anger the man any more than he already was. He lifted the phone to his air, instantly hearing her voice.

"I have made contact with Mr. Haggon but I am afraid to say that he is not in the best of moods right now and I do not want to do anything to anger him."

"It's good that you found him before anyone else did. I just called you to say that things are getting dangerous and you have to hurry with Mr. Haggon as I have found someone else that I want you to get into contact with."

"Why so quickly. What's wrong?"

"A strike team has been made up ahnd they are going about, finding and killing those that they cannot capture. So far they have killed three in Los Angeles alone and caught several more."

"Oh shit. That is not a good thing. In that case I have a request for you, is it okay if I hand the phone over to Mr. Haggon while I go and see if everything is okay outside, just in case."

"That is the best thing to do right now. Hand the phone over to him and check outside the warehouse."

Josh didn't bother asking just how she knew where he was, he had given up asking a long time ago. He walked slowly towards where the man stood and brought the phone forward.

"I suggest that you take this call now."

 

[Angelus]

Jason cursed out loud as he saw several of his men fly through the air to slam into the wall near him. He knew that this one would be a hard one to capture but this was being ridiculous. He ran towards the alley then looked down it just to see the creature as the bullets slammed into the walls around it and into its body. He watched in fascination as the creature kept up its rampage, the bullets bouncing off its body as it moved forward quickly. It looked at him with blood red eyes and let out a scream that echoed down the alley towards him as it moved.

He pulled his pistol out of its holster then looked at the creature and laughed, it would be like shooting spit balls at the thing and grabbed a combat rifle from the nearest man. He moved forward quickly, brought up the rifle and aimed at the creature. He squeezed the trigger and watched as the bullet slammed into the creatures body then fell to the ground. It looked at him with hatred before turning and jumping up to the nearest wall. It began to climb far faster than Jason thought possible and suddenly disappeared.

Jason cursed again and turned to his sergeant.

"Get me that creature!"

"We cannot sir. That thing is resistant to all manner of weapons that we have. I don't know how we can do it."

"I don't care about excuses. I want that thing."

The sergeant saluted, turned and walked away from Jason as fast as he could; he knew that it would not be prudent to argue with him, not in the mood that he was in. It was then that Jason heard the crackle of his radio and pulled it from his belt quickly.

"What is it?"

"Sir. This is Falcon One. I have a visual on the creature. It has gone into a building five blocks away from here."

Jason smiled then turned to the sergeant again.

"Sergeant! Get the Humvees ready! We have ourselves a creature to capture."

The sergeant saluted quickly then they all ran to the waiting vehicles. Several minutes later they had stopped at a crossroads looking at a condemed building. Jason pulled out an infra red scope looked at the driver of the Humvee and told him that he was to radio the others, telling them to stay there as he went into the building. The man started to argue but he knew that it would do no good and saluted instead, picking up the radio the next.

Jason got out the the vehicle and moved slowly, watched the building and pulled out his pistol as he did. He moved through the main door and looked around, hoping that the creature wouldn't find him before it was too late. He stopped for a second as he pulled out his scope, searching for the creature and was shocked to see the smaller figure in one of the rooms. Letting out a small sigh he moved to the room, hid his pistol under his belt as he moved towards the figure.

"You can come out now. I will not hurt you."

The figure did not move and James knew that whoever it wasn't trusting him.

"It is okay. I am a police officer. Whoever made you come here has gone. I am here to help you."

He was shocked when he heard the sound of a little girl come from the far corner of the room.

"Are you sure they are gone now?"

"Yes dear. I am sure, you are safe now."

The girl came into view and the first thing that Jason thought was that this was amazing. The little thing in front of him couldn't have been more than six or seven and yet she had hurt several of his team as if they had been nothing at all. He wanted to smile about that as she would make a perfect weapon when she was properly trained but it would be hard to catch her again if she ever escaped. He moved forward slowly, allowing a smile to appear on his face as he did but stopped when he looked into her eyes.

He could instantly tell that she recognized him. He could see the anger that was building up in them even as they started to change to that blood red color he had seen earlier; he knew that he could not let that happen.

With practiced ease he brought up his pistol and squeezed the trigger, watching as it hit her in the head. He watched in slow motion as the blood sprayed from the wound in the back of her head as she fell to the ground.

Jason moved forward quickly and looked at the little girl who lay there, the blood making an increasingly large puddle around her head.

"Shit," was all that he said as he turned and walked away from her.

* * * * *​

In a different part of the country several tears fell to the top of the desk as her head fell into her hands.

"Why did you have to kill her Jason? Why?"

 

[Jedi_Khan]

The Cave Entrace

In the forested mountains of western Colorado, there sit a large ranch; and a mile to the north beyond the border of this ranch there was an entrance to a cave. Outside of this cave there stood a creature, with large leathery wings. He stood before the entrance of the cave, admiring his handiwork. He had just finished a three day job of carving the rock around the entrance of the cave. The cave entrance was wide and tall enough to fit a large SUV. A single pillar had been carved on either side of the entrance, with a serpentine dragon coiled around them. Above the entrance, there sat a large dragon, almost as large as a man. Its head was orientated so that it watched anybody who approached the cave, its eyes golden with evidence of the valuable metal that lay behind it. It was surprisingly life-like for a carved image in rock. In fact, all three dragons were similar in that respect: their heads angled so as to watch anybody who approaches, and being incredibly life-like. The whole design around the cave entrance was very detailed, enough to make one thing that it had been carved by a master craftsman, not John “Draco” Hera, the creature that had made this cave his lair.

John went inside the cave, to his throne. There he would sleep for a day. The next day, he would hunt.

 

[PoliteSuccubus]

Amy

On the bus Amy sat behind two girls who were close to her age. Even tho they weren't speaking to her, it made her feel less alone in the world she now found herself. Living at...can't call it home, though it was for the last 8 years...the place, hadn't really prepared her for the outside. On purpose, she figured.

If she ever got away from them...they'd want her panicked, alone, and stand out. She needed to blend in more.

"...so, we got into this huge argument over bands and I said like, Minerva or whatever was deader than the lead singer...and he goes NINVERA and KURT is a GOD...whatever...." Said the blonde to the red haired girl.

"Like...whatever..huge..like.." Amy muttered to herself.

 

[MilkManDan007]

A Morning in the Park

It was a chilly, foggy San Francisco morning as Hayden set out through the park. The dense fog, which always seemed to burn off in the late morning, was especially thick today. As he walked, Hayden could barely make out the path more than 20 feet in front of him. The normal park dwellers, hustling to work carrying their coffee, seemed to float in and out of the fog like ghostly apparitions. The soft murmuring of voices mixed with the far off waves of the ocean, creating a claming white noise that filled the air. He checked his watch. It was 8:15.

Hayden decided to park himself on a bench near the path and people watch, becoming one of the many faceless individuals no one noticed as they hurried about their daily lives. The cool embrace of the fog and the whispering noise helped Hayden to relax, to unwind and become normal for a short while. He leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and inhaled deeply, taking in the morning air as the fog began to burn off.

He sat there for several minutes, breathing deeply and trying to let months of tension and apprehension out of his system. His relaxation was cut short by the staccato of sub-machinegun fire.

Hayden leapt off the bench, already in a dead run away from the noise. He could almost feel those around him, also running from the impending danger. Glancing left, he saw Rebecca Crowe running next to him. She was another from the facility. She had been given the gift of wings, and seemed almost angelic as they spread behind her as she ran next to him.

Hayden’s mind reached to the night of the escape and to Rebecca. He had seen her trying to fly from the facility after clearing the gates, but she had been shot and killed. Could it have been possible that she had survived and made her way to the same city, the same park, as Hayden had? They continued to run side by side across the mown grass. The small eruptions in the dirt from the 9mm rounds only spurred them on further.

Hayden heard a yelp, and turned to see Rebecca fall. The pained look on her face could only come from the shock of being shot. He wheeled and ran to her side, looking for the wound to see if she could continue with his help. As he knelt next to her, she looked up to him with her bright green eyes and simply said, “I’m sorry…” as the blood began to flow down the feathers of her crumpled wings.

The agent came from the fog, gun at the ready, and leveled it at Hayden. He focused on the man, on the gun, on all the pain they had caused to him and those he knew. Hayden focused and hit the man with the mental force he normally kept reserved. The force should have launched the man a hundred yards, but he stood fast and trained the gun on Hayden. Was this one of the agents that had been one of the test subjects? One of those Hayden had called a friend who had turned their backs and gone to work for the facility in tracking down those who had escaped in exchange for their lives being spared? He must have been. No normal man could have withstood that force.

The small red dot of the sight settled on Hayden’s chest as the man squeezed the trigger. The three-shot burst cleared the barrel and passed cleanly through the leather of Hayden’s jacket before ripping into flesh.

He jumped at the pain of the bullets tearing into his chest, ripping through him and sending ripples of pain to every end of his body. He knelt on the wet earth as the man strode up and again trained the gun on him. Hayden watched, almost in slow motion, as the man depressed the trigger again. He lowered his head, resigning himself to the fact he was already dead. The quick burst of sound from the gun split into Hayden’s ears as the bullets tore into him again.

His head jerked up and was again in the fog. He sprung to his feet and stood there in the park. There was no gunfire, no man with a gun, no Rebecca. His head swiveled, looking for the danger he knew lurked beyond his vision. The only sounds he heard were the soft voices of passers-by and the muted waves. He looked down at himself, taking stock as the flashback subsided and reality began to set in once again. Hayden looked down at his watch.

It was 8:18.

 

[Wolfsister]

Lost

Eve was lost. Again.

She sighed and looked around, all she could see were green trees. Muddy dirt and a whole lot of woods animals. She blinked and rubbed her arms together, her leather coat providing warmth but not enough material to save her from the wind that blew cold through the trees.

She had no idea where she was. She had seen some farmstead in the distance, but had chosen to avoid them. And now she couldn't find one to save her life. Suddenly she bent over in pain and cried out. Her hunger pains were getting worse and worse still. She hadn't eaten for at least three days and she had only just barely been able to keep down the cold mountian water for a few minutes.

Leaving the stream had been a very bad idea.

She blinked then, seeing a strange coloured circle on the tree nearest her. The circled moved and split in two. Now there were two dancing colourful circles on the tree. Then four, then eight... then so many that all she could see were coloured circles.

She collapsed then, the circles giving way to blessed darkness as she passed out from hunger, heat exhaustion and dehydration. An animal came through the brush and began nosing around her prone form. It came into contact with her hand, seeking to nibble on her flesh, a shock running through it as it touched her. It ran away squealing.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

John finds Eve

In the forested mountains of western Colorado, a creature was on the hunt. It was more dangerous than the native predators to the area, for the creature was not a creation of nature, but of man. That creature was John “Draco” Hera, escapee from a top secret government installation. He had made his home after escaping up in the mountains of Colorado, in near isolation. He was surrounded by a couple hundred square miles of forest, with a cattle ranch thrown in there.

On this day, a cold wind blew through the forest, but above the forest it was hot. The cattle that John hunted were being kept near a stream, and under the watch of one of the men that worked the cattle. This made hunting the cattle difficult, but not impossible. John made sure that he was completely camouflaged as he moved slowly towards one of the cows farthest from the ranch hand. The cow knew John was coming, but it had been tethered down to keep it from moving out of site of the ranch hand, who happened to be carrying a rifle with him. John placed himself between the cow and the ranch hand, with his back to the man, and spread his wings out enough to hide the cow. With his wings camouflaged, it would appear that there was no cow there at all.

John cut the cow’s throat with his claws, and then cut the tether. He then picked the cow up in the air and flew away, keeping low to the ground, under the treetops, and skillfully navigated back towards his cave. On the way, though, he saw something lying on the ground, which did not belong in the forest. He landed a few feet away, putting the dead cow on the ground. He went over to investigate what it was that was lying on the ground. As he approached he saw that it was a woman, most likely younger than he was, and she was out like a light. She looked thin and frail, as if she were ill. John felt moved to do something to help her, so he grabbed a fair sized stone, and quickly carved it into a bowl of sorts, using his claws. He then quickly went to the stream and filled the bowl and then brought it back. He sent it down about a foot away from the woman. He then cut a small chunk out of the cow, and quickly cooked it using his fiery breath. He then laid that on a slab of rock next to the bowl.

John then found himself doing something he didn’t expect: he laid out some stones in an arrow pointing directly towards the entrance to his cave, about half a mile away. He didn’t exactly know why he was doing that, but he guessed that he may have felt sorry enough for the woman that he was “offering” to look after her until she recovered.

John picked up the cow, tossed it over his shoulder, and with one last look at the unconscious woman, walked away back to his cave. If the woman ever woke up and followed the arrow to his cave, she would find a dim light visible from the outside, a light produced by the fire he kept burning a few feet from his throne. But she wouldn’t find him if she entered, because he would hear her enter the cave and then camouflage himself. The reason why he would hear her enter the cave is because he always kept a five foot wide strip of loose rocks, which went from wall to wall, just inside the entrance to his cave. If anything were to go in, they could knock around some rocks, and he would hear.

Laying the cow down about ten feet away from his throne, he began to cut it up to eat.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eve's eyelids opened a crack and she hissed in pain as dim light invaded the cool darkness of her mind. She blinked, grit having collected in her eyes as the wind had moved over her. As far as she could tell, it was close to dusk, the sun sinking lower and lower and the forest becoming ever colder.

She blinked again and saw a strange collection of rocks. It almost looked as it they pointed somewhere. How odd that Nature would form rocks on the ground to form an arrow. Weird.

Eve grimaced in pain as her stomach rumbled once again. She gasped, trying to get more oxygen into her lungs, her hunger being so bad that she felt as if she were suffocating. She looked around in the dim light and blinked again. There was a bowl. A bowl with meat near it. A bowl of water.

With a sudden and vicious growl, she snatched up the bowl of water and the slightly warm slab of meat. Tearing at the 'cooked' meat with her teeth, she didn't even pause to swallow as she chewed and poured the deliciously cold water down her throat. She ate and drank so fast that she choked and would have thrown it all up if it hadn't have been for her sheer stubborness to keep the meal down in her stomach.

Once most of the meat was gone and the water was no more, she carefully looked around, her senses more alert now that she had something in her belly. She looked at the crudely fashioned bowl and then at the steaming hunk of meat in her hand. She then looked behind her, at the stones that pointed in an arrow.

Standing up, feeling a little better she stood just before the rocks and looked in the direction they pointed. She blinked and stood there silently until she couldn't see the white stones that clearly because of the waning light.

Then she looked down and sighed, "Alright, I'll play," she whispered and began walking. When the light became non-existant, she closed her eyes and drew on her own small power supply within her. A crackling light came from the waves of electricity that snaked up her left arm to disappear once it got to her shoulders. The light was intermittent, but it was enough to see by and it kept the foreign animals from attacking her.

Soon she came to an odd looking cave. It was decorated on the outside, the 'gates' had serpentile creatures wound around them and the cursed as she took a step forwards in curiosity only to slip on some loose rocks.

She blinked and extinguished her 'light', going into darkness. She approached the cave entrance, considerably quieter now and careful not to displace more stones. No doubt they had been put there as an alarm system. She smiled, whoever had helped her sure didn't want to be found. Then again... the rock arrow...

She entered the dimly lit cave and saw nothing but an empty cavern. She walked over to the fire, warming her hands and closed her eyes. Then she smiled and without turning around whispered, "All beings have an electrical current and I can feel yours,"

Then she did turn around to face whatever direction Draco was standing in, "So, got anymore meat?" she grinned.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

John sat in his throne, finishing up a slab of meat from the remains of the cow he had brought into his cave, when he heard some of the loose stones at the entrance of his cave get knocked around. He immediately camouflaged himself still sitting on his throne, and waited.

He sat in silence as he watched the woman approach the fire, and start to warm herself by it. Then he heard her speak. She obviously could tell where he was, as she looked up at him, but she just couldn’t see him.

“There’s three quarters of a cow to your left. Take what you need,” said John. This was the first time he had ever spoken to anybody, and his voice had a rough quality to it, but it was not do to lack of use. He remained camouflaged as he watched the woman with slight curiosity. She was obviously not afraid of him, but that was because she hasn’t seen him yet. She could also feel where he was by somehow sensing the electrical current that has in him. He wondered if all people could do that, or just her. He honestly didn’t know.

 

[Wolfsister]

“There’s three quarters of a cow to your left. Take what you need,”

The male voice came from the direction that she had suspected it would and she let a smile play across her face. She walked over to the indicated cow and took a small knife hidden in her boot to hack off a small chunk. Throwing it carelessly on the fire in the middle of the cavern, she watched as it slowly cooked. Warming her hands across the flames once again, she spoke slowly, "So... you can camoflauge yourself? That's cool, I guess you're one of the ones that escaped the facility huh? I knew there were others, just didn't know who,"

She smiled and stared up at where he was, the huge throne looming in front of her, "Guess this is all your handiwork too, couldn't have just been here," she grinned, "Like the decor. The name's Eve, yours?"

She reached in with a stick and dragged the burning meat out of the fire. Hissing slightly at the heat, she tore into it, much too hungry to remember her manners.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

John remained camouflaged as he watched the woman move over to the cow and cut off a slice. She then threw it into fire to cook. Then she mentioned the facility. This startled John, so much so that his camouflage faltered for a second, allowing an outline of him to be seen, but not the rest of him. John quickly recovered from the surprise.

That windbag doctor had mentioned that there were others in the facility, but John had never seen them, nor did he know much about them. Dr. Orfe didn’t know much about them himself, or else John would know. John also didn’t know that others had escaped, mainly because he escaped entirely on his own, with no communication with others. Hell, he didn’t know that there were other escape attempts besides his own. He didn’t even know how big the place was; he simply got out and didn’t bother locking back to see what the outside of the complex was like.

"Guess this is all your handiwork too, couldn't have just been here. Like the decor. The name's Eve, yours?"

“John,” he answered. “Thank you for the compliment; yes, this is all my handiwork. Although, the yellow glittering color you see was not put there by me; I just revealed it.” He avoided mentioning the facility, for if she had noticed his outline, then she would have figured it out that he knew what she was talking about. “What is a woman like you doing way out here in the mountains?” he asked, wanting to avoid talking about the facility.

 

[Wolfsister]

“John. Thank you for the compliment; yes, this is all my handiwork. Although, the yellow glittering color you see was not put there by me; I just revealed it. What is a woman like you doing way out here in the mountains?”

Eve looked up from her steaming hunk of meat, grinning at the slight ripple in John's camouflage. She'd rattled him alright... at least she knew that she could. If only for a second. The good Doc had taught her how to always be on her guard and how to look for advantages to her situation, no matter how small.

She shrugged at his last question, "I was just looking to get away, you know?" she bit off another piece from her 'steak' and chewed thoughtfully. "I was lost," she grinned again and shook a finger in his direction, "So John, what you you doing here?"

Then she frowned, "You know, its awfully rude to just stand there when I can't see you. Are you naked or something?"

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"So John, what are you doing here?"

John considered this an odd question. Was it not obvious? Thinking on it a little, John answered: “Living in freedom.”

"You know, it’s awfully rude to just stand there when I can't see you. Are you naked or something?"

Naked? What is this word “naked?” John thought to himself. He visualized how he looked in the fire, and then compared that to what he had seen of other people. Aside from the fact that John was not human, there was one fundamental difference: all the others he had seen had something covering most of their skin. John thought for a little while, and then changed his camouflage, so that it appeared that he was dressed like one of the ranchers he had seen. He was still sitting in his throne, and his wings were still hidden. The only things that he could not disguise were his eyes; they remained their usual golden color, with black slits for pupils.

John simply gave a smile in response after he had made himself visible; but the smile showed no teeth. If it had, it would have shown very sharp, pointy teeth.

 

[Wolfsister]

"Living in Freedom"

Eve laughed, the edge of her laughter tinged with a bitterness. "yes, but at what price?" she whispered almost to herself. Then the man that called himself John appeared sitting on the throne like rock at the back of the small cave. She raised an eyebrow in appraisal and smiled, murmuring to herself, "Not bad, not bad at all,"

Then she chuckled to herself, chewing on another piece of blackened meat. It was obvious that he was still hiding something. She could feel the electrical current that ran through him and the quantity just didn't fit his current body mass. She didn't know how she knew, but she trusted her instincts.

"Look, either you're gonna trust me or not, but it would be nice not to feel insulted," she stared up at him, willing to see the rest of him. Then she sighed, "Oh fine, here -"

She walked a little away from the fire and spread her hands, pulling the electricity out of both of them and soon sparks were flying from her fingers, spreading between her hands until a smooth line of sparkling white was held between her two hands.

Then it blinked out, "Now... your turn," she smiled.

 

[Jedi_Khan]

"Look, either you're gonna trust me or not, but it would be nice not to feel insulted. Oh fine, here - Now... your turn,"

John felt his patience crumble a bit, but he hadn’t lost it yet. He didn’t want to harm this woman, special gifts or not, so he felt a warning was in order. He slowly stood from his throne, and walked slowly towards her. Stopping three feet away, he looked right into her green eyes with his own golden ones, and gave a toothy smile that essentially said, “Be careful.”

“Trust you? Feel insulted? Keep in mind, woman, you are a guest in my domain. Here, I decide what to reveal and what not to reveal to you,” John said, with a cool, calm voice that still held a menacing roughness to it. “I appreciate you showing me your unique skill, and know that I will do nothing to cause you to use it on me. I have already shown you some of what I can do, but do not press me to reveal more; you would not like the outcome…if you live to reflect on it.”

John turned on his heel, his camouflaged wings just missing smacking Eve in the face. He walked back to his throne, and sat down. “You are welcome to stay as long as you like, and help yourself to the meat while it is fresh. If you do decide to leave, you must not mention me or the existence of this cave to anyone. Like you, I too am hiding.” With that, he fell silent, closing his eyes and appearing to sleep.

 

[Wolfsister]

Eve, like always, had a cocky answer. She just stared right back at him, not even flinching at the strange yellow eyes or the sharp toothy warning, "I guess they didn't teach you hospitality at the facility?"

She felt a wave of air hit her as he turned around swiftly and blinked, she had been right. He was hiding something. Fine, that was his right, like he so rudely pointed out. Clearly, he hadn't been taught how to communicate effectively either.

Fine, she could play that as well. She fell silent herself and walked to the entrance of the cave, completely ignoring the apparently sleeping John. She rubbed her arms absently as she stared out at the wilderness. Tell anyone? She was lucky if she even remembered where she was. If she even got out of here alive.

A shiver of warning ran down her spine and all of a sudden she did not feel safe anymore. John was dangerous, she had known that. Especially with that ability of his, but she now also realised that he may be a little touched in the head. And that made for an even more dangerous foe.

She sat down, consciously turning her back to him and leaned her head against the cool rock to her right. She closed her eyes briefly and a single tear escaped her tight control. She kept in mind where his electrical current ran, knowing she couldn't trust her eyes. And now feeling like she couldn't trust him.

Oh Stockman, she thought to herself, why did I have to kill you? I'm so lonely....