On the Run

An interactive forum that focuses on DC and Marvel like superheroes...

Moderators: VagueDurin, Nichalus, WoH Coordinators

Post Reply
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

Wichita, Kansas

Howlin for you was playing through the jukebox in the bar. Charlie walked into the bar and looked around. It was a pretty dead place, but it looked like just the kind of place that she wanted to be. When you were looking for a place where people would leave you alone and leave you be, a small hole in the wall dive bar was the right place to be. She walked over to a booth and sat down, sitting against the wall and trying to be in the corner. After all, she was definitely underage, missing the mark for being able to drink by a handful of years or so. Charlie looked down at her hands, staring at the leather gloves that she wore. Her hands were shaking slightly, and they had been shaking for some time.

Days.

She couldn’t get the slight tremor out of them, not after what had happened. What she had seen and what she had done. Closing her eyes, Charlie tried to concentrate, and clear her mind. But unfortunately for her already harried mental stability, the waitress interrupted her before she could really get anywhere.

“Hey there, what are you looking for?”

“Peace and quiet, to be honest.” Charlie said, opening her eyes, and putting a polite smile on her face. “But I’ll settle for a diet coke.” She said.

“Okay. One diet coke coming right now.” The waitress said, eyeing the girl in the booth a little strangely.

After all, who came into a bar and ordered a diet coke? That was just weird.

Charlie took a deep breath and looked around once again. The place only had a few people in it. There was a man sitting at the bar itself, who looked like he was a trucker and was taking the rest of the day off. His hat was sitting next to him, and she could see the logo of the Kansas City Chiefs. Maybe he’d just gotten home from a trip. That would be nice. Charlie couldn’t do that.

She couldn’t go home anymore, not if she considered home to be that small town in Alabama she’d been born and grown up in. No, that was definitely not home, not anymore. Charlie kept looking around and saw a couple in one of the booths. The woman wore too much makeup, and the cut off jeans and jacket she wore told Charlie that this woman might have some interesting kind of background. Especially since the woman kept taking her eyes off the man she was with and looking at the back of the trucker, as if studying him.

Companionship, it was another thing that Charlie was going to be denied. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked down at the gloved hands once more.

“What’s wrong with you?” A voice said, and it wasn’t the waitress.

The teenage girl looked up at someone who appeared to be her age, or a little bit older. She was dressed like a biker, and had been the last person in the bar, besides the trucker, the couple in the booth, and the two staff members. Leather pants slid into leather boots. A black leather jacket and dark brownish red hair from the waist up, and brown eyes that stared at her.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong with me.” Charlie said, staring down at the table.

“Right, like I’ve never heard that before.” The woman said, and sat down in the booth across from her, holding a bottle of beer.

The waitress came over and placed the diet coke on the table before walking away.

“A diet coke?” The woman asked, and the nodded. “Yeah you look like you’re sixteen.” She said. “You look really lost. Normally that’s not the type of person I talk to, but I’m bored and you’re here. Life story kid, and I’ll get you something a bit harder, promise.” She said.
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

“What if I don’t want to tell you my life story?” Charlie asked. There was something about this girl that was downright annoying and Charlie was trying to figure out how to tell her to shove off. She’d never been that good at that, though now that she was a freak maybe she’d get better at it.

The other girl shrugged and shook her head, giving Charlie a small smile. “You might not want to, but I doubt it. Everyone likes talking about themselves.”

Charlie rolled her eyes, getting a feeling that the person across from her wasn’t going to take no for an answer. “Fine.” She said, her Southern drawl become more pronounced as she got annoyed. “I'll tell you. I was born in Alabama, in Piedmont.” Charlie said.

The girl paused, looking away as she thought about it. “Nope, never heard of it.”

“Nobody’s ever heard of it.” Charlie said with another roll of her eyes. “You’re not alone, trust me. Anyway, I grew up there and that’s where I’m coming from.” She said.

“So why is a teenage kid in a bar in Wichita? That’s pretty far from wherever the hell Piedmont is.” The girl sitting across from her said.

She was about to reply, opening her mouth, but then she stopped. “You ain’t never heard of someone valuing their privacy?” Charlie asked, giving the girl across from her a look. “You haven’t even told me nothing about yourself.” She added. “Where are you from?” She asked.

“New Orleans, Louisiana.” The girl replied.

Charlie’s eyes changed, lighting up with magic. She’d read all about New Orleans and she’d always wanted to go there. It seemed like such a great city, full of so many interesting people. “I’ve heard of there.” She said.

“Most people have.” The other said with a smirk as she took a sip of her beer. “Let me guess, you want to walk around Bourbon Street.” She said.

“It’d be so nice.” Charlie said, wistfully. “I mean, everything I’ve read about New Orleans makes me think it’s a magical place.” She said. “I guess that sounds kind of stupid to you, doesn’t it?” Charlie asked.

“No, well…maybe. When you live somewhere and grow up there, you sometimes see different sides than other people. I’m sure Piedmont is pretty interesting.”

“Hell no. There’s nothing to do there and…I get what you’re saying.” Charlie replied.

“Why are you wearing the gloves?” The girl asked, and Charlie’s eyes widened slightly.

“Wh-what do you mean?” She asked.

The girl pointed at Charlie’s gloved hands, with a pointed look on her face, like she could tell that something was off. “You’ve been fidgeting with your hands the entire time we’ve been talking. As if something’s wrong with them. You haven’t taken them off, but you’re inside. What’s wrong with your hands?” She asked.

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong with my hands, nothing’s wrong with me.” Charlie said, her voice dropping down to a whisper and almost coming out as a hiss.
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

The girl’s eyes lit up for a moment as she thought about what she was seeing. Her nose and mouth scrunched to the side. “Don’t take this the wrong way but are you a mutant, kid?” She asked.

Charlie’s eyes bugged slightly and she shook her head, a little too quickly, making it obvious that the other’s words had struck a chord. “No, no.” She said, with a hurry in her voice. “I’m not a mutant. There’s nothing wrong with me.” She said, continuing to reiterate that point. It was if she had to keep saying it as if she had to keep reminding not only the girl that she was talking to, but to herself. She had to convince herself, it seemed.

The girl shook her head. “Even if you were a mutant, what’s wrong with being one?” She asked. “You’re making it sound like being a mutant is like being sick or diseased.” She said and Charlie shook her head, as if disagreeing with the other’s assessment. “It’s what you’re making it sound like, kid.” She said with a shrug. “Now, are you a mutant or aren’t you? Because something’s going on with you and you’re freaking out way too much. Are you sick or something?” She asked.

“No, it’s not…not that serious. I don’t have an illness, I guess. I do…I mean…I’m a mutant.” Charlie said, looking at the wall of the booth. “I know it’s not a disease, but I never thought it was something that would happen to me, you know?” She said. “Especially considering how I found out I was a mutant.”

“I’m a mutant.” The girl across from her said with an offhanded shrug. It was done in such a nonchalant manner, as if it was so very inconsequential. “It’s just something that's a part of me. I can’t change it, and I wouldn’t want to, even if I could.” She said. “What can you do?” She asked.

Now Charlie looked down at the table. “I don’t…I don’t know.” She admitted. “All I know is that whenever I touch someone, bad things happen. It has to be skin to skin contact.” She said. “What can you do?” She asked.

“I can phase through stuff.”

“I don’t understand.” Charlie said and watched as the other girl lifted her hand and held it over her bottle of beer.

She brought her hand down, directly over the bottle, and Charlie cringed, almost bracing herself for what she knew was going to happen. But it didn’t. Her hand seemingly disappeared and went through the bottle and the table, despite coming into contact with both of them. It was simply amazing and unbelieveable to see. Charlie had seen it, and she still didn’t believe what she had seen.

“That’s…incredible.” She said.

“Yep.” The other girl said, using her hand same, now solid, to grab the beer bottle and bring it up to her lips. She looked up and over Charlie’s shoulder as the doors to the bar opened. “Well that didn’t take long. Wichita police are moving faster than I gave them credit for.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

“The police?” Charlie asked, turning and looking over her shoulder. A bit of fear shot through her. She knew that she had to be a missing persons or something like that back home in Piedmont. After everything that had happened, she didn’t doubt it. But how had they been able to follow her all the way to Wichita? She had thought that running this far would have been enough and that in Wichita, a decent sized city, she could try to start over.

“Yeah the police.” The girl said. “Welp, that’s my cue to get the hell out of here. Look, kid, I hope you find the answers to your problems. But it’s only going to start by accepting that you’ve changed and that you can’t go back to the way things used to be.”

“What are you talking about? The police are here for you?” Charlie asked, bewildered, and the girl nodded slowly. “But why?”

“Tends to happen when you’re a fugitive from the law.” The girl said. “Like I said, this is my cue to leave.”

“Take me with you.” Charlie said. “I’ve got nowhere else to go. I can’t go back to Piedmont.”

The other girl considered, looking as the police were starting to check the people in the bar and the people in the booths. They still had a few moments before the police would get to where they were in the bar. “You don’t even know why the police are looking for me.” She said.

She had a point there. Charlie bit her lip, trying to think it all through. She had just met this girl and she knew next to nothing about her. Clearly she was dangerous, the police were after her. At the same time, she looked like Charlie’s only hope for getting out of this place that she was in. Even if the police didn’t find this girl, they wouldn’t undoubtedly be interested in an underage girl in a bar, despite the diet coke that sat on the table, long since forgotten.

“You still owe me that beer.” Charlie said, trying to come up with something that might work.”

With a smile and a wink the other girl grabbed her arm, making sure not to touch Charlie’s hands and started to pull her out of the booth. “Let’s get the hell out of here then. Don’t move too quickly, it’s got to seem natural. I know where the back door is. It’s where I park my bike.” She said.

They ducked into the back area of the bar and started moving through the storage area.

“Why is your bike parked in the back?” Charlie asked and the girl spared her a glance over her shoulder, the expression asking why Charlie would bother with that kind of question in the first place. “Good point.” She said. “What’s your name anyway?” She asked.

“Ariana Mitchell.” The girl said. “You can call me Shadowcat.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

One thing that Charlie had quickly learned during the trip so far was that Ariana didn’t really believe that speed limits were rules and were more like suggestions for those on the highway. The Suzuki GSXR 600’s speed and mobility allowed Ariana to weave through traffic, much like a shadow cat that she had told Charlie to call her. As a result, Charlie’s grip around Ariana’s waist had never stopped being as tight as possible. She had no idea how long thy had been driving, but she had a feeling that they had gotten pretty far away from Wichita. From the change on Ariana’s face when the police had shown up at the bar, Charlie could tell that she didn’t want anything to do with the police.

Which suited Charlie just fine.

She had kept her head down during most of the trip, the helmet protecting her from the wind. Now, she lifted her head, as Ariana took one of the exits, getting off the highway. The two helmets that Ariana had allowed the wearers to speak with each other, but both young girls had been pretty quiet the entire ride so far.

“Just stopping for some gas.” Ariana said, as they came to a stoplight. “How you doing back there?” She asked.

“My legs hurt.”

“First time on a motorcycle?”

“Yeah.” Charlie replied, as they pulled into a gas station. She slowly pried herself off the bike, and started to shake one of her legs, to get feeling back into her leg. Looking around she saw that they were at a typical looking trucker stop. A gas station, a convenience store, and a Krystals. “I’m going to get something to eat. You want anything?” She asked, starting to walk towards the convenience store.

Ariana shook her head, going about the process of filing the gas tank.

Charlie stepped into the convenience store. It was fairly empty, andthe attendant was more tuned into his television set than the people in the store. She walked around, grabbing a few snacks, but when she saw what was on the television, Charlie slowed down.

They were talking about mutants and how there had been a spread of them recently popping up. Apparently, with the mass casualties of the Chrell Invasion, the amount of mutations in the populace had gone down. But now, eighteen years later, the amount of mutants was steadily increasing. They were popping up everywhere.

Even in Piedmont, Alabama, as Charlie had so recently found out.

Putting her items on the counter, she gave the attendant an impatient look as she waited for the man to finally pay attention to her.
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

They had continued onwards, stopping when they needed to, until they reached Omaha, Nebraska. Charlie stared in amazement at some of the buildings in Omaha. This was the biggest city that she’d ever been to in her entire life. It was nothing like Piedmont, Alabama, that was definite. She wanted to take it all in, and stop and admire the place, but Ariana, Shadowcat, kept trying to get them moving. Charlie understood that they were on the run, in a way, but they could stop and look at a few things, couldn’t they? Apparently they couldn’t, as Charlie found herself back on the motorcycle, weaving through traffic as they headed towards their destination in Omaha.

There was a bar that Ariana wanted to stop at, to talk to some people. Something to do with the police being after her. Charlie wasn’t sure if linking up with Ariana was a good thing. After all, she was trying to get away from people, but Ariana was definitely in the path of the cops. At the same time, Charlie had needed to get out of that place in Wichita. She wasn’t sure what the cops had been there for. Ariana had said that they were there for her, but even if they had been, they would have probably picked up Charlie too.

She was underage in that place, and as soon as they ran her records, a missing persons report might have popped up. The last thing she wanted to do was to be shipped back to Piedmont. How could she look all those people in the face, all those neighbors and friends and family members, when they knew what she was? A freak? A monster? It had been an accident; she hadn’t meant for what happened to have happened. It was such a mess and Charlie wasn’t sure how she was going to get out of this.

When they finally stopped, Charlie found herself looking at a bar that was named the Raging Cajun. Kind of a funny name for a bar, in Kansas, but Charlie wasn’t going to question things. She followed the leather clad Mitchell into the bar. Ariana looked quite at home in a place such as this, but she had seemed at home in the other bar as well. Charlie was pretty sure Ariana was only a year or so older than she was, which made her wonder why Ariana was so comfortable in places like this. The thought left her mind when they got to the bartender.

A big man who looked like he was in his later years, maybe his late fifties, looked down at Ariana and smiled. “Hey there little cat. How has everything been?” He asked.

“Little bit of this, little bit of that, killer.” Ariana replied, batting her brown eyes at him. “You heard anything interesting recently? I know you’re still tapped into the guild news, even though you’re retired.”

“I retired for a reason, Ariana, you know that.” He said, reaching for a beer stein to go with the rag in his other hand. He started cleaning it, looking at the mug. “What are you into now?” He asked.

“Nothing crazy. Just want to know if you’ve heard anything, that’s all.” She said.

“You’re still in the guild. Why don’t you know what’s going on?”

“You know Tal doesn’t tell me much anymore. He’s not that happy with his cousin.” Ariana said.

“I do have some news.” He said. “You’ll hang around for a little bit?” He asked, looking up from the mug. When Ariana nodded, he smiled. “I know, you won’t be able to stay for long. I think I know what kind of shit you’re messing with little cat.”

“Thanks Green, you’re the best.” Ariana said, and turned, starting to walk, while beckoning Charlie to follow. They went to the back, behind the bar and into one of the storerooms.

“What’s going on?” Charlie asked.

“I want to know how the police knew where to find me and why they’re chasing me. No one should have known what happened back in New Orleans and I want to know what I’m up against. You also still need to tell me what you can do.” Ariana said, pointedly looking at Charlie’s gloves.

“I….I…” Charlie said, stammering. “I don’t know.”

“Look kid, you wanted to come with me. You want me to keep you away from the cops, fine, because I want to stay away from the cops. That means I have to trust you, and unfortunately for you that means you gotta be a bit forthcoming like with information.” Ariana said, in her Louisiana accent. “Take them gloves off and talk to me, sweetie pie.”

Charlie took a deep breath, swallowing. She pulled off the gloves slowly, finger by finger dreading each action. “When I touch people, they hurt. Bad. I don’t know why, I don’t know how.” She said. “I can’t stop it from happening.” Charlie said.

“Hurt like how?” Ariana asked, taking a small step backwards.

“They start to turn white, like they done seen a ghost. Eyes roll in the back of their heads, they faint. I didn’t mean t-to hurt them, I promise.” Charlie said, tearing up.

“Alright, alright, calm down, Charlie.” Ariana said. She took a measured moment for herself, lips drawn together before she ultimately held out her hand. “Let’s see what you got.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

“You’ve gotta be crazy!” Charlie said, recoiling. She took a few steps back, her eyes wide, staring at Ariana’s hands as if Ariana was the one with the deadly mutation not her. “What’s wrong with you?” She asked.

“I’ve got to know what’s going on.” Ariana said, shrugging. “How else can I trust you?” She asked.

Charlie looked down at the ground, thinking. “I’m not sure.” She said. “What if I hurt you? What if I hurt you bad? I can’t control it, I don’t know what I’m doing.” She said.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Ariana said, shaking her head as she held it out there.

Charlie stared at the girl’s hand. “I don’t know about this.” She said, looking down at the gloves in her hands. The worry was present in her mind. She really didn’t know what was going to happen. Making it worse, was that she had never been to Omaha. Not knowing her way around this city was bad. She didn’t know if the police would be looking for her here in Omaha, but Charlie didn’t want to take any chances.

But, she also knew that Ariana needed to be abel to trust her. She was putting her trust in Charlie and there had to be a back and forth fif that was going to happen. Swallowing, Charlie reached out and touched Ariana’s palm with her index finger. There was a moment of nothing, where nothing happened other than the two teenaged girls looking at each other. Then it did. Charlie felt a weird rush going through her body, the same as the first time, the last time. She looked down at her other hand and her eyes went wide.

She was unable to see her hand. At least, not the skin portion, what was visible. Her arm was still there and she could move it. Just like…

Looking up, she involuntarily started to scream, pulling her finger away from Ariana’s hand to cover her mouth with it, to stifle the scream. Ariana had gone pale white, pasty white. Like the white picket fence so many people dreamed about having one day. She was staring straight ahead, past Charlie, and her veins were visible all over any exposed part of her body.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Charlie managed, tears springing to her eyes. “I told you, I warned you, I didn’t want to.” She said, stumbling over her words and feelings, as Ariana collapsed to one knee. “Why did you ask me to do it?” She asked.

Ariana coughed, a few times, before she dry heaved a few other times.

“That….was….intense.” She managed, as the color started to flood back into her cheeks. “You...I thought I was cool. But you, you're fucking magical, dude.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

“I’m not sure if that’s the best phrasing.” Charlie said with a sheepish smile. She wrang her hands, still worried about what had happened. She really hadn’t wanted to do what Ariana had wanted her to do. The image of what had happened the last time was still burned into her mind and she didn’t think it was going to go away anythime soon. “It’s freaky, that’s for sure.”

“Okay, you weren’t kidding when you said it’s pretty powerful.” Ariana said, taking a deep breath and blowing it out. “What’s weird is that you looked like you were able to do what I can do.” She said, turning her head to the side as she thought about it. “Maybe you can use someone’s mutation if you touch them? You’re absorbing stuff, I can tell that, trust me I can tell that.”

Charlie closed her eyes, her shoulders hunching up as she answered Ariana. “That’s the thing though. I don’t want to know what I can do, not right now.” Charlie replied. “I just…I just want to be safe.” She said, with a pregnant sigh. “Worry about all that stuff down the road.”

Ariana nodded, still breathing a little heavily. She looked around the storeroom, finding a stool. Walking over, she sat down because she needed to and looked up at Charlie. “Alright kid, I’m going to level with you, because you leveled with me. I’m on the run from the cops because I stole something. It’s…it’s kind of what I do.”

The girl stared at her new found friend, incredulous at the revelation. “You’re a thief?” Charlie asked, crossing her arms. Just what had she gotten herself into? “Why didn’t you tell me before all of this?”

“You’re the one who didn’t ask the questions and said I owed you a beer, girlie.”

“Fine.” Charlie said, throwing a hand in the air. Nothing she could do about that anymore. She had gone with Ariana willingly after all. But she was going to get more information because this was starting to be more risk than reward. She just wanted to get away from the cops and Ariana had seemed kind of good at it. Kind of. “Well, what did you steal?”

Shadowcat grinned, the grin of a woman who was quite pleased with herself. If the revelation that she was a thief had thrown Charlie for a loop, she couldn’t wait to see her reaction to the little bombshell she was going to drop on her. “Nothing too major, honest. Some nice government data, that’s all.”

“Great….you stole from the government?”

“Kind of but not really? It’s complicated. Long story short, I have this. The problem is that the in the process, someone….someone got shot and they didn’t make it. So now the police are looking for me.”

Pushing the thought of Ariana being involved in murder to the side for the moment, there was something that Charlie had heard earlier that she wanted an explanation for. “What’s the ‘guild’? I heard the bartnder mention it when you were talking to him.” Charlie said. “Is it like some kind of gang?”

Before Ariana had a chance to respond, there was a knock at the door.

“Shadow, it’s Green. I think I got something.” He said.

“Hold that thought.” Ariana said, walking up to the door to open it.
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

“Please tell me you’ve got something good, Green.” Ariana said, as she stepped outside of the storeroom and shut the door behind her, leaving Charlie in there. For this part of the conversation, she figured it wouldn’t make sense to have Charlie there. The girl was already asking questions about the Guild, and she wasn’t sure how much she felt comfortable telling her at this moment. Ariana felt a little responsible for Charlie and she didn’t want the girl to get spooked and run off.

No mutant who was on the run wanted to get picked up by the cops. People still had bad tendencies when it came to mutants, even if it had been decades since the first one had popped up. It was far too easy to get racist and prejudicial. The last thing that Ariana wanted to do was to make Charlie have to strike out on her own. Charlie looked like she was smart, but there was a difference between the streets of Piedmont, Alabama, and…well...anywhere else probably.

Green nodded, holding up a finger. “I’ve got something, but you need to tell me why there’s a good chance information about you is going Federal. As in the Bureau.” He said, and she sighed. “What did you do, kid? Your own cousin doesn’t want to protect you?” He asked.

“Tal is upset because I was supposed to give him the loot from the job.” Ariana replied. “But…But I saw what the data was, Green.” She said, concern coming into her eyes for the first time. “It was not good stuff. I don’t know who we were working for, what we were doing with that data after I gave it to Tal.”

The older, bulkier man shook his head. “That’s what I don’t get about you, kid.” He said. “You weren’t too thrilled when I wanted to retire and leave because I didn’t like doing things for some people, but you’re perfectly okay with making that decision on your own.”

Ariana knew he was right. But back then, she had been willing to show a lot more loyalty to Tal and to everyone else. It was back when she had had a vote, a say in how things were being done. But her cousin had been forced to, over time, concentrate more and more control into fewer people. They weren’t the right people around him, and she wasn’t sure how to get through to him anymore. Maybe that was why she had stolen the data, to try to get him to wake up, to get rid of the people around him that didn’t have the Guild’s best interests in mind.

“I know, and I apologize. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come to you. I knew you’d understand.” She said.

“Oh, I understand.” He replied. “But if you’re going to be bringing Bureau heat around you, that’s not something that I can have around me, you know what I mean?” Green asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger girl. “You haven’t told me what you took. I heard there were people looking for you, but I thought it was just local PD, maybe Louisiana State at best. But I get on the horn and ask around and now I find Bureau people might be involved? What gives?”

“It’s government data. A lot of it is raw, unprocessed, but there are a few things on there that shouldn’t be falling into the wrong hands.” Ariana replied.

She leaned back against a wall and crossed her ankles, staring at the other wall. She was in a bind, definitely. There had to be a way out of this. Giving the information back wasn’t an option. Giving it to Tal wasn’t an option either. She wasn’t sure if her cousin was ever going to forgive her for this.

“When do you want me to head out?” She asked, looking at Green. “I can’t ask you to give me a lot, but what I can ask of you, I will.”

He thought about it. “Tomorrow morning.”

“Deal.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

Ariana stepped out of the bathroom, fog from the shower escaping after her.  She had a towel in her hands and she was pulling through strands of hair, trying to dry it all a little bit faster.  They were in the space above the bar.  Green stayed there and he’d given them the bedroom.  It wasn’t the nicest of places, but Ariana wasn’t expecting some fancy hotel or anything like that.  This was an apartment above a dive bar after all.  The lights weren’t bright, but they were warm, and the carpet had seen better days.  Still, it was a roof over her head and that was all Ariana could really ask Green for.  It was only for a night.  

Charlie was sitting on the bed crosslegged.  Ariana walked forward, noticing that Charlie was looking at a small collection of differently shaped photos.  Some looked like they were Polaroids, others looked like they were from a mall photobooth.  Ariana watched as Charlie brushed gloved fingers over one of the faces in the photographs.

“Who are they?”  Ariana asked.

“Oh.”  Charlie looked up, startled a little bit.  “They’re…they’re my family and my friends back home.”  She said, holding up one of the photos.  It was Charlie and another girl and they were holding up a pair of golden retriever puppies.  “Just memories now, I guess.”  She said.  “The girl in the photo called me a witch after my mutation developed.”

Ariana’s eyes lit up at that.  She wasn’t a big fan of mutant haters, for obvious reasons.  “Then why keep the photo?”  Ariana asked, frowning.  “They ditched you, you ditch them, that’s the way things work, girlie.”

Charlie laughed.  “I guess I could, but they’re still the only friends and family I’ve got.”  She shrugged.  “Not all of them turned me away.  I didn’t want to be a burden on the ones that accepted me though.  Besides, they couldn’t keep the cops away from me.”  She said.  Charlie put the photographs back into her backpack.  “So we’re here for tonight and then tomorrow, where are we headed?”  She asked.

“Not sure yet.”  Ariana said, dropping onto the couch near the bed.  “I need to figure out how to get rid of this data without getting into a big lick of trouble.”  She said as she swung her legs out so that she was stretched out over the couch.  She was giving Charlie the bed, seemed like the right decision to her.  There were plenty of nights that Ariana had been sleeping on things less comfortable than couches, so she was used to that kind of lifestyle. 

“Do you know what it is that you stole?”  Charlie asked.  “I mean, I’d hope you did.”

“It’s plans and documentation for something.”  Ariana said.  “I only got a good glimpse of it during the job, and I don’t want to open it up.  I’m not that great with computers, but I know enough to be on the safe side.  If anyone put some kind of tracking program in it, we’d have the FBI on our ass ten minutes after we tried to open the data, probably.”  She said, shifting to get more comfortable.

Something was sticking into her back and she reached underneath her, pulling out an old tennis ball.  Ariana started tossing it against a wall, catching it.  “I’m not sure where we should go next.  To be honest, I didn’t fully think this through.”

Charlie smiled as she laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.  “Can’t fault you there.  I didn’t really think things through when I ran from Piedmont."

“Let’s sleep on it. We’ll figure this out in the morning.”
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

The morning came quickly, though sleep hadn’t come as quickly for Charlie. She still wasn’t used to sleeping somewhere other than her bed, though she had been away from home for some time now. As the rays of sunlight hit her through the small window in the room, Charlie’s eyes didn’t need to open. She had been awake for some time already. While she was glad that Ariana had opted to give her the bed, Charlie wasn’t quite sure if the couch would have been any less comfortable. Her eyes moved over to the couch, and she saw that Ariana wasn’t there. Her eyes widened a little bit, not really sure when the other girl had gotten up and had started to move around. How had she missed that?

Then she remembered that Ariana could phase through things. Probably made moving quietly a lot easier. Pretty useful in the life of a thief. Charlie sat up, the covers sliding down to her waist. Running a hand through her hair, she closed her eyes for a moment, thinking to herself about how at least on the bright side, she had gotten to see Omaha. That was something she’d never expected to do, coming out of Piedmont.

Her eyes opened, at the sound of the door opening. She looked up to see Green walking into the room.

“Where’s Shadow?” He asked, looking around.

Charlie shrugged.

The door to one of the other rooms opened up and Ariana walked out, fully dressed as she had been the day before. “What’s going on?” She asked.

“Your problems are a lot bigger than I thought. I wouldn’t want to be you right now.” Green said.

“Bigger than the FBI?” Charlie asked, her eyes widening as they shifted between the two people. Even if it hadn’t been the morning, and she had just woken up, Charlie was fairly certain that this was not something she would have been able to easily process, at least not at the speed Ariana seemed to be picking up on it. Just what the hell was going on, and what was it that Ariana had stolen.

Green nodded and looked at Ariana. “I woke up today to a message from the Guild, asking around about you.”

“The guild?” Charlie asked, but Ariana waved her off.

“They’re asking about you now.” Green said. “I told them I hadn’t heard anything or seen you. They told me to keep an eye out for you. They’ve put bounties on you. Twenty thousand to whoever brings you in. You must have really pissed off Tal more than you think.”

The older girl shook her head, dropping into a chair. “This is not what I expected to happen. Something or someone has to be putting pressure on Tal to do this. It isn’t like him. He might be pissed at me, but he’s not going to put twenty thousand on my head.”

Green shrugged. “Whatever the situation, you’re going to have to think about it elsewhere. I can’t have you stay here anymore. I’m sorry, Shadow.”

“No, I understand, and I appreciate the help, Green. I really do.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

“What are we going to do about this?” Charlie asked after Green stepped out of the room. She had turned towards the Shadow and was looking at her, expectantly. “What’s this guild that Green was talking about?” She asked.

Ariana dropped onto the bed, reaching into her jacket pockets to pull out the rings she wore. Sliding them onto her fingers in their proper order, she thought about her words, not sure of what she would tell Charlie. Not sure of what she should tell Charlie, really. At the same time, if Charlie was going to travel with her, she ought to know what she was getting herself into. That way she could decide whether or not she wanted in or not. It wasn’t fair to put her problems on Charlie without the other one knowing what the situation really was. That wasn’t fair at all. Besides, Ariana was on the run, but it was still early. No one knew that Charlie was with her. Green wouldn’t tell on her and she knew that . It meant that Charlie had a shot if she wanted out.

She could go somewhere, start over. Something it didn’t look like Ariana was going to be able to do herself. “So you know I stole a bit of government data.” She said.

“Which apparently they want back.” Charlie replied, sarcasm injected into her Southern drawl. “Not only them, but this guild as well.” She pulled a chair over to where Ariana was sitting, on the bed, and sat down across from her. She wasn’t sure what to say. Charlie had never been in a position like this before. “What’s the story with this guild? What is this guild?” She asked again.

“It’s the guild I am…was, I guess now, a part of. We’re called the Thieves Guild.” Ariana said. “It’s kind of a corny name, I know, but I didn’t come up with it. The Thieves Guild is based out of New Orleans, and we’re some of the best thieves in the country, probably on the planet.”

Charlie smiled. Well that sounded interesting. It sounded pretty cool, actually. “Like Danny Ocean?” She asked and Ariana smirked, nodding. “That’s pretty cool. The government thing, that was part of a...part of a job or something?” She asked and Ariana nodded again. The younger girl sighed. “So now your guild is after you too, and your cousin Tal. I don’t know what you should do. I don’t think stealing from the government is right.”

“You would if you saw what was on the disk.” Ariana replied, shaking her head. She’d seen what was on the disk and she kind of wish she hadn’t. “But that’s not the point. I have to figure out where to go now. Tal would probably try to give the information back to the buyer. It’s not exactly his character to let a job fall through. And he has eyes and ears everywhere. We’re well connected, the Thieves Guild. The FBI is well connected too. I have to be careful.” She said. Rising from the bed, she walked around the room a little bit.

Things were happening fast, and she needed to think. She had to make things slow down a bit, so she could catch up. That was all she needed, a chance to catch up.

“I have friends in Evansville. Kentucky.” She added, when Charlie just gave her a look. “We could lay low there for a while.

“Okay. Kentucky then. I always wanted to see the horses.” Charlie said and Ariana laughed. “What?” She asked.

“I need to ask before we go, outside of the fact that I think it’s about nine hours from here, so you’ll be stuck on the back of the motorcycle again, are you sure you want to go with me?” She asked. She looked around the room. “Green’s a great guy. He could probably help you get set up here. Omaha’s not a bad place. You could start that life you were looking for and you wouldn’t have to worry about me. You’re not in deep yet, you don’t have these people chasing after you. But the longer you stay around me, the easier it is for you to get caught up in all this.”

Charlie had to make her choice. The other girl thought about it. “I want to stick with you.” She said. “Something tells me you’re going to need help and maybe it’s the help that I can give. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but doing nothing isn’t something I can. You never know what could happen right?” She asked and Shadowcat laughed.

“If you say so, girlie. If you say so.”
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
User avatar
Mir
KING OF STRONG STYLE
Posts: 18700
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 5:43 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by Mir »

The door slammed as the government agent stepped out of the vehicle. The man was flanked by a number of other men, all dressed in suits. Many of them openly carried semi-automatic rifles. The demeanor of those in the parking garage was tense. There was the thought that something, anything could have set people off. The man in charge stepped forward, looking over at the motley collection of people in front of him. He smiled, but it was the easy smile of a man who had reason to pretend and fake it. The group of people across from him had also arrived in vehicles, but there was a mix of different cars and motorcycles. There was one man, who he knew to be the leader of the group, and that man was leaning against a motorcycle, looking out over the wall of the parking garage and into the night sky. The stars were out. It was a beautiful evening. But none of that mattered now. What mattered was solving the problem at hand and getting things back on schedule. Everything else was immaterial.

"Tal, this isn't what I wanted." The government man started walking forward his arms open. His guards flanked him as he moved. He stopped near the middle of the area between the two groups of vehicles, fishing out a cigarette and lighting it. “This isn’t what I expected to have happen with this little transaction.”

"It isn't what I wanted either." The man leaning against the motorcycle replied, lifting up off of it and taking a few steps forward towards the government man. His accent was thick and smoky, smooth bourbon poured over the coldest ice. The wind shifted through his medium length brown hair.

"When I hired you to steal that data,” The man said, wagging a finger at the other man, "you promised me there wouldn't be any problems. That's what you said, right? You said it."

Tal closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in through his nose. He knew what was coming. Better to let the man blow off the steam and then they could figure out what was going to happen about the mess they were in. Otherwise this whole thing could get messy and that was not what Tal wanted to see happen."You're right, Brickell, that's what I said." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a silver, metallic lighter and a pack of cigarettes of his own.

"You asked for a pretty hefty amount of money. But I agreed to pay it. Because you said I had nothing to worry about, and that’s the price I’d have to pay to not worry about anything." Brickell added.

Tal nodded, blowing out smoke from the lit cigarette. He was playing with the lighter, flicking it open and closing it. His hands were gloved but fingerless, and he held the cigarette in one hand, passing the remaining fingers lightly over the flame when he had it open. This didn’t seem to amuse Brickell.

"Then please tell me why, why am I still waiting for the data I was supposed to have three days ago?" Brickell asked, holding his hands together as if he was in prayer. He moved the hands back and forth between himself and Tal. "You're not helping me, Tal, and you told me I had nothing to worry about." He said. "I need that information and I need it now. This is time sensitive."

"I understand that." Tal replied, putting the lighter away and then reaching his now free hand up to rub his temple. "But there were complications."

Brickell laughed. "Look, you Red neck Cajun hick, I have a schedule to make. Are you going to be able to get the data back or not?" He asked.

If Tal was put off by the insult, he didn't show it. There might have been a flicker of red that shot into his eyes, but if there was it was fast, like a magician doing a sleight of hand trick with a deck of cards. There was a visible reaction in some of the people he had brought with him though. People didn’t talk to Tal like that. “I put a bounty out on the girl who stole the data.” He said. “I…I can’t outright have her killed, but I will bring her in.”

“You can’t have her killed?” Brickell asked, cocking his head to the side. “Of course you can. Whoever she is, she stole money from you and time from me. You can damn well have her killed, I don’t care if she’s family.”

“I do. We’re thieves, not killers.”

Brickell put his hands up in surrender, laughing. “Alright, alright. I don’t want you to get all crazy on me. You do what you think is best.” He said, but then the laughter left his eyes, replaced by deadly seriousness. He signaled to his men and started walking back to his van. “But I want those files, Tal.” He said over his shoulder. “I want them. If you can’t get them back for me, I’ll find someone who will. Someone who doesn’t have the same compunction about hurting people.”

The door shut and the engines started. Tal watched as they left. Tossing the cigarette to the ground, he stepped on it, booted toe crushing it into the concrete.

He looked at one of the people he had brought with him.

“Find her.”
Posts: 294
Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2010 4:19 pm

Re: On the Run

Post by RCCrow »

Ariana and Charlie stepped out of the bar, and headed to the back. They had stashed the motorcycle in the back of the bar for safekeeping. Once their packs were secured and they were ready to go, Ariana stepped inside to say goodbye for Green. Charlie stood near the bike, looking up at the sky. She still wasn’t sure if this really was what she wanted to do, despite everything she had said to Ariana earlier. The truth was she was a bit scared. Doing something felt better than doing nothing, just as she’d said to Ariana. At the same time, it was definitely likely that whatever it was she was doing could put her in more danger than she already was.

The sky was shifting. The winds were moving quickly. The alley way of the bar was connected to the street, and she could see cars passing by. There were also a few people passing by on foot. Everyone was going about their business and no one was paying her any attention. It was nice to not be the focus of attention after everything that had happened back home. She watched a couple walk into view and then out of view. Charlie could only imagine what all these people were doing. Going about their daily lives, no doubt.

She stopped to think about what her parents were probably doing. What would they be doing? Where they worried about her? Were they even thinking about her?

Charlie shook her head. No, they weren’t thinking about her. If they were, she doubted they were worried about her. They had made that rather clear when her mutation as first shown itself. She had known her parents’ view point on mutations before her mutation had shown itself. So she didn’t have to think that hard about what it was that her parents would have said. There was a reason why she had left Piedmont, Alabama.

The teenager turned when she heard the door behind her open. She gave Ariana a smile. “Are we ready to go?” She asked.

“You bet.” Her new friend replied, walking over to the motorcycle. She straddled the bike and offered up one of the helmets to Charlie. “I got everything squared away with Green. He’ll keep quiet for us.” She said and then looked down at the helmet and back up at Charlie. “Ready to get out of here?” Ariana asked.

“Let’s hit the road.” Charlie said, walking over and taking the helmet.

She got onto the bike and put the helmet on as Ariana started the bike up and put her own helmet on.

They started their drive. The two of them were Evanston, Kentucky bound.

But they started the drive not knowing that they were being watched and were soon going to be being followed.
You know it's a bad day when you jump out of bed and miss the floor.
"I declare War!!"~Peay
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests