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Triumvirate Book 1 By Paradox Wolf Springs, Wyoming, McKinnon Residence Waking up to the sights, sounds, and smells of pure nature surrounding you is one of the greatest ways to greet the day. For the majority of my sixteen years in this world I'd lived in a major metropolitan area and it had been the sounds of car horns, emergency sirens, smog, and for at least part of it, gunfire and screams. It was a fact of life I'd mostly accepted as normal and in truth it had become more background noise than anything. Except the last two. Those things and more still haunted my sleep and had me waking up in the middle of the night bathed in a cold sweat with a scream on my lips. Even now, after having been away from all of it for over a month, I still couldn't escape the nightmare that had been the last two years of my life. It was getting better, the dreams weren't coming nightly anymore, but I still hadn't been able to escape them completely. I often wondered if I ever would, or was I destined to have this dark part of my life constantly following me and plaguing my mind until the day I died? It was worries such as those that often kept me tossing in my bed at night, too afraid to fall asleep because of what I knew would come. But not last night. For the first time in days I'd had a nice, dreamless sleep that left me feeling refreshed, upbeat, and ready to start the day. It certainly helped to open my eyes and see the sun beaming brightly in the sky, lighting up my room and casting its warmth across my bed. While I knew it wasn't actually true, it almost seemed as if the birds were singing to me, coaxing me to wake up and join them in this wonderful experience called life. Yes, it was a pretty little fantasy, but I'd take that any day over the horrors I also knew existed and I wanted to share in my good mood. Throwing back my covers I cast a quick look at my bedside clock and sprang from the bed, not even bothering with a robe as I rushed from the room. If I was right and the last month had been any indication, I still had about ten minutes to put together my spur of the moment surprise. Tiptoeing carefully down the stairs and being careful to avoid that fifth step that tended to creak a little when you put weight on it, I scampered into the kitchen and quickly went about getting the pans and bowls I needed. I tried to be quiet about it, but a little noise is unavoidable when you're trying to quickly arrange metal cooking implements and gather ingredients. Once I had everything arranged for easy access I fired up the burners on the stove and laid out multiple strips of bacon in one pan before going about dicing half of a green pepper. Once it was cut to the consistency I approved of I cracked several eggs into a large glass bowl, added the pepper, threw in a dash of salt and pepper, and thoroughly combined the entire mixture with vigorous turns of a whisk. Once it was at a consistency I approved of I carefully poured out one portion onto the now hot and lightly greased pan and allowed it to cook. Between it and taking care of the bacon I found myself constantly moving back and forth between the pans checking the rate at which they were cooking as well as setting a kettle on one of the spare burners to start heating up. I had just finished with the bacon was carefully sliding the now carefully formed and cooked omelet onto a plate when the kettle started to whistle. Knowing I was now out of time as that whistling surely made too much noise, I set it aside while pouring the last of the mixture in the bowl into the pan and working to form a second omelet that I finished in what I considered record time. With everything plated up and ready, I grabbed the two plates containing an omelet a piece as well as a good portion of bacon and turned to bring them to the table... And nearly sent them flying into the ceiling when I squealed in surprise at the beautiful, smiling face that greeted me on the other side of the island counter. "Mom!" I cried, "You scared the hell out of me!" "Whatcha doing?" she replied in a deceptively casual voice. Giving a pouty little huff of indignation, I lifted my nose haughtily and walked to the small table on the far side of the kitchen with all the dignity of royalty. "I was making you breakfast if you must know," I replied airily as I set the plates down and returned to the stove to retrieve the tea kettle and a small ceramic square coaster to rest it on. "What do you think woke me up," she informed me with a wide smile while gathering up a few mugs and teabags and joining me at the table. "It smells delicious." Unable to sustain the clearly fake display of being upset I broke out in a wide smile before racing to get the flatware from one of the drawers. "I wanted to surprise you." "And you did," Mom admitted as she sat down at one of the place settings and smoothed out her robe, "What's the occasion?" "I had a good night's sleep," I explained, handing her a knife and fork before taking my own seat and starting on fixing myself a cup of tea. It was a testament of how well Mom had gotten to know me this last month that she didn't need to ask for clarification why a good night's rest would be reason enough to prepare a nice breakfast. There had been many a night when she had spent hours just holding and rocking me while whispering love and support while I sobbed my eyes out from one nightmare or another. To be able to sleep one night without them was more than enough reason for a small, celebratory breakfast. As we dug in, and I received what should have been obligatory compliments on my culinary skill but were in actuality genuine ones, we chatted just like we always did over breakfast. Today's, however, was slightly different as any talk of school work was absent since I'd finished my last day of distance education for the year a few days ago and was now officially on summer break. Yay. "I have a few things to do in town today if you'd like to come with," Mom offered as she sipped from her mug of tea, "I know you've been feeling a little bored lately." I shrugged a bit and took a bite of the crispy, but not too crispy, bacon. "I'm okay," I assured her, "I like my walks in the forest. It's so wonderful seeing nature so raw and untouched by human influence." She smiled and nodded her agreement, but, "It's still nice to get out and be social every so often." "I suppose," I mumbled a little, keeping my eyes down on my plate so she couldn't see the emotion that was starting to build within them because of this particular topic. "I don't mind being by myself." When I felt a slight pressure beneath my chin I lifted my eyes to peer into a pair of concerned blue eyes. "Ashley," she said quietly, "I understand your hesitation and your fear, I really do, but I also know how much you want to be out amongst people with thinking the worst of them." "It's hard," I confessed, lifting a hand to clasp my mother's tightly, "I still think about it all the time, all of it. The time I was with Harold and Jackie, the way Chief Jacobs and Doctor Taylor tricked me, I can't stop remembering it every time I even think about meeting new people and wondering if they'll do the same thing." "But you've come into town lots of times," Mom pointed out. "Only because I was with you the whole time," I countered, "If I was there by myself I think I'd either be paralyzed or run away screaming." She sighed and nodded. This was actually something of an old conversation between the two of us that had happened several times over the last month. After Rowen had taken me in as her own daughter, both legally and emotionally, she had tried to get me to get out and be around people more. I'm sure she felt it would be a good, positive experience for me to be surrounded by decent, kind people, particularly those of my own age. I'd thought so as well at the time, unfortunately things hadn't gone so well. The first time we'd gone to town I'd been so overcome by a sudden, unexpected panic attack that we'd had to immediately turn around and head back home. It went a little better the next several times, but I still hadn't been able to shake the feeling of impending doom that seemed to grip me in its icy fist. I'd ended up practically clinging to her almost the entire time and had been so tense and nervous it was lucky I hadn't snapped and I hadn't been able to relax until we'd gotten back home. Having a desire to go into medicine I'd taken it upon myself to see just what was going on. Why would I want to get out and be with people and yet suffer debilitating panic attacks when that exact thing happened? So far I hadn't reached a concrete self-diagnosis yet, but I had narrowed it down to either agoraphobia, an extreme and irrational fear of enclosed or public spaces, post traumatic stress disorder, or a combination of the both. I was more inclined to believe it was PTSD but I certainly couldn't rule out the agoraphobia. Mom had suggested I talk with a therapist about it but I was still far too leery about anyone in the medical field after what had happened with Doctor Taylor. After all, he had initially been so kind to me, acting like all he wanted to do was help, and in the end I had been nothing more than a scientific oddity that he wanted to experiment on and dissect so he could learn how I worked and gain fame and fortune. And yes, I do appreciate the sad irony of wanting to go into the field of medicine and be terrified of those within the profession. "Maybe it will be different this time," Mom offered, giving me a hopeful smile, "You did a lot better last time." "Oh yeah," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes, "I was able to go a whole five minutes alone while you were in the bathroom at The Den." Instead of rising to my little jab right away, Mom instead gave my hand a little tug and guided me around the table until she had drawn me into her lap where she could wrap her arms around me. I know at sixteen I was far too old to be cuddling in my mother's lap, even if I'd only been legally deemed as her ward her less than a month ago, but there was no denying how wonderfully safe and content I felt snuggling with her. When I felt her lips press against the top of my head I smiled and very nearly purred. "Each time you go out," she told me quietly, "You get a little better. I'm not asking you to jump into the deep end, but I think you need to keep trying because you make more and more progress every time you do." "I know," I whispered, "I just get so scared I'm constantly asking why I keep doing this to myself. What if I'll never able to go out in public by myself again?" I asked, looking up at her in fear, "What if my fears keep me trapped in here forever?" I didn't think it would, but her smile of reassurance made me feel a bit better. "You will," she told me confidently, "Otherwise you wouldn't be here. You didn't think I was chosen at random when Ashe and Gear brought you here, do you?" she asked when I gave her a confused look. "Well, yeah, I did," I confessed. She laughed softly and gently stroked my hair while we rocked slightly. "Oh not at all sweetheart. As usual, Ashe knew exactly what you needed even though you didn't. He brought you to me not only because he knew I'd be more than willing to accept you into my life, but because of where I live. You needed this place to be able to find some peace and put your life back together without all of the pressures of a big city and everything that comes with it." "I thought it was because you'd be able to help me with my powers," I said with a confused frown. "Partially," she allowed, "But my ability to heal is different since mine comes from magic, while yours is strictly mutagenic. Plus, your ability far supersedes mine. I promised I'd try to help in any way I can, and we have had a little progress, but you'll need someone far more knowledgeable about mutant abilities than I have to truly understand how to use your gift." "At least I'm not passing out every time I use it anymore," I smiled wanly. That was true enough, but only on a rather small scale. Since coming here, Mom had worked with me to try and develop my mutant ability to heal others. My upper limits still weren't known, but in the past I'd brought humans back nearly from the brink of death and healed a cow that was so riddled with disease it was a walking biohazard. The downside was that whenever I used my power to heal it caused me to pass out, which was detrimental on a variety of levels. Under Mom's guidance, I'd been able to train myself to be able to heal very small injuries, such as minor cuts and bruises and even a minor bone break as long as it was small with only a bit of weakness occurring instead of full unconsciousness. It wasn't much, but it was more progress than I'd had a month ago. There was also another aspect to my ability that was equally powerful, but I was so terrified of it I refused to even acknowledge its existence. I'd used it once and I swore I never would again as long as I lived. "And just like your increasing skill with your power," Mom went on, "Your fears will slowly get mastered as well. It will take strength to do it, but I know you have that kind of strength in you and more. The fact that you're here with me instead of in a mental institution proves that." "Don't joke about that," I muttered, "I've sometimes wondered if that wouldn't be a better place for me." Instantly I felt fingers grip my jaw and my face forcibly turned upward so I was staring into the loving yet stern countenance of my mother. "Ashley Marie Logan," she said quietly and I knew she was serious because she used the middle name I'd chosen for my official name change, "I don't ever want to hear such a thing come from your mouth ever again. You are not crazy," she asserted, "And I will not have you even think such a thing ever again. You have been through something most people would never be able to handle, and yet here you sit, a caring, coherent young woman who just has a few anxiety issues to work through. That's quite an accomplishment that I won't see you tarnish." "Yes Mom," I mumbled, suitably chastised. "Now," she said, her voice taking on an unmistakable tone of authority, "You and I are heading to town and I won't hear any arguments about it young lady, so just go get yourself cleaned up, pick out something nice, and be ready to go in an hour." "All right, all right," I said in defeat, "I'm going." Sliding off her lap I hurried back upstairs towards my bedroom and its adjoining bath. Just before I closed the door I heard her call up, "And no sneaking out the balcony to go run around in the forest!" With a roll of my eyes I sighed, mostly because that was pretty much exactly what I'd planned to do. "All right Mom," I called back in a put upon whine before stripping off my nightie and heading for the shower. It looked like I had no choice but to once again face my fears head on. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Town Border Regardless of the fact that the sign they passed at the border of town proclaimed this to be Wolf Springs, Aiden was convinced that it had been grossly misnamed. It should have been called Heaven on Earth, because to her that's exactly what it was. Forest, forest, and more forest as far as the eye could see. Even from within the confines of the car she could smell the heady aroma that was so intimately that of nature. No human would be able to detect the multitude of intricate aromas that constituted the pure, untamed wilds, but then again Aiden wasn't exactly human. "How far is the house?" she asked excitedly, drawing a curious look from her mother in the front seat. "Well someone sure perked up," she noted with a slight raise of an eyebrow. Aiden pouted and folded her arms beneath her breasts with a huff. "We've been cooped up in this truck for days. I want to get out and run." "Well as you can see," her father said from behind the wheel, "You'll have plenty of opportunities to once we get there. It's not far off." Being that this was a whole new start for their family, it should have been said with a smile in his voice, but there was a distinct lack of that, as there had been for the last several days. It was perfectly understandable, given all that had happened, and the underlying tone of sadness in her father's voice was more than enough to quell her excitement. Turning to look out the window she lowered it slightly so the crisp, fresh could wash into the interior of the SUV and fill her nostrils. "Aiden," her mother warned with a bit of playfulness in her voice, "No sticking your head out the window this time." The young girl's cheeks instantly turned bright red and she hunched her shoulders a bit. "You're never going to let me forget about that, are you?" "Not until you're at least thirty," her Dad replied and turned his head slightly to cast a small smile back to her. Glad to see that curve to his mouth as it had been somewhat rare these days, she returned it brightly before lifting her nose towards the open window to sniff in an exaggerated fashion. The action was enough to have everyone in the vehicle chuckling with good nature. "I called the construction company this morning, they should be starting at the house tomorrow," he went on, changing topics to one much more comfortable for all of them, "They said based on the measurements they took it'll be about a day to clear-cut the space they need and then about a week to get everything built." "What about the equipment?" Aiden asked, leaning forward in obvious interest. "You said some of the power hammers were on backorder." "I called my alternate supplier," he said, "They had the ones we need in stock and set them aside for me at a local distributor. Once the building construction is done and all of the power and gas lines I just have to call and they can deliver and install them in a day, including yours," he finished, giving her a knowing smile in the rear-view mirror. "A whole week?" she moaned, slumping back in the seat, "What am I going to do in the meantime?" "Here's an idea," her mother said brightly, as though it was the greatest idea in the world, "You can actually go out and get to know the people in town." The young girl sent a half-hearted glare at her before tossing back her long, raven's wing black hair. "You mean associate with people," she scoffed, "Surely you jest." "Aiden," her father warned in a serious tone, "You can't keep cutting yourself off from everyone around you. It didn't work so well before and it won't now either, especially with this being an even more tight-knit community than where we used to live." "Yeah well," she grumbled sourly, "Getting all social didn't seem to do much either." At this the woman in the passenger seat turned and locked her penetrating green eyes with the girl's bright amber and gold ones. "Aiden, that's not the truth and you know it," she said gently yet firmly. "You were really starting to come out of your shell before..." Aiden waited for a moment when her voice trailed off to see if more was going to be said before responding. "Yeah, before," she bit off, "So you see how well that worked out." Maddy Connors shook her head. "That had nothing to do with it and you know it," she accused. "I know what happened hurt, it hurt all of us in different ways, but you can't let the actions of one man govern your entire outlook on life. You can't just retreat inside of yourself like you used to do. Henry wouldn't want you to do that." Aiden's eyes flashed dangerously and her lips curled back ever so slightly in a silent snarl. It was on the tip of her tongue to snap at her mother and tell her she had no right to speak about him that way when she saw the pained look in her eyes. Taking a breath, Aiden closed her eyes and reached within to that special part of her that made so much more sense now and used it to calm her anger. "I know Mom," she said softly, "But it still really hurts." "It probably will for a while," came her father's gentle voice, "But that pain will ease off sooner than you think. No," he assured the girl, "You won't ever forget him, and you shouldn't, but there'll be a day soon that you can remember him and the good times you shared and not cry." A quick, sharp ache stabbed at Aiden's heart when he said that and it took quite a bit of willpower not to unfasten her seatbelt and lean over the back of his seat to hug her father. He'd suffered just as greatly as she had, more actually. While her loss had been someone she'd only just begun to care for, his had been someone he'd loved and trusted completely his whole life. He was doing a good job of hiding it, but Aiden knew his pain ran far deeper than hers ever could. Besides, grabbing and hugging him right now would likely cause a pretty serious accident and she didn't make nearly enough in allowance to pay for a new car. "So what's this town like?" she asked, trying to shift topics once again to something more upbeat and lift the dark cloud that had settled over them. "You've actually been here before," her Dad replied, "but you were a baby at the time so you don't remember. It's a nice little town of about a hundred people. Quiet, easygoing, but the people here are smart enough to have the one mile of their downtown area new and modern." "Most of the people here are quite well off," her mom said, picking up the conversation, "It's largely artisans specializing in furniture or woodwork whose pieces are very much in demand with a few business people that are able to operate remotely from their homes here." "I'm guessing they've got a pretty solid internet service running through here," Aiden stated. "Mostly satellite-based," her Dad confirmed, "And because the town is so far removed from major cities, the local businesses do really well since the entire town is their customer base. It's a very symbiotic relationship. And yes," he said before the question could be asked, "They do have a school. There's quite a few families that live here so you'll have plenty of kids your own age to talk to." "Joy," Aiden said sarcastically, earning a reproving look from her mother. "What about mutants?" she asked with concern. "Last I heard there was only one, other than your grandfather. A woman in her thirties, and she's very well liked so the town has a pretty positive outlook on them." "But you'll still want to be careful," her Mom warned, "There are some people that might get a little nervous if you tell people about your mutation right off the bat." "I hadn't planned to," Aiden said, and that was the truth. She knew from personal experience how people's attitudes towards mutants could change in an instant depending on what the person's specific mutation was. It was the primary reason they'd been forced to leave Salem instead of rebuilding, but the truth was she didn't want to stay there anyway. There were just too many painful memories that she'd be reminded of on a daily basis if they'd remained and in a way she was glad the choice had been taken away from her. As the lust woodland surrounding them gave way the central portion of town, Aiden was able to appreciate how respect had been given to the land that surrounded them while still being able to provide a modern environment for people not accustomed to living like mountain men. The area, probably around one square mile, had been cut away and paved, but not in a way that had completely eradicated this section of forest. Despite looking like admittedly like a 'forest oasis', there were still plenty of large, thick trees throughout the town that only served to heighten the fact that it resided in the middle of a great wilderness. It was almost as if the town and the forest were interwoven within one another and this served to really give it a very organic feel. Pulling up to a building whose clean and brightly printed sign proclaimed itself as 'Marlene's Grocery', Aiden's father parked the truck and turned in his seat a little. "We should probably get a load of groceries for at least a couple of days. Chances are whatever...Guy had," he said and Aiden could see him nearly choke on his father's name, "Is probably expired by now." "If he's even got electricity," Aiden said sarcastically, earning a quick, chastising glance from her mother. "Oh there's power," her Dad assured her, "We lined the roof with solar panels about ten years ago when that gadgeteer figured out how to quadruple the effectiveness of the existing technology. We have more than enough power for the three of us and we're completely off the electrical grid." "That's how all of the houses and businesses here get power," her mother explained as they exited the vehicle, "Because they're...we're so off the beaten path it made more financial and ecological sense for the town to use natural and renewable resources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric than to try and run power lines all the way out here." Aiden nodded in consideration, her opinion about this place already starting to brighten a bit. While she hadn't really been very concerned about the environment before, the dramatic change in her life recently had given her a much newer and different outlook on things. Hearing that this entire town was committed to maintaining such a high ecological stability was definitely a checkmark in the plus column, right beside the giant one next to big honking forest. As the trio started into the grocery store Aiden caught a flash of bright color from the corner of her eye but when she turned to look at it all she saw were ordinary townspeople just milling about or going about their day. A quick scenting of the air didn't disclose anything odd or unusual either other than a dramatic increase in natural scents that were a staple of living in the middle of a giant forest. Shrugging it off as just not being used to the town's little quirks yet she followed her parents into the store. Wyoming, Route 543, Outside of Wolf Springs "Are you sure you know where you're going?" The beautiful blond girl behind the wheel of the RV shot an annoyed glance over at the stunning chestnut-haired beauty lounging in the passenger seat beside her. "Why do you keep asking me that every time we're not in the middle of a major metropolis?" The brunette offered a gaelic shrug and brushed a few strands of hair from her eyes. "Because the last time I let you drive you made a wrong turn and we ended up in freaking North Dakota before you figured out you'd put the wrong address into the GPS." "It wasn't my fault the damn thing auto-corrected a single letter error," the blond mumbled as she carefully navigated the somewhat narrow road through the dense forest. "Ha!" the brunette barked out a laugh, "And you're the genius computer hacker." Angela Wiseman, WiseCrack to those that truly knew her, tried very hard not to grind her teeth in frustration. "Everyone mistypes something every now and then," she ground out before lifting an eyebrow, "At least I didn't divert us fifty miles off our path just to go check out a shoe sale posted online." "Hey," the brunette defended, "It'll be a cold day in hell before I pass up a Jimmy Choos sale. I got the hottest pair of stilettos for a steal." Angela rolled her eyes at her overly girly companion. "Seriously Kitty, you really need to ease up on the sex kitten thing. I'm worried the mnemonic programing might be trying to take control." That single statement was more than enough to throw ice onto Kitty Blake's mood. Her happy, teasing smile vanished in an instant and her formerly gleaming gaze immediately turned to concern. "Seriously?" she asked worriedly, "Am I getting bad?" "Not terribly," Angela admitted with a sigh, "But you need to be careful about it. Neither of us know too much about how deep that programing went and if you keep just giving into those kinds of impulses you might turn into that sex-starved slave girl again." Taking her eyes from the road for a moment she glanced over at her friend and offered her a reassuring smile. "But honestly, I think you're doing okay. On a whole I'd say you've been no more clothes-horse crazy than just about every other teenage girl. That Jimmy Choos thing was a bit much though." "Yeah," Kitty admitted, though without any shame, "I guess I'll have to watch that. So what's this place your friend told us about? Wolf Street?" "Wolf Springs," Angela corrected, "It's a small little town in the middle of Medicine Bow National Forest. Apparently one guy claimed about twenty square miles of the area and built his house here long before the place was put onto the protected forests list. Since he already had property rights the government couldn't kick him out and a whole town sprung up after he sold the lands rights off. It's been here ever since." "How in the hell are they able to live here?" Kitty asked in wonder as she looked out the window at the sea of green all around them. "I haven't seen any kind of power or phone lines for god knows how long. Please don't tell me we're going to be living by candle light and using outhouses," she begged, looking over at her friend with wide, frightened eyes. The blond chuckled and shook her head before thrusting back the hair that ended up in her face with an annoyed gesture. "Maybe thirty years ago. These days the whole town is run on alternative power sources. Wind, solar, hydro, that stuff. There's a self-contained cell tower some devisor installed on one of the surrounding mountains that takes care of phone service. From what Gear told me this place is fully modernized without any of the cast off problems of industrialization." "Interesting," Kitty mused, "I wonder why more cities don't do that." The hacker shrugged while carefully navigating a rather sharp turn. "Corporate influences would be my guess. When you've got companies like the Goodkinds that predicate their business on industry, renewable resource energies that would allow people to be self-sustaining aren't profitable so they use their influences to keep it that way." "Makes sense from a business perspective," Kitty allowed, "And lord knows most of the population live like sheep when it comes to corporation influences." "That's why I do what I do," Angela said with a grim smile, "To try and keep people like that in check as best I can." "You didn't with Westlake," the brunette noted. The now-young hacker lifted one shoulder in a helpless shrug. "Technically speaking they weren't doing anything illegal. Morally questionable, yes, but that was more predicated on the influence of the military than their Westlake's own goals. The rest of his operation is pretty sound, at least as far as I could tell from the brief time I had access to it. It was Sinclair and his partner that did the illegal bit, and we took care of that," she finished with a knowing smile. "Oh yes," Kitty said with a wicked grin that soon melted away, "I'm just sorry it cost you your life." "It's all right," Angela told her, "Yeah it's been a big change and it's a pain in the ass being a teenager again, but at least I still have all of my knowledge and memories so I can just keep doing what I'm doing. Plus, I'm adapting to the whole boobs and sitting to pee thing. You're the one that got the raw deal." "Yeah," Kitty agreed quietly, "Though in all honesty the biggest part was knowing what Sinclair and his sick friend were trying to do. The whole being a girl thing is just...normal to me. If I still had any memory of being Keith it might be different, but I don't have any memories at all. It's actually a little liberating," she said with a smile, "I don't have to worry about being bothered about any mistakes I made in the past or decisions that I might or might have not made. I'm a blank slate that I can fill with whatever I want." "Plus being able to slice anything into tiny pieces whenever you want is a pretty good bonus." Kitty grinned once more, curling her fingers reflexively. "True, there is that." "Which is one of the main reasons why Gear recommended this place be our temporary home," Angela explained as they passed the sign welcoming them to Wolf Springs, "It's way out of the way and you can get a handle on your power without hurting anyone." "Well, other than trees," Kitty amended. "I doubt we'll hear them complaining," the blond replied with a laugh that soon had the brunette joining in. That light laughter set the tone for the remaining three-mile drive towards town. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Downtown area "How are you holding up?" Looking up from the medical journal I'd been thumbing through I smiled slightly as Mom walked over. "Okay I think," I allowed, "I haven't wanted to run screaming too badly yet." She chuckled softly and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze before peering over my shoulder at the magazine in my hands. "Any good articles?" I shrugged a little and returned it to the shelf with the rest of the varied offerings for sale in the tiny bookstore. "There was an interesting one discussing the theory of transposing memories through a digital interface but it was done with pretty broad strokes." Not being one for medical science, Mom just looked at me blankly for a moment before shrugging. "Well as long as you liked it honey," she said in that patronizing way parents do when they don't have any idea what their children are talking about. I laughed softly, which caused her smile to widen. "It's nice to hear you do that," she observed, "You don't do it nearly enough." "I laugh a lot at home," I defended. "True," she allowed, guiding us towards the front door, "But not when in town. How has your anxiety been so far?" I shrugged a little as I pushed open the door and stepped out into the bright sunshine. "Not too bad today. I had a moment or two when I saw an SUV pull into town that I didn't recognize but I relaxed when I saw it was just a family." "A family?" she asked with a tilt of her head, "A man, woman, and teenage girl?" "Yeah," I said carefully as my eyes narrowed with worried suspicion. "Ah," she said with an understanding nod, "That must be the Connors. They're moving into the house a few miles away." "The one that's getting construction done? I thought someone lived there already." "There was," she said sadly and I saw a haunted look appear in her eyes, "He died recently. That's his son and his family that are taking it over." "Oh," I said quietly. I remembered how fondly Mom had spoken of the man who'd live there. Guy, if I recalled the name right. "It's too bad he died," I said honestly. "No it isn't," Mom said in a bitter tone that caused me to look at her in surprise since I couldn't recall ever hearing it in her voice before. She noticed me and shook her head. "He wasn't the person I thought he was," she explained sadly. "Oh," I repeated and honestly couldn't think of anything else to say about it. I switched topics slightly instead. "What about his family?" "They're good people," she told me immediately and smiled, "His son, Terry, is a knife maker, one of the best actually, and his wife Maddy runs their business. They've come here to visit Guy so I've met them a few times and they've always been very nice." "What about their daughter?" I asked, noticing the omission of her character. "She's...complicated," she said carefully, though I noticed there wasn't any concern in her voice. "She's following in her father's footsteps as a knife maker but-" Before Mom could finish I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I saw little Jeffery Rogers break free from his mother's grasp to race into the street after the shiny red ball that he'd lost his grip on. That in and of itself wasn't such a big deal. Jeffery had slippery fingers and was usually dropping something, but then most two, almost three-year-olds did. What was a big deal was the large RV driving down Main Street and Jeffrey had just run directly into its path! Without even thinking I shot out after the little boy even as his mother screamed in fear of her son's life. Ignoring my Mom yelling after me I raced into the street as fast as my feet would carry me, my eyes darting between him and the incredibly large, at least to my eyes, vehicle. By the time I got to him the RV was barreling down on us and I knew there was no way I'd be able to get us clear before it was on top of us. It was just too close and I wasn't nearly fast enough, so I did the only thing I could think of. Wrapping the little boy tightly in my arms I turned so my back was to the RV's grill, that way I would take the brunt of the hit, and activated my power. I dumped as much healing energy into Jeffery as I could as fast as I could. He wasn't hurt yet, but I hoped and prayed that by using my power before the impact had even occurred I'd be able to heal any injuries or wounds he suffered from the crash as they happened. With any luck, I'd end up being the only one hurt by the crash. As consciousness began to rapidly fade, as it always did when I healed someone, I dimly noted the impact from the RV. I vaguely thought it was odd that I felt it hit me in the side instead of the back but by that time darkness was already swallowing me down. **** "Ashley. Ashley wake up honey. Come on." The sound of Mom's voice drew me slowly back to consciousness, along with the awareness that I was lying on something very hard and uncomfortable. It also had me asking one very significant question: Why wasn't I dead? By all rights, even moving at the modest speed limit of thirty-five miles per hour that the downtown area had posted, I should have at least been in agonizing pain with multiple fractures and contusions. Yet I felt perfectly fine other than a little sore. "Mom?" I mumbled, struggling the rest of the way back into the waking world. "Yes honey," she said, sounding a little breathless, "Are you alright?" "Yeah," I said, my voice a little stronger as I carefully opened my eyes. "What happened? Is Jeffrey okay?" I asked quickly, suddenly remembering the events leading up to my state of unconsciousness. "Jeffery's fine," she assured me as I was helped into a sitting position. "What about you? Are you okay?" "Yeah," I said in confusion as I did a quick self evaluation of injuries, "Actually I'm fine. How's that possible?" "You have this young lady to thank for that," Mom said with no small amount of gratitude. She shifted slightly and allowed me to see a very pretty girl around my age with long, black hair in jeans and a T-shirt with some kind of wolf logo on it. She stood with her proud, yet concerned parents looking down shyly but when Mom made the reference to her she lifted her eyes to mine and I was struck by their unusual amber and gold coloring. "She tackled you and Jeffery out of the way milliseconds before you were hit." At the mention of Jeffrey, I sought him out and saw him crying in the arms of his mother, who was also shedding her own tears of joy. I'd have to actually touch him to be sure but it looked like he was completely uninjured, thank god. The moment he saw me looking at him he tore out of his mother's grasp and raced across the sidewalk on those tiny legs until he was flinging himself into my arms. He was still crying a bit but there was no mistaking it when I heard that sweet little voice say, "Fank you Ashwe." Now that I was touching him I could tell with a quick burst of my power that he was indeed uninjured. Whether or not that was because I'd dumped my healing energy into him just before the crash or simple luck it didn't matter, all that did was he was safe and unharmed. "You're very welcome," I whispered as I hugged him close and kissed his forehead, "But you have to go promise your mommy that you won't ever go running out in the road like that ever again." "Even if I woose my bawl?" he asked so seriously I had to bite my lip a little to keep from giggling. "Even if you lose your ball," I asserted softly yet firmly. "Your mommy would be very sad if you got hurt and you don't want her to be sad do you?" The very idea of such a concept was clearly abhorrent to the little tyke because he shook his head vehemently with wide eyes. "Then you go tell her you're really sorry for running away, after you go tell that very nice girl right there thank you as well, because she helped just as much." I instructed him, nodding at the black-haired girl whose cheeks turned bright red when I'd brought her to pretty much everyone's attention. "Okay," he readily agreed and raced over to the girl, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly while the girl herself looked down at him as though some strange alien had just appeared on her legs. "Fank yoo," he said, giving her a toothy grin before racing back over to his mother, presumably to make his obviously unnecessary amends. Smiling as I watched the little boy do what little children do and forget about the life and death situation he'd just been in, if he even realized it was that to begin with, I carefully got to my feet with Mom at my elbow helping me up. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked with concern. "Just a few scrapes and bruises I think," I told her, looking down at myself and frowning a little at the sight of one of my favorite hunter green maxi skirts had several bad tears in it, presumably from tumbling across the ground. Mom followed the direction of my gaze and smiled slightly. "Don't worry," she assured me as I was gathered into her arms and held closely, "It can be mended. Just what were you thinking?" she demanded in a firmer tone as I was held out at arm's length and placed under her scrutinizing gaze, "Running out right into the path of that truck like that." "Mom, I couldn't let Jeffrey get hit," I argued softly, a little embarrassed about being chastised like this in public. Lowering my voice so only she could hear I continued in a whisper, "I wouldn't be able to heal him if he was killed." "And what about you?" she countered, resting her cheek on my head, "What if you'd been killed? Then both of you would have been dead." A cold shiver tried to work its way up my spine at the idea that I might have died during this entire event. However, it wasn't the first time I'd risked my own life to save another's and just like before I was glad I'd done it. Regardless of everything I'd been through in recent months, that was a kind of solace for me, knowing that my willingness to help other people hadn't suffered because of my own painful experiences. A quiet clearing of someone's throat brought our attention in a new direction, this time towards where the RV was in the middle of the road with two young girls standing in front of it. One was a beautiful blond girl in jeans and a T-shirt that had what looked like a computer loading bar with the words 'please wait, loading sarcasm' over and under it. The other girl was a stunning brunette dressed quite fashionably, if a bit sexy, in in a light blue dress with flower printing that had a rather unusual skirt that was nearly ankle-length in the rear but raised to the length of a mini in the front and tan suede heeled sandals. Both stood looking contrite, especially the one in the jeans. It was her that took a few steps forward and spoke first. "Listen, I'm really sorry about this," she said, addressing me, the other girl, and Jeffery and his mother simultaneous. "I promise I wasn't speeding or anything. He just darted out into the road so suddenly and I wasn't expecting it and I hit the brakes as fast as I could-" she paused for a moment to try and catch her breath after such a rapid attempt at explanation and apology. I think Jeffrey's mother was ready to say something, maybe light into them for driving like maniacs, but Mom quickly spoke up, beating me to the punch. "It's all right," she assured the girls, "We could all see you were driving very reasonably. Little children can often be quite unpredictable, especially when it comes to them losing the ball they are playing with," she finished, casting Jeffery's mother a pointed look that had her taking pause and re-evaluating her prepared scathing. She must have realized the wisdom in Mom's statement because she pressed her lips together and nodded before leading Jeffery away. As the pair departed, Mom tilted her head slightly as she looked over the pair. "Are you two just passing through?" The girls looked at one another for a moment as though they were trying to decide what the best response would be before the blond simply shrugged. "A friend told us about this town," the brunette explained, "He said it would be a good place to get away and...figure things out," she finished rather cryptically, which had me frowning suspiciously. Learn things? Exactly what did they expect to learn? This was a town of one hundred people...well, one hundred and two now that this new family was moving in...that had no higher learning facilities and was a pretty rustic environment despite the fact that the infrastructure was completely modernized. It seemed crazy, but was it possible these two were agents with the MCO and they'd come looking for me? Maybe they were associates of Doctor Taylors and they had someone discovered his research and had managed to track me down to finish what he'd started? I know Ashe had told me it was impossible, that he had been operating on his own but what if he was wrong? I started trembling violently as the sudden urge to run as fast as my legs could carry me closed its icy grip around my heart and my fingernails dug into Mom's arm almost hard enough to draw blood. I wanted to get out of there...I needed to get out of there. I wanted to be home where I was safe and no one could hurt me, ever. I didn't even realize I'd whimpered in fear until Mom looked at me with startled concern. "Ashley?" she asked softly. "They're here for me," I rasped, feeling tears welling within my eyes and tracking down my cheeks, "They've come to get me." Everyone, from the two in the RV to the family with the girl who'd saved me, blinked in shock. "Huh?" the blond girl said in obvious confusion. "Who's here to get you?" Despite the way I was starting to try to pull out of Mom's grasp, she held onto firmly to me and prevented those basic flight instincts from fully taking hold. "Ashley," she whispered, "They're not here for you. Look at them, they're just teenagers like you. They aren't Taylor." While her words helped to calm me a little bit, I still couldn't hold back the urge to flee as I looked up at the pair of very confused teens who looked like they were second-guessing their trip here. "Ummm, we're not here for anyone," the brunette said cautiously, "We just came because a friend of ours recommended it, that's all." "They're telling the truth." At the sound of a new voice I swung my eyes around and discovered it was the girl with the black hair who had spoken. I watched her nostrils flare slightly and she nodded. "They're not here because of you." The mother wrapped her fingers around the girl's arm and gave it a firm squeeze that accompanied a look of disapproval, but the girl only shrugged as though to say: what do you expect? "Okay," Mom said in an authoritative voice, "I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Ladies, just where are you headed?" The blond pulled a smartphone out of her pocket and quickly swiped through it. "The rental property about two miles from here? The Buckman place?" "Ah yes," Mom said with a nod as a light of what looked like recognition entered her eyes, "I remember them mentioning they had some new tenants. Just take that road," she instructed, pointing the way out of town opposite from which they came, "And take the third road on the left. That will take you right to the front door." "Thanks," the blond said, tucking her smartphone away and climbing back into the driver's seat. The brunette didn't join her right away, instead she looked at me with a curious expression before smiling, tossing all of us a wave, and hopping into the passenger seat with surprising agility considering her dress and heels. Shortly after, the RV was rolling down the street and was soon out of sight. "Well," Mom said with a heavy sigh, "This has been a rather interesting day." Turning slightly, she smiled at the girl and her family. "And quite a way to make introductions as well, wouldn't you say Terry?" The man smiled a little and nodded. "Nothing like a bit of drama to make things a bit awkward. How are you Rowan?" "We've seen better days," she said, obviously including me in that statement, "But quite well thank you. Ashley, this is the Connors. Terry and Maddy and their daughter Aiden." I blinked several times in surprise at the revelation that this was the family she'd told me about just minutes ago before all of this craziness had happened. "Ummm, hi," I offered faintly. Everything seemed like it was happening so fast my mind was having trouble keeping up with it all. The parents, Terry and Maddy, both greeted me warmly while their daughter, Aiden, just sort of gave me a shy little wave. For whatever reason, she still seemed like she was embarrassed and even a little withdrawn about her heroic actions. "Why don't we have dinner tonight," Mom offered, surprising me. Yes, Mom was a very generous and giving woman, it was one of the reasons we got along so wonderfully, but for her to do so with people we'd just met struck me as odd. That was when I remembered she'd known them, at least Terry, for years, so they weren't exactly strangers. "Oh we wouldn't want to put you out," Maddy told her and I thought I sensed something else behind her effort to decline. "Nonsense," Mom waved her statement away while giving her a shrewd look, "If I remember correctly Guy lived in quite a spartan manner and you probably don't have much in the way of proper appliances." Terry cast his wife a sidelong glance that clearly told me they'd been busted before he shrugged. "They're being delivered tomorrow," he admitted, "But we were fine eating out tonight." Once again, I sensed there was something behind those words that he wasn't saying, and if the way Aiden was fidgeting was any indication it had to do with her. "Absolutely not," my mother insisted and I knew by that tone in her voice that she was on a roll and there would be no escape for these people. "Guy and I shared many meals together so it's no trouble at all." By this point I was sick of all of the innuendo. While I hadn't realized it at the time, there had been a great deal of that thrown around between Chief Jacobs of the MCO and Doctor Taylor when I'd been in their care back in San Francisco. The end result of that had nearly been the end of my life, so to say I had something of a distaste for it was putting things mildly. "Mom, what is going on?" I demanded, "And please don't try to tell me nothing because I'm not blind nor deaf." For a moment I saw her preparing some kind of kind brush off, but I think maybe she saw the determination in my eyes and she sighed and nodded. "You're right Ashley, I shouldn't be dancing around this. However," she hedged, "It's not my place to talk about it so I'll just say Aiden has some specific dietary needs." I didn't think the girl's face could get any redder, but that's exactly what happened. The thing is, at this point I wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or anger, because the way her eyes were narrowing I was starting to get real concerned she might actually start growling in a second. Since this family were friends of Mom's I thought it might be best to try and diffuse this situation before things got worse. "Oh," I said in a light, friendly voice, "Is that all? That's no big deal. Are you diabetic or something?" "Or something," she muttered. "Why don't we say around six," Mom offered quickly. "Will that be enough time for you to get settled in?" "Well," Aiden's father said with a touch of chagrin, "Considering the only things we have are what's in our suitcases and the groceries we just bought, I'd say we'll be done with that in about ten minutes." "Oh yes," Mom replied, clearly recalling something she'd heard before, "I heard about that. I'm so sorry." "Nothing to be done about it," he replied, though it was clear that whatever had occurred with this family still troubled him greatly. "It's a chance for a fresh start," Maddy put in brightly, perhaps a bit too much so. "Well, we'll leave you to that and we'll see you at six. Do you still remember how to get to my house?" "Unless you moved in the last few years," Terry said with a faint smile. "Nope, still there. We'll see you then." And with the plans made Mom took me by the arm and let me towards our car. I give myself credit for waiting until we were in the car with the doors closed and driving back home before I started the third degree. "Okay Mom, what's up here? Who are those people and what is this special dietary concern Aiden has?" She sighed and shook her head sadly. "That family has been through a very hard time recently, but like I said before it isn't my place to discuss it. If any of them wish to tell you about it that's their choice, but I won't go spreading around someone else's business. The only thing I will say is that they are good people and they have been through hardship very few people would neither be able understand nor be able to handle as well as they have." The last part of that was said with her looking pointedly at me and I had a sudden flash of inspiration. "She's a mutant," I blurted, "Aiden's a mutant." Mom's only answer was a gaelic shrug as she turned up the road towards our house, but her lack of immediate denial was all the answer I needed. So Aiden was a mutant and had gone through something that I could probably sympathize with her on. I didn't like prying into other people's lives...hell, at this point I was terrified of strangers period, but the two of us having similar experiences was something to consider for when they came over to dinner. She could be a kindred spirit and that could potentially lead to a friendship between us, something I knew I needed because I'd isolated myself so badly recently. Do I ask her about it? Do I not even mention it and just let her bring it up? What was the best course of action here? I had some serious thinking to do if I planned on trying to be friends with this girl. Wolf Springs, Wyoming, Buckman Rental Property "I'm telling you Angela, that girl's a mutant." "Kitty, seriously, how you could possibly know that?" The gorgeous brunette flopped back in her seat and petulantly folded her arms beneath her breasts. "Because while you were panicking trying to stop the RV I saw the way she moved when she tackled that other girl and kid out of the way. Trust me, no one moves that fast and isn't a mutant." As much as she wanted to argue the point, Angela knew that her friend probably had gotten a better look at what happened since her attention had been wholly focused on trying to slam that brake pedal through the floorboard of the RV at the time. "Okay," she conceded, "So she's a mutant, so what? It's not like you're the only mutant in the world you know." "I know that," Kitty huffed before becoming introspective, "But I can't help wondering if I shouldn't introduce myself to her." Shifting a little in her seat, she looked over at her companion with a keen intelligence in her eyes that not many people saw these days. "You saw how shy and even embarrassed she was displaying her powers like that. I'd wager she's only recently manifested and is feeling lost and alone right now with no one to talk with that really understands what she's going through." Now it was starting to make a bit more sense, especially since the girl's far more intelligent aspect of her persona was starting to regain control over the sexpot body. Kitty wasn't simply harping on the fact that the girl was a mutant, she was feeling lonely herself. In all of their travels thus far, the two of them hadn't come across a single mutant and Angela had a feeling Kitty was starting to feel the pressure of keeping herself in check when it came to talking about or using her powers. The very few times she'd been able to experiment with them, which pretty much just consisted of one or two throws of an energy knife in an abandoned warehouse or building here and there, clearly wasn't even close to being enough to alleviate the gnawing sensation of isolation that her friend had been exhibiting more and more as the days went on. Still, simply approaching a random mutant and identifying yourself as one as well was probably not the best idea and Angela said so. "I'd hold off," she advised, "You don't know anything about that girl and it's actually pretty likely that she might not want to openly discuss being a mutant at the moment. We don't know anything about her history or even what her mutation is. For all we know she could be a rager barely holding onto control. She's with her parents," she told her friend, "And if the way they crowded around her protectively is any indication, they love her, so I'd say there's no shortage of emotional support for her being a mutant." "I suppose you're right," Kitty acknowledged with a sigh and returned her attention forward to watch the narrow roadway stretching out before them reach its termination point and widen out into a substantial lot with a large cabin-style house positioned at its center. It wasn't exactly a log cabin, but it did seem rather rustic-looking. She shot her friend a reproachful glare. "Gear assured me this place was fully modernized," she replied to the unspoken reproof, "No wood stoves for heat, no outhouses." "I'll believe it when I see it," Kitty grumbled as they pulled up before the cabin and parked. She did have to admit the air was much crisper and cleaner than she'd ever experienced. Since the majority of her shortly known life had been spent in large to moderate cities, and all of the crowding and pollution that came with them, she actually felt more energized, livelier, even happier than normal. "At least it's nice out here," she allowed, looking over the property. By and large, it was undeveloped beyond around an acre's worth of area having been clear-cut to make room for the house and property itself. Beyond the building, it was otherwise empty. It left them plenty of room to maneuver and park the RV, but there was nothing else around except for woodland. "There'd better be a decent internet connection here," Angela noted darkly, or I'll have Gear's head." "Aww," Kitty said in a decidedly non-sympathetic voice, "And to thing you'd might have to actually come up with something else to do other than play on your computer." "Hey," Angela said defensively, "My 'playing around' on the computer is the reason why we're set for life right now, or have you forgotten it was me who hacked Sinclair's accounts, got all of the money he stole, and invested the rest so we'd be getting dividends paid out to us for the rest of our lives." "Yeah, yeah," Kitty waved the words away, "You're a genius and you've made us rich. I've already said thank you about a hundred times, how many more times do you want me to say it?" "I'll give you a cap of two hundred," she quipped as they decided to forgo getting any belongings from the RV until they saw what they'd be looking at as far as space. The moment the door opened Kitty instantly took back her lingering doubts about their living conditions. While the walls and accents of the house were decidedly rustic in nature, the appointments and furnishings were all top of the line, gleaming pieces of technology. While the lights weren't yet on since it was the middle of the day and there was more than adequate sunlight to illuminate the room through the expansive bay windows, a quick look told Kitty they all contained quality, energy efficient bulbs that would produce a bright, yet soft light once the sun had chosen to depart from the sky. The living room area itself was quite large in size, easily taking up half of the total area space of the house itself and was clearly designed to be utilized more than any other room. The various couches and chairs, as well as quaint little table and chair sets next to the windows certainly made the room feel very warm and inviting. There was even a large stone hearth that took up the majority of the far wall that the T.V. was positioned over, and it was a fully functioning one too, not just for decoration. Two doorways bordered either side of that wall, which led to identical bedrooms with identical adjoining baths that were quite reasonable in size. The kitchen off to one side of the living room wasn't overly large, but it was more than big enough not only to fit a normal-sized refrigerator, stove/oven, sink, and dishwasher, all appearing as though they were brand new. There was also a small table that would allow two to dine in the kitchen, but both of the girls agreed it would be far more comfortable to do so in the living room. "This place is amazing," Kitty breathed once she'd finished making a full tour of the house. "Yeah," Angela agreed as she set her laptop bag down on one of the window tables and turned a slow circle. "I know Gear said we'd like this place but, damn." "Oh my god!" Kitty squealed in delight as she looked out through the kitchen window, "This place actually has a hot tub out back! Look, you can see the walkway leading up to it," she pointed excitedly at the side door leading from the kitchen. "Let me guess," Angela said drolly, "You love hot tubs." Surprisingly, at least to the blond, Kitty shrugged nonchalantly. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I've never tried one." "What?" the blond hacker blinked in confusion, "But what about that hotel we stayed in in St. Louis? You swam in the pool and I know it had a whirlpool too." "I met a couple of guys," Kitty admitted with only a small bit of embarrassment, "We ended up having coffee in the hotel restaurant." "Coffee huh?" Angela intoned with both suspicion and knowing. "Well," she allowed, "Maybe I kissed one of them, but he was really cute," Kitty defended. "I hope that's all you did," Angela muttered as she went about setting up her laptop on one of the tables. "Hey," Kitty said indignantly, "I'm not some slut who just falls on her back for everyone you know. That part of me died with-" When her voice trailed off Angela looked up to see a very uncertain and scared girl with tears in her eyes as she trembled at both the memories of what had been done to her. Immediately, Angela rose from her seat and quickly crossed the floor to gather her friend into her arms and hold her close, gently shushing her while she stroked her chestnut locks. Only a week ago, such an action would have been out of character for the formerly geeky twenty-five-year-old man, but a combination of a flush of new hormones and spending so many hours alone with the girl had created a sisterly bond that Angela no longer fought against. "I know Kitty," she told her friend gently, "I know. I was only teasing you. I didn't think you actually went and slept with those guys." "I wanted to," the girl admitted haltingly, "When we were having coffee and I was kissing that one guy I knew he wanted to feel me up and take me back to his room and I was almost ready to let him. It would have been so easy to do. That other Kitty was so anxious to take control and just let him do whatever he wanted to me while I begged for more." "But you didn't let it happen," Angela assured her, "You didn't let the sex slave take control, and that means something. It means you're in control of your life and no amount of programming can make you do something you don't want to do." Kitty nodded, flicking a few tears away with her fingers before wrapping her arms around Angela and hugging her tightly, and there was no mistaking the desperation in the gesture. For several moments the pair remained that way, locked together in their embrace and understanding on