The Broken, The Beaten, and The Damned

Glad you both are digging my story! Um...more tomorrow. XD

Tis a small one.
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This time it was Frank’s turn to frown, “what makes you think this it the right place?”
Alexis smiled, “cause…cause that note it just so Pat! I was being dumb before. Looking for clues in the phone book…he must have realized it and gave me the next clue where I might look.”
She took out a map from her bag this time and unfurled it.
“See, I looked up in the library to see what cities close by have this street and the closest one is two towns over. I am guessing…maybe a two day walk if we only rest at night.”
Frank scoffed, “walk? Who the hell wants to walk? We can take the bus and…”
Alexis looked shocked, “we can’t do that. That would take us through the barricades.”
Frank and Bob looked lost, “barricades?”
Alexis was flabbergasted, “do you not watch the news? Read papers? They have testing stations at every road out of town. They wanna catching them going in and out.”
Bob and Frank were horrified, “since when,” Bob asked.
“About a week, but it’s a mad house. We can find a way through the woods. Punk can help us there,” she finished with a rub on the dog’s stomach.
“Well, I guess we should get some sleep then,” Frank said with a yawn.
Alexis gave a little frown, “I…I dunno if we have time to rest here. I mean…we should probably stay on our toes.”
Frank gave a shrug and jerked his thumb at Bob, “I ain’t worrying. I mean, Bob here is pretty good at telling if anyone is coming or anything.”
Alexis frowned, “that’s right…I don’t know what you do yet.”
Bob turned toward her, his eyes still slightly foggy, “oh…um…it’s nothing special or anything. Mostly I can just see people like us. Ya know mutants or whatever the hell we are, but I uh…I can tell other things too. Like sometimes their powers or…like I could tell with Adam that something was off…I just didn’t want to see it I guess.”
“Can you feel it when ‘they’ are near?”
Bob’s brow furrowed, then he nodded, “yeah. Feels like a cramp in my brain or something odd like that.”
Alexis looked Bob and Frank over slightly with her dark eyes, as if looking for something, then she smiled with a sigh and laid back using her bag as a pillow.
“Well…I am glad I found you guys. Three to a billion…our chances are getting better all the time.”

He had gotten the call at noon. Someone had spotted her in their apartment complex. It seemed that she had been avoiding the weekly blood tests somehow. For over a month at that. Of course once he had the call he had to think of a strategy and fast, because it would not be long before she would catch on and move again. It had been far to long since he had heard from her that he had given hope that she would turn up again, but here she was.
By twelve thirty he had decided to send two agents to apprehend her, not that he believed it would work. Quite the contrary, he knew that either one or both of them would be killed. He did it so he would know how much stronger she was. He had heard from the scientists that had tested her that, before she left, her power was ten times stronger than when she had first arrived at the high security facility and growing.
It was after five by the time her heard from the gentleman that owned the apartment building. Apparently one of the agents had gone missing and the other…well the other was now in small enough pieces to be mailed back to his wife and kids in an envelope. He sent a clean up crew to the building and by five twenty they were done, but they had news. She was still there. Still in the building, the owner of the apartments had just talked to the men keeping her. Not only that…but that those men were also mutants.
He had taken a jet right away, hoping to catch her still there. And if not her…then at least the two who had hidden her.
It was five twenty five by the time he was there. Inside the lobby some of the agents were talking with the owner of the apartment building. This young man would be detained, questioned, tested, and then…they would just have to see from there now wouldn’t they. He took over once inside, getting the questioning agents to take the owner, Mr. Lazzara, for a ‘ride’ and the rest to get out, except for two others to help him watch the exits for the girl of her ‘protectors’. Too many agents could ruin everything if they were not careful. With them still in the building though he had no fear of missing them, and still…still they missed it when the three of them left the building. He called in every agent in the area to scour the city, looking for any sign of them. He hated that he had lost her again, that she had slipped through his own careless fingers. Not that he was too concerned though…he knew they would get her sooner or later. It was just a matter of time, and he had all the time in the world to wait for her.
*****
Alexis woke to the sound of Punk, full name Punk Rock Awesomness, scratching at the door a low growl coming up in her throat. She leapt up, looking around her to see that Frank was sleeping undisturbed but Bob…Bob was wide-awake.
“Bob what’s…”
“They are close…we have about…ten minuets till they will find us.”
Alexis nodded, not caring how odd it felt that he should know the exact time they could be apprehended. Instead she gathered her things, she didn’t have many, into her bag as Bob woke a groggy Frank from his twisted mess of blankets he had dared to call a bed.
“No Bob…we are off today…Imma sleep in…”
“Youmma not doing any such thing. Get your ass up unless you wanna be in that high security facility Alexis told us about.”
Frank growled a bit, swearing under his breath as he gathered his things.
“How long now Bob,” Alexis asked nervously a few minuets later.
“We have time, we just need to move. There’s only two of them, they didn’t think we would have gone here anyway.”
Alexis threw Frank a look, but he just shrugged as if it was normal.
“Come on, there is a back plank loose. We can get out there.”
Frank and Bob both followed her to the back of the shack, watching as she swung back a plank revealing the outside air and early morning sunshine to all of them. Alexis had Bob and Frank go first, finally leaving after Punk had finished sniffing a corner of the shack it had missed the night before.
Once outside they dove into the thickest of the trees and never looked back to see how close they had cut it. The main thing at the moment was that they were free for now…and now was all that mattered in the world.
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Ok..."He" wasn't named on purpose...just so ya know...it makes it spookier I think...

Even more...though Bramy is not commenting I see...
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“How much further is it,” Frank asked in a whiney voice. The same one he had been using since ever since the morning before to ask when they would be resting, eating, or sleeping. Alexis had been tired of it by the second go around, but it seemed that only now was his closest friend becoming annoyed.
“Its about two minuets closer than it was the last time you asked,” Bob growled under his breath.
“And two minuets further than when you ask again,” Alexis said with a sigh.
The three of them, along with the small dog, had been having a difficult time to say the least. After barely escaping with their lives the morning before, they had to lay low in the woods. It was still early when they got to the edge of town. They saw the barricade from afar, nearly a mile, as they stood on a ridge in the woods.
“They have not made boundaries in the woods yet,” Alexis had said, “but they will. It’s just a matter of time.”
They reached the next town by nearly five that evening and had then made a wide sweep past it, not wanting to risk getting caught in one of the barricades there that would have been in full swing by then. The three of them had gotten close enough to watch as cars and busses were all being brought through the barricade. A few cars had on backup lights, but it was too late for them, before long they would be part of the growing multitude of missing people. They quickly got as far from the barricade as they could and moved through the woods again. It took them most of the day to make it through the woods and their rest that night was a broken one since they could find no shelter and worst yet no food except…
“Fish,” Frank had said with an upturned nose.
“Yeah, it has iron to keep our strength up. It is the only thing in these woods to eat, most at the berries are rotten by now.”
Frank had sniffed the half cooked fish that she held out on a stick to him, “…but…Imma vegetarian.”
Bob grunted something about Frank being a pain as Alexis rolled her eyes and dug through her bag until she found a good sized chocolate bar for him to eat.
That night they had kept watch in shifts, Frank first (who seemed upset that he even had to in the first place since he didn’t have a ‘power’ or anything to help him ‘see’ trouble coming), then Alexis, and finally Bob.
The next day they were up early again with their weak bodies crying for more rest, but this time at least they were not on the run. Apparently the men from before had given up on them being found for the moment, but they still played it safe. They walked through the thickest part of the woods, tree limbs and scrubby shrubs scratching at their arms and legs. They were cold and damp, scratched and bleeding, and did most defiantly want a nice place to rest.
But now they reached the small run down town and they were all tired, nearly to tired to think clearly and defiantly to tired to notice that the streets were totally vacant.
“148 Avenue F…where is it,” Alexis said mournfully, by now wanting rest as much as Frank seemed to want it. They walked up and down the empty streets, looking for the street, but it was no where to be found.
“Maybe this is the wrong place,” Bob said in an exasperated tone, pulling his coat closer since they were now out in the cold air instead of in dense cover of the woods.
Alexis let out a shuddery sigh, seeming near tears.
“What if it was a trap,” she said softly, “oh please…please let me not have been wrong.”
They kept walking slowly past every street sign, Alexis feeling hopelessly trapped suddenly. As they were about to head up the main street one last time Bob tapped Alexis on the shoulder.
“Um…Alexis? There is someone behind us.”
Alexis stiffened, “who is it?”
Bob shrugged, “dunno,” he said softly, “should we check it out?”
Alexis was about to tell him no, that they needed to run instead, but before she could she heard a dreadful voice behind her.
“Um…miss? Excuse me, but where is Avenue F?”
Alexis whipped around to see Frank talking with a tallish woman with dark black hair carrying a bag of groceries which was probably the only reason Frank had even noticed her.
“Avenue F,” she asked puzzled, “why do you ask?”
Frank looked over at Alexis, giving a small shrug.
“We are looking for a friend who lived as 148…do you know her?”
The woman smiled, “I might, do you know a name?”
Alexis took a step closer to her, “um…Pat told me to look for Lena to help me…”
“Pat,” the woman said with a laugh walking closer to Alexis, “then you are Al, yes?”
Alexis blushed, “L-lena W-we need your help please.”
Lena nodded, giving a small smile to the three of them, patting Alexis on the hand, “I understand dear, I understand hiding and running better than most. Come with me you three, I bet you are exhausted. I will have plenty of room.”

...why not. She seems ok to me...

Eh...you two are just looking for trouble.
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The now small troop moved easily through the empty streets with Lena leading them. The new comer lead them toward a run down apartment building.
“Here we are,” Lena said with a smile.
“Wait…we are not on Avenue F…this is like East Avenue,” Bob said softly to Alexis. He was worrying again that perhaps she was too trusting to naïve for their own good, but Alexis wasn’t looking as him. Her eyes were on the building. Bob followed her gaze and saw that the words ‘Ave' for the street address and 'F’ were on the building.
“All the other letters have fallen off,” Lena said looking at Alexis and Bob as they stared at the building, “use to be called the ‘Field Manor Inn’ I think. We have kept those letters up though. Incase we get anyone who is lost…like you three.”
She then suddenly turned toward them before letting them inside the building, her gaze harsh.
“I mean, you three are with us, correct? I will not be a shelter to spies or to traitors. Is that understood?”
The three of them nodded, “trust us miss, we are defiantly in trouble here.”
Lena frowned at Frank’s words, but allowed the three of them into the building.
“We put the main office is in room 148, so that’s why Pat told you to meet me there. But ever since the whole town was cleaned out here about a year or two ago I just set up camp anywhere I can.”
Lena began leading the way up the stairs, “still, it is safer on the upper floors. If anyone comes by here they may not check upper levels if the lower ones show no sign of life.”
Cautiously Frank and Bob followed Lena up the stairs, followed by Alexis who kept looking at everything with a child’s fascination.
When they reached the upstairs, Lena lit a flashlight to help them navigate in the growing dark.
“There is no electricity here, it would cause suspicion. Plus, it seemed to bother some people’s gifts.”
“Like Pat,” Alexis offered as she lit another flashlight from another table in the hallway and brought up the rear of the group.
Lena smiled, “yes, he never liked to have lights in his room even when we first started this and the town was still here. And that was nearly…”
Lena let her voice trail off, hurt shining in her deep blue eyes as she opened the door to her apartment.
“You can rest here for now, we can eat a bit and relax. I will bring you to your room later tonight. I am guessing that the three of you will all want to room together, yes?”
All of them made small movements or grunts of agreement, so Lena continued.
“Well, I have a few vegetables, but you can not cook now though. Even though we have enough propane stored up to do so. ”
“Why,” Frank asked, easily lighting a candle with his fingertip. Lena smirked at him, seeming impressed.
“I stand corrected Mr.…”
“Frank,” he said, holding his hand out to Lena, “I can make fires. That over there is Bob and Alexis,” he said with the appropriate motions.
“Ah yes, I know all about Miss Alexis.”
Alexis blushed a bit, “Pat told me a bit about you too. We didn’t have to long though…I mean…we got out pretty fast.”
Lena laughed as if it was a great memory for her too, “Pat told me all about that. You were very brave dear to do such a thing. They could have killed you if they caught you.”
She then turned to Bob, “do you have a ‘gift’ too Mr. Bob?”
Bob shrugged, “I uh…nothing special. I mean…nothing harmful anyway.”
Lena was not quite satisfied with his answer, but before she could press him further Frank butted in.
“So, I mean…you seem normal…why are you doing all this?”
Lena gave him a small, dreamily sad smile, “I do it for love. Is there any better reason?”
Frank wrinkled his nose, “love?”
She smiled at him, “yes…my husband, Artimus. I met him the first when I was still just a girl. He was beautiful with his cropped white hair but also…he was…dangerous. Not just what he could do…but his look, his attitude just spewed danger. I didn’t know till later what he could do.”
Frank rolled his eyes while Alexis took a seat at Lena’s large table as she cooked up their dinner on the gas range that Frank had started up. Bob took the seat across from her, but only seemed to have been half listening, his ‘gift’ taking control of him again like it use to.
“What can your husband do,” Alexis asked, “Pat never mentioned him.”
Lena gave her a petted smile, “well…it is perhaps because he was not around really when Pat was with us.”
Alexis blanched slightly at this news, “Oh…you don’t mean…”
Lena nodded sadly, “yes…my dear husband…my Artimus is dead.”