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The Foxfire Trilogy:
William Becker, the head of research and information, walked down a long dark hall. He'd never been "called" before and didn't know what would happen. He clutched the clipboard to his chest, nervously looking around. Finally he reached the large oak doors. Slowly he knocked, the sound bounced off the walls, echoing down the hall.
No answer.
He turned around, and swiftly began walking away. Suddenly he heard a creek, and he slowly turned around. The left door was now open. "Come in Mr. Becker," echoed a low raspy voice.
Becker sighed deeply, and entered the room.
He looked around in the dark, adjusting his glasses on his nose. He spotted a figure behind a large desk, hands steppled.
"Mr. Becker, do you have the location of the missing mutant?".
"Umm... we've encountered some minor set-backs," he said looking at the clip board.
"I didn't ask for the year’s happenings! I asked for the location of the GIRL!"
Becker cringed, wiping his hands on his white lab coat. "No sir we haven't."
The figure held up it's hand. Becker fell to his knees, groping for his neck. "Mr. Becker, you listen to me good. I want you to find that girl and find her now!! Do you hear me?!"
He wheezed, clutching the carpet, gasping for air.
"Do you understand me?!?" it asked again.
"Y..yes," he wheezed.
"Good," it's voice boomed throughout the office. "Now get out of my sight!"
He turned around and scurried out of the room on his knees.
The figure turned around and gazed out the window Soon, you will some 'Home', I'll make sure of that.
***
The wall of her cell felt cold even through the jump suite that she wore. Her head rested in the corner as she tried to catch some much-needed sleep. The damp, musty sir entered her lungs, threatening to choke her with every breath. She sighed and looked into the darkness that was being pushed back by her ever-burning flames, this was her life.
Suddenly she heard a long, loud buzz. That was the sound of someone entering the cellblock. Groggily she sat up, barely able to open her eyes, and made her way to the bars. She pressed her face to them and looked in the direction of the door. Who's it gonna be today? She thought with a smirk.
As usual two guards were waved through by one standing on the inside of the door. The bright red light illuminated the hall that branched out into each one of their cells. But one thing was different this day. There was a third figure, one she had never seen before.
As if in a hurry the two guards and the individual, a women she figured because of the heels on e shoes, walked down the hall, quickly looking into each cell. Then they came to hers, the only one lit. She crept back against the wall and watched as the woman whispered, over a cigarette, to the guards.
The guards opened her cell, and she backed even deeper into the corner. One guard grabbed the chains bound to her feet, and yanked her towards him, while the other readied the prod. It glowed fiercely in his gloved hands. He raised it above his head, ready to bring it down onto her already dead body. With lightning speed he did. It sank into her body, tearing through flesh, until ...
Kaylan shot up in bed. Sweat dripped form her body. Then cover stuck to her damp body. Not another one she thought. She rubbed her eyes as if trying to rub away the nightmares and as usual it didn't work. Then she noticed the lamp on the desk on and the window next to it was open.
Monet must've left it open when she was pulling one of her late night studies, she thought. She walked over and reached for the knob on the desk light but noticed the book lying open on the desk. It was a coloring book of some sort, but a closer look revealed that it was a picture diary. The last page showed a picture of over-grown, thorny plants surrounding the school, some even growing out through the roof and sides of the academy. The curtains fluttered slightly at an incoming breeze. She arched an eyebrow, at the picture, and read the caption. It read:
"Something bad is going to happen. 'I' can feel it. I think it has something to do with Mondo."
"What are you doing?"
Kaylan slammed the book shut and whirled around, "Umm...nothing. I just got up to turn off the light." she turned around and turned it off. "There." She smiled weakly.
The light from the window was the only light illuminating the room, and Monet stood in the middle of that wearing only her night shirt and shorts.
Kyalan looked towards the door, searching for anyway out to get out of the situation. "I think I'll go to the rec cottage and get something to snack on, you want anything?"
"No thank you," Monet said sliding under her sheets.
Kaylan turned and took the keys off the hook next to the door.
"Kaylan," Monet said. Kaylan turned around. "It's okay." A small smile played across her lips as she said this.
"Umm....thanks?" she said as she opened the door and left.
She opened the door to the rec-cottage using the set of keys that every student had. Right now she was using Monet's set since she was new and still didn't have her own. She opened the door and saw that the fridge was open.
"Who's there?!" she asked, her hands ready to flame up if the intruder made a move.
The figure in the fridge jerked suddenly at her voice, banging its head against the inside and dropping everything in its hand.
"Geeze Kaylan," said Everett emerging from the refrigerator rubbing his head, "you almost scared the daylights outta me!"
"I scared you!?! No, you scared me, roaming around here at this hour." she said as she came into the cottage. She walked over to him and helped him pick up the things that he dropped.
"Thanks," he said. He put the things on the counter. It looked like he was going to be making a sandwich of some sort. "So what’re you up for?"
She sat on a barstool at the counter. "Nothing really, I just had a bad dream that’s all." She looked away when she said that.
"You want to talk about it?"
"No, I don't. It's nothing big though, I'll be fine."
"You've been here for two weeks, and I still haven't seen you be 'fine'" Everett pointed out.
Kaylan chuckled slightly.
"Does it have anything to do with Angelo?" Everett had started laying out the ingredients for his sandwich. "Do you want one?"
"No, and what is that anyway?"
"It's a sandwich my dad taught me to make before I left. He calls it a 'Thomas Supreme'."
"What’s in it?" she asked overlooking all the things laid out on the counter.
"Stop trying to avoid the subject," he said smiling up at her. Even though he had a thing for Jubilee something about Kaylan pulled at him.
She smiled back. "I'm not trying to avoid the subject, I just don't want to talk about it."
Everett held up his hand in mock defeat. "Okay I give up, I give up." he started to put the sandwich together.
"So what's in it?"
"It has three types of cheese: jack, chedder, and swiss. It has ham and turkey, olives, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and pickles. Then the top slice is white bread, while the bottom is wheat bread."
"If you take off the onions you've got yourself a deal." she smiled again.
Everett's heart almost melted. That's two smiles in one night he counted in his head.
"Want...you...to..me ?" he fumbled, stepping all over his words. "Want me to teach you how to make it?" he corrected.
"Umm..sure why not." She stood and put her knees in the chair.
"Okay, this is how you make it...."
*1:30 am
Kaylan sat indian-styled in a big armchair in the rec-cottage. The sandwich sat in her lap, "That is so crazy!" she said.
"That’s nothing," he laughed," one time Jubilee and I had a prank contest, to see who could pull the best prank."
"Who won?"
"Jubilee, it was so funny. She put ink in one of Paige's shampoo bottles. Paige's hair was blue for a week!!!" He burst out in laughter, tear formed in his eyes.
Kaylan brushed the tears off her face. "This is really good," she managed to say in between breaths.
"What the stories?"
"This sandwich, but the stories are pretty good too!"
"Yea, I'm surprised you made it right. I tried to teach Jubilee how to make it and it turned into a food-fight." Everett chuckled, his mouth full of ham.
She smiled as she took another bite. She sighed and looked towards the t.v.
"What’s wrong now?" he asked.
"Nothing."
"Then what was the sigh for?" he urged.
"I said nothing Everett!" she said suddenly snapping at him.
He flinched and lowered the sandwich onto the paper plate in his lap.
"No Everett, I'm sorry. Really I am, it's just that I've been thinking about stuff lately." She placed her plate on the coffee table between them, and looked into his eyes. He is handsome she thought.
She brushed the thought away. I can't get involved with anybody yet, not like this. She looked away from him.
Everett moved to the edge of the couch that was next to her. He took her hand in his, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, I mean there are things in my life I don't ever want to talk about."
"It's not the same," she said. "I mean my life and your life? Trust me you haven't been through what I have."
"How do you know that?" he challenged.
"Look at you, you couldn't have gone through anything bad. You're way too nice.."
He looked down at her hand Why hasn't she pulled away,. he thought. "Well how about this, I tell you about some of mine and you tell me about some of yours."
Kaylan looked away smiling, "You are NOT going to let me get away are you?" she asked him.
"Nope," he said shaking his head.
"Fine then," she sighed.
"Okay this one time we fought Emplate."
"Wait Emplate? Isn't that that guy with the respirator?" she asked, interrupting him.
"Yea, how'd you know that?" he was still holding her hand.
"Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Frost made me review all the files in the data base," she explained.
"I see. Anyway, you know that he sucks the genetic make-up from other mutant's bones right?"
She nodded.
"Well it seems that he can control mutants too. Well he got control of me when he ambushed the school one day. I almost killed my foster sister, and I almost killed Paige. If it wasn't for Monet I don't know what I would have done." Everett looked away at the end, the pain evident in his voice.
Kaylan put a hand on his face, "It'll be okay Ev, you didn't hurt anyone."
"I know but the part that hurts is the fact that I could have hurt someone."
"But you didn't, you didn’t Ev. That’s all that counts." she reassured him.
Everett leaned into her hand, his eyes half closed. "I know Kaylan, I know."
Silenced followed and Kaylan withdrew her hand. It fell next to the other in her lap. She began twirling the edge of her shorts in her hands nervously.
Everett glanced about the room, pretending not to have noticed what had just happened. He noticed that Kaylan was reluctant to share her past experiences with him.
"Hey, it's two thirty," he said. "I should get back to bed."
"Yea, me too," she answered in a low voice. She grabbed his plat and put it in the sink. Then she walked over to the door where he stood.
"It was nice talking to you Everett," she said looking down at the floor. She glanced up and their eyes met.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he announced.
"Tomorrow then." He opened the door and they bother left the cottage. He stopped to lock it, but she kept walking, at a steady pace. She glanced back to see him walking in the opposite direction. You can't do it, girl she thought to herself. He's too...he's too good. You can't do this to him. Besides Angelo is here.
Once again she sighed, and wrapped her arms around herself. The wind whipped through her hair, picking up stray leaves as she walked along the lit path to the girl’s dorms. Why is my like so complicated. Why is this type of stuff always following me.
As if expecting an answer from the breeze she grew silent. She looked up at the sky. The stars twinkled above her. She looked up at these stars a million times, but each time they did the same thing. Nothing. Everytime she glanced they glowed as if unaware but completely knowing of the things that went on under them.
Kaylan crept through the opened door, trying her beast not to wake Monet. She closed the door and tiptoed to her bed. Pushing back to covers she slung her legs around and slipped them under them. Her head hit the pillow.
"What took you so long?" Monet asked from the bed across from her.
"Everett was down there."
"What did you guys do?" Monet asked suddenly.
"What do you mean 'What did we do?'" Kaylan looked up.
"Nothing I just wanted to know what took you so long." Monet said smiling.
"Well he taught me how to make this sandwich." Kaylan started.
"That 'Thomas Supreme'?"
"Yea."
"He tried to teach all of us how to make that thing a while ago. Did he tell you what happened to Jubilee?"
Kaylan chuckled, her began closing, "Yep, he told me. Anyways we talked the rest of the time and then I left."
"That simple?" Monet continued.
"That simple." Kaylan answered.
Kaylan saw Monet roll over to face the opposite direction, and didn't expect another comment. Likewise her eyes fluttered shut and she smiled to herself, What am I getting myself into? She thought.
Okay you know the drill, Kaylan is mine, and everyone else belongs to the big guys over at Marvel. No profit is being made so don't sue. . BE WARNED!!!! :)
