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| Almost Home; [Paige, Sam, Open!] | |
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| Topic Started: Dec 4 2008, 11:03 PM (359 Views) | |
| Paige Guthrie | Dec 4 2008, 11:03 PM Post #1 |
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Time of Day: Late afternoon, early evening Place in the Time-Line: November 20th North Salem, New York. It had changed since Paige had last been in town, something of a year ago. She shouldered her duffel bag and moved out of the way of the other passengers who were getting off the bus, squinting in the weak afternoon sun. There were a couple more shops near the bus depot than she remembered, and already there was garland hung up on the streetlights. Had it really been a year? Not seeing Sam in the crowd gathered around the bus, Paige nudged her way through and settled onto a bench. He would see her first, probably, being so tall. Normally Paige liked to people-watch, but at the moment she was too anxious to try. Her skin was itching in that particular way that it did when she hadn’t used her powers recently, but that would have to wait. She had been on a bus for nine straight hours, and it wouldn’t be the best thing to start ripping bits of skin off right here in the crowded terminal. The thought of waiting made it itch even harder, though it was all in her head probably. Part of her anxiety was her return. It had been two long years since Professor Xavier had disappeared – Paige refused to think him dead, whatever the evidence – and she had no idea how much the school had changed since then. Sam had told her that Mr. Grey-Summers was pretty much in charge, something that wasn’t particularly surprising in itself as he had been the first student, but she wondered at the changes. Looking down, Paige found that she had been absently picking at the skin on one palm, and in the gap her new skin shone. She made a face and clenched the hand into a fist, hiding her mistake. “Sam!” She jumped to her feet suddenly, grabbing for her heavy duffel bag. She had seen a broad back in the crowd, and a mop of blond hair the same shade of her own. “Sam, over here!” |
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| Jayson | Dec 8 2008, 10:12 PM Post #2 |
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Stone Touch / Super Strength
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Paige Guthrie was coming home. Her bus was due to arrive at 4:30pm, weather pending. It was late November and cold. Some forecast somewhere said it might snow later that evening. With luck it wouldn't but, hey, this was New York. There was hardly no traffic on the roads which, with Thanksgiving around the corner, was a good thing. Jayson had imagined what it would have been like for Paige if she was due to arrive in North Salem a few days later. Traveling during or just after a holiday contained little joy. The crowds were horrible and it was slow going. Only one reason would propel anyone into the madness of traveling at that time, family. Pulling into the parking lot of the bus station Jayson realized there were still a lot of cars. Some people probably decided it was smart to arrive or depart before the holiday. "Alright Sam, let's go find your sister," she said after backing up into a free parking spot. Out of the Guthrie siblings she knew Paige better than Sam. Paige and her had become friends after being part of the same group for a research project. They did well enough on the project for a class. It was more than a year and half go. But Sam, the only time Jayson hung out with Sam was during joint training session. He too was a Jr. X-man. Jayson pulled back the right sleeve of her pink fleece to check her watch. Winter would have been better if it didn't snow and wasn't freezing. However, winter gave her a good excuse to explain wearing gloves all the time. A lot of people knew how cold fingers get. So she held no worry of people staring at her with questioning eyes as they did in the high 90's of the summer. Resting against the dark pink background of her glove, the watch face and its black, leather watchband was prominent. "It's 45 after Sam. We're a bit late, sorry." From somewhere in the crowd Sam's name was called. Well, it could be another Sam but the voice was recognizable. It was Paige for sure. "There she is." Jayson allowed Sam to greet his sister first. Jayson followed after him a pace or two behind. When she got there she gave a quick, friendly smile. "Paige, may I offer to take your bag?" |
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| Sam Guthrie | Dec 9 2008, 01:43 AM Post #3 |
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Unregistered
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Riding in the car for more than a couple of minutes with somebody you didn't really know very well wasn't something Sam was much a fan of. Jayson, a Junior X-Man from the Mansion, and the young man had previously worked together and against each other in the Danger Room, but other than these few encounters, the two were nothing more than acquaintances. The fact that she was driving wasn't helping either, making him, one, feel like he didn't really have to be there. But two, because the driver, in all of their boredom, always seemed to want to talk to the passenger. Of course, Sam was all for meeting new people, but after knowing Jayson so long, and for having nothing to do with her for all of this time, speaking with her would be one of the most awkward things that could go on the way to pick up his sister. Luckily, on the way there, Jayson allowed the young man to choose the station the radio was on. As soon as her sentence was finished, he turned up the volume a bit and put it on a modern country station. Smiling, Sam sat back in the semi- comfortable seat he sat in, keeping his hands in his lap the entire time. As they approached the bus station, he turned down the music, and turned to Jayson and smiled, excited to see his sister after so much time away from her. "This is it. Gonna go see Paige. Gosh, I'm really excited to see her. How 'bout you?" Although he wasn't exactly thinking much about her reply, mainly because he knew almost exactly what she would say, but he continued looking at her as she parked the car. When arriving at the bus station he would pick up Paige at, his acquaintance, who also happened to be one of his sister's best friends, noted that they were a little late. This, of course, didn't exactly help when they were standing in a large crowd of people, all waiting for their own family and friends that were on their way to the big city. However, Sam's luck changed when his sister's shout for his name could be heard amongst the crowd of people that had already been unloaded off of the bus. Following the noise, Sam took quick steps, sliding in between people that were standing idly, also waiting for their loved ones. As Paige's hand reached out above the people at the place, he noticed that she had been peeling her skin off again, a habit he had thought she had learned to control. He laughed, and walked as fast as he could without knocking people over. Soon enough, the trio were next to each other, forming a triangle. But as soon as Sam was standing with his little sister, he hugged her with a large force. Realizing the he was mauling her, he let her go and smiled at her. "Paige! Oh, how Ah've missed ya! Sure wish ya woulda been here in the past couple months. Ben lonely bein' the only Guthrie at the Mansion. If only Ma would let Josh and Melody come to the Mansion. So, how was your time off?" After her answer, he motioned to her hand, which he had noticed earlier. "Ya really shouldn't do that. Not only does it make ya look weird, but it also makes people think you're either and android or'a mutant, an' neither of those thangs are exactly things we want people to think." Sam laughed again and crossed his arms. He looked to Jayson and nodded, motioning for her to reunite with his sister. |
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| Paige Guthrie | Dec 9 2008, 04:08 AM Post #4 |
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Unregistered
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The moment that Sam turned around, Paige was rushing towards him as quickly as she could, ducking around other passengers as they milled around the depot. She dropped her duffel bag, not caring how travel-worn she looked as she flung herself into his arms. “Sam!” She grinned, comforted immensely by his familiar embrace. He was her big brother, that would never change. Paige spent a few moments strangling his neck with her arms – he would never feel it, really, judging by how big he was – before she slid back to the ground. Noticing Jayson, she grinned sheepishly, hoisting her bag up over her shoulder again. She hadn’t been ignoring the other girl; she just hadn’t seen Jayson behind Sam. “Hey Jayson!” She grinned, brushing aside a lock of blonde hair that had somehow gotten loose from her pigtails. It was habit to braid her hair for trips – made things easier – but now that Paige was around people who she knew she felt grungy and ready for a nice long bath. “Lawd, I haven’t seen ya in ages.” Later at the school Paige would hide her accent, a habit left over from years earlier, but now with Sam the Southern roots came out full force. With the arm not carrying her duffel, Paige gave Jayson a hug – friends were kin, in her mind. She didn’t know the other girl as well as she wanted, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t rekindle the friendship. “How are ya? Are all the teachers still there?” And to Sam, with a little sheepish grin, “Could ya get my bags? You’re a big tough guy, right?” She nodded towards the couple of suitcases, already unloaded from the bus. There were always advantages to having a big brother around. As they walked towards the car, Paige rattled off a few more questions and stared discreetly around the depot. Yes, changes had been made. Sam had told her of some of the changes towards mutants, how opinions were changing, but as she looked around Paige wasn’t entirely sure if that was good or bad. Just in case, she clenched the hand with torn skin tighter, ignoring the way the skin stretched and itched even more. No use attracting more attention to them than necessary. |
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| Jayson | Dec 16 2008, 03:16 AM Post #5 |
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Stone Touch / Super Strength
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Paige never answered her question. Jayson bet she didn't even hear it. Seeing a familiar face after a long period of time can make all the rest of the world disappear for a seconds. It was nice to see a family reunite. Finally, Paige noticed her and promptly gave her a hug. Hugs were a necessary part of being friends so she returned them but with a bit of caution. For someone to be turned into a statue in the middle of the crowd would certainly mark them as mutants. Which, as Sam just pointed out, wasn't something they wanted. Still keeping care not to brush any part of her skin against Paige's Jayson released the hug and smiled again. "Haven't see ya in for a year. Which isn't actually all that long, considering." The accent was barely noted. Paige was Sam's sister after all. "Not sure how much your brother told you about what's been going on but most of the teachers are still there. There are some new ones and a lot of new students. A lot of students left, too. They come, they go, the world continues," Jayson replied giving a shrug. Not repeating her offer to carry the bags, she watched Sam go gather them up. Being stronger than your average mutant she could have carried them all without any loss of breath or paining muscles. It was nice though to allow Sam to be a the big brother. If he needed help then she would offer once more. "Nice to have a older brother, hmm?" Jayson said a little jokingly. Her friend was lucky to have siblings. On the way to the car Paige continued with her questions. Any questions that hinted of their being mutants were either avoided or ignored. Secrecy was necessary after all but it was a hindrance. When they got to her car Jayson unlocked the driver's side door then pressed down on the button that would unlock the rest of the doors. "Alright hop in Paige. Sam will put your bags in the trunk." Putting little thought into it she went around and unlocked the trunk. After pushing aside the emergency road kit Jayson then stood up and held her arms out as though she was displaying a prize to a would-be winner of a game show. "Sam, load her up so we can hit the road. We should get something to before heading back to the mansion," Jayson said as she walked and opened the driver's side door. "Bet your starving Paige." |
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| Sam Guthrie | Dec 16 2008, 11:43 PM Post #6 |
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Unregistered
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While hugging his sister, Sam felt like he was in the right place. Without her for such a long time, and having grown up with her in rural Kentucky, he honestly couldn't think of any other place he could've been. When releasing her, he smiled and headed in the direction of her bags. Although he momentarily stood still, waiting for her to approve his help. His recent past of picking up bags for a woman didn't exactly end well, seeing as how the last bag he had tried to politely hold was filled with a bunch of guns. As his sister began talking to Jayson, he knew that she was happy to be home, finally. Had his sister's best friend not informed him of her bus arrival, he would be at the Mansion at the moment, watching television. Luckily, he was there, with her. And everybody was obviously happy. Shortly after, Paige requested that her older brother take her bags. Smimling, he grabbed them, smiling. "Y'know, Ah'm only getting these 'cause Ah've been at the Masnion for such a long time without my sistah. This ain't gon' happen often." Sam's smile remained, holding her bags on his shoulder. As Jayson led them to the car, Sam softly placed the bags in the back. When he got to the front of the car, Sam opened the front door for his sister, even if he was half her size, and probably would have to lie down in the back seat due to a lack of leg's space. But he didn't mind. As he had previously mentioned, he was being especially nice today. Normally, he would let Paige get her own bags, sit in the back, and, wouldn't really recognize her as his sister. When she finished asking her questions, Sam demonstrated to her that he was now able to light his finger on fire, which he showed in front of the window. Unfortunately, the car behind them didn't seem to be a pro-mutant family. It began to tailgate them, although Sam did not notice. |
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| Paige Guthrie | Dec 17 2008, 08:36 PM Post #7 |
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Paige blushed once she realized that her manners had gone straight out the window -- what would Momma say to that? -- but Sam was already retreiving her bags like the lovable big brother she knew and loved. She stood awkwardly beside the passenger door, not used to being the center of attention. Growing up in such a massive family, she was used to wiping tears and snot and being slightly overlooked in favor of the little ones, but at the mansion it was different. Once her luggage was all tucked away neatly, and Sam was crammed in the backseat -- Paige couldn't help but stick her tongue out at him teasingly -- they were on their way. "I'm starved." She exclaimed as they pulled onto the main road. At Sam's impromptu demonstration, Paige snorted, but was inwardly very proud of her brother. Not long ago all he could do was crash haphazardly through walls. "Wow. Can't let you near the barn, I guess. All that hay'll go up in flames, and Momma'd tan your hide." Paige relished in the warmth of the car and the fact that they weren't surrounded by complete strangers, and took the time to scratch at her loose skin. It came off in big chunks, revealing a new skin underneath that shimmered very slightly. Oh well, it was just her hand. "That's bettah." Paige sighed, flexing her hand. "I was dyin' to get that off, but there were too many people around." Too many people that might attack, or call the cops on her. She reclined back in her seat, yawning. The yawn turned into a startled yelp as something brushed the car from behind, rattling them all. Paige twisted around in her seat, restrained only by the seatbelt, just as the car bumped again. Another car was behind them, the driver wearing a mask of cold fury. "Jayson." Paige whispered, her throat suddenly dry. "Ah think ya'd better speed up." |
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| Jayson | Dec 22 2008, 05:25 AM Post #8 |
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Stone Touch / Super Strength
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“Sam, put out your finger please. Don’t want the car to catch fire,” Jayson said taking notice of the fire coming from his finger through the corner of her eye. Hmm, that was interesting. Who else can boast about lighting their finger on fire and not be burned? Still, they were in an enclosed space and in car. To her knowledge fire and cars didn’t mix all too well. “Wasn’t the great fire of Chicago started by a barn fire?” she asked casting a glance at Paige. So Sam hadn't been able to do this before Paige left? She made a mental note to study the dossiers of the members on the other teams better. It would be smart to do so just in case the teams were mixed up for mission. She should have done so already but hadn't. Jayson stepped lightly on the break. Ahead was a four-way stop. Her passengers would appreciate it if she didn’t slam on the breaks to make it. But, as the car slowed, the car jerked forward. The poor, red car celebrated 10 years on the road back in ’06. Briefly, Jayson thought the years were finally catching up on it. Just as the car was about to make a full stop, it jerked forward again. “Hope the car’s not breaking down,” Jayson started to say but Paige cut her off. “What?” There was no other choice. If they stopped something could happen. The one tailgating them would keep ramming them. Jayson hit the accelerator thus running the stop sign. There was no time to make sure the crossroad was clear. They got through alright as did the car still following them. Good thing she was a natural at speeding without being seen by the cops. “Did either of you give a nasty looks at the bus station?” Jayson asked trying to keep calm. As she said this she reached up to the rearview mirror and adjusted it. “There’s the driver and a passenger, no one else. Better take the next turn before we get to the main part of town," Jayson thought out loud. Just as she said Jayson took the next right turn. It was another four-way stop. Once again she ran the stop sign while hand-over-hand she made a hard right without slowing down. A screech sounded from the car following them as the driver realized in his blind rage that their prey pulled a quick one. They made a sudden u-turn and turned to continue the case. They just barely missed hitting two other cars. In front of them shone a red light with a line of three cars stopped at it. Running stops signs was one thing, running red lights was another. She slowed the car down seeing no other opition. “This ain't good,” Jayson said looking into the rearview mirror again. “Any ideas on how to shake them after the light?” she asked Paige and Sam. For an answer she received a crunching sound just before the air bags went off. |
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| Sam Guthrie | Dec 22 2008, 07:39 AM Post #9 |
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Unregistered
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While Sam was flickering his finger on and off, he was warned by Jayson that showing off his new- learned power wasn't good in the confined space. He hadn't thought about that originally, nor did he realize that the car behind theirs was an anti- mutant man that wasn't exactly friendly. As Paige noted that she was hungry, Sam turned off his flaming finger and sat up straight in his sit, realizing that it wasn't very safe to lie down in the back seat of a moving car. The driver of the car he was in asked the young man about the Chicago fire. "Honestly, Jayson, Ah wouldn't know. Ah dropped out of school when Ah was twelve to pick up the slack my dad left when he died. Paige is the one that would know 'bout history an' stuff, not me." Sam chuckled a bit, reflecting his history. Responding to Paige, Sam laughed and talked quickly. "Maybe Ah will! And you're hungry? Why didn't you get something during the bus's pit stops? Ain't you ever used public transportation before, ya knucklehead?" His laugh remained throught his sentence, and ended abruptly when Paige continued peeling off her skin. "Y'know, Paige, that really isn't safe. What if there were some bad guys that didn't like us that saw you peelin' off your skin? Gotta be more careful and thoughtful about the people around you. Ya might end up get somebody hurt some day." Sam shook his head sideways. "Peel off that layer and get some more regular skin back. Don't want a hand made of steel." He smiled and looked out the window. But when the car began to act up, he knew something weird was going on. Cars don't make noises like that. Sam turned around, seeing the car abnormally close to the car. Paige, too, turned around, seeing the car behind them brushing up against the car. The "Jayson, ya better speed up" Said it all. Immediately, he felt guilty. The mutant had just been scolding his little sister for using her powers in public, when a person behind him had see him use his flame on his hand. "Oh, Gosh. Ah can't believe this. The guy behind us musta seen me use my powers. He really looks angry. Jayson, swittch lanes or something. No way in heck can we stay in this lane without getting killed." Sam put his hand gently against his forehead, feeling silly for his hipocritical ways. But before he could react, his face was smashed into Paige's head rest. His nose was pushed to the side, and began to bleed a little bit. His neck hurt a little bit, but other than that, he didn't get hurt that much. He had his seat belt on, and it brought him back when he hit his sister's seat. Immediately, he thought about Paige and Jayson. The mutant busted open his door, which, luckily didn't have any damage to it. "Oh my God. This is awful." While standing outside, he felt a little bit light headed. He kept his left hand on his nose, and used his right hand to burst open his sister's door. When he opened it, he immediately pushed down the airbag and looked extremely scared. His sister had not yet reacted, and she looked okay. He walked over the hood over the car, given that it was almost completely totalled and that it was tocuhing the car in front of it. He bursted open Jayson's door, and looked sorry at the two girls. This was all his fault. How could he be so stupid? With tears beginning to roll down his face, he said to his sister and her friend, "Oh, God. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." His accent was almost completely gone, hysterically speaking instead. He quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and attempted to help her out. "Are... are you okay? Ah know the driver gets it the worst." He continued to wipe the tears out of his eyes. |
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| Paige Guthrie | Dec 22 2008, 05:38 PM Post #10 |
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Paige’s fingers curled into the handle above the door as she braced herself, glad that she wasn’t driving. She was used to the slow lanes of rural Kentucky; there was no way that she could have pulled off some of the tricks that Jayson was. “Legend was that a lantern tipped over in a barn.” She murmured, belatedly answering Jayson’s question in an attempt to ease some of the stress. It wasn’t working. Paige closed her eyes for a moment, convinced that they would be hearing sirens in a second. Of course they didn’t, but it didn’t keep Paige from muttering a prayer along the lines of ‘please don’t let us die or go to jail’. If they did go to jail, it would all be the bigots’ fault. “Ah didn’t see anyone lookin’ at me weird.” Paige opened her eyes, trying to think back. “Not really, anyway.” There were always those creeps who would look at her, but that had nothing to do with being a mutant. In any case, she had hidden her hand well after picking at it, not taking it out of her pocket until she was well into the car. No one could have seen that. She had just started to turn around to respond to Sam’s slight scolding – there was no way she could peel metal skin off right then and there! – when an airbag exploded in her face. Paige threw her arms up with a cry, shielding herself as best she could as the front of their car collided with the bumper of the car ahead. The car behind had rammed them hard, hard enough to where the front of the car had been completely totalled. Paige finally lifted her head, feeling the heat of the airbag melting away the thin top layer of her skin. Had she been any other normal human, she would have received second-degree burns, but her underskin prevented that. Now, Paige just looked like a metallic girl with a half-hearted attempt at skin overtop. The first thing she heard was Sam, slamming out of his seat. Paige looked up at him, already working on getting her seatbelt off. “Not your fault.” She told him, finally getting the clasp off. While she had not been burned, her head still felt woozy from the accident. Her thoughts turned to the other girl sluggishly. “Jayson!” Then, more loudly as she regained her senses, “Jayson!” |
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| Jayson | Dec 25 2008, 05:02 AM Post #11 |
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Stone Touch / Super Strength
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Underneath the fabric of her gloves her fingers were white. The air bag had made contact with the lower left side of her jaw and chin. The searing pain made her eyes water. It made her want to scream out a string of curses. It made her want to start to scratch at the burn to try to make the pain go away. By no means did it itch but there was a slight chance it'll help. Jayson kept her fingers curled around the steering wheel in attempt not to touch her face. Touching it would make it worse. She knew this but it might help. No, no it wouldn't. Jayson had pushed down the airbag the moment all it released all it's pressure. Sam didn't have to go around it to unbuckle her seatbelt. Jayson just stared forward looking out the windshield while she held tightly to the steering wheel. They were in a car crash. She had hit the car in front of her. Then another car hit them. "I'm fine," Jayson replied to Sam. There was a car crash. She caused a car crash. If she had been paying attention, if someone hadn't been chasing them, she wouldn't have hit the car in front of her. Paige began screaming her name. Her friend and Sam were worried about her. Didn't they know that she had survived a ceiling collapse on top of her once. It would take much more than a car crash like this one to hurt her. After Sam helped her out of the driver's seat Jayson walked over to Paige putting her gloved hands on her friend's shoulders. "I'm fine. My face hurts but I'm fine," she said as calmly as she could. "I'm fine," Jayson repeated, "I'm fine." There was no chance to allow her rapid heart beat to calm. Horns began to blare. People with panic-stricken voices shouted into cell phones. Soon the rescue squads with a plethora of cop cars, ambulance, and fire trucks would arrive. But, in all this, the creak of a car door would have alerted the trio of mutants that the mutant hater was getting out of their car. If they could only hear it over the continuing mayhem. |
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| Sam Guthrie | Dec 28 2008, 11:14 PM Post #12 |
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While standing outside, looking at his sister, Sam didn't realize what was going on behind them. The man that had caused this scene was now walking out of his car, both of his hands shaped like fists. In all of the commotion, the mutant didn't know what to think. He was ashamed. His sister was scared. Jayson was delirious. The car in front of them was totaled; the momentum that had carried after the anti- mutant's car crashed into Jayson's caused even more damage then there had already been to the car that been intially rear- ended. The family that was inside of the car was okay; they hadn't been hit as hard as the mutants. After Jayson continually repeated, "I'm fine" Sam was a bit worried, but he didn't concern himself with her safety. Looking over at his sister and Jayson, he wiped the blood off of his nose and rubbed his eyes, hoping to contain how upset he was. He turned his head to the left, seeing the driver of the car in front of them stepping out of their SUV. Sam walked up to him, and motioned for his sister to get bak in the car after noticing that her face was now an entirely different substance. "Young man, do you know how scared my children are right now?" The man said, talking with an angry tone. Sam rubbed his nose again, trying to hold in the pain. "Ah'm sorry, sir. There was some ice on the road and the driver of our car couldn't get a hold of it by the time we got up here. Ah dunno why the guy behind us hit us, but it's still no excuse. Ah'm real sorry, honest." Sam said, trying to make sure his lie was consistent. Looking ahead, the man's wife was standing against the car and was talking loudly into her cell phone, trying to sooth her young daughter by rubbing her head. Behind the mutants, still, the man that had forced Jayson to flee was eyeing the young man with a grim look on his face. |
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8:15 AM Jul 11