Jennifer considered this, wondering if maybe she had forgotten to actually read it and had given it back to him with random recommendations for editing. Suddenly she felt extremely awkward.
"I'm so sorry, it must have slipped my mind," Jennifer started to apologize. "Work has been extremely hectic, and I must have forgotten all about it."
Luke waved the apology off, the smile never leaving his face. "Forget it, it's ok," Luke said. "I'm actually sorry I threw myself onto you like this. Listen, if you have time, we can get a cup of coffee around the corner and I can make up for his hoopala."
Jennifer smiled uneasily. "I really have to get back to work," she said. "My break's almost over."
"Nonsense," Luke moved closer, placing a hand on hers. "You've got at least half an hour to go. And Shannon can cover for you, right?"
Jennifer's heart skipped a beat and she quickly pulled her hand away, her eyes wide. Luke frowned for a second, and when he realized he had said too much, his smile disappeared completely.
"How did you - ?" Jennifer started.
Luke grabbed her hand again, clenching onto her wrist like a clamp. "Coffee? Now?"
"Let go of me," Jennifer's voice began to rise.
Luke opened his blazer far enough to make sure she saw the firearm in his belt and clamped down tighter on her wrist. "I really would keep my voice down if I were you."
Jennifer stared at the gun in silence, her body starting to shake. She looked up into her captor's eyes, a dark shade of blue that had suddenly turned ice cold with menace, and weighed her options. Screaming was her first impulse, but seeing the gun quickly made that a bad idea. She began to wonder how long it would take him to shoot her if she managed to pull free of his grasp and run when a second man came up behind him and sat down in the empty space of the bench.
"You know, Luke," the blonde said. "There was a time you guys actually convinced people to join your cause instead of kidnapping them."
She felt the grip on her hand loosen as Luke turned to look at the man sitting next to him, and she used the opportunity to pull her hand away and run. She only got a few feet away when she slammed into a woman, her hands grabbing onto the red-head's leather jacket to stop from falling.
Luke was about to get up, when the blonde grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back down. Jennifer was about to run again when the woman she had bumped into wrapped her arms around her and held her close, moving them both away from the two men. She tried to break free, but the woman's embrace was too strong.
"Calm down," Leah said. "We're here to help."
Jennifer squirmed some more. "That man has a gu - " Jennifer started saying before Leah covered her mouth with one hand and put a finger to her own lips.
"How did you find us?" Luke sneered, looking from Eric to Leah and back again.
"Dumb luck," Rick said, coming up behind Leah with Nadia and Patricia in tow.
Luke started to get up again and was pulled back down.
"This is how it's going to be," Rick started. "We're going to take Miss Gear and walk away, calmly and quietly, and you're going to walk in the other direction. You're going to call Sebastian, or Katherine, or whoever sent you, and tell them that this one got away, and you're going to try your luck somewhere else. That's if we don't beat you to them."
Luke smiled. "You don't have the manpower," he sneered. "We've got people all over the country recruiting at the same time."
"Right, the list," Rick nodded. "Well, from what we've seen so far, you guys are doing a terrible job at it. I'm thinking, why try when you're already scaring everyone in our direction anyway."
"There is no other direction," Luke scoffed. "If we can't get them, neither will you."
Jennifer's eyes danced from one person to the other, her mind racing. All of a sudden, screaming seemed like a very good option. She wriggled free of Leah's embrace and started to race into the park, ignoring the sounds of the people she bumped into. She didn't dare look back, in fear that despite being outnumbered, Luke would still be able to pull out his gun and shoot.
#
Nadia knew Jennifer would run before she had the opportunity to stop her. She gave chase immediately, knowing that the others would be able to handle Luke without any trouble. Dashing across the park, she kept her pace steady, allowing for a good distance between her and Jennifer. She didn't want to scare the woman any more than she already was, and the further Jennifer was from Luke, the better.
She followed Jennifer through the park, keeping the blonde within sight, and only started to close the distance when she thought it safe enough. When she was finally close enough to grab her arm, Jennifer turned around and screamed.
Nadia knew that scream better than anyone. She braced herself as the earth between her and Jennifer rose alarmingly and slammed into her, throwing her off her feet. Nadia hit the ground hard, rolled and jumped back up. Jennifer was standing in front of her, her face a mix of fear and fury, her fists clenched tight. Nadia felt like she was looking into a mirror, the expression on Jennifer's face a reflection of what she must have looked like when first discovering her powers. She could sense the woman's energy even from this far away, and she knew that if she didn't calm her down, she would tear the entire park apart.
Someone screamed behind her, followed by more screams as people recovered from the shock of what they had just seen and began running in the opposite direction. Nadia knew if she waited long enough, if she could calm Jennifer down for just a few minutes, the others would catch up with them.
#
Luke slammed his fist against Eric's face.
They had all heard the screams of panic, and in the moment of confusion, Luke found an opportunity. He jumped up from the bench, pulled out his gun and aimed it at Leah. If he was going to kill somebody, it would be the one with the lighter in her hand.
#
"You need to calm down."
Jennifer stared in disbelief at the woman in front of her, her initial feeling of anger quickly replaced by a stronger sense of fear. She looked at her hands, then at the mound of earth in front of her. Had she done that? Questions raced through her head, confusing her, and she started to shake like a leaf. She felt heat race through her entire body, a pain inside her that she couldn't comprehend. Wincing, she tried to shut it in, but couldn't. It was too much for her.
"What's happening to me?"
Nadia moved towards the woman slowly. "It's ok," she tried to reassure her. "You can control it. Just try to concentrate."
Jennifer shook her head in disbelief; the realization of what she had done hit her hard. She felt the heat in her rise, feverish, eating at her from inside. She suddenly felt like her entire body would explode, and she shut her eyes against it all.
The earth below her feet started to shake.
#
Patricia raced past Leah, pushing her aside as she brought her hand down on Luke's arm hard, grabbing his wrist even as he fired his weapon. The sound of the gun echoed loudly in the crowded streets. People were racing out of the park in hordes, and the sound of gunfire turned the stampede into a frenzy.
Luke tried to raise the gun again when Patricia threw a punch at him, her fist connecting with his jaw to the sound of bones cracking. Luke's eyes rolled up in their sockets as he hit the ground hard, the gun slipping out of his hands. She felt Rick's arms around her as she toppled forward.
"Trish!"
Patricia looked down at the red stain that had appeared on her thigh, warm blood trickling down her leg from where the bullet had penetrated. She leant hard against Rick, throwing an arm around his shoulder as she winced in pain.
"Damn it," Leah cursed, grabbing the gun and quickly pushing it into her belt. "I'm going to kill him!"
"Forget about him," Rick said, helping Patricia onto the bench and kneeling to take a look at the wound. "Just find Nadia."
Leah was about to say something when the earth started to shake.
"I got it," Eric said, blood trickling from h
is nose. "D?j? vu."
#
Nadia let the energy flow through her freely.
She could see Jennifer struggling, now down on her knees and hugging herself in an attempt to close in what she was letting out. Nadia knew that she was scared, and she knew that things were only going to get worse from here on out. The shaking under her feet wasn't strong enough to throw her off balance, but if she didn't find a way to calm the woman down, they would be moments away from complete disaster.
"Jennifer, can you hear me?" Nadia called out, using her powers to contain Jennifer's outburst as much as possible. The other woman was crying freely now, hands on her head. Nadia could only imagine how much pain she was in, remembering vaguely how hard her outbreak had been. Back then, she had had Sam to help her out, to calm her when the emotions took over and she hadn't been able to control the energy inside her.
"Jennifer, you need to listen to me!" Nadia called out, watching in horror as mounds of earth burst up into the air around the woman.
"I can't stop it!" Jennifer cried out, on the verge of a complete breakdown. She was breathing hard, her eyes squeezed shut against the beating her body was taking.
"You're not supposed to stop it," Nadia called out, moving closer. "Embrace it, Jennifer. The more you try to shut it in, the harder it will fight back."
"Look at what I'm doing," Jennifer cried out. "I can't stop it. What's happening to me?"
Nadia moved closer still, her eyes starting to glow green as she used more of her own energy. The earth beneath her feet threatened to explode, and she pushed it back quickly. Jennifer was strong, but Nadia was insistent on not using her own powers against her. Somehow she had to reach her, find a way to calm her down, help her release the tension that was building up inside her.
Suddenly a breeze picked up around her, picking up the loose mounds of earth at her feet and blowing them about in small whirlwinds. Nadia looked up to see Eric standing a few feet behind her, arms stretched out in front of him. She shook her head at him quickly, silently begging him not to do anything too drastic.
At that moment, the ground beneath her feet shook with such violence that it threw her off her feet. Distracted by Eric, she had allowed Jennifer's energy to take the upper hand. Nadia hit the ground hard.
"Open your eyes!" she called out to the woman, pushing her own energy out in waves, trying to contain Jennifer's outburst, but she could feel she was losing her grip on the situation.
"Jennifer!"
Jennifer shook her head violently, clawing at her temples. The pain was getting worse, and try as she might, she couldn't hold it in anymore. She screamed, louder than she ever had, and she felt the energy inside her scream along, racing out of her, free at last.
Eric watched in horror as the earth tore out of the ground and shot out in waves, jumping to one side and out of the way quickly. He raised his arms instantly, pushing his own energy out in a dome, earth and wind crashing into each other with such force that the shaking of the ground below him seemed trivial.
"Nadia, we need to stop this!"
Nadia sat up on her knees and slammed her fists into the earth. She closed her eyes, called upon the force inside her and pushed. The earth cracked at her hands, and she looked up in despair as she watched the waves she created race towards Jennifer. They hit the woman hard, throwing her to the ground. Nadia pushed again, the earth around her hands racing about with purpose, rising around her, shooting skyward.
"I'm sorry," Nadia whispered as Jennifer started getting up to her feet again. She could feel the woman's energy growing stronger, and without hesitation, she shot her entire force at her.
Threads of hardened earth slammed into Jennifer, throwing her off her feet again. She landed hard, motionless between the upturned mess of earth she had just caused.
Nadia stood up slowly, breathing hard. She tried her best to control her own emotions, calming down the shaking in her hands.
"That's going to bruise pretty badly," Eric said, coming up behind Nadia and placing a hand on her shoulder.
Nadia nodded. She looked at where Jennifer laid, breathing yet unconscious, and hated herself immediately for what she had done.
#
Ethan stood in the open field, waiting.
He had followed Steven silently as they walked deeper into the fields away from their car. At one point he had wanted to stop the other man and turn back, confused as to what they were doing, too tired to walk anymore. But he hadn't, his curiosity getting the best of him. Steven had stopped when they were so far away from the highway, Ethan could hardly make out the strip of asphalt they had been driving down only moments before.
"What are we doing here?" Ethan asked.
"Sometimes I do this just to get away from it all," Steven said, winking at him and smiling. "It helps cope with everything, I guess."
Steven sat down, legs crossed, closed his eyes and placed the palms of his hands on the ground next to him.
Ethan frowned, wondering if Steven had brought him out here to partake in some religious ritual, and was about to say something when he felt the earth beneath his feet shudder. Ethan looked about, surprised at the gentle hum that seemed to come from around him and under him, and froze in his place when his eyes fell back upon Steven.
Steven had raised his hands off the ground, his fingers flickering as earth rose from the ground in small grains that twisted and turned upon themselves in pillars. He moved his arms out, the pillars following his movements, and suddenly more pillars rose from around him. The earth seemed to float upwards, as if gravity had forgotten all about them, and rose skywards. Steven was soon surrounded by these pillars, his form barely visible behind the curtains of earth.
"What the hell?" Ethan whispered, trying to find any explanation to what he was seeing.
He stared in awe as more pillars rose from the ground, surrounding him as well. He reached out and touched the grains, pulling his hand back when he felt something run into him, an energy similar to that he had felt at the motel. He smiled, looking up as the pillars rose higher and higher. He suddenly felt like laughing.
Steven stood up from where he was sitting, his arms now at his sides, smiling at Ethan as more and more pillars rose up around them.
"This is awesome," Ethan said, exasperated.
Steven's smile widened. "You haven't seen anything yet," he said, his eyes glowing a bright green. "Watch this!"
He raised his hands above his head and suddenly brought them crashing together, and the whole world exploded.
The pillars blew out around them, the earth racing out in every direction, rising up and down like waves in the air, twirling around them, twisting among themselves as they curled and twisted about. Ethan laughed then, spreading his arms wide, the earth at his fingertips like bolts of electricity as he let in the energy he had felt earlier. For the first time in days, he felt incredibly light and free, as if the world were literally at his fingertips.
Steven was laughing too, moving his hands in circles as he shot more and more earth up into the air. Ethan felt like he was standing in a whirlwind of earth, the grains brushing against his skin in a way that felt more beautiful than anything he had ever experienced before. He felt more alive than ever, and he let his emotions go.
Memories of Alicia flooded his mind and mixed with the lightness he was feeling. He let his tears flow freely, arms stretched out, twirling with the earth around him, turning in circles, crying and laughing at the same time as Steven watched from afar with a smile.
In the dark, with the earth around them like a blanket, the two men danced about like children, for a few minutes forgetting the entire world around them.
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