Chapter Five - Regret

Blood and screams… that was all Ian Somers had in his sleep. Blood and screams. He kept replaying that moment over and over again - the train spinning out of control in mid air, then landing miraculously on the tracks again. Ian knew he had done it; somehow he had held onto the train like that. It was more than he could fathom.

I didn’t mean to do it.

Blood and screams haunted him until his eyes shot open. His bedside lamp was hanging over his head… just floating there. It began to drop quickly. He panicked. Then it smashed into the wall. Part of him had stopped it… but he knew he had put it there in the first place… hovering over him like that.

I have to fix this!

He got dressed quickly, ignoring the dark rings around his eyes. A sleepless night… too many nightmares.

The track bent…

The man standing in the middle of the rails in his dark suit. The man that had shook the earth in the restaurant. The man who had tried to kill Ian in public. The man who had ruined the one date Ian had had in years.

…it wasn’t my fault!

The man had done it to himself, Ian realised. Ian had saved all those people on the train… women and children, men, old and young.

I can save more people… I can be a hero!

***

Naomi saw her target once more. Emily Quigley. Standing beside an odd looking man. He looked uncertain of things… although Naomi can’t imagine why. And then he vanished. Teleported away.

He’s the mutant from the cells!

Naomi panicked. The man, 0179, and Emily were together. And she had to tear them apart. But she couldn’t. That would mean taking away from someone what they had only gotten - happiness. She couldn’t do that to them. But then…

I have to… for my sake and theirs.

Naomi gulped hard. Her hands were ready to do what her mind wasn’t - steal Emily’s memories. Knock her out. Comatose her.

Stop her from hurting the future.

***

Brock had found the neighbourhood where he believed the train conductor lived. Now all he had to do was find the man himself. His guard was up. He was ready to fight this man if he had to. Anything to get information.

“Well look who it is,” cheered a voice. It was chillingly, and sweetly so too. It sent a shiver down Brock’s spine. “Come to save another one, have you?” Brock turned to face a thin man in a black suit. “Don’t know me, do you? But you remember my partner, don’t you?” Brock nodded slowly as the man whimpered.

“Hit by a train was he?” Brock teased. He had to get away from this man. He was dangerous even when calm. Brock hoped that aggravated he might be easier to defeat. The man’s face grew red. In an instant he was mere feet from Brock’s face.

This could be trouble.

“You want to say that again?” The man made a slight movement, blurred as it was. Suddenly he was face to face with Brock, inches between them. “Well?” His voice sent shivers down Brock’s spine. His ability… it shook him to the core. “I imagine you’ll have a bit of trouble keeping up with me.”

All this over one man?

“You’re here for the driver,” Brock stated. A wicked smile spread onto the man’s face. “I won’t let you.” In a swift movement a flash of flame shot towards the man in black. It roared through the sky, scorching where the man should have been.

“Nice try,” he teased. He stood behind Brock, black glasses reflecting the fiery brilliance. “I must admit, from what I had heard your ability wasn’t too far progressed. But it seems we were mistaken.” He began strolling around Brock, his eyes always trained on the hands that could take his life away in a burning moment. “You show too much compassion for the humans, the lesser beings.”

“Lesser beings? Who made you the judge of that?” The temperature was already rising again. Brock couldn’t hold it back. Flaming whips shot from each of his fingers, merging to become one massive torrent of fire. The man in black zipped away, yet the tube of fire followed, burning everything in it’s path.

“You must control yourself, or the humans will be the ones to pay the price.” Brock cast his eyes on the carnage, the pyres burning into the sky, smoke eclipsing the stars. “You fight to protect them, yet… look at this mess. Your girlfriend wouldn’t like that, would she?”

“You leave Emily out of this!” He raised his hands for another onslaught of fire, when the man in black zoomed in at an unparalleled speed, his fist crashing into Brock’s cheek. There was a crunch of bruised bone as Brock was sent tumbling backwards. The stream of fire tore through the sky, out of Brock’s control. It scolded everything; it screamed out loud. Only one voice was heard over it - a small girl nearby. Her scream was one of fright. Before Brock could react, the girl flew into the air, uncertain of her own balance. She landed a few metres away, confused and scared. Moments later, the man in black was thrown backwards into a wall. He was stunned momentarily, his glasses slipping from his face. Two purple eyes stared at Brock in that instance, panic and fear taking over. The glasses were quickly thrown back on and the man ran away - a blur of darkness in the city.

“You have to learn control,” called a voice. A man stepped from an alley nearby. “But your powers are strong otherwise.” He held out a hand for Brock. “Name’s Ian. I believe you were looking for me.”

***

They held hands in the streets, like lovers. Emily smiled at him as he continued to stare into her eyes. Everything else seemed obsolete in that moment, everything but their mission.

“Yeah I heard two people got out.” Emily stopped quickly, rooted to the spot. There were two people talking, both teenagers. “You know what this means, don’t you? Horizon really are keeping people locked up!”

“No way! I don’t believe that.” Emily put a finger to her lips to keep Carl quiet. She edged her way towards the corner to hear the conversation better.

“It’s true. One of them knocked out a guard. He doesn’t remember a thing!”

Emily pulled back and leant in to Carl’s ear. “That’s the person we’ve been following Carl!” she hissed. “We’ve been following the person we were trying to get free!”

“Calm down Emily, you don’t know that.” Her eyes were going wild, shaking with anxiety and excitement. “Okay, so maybe it is true. But so what? We still need answers from her. She holds the key to finding out what happened in the cells. Like how did she escape! We have to find her Emily, but we can’t do it like this. We can’t just hunt her down until she gives us answers. She could be dangerous.”

Emily shook her head. “Because she got out from the cells?” A tear ran down her cheek. “You did too, remember! You’re not dangerous,” she moaned. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she stopped him, her hand on his mouth. “Except... we are dangerous, Carl. Just being what we are, we’re a threat to everyone else in this God forsaken world! We’re going to cause a lot of problems, and you know it!”

He held her tight, fighting back tears of his own. He knew she was right, but he couldn’t say it to her. He didn’t want to admit it to himself that they could hurt so many people. “And why would we cause problems, Emily?” She rubbed her eyes and looked into his, afraid of what he might say, but too curious to let it pass. “We’re too different for them.”

***

Naomi held her breath. She had heard everything Emily and her boyfriend had said.

They’re right! I have to stop this, now.

She pulled out a mobile phone and it two. The man in white answered immediately. “Did you find her yet, Ms Ryan?” That was all he said; no courtesies for his assassin.

“I found her, but I want out!” He laughed over the other end of the phone. “I’m serious. I don’t want to do this anymore. Not her, not anyone else.”

“You should have made this decision when you first broke out. Not now, Ms Ryan. I’m afraid it’s too late for that. No way out for you.”

The silence was eerie. Naomi didn’t know what to say. “What if I don’t! What if I let her go!”

“Then I find another way of dealing with her. I can be very… persuasive at times. We have a great arsenal here, you know. Many different types of mutants. And if you won’t help us, I’ll have to send someone else after her. Someone who won’t be so… considerate.”

He would kill her!

“Please… don’t. I’ll stop her. I promise. Just don’t hurt her anymore. I’m begging you.”

“Beg all you want, Ms Ryan. But that won’t change the inevitable.” He hung up the phone and left Naomi to stand in fear, watching the couple move on. She began to cry for them. She could deal with death herself, but she couldn’t let Emily Quigley suffer because of her. It was time to take away all that hurt, throw her into the dark. Take away everything she ever knew.

Or they would both suffer a fate worse than that.