Chapter Two: An Audience

In chapter two, the village gets a visitor, who brings interesting news

                Scott heard very little of what transpired in the next few minutes. Everything outside of the quarry became a din of noise. All that Scott could see was the caved mine entrance and all that he could hear was the shifting sound of rock. Standing there helpless made his blood boil, but there was really nothing more he could do. Trying to tunnel in to them could kill them, but if he didn’t do that, then who knew how much air they had left? Not much, he was willing to wager. Daybreak was mildly claustrophobic, and Abby would have her hands full trying to keep him quiet. That is, if she was still conscious. Scott was her best friend, and he knew her powers better than most. Abby was not limited strictly to bursts of energy, though that was a large part of her repertoire. She could be more refined and tame if she had to be, and Scott would have thought that something in her list of spells would have done something by now. Daybreak, however, would be of less use. His powers would not help them get out of the cave, and nor would they aid in keeping the two of them alive for any stretch of time.

                It only took a few moments for Scott to make up his mind. He could stand there and do nothing, or he could risk the lives of his brother and best friend in trying to save them. Doing nothing, however, was to serve them a death sentence, and Scott knew full well that to make no decision was to make a decision. If Abby and Daybreak were going to die, they were going to die as he tried to save them, not as he stood by and watched. So it was that he stepped forward, carefully but steadily removing rocks from the cave entrance. War raged on above Scott’s head, for the human had not come alone, but he did not flinch in his task even as an explosion landed close enough to him to shower him with dirt. Covered in it, Scott dug doggedly on, even as his limbs began to tire. The mine had not yet collapsed on itself, but nor did it feel like he was getting anywhere. The pile of rocks that Scott had removed was growing steadily larger, but the amount in front of the entrance did not seem to be shrinking at all. Still, Scott dug. On and on; it was all he could do. He dug as fire and lightning lit the darkening sky. He dug as the earth quivered and bullets flew. He dug as a piece of shrapnel caught him in the leg. He dug because it was all he could do. Even when his vision started to cloud from the loss of blood and he could hear someone calling his name, Scott dug.

                When he awoke, it was all over. Scott’s eyes opened to see the roof of his house over his head. His leg ached something fierce, and his body protested his want to get up, but he was alive, and mostly unharmed. Still groggy, he looked about, and only upon seeing the worried face of his sister did it all come rushing back to him. “Abby!” Scott lurched forward, trying to get off the bed and back outside, but all he succeeded in doing was falling over the side onto his face.

                “Easy there, Scott. You’re still not yourself.” Scott recognized the voice, and the hands that guided him back into bed. It was Vanish. Slowly, Scott put a hand to his hand, waiting for his friend to explain what had happened. “We found you collapsed outside the mine. You were bleeding like mad; if Stitch hadn’t gotten to you, you might not be with us right now.” Scott knew that Nish wasn’t kidding; the older boy’s normal jovial tone was sombre now. “You worked your hands raw trying to get in that mine. Stitch had to repair those too, though I imagine they’ll be sore awhile yet.” Nish paused here, and Scott tensed, sensing that he was about to hear very bad news. “When the fighting was over, we went back to the cave. Imagine our surprise when your digging had actually done some good. You got through, Scott. It wasn’t a very big hole, but it let air in. You probably saved their lives, but I’ll let Abby tell you about that later.”

                Nish paused again, and Scott lifted his hand away from his eyes. The elation he should have felt was being swept away by how Nish was handling the situation. What was it that he hadn’t said yet? What was it that he was really here to say? Had Scott been able, he would have kicked the older boy. As he was, all he could do was grumble angrily for Vanish to get on with it. Blessedly, without further ado, Vanish cut to the chase. “There were about a dozen humans here. We killed most of them, and I don’t think any of them managed to transmit our location, but...we captured one. He says he’s a mutant, Scott. He says he’s been in hiding among the ranks. He...says he knew your parents.” Scott was not entirely sure what he had been expecting, but that certainly wasn’t it. Despite the pain it immediately caused, Scott sat bolt upright in his bed, turning and staring Nish down.

                “He...he knew mom and dad?” Scott was about to add more, but when he remembered Moonlight was standing there, he instead mouthed the words, “past tense”, to Nish, who nodded sadly. “Where is he now?”

                Vanish laughed, “Oh, no you don’t, valiant one. You’re to get some sleep. You can go see him in the morning. And you,” Nish ruffled Moon’s hair at this point, “Can talk to him tomorrow night. Fair enough?” Neither Summers child seemed happy with this arrangement, but neither were they willing to contend Nish’s statement, presumably passed down from one of the elders. Scott settled for slumping back down on the pillow. Moonlight gave him one last look of concern, but then departed with Nish to go play with some of the others.

                No sooner had Nish left, however, than did Abby come running into the room, swooping down on Scott and wrapping her arms around him so tightly it hurt. “My hero!” Batting her eyelashes at him dramatically, Abby held back a laugh as long as she could, until Scott started cracking up, at which point both of them dissolved into a fit of chuckles.

                “Ha ha, ow...no fair, it hurts to laugh.” Scott groaned quietly. When Abby looked worried, however, Scott put a smile on his face and asked the question he had been dying to get an answer for. “What the hell happened in there, Abby?”

                The spell-dancer sat herself on the edge of the bed, running her hand through her hair as she answered, “Well, that crazy brother of yours went and fled into the back of the mine, and I must have hit something going in, because no sooner did I actually catch him than did everything come crashing down on our heads. I’m not much for shield spells, but since I knew you’d kill me if anything happened to Day, I did what I could. By the time it had stopped falling though, I was too tired to try and dig out. Daybreak had been hit on the head or something; he was out cold. So was I by the time they got through, mind you. I must have passed out from lack of oxygen or something. They said you tried to dig through with your bare hands.”

                Abby’s tone did not go unnoticed by Scott, and he sulked slightly, “It worked, didn’t it?” Abby gave him a light shove, adding something about that not making it any less crazy, but Scott was no longer listening. Knowing that Abby and Daybreak were safe, Scott’s thoughts had returned to what Nish had told him. Was it possible? Someone, one of them, who had been on the outside. Someone that had fought in the war. Someone that had fought alongside his mom and dad. The idea of it seemed almost surreal. Scott’s parents had left when he was much too young to remember them well, so the very idea of someone actually knowing anything about them was nearly too much to handle.

                Seeing how distracted Scott was, Abby leaned in to give him another hug before quietly taking her leave. The elders had kept very quiet about the prisoner they had captured, but it seemed relevant to Scott. He would tell her in time, she knew, but she also knew that right now was not the time to press him. Whatever the news was, Abby had not seen Scott this distracted in years. Tomorrow she would go check on him, but for now, it was time for her to get some rest as well. Inventing a spell on the spot was not something Abby made a habit of doing, and she was more tired than she was letting anyone else see. Like Moonlight and a handful of others, Abby was always full of life, and this had come to be expected of her. Seeing her down brought down morale and that was always in short supply to begin with. The battle had left scars in its wake, and one death. As Abby walked to her house, she could hear Probe giving the funeral service. Quite the day it had been indeed.

                Scott awoke the next morning to the feel of a very warm body curled up next to him. Somewhat used to the sensation, though it had been a few years since it had last happened, Scott glanced down to see Daybreak dozing gently against him. Daybreak’s ability prevented him from sleeping while the sun was up, but as long as he was out of the sun and in the dark, he could rest at least. “Morning, Scott.” Blinking sleep from his eyes, Scott realized that his brother was not the only other person in the room. Standing by the door was one of the biggest boys around. Dominic, alias Sentinel, was one of the day guards, and legendary around camp for his level-headed but forceful attitude. Scott had never actually had a conversation with him, but he knew the other boy on sight instantly. “I’m here to take you and your brother to the elders, when you’re ready.”

                Nodding slowly, Scott arose, nudging Daybreak back into wakefulness as he stretched himself out. Ten minutes later, when he had washed up and grabbed something quick to eat, Scott returned to the front to find Sentinel waiting patiently and Daybreak practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. Unsure what to do next, Scott waited, watching Dominic until the other boy opened the door, leading them out into the village.

                The small community generally made it so that everyone was comfortable around everyone else, but around Sentinel, Scott couldn’t help feeling uneasy. It wasn’t a long walk, but the silence felt awkward. Dominic was so stoic he appeared almost robotic, and Scott found that very offsetting indeed. In a desperate attempt to break the mood, Scott ventured with a question, “Just how dangerous is this guy that they are having you there as a guard?”

                Dominic, however, did not turn to Scott, though he did answer, “I am told he can influence the minds of others.” This curt answer, while it did nothing to relieve the tension, did clear a few things up for Scott. One of Sentinel’s powers was his resistance to mental tampering. Probe would be there, of course, but an extra force was never a bad idea. After the brief exchange, there was no further conversation among the three of them, and Scott endured the shifting feeling in his stomach until they arrived at Probe’s house. Upon reaching their destination, Dominic knocked twice on the door before opening it and walking inside. Without a word, he led the brothers past two of the elders and down a flight of stairs to the basement, where only Probe and the newcomer awaited.

                Scott was not sure what he was expecting to see, but he found himself not entirely surprised as he looked upon the young man sitting in the chair ahead of him. Holding tightly to Daybreak’s hand, Scott stood stock-still, a little unsure of what he was supposed to do, until the newcomer himself broke the ice. “You must be the Summers kids. You look just like your dad. I’m sorry that the first news you hear of them has to be bad.” He paused here, chuckled, and then went on, “I’m sorry, where are my manners? My name is Nathan.” Nodding slowly before he answered, Scott sized Nathan up. He seemed alright enough; he was of average build, maybe a little on the short side. Bright blue eyes and light blond hair made him look young at first glance, but after a moment Scott realized he was probably the oldest one in the room. Nathan had been stripped of his army gear; it lay in a pile in the corner. Instead, he was dressed in the black t-shirt and camouflage pants he had been wearing underneath. He did not seem terribly concerned, considering he was a prisoner of war.

                Once the silence had gone on long enough to be awkward, Probe looked pointedly at Daybreak, who jumped in since Scott was still in shell-shock. “I’m Daybreak, this is my brother Scott. Nice to meet you.” Daybreak’s tiny, confident voice made Scott smile, and he shook his head to clear it before turning his smile to the man in the chair.

                “I know you must have a hundred questions for me.” Nathan smiled knowingly, “but I don’t know how much help I can be to you. I knew your parents, yes, but not for very long. Your mother was a very powerful telepath; she knew I was a mutant on sight, and we had a very strange conversation in here.” He tapped his head before continuing, “They are the ones who told me of this place, and how to find it. I used my power to get the signals jammed so headquarters couldn’t trace us, and then I tricked half my unit into coming here. The others will go home, and assume we all died in the wilderness somewhere.” Nathan seemed happy, but not proud, of how well his plan had worked.

                “You’re planning to stay then?” Scott directed the question at Nathan, but he was looking at Probe, and it was the elder who answered him. “Nathan speaks the truth. He has been open about his powers, and I have not sensed him try anything on any of us, nor has Dominic. It is not a world for mutants beyond our walls; we would be little more than monsters to turn him away now.” Scott nodded, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daybreak confirming his assent to the idea as well.

                Nodding to Dominic, Probe made for the door, “Now then, Nathan, we will deal with living arrangements later. I think it only fair that you and the Summers boys get a little privacy. It is not every day we get to hear anything about our parents, you know. We’ll be back.” As they left, Scott stared after Probe. Had he detected a note of emotion in the elder’s voice? Probe was trying to be happy for them, that much was clear, but it was only then that Scott realized how hard this must be for him, and for some of the others. Scott at least knew who his parents were, knew their names, what they had looked like. Some children didn’t know anything more than names and reputations. Others, like Probe, knew nothing at all. How very unfair it must seem, then, for three of the most fortunate children to be getting more information while the others got nothing.

                While Scott had been thinking, however, Daybreak had been fidgeting, staring alternately at Nathan and the floor. Scott returned to the present just as his little brother could take no more. “Are my parents dead?” He blurted out, clapping his hand to his mouth afterward, as if shocked that he had allowed himself to ask it so bluntly and morbidly. Nathan looked at Daybreak for a moment afterward, glanced to Scott, and then slowly nodded, lowering his eyes to the floor.

                A long silence followed the announcement, eventually broken by Nathan’s voice. “I wasn’t on the field at the time. I heard the announcement that we’d managed to bring down a couple mutants, and even secured the bodies. On my next break, I snuck down to see. It was them. At the time I hadn’t decided whether or not I was going to try and find this settlement; seeing them dead made my decision for me. The next week I set out with my unit. Didn’t find it on the first try, but we got here, as you can see.”

                Neither Summers brother appeared to have anything more to ask after that. There were so many emotions to handle, Scott felt fit to burst. He was sad, of course, but that was only one of a hundred feelings swirling around his head and his heart. He could only imagine what a young mind like his brother’s must have been dealing with at that moment. Pride, perhaps, for how their parents fell? Residual shock, still, from finding any information on them at all? Joy at the idea of adding another member to their ranks, and one they could talk to about people that were lost to them? It all blended together so seamlessly that it was impossible for Scott to say what, exactly, he felt.

                “Tell me...tell me about the outside world.” After a few minutes of utter silence in the room, Scott finally spoke. Dwelling in their confusion was not going to help anything, he knew, and it could not have been a comfortable position for Nathan. If nothing else, it would get all of their minds off the subject of death and onto something equally morbid, if less personal; war.

                Nathan, however, shook his head, “Your psychic friend, Probe, I think, asked me not to tell you about any of that. He’s going to call a meeting around supper time, and he wants me to tell my story to the whole camp at once. I can say that it won’t be good news though; we’re not winning. Most of the alphas are dead, and we don’t exactly have reinforcements to draw on. This is going to be your war in a few years, Scott. We can’t wage open war anymore, but we can’t hide forever. I don’t know what we’re going to do.” Cracking a smile, he winced slightly, “Sorry, I sound like a terribly wet blanket. We’ll talk more at dinner, but speaking of food, I really need to eat.”

                Almost mechanically, both Scott and Daybreak rose from the floor and headed for the exit, the former stepping forward to shake Nathan’s hand first and thank him. Abby saw the pair of them walking back home, and was going to follow, when she was stopped by Probe. Scott and Daybreak had a lot to process, and they had to be allowed some time alone. Staring after the pair, however, Abby had to wonder if that was what they would have wanted.

Reviews

[Katie]

Yay it's rereading time

ing about our parents you know.
Should be a comma after parents.

I think this is a really good second chapter. I like the introduction of the new character. It seems like he will add new interest to the story. They seem almost too trusting of him, although I guess Probe would know if something wasn't right. I do find it a little off putting how cheery the guy seems to be, he comes with bad news, and brought a small battle to the village and seems perfectly okay with it. I find that a little strange and it makes me kind of untrusting. Thats really my only complaint.

[Global Norskie]

I really like the story line. You're very creative :)

To be constructive, I found a couple of things you may want to consider (I am no expert so overlook it if you don't think it applies):
1. You tend to write (often start a paragraph with): bla bla, however, .... Not that there is anything wrong with this - but perhaps too consistently?
2. Like I said for the prologue, there are too many characters here to keep track of. I really struggle with this problem myself. Maybe try to introduce them as you go along - not all in the first chpt. Just a thought.

Look forward to reading more of your submission :)

[Katie]

A fanastic second chapter. You ended it in a way that leaves me begging for the third. Excelent job.