Part 17- ‘Sink Or Swim…’
‘What’s happening…?’ Charles called out frantically to Arrington, the chess board falling to the ground, forgotten. The general was stood at the corner of the vault watching calmly as the glass cages began to rock and shake, the frantic screams of the various prisoners growing into an unearthly crescendo.
Xavier had seen Magneto begin to bleed, the slow trickle of red liquid that had begun to seep slowly from the corners of his nose, it was at that point Eric had gripped the sides of his head tightly, his low audible moan of pain growing into a full blooded scream.
It had happened to all of them, all of them except Charles, he had to watch and listen as the screams of pain and anguish filled the vault, resounded off every wall, bouncing into hollow, haunted echoes.
General Arrington shook his head, ‘Get to work Charles, time is running out…for all of you.’
He turned and walked out of the vault as the cries slowly abated to be replaced with shallow moaning of pain, time was running out, Arrington’s poison was beginning to take effect, within a few weeks who knew what damage the chip would do.
Water…cold, cold water…she had seen it all in her mind’s eye, the Buick would roll over the side, buckle and break and eventually sink upside down in the cold fast flowing water.
It had all been so predictable, she should have known, even as the car was spinning, everything else seemed to have slowed down, staring at Logan trying his damn hardest to steady the car, gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white, every muscle strained, fighting the inevitable.
Death comes to us all.
Marie planted her feet firmly on the floor of the car, her hands braced on the dashboard as an eerie sort of calm washed over her; it had all been so predictable, all so inevitable. She shut her eyes tight, her stomach turning with the motion of the car, up and over, until at last came the splash.
The noise had been deafening, the sound of the roof hitting the water, and then the silence, the god-awful silence that seemed to linger for hours, until she opened her eyes, only to be met with the pitch black force of a wall of water.
The car was filling up fast; she kicked herself free and almost floated out of the open window, her small frame fitting easily through the gap, her skirt billowing around her, she resigned herself to the cold embrace of the river.
There was no feeling, every finger, every extremity; every inch of skin was numb, yet the calmness remained. She didn’t kick, didn’t move her arms, didn’t even struggle but instead surrendered herself to sinking.
Down she went, further and further her arms outspread, her eyes slowly drifting shut, hair floating upwards in wisps, she felt herself being pulled down by the river’s current, glad for the force that kept dragging her further and further into the bleakness.
Slowly her chest began to hurt, the burning sensation growing as her lungs fought for every inch of air still left in her body, screaming for a release, screaming to be allowed to inflate again, breathe…her mind screamed at her, get to the fuckin’ surface and breathe again!
But it seemed so easy, she was tired, so tired of running, of fighting, let me sink to the floor, let it end, stop chasing me, stop hunting me, let me finish it, my way.
‘Wake up kid…!’
She pushed the voice away, wanting to enjoy the last moments of calm, alone, free from them all.
‘Get the fuck up and outta here…it ain’t gonna end like this kid, now ya start kickin’ your feet, or ah swear ah’m gonna start kickin’ your ass!’
Marie smiled at the vain threat, her eyes snapping open, still making no effort to move her legs or arms, making no effort at all to save her life.
‘Marie for fuck’s sake, is this really how ya want things to go down? Thought ya were stronger than this kid? Where’s the kid who was ready to blow her own head off, where’s the kid with more balls than most of the soldiers whose asses she’s kicked?’
Marie balled her fists, the voice pounding in on her, images flashed before her eyes, bruised and bloodied, she saw herself broken, and she saw the Kevlar clad soldiers, the men who would not let her rest. The image shifted and she saw herself stood over them, the angel of darkness, covered in head to toe in blood, their blood.
She would have her revenge, they would bleed, she would make them suffer, all of them, they would beg her for mercy and she would offer none.
The thought made her smile; she would have her revenge, her terms, her rules, and her game.
‘That’s it kid…like ah always said, ain’t nothin’ like seein’ blood spilt…’
At last she raised her arms above her head, her feet started kicking, her legs moving in a rhythmic stance, pushing herself upwards, fighting the current and force of the water that pulled her down.
She broke through the surface at last, a huge gasp of air inflated her grateful lungs and she coughed and spluttered, spitting the last of the water out of her system. Pushing her hair out of her face, she looked around her, treading water she saw the black SUV that had attacked them drive away.
How long had she been down there? Long enough to convince the soldiers that they had drowned?
They…they…, Logan!
She hadn’t seen him surface, she hadn’t seen him beneath the water either, even as she had drifted downwards she had not seen him, had he been in the car? As she had climbed out of the window had he been in the car…was he still in the car?
‘Forget him…’
The sudden insistence startled her, ‘forget him…’ the voice gently coaxed. ‘Ya don’t need him, he’s holdin’ ya down, literally, let the asshole drown, with any luck that adamantium skeleton of his will drag him to the bottom. Let the bastard drown…’
She shook her head, unsure of what to do, the voice in her head urging her to start swimming for the bank, telling her to leave Logan behind, let him drown. The rain battered down on her, pounding into her skull as loud as the voices inside her head that raged at her.
She shut her eyes tightly, her chin dipping now and again in the water as she fought with her indecisiveness, she sputtered as she swallowed a mouthful of water, what to do…what should I do?
Marie looked across at the far bank, she could swim over there easily, climb out and walk away, leave him behind, let him drown. A final moment of hesitation was all it took before she started to swim towards the shore, her progress was slow, the muscles in her legs beginning to seize up, cramp threatening to seize her arms, the ice cold water was beginning to take hold.
If she didn’t get to the embankment and climb out of the water fast her muscles would seize up completely, she would die.
‘That’s it darlin’ get to the edge and get the hell out of this water…’
“NO!”
Marie stopped abruptly, barely a few feet away from the shore and something stopped her, a second voice, louder and yet more insistent, but soothing and familiar all the same.
She remembered that voice, she knew that voice, because she’d heard it before. Right back when all this had started, in the back of Logan’s truck when she had been dreaming, the glass cages, when her desperation had threatened to drown her, that voice soothing and familiar, that voice that had sought to remind her, she wasn’t alone.
She stopped, not trusting this, confusion raining down on her, not knowing what to do, or who to trust.
“Go back…go back for him…you owe him. Marie go back for him, he needs you, could you really live with yourself if you left him out there?”
‘Who are you?’ she screamed into the cold night air, what should ah do, go back or let him drown?
“A friend…an old friend, trust me Marie…I am as much a victim of this as you…but you must trust me, go back for him, save him.”
Marie gritted her teeth, ‘sonofabitch…’ she muttered at the water, swearing at the voices in her head, two of them now, seemingly playing their own sick game with her.
Leave him…
Go back for him…
Leave him…leave him…
‘Dammit!’ She turned around at last, swimming out to the middle of the river again, fighting the strain in her muscles, fighting cramp and fighting the damn noises in her head.
She took a deep breath and bracing herself dived into the water again, kicking with an energy reserve she barely knew she had, she swam downwards, glancing one way and the other seeking a glimpse of a denim clad body.
She reached the fast sinking Buick, the heavy hunk of metal appearing like an ugly sea monster in front of her, reaching for the window she glimpsed inside….nothing.
He wasn’t in the car at least, she turned to swim back to the surface, and it was then that she saw something gleaming in the darkness, fighting the heavy burning in her chest she propelled herself forward, reaching out towards the shiny object that called out to her like a beacon.
Dog tags…her fingers closed around the thin chain and the gleaming pieces of metal, clasping the chain tightly she looked around her frantically, and finally saw him. Logan, he was sinking faster than the Buick, no surprise, the adamantium in his body was dragging him down.
Fresh adrenaline pumping through her veins, she swam towards him, arms and legs pumping she reached him at last, his eyes were shut and his chest barely moving, wrapping her legs and arms about him, she reached out and brushed her hand over his face. He didn’t respond, panic rising within her she took him firmly by the chin and shook his head. Nothing…
Desperate she pressed her lips firmly against his mouth; prying his lips open with her tongue she passed the last of air in her lungs and into his mouth, hoping to God she wasn’t just passing another mouthful of water in what must have been his already drowning lungs.
Darkness finally overcame her as her lungs finally gave up, ‘come on ya big lug,’ she thought, as her mind drifted shut, ‘help me out here.’ Her arms slackened about his waist, her grip loosened and they both sank lower, drowning together, into the bleakness, surrendering to the cold embrace of the water.
Death comes to us all.
Logan’s eyes snapped open at last, even as hers were drifting shut, he caught her as her head fell back, her body giving up, the last of her breath spent to save him. His grip fierce he fought against the heaviness of his adamantium, desperate to save her now, fuelled by his need to reach the surface, to see her open her eyes again, to see her breathe again.
They broke through the surface of the water after what seemed to him like hours, he dragged her to the shore up and out of the water, taking shelter from the rain under a dense tree. Her skin a frightening shade of blue, she was frozen and deathly still. She wasn’t breathing, every minute of seeing her lying lifeless was pounding away at him.
He pushed her hair out of her face, rubbing her skin to get some warmth into her, tilting her head back, he opened her mouth, closing her nose shut, he lowered his mouth onto hers, passing shuddering breaths into her mouth, watching her chest rise and fall as he did so, but only as he did so.
She wasn’t breathing, two breaths…three…four…five…she wasn’t breathing…breathe…goddamit Marie, just breathe.
‘Fuck…’ he shouted offering one last breath…still nothing. ‘FUCK!!!’ he screamed louder this time, his head fell forward, broken and on his knees he could only stare at her lifeless body, willing her to breathe…just breathe.
She coughed, Logan stared not willing to believe in case it was only his imagination, but she coughed again, violent convulsions as her body fought to get rid of the water in her lungs and fill up with air again.
Marie threw up the last of the water before collapsing back on the ground, too exhausted to do anything more, her whole body shivered, the cold seeping into her bones, frozen from the inside out, her teeth chattered and she drew in halting breaths through blue lips.
Logan recovered faster, peeling off his shirt and the soaked white t-shirt he wore underneath so he was bare chested and wearing only his jeans, he began to unbutton the front of the shirt she wore. Her eyes were closing; she was drifting back into unconsciousness, but suddenly became aware of his hands clawing at the clasp of her skirt, his frantic hands brushing down the length of her bare legs as he tore the material from her.
She grabbed his hands, her fingernails digging deep into his flesh, ‘w-what the…the hell d’ya th-…think ya doin’?’ Her teeth chattered as she struggled to speak.
Having stripped her to her underwear he reached for her shoulders, pulling her close into a fierce hug he pressed her close to his chest, she was too weak to struggle, pressing his face close to her ear, ‘Ah’m the one with the healing factor remember, ah’ll survive this, you won’t unless you let me help you.’
He rubbed at her arms roughly, ‘the water was freezing, we’ve gotta warm ya up or you’re gonna die from hypothermia. Your clothes are soaking wet, that ain’t gonna help, thing is if we warm ya up too fast, the blood’s gonna rush back to your heart, and Marie your heat will explode from the pressure.’
His large hands then splayed across her back as he pulled tighter, cradling in her lap, her small form fittingly neatly into his larger frame, her arms hanging limply by her sides, he gently raised them until they wrapped about his shoulders. ‘Body heat is the only way you’re gonna warm up fast enough without dying.’
She gasped in shallow breaths of air, she chuckled lightly, ‘g…-good, ah was thinkin’ it was just y-your excuse to g…get your h…hands on m…me…’
He smiled against her neck, his lips warming her flesh with gentle kisses; she murmured softly, ‘y…ya know it’s the damnedest th…thing…’
‘What is?’ he asked her quietly.
‘Ah c…could’ve sworn the Professor was talkin’ to m…me…’
Logan drew a sharp intake of breath at her words; he pulled away from her slightly, wanting to look into her eyes as she explained her reasons for thinking that a man who had died so long ago would be talking to her now, so much of this didn’t make any sense.
But her eyes were shut, she had fallen into an exhausted sleep, he sighed, pulling her flush against his chest again he lay down gently, cradling her against his body, letting his heat warm her through the night.
He smiled at the sight of her fingers gripping his dog tags tightly, the metal gleaming in her small hand.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
The sudden insistence startled her, ‘forget him…’ the voice gently coaxed. ‘Ya don’t need him, he’s holdin’ ya down, literally, let the asshole drown, with any luck that adamantium skeleton of his will drag him to the bottom. Let the bastard drown…’
A/N: Geez predictable...? Lor' ct_xfan why don't ya jus' put a stake through my cold black heart...LOL *g*
No cliffie here folks...jus' one soul workin' hard to save another.
A/N: Geez predictable...? Lor' ct_xfan why don't ya jus' put a stake through my cold black heart...LOL *g*
No cliffie here folks...jus' one soul workin' hard to save another.