The Cursed Pandemic

"Rebel without a cause?" Amelia smirks. "Hardly. I've been on the streets for a couple months. You learn things when you're trying to hide from everyone. Sounds like you know that drill."
 
"You could say that." He left it there, not wanting to get into his own past. They were silent for a while as Ame lead him into the projects. He didn't feel all to out of place here, One slightly ripped pant leg in his jeans, wearing just a t-shirt and black hoodie, the scruff of his five 'o'clock shadow clearly visible on his face. He certainly looked unkempt enough to come from the streets. They reached a portion of the area that seemed to have two or three condemned buildings. "Looks like we get to choose. You know this area better than I do, Sparky. Any recommendations?"
 
"Honestly, I never had the guts to go this far, but...right is my lucky direction." She took them to the building on the far right. Vines were already climbing up the sides. Homeless and drugged up gangster hovered around looking bored and uninterested in a couple odd looking kids. Ame's pace had picked up, her skin once again its natural color and her energy out of the critical range.

They push open the doors and trot up to the second flight of apartments. It wasn't wholly abandoned, but close enough. "Ugh..." Ame stepped over the carcass of a dead dog which stunk up the place. "We're only staying here till the heat dies down." She began looking in the old apartment rooms. Few of them actually had anything in them. "Have a preference?" She smirks.
 
"Hmm, there are so many attractive options. We have the one with trash, the one with trash, and how could I forget the one with trash." He said sarcastically. He knew it was the best place to hide, the cops never suspect that paranormals have the guts to live amongst what they think is the refuse of the cities. Still, living here for the next couple days made him feel particularly gross.

He chose the room with an open view of the main street. "Easier to keep an eye out from here." Sitting down on a cleaner are of the floor and leaning against a wall, he sighed in exhaustion. "Really thought this one might've been real." He said to no one in particular.
 
"21, but close enough." He looked her over a bit. "How about you. You look closer to 19 if I had to take a guess."
 
"Yeah...actually. Turned 19 last month." She nods. She pulled out a hair brush and pulled her hair out of the bun, running the brush through the tangles. "Hey, after this, we should try and sneak into one of those summer homes on the beach. I hear that rich people leave them unoccupied all winter long sometimes." She grins.
 
He laughed at her suggestion. "And here I thought we were trying to stay out of trouble." He looked up and saw that the roof had a hole in it. Grimacing he looked back to Ame. "It'd certainly be a nice twist from hovels like this though... or the wilderness, trust me you do not want to live in the forest for any more than two days. Bear meat is gamey as fuck."
 
He smirked. "Only one, and I barely survived. By the time I'd reached the next city, my wounds were so infected that I collapsed on the sidewalk. Doctors said it was a miracle I lived through that. Still have the scars if you don't believe me." He took off his hoodie and lifted up his shirt to reveal the scars of what looked like 3 distinct claw marks on his upper chest area. Putting his hoodie back on, he shivered slightly. "Damn, that was a mistake in cold weather." Lighting a smaller candle flame on his right pointer finger.

"How about you? Surely with your time on the streets, you must've had some crazy encounters. Even for just a few months."
 
"I took down group of guys who were about to rape a girl. One whiff of my palm." Ame throws out her arm, mimicking the move she'd done last night with the cars. "A few other vigilante things too. Ironic considering I've had to steal and threaten people myself to survive." She shrugs. "You do what you gotta do."
 
"Aint that the truth. Good on you though, nice to have some sort of morality code when on the run. Helps show the world we're not the monsters they think we are." He yawned then. The exhaustion of the run, no sleep, and trek to this apartment finally catching up to him. "I'm gonna try and sneak in a quick nap. Do me a favor and make sure these dolts don't try and steal any of my stuff, ok?

He spread himself out on the wooden floor and put his hands behind his head. It almost seemed like as soon as he closed his eyes, he was gone. Completely dead to the world.
 
A young man with jeans, a plaid shirt and cowboy hat looked up the stairs of an old abandoned apartment complex. "They're up here?" He asks questioningly. A young girl, no older than 10 nods. Behind her stood a massive war robot. "Yes. Second floor...maybe half-way down." She points.
"Ok...wait here. I'm gonna go get them." The young man trots up the stairs.
"Careful, Tex!" She calls to him.
"Always, Mini." He grins at her.

Texas steps onto the second flight, looking around. He steps over the dead dog and looks from room to room. He slows as he reaches the middle. "Hello? Anybody here?" He asks cautiously, approaching another room. Someone grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the floor, a shining fist raised above him.
"Whoa! Whoa! I'm a friend! A friend!"

Amelia glared at the young man. "Who are you and what do you want!?" She growls holding the fist above him still.
"I'm one of you guys. A paranormal. Me and my sis...we tracked you here. We have a place you guys can hide that's much nicer than this. Showers, toilets, actual beds..." Texas smiled brightly. Amelia still hovered over him, not ready to trust him so easily.
 
Locke startled awake at the sound of a large thump. Quickly turning around with his hand outstretched he saw his new friend hovering over some guy in a cowboy hat. Shaking off the rest of his fatigue he walks over to Amelia. "Hey, way to go Sparky!"

He'd managed to overhear the male's sales pitch as he woke up, but wasn't really in a very trusting mood. "Sounds like a good offer... if its real." He glared down at the male. "Three questions. What's your name? What's your power? And what is this place you're talking about?"
 
"Name's Texas. I got power over the grav." His eyes narrow, his smile widens and Ame starts floating mid-air.
"Whoa...whoa...let me down!" She exclaims. He does, slowly. Texas crosses his arms and looks back at them. "Me and about 12 other paranormals have taken over a condemned motel out in the middle of nowhere. Friends in the power plant hide our electricity usage and we pay couriers to drop off food and other supplies secretly. Everyone's gotta pull their own weight but 'ur welcome to join us if you're tired of this hole."
Amelia still looked suspicious but nodded. "Alright...but if you're lying to us..."
"I know, know, you'll do a variety of horrible things to me before killing me. I've heard it all before. C'mon." Texas gestures for them to follow and heads down stairs.
 
He couldn't help but snicker a bit as Amelia went floating in the air for a bit. As Texas started walking down the stairs, Locke looked over too Ame and shrugged. "I give the guy credit, he knows his clichés. We survived one trap together, I'm sure we can survive another, come on."

As he descended the steps, he was shocked to see not only a little girl, but this massive metal monstrosity waiting for the guy right outside. "Listen Tex, I don't mean to tell you how to earn trust, but you're on the right track by bringing the pipsqueak with you. The 4000 pound death machine, not so much."
 
"Oh that?" Texas laughed. "Don't worry about XO. His sole purpose is protecting Mini and anyone she tells him to protect. As if on cue Mini knocked on the war bot's leg and he reached down, gently lifting her in his arms. "Hi!" She waves at two. "You're the fire guy and she's the sun lady. What are your names?"
Amelia raises an eyebrow. "Um I'm Amelia and he's Locke. How do you...?"
"Mini's paranormal is to sense other paranormal's and their abilities. Thus the war-bot protecting her." Texas says as they walk to a nearby truck.
"See you guys there!" Mini waves and the warbot launches off with flying boosters, taking into the sky.
"Ok...kinda jealous." Ame nods, getting into the back seat.

**********************************
Texas drove them for nearly 30 minutes before they reached an old worn-down motel in the middle of the woods. It looked like it had once been part of a camping ground, with a nearby pool filled with steaming water and the facilities needed to manage a camping ground. A group of kids were clustered around a fire, cooking hotdogs on sticks and laughing. A few older paranormals sat in chairs clustered around a fire of their own. They look up as Texas drives into the camp and several abandon the fires to check out the new guys.

Texas climbs out of the truck and floats onto the roof of it. "Hey! All ya Para's out there. We got some new blood! Amelia the Sun Queen and Locke the Torch. Give 'em a warm welcome ya'll." He claps and everyone else joins in.
 
The atmosphere of the motel was almost too much for Locke to take in at first. He'd had false promises hurled at his face for years, so to see the concept of a home for paranormals actually realized made him feel a mix of joy and fear that made him a bit light-headed. His euphoria was cut short though as the other 11 para's, including Mini, came over to welcome Locke and Amelia personally. The kids all seemed to flock around Ame, and he couldn't blame them. With a name as cool as the Sun Queen, he'd want to meet her too.

The first person to approach him was a gruff older man, probably in his late 40s - early 50s. He took Locke by the hand and gave a hearty shake, grip firm and kind of painful for Locke. "Pleasure to meet you two. The name's Flint. Welcome to our little slice of paradise." His drawl was worse than Texas' and if Locke didn't know better he'd swear the guy looked like every single stereotypical Lumberjack he'd ever seen on T.V.

Locke didn't know what to say, for the first time in years he was actually speechless. He could only muster a hi, before a short haired blonde woman began pulling on his arm. "Wonderful to make your acquaintance, my name is Claire, you simply must join us for dinner!" And just like that Locke found himself being pulled away from his friend and toward the fire.
 
Ame didn't like everyone's hands on her and made it clear by shrugging off each hand that touched her or pushing it away herself. Eventually people started getting the hint and gave her some space. She gratefully took the food given to her but didn't answer even half the questions directed towards her, pretending to be busy eating. It was weird being in a place like this after months of being on her own. Some of the guys to her right were showing of their abilities in a playful fight against another guy.

"Well? What'chya think?" Texas asks taking a seat beside her.
"Its cool." She shrugs.
'That's it."
"What else you want?"
"Nothing..." Texas shook his head. "Don't worry, you can trust the people here. We're family. We stick together."
"Yeah, we'll see." Ame finishes her hotdog.
"Yeah you will." He pats her back and trots off to Locke.
"Hey, Man. So, cool place right!? What'chya think of it?" Texas asks excitedly.
 
Locke spent a moment trying to find the right words. "It... honestly feels too good to be true." He said, his voice clearly dumbfounded. "Like those soldiers at the field hit me with a tranq and all of this is just a dream."

Flint burst into laughter. "Well I'd offer to pinch ya and wake you up, boy. But I don't think that'd be too good for your long term health." He said as he flexed his biceps, an impressive bulge of pure muscle emerging from the rolled up sleeves of his plaid flannel shirt.

Claire giggled a bit at the older man's display. "That's not even his power. He just likes to show off, don't mind him." She took out a can of soda and suddenly a couple ice crystals formed around the edge. Looked like Claire's ability was cryomancy.

As Texas moved away, Locke scooted his chair over to Ame. "You Ok?"
 
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