The Cursed Pandemic

"Thankyou, I appreciate that." Ame laughs. She wipes her hands and lays down, still staring at the small fire they had burning in the middle of them. She looked over at him. "I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with and talk too...and...just because I don't like talking about my past, doesn't mean I'm not interested in yours, if...you don't mind sharing."
 
"I don't know about all that, I think we get along just fine." He smiled. "As for my past, well you already heard about my bear story. Aside from that, I grew up Mormon in Salt Lake City, got sent to a special Paranormal laboratory where they hooked me up with my gloves after one too many burning incidents. Parents kicked me out at 18 because I did nothing but waste their money because of a power they thought I could control as a kid. Spent 3 years hiking round the U.S. had a few incidents along the way. Fought the bear, found that flyer for Haven, and well, you know the rest." He leaned back a bit and looked up at the stars, wondering what she'd think about his life story.
 
Amelia chuckles at his story. "Wow, cushy life."
He laughs along with her. "Only the cushiest for me."
"Sorry about your family though...that sucks." She sits up. "Does the fire really burn your own hands?"
"Yup" He removes one of his gloves and shows her the scars lit up by the fire.
"My hospital bills were a bitch."
"I'll bet. That's a sucky para-weakness. Glad you got gloves though now..."
"Yeah, that lab might've been the only place in america where they actually cared about us para's. I got really lucky. Then my luck just sorta ran out once I left."

Amelia got tense again as he said the word 'lab' and she laid back down, staring at the fire.
"I don't believe in luck...it just a stupid word people use to try and explain away sucky circumstances or unearned good circumstances."
"Fair enough. Let's just say I found myself in a lot of sucky circumstances once I left home then."
Locke grew silent as he mentioned them.
"I know that feel." Amelia nodded sympathetically. "One of those things you just wanna bury and forget about."
"Yep... if it ever gets to be too much to bury though, you can always talk to me."
"Thanks...but...i probably never will. I just want to start a new life...one where I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder or worried where the next attack is coming from."
"I know the feeling. It's never that easy though. This may be the best we get."
"Maybe..." Amelia sighs and pulls her blanket tighter. "Good night, Locke."
"Night, Ame." Locke lays down to sleep.
*************************************

The crew got up early in the morning, ate a quick breakfast and headed out on the road again. Forests turned into dried plains. And dried plains turned into long stretches of building covered highways. Mini and XO had disappeared from view, no doubt trying to keep out sight of both airplanes and the city below them. They'd driven for almost 9 hours when they heard Mini suddenly scream over the radio. Everyone was suddenly on alert and looked out of the windows trying to spot the two.
"Mini! Mini! Can you hear me? What's going on?" Claire calls urgently over the radio. They hear a muffled explosion and see a flash of light. Over a field XO was making a chaotic landing. Claire jerked the wheel driving straight through a fence and gunning it across the field. While holding on for dear life Locke and Amelia continued to watch the skies. "There!" Ame pointed. A fighter jet flew by with a loud whoosh. No doubt authorities would be arriving at the crash site in minutes.

Claire screeched the truck to a stop right in front of XO's landing spot. Mini was sprawled out in the grass a few feet away. Her head was covered in blood and her arm bent at an odd angle. There were also scattered burn marks across her body and clothes, but she was breathing.
XO had taken a missile to the side. How the war bot had managed to make a non-lethal landing was beyond them. Whether it was even repairable remained to be seen.
 
Locke had sprinted over to Mini, assessing damage and checking for a pulse. "Claire, we need some ice now!" She sprinted over as Ame checked on XO. "We can't put ice on the burn, it'll damage the skin, but if you can make some, I'll heat it up so it melts and we let the water heal them." Claire nodded. "It's a sound plan love." They each created little streams of their powers, as the fire mixed with the ice, a steady stream of cold water began to wash over the burns.

"We need to get here out of here, the first aid kit's in the passengers seat and we cant trust a hospital with her. Locke and Ame, get XO and put him in the flatbed." Claire was calm and methodical in her orders. It took a lot of effort, but they managed to squeeze XO into the bed of the truck along with the extra gas canisters. By the time they reentered the back seat, Claire had bandaged up Mini's head and any burn areas.

The sound of sirens had Claire hitting the gas. "What do we do about Mini's arm? A hospital is out of the question but I certainly don't know how to reset a broken bone, do you?" Locke asked Ame.
 
Ame shook her head, stroking Mini's pale face. "She could have a concussion, or internal bleeding somewhere that we don't know about. We have to risk some sort of medical treatment place. Maybe there's a small clinic somewhere that's friendly to Para's." It was a difficult choice. Try and help Mini best they could on their own and pray this was the extent of her injuries or risk going to a clinic and getting arrested or worse. They all looked at one another and agreed. Mini's life was worth the risk of getting caught.

An hour later they pulled into the parking lot of a small worn looking clinic in the middle of a sketchy looking neighborhood. Ame had pulled a tarp over XO to keep anyone from seeing the massive warbot while Locke carried the still unconscious Mini into the clinic. It was a good thing they agreed to stop. Her condition had worsened on the drive over, her small body fighting for every breath.

The secretary at the desk stood in alarm as Locke stormed in pleading for help. There were three other patients already sitting, waiting but the moment the nurse saw Mini she had Locke bring her in.
"You should've taken her to a hospital." The nurse, whose name badge read Tessa, reprimands him as he tells her that the girl had been in a car accident and flown out of the car before it exploded. It was the closest lie he could come up with to what really happened. "We don't have the machines necessary to check her for internal injuries like that. This is a small clinic. I need to call 911." Tessa picks up the phone.
 
Locke grabs her gently by the hand. "No please! She's a para. We don't trust what the hospital might do to her, please there has to be something you can do!"
Tessa eyes widen slightly and she slowly lowers the phone, looking back at the child who lay on the bed. She bites her lip then nods. "Give me a minute. I'll be right back."
Tessa returns a few minutes later with an older man who walked with a cane. He looked to be in his last 70's. "That's her...the para." She points. The older man looks over to Locke. "This child your sister, son?"
"Yes, she's my sister."
"We were driving with our friends when a driver came down the wrong side of the road."
The man nods then limps over to the Mini and puts a weathered hand on her chest. “No...this isn’t trauma from a car accident...no...flying...yes...flying then falling...falling from an explosion. Hmmm.” After a moment he begins relaying orders to Tess and she rushes to follow them.
“I’ll heal your sister, lad. What’s your names?”
"I'm Locke, her name is Mini. What are you going to do to her?"
“A practiced mix of natural and supernatural healing.” The old man chuckled. “I’m Jonah, by the way.” Tessa came back with an I.V. bag and hooked Mini up to it. “And Tessa is my granddaughter...we’ll take good care of Mini. I promise.” He puts a hand on Locke’s shoulder and guided him out to the waiting room.

He saw Claire and Ame waiting for him when he got there. He called them in close. "The doctor, Jonah, I think he might be a para as well. He said he'll take care of Mini."
 
"Oh thank god." Ame collapses in relief into a nearby chair. "Do you know how long?"
He didn't. They could only hope they got far enough away from the crash site that they were safe here.

***************************
Four hours later and the entire group was getting ansy and tired. All the other patients had come and gone. Just as Ame was about to storm the room Tessa came out with a soft smile. "She's going to be fine. A few days rest and she'll be safe to go home."
"I'm sorry, we don't have a few days. Can we move her now?" Ame demands.
"I'm afraid not. She had several internal injuries, including a hairline fracture in her skull. If it weren't for Jonah...she would be dead and/or her recovery would be several months."
 
Locke sighed. That wasn't the best news. "I think we can spare at least a day or two. Do you have an estimate of the earliest we can move her by?" Claire who'd stayed quiet also spoke up. It's imperative that we get moving as soon as possible. Before people who are not as kind as you are find us."
 
Tessa nods. "Then I'm assuming you are all...paras?" She smiles kindly. "I understand your situation and you are more than welcome to spend the night here at the clinic. "We'll try and have your sister up and on her feet as soon as we can. In meantime...would you like to see her?"
"Yes...please." Ame and the others follow Tessa to where Mini was resting. Her color had come back to her cheeks and her arm was in a cast. The little girl blinked her eyes open as they came in. She smiled lightly.
"Hi..." Then she frowned in worry. "Is XO ok?"
 
"Don't you worry Mini, Claire will have XO up and running again in no time." Locke said as he sat down next to her, taking her hand that wasn't in a cast. He nodded at Claire, indicating that she should agree with him.

"Of course dearie. We're all just glad you're safe. Now get some rest and I'll go check on XO." She left the room leaving just Locke, Mini, and Ame together.
 
"You need anything, Mini?" Amelia asked softly, stroking the girl's head. She was braver than any child she had yet met.
"No. I'm ok. Just tired." Mini replies.
"Well, get some sleep. We'll be close by if you need us." Ame kissed her forehead and gestured for Locke to follow. She closed the door behind them and looked to Locke. "Maybe we should go back...XO is damaged...Mini is hurt and we're still almost a day's drive from where this "haven" is. If it even exists."
 
"You're right. If Haven does turn out to be a trap then we'll be in no condition to fight our way out." He looked back at the door to her room, sorrow in his eyes. "There's no way she'd let us turn around and be happy about it though."
 
Ame nodded. "I'll see if I can't talk her into turning around. Go after Haven another day." She gives Locke a soft playful punch on the shoulder. "Get some rest. I'll take first watch with her."

***********************************************

Locke awoke to the smell of something very familiar. Smoke. It was so thick he could barely breath. The clinic was on fire. Claire was next to him, still asleep, completely unaware of the danger around them.
 
"Claire! Claire you need to get up right now!" She began to stir as Locke shook her.

"What the hell?! Locke what's happened?" She asked coughing. "I don't know, but I need you to grab Ame and Mini and get out of here. I'll find Jonah and Tessa."

"Locke don't be ridiculous, there's way too much-" Claire's speech was cut off by Locke yelling "Your power isn't gonna help here. This is my element, I know how to handle it. Now go!"

He took off into the inferno as Claire ran straight to Mini's room. Locke kept his mouth covered by his sleeve to avoid inhaling smoke. "Tessa! Jonah! Where are you?!" He heard what sounded like coughing coming from an office nearby, kicking open the door, he found them, Jonah's body was crushed underneath a burning beam. He had blood coming out of his mouth, Locke wasn't a doctor, but even he knew that the man wasn't going to make it.

"Locke, please. Save my grand..daugh.." Those were the last words he said before he lost consciousness. "Tessa come on we gotta go!" He tried pulling her but she was an emotional wreck. He eventually had to carry her bridal style out of the area. The smoke was so thick and he couldn't cover his mouth anymore. He could feel himself suffocating. But just in front of him, he could see a light. He didn't have much strength left and Tessa was already starting to fade, so he heaved her over his shoulder, held his hand behind him, and let lose a concentrated burst of energy.

His body lurched forward with the propulsion, the cracked window he was heading for approached fast so he let off the flames turned his free shoulder towards impact and crashed through the window. The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness, was his body gasping for fresh air as he hit the floor.
 
Amelia looked up startled as Locke came crashing through the glass. There were already sirens sounding down the street. Their situation couldn't be worse. Mini was unconscious as was Tessa and Locke. "Leave the nurse...the police will be here to help her soon enough. Get Mini, I've got Locke."
Amelia knelt next to Locke, hefting him up over her shoulders like a shot dear. They get the other two into the truck and pull out just as the ambulances and fire truck pull in.
***************************
"We should turn back!" Amelia exclaims.
"Not until we know for certain what Mini was sensing. Whether it was Haven or another place that could help us."
Claire replies calmly.
They'd pulled into an old foreclosed auto shop, one that still had the parts and tools necessary to work on XO with. Claire was working on fixing the old War Bot while Amelia was watching out for Mini and Locke. Mini had woken up an hour earlier and was sleeping on her lap. Locke though was still out...he'd been in there longer than the rest of them and there hadn't even been oxygen to help him. She could only hope his affinity for fire gave him a greater resilience.
 
Locke awoke suddenly, his throat dry and his entire body feeling hot. He looked around and found himself in a place he didn't recognize. He tried to sit up, but realized his mistake when he felt extremely light headed. He laid his head back down and groaned softly. Turning his head he saw Ame, with Mini sleeping on her lap. "Ame? What happen-" He didn't finish his sentence before erupting into a violent series of coughs.
 
Ame gently lay Mini down and grabbed a water bottle. She lifted his head and tipped it just enough for him to sip. "Idiot...just cause you can play with fire doesn't mean you're immune..." She scolds him softly. It was her way of saying she cared...without saying she cared.
 
Locke props himself up on his elbows. "We can't have you hogging all the day saving glory now can we?" He smirks

"Oh, you think that's what I was doing? Hogging all the glory?" She scoffs and balances the waterbottle on his chest. "Looks like you're feeling well enough to drink yourself now..."
As he drinks she adds, "Tessa got out alright and the ambulances arrived soon after so, she's proabably fine."

He nods after finishing his drink. "Good. Thanks for getting me outta there alive. Where are we?"

"Some old foreclosed body-shop. Claire spotted it."

"Trying to repair XO?"

"Yeah...not sure how its going though. How does one repair missle damage." She shakes her head.

He snickers slightly. "I don't know but if you figure out the answer, be sure to tell me. Is Mini ok?"

"As far as I can tell. Sleeping alot. Her body probably needs it. I'm just terrified she's going to have another seizure and its going to kill her." Ame stared at the sleeping girl.

"I'm not sure what Jonah did to her, but as long as it doesnt happen before we get back home, I think she'll make a full recovery before her next one."

"Yeah, about that...Claire still wants to after "haven" and at the very least get a look at it."

Locke lays back down and sighs. "Welp. She's driving. Long as all we do is look at it, things should be fine. Things go south, we'll tell her to turn the hell around."

"Yeah. I agree. Well, get some rest... if you can with all the racket she's making. I'm keeping an eye out. I know... I said that last time and fell asleep, but I mean it this time."

He chuckles a bit. "How're you doing by the way? I didnt see what happened when I sent Claire to get you two. Nothing too bad?"

“No...I’m fine. Smoke had me out for a bit...but I woke up pretty quick. It was close though...if you hadn’t gotten us up...we’d all be dead.”

"I'm just glad you're ok."

Yeah. Me too." She nods solemnly.

"All right, I'm gonna rest up. Don't let me sleep too late."

"Who am I, your mother?" She teases. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you dont' miss anything interesting."

He raises a weak thumbs up, then drifts off to sleep.
 
Amelia gives Locke a gentle shake as night begins to fall. She gives him some food from their rations. "We're gonna head out and eat on the road. Claire got the bot running. He's far from fighting condition, but we'll have him if we need him. Mini will be riding with us too."
 
"Sounds good." He said as he bit into his rations. He looked over to XO and that bot did not look good. The hole that had been blasted into his side hadn't been covered up all that well, and while he looked functional, he was probably going to stay a metal shield for Mini only.

He rode shotgun with Claire while Mini stayed in the back with Ame, the kid spent most of the night and some time in the early hours of the morning asleep. Locke theorized in his head that whatever Jonah did, it must require Mini to stay asleep for the healing process to accelerate. He wished the kind old doctor was here to explain it. Jonah's death wasn't bothering him as much as Gabriel's incident. There was nothing he could've done to save the old man, he managed to fulfill his dying wish, and he made sure his friends got out safely. Maybe this is what Ame said by learning from your mistakes.

It was Sunset when they arrived at the place Mini had seen in her vision. They were parked on the edge of a cliff that overlooked what seemed to be a valley. As the group got out to observe, they were shocked to find what looked to be some kind of sweatshop factory. It reminded Locke of those German concentration camps he'd seen in pictures when he learnt about World War 2. They could only stare at it in horror before Locke said what was on everyone's minds. "That's Haven?!"

Mini was adamant about going down there and saving all the Para's, but the three adults held firm. "Mini, sweetie, you're in no condition to be in an area this dangerous, and XO is barely holding together as it is." Claire told her, like a mother soothing her child. "I'm sorry Mini, but even if XO was working properly, there's no way the four of us could handle an entire camp full of soldiers like that by ourselves." Locke added. "We need to tell Tex and the others. Then we can all raid this place together."
 
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