[Ishu]

November 24th, Knoxville.

Whether he noticed or not, she listened to every word that came from his mouth. Even when she rest her eyes, she still listened. With her eyes closed it was difficult to tell if she was awake or not. Most of the time, she was, but she was guilty of falling into little naps here and there.

The only sign of appreciation she could show was a smile as he did little things for her and even sometimes as he spoke. He was odd, or funny, as he seemed to speak about everything, even tiny unimportant things. She found him sweet, caring and maybe a bit more critical about himself than he realized.

Finally, after many hours, feeding and drinks, he'd carried her down to a vehicle. Her head had moved down against his chest and shoulder, much like it did when he fed her or helped her drink, but when he put her into the car, she was able to keep her head upright. When it became too much for her, she let it fall back against the headrest. Her body didn't move at all is if she were a ball-jointed doll. You could put her into any position as long as something kept her up like a chair and a seatbelt, and she wouldn't move. On occasion, she would lift her head up again or adjust it so she could look out the window.

[Sadrain]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

"Tank?" he echoed, raising eyebrows. The thought of a tank in sewers seemed a little absurd, but, knowing Keyth and Mike, in the piles of mechanical parts that were put along one of the walls, not only tank could be buried. "I don't think we have that down here, but we have bunch of huge blocks that we've wanted to move for a while anyway."

"We have few that could pick up those blocks, I will have to go and arrange it, then. I will stop by your house when we're ready. Now, excuse me, please," he finished politely and left. There was nothing in particular to hide in his room, so Elek easily let her stay behind. Everything that was truly important was locked in safest place within the base: his head.

It took him about an hour to hunt down one of the local men who wielded power of immense strength. It would have been quicker, if people didn't stop him all the time to ask this, that and something else. But Elek always quickly and politely replied. By now, he was used to such routine. Finally, that hour later, he knocked on Eve's door, with a puny looking man next to him. This man looked like a typical nerd, with big glasses, scrawny body and a t-shirt far too big for him.

When Eve came out, Elek introduced the man as Ralph and they went to the far east wall, where in one corner there was huge pile of stone blocks - they seemed to be nearly blocking something - and not so far there was big mile of mechanical parts. "Okay, say when you're ready," Ralph said.

November 24th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

Leila resisted urge to roll her eyes and maybe even slightly snort disgracefully. What he said, sounded rather absurd. Then again, maybe everyone was already sick of this 'lover boy', and he really did have no one else to talk with. Well, solely his own fault then, and the girl didn't feel sorry for him in the slightest.

"You can stop pretending you're polite. Elek asked you to keep an eye on me, didn't he. I am not as sheepish as you might think," she said, nearly snapping at him. This thought had crossed Leila's mind a few times and her intuition said it was right. Everything pointed at it. On top of it, it seemed that Amante was not aware that despite her girly, youthful look, she was the most merciless and prizes mercenary on the Surface. She wasn't just 'any' girl that would give him an easy time!

"So, your generous offer of leaving me alone is not going to stand, I bet. But, do keep out of my way as much as possible, because I am not nice to those who don't." Her eyes narrowed and the girl's tone became ice cold. In fact, she was never nice in regular meaning, but, if he had any brains, Amante would realize that soon enough. Her 'nasty' was deemed hell by most, though.

[Sadrain]

November 24th, Knoxville.

Ryan drove slowly, trying to avoid most bumps and holes in the road, so the ride was smooth. So, it took a while for them to arrive to the destination. It was another apartment building, looking only just a bit less rundown than the one they had been staying at. Either his employer wanted to stay completely anonymous or something was terribly wrong with this whole ordeal. Well... something was horribly wrong with it anyways.

Ryan freed Alice from seatbelt and took her out of the car, picking her up bridal style again. He hissed slightly at the pain going trough his whole arm and kicked the door shut behind him. At least she was very light, inhumanely so. No one should be so thin. The man was glad she had become somewhat responsive, though, smiling like she did before, and resting head against his shoulder. It was also safer and more comfortable for her that way.

Ryan carried her in and moved to first apartment on right. As expected, the doors were open and he saw a man in a black suit, standing next to a table. They stiffly greeted each other and when Ryan came closer, he was given an envelope which he knew contained half of his payment. He took it, wishing that Alice would be asleep and never realize he had 'sold her', although the chances of that were zero.

"Put her in there," the man told him, gesturing at the simple wheelchair, and took out his cellphone. Apparently, he was informing the employer of mission being accomplished.
Ryan put her in the wheelchair and knelt down, so their eyes were on a more even level. He took her small hand in his rough one and smiled a half hearted smile. "You will be going with this man now. Don't worry, you will be..." Ryan tried to force him self to lie, tell her that she will be alright, but couldn't. "I wish you all the best, little one."

[Ishu]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

Little was said, on her end, as he spoke. She found the scenario acceptable as their resources were likely quite low. After he left, she returned to her home and waited.

Sure enough, an hour or so had passed and he came knocking. After opening the door she say a scrawny young man and quirked a brow, but did not necessarily judge him. She followed the two out to an area and approached one of the blocks. Looking to Elek, she pointed at it, telling him to watch. Eve moved back and thrust a fist at it, punching it. It seemed totally normal and nothing had happened.

She walked back a good distance from the scrawny male and motioned for him to throw one of the large blocks at her.

November 24th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

Amante frowned, "I never said you were sheepish. But, yes, he did assign me to watch over you." He gave a subtle shrug, "It's fine if you don't want to be my friend, though your stay would be a lot easier." He scratched at the stubble on his chin and jaw, "Feel free to keep acting like the boogeyman- I hear he's rather ugly and pretentious. But those are just rumors." It was likely he was jesting at her, in his own productive sort of way. Being mean and vile wouldn't get her anywhere and he was trying to tell her that without being blunt.

[Ishu]

November 24th, Knoxville.

The fragile doll felt limp in his arms but there was a very slight weight to her and her head did rest against him. Her hips were slightly wider than normal, probably adding to her almost nonexistent weight. It was just a few moments before she'd been placed into the wheelchair and, though she had seen the transference of money, she was not so gullible to think him horrible.

When he took her hand, she felt it tense and ease all at the same time. It... sort of hurt to feel confined but maybe it was just something else because feeling warmth from someone else was oddly comforting. The girl smiled down at him, her fingers gently gripping his hand and giving it an understanding squeeze.

A voice sounded inside of him. It was sweet and soft like a moist, unfinished taffy and kind while understanding and.. weak. Weak and soft like the delicate petals on a flower that bloomed prematurely. Thank you... for taking care of me. Her eyelids bat and began to close, though her hand did not move away from his but the grip did lighten up. She was beginning to drift as the simple communication had drained what little energy she had.

[Sadrain]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

Elek stepped back in a safe distance, or at least what felt as safe to him. He was rather curious, to finally find out what were the powers of this unusual woman. He felt the energy crackling around her nearly always, but the man couldn't make out what exactly it was, or how it worked. He took note that her punch did nothing to the stone.

Ralp eyed her one last time, as if hoping a wet spot wouldn't be all what's left after this experiment and then picked the bolder with ease. The moment his hand touched it, it ceased to have the horrible weight, but the moment he flung it at Eve, the bolder's weight returned to normal and it crashed with huge power at the woman. Ralph wished he could squeeze his eyes shut, expecting a nasty thud, but forced him self to keep looking.

November 24th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

His attitude... it was quite intolerable! Although she usually appreciated honest and direct personality, that Amante seemed to possess, Leila couldn't stand that he seemed so lazily, self-confidently laid back. It was like he 'knew' he was absolutely amazing and it was just a matter of time till everyone else realized it, too. And he even mocked her...

Her eyes fluttered shut for few seconds, and when Leila opened them again, a mockingly sweet smile spread on her lips. "Thank you for your most kind permission, I just have to do that from now on, so it is not wasted. Now, if you would excuse me, Sir... Some of us have to do other things than just stalking!" With that, Leila spun on her heel and quickly walked away, shadows obscuring her form from his sight faster than it would normally happen.

[Sadrain]

November 24th, Knoxville.

Ryan's eyes widened in surprise as he felt her respond. The squeeze was light, but certainly there, just like smile on her lips. It felt... so wrong, though, that she was reassuring him, trying to make him feel better, although she was the victim here and all he had done for Alice could seem rather selfish.

As her soft voice resounded in his mind, he felt as if someone had stabbed him. Ryan was sure Alice knew what was going on, yet she tanked him, as if he had done some great kindness to her... And in that moment, he came to a decision. It wasn't one of those things you think about long and hard, ideas like these simply appears in your head, and you go with the flow, not thinking if it is wise, or what outcome it will have.

Ryan stood up, letting go of the girl's hand and glanced at the man. He was still busy discussing something over the phone, much to Ryan's relief. Quickly, he changed his position, now behind the wheelchair and moved towards the door. Relying on left arm, he led the chair, and grabbed envelope on the table, stuffing it in his pocket swiftly. Few more moments, and they were out the apartment. Thankfully, the wheels did not make much noise, and the man did not pay any attention to Ryan leaving - after all, he had no reason to linger here

Ryan ran full speed, few times nearly tripping. At car, he pulled her out of chair and put her in the backseat, buckled the belt up, trying to be careful and gentle, but his mind was occupied with few hundred of possible escape routes and plans. After a bit of struggle (mostly due to rushing), he managed to put the wheelchair in the car bad he got in the front seat. This time, he wasn't so careful with driving, but speeded down the street, heading to a part of the town he knew he would get a new car with number this organisation wouldn't find out right away.

[Ishu]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

The stone came flying at her and slammed into her body, but she didn't move. At all. The boldertapped down to the ground and she took a few steps back. There wasn't even any sign of dirt or dust on her person. Pulling her fist back, she looked over to Elek to make sure he was watching, and then she slammed her fist into it.

The concrete block shook and then collapsed into itself, torn into chunks and little piles of dust. She'd decimated it using the force that it had tried to use against her. Originally, she wanted to show this to him using the tank. Her plan was not to turn it into a pile of rubble but to show that even though it hit her, it would not do any damage and that said tank could be bent in half just by touching her.

November 24th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

He slouched after she walked off and grumbled under his breath. Stubborn. Why was he not surprised. Amante stood upright and started to wander off, grabbing a small loaf of bread from a table and munching on it as he pondered about her, her powers and just who she was.

[Ishu]

November 24th, Knoxville.

It all happened rather quickly and though she felt ill from being jostled around so much, she couldn't help but focus on the fact that he had seemed to have a changed of heart. The girl pondered on this as she started to fall asleep while his hands fumbled with the seat belt to buckle her in. The girl made sure to force her head back against the head of the seat so it would not dangle and hurt when she woke up.

[Sadrain]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

Ralph watched in amazement, and Elek along with (and trough) him. The nerdy man didn't even try hide his surprise and openly cheered: "that was awesome!" He approached Eve with a big grin, but decided against giving her a pat on shoulder or something like that. She didn't seem the type to appreciate it.

"That was impressive indeed, but just how did you do it? Did you manipulate some kind of energy field around you?" Elek questioned, coming up to her side. He thought for a short moment. "Or the energy that came with the thrown boulder?"

November 25th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

Leila felt that today had started really well. After a long day spent walking and brooding (and doing some horrible things to Amante a few times in her mind), the girl had managed to sleep for a decent amount of time and even get up before anyone else. But the best thing was that after schedule, she was to stay at outpost, sit back and relax, as someone informed Leila. While the group was still vary of the strange newcomer, she had not complained about anything and that made her a bit better in their eyes. Not to mention, realizing where she was going to live now, Leila had put away her frilly dresses and now wore dark grey sweater with matching pants and jacket. They were of a soft, warm material (and warmth was certainly appreciated down here), and rather simple, besides small silvery embroidery around the neck and end of sleeves. The only thing that seemed impractical were her high heel boots, but no one commented those.

Leila sat on one of the shabby chairs that had long since lost its original color, with one earphone plugged in ear, other hanging down. Her legs were crossed neatly and the girl seemed to be deeply engrossed in a book. Pan pipe music soothed her mind, and although she was rather relaxed, anyone would have a hard time sneaking up on her, or past her. She had learned to never let her guard down, despite what ever she was doing. Then again, few pairs of watchful eyes that aided Leila from shadows and walls, were certainly a help.

[Sadrain]

November 25th, O'Hare.

Ryan slumped down in the only chair within the rundown room - it creaked dangerously. His head hurt, and arm felt like it was on fire, while his body begged for sleep. But the man felt too nervous to fall asleep, and while they were not somewhere safe, there would be little to no rest for him. The problem was, he had no idea when they would be safe.

The man glanced at the frail from in the bed. He leaned back slightly, moving the tense and painful shoulders, from driving basically nonstop for ten to eleven hours. The pain reminded him acutely of the shot wound, but he was getting to the point where it mattered very little now. The events of these hours zoomed trough his mind again - he saw how they fled the city in hurriedly stolen car, using small roads, and keeping on bigger ones as little as possible. He didn't even know the roads that well! But his destination was clear - reaching Chicago as soon as possible. In his opinion, it was the safest place for them to go. The city was huge, far enough from Knoxville for them to not think of it at first, and... There were rumors of someone helping people in trouble, some sort of hippy-rebellion group. That was his main goal.

During the insane drive, Ryan had stopped only few times, to give food and drink to Alice as well as take care of his personal needs. This was their first full stop. The man had gone far out of their, a half circle around the area, to enter finally enter Chicago from completely other side than Knoxville, but before that, he had picked a room in a rundown hotel which seemed to never have seen better days. Tomorrow, tomorrow, they would reach Chicago, and then the Hunt would begin... Ryan's head slumped on his chest and he slipped into nervous sleep.

[Ishu]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

Eve pointed at the boulder and began to explain, "The force from the boulder was absorbed by my body and multiplied with energy I have absorbed and stored from another time." She put her hands up and clenched them into fists repeatedly. "I just have to know how to fight and let everything come at me. The more you throw my way, the more I will throw back." Therefor, she was the perfect battle maiden for them if things got out of hand.

November 25th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

He'd been watching her during most of her time there, though not really staring or anything intense. It didn't take him long to find her relaxing on her lonesome and came up behind her without any concern for stealth. Amante let his torso lean over her head, his body bent slightly, and he looked down into the book she was reading.

"You know," he started, "no one wears heels down here at the outposts- only in the base. You never know when you have to start running or, you know, step in some sewage." He was trying to be helpful but he was anything but suave at this point.

[Ishu]

November 25th, O'Hare. 3AM.

The girls day had been long and filled with wonderful sights. He'd taken the scenic route so she could see all sorts of trees, flowers and other plants as well as some wild animals. The whole ride, with the sun grazing her face through the window, was a nice outing for her.

As the sun had started to set, she'd fallen asleep and kept silent in the back seat as she always had. She hadn't even woken up when he carried her out of the car and inside their motel room. Still sleeping, she wondered in her dreams where they would go next and what she would see...

[Sadrain]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

Ralph looked at Eve like a fan would look at true super hero few centuries back. Being a just turned 4th rank, the awe about super powers had not wore off of him and such a power display truly amazed him. Not to mention, she seemed so cool altogether! Cold, distant, but certainly with impressive past. However, when Elek asked him to go and do something, he hurried off, because the rebellion leader happened to be another idol of his.

Elek was quite impressed as well. They truly had gained an ally with powerful ability that certainly would aid them in various ways. "That's extremely handy, to say the least. I am quite amazed. Thank you," he said with a honest tone and smiled a little. Somewhere in distance bell rang. "It's dinner time, will you come?" he asked Eve.

November 25th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

"I both wished and feared to see Mr. Rochester on the day which
followed this sleepless night: I wanted to hear his voice again,
yet feared to meet his eye. During the early part of the morning, I..."

With a loud thud, Leila shut the book, revealing the title: "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte. Apparently, this girl had a liking for classics, because the book was certainly not read for the first time. However, it also looked like antique on it self. Just like "The best of Edgar Alan Poe" that stood on the other creaky chair next to her. She stiffly stared at the cover of the book, trying to ignore how close Amante was, but it was rather hard.

"Well, now someone does," she replied plainly. "I know what I am doing," Leila added in just as dry tone. In all honesty, she simply did not have other type of shoes with her, so she was stuck with these until allowed to go to the Surface. Normally, she did not run anyways and boots like these were perfect in battle, as a unexpected weapon.

"By the way, big guy, don't you have somewhere else to be? Or you
are stuck here with me? I nearly feel sorry for you." Smirk appeared and she glanced sideways up at him. "But only almost. So, please, leave me alone and let me read." With that, she opened the book again, on the correct page even.

[Sadrain]

November 25th, O'Hare. 7:30AM.

Ryan woke up, or rather, became full aware of his surroundings few hours later. He felt just as horrible as before, or a bit more horrible, even, but when he looked at Alice, he calmed down a little. In his nightmare-ish visions, he kept seeing that the men came for her and locked her up again in a room he had kidnapped her from. Now, Ryan preferred term 'rescue', though.

It was far from completed, though. After he hurriedly ate something, man flung his bag over the good shoulder, opened the doors and then carried her out to the car. The hotel keeper paid no attention to them. Apparently, nothing was strange here anymore, nor anyone would care what Ryan was going to do with an unconscious girl. Ryan had paid for the room before they settled down, so, for they could disappear from Earth completely, for all the hotel owner cared.

After about fifteen minutes, they were already on the road and going at a good speed towards their final destination. He only hoped, it would not be the very last stop in his or Alice's life.

[Ishu]

November 24th, Chicago; Base.

It wasn't the first time someone had fawned, from afar, over her and it wouldn't be the last. As long as a youth existed there would be fawning and she could see it in the boys' eyes. She said nothing and turned to Elek, not responding to his thanks for a skill she'd been lucky to receive. When the dinner bell rang and he asked her join him, she figured why not and shrugged, "Sure." She needed to eat something anyway.

November 25th, Chicago; Sewer #17.

Big guy? He couldn't help but grin and leaned away from her so as to not be in her bubble. "Please, I prefer the outposts. And the surface. I like the fresh air and it gets kind of muggy down here." The mugginess could have been compared to the beard that would have been on his face had he not shaved every once in a while.

"So, you like classic books?" He moved to her side so she could see him without feeling threatened with him at her back, "I didn't like Jane Eyre very much. It was... bland and mostly descriptive. It's a good book if you have time to waste but it's not entertaining."