Devour

Chapter 28 - Dax

It's well past midnight as I make my way through the now mostly empty Tube platform. My eyes are heavy, after a late night last night, and then exams all day so I couldn't sleep in class. I feel like Emma's 3X5 card would have helped if I'd known how to use it. Patch, the moron, did sleep through class after drawing profane things on his exam and score sheet. I was annoyed on principal and tried to wake him up so he wrote 'it's my birthday' on his face in Sharpie and then 'I do what—I want' on his two hands. Then they made him and me separate because they thought we were cheating. I said he was the opposite of help please take him away. They believed me.

It's been a fairly quiet night, though. I'm wearing my white button up shirt, and uniform black pants, but tougher running shoes and a regular leather jacket. Emma's parents got it for me, second hand sure but it's warm and covers up the stiff shirt and bracelet. Like my dad, I have to wear both an anklet and bracelet. The same tracer goes to both, though, unlike him and Nel who had/have two. I remember Miss Cora complaining, teasing him and telling him to carry one that if he felt like escaping he had to take a kid because women's clothes don't have that many pockets. We were going out to play in the fields. It was just me and Patch and Emma then. My dad said he was taking me and that was it she could have the other two also he'd need her to keep feeding us. She said she really would tase him if he took me. They laughed. I don't think I was meant to hear all that. But they were happy, laughing.

 In retrospect she was probably the first handler he'd had that would give him even one tracer, let alone joke with him about it, considering she'd never, ever tase him. Now I'm aware it's more common than not for handlers to be lax with where their mutants go so long as its within reason. Not Nel and Emma's handlers, no they're by the book, but since Patch isn't a threat I'm aware his handler generally will let him walk himself to class or get a coffee or whatever, and while he keeps the tracer he barely monitors it. Emma's handler has also let her go inside a shop with her mum and such while she waited outside. Typical stuff.

While I don't expect there to be any trouble, this station, King's Cross, has the highest reported crime rates. Now some of that's vandalism, which isn't too hard to stop. And your average graffitist is usually fairly intimidated by their cans of spray-paint collapsing in their hands. Petty theft is harder to stop since I, not being telepathic, cannot detect it as it happens. I can prevent it and trip the pick-pocketer if the pick-pocketed correctly identifies them and goes 'they took my purse' or something like that. That's usually okay because I can linger helpfully and nobody need know I've done it.

Then there are muggings which are much more dangerous, and I'm much more likely to reveal myself in because typically there are fewer people around because I'm wandering King's Cross at night and there are more muggers to one victim like---

Like that mugging. Happening right now.

"Hey---get off her," I start running towards the source of commotion, where three men are dragging a girl backwards up the steps no doubt towards a waiting car. Best case scenario I can just scare them off without doing anything fancy.

This is not a best case scenario.

One of them, upon seeing me approach, pulls out a gun to shoot me.

"Rude," I mutter, as the bullets fall harmlessly to the pavement of the station. The supposed victim kicks free and twists to the ground. I give her a moment to get up, tossing the other two would-be kidnappers back onto the ground. Not enough to hurt them mind, just enough to let her crawl to her feet. She does, as do the would-be muggers/kidnappers.

"Mutant eh?" the one with the gun says, pulling out a taser. I send him skittering into the tracks before he can fire it.

"See what the cops think of you wandering about," another mugger has casually pulled out his cellular phone. The other one walks up and just tries to deck me. I knock him to the ground and prepare to run, but the girl I 'saved' stays to kick him the balls rather than run for safety.