Save me

You Beat Me (Peter's POV)

I looked through the mist between the trees. The cold British air sent a chill up my spine. I found it. The base where this all started, what better place to look for clues. As I approached I couldn't help but feel uneasy, this time knowing all the suffering that had occurred here. I take a deep breath and enter the building, taking it slow, I dont want to miss something vital.

After a while of exploring seemingly endless hallways I notice a large metal door slightly open. Looks like an office. As i approach i hear talking, diving behind the door I listen in. "Goddammit" i emerge from behind the door nearing the voices i knew so well. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" I whisper angrily.

" the professor sent us here as soon as you were dragged to the infirmary to get a head start. He guessed you'd come looking here first so thought we should beat you to it incase you did anything stupid." Hank responded. "Jean has a strong insight into Crystallia's mind so we thought she could help"

"And I wasnt leaving without these guys" Jean gestured to Scott, Storm, Jubilee and Kurt who waved. Kurt went to open his mouth when I shushed him not wanting to attract any unwanted attention from patrolling guards. "What's with the whispering?"

"Yeah there's nobody here" Storm added. Clearly I had a questioning look on my face cause Raven felt the need to explain.

"Looks like no one has been here for a while. Must have cleared out as soon as we picked up Crystallia; couldn't risk anybody knowing about this place so packed what they could and got out. All these files are empty." She threw an empty box file on the desk between us.

"There has to be something here. If they packed up in a hurry they must have forgotten something. Anything!" I cant just give up on her.

"Were not giving up peter" Jean placed her hand on my shoulder. " were gonna find her". Suddenly Kurt burst outta nowhere. I hadn't even noticed him leave the room.

"Umm, guys. You had better come and see this." He looked sick. We followed him slowly. It was the smell that hit me first, i'd never smelt anything so disgusting. Jubilee looked like she was gonna throw up. As we rounded the corner Hank opened the door.

"Oh my god" Raven looked at the scene in shock and disgust. Scott turned around and puked as Jean placed her hand on his back, not looking away from the horror in front of us. A room filled with dead guards, who must have been there for months. "They just left them here?" Raven broke the silence. "They took everything from this place and just left them there."

"At least now we have a better understanding of the sort of people we're dealing with." Hank looked like he couldn't look away. " These people just dont care. Whatever their goal is, they dont seem to care about any collateral. Who knows what they're willing to do?"

Storm walked fully into the room, wincing away at the smell as she approached one of the dead guards on the floor. She knelt down and pulled a small black book that was hanging out of his front jacket pocket. "Looks like they didn't even care enough to check on any of them. This book is filled with addresses and coordinates." Raven reacted fast, urging everyone to move on.

"Let's get back to the jet. We can take a look at the book more closely there." Everyone walked away but i couldn't seem to avert my eyes. While everyone was looking at the bodies, wondering what had happened, i was staring in the middle of the room. Transfixed by the glass, match, and rock that sat on the table between two empty chairs.