Salvage

Eleven - Part 1

November 18th, 2015

W12 is being impossible and stubborn about this, as I knew he would be. Fortunately Agent Remington seems to have a way with the kids. I've allowed him to take over permanent security for the three who've been living in town. They grew independent streaks, living alone, and refuse to sequester themselves, despite the danger. W6 is growing nearly as bad, with all the sugar they've been feeding her.

I suppose it's understandable. The others in the county house are starting to go a bit stir crazy. We'll need to start pushing forward the plans for a potential stable and garden installation, once this whole mess gets cleared up. It's hard to think about the group's long term comfort, how they will live a real, normal life when we face an unpredictable and possibly nonexistent enemy.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

Aurora repeated the thought aloud at the same moment it entered her mind. Then she realized she hadn't opened the door yet, so she lunged forward and yanked it open. Sure enough, there was Jamison Remington, in a crisp black suit, lounging casually against the doorway.

"Morning," he said with a wink.

"What- hi. Good morning," Aurora responded automatically.

"It's all clear," he drawled over his shoulder.

Adam stepped around the taller man, looking so troubled and adorable, Aurora's heart melted. She hadn't been prepared to see him again so soon. She wasn't ready.

"Can we come in?" He sounded hesitant, unlike his normal self. "Or would you like to go for a walk?"

Emotional energy was churning through her, too quickly to consider sitting still. "A walk sounds great."

"Jamison has to come with us. It's the only way I could make it."

"You won't even notice I'm here," the suited man promised, slipping a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and sliding them on.

"It's all right." Aurora grabbed her keys up again, slipped her phone and some cash in her pockets just in case, and closed the hotel door behind her. "There's a dog park nearby. We can go there."

"Looking at puppies... How could it not improve things?" Adam thrust his hands in his pocket, and they started down the hallway side by side. "Wish I'd brought Vader, now."

"Big husky, that would be real inconspicuous," Jamison said.

"I thought we weren't supposed to notice you," Adam tossed back.

A low chuckle was the only response. Jamison fell into step a few yards behind them, and at first Aurora kept glancing back at him nervously. Once they got outside, and the cool breeze was chilling her, and Adam's warm shoulder was brushing hers, she really did forget he was even there.

A few times, Adam's chest expanded as he took a deep breath, as if about to say something. Then he expelled the breath in a deep sigh instead, and continued in silence. Finally Aurora decided she'd have to prompt him, or they'd get all the way to the dog park before anything got said.

"Why are you-"

"I'm sure you-" Adam stopped and laughed awkwardly as they both began speaking at once.

"Go ahead."

"I'm sure you... Have a lot of questions." He ran his hand through his hair again in what Aurora was recognizing as his customary nervous gesture.

"I'm hoping you have answers."

"I'll do my best," he said. "I want you to know first of all, that I'm so sorry for how all of this happened, and for my part in it. I never meant to drag you into anything that would mess up your life. I just thought there was something really amazing about you, and I wanted to be around you. And now it's a mess."

"I guess life is messy. I can't really blame you for that."

"I wish I were better with words. I feel like I keep saying the same things. I like you, I'm sorry, on repeat."

"Then bring me some new information," Aurora replied. "You don't have to be poetic about it to tell me what's going on."

"I'm afraid you'll think I'm crazy." 

"I might. But it seems you're willing to take that risk. You said goodbye. Unceremoniously. What changed since last time I saw you?"

Adam scowled at the ground, digging his fists deeper into his pockets. "Daniel had a dream about you."

"Uh... What kind of dream?" Aurora peered up at him suspiciously.

"Not anything bad. Just... It changed things."

"A dream changed things," Aurora repeated blankly. She looked back at Jamison briefly, who was still striding behind them, looking casually menacing. "A dream changed things for the official rich suit wearing people who follow you around."

"It's related to my past." Adam pressed his palm to his forehead. "I'm not allowed to say much more yet."

"Surprise surprise," Aurora muttered. "Haven't-"

"Daniel's dreams come true," Adam blurted loudly, interrupting her. "I don't know how else to say it or explain it. It's pretty rare, it has only happened before something big was about to happen."

Aurora was silent, absorbing the words for a few moments, feeling the crunch of leaves under her boots as they approached the park. "Prophetic dreams," she mused softly.

"You can disbelieve it if you want. But it's true."

Aurora clasped her hands together behind her back, tilting her chin down. She refused to look at Adam, though she could feel the intensity of his stare pulsing at the side of her face. She needed to listen, to be objective, or as objective as she could. Give him a chance. Learn everything she could.

"All right. What was the dream about?"

Abruptly, she felt his hand clamp on her arm and pull her off the pathway, stepping down through the chilly grass, and through a stand of bushes, pushing through into the back corner of the park.

"Shortcut," he explained, drawing her hand under his arm. Could he tell her fingers were freezing? "He said it was hard to explain. That he had seen me, running, with a dark cloud around my feet, slowly catching up to me, and I looked scared. And then you appeared, and you floated down and wrapped your arms around me, and then started shining bright, and the shadow was beaten back."

"Huh." Aurora could think of literally no response to that. Her, some angel of light? "Um. Well. What does that mean? Is that like... a metaphor?"

"I don't know," Adam admitted with a shrug. He glanced around, then tugged Aurora off the path, towards a little enclosed grove with a pretty circle of trees and benches.

She looked around too as she followed him. She could see her breath, it was so chilly, and the park was pleasantly empty.

"Wait." Aurora twisted around in a quick circle, stopping in front of the bench. "Where's Jamison?"

"I lost him." Adam shrugged and gave a reckless grin. He reached down to cup her elbows, pulling her closer, twisting her back to focus on him. His eyes met hers, and melted into a soft, almost-green. "I've been practicing."

"Oh. Is that safe?" Aurora swallowed hard, reluctantly dragging her gaze up to him. "Isn't he like your bodyguard or something?"

"Or something."

She became aware, as she met his gaze, how growly his voice was, and how this close, she could feel it in her chest. And now he was staring at her mouth. Her breathing picked up, and she found herself leaning into him despite herself. Damn this magnetism. She didn't know how to react. 

Before she could decide, Adam leaned in. Aurora closed her eyes out of instinct, in shock, frozen in his grip. His mouth barely touched hers, brushing back and forth against her lips, feeling warm and soft and foreign. It sent tingles across her lower lip, making it feel overly sensitive. 

Betrayal. Lies. Secrets. Insanity. The words glared through her brain, all surrounding Adam in her mind. Why couldn't she hammer it through from her brain to her stupid body that he wasn't to be trusted? The indecision paralyzed her, and she stayed there, with Adam's mouth pressed to hers, the moment stretching into infinity.

Until it shattered.