The Fall of the Society

Chapter 2: Hide and Seek

     She stared out into the dark of the woods. Somewhere nearby was a man that had once tried to rescue her. Now he was hunting her. She had to stop him this time. There was a crack in the forest to her right, she spun and put her hands up ready for combat. She continued to watch as nothing happened, there was no attack, must have been an animal she thought as she turned back.
    Suddenly she could not breath and her feet began to lift off the ground. She tried to summon her fire, but her powers evaded her. A figure stepped into view as her vision blurred and she soon passed out. Some time later she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding and her breaths labored. She was familiar with her surroundings, it was the cave they had been making camp in. On the opposite side of the fire was the man that got the jump on her.
   "You didn't have to be so rough," she complained hoarsely as she rubbed her throat.
    "Those that hunt us will not be as accommodating as I have been. Do you want to return to your personal prison?" he asked her.
    She glared at him. "You know I want to be with you! When will you stop treating me like a child!" she screamed at him.
     "When you stop acting like one," he said with a smile. "I am going to get some sleep, you should rest as well. The sun is about to come up and we will be changing camps again tonight." He laid down on his sleeping bag and crossed his arms, quickly falling asleep.
   She watched him sleep for a few minutes before repositioning herself by the fire. She held her hands up in front of her and focused on the flames. Soon she had the blaze dancing around the fire pit. The embers doing exactly what she told them to do.  She soon grew tired of her charade and let the fire return to normal. Her bed was calling her as she realized how heavy her eyes were.
     She awoke at what she figured was about midday as the sun was high in the sky. Tripp's bed was empty and the fire had gone out. It was likely that he had gone to scavenge but that meant she had some free time to explore the area around the cave. The trees were alive with sound as she walked through the undergrowth. At one point she even saw a herd of deer grazing on some plants. She was sad to see them go when they spotted her. Getting to wander around and watch the wildlife was always her favorite hidden activity.
     Just about when she was about to head back to the cave she felt someone watching her. She scanned the trees but was unable to see anything out of the ordinary. The feeling of being watched was still strong, so she knew she could not return to the cave until she identified who was watching her. Tripp would be very cross if she led someone to their campsite, even though it was likely just him testing her again. She began walking while trying to spot who was watching her.
     As time passed she began to panic and move faster. It did not take long before she realized that in her attempt to evade the watchful gaze of the trees she had lost her way. Her panic had started to effect her even more and she fell to her knees. The trees began to spin and she started to hyperventilate as a reddish aura appeared around her.
     "It is you," a voice rang out. "I will definitely get a promotion for finding you."
      Her aura disappeared as she tried to focus on the unfamiliar voice. "Who's there?" she choked out, trying to regain her breath. A strangely dressed individual stepped from behind some brush. His clothing were shimmering and he had an air of arrogance to him.
      A blast of energy ripped through the forest and slammed into the man. His skin turned silver before the blast hit him and he flew into a nearby tree, splintering it and causing it to fall. Tripp walked into the opening he had created and stood between where the man had fallen and Rose. "Are you okay?" He asked her without looking.
      "Yes," she replied meekly. Just then the rubble of the tree started shifting and a silver man stood up.
       "Envy is going to be terribly upset that you ruined the cloaking outfit he made for me," the man said as he brushed debris from his now plain clothes.
      Trip stared at the man. "Leave here now Chrome, that first attack was just a warning."
      Chrome laughed, "You left behind quite the power vacuum when you decimated our headquarters. It's amazing that you managed to take down Arcane, Mist, and Bio all at once. How did you survive that anyways?"
      Trip smiled, "You are soon to find out if you do not leave." Chrome watched for a moment before he lunged forward, quickly covering the distance between them. Rose screamed, but Tripp did not react. Chrome swung with everything he had in a powerful right hook, but just when his fist was about to make contact with Tripp's face there was a loud clang and his attack was stopped as though he had hit a wall.
     "That is cheating you bastard!" Chrome spit at Tripp. "Fight me like a man!" Tripp stepped forward and did a spinning kick that landed flush in Chrome's stomach. The blow knocked him off of his feet and into the air, slamming him hard into a tree behind him. He started to recover his feet as blood dribbled from his mouth. "I guess this is why they considered you the best huh?" he said spitting the blood from his mouth and cradling his broken hand. "Very well, you win and I will take my leave."
     "It is to late for that," Tripp said calmly. "The sensor you are carrying read Rose's energy signature. You will be able to track us no matter what if I let you leave."
     "You can have the sensor!" Chrome yelled as he started to backpedal and empty his pockets. He turned and ran full speed through the forest. Looking over his shoulder he could tell that he was not being followed, until he turned back forward and ran into an invisible barrier.
     Tripp was hovering just ahead of him, and slowly lowered himself to the ground. "I would have preferred her not to know that I had killed you, letting you go was never an option. The Society cannot have her back!" He said with a furious look upon his face. He held his hand in front of him and lightning arced out of it and into Chrome who was lying on the ground. His metal body was super conductive as the electric danced around him and forced him to convulse violently. Tripp finally felt he had done enough and ended the stream of electricity between them. He turned and walked back into the forest silently, heading back for Rose.
     "Is he dead?" she asked as he came into view.
      "All that matters is you are safe," he told her flatly. "We need to go get our things ready, once they realize he has failed they will send more to this area."
     "You didn't have to kill him," Rose said as a tear streamed down her face.
     "Do not shed tears for that man, he was horribly violent. Most heroes are little better than psychopaths and sociopaths with special abilities," Tripp explained. "Ever since the Society pushed to be allowed to execute criminals that resisted there was a large surge of people like him joining."
      The two walked back to their cave in silence, but as they got inside Rose clasped her arms around Tripp and began crying. "I was so scared!" Tripp placed his hand on the back of her head and rubbed her hair.
     Tripp was unfamiliar with this sort of intimacy so he always found it awkward when she sought him out for comfort. Generally he obliged, it helped her more than it effected him. "Do not fear for your life, they have no intentions of killing you, only me." With those words out of his mouth she began sobbing harder. Human interaction had never been easy for him. Since she generally ignored his tone and when he would be more harsh than intended, he tried to be patient when she was upset.
     After holding her for a few minutes and her tears had slowed he spoke again. "We need to get moving. The longer we wait, the more danger we are in." She nodded and headed over to pack up the few items she now owned. He felt bad that this was the only life he could offer her, but unless she was willing to let him return to finish off the Society's figure heads, they would never be safe. Their camp was quickly packed and they had headed into the woods on foot.
     Tripp made sure to lead them the opposite direction of where Chrome was so that Rose would not have to see him. The day was warm but quickly changing to dusk.
     "Do you think I would be able to fly with my powers?" Rose asked Tripp.
      Tripp stared at her for a moment. "You are not ready for that," he said flatly. "You need to gain better control of your powers before you try something like that. Besides, my telekinesis is the best option we have for flying."
      "Wouldn't it be easier if you didn't have to carry me?" Rose objected.
      "Sure, besides who wouldn't notice a flaming girl shooting through the night sky," Tripp responded with a smirk.
      Rose hung her head. "That makes sense."
      Tripp placed his hand under her chin and leveled her eyes with his. "Someday we will move about freely and there will be nothing the Society can do to stop us. Until then I will keep you safe, regardless of the burden to myself," he finished with a smile. As they began walking again Rose began to smile. His words had lifted her spirits and made her feel better about their situation.
      Soon the sun had set and he lifted them into the air once again. The trees beneath them disappeared and they were soaring over a body of water. Tripp never told her where they were, but she did not care. She was with him and that was all that mattered to her. The way he carried her always kept her comfortable and that would make her sleepy.
      When she awoke the sun was out and they were in a new cave. She could hear running water just outside the cave and quickly jumped to her feet. As she looked around she did not see Tripp anywhere so she moved quietly from the cave. Much to her enjoyment the stream ran directly past the entrance of the cave. She placed her feet in the cool water and watched as small fish swam in the deeper sections of the pools.
       "I figured you would like that," Tripp said as he reappeared behind her. He dropped a sack full of berries beside her and carried an arm full of firewood into the cave. "There is a larger pool down the way, maybe we could catch a fish for dinner."
      Rose nodded and got to her feet. She rolled her pant legs down and walked into the cave to retrieve her fishing kit. As they walked through the forest she was on high alert looking for the perfect branch to use as her pool. Trip always caught more fish than her and she was not willing to lose today. She finally found the perfect stick just before they arrived at the pond.
      The two fished for the better part of the day and thus far Rose had caught two fish and Tripp had not caught any. "About time to get back and cook dinner don't you think?" Rose asked with an accomplished look on her face.
      "Hold on one second," Tripp said as he focused on the water. Suddenly a sphere of trapped water with three fish in it popped out of the water with a splash.
      Rose's expression changed instantly. "You are such a cheater!" she cried as she stormed off back to their campsite. Tripp enjoyed frustrating her for some reason, and she never stayed mad at him, so he just trailed behind her without catching up. She managed to keep her anger with him all the way through cleaning and cooking the fish, which she insisted on doing herself, but he would refuse her request and help anyways.
     Once Tripp had settled by the fire to eat Rose snuggled in next to him. Soon the food was gone and she laid into him even more. Her head was resting on his shoulder and she draped her arm across his midsection. She could tell he was not quite sure what to do, and this made her happy. Closing her eyes she trapped him in his spot and soon he wrapped his arm around her to keep from having to hold it in the air all night, and they both fell fast asleep under the stars.
      For one of the first times she could remember she awoke before Tripp did and silently made her way out of the camp. She wanted to surprise him and make breakfast before he woke up. As she scavenged for berries and other fruit she found herself at a huge cliff, overlooking a gorgeous valley. She sat her bag down by a tree and began focusing. Soon a bright fiery aura enveloped her as her feet began to lift from the ground. She burst into laughter as she gained altitude and moved forward over the ledge. Her excitement continued as she moved further away from the cliff, but she was worried that she would spend all day working on this if she did not head back. Moving slowly she landed softly back where she had taken off from and retrieved her bag of fruit.
      Back at camp Tripp had started building a new fire and getting things ready for the day. "I think we should do some training later," he said to her as she walked into the cave. She nodded and kept moving, trying to hide her excitement with what she had just done. They relaxed by the fire for a while after eating breakfast and Rose was rereading a book that Tripp had found for her.
       "I think you are very close to unlocking the full potential of your abilities. I think what they were pulling out of you at the Hall of Heroes headquarters was just a fraction of your powers," Tripp told her reassuringly. She looked up and nodded. "Let's go for a run, get some endurance training in. The better your stamina is, the longer you can use your abilities."
      Rose hated this portion of her training. She had to work twice as hard as Tripp, seeing as he was a good bit taller than her and he had been training considerably longer than she had. She still did her best to keep up with him and make him proud with her improvements. The terrain made it even harder for her to keep up with him as he could just step over things that she would have to jump over.
      After what felt like an eternity to her, Tripp led them back into their camp. She instantly went over to the water and scooped up handful after handful to her mouth. The cool water felt wonderful going down her throat and pouring onto her hot skin. Tripp smiled at her then headed into the cave where the temperature was cooler. Finally feeling as though her thirst was quenched and that she had cooled off enough from the water she headed into the cave as well.
       At first she did not see Tripp, but then she noticed he was sitting cross legged in a corner, meditating. It had been a while since he had done this so it caught her off guard. She felt very tired from her workout and decided to get some rest so she would not disturb him. Quickly falling asleep in the cool and dark space.