Chapter 6- The Call
„U just try to get I’ from her’ te the otha side is all... ah! And don’t try te break it!” Logan advised Europe before he stepped over to the other side of the gulp between them.
Lynx was looking at the tree.
Logan had cut it down for two purposes. One, he needed wood for the oven in winter and two: it should complete Lynx’ training.
The last step that parted her from being “restored” was the recovery of her neglected power. Wolverine had instructed her well, the girl was now an excellent hand to hand combatant that fought with the agility of a cat, but why shouldn’t she be even more, even more powerful if she could? So he needed her to get practice.
There were two small hills with a gulp between them. He was standing now on the one side with the cut trunk and Lynx was on the other one. Her task was it, to remove the object telekinetic and give it a lift to the other hill.
She was not sure if she could do it, so she had refused when Logan said, he’d just sit on top of the trunk. She didn’t want him to get hurt, but then again: who could tell Logan what to do? Stubborn as he was, he climbed upon the wood and was waiting for Lynx to get started.
She felt weird, practising her telekinetic powers with a mutant that had none. How could he possibly help her if something goes wrong?
“I’ve got an appointment te keep in two hours form now. Better get started!” Wolverine shouted over.
She rolled her eyes “Alright already!”
She held out both arms towards the trunk, Jean had taught her to do that, she said it helped focusing. So Lynx concentrated, fixating on the wood, suddenly it seemed like everything around it disappeared, got dim only the trunk was still there. Lynx imagined now, to lift it up, just in her mind and the tree slowly obeyed, a little trembling and the object rose from the ground…
(Evan)“…You won’t believe who hook up with who…”
(Kurt)“…The fuzzy one is on board...”
The objects around became clearer again, Lynx lost her grip on the trunk and it started trembling more.
“Lynx! What the heck are ya doin’?” Wolverine hollered “Keep movin’ this darn thing!”
She tried hard. Clearing away the thoughts of the past, things got dim again. She tightened her thoughts on the tree. “Come on!” she practically begged. Her body started disobeying her. Her brows arched in pain.
(Jean) “…Scott, what’s wrong?…”
(Kurt) “…Vhy are we here again?…”
“She ain’t gonna make it!” Wolverine jumped off the trunk and came arunning.
But Lynx was still trying. She was in trouble, the ability to fulfil the task was still there, but somehow, she was distracted. Everytime she tried to move it, other thought came to her mind and distracted her. “I must do it!” she hissed and closed her eyes…
The trunk moved high into the air and Lynx managed to keep it in the air, even though…
(Amara) “…Yeah, we Maybe we could just like show up, when we’re back in NY… like, “Backstreet’s back, alright!…”
(Scott) “…I know it, but I guess no one told him…”
Then professor X face appeared in front of her mind, then it just… disappeared, replaced by… Bobby, Amara and Scott. Their heads were flying around in front of her mental eye.
“Lynx?” Wolverine put his hand on her shoulder asking if she was alright.
“I can do this!” she shouted, keeping the trunk stable in the air, but her body bending forward, she started trembling and fell on her knees. Wolverine followed her, trying to stop her “It’s over, you hear me… we’ll finish this tomo…” he ordered.
“Noo!!!!!” Lynx shouted, pressing both hands against her temples. The pressure was unbearable, as if her entire life was extracting inside her head, taking more and more place, trying to make her head explode “Stooooooop it!!!” She was furious, she did not even notice Wolverine next to her, she was talking to the people in her head, the things they were saying. They were too many of them and they were rambling too much. Lynx threw her hands up. The heads of her friends were still spooking through her mind…
“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!” she shouted and then she collapsed and fell on the ground. He arms lying limp from her shoulders.
“Kid…” Wolverine held her up, “Can ya hear me? Are you alright?” he shook her shoulders, persuading her with his severe look to move, to breathe, to do something.
Then there was an explosion, Wolverine ducked over Lynx who was still not responding. He felt the explosion, it was huge and he felt little rocks and grass being blown through the air. The sky was dark for a moment, he closed his eyes and waited for the end.
“Hmm” Lynx murmured as she woke, she lifted her hand up to her forehead, blinking twice. She felt something moist on her palm, opening her eyes, she tried to see what it was. Looked dark, black… it was dirt. “what the?” Why would she have dirt on her hand? This place was just grass… there was not even a way to reach the ground under it…
“Wolervine?” she asked whispering. No answer. “Wolverine?” she questioned again, this time louder, and looked around. She spotted him a few yards away. “There you are” she ran to him. He was standing on the hill that Europe was supposed to bring the trunk on.
”Did it work?” she was about to ask but saved it instead. Wolverine was looking at the other hill where the trunk had been lying before…. Or otherwise, what was left from the hill.
The second hill was no more, it was a gulf now, deeper than the one that had been between it and the other one. Everywhere was dirt, it was covering the grass around it. The tree was gone as well, splits and pieces of grass and wood were lying around everywhere. It was exploded, torn apart. And in the middle of this mess, the two mutants.
Lynx stared at Wolverine and he looked back. “Good thing I wasn’t on board” he said. “Uh-huh” Lynx nodded, she took of her mask. Wolverine’s costume was damaged, several pieces of wood had slid open the back of it and there was only half of one “ear” left.
They both looked back at the rest of the landscape. And Lynx couldn’t believe what she had done to this place, she was supposed to move an object and not to blow the place up. That huge trunk, she had just turned it into pieces that were no bigger than toothpicks…
Wolverine put his hand on her shoulder “I’d say we’ve caused enough damage here” and without any further comment he turned his back on her and left.
Europe swallowed hard, she couldn’t yet believe what she was able to do.
Later
The same afternoon, Logan was talking on the phone. He peeked over his shoulder to see it the girl who had fallen asleep a while ago. After he made sure she didn’t listen, he looked back at the counter in front of him “I’d say she’s pretty restored by now” the corners of his lips curled as the thought of the nice explosion that morning, but he didn’t feel the need to talk about that now. His face was relaxed as he listened to the person he who talked to him. “And when do you think that will be?” Logan asked as he a hand through his dark hair…. “Uh-huh. Just send someone to pick us up or somth’n. We’ll be here.” With what he hung up.
Something that sounded like a raven woke Europe from her slumber. She looked around and stretched. Eventually she was waiting for Logan to get her for the training but he didn’t seem to be around. “Logan?” she called for him but there was no answer.
She reached for the rag and pulled it around her shoulders, heading for the open door. She let her eyes wander through the beautiful landscape until she suddenly spotted Wolverine within.
“What is he doing?” she thought since he obviously wasn’t training. He was just standing there, looking for something. Maybe he was just admiring the view, like Europe herself? But maybe not… She decided to stay a while here, just looking.
Now she understood while his code name was “Wolverine”, the way he was standing there in the middle of nature itself, looking so proud, determined and strong. It reminded her almost of the tales she had heard when she was a kid. About the wild that can sense danger before it actually arrives. Maybe this was the reason why Wolverine was down there? Being on guard or … preparing. But where was the great danger?
She tried hard to look away, to respect his privacy but she couldn’t. She was memorising it instead. “Weird” she thought when suddenly a certain feeling came crawling upon in her. It chilled her spine and was warm, she cuddled even more in the rag around her body. The training was long forgotten.
She pictured herself sitting here, on these stairs, looking down on nature, having a home again, having someone to share… She was looking for a word that would somehow capture her state of mind, but she couldn’t. The word was forgotten, for she hadn’t felt it in a while… never again since she had left the mansion.
Her eyes wandered up into the sky. It was as blue as the first day she had woken up from that Cinderella sleep, with the same sun supplying the green. Europe gave up, she didn’t find the word. But even though she didn’t know how to say it, she could feel it as warm as the sun on her skin.
She left the stairs to get ready for training. Logan would be back soon.
It’s cruel not to find what you’re looking for. A quest can be long and ungrateful. Some give up before they do find, others remain on guard till the end. They keep on searching and eventually, when they finally find what they’ve been looking for, they already forgot what they wanted to do with it…
SINKT
… but not him.
Night came on, and a full moon rose high over the trees, lighting the land till it lay bathed in ghostly day… and the strain of the primitive remained alive and active. Faithfulness and devotion, things born of fire and roof, were his; yet he retained his wildness and wiliness. And from the depths of the forest - the call still sounded.
(Jack London - The call of the wild)