On The Run {Open}

[Bailey Daniels]

As the girl spoke of her home in Buffalo, recalling her friends and family, Bailey nodded, thinking back to what she was missing in her old life.  There wasn't much.  She did miss her neighbors, the woman who was more like a mother to Bailey more than the real one, and Jacob, who was Bailey's best friend growing up.  He was like a brother to her.  She just knew that they were worried sick about her, and for that, she felt guilty.  She wished more than anything she could write him a letter, but she couldn't risk him turning it in to the police and have her search start all over.  Thinking about school, she didn't miss that much either.  If she were in class right now she'd probably be getting in trouble for something or another, or getting another detention for fighting in the hallways.  She smirked at the thought.

"Do you think your family is worried about you?" Bailey asked after the girl mentioned she wished she could be home with them.  She shuddered slightly when Poppy told her that the smell of greasy kitchen and red meat smelled like the best thing ever.  At the current moment, Bailey was catching the strong smell of the orange she was peeling.  It was a little strong, but not as bad as the kitchen.  She put a small piece of the fruit to her mouth and nibbled it as she did the french fry minutes ago.  At the first small bite, Bailey didn't want to eat any more.   Nope, can't do it, she thought, but finally her stomach made a soft growl, letting her know that even though it felt disgusting it was still hungry.  Reluctantly, Bailey put a larger piece of the orange into her mouth and forced it down.

She had to laugh at the face the young girl made when she mentioned the vodka.  "Fourteen?  Damn, girl, I had at least a year under my belt by fourteen!"  She giggled, remembering that first swig of beer she ever drank.  She probably made a very similar face to what Poppy had just made, but she got used to the taste of alcohol, and a root beer bomb sounded pretty great right now.  Poppy then thanked her. For a moment, Bailey wasn't sure how to respond.

"You know," she finally started.  "I don't know why I helped you.  Probably because you reminded me of myself just a few months ago, and I know what it's like to be cold, hungry, and alone.  So.. you're welcome, I guess."  Bailey noticed how quickly she had eaten.  "I'd make you some more food, but I'm afraid you'll get sick.  Did you want to sleep on a nice comfy couch back in the employee lounge?"  

[Deleted]

For the first time since that night almost a month ago she was actually kind of having fun. She was starting to like Bailey and think maybe she could actually trust her with the truth. After all she was a runaway as well. She had to have a reason for running away from her family. She tried to laugh when Bailey said she had been drinking for a year by the time she turned fourteen. She game a forced laugh and shook her head.

When Bailey finished talking Poppy took a deep breath should she tell her? She had to tell someone she couldn't keep it buried in any more it was eating her away. She just hopped she had picked the right person to blurt everything out to. Taking a deep breath she began to speak.

"No I don't think they do, they can't because.... because there dead. My mom, my dad, my twin sister. There all died, and it's all my fault." There she said it after holding in the tears for a whole month they finally came pouring out. "It's all my fault, they would still be alive if it wasn't because of me. I would give anything to trade places with them. I'm a murderer that's why I had to run away because I killed my family." As Poppy finished talking she felt like a weight had been lifted and she took a gasping breath trying to stop the crying sobs she was making.

Once she had managed to control her sobs and stop the tears she began to panic. Her eyes grew wide. What had she done. Grabbing her bag from the floor she swung it over her shoulder and jumped off the stool. "I... I got to go, thanks again," with that she called out for Dandi to heal and headed for the door.

Word Count: 310

[Bailey Daniels]

Bailey was surprised when the girl started to open up to her.  In fact, Bailey wasn't quite sure what to do with all the information Poppy was blurting out.  Especially the fact that this, seemingly sweet and innocent young girl, had murdered her family.  There was definitely some bit of information that the girl wasn't telling her.  Not unless this girl was really psychotic, but she didn't seem so.  Bailey remained silent as the girl began to sob.  She didn't like crying.  She didn't like crying herself, and she definitely didn't know how to handle comforting somebody else who was crying.  

She was really happy that the girl had felt comfortable enough to confide in her.  Maybe she was doing something good by bringing her back here giving her something to eat.  Although, she wasn't quite sure what to do with the information just given to her.  When Bailey realized that Poppy was now re-thinking her decision to spill her secrets with her and began to pack her bags and leave, Bailey moved off after her.  

"Wait, c'mon stop," Bailey said, putting down her half-eaten orange on the bar and running between Poppy and the kitchen entrance.  The quick movement made her head spin, but she tried to ignore it as she he out her hand.  "I'm sorry about what happened.  You don't seem like a bad person and I think you're not telling me everything there is to know.  You're a nice girl and I don't think you could kill your family on purpose."  Bailey had to stop and close her eyes for a second and put her hand on the wall.   "I'm not going to hurt you or turn you in or anything you'd expect me to do, okay?  But I'm not gonna stop you from walking out that door either," she looked to the back door of the kitchen.  "I just know that if you hang out here, you'll be better taken care of.  You and the dog."  Bailey ran her hand through her hair.  She couldn't quite understand why she was pleading for the girl to stay.  Why did she care?  She'd just met the kid, but there was something about Poppy.  Bailey still stood next to her and waited to see what she would do, hoping that Poppy would calm down enough to be reasonable.  

[Deleted]

Poppy could just kill herself she still couldn't believe that she had just told a complete stranger everything. Only thing she kept back was her powers. It was bad enough to be known as a murderer but once Bailey learned she was a mutant she would definitely call the cops on her. She had read the newspapers and seen the news. Mutants where hated and feared.

When Bailey fallowed her and threw her hand out in front of her to stop her Poppy's eyes darted around looking for another way out. "Your wrong about that I'm a terrible person whether my family's death's where an accident or not I'm still a murderer." She was surprised when she said she wouldn't call the cops. If she stayed here it meant she had to put all her trust in Bailey a complete stranger. After all what did she really know about her besides the fact she was a runaway like herself and was from New York City.

Sighing Poppy's shoulders slumped showing that she was giving up. "Ok I'll stay, and since I've told you everything else I might as well tell you how I killed them. I'm a mutant, a filthy mutant freak ok. Does that change your mind about turning me in? My parents and sister died the night I first discovered my powers which I still don't completely understand because I refuse to use them ever again."

Now was the real test what Bailey said, did and how she acted would determine what she did next. Yea she and Dandi would be better off here but now that she knew she was a mutant Poppy was sure she wouldn't want her around. Dandi brushed against her and licked her hand realizing how upset she was. Even though he hadn't been given any orders he stood in between the two protectively.


Word Count: 311

[Bailey Daniels]

Bailey was glad to hear Poppy say "accident".  That ruled out her being a psychotic lunatic.  Well, not completely but it helped.  With this new bit of information, Bailey decided that she was indeed just a scared, young girl who accidentally killed her family and was afraid to face the consequences.  Bailey wondered how the girl had "accidentally" killed her entire family, but the question vaguely answered.

The answer made Bailey's heart quicken.  Did the girl really just say she was a mutant?  She had powers? This couldn't be happening.  It was way too coincidental.  Bailey stood for a moment, thinking of what to say, how to tell her.  Bailey had never told anyone about her own powers.  Not one single person.  Not her boyfriend, not her neighbor, not her best friend, no one.  Instead of saying anything to Poppy Bailey walked slowly back to the bar where she took the uneaten half of an orange.  She moved back to Poppy and held out the orange for her to look at briefly.  

Bailey took in a breath of air and concentrated for a moment before tossing the orange up into the air.  While the orange hovered for a split second, Bailey thrusted an open palm forward toward the fruit.  There was a disturbance in the air between her hand and the orange, and without touching the piece of fruit, it went flying about fifteen feet away from the girls, onto one of the dining tables, and then rolled onto the floor.  Bailey had discovered her force fields just six months ago.  At night she would sit in her room and play with them, learning how they would work and how to control them.  Every now and then she wouldn't quite be able to make them bend in the correct direction, but she had gotten pretty good.  She looked back to see Poppy and smirked, feeling even more light headed as using her force fields were quite draining.  

"I think you and me were destined to meet," she said finally.  "I've never told anyone about my powers before.  I don't know what you can do or how things with your family went down, but I'm not gonna judge you for it."  Bailey walked over to a bar stool and quickly sat down.  

[Deleted]

Poppy stepped back surprised to see Bailey turn and head back to the bar and pick up the orange before coming back to her. She watched curiously as she stopped a couple feet from her. When she tossed the orange into the orange she raised an eyebrow completely dumbfounded. When it didn't come back down her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped as she thrust her palm at it but it never touched the orange and yet it still went flying several feet away. "Woo, what the, how the," she gave her head a shake and turned from where the orange landed to face Bailey again. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"Wow, so your a mutant to, I wish I had your powers than maybe my family would still be alive." Walking back to the bar table she set her bag on the table and dug through it until she found her old sketch pad it was filled with drawings of Dandi as a pup. She would test her power for the first time since that night.

"Mine is more complicated I don't quite understand it yet. But the night my family died I was working on a drawing of a dragon in one of my other sketch pads when I got a paper cut and a drop of blood fell on the image." Reaching into her bad she grabbed a small dagger and unsheathed it and slowly slid it across the palm of her hand making a thin neat cut. "The dragon came to live and destroyed my house and killed my family. I'm surprised I survived." Holding her hand over the paper she squeezed her hand into a fist and a couple drops of blood landed on the drawing of the puppy.

At first nothing happened than, Poppy was confused and set her palm on the paper and closed her eyes and willed the dog in her drawing to come to life. Than just like that night her heart began to race and she lifted her hand. As she did the puppy leaped out of the paper and stood on the table next to her and gave a small bark and wagged it's tail. "Now imagine that but with a huge life size Chinese dragon."

Word Count: 378

[Bailey Daniels]

Bailey let out a faint laugh as she watched the amazement on Poppy's face.  "I don't like to call it being  a mutant... more like being super awesome."  Poppy joined her in sitting down and Bailey watched her curiously as she dug around in her bag.  She sat leaning on the table, head resting in one of her hands as she watched Poppy pull a sketchbook out of her bag.  When she started to explain to Bailey her powers, Bailey became more focused.  It was a strange power, she thought.  She'd never heard of anything like it. She then imagined the poor girl and her family being attacked by a vicious dragon.  

It would have been awful, watching your family die in that way, and knowing it was you that caused it to happen.  Bailey truly did feel bad for this girl, and that was rare.  What was up with that?  Poppy then flipped to some drawings of a puppy, most likely puppy drawings of the dog that lay on the floor between them.  She then pulled out a knife and sliced her hand.  Bailey grinded her teeth at the sight of her blood dripping.  She waited eagerly to see her powers at work, and thankfully she wasn't testing it on another dragon.  At first nothing happened.  Bailey wondered briefly if Poppy was just full of crap until suddenly, there was a puppy on one of the tables!  

"Oh my God!" Bailey said excitedly, standing up and grabbing the puppy and then sitting back down with it.  "That is so freakin' sweet.  Can you imagine?  Anything you want you can just draw it and it'll happen!"  Bailey stroked the puppy's head.  She hadn't pet Dandi yet, for fear that the dog would bite, but this puppy was cute and innocent.  "If my boss knew there were dogs in here he'd kick my ass out."  She was serious, but laughed anyway.  "So what ever happened to the dragon?" Bailey asked.  It may have seemed like an insensitive question, but she was very curious.  Surely she would have seen a news broadcast about a giant, fire breathing, winged monster on the news.

[Deleted]

Poppy frowned being a mutant meant she was a freak of nature but at least she wasn't alone any more. "I don't think my power is very super, and it's sure no gift so gifted wouldn't work either. I think Mutant Freak fits me pretty good." Poppy was breathing a little hard and she felt a bit dizzy same as she did that night. She gave her head a shake and almost fell off her chair. "Uh I hate this feeling I don't know why it makes me feel like this when I use my powers."

She watched as Bailey got all excited and picked up the puppy. Poppy grimaced yea she had imagined anything and everything she ever drew coming to life and it wasn't a pretty picture. "I'm not sure only a single drop of blood landed on the dragon sketch and it only lasted about five minutes. I used more blood with this one so maybe it will last longer I don't know. Well after about five minutes it turned back into what it was before ink."

Poppy dug through her bag again with her good hand and found a mini first aid kid she kept on her at all times. Opening it inside she found gauze, band-aids, antibiotic ointment, aspirin, sewing needle and thread, matches, Surgical tape, tweezers, thermometer, alcohol wipes, and two epi pens encase she got stung by a bee. She grabbed the alcohol swipes the antibiotic ointment the gauze and the surgical tape. Poppy than went quickly to work cleaning the cut and putting some gauze over the cut and taping it down. Once done she put everything back in it. Though she was still feeling light headed she took a swig of the root beer that was beside her hoping the sugar in it might help her head to stop spinning.

By the time she had done all that about fifteen minutes had passed. Poppy was surprised the puppy was still around. "I guess the more blood I use the longer they stay around." Just than the puppy gave a final bark than disappeared leaving a slight ink stain on Bailey's hands.

Word Count: 360

[Bailey Daniels]

Bailey shrugged when Poppy said she was a mutant freak.  "To each his own, I guess," she said.  She noticed that the Poppy was also feeling a little weak after using her power.  Bailey nodded.  "I get like that too," she said.  "And it probably wasn't the best idea to show you considering the migraine I have, but I figured it'd be the best way to make you believe me."  Bailey smiled, resting her head on her arm again, stroking the puppy with her free hand.  "I think it's because we use so much energy using them we get drained." 

She nodded when Poppy explained that the dragon had only lasted five minutes.  Bailey was quiet while Poppy patched up her hand.  It was nice to sit there in silence for a moment; it allowed the throbbing in her head to calm down.  This sucks, she thought, wishing the headache would just go away.  She could feel her stomach churning as it tried to process the half of an orange she had eaten.  

It wasn't long after Poppy finished taking care of her hand that the puppy disappeared.  "Aww, bye pup," Bailey said, trying to rub the ink off of her arms.  Gross.  Bailey looked back up to Poppy.  "Feeling any better or are you drained from that?" she asked.  Bailey knew how draining using a power could be.  It might have varied power-to-power, though.  All she knew was that when she used her own force fields, she always felt like she could use a nap.  It was especially bad when she was just getting started.  Knowing now that this was only Poppy's second time experiencing her own powers, Bailey figured she might need to rest, but it was up to her.  Bailey was just glad they were able to connect and she was hanging around.  

"What'dya wanna do?" Bailey asked, sitting back in her chair now, not feeling so dizzy anymore herself..

[Deleted]

"Well what else would I be called I don't much like the word mutant freak either but it's the only thing that seams to fit a murderous freak like m...." the last word was cut off with a large yawn. She was already tired she hadn't slept since the day before. Poppy was used to sleeping during the day and being awake at night. She was always out like a light by now. And using her powers just made her that much more tired. Though the sugar from the pop did seam to help with the lightheadedness a bit but it didn't help with her exhaustion.

Poppy nodded as Bailey said she thought it was because of all the energy using the power took. "Yea probably and since mine requires blood I think it also might lower my blood sugar I'd have to test it to be sure but I have no way of doing that." Remembering that Bailey offered earlier to let her sleep on some couch the offer was starting to sound really good. She hadn't slept on anything softer than a cement or wooden floor since she ran away.

"Sorry I wish I could of kept it around longer but I really don't have any control over it. I can't even control them once they come out of paper they have there own mind and will do what ever they want. I have no idea how to control them." Seeing Bailey trying to rub the ink off she dug into her bag again and pulled out a tiny bottle of ink remover. "I used to get my fingers stained with ink all the time when I used to draw this will remove the ink just put a little on a cloth and rub it against the ink on your skin."

Standing up Poppy stretched and yawned again. "I think I'll accept that offer to sleep on the couch now." She and Dandi headed to where Bailey had told her where the couch was earlier and almost as soon as she lied she fell asleep.

[Bailey Daniels]

Bailey took the ink remover and used it on her arms, wiping it away with a stack of napkins from the table.  "Thanks," she said.  When Poppy told her she would like to nap, Bailey showed her back to the employee lounge.  The lounge was never really used before Bailey started sleeping there, and it was now technically off-limits to any employees and Bailey had a key to the door.  

The room was small.  A little table was in the center of the room, on top of it was her bag, a mess of clothes hanging out of it.  Bailey tried to shove everything back inside the best she could.  There was also a counter with a sink, and underneath there was a mini-fridge that Bailey had bought and kept some of her own personal food in.  Hanging on the wall was a flat screen TV, but there were only two channels, static and auctions.  The couch was on the right wall next to the doorway.  It was an old couch, and the cushions were a little sunken, but it was still better than a concrete ground.  "There ya go," Bailey said, pointing to the couch.  "I saw you have your own blankets, you can use them."  Bailey took her own blanket off the couch and put it on the table.  She felt weird having someone else sleep with her blanket.  "Just... don't let the dog on the couch, please," she finally asked, before closing the door and heading to the bathroom.  

[Human Resources]

THIS THREAD IS FINISHED & CLOSED.