Disclaimer: What a bother. But hey yadda yadda, the following recognisable characters do not belong to me, they belong to Marvel, but bloody hell, the story idea is mine, so there.
Note: This one's for my Steven. Write to southernefx@hotmail.com

A Place in this World
by Vicki Lew
October 1999

Chapter 9

"...new discovery...mutant...separation..."

Her swollen eyes opened at the sound of conversation, but it sounded muffled and hollow.

They were outside her cell.

Painfully, she rolled over, and dragged her battered body closer to the door to eavesdrop. By the time she managed to get there, the conversation had already ended with:

"...very well..."

He'd discovered the huge quarry behind the compound when he took a little walk further into the woods that surrounded the cold, stoic building. Raising the binoculars to his eyes, he scanned the swarm of mutant captives that were slaving away amongst the snow-capped rocks, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

"Dey look okay t'me, chere. Jus' a little thin, but okay otherwise." He reported back to Storm via his communicator. "Quoi? Let's see; mebbe twenty o'dem. Oui, I..."

It was her, but he didn't like what he saw one bit. Her lips were bruised and split, her eye almost swollen shut, and from the way she clenched her jaw and hugged her side as she dragged a basket of rocks behind her, a few ribs might've been broken again.

Remy narrowed his eyes, kinetic energy visibly churning from them, the anger in his blood fuelling his mutant power.

"Dey hurt her!" he hissed into the intercom.

"Remy! Do not be rash!"

"What de fuck we waitin' for? Merde, I'm goin' in!"

"Gambit, do not move in! This is an order, X-man!"

Storm's voice was left unheard, crackling from the abandoned device that lay amongst the leaves on the mossy ground.

So this was how she was going to spend the rest of her life -- in a cell, experimental labs and a rock pit.

Shuffling down the corridor with her fellow captives, Sabine tried to avoid the haunted gazes of the older prisoners. She could see tired eyes peering out of that small tiny window embedded in the cell doors, and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she knew that in time to come, she would be doing the exact same thing.

As she forced herself to look away, a particular pair of eyes caught her attention.

They were green, so green.

Just like hers.

"Mama?!" She struggled to turn back, and received a cruel backhand to the cheek, sending her reeling to the floor.

The warden officer dragged her up roughly, cursing, "Bloody mutant girl! Calling for your mama is not gonna help you here! Now, move it, or do you want another beating to smarten you up?!"

Tasting the blood in her mouth, Sabine picked herself up and looked at the ground humbly.

"No sir; ah'm sorry, sir..."

Chancing a last fleeting glance at the cell number, Sabine quickly returned to her place in the line.

Dis is de tiniest ven'lation shaft I ever been in, groused the Cajun X-man as he shuffled his way quietly  along the dark and windy passage. Ya'd t'ink with all de money dey got, dere'd be bigger ones.

He turned into an even smaller branch and put his face up next to a grille and peered out into a large laboratory. His carmine eyes glowed steadily as he watched men in pristine white lab coats bustling about, preparing and executing trial runs on what looked like a giant test tube filled to the brim with some clear, jelly-like substance.

Frowning, he moved on, eager to find his way to the cells soon.

My body's shiverin' from the fever ah got, but ain't no one here would care, would they? My face is constantly damp from the cold sweat formin' on my skin. Ah stare out of that l'il window, body pressed against the door f'support.

Lord, ah'm tired and hurtin'.

All ah have right now is that lady in the cell. If'n ah haveta die here, ah wanna know who she is. She has my eyes, ah swear. Ah'll risk my life jus' ta know.

Footsteps, ah hear them ... They're comin' again. Ah limp over t'the darkest corner of my cell, in the silly hope that they won't find me, they won't take me. Fear wells up in me, and ah feel the burning nausea in my throat.

Please don't hurt me, leave me alone...

They're never gentle when they haul me away.

Continued in Chapter 10.

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