Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 02: Running

The convoy was rolling down the deserted highway, unmolested so far. After waking from his nap in the woods and rousing his agents, Henshaw had called in an armored truck, unable to find a helicopter that could lift the weight of the small spaceship. Three cranes were brought in and the reenforced moving truck had been towed by two larger trucks for extra power, over the rough landscape to the nearest road. Now at 6AM, after navigating small game trials and using heavy ordinances in places to clear the way, the Kryptonian vessel was in the back of the large DEO moving truck, heading South to California.

Henshaw had flown ahead, feeling like he had wasted enough time organizing recovery efforts and not enough time tracking the occupants of the craft. He also had several official complaints to be filed with General Lane, knowing nothing would come of them. Connolly’s goons appeared to be untouchable. General Lane had told Henshaw that he spoke to the Secretary of the Navy and was informed that agents like Henshaw and those under him were easily replaceable, while operatives of Connolly’s teams skill were not.

That left the large truck, an armored personnel carrier in the front and one in the back, moving quickly down the highway. The agents knew the longer this pod was out in the open, the longer they would be a target.

By 8 AM, two hours into the drive, the agents had begun to relax. This turned out to be a mistake but not one that made a difference. Relaxed or not, they couldn’t have stopped the blur of black that rammed the lead truck off the road, so quickly the driver of the moving truck thought the carrier may have hit a roadside bomb.

The blur moved from the flaming piece of wreckage and rammed the following vehicle, slamming it the other side of the road.

The two men in the front seat of the carrier, panicked, unsure if they should stop and help their fellow agents, stop the vehicle and run or simply go faster. In the rearview mirror his traveling companion saw a man standing in the middle of the road behind him. A blonde haired man wearing a solid black suit.

“Hit the gas, faster, faster, faster. He is just standing there.”

“He can catch us! Did you see how fast he moved?” the driver asked, hitting the gas regardless.

“What other…”

The passengers question was cut off when the driver screamed. A brunette in black dropped in the middle of the road, not budging an inch, giving him no time to stop. He should have felt her body under his truck. Instead the truck slammed into the equivalent of a concrete pillar at 72 miles an hour,wrapping itself around Astra.

Despite the seat belts being in place, both drivers were thrown forward, the bench seat breaking off it’s support and both skulls cracking through the windshield.

Astra stepped back from the wreckage. In the short time she had been on Earth, her, Non and the other Kryptonians had worked very hard to master their abilities. She knew if she looked hard enough, she could see through objects. After the military abandoned Fort Rozz and left it in place they had returned, activated the systems as best as possible using the omegahedrons, and began monitoring the planet’s capabilities. Using the Satellites around the planet, and Fort Rozz proximity alarm they had picked up another mechanical object, crashing to the Earth. By the time its location had been determined and Astra and Non left to investigate, it had been too late. They both watched from a distance as the pod had been loaded. Astra knew what it was immediately.

Ripping the back door off its hinges, she peered into the darkness seeing what she hoped to find. While two agents had been in the back on either side of the ship, one was still alive, barely. Both had been thrown against the front wall by the sudden stop, breaking one agent’s neck immediately. The other appeared dazed and had a few broken bones in his leg and arm but otherwise appeared conscious.

He looked up from the floor, seeing the woman with glowing eyes standing over him and tried to lift his rifle, only for it to be burnt, melted in his hand. The man screamed, the liquid metal scorching his skin as it burned quickly through his gloves. When the pain went away, replaced by a cold numbness as he descended into physical shock, he was on his feet, Astra looking at him from inches away. Non walked in behind her and handed her a small black case, no bigger than a cell phone. He held a similar one in front of the agent.

At Fort Rozz, not only Kryptonians had been incarcerated but any species that committed a crime on or against Krytpon. As a result, translation machines were needed. While an excellent way to learn the languages of this planet, neither of the couple wished to deal with nuances of language today.

“Where is the occupant of this pod?” her electric voice asked through the device.

“I… don’t…”

Small laser beams emitted from her eyes, into the man’s chest. He flinched but due to the pain of his severally burnt hand he barely had a reaction. A glance at her husband and Non was searching the man’s clothing, finding his wallet in his back pocket. Inside was a single picture of an older woman. Astra took it, shoving it in his face and tried once again for answers.

“Who is she?”

“My… my mom.”

“Do you want her to suffer as you are suffering? Shall we take you to her?”

“No!”

“Then answer my question. I realize you are in pain but you can still live. If you do not tell me what I want to know not only you but she as well, will die. Now concentrate!”

“Okay! Okay, I will tell you whatever you want to know. Please don’t hurt her.”

“I don’t want to.” Astra told him honestly, while Non tried to not roll his eyes. “Where is the occupant of this pod? Where has she been taken? Exactly?”

“She? She… there was no one. No one when we got there, I swear. You have to believe me! The thing was empty. We were looking but…”

“But?”

“Another team arrived, one that doesn’t work with us. They attacked us. I doubt they found it… her!” he corrected, seeing the look on Astra’s face. Astra had a very good idea who had been in this pod.

“Who do you work for?”

“The DEO. We investigate alien…”

“Investigate? Find and exterminate would be more accurate. This rival team, who are they? Who do they work for?”

“I don’t know, I swear I don’t know. They are nuts and… all I know is that they are scary and nuts. When I woke up they were gone. We weren’t out that long. They couldn’t have had time to find it… her! Her. You have to believe me.”

“Where is your base of operations?”

“We don’t have her!”

“I don’t care. I want to know where your organization is located and you will tell me. I want to know who this other team is working for and I want to know where the experiments I know your people must be conducting are hidden.”

“I don’t know about experiments. We just bring them in and hold them until some people come to take them.”

Astra crushed the man’s small right pinky finger, the hand that hadn’t been burned.

“California! The desert, forty miles East of National City. There is a single road from the interstate, it isn’t paved but has been hardened to drive on. There is an abandoned missile silo. You can see the domes above the ground. The rest of the base is below ground. I swear! Please don’t hurt me anymore.” he finished with a whimper. Astra looked at her husband who dropped his eyes and nodded. They would get nothing more out of a man whose only importance was sitting in the back of a moving truck guarding an object with only a rifle.

“Your mother will be safe. I apologize that I brought her into our discussion. It was necessary but regretful. The occupant of this pod is someone I will burn the world down for and nothing can stand in my way. I promise you will feel no more pain.” Astra told him, then snapped his neck, letting him drop to the ground. She took in the pod, giving it all her attention.

“Amazing. If this had been discovered, Alura would have had to send her husband and brother in law to the Phantom Zone while denying any knowledge herself.” Non told his wife. He knew she held no love for her twin sister but still enjoyed pointing out the hypocrisy of the House of El.

“Alura did one thing right. She saved Kara. I recognize Jor and Zor’s work. Only those two could have developed this craft. It must have been to save Kara. It had to be.”

“This craft has been in the Phantom Zone.” Non told her, operating the system files with ease, unlike the humans who would take years to pull its secrets. The pod sustained a blast and was pushed from its original course. It is luck it ended up in the Phantom Zone or she could have drifted the universe, frozen forever. At some point it was activated and Fort Rozz hacked into the guidance system. Someone used this ship’s power to hack back into Fort Rozz and dragged us to this planet.”

“Indigo. She was the only one who could have done this and used the momentarily loss of power on impact to open the cells.” Astra guessed. The member of the Brainaic clan was the only prisoner not accounted for. The guards were all killed.

“I suppose we owe her thanks.” Non suggested quietly.

“She is psychotic. Once she is found, she will be watched carefully. This place, this planet is perfect for rebuilding our people. The humans here haven’t destroyed the ecosystem, yet. If she were left unchecked the damage she could wrought would be too much. I… we need this planet. Here we can be gods and Kara, she could have the planet she has always dreamed of and deserves.”

“Your plan to end this race before they can further destroy their own planet will be met with war. They will not go quietly, no matter how powerful we are.”

“That is why we use Myriad. We can make them work for us or kill them all quickly without coming into direct conflict. It doesn’t matter if it takes a decade to convert it to this planet’s primitive technology. Either way, Kara will have the planet and home she deserves.” Astra whispered, finally finding purpose after weeks wondering what her next move would be.

“And you are sure this was Kara’s pod? How can you be certain?” Non asked, guessing that she was right. The annoying blonde girl his wife had always doted on meant nothing to him, other than the girl made Astra happy. It was also enjoyable to witness Alura’s reactions whenever Non socialized with the child. Her disgust of him was evident but as the girl’s uncle she could not forbid him seeing her.

“Who else would Jor El and Zor El send away? The pod is… if they only sent Kal El I will slaughter that baby. I will watch that child burn.” Astra vowed.

“I don’t think you should worry.” Non told her, recognizing one of Astra’s epic flares of temper rising to the surface. “the seat in the back is smaller. There is a long strand of blonde hair in the front, no doubt shed before she entered this solar system. I will not have DNA ran. You are correct. Not only is the daughter of Alura…”

‘

“Do not call her that! That woman did not deserve her and she is dead. Kara will be mine, as she should have been if Rao had any sense of justice. She is alone, frightened and saddled with Jor El’s brat. I shall find them, both of them. She is no doubt attached to the baby, she is too kind hearted not to be, so I will care for him as well. They will be with us. Kal has not been influenced by his idiot father. He may grow wise with the right guides educating him. Kara loves me. I will make her understand the truth of what her mother allowed to happen to our planet, to everyone. Kara will come to see the woman for who she was as well as her father.”

Non shook his head. In the order of things, all looked to the General, the woman who outranked him in the military before their imprisonment. He was honor bound to serve her and follow her commands in regards to strategic decisions. As her husband he felt the need to break her out of her delusion.

“You truly think it will be that easy? Astra, the prisoners respect you, even those of other races, because they know of the hate between you and Alura. They know you defied her and because of that you are legendary. You have brought them all together. But… the child, the daughter of Alura? The baby son of Jor El? The army will revolt. They will stop at nothing to kill those two, your standing as leader be damned. We need those people, no matter how revolting they are. We cannot build a new planet without using them and we cannot use them if you bring the daughter of Alura into our fold.”

Astra took a moment, sensing the truth in her husband’s words. It would be delicate.

“She must be found. I will search for her myself. If anyone asks about my whereabouts, I am on an intelligence gathering mission. You will begin organizing the army. We need the brightest minds studying this primitive technology. We need spies, scouts, we need to know if other races are on this planet other than humans. We need to know everything. This will not be a quick process. Before we act, we must know everything. Myriad has to be adapted, we need humans to conduct tests. There is much to be done and I leave the delegating of task to you husband. When I find her… them, I will decide what to do from there. I cannot have her alone, unprotected, frightened and chased by these humans. She needs guidance learning her powers. I will find her and… reevaluate at that time. Perhaps I hide with her until she is old enough to be no longer recognizable as Alura’s daughter. Jor El’s brat will never know who his family is if we do not tell him and Kara will understand. I will be gentle but she will understand the monster her mother was and will no longer claim her house. For now, do as I say.”

Non nodded his head sadly. Though he had no love for the girl he recognized the extreme love his wife had for her and wanted her happy. “If you need help my dear, do not hesitate to call. You know of my hate for Alura but my love for you is greater. If this child makes you happy, I will love her as my own.”

Astra stepped forward and kissed Non gently. “Thank you my love. Please erase any data from the pod that could give them any intel. Then leave it for them. It is just a machine. The cargo is what is important. I will contact you as soon as I can.”

Astra stepped outside and noted other cars had pulled up on the scene. Despite the wreckage, the ones who had exited their cars had not come close to the crushed truck in the middle. Astra looked around and smiled. Humans. She briefly though of using her heat vision, her favored weapon now, to destroy their pods but decided against it. Astra had more important concerns. Looking up to the sky she launched, going back to the crash site and begin the search for her niece, the one who would be her daughter now.

Non was not as gracious, stepping out after Alura had left and sending the humans running, screaming as their cars exploded, courtesy of his heat vision. Yes he had much to do, but these creatures should have a preview of the power of a god on Earth.

Idaho

Kara had finally broken out of the never-ending forest. It had taken a day followed by a night of sleeping on the ground with Kal El on top of her. Sleep was difficult due to the hunger in her stomach but she managed. She should have run farther the day before but had no idea where to run and needed to think, walking instead. Once she had entered the open wilderness of Idaho her hunger was momentarily forgotten by the scene in front of her. The Blue Mountain range that crossed from Oregon to Idaho. She had no idea what they were called but her breath was momentarily taken away.

The blonde alien took in the sight of the majestic mountains. She had never seen mountains in this light, ones that weren’t constantly smoking or erupting. They were gorgeous, shades of blue, grey and purple with white peaks.

“Kal, look.” she whispered, turning the baby in her arms so he could face forward, his head peaking out of his blanket.

“Pretty.”

“Yes it is. I’ve never seen anything like it. The flying creatures, they are around as well. They seem to be everywhere but I don’t think they will attack. They are so pretty. I never knew creatures could fly like a hovercraft. It looks like so much fun. It must be amazing to be up there, free, not a care in the world.” Kara shook her head, stopping her musings. Her cares were all she could think about but for one second, just one, her mind wasn’t on her dead planet, her dead family, Kal El’s food and diapers or lack of and her hunger. She was able to take in the beauty of this world.

She could also hear nosies in the distance. A mile away or a hundred miles, she wasn’t sure. Everything in this world was so loud. These sounds were different. They sounded mechanical, roaring. She also heard the hum of voices. Normally she would have been panicked but she was learning if anything had a normal volume, it was probably far away.

But where there were voices, there was food and Kara was beginning to understand she could not go on without food much longer. She looked for food growing in the wild but was not sure what Berries were good to eat. She knew on Krypton food had to be produced inside as the soil was bad on the surface.

Taking a deep breath and trying to stand up straight despite the hunger pains, Kara ran, heading towards the range but wanting to avoid climbing at this time. She knew hypothetically the atmosphere could be thinner the higher she went. The blonde felt she could handle it but wasn’t certain about her baby cousin. Unlike her, he seemed to be the same while she spent the day holding him lighter and lighter by the hour, every time he whined. She had not bruised him anymore but did see he had red spots where her fingers had pressed. She was becoming stronger, she knew it, and he was not. She kept his head buried in the crook of her neck and ran. Kal El usually enjoyed this but Kara knew lunch time was coming soon and his joy at being ran would give way to annoyance at being jostled. Weaving through the canyons but slowing a bit, she began to feel lightheaded.

“I have to find food Kal, or we won’t make it much farther. I don’t know… yes I do. We are going to have to go towards the voices and machinery. It is the only place we can find food. I also don’t want you sleeping with just a blanket. You could get sick. We have to find somewhere to sneak into, someplace abandoned. As long as no one sees us, we should be fine. Okay we probably won’t be… nothing about this is fine, but I won’t let anything happen to you. I just need you to trust me.” Kara assured him, as much as herself. Moving towards the North, or as she knew it the source of the loud sounds, she stopped ten minutes could see a city in the distance and it was frightening. There were moving pods of metals that appeared to have some sort of wheels. There were tall buildings and smaller buildings, people walking around who thankfully resembled Kryptonians. At least she wouldn’t stand out. Of course considering she was wearing what amounted to white pajamas that looked as if they had been ground in dirt and was carrying a baby wrapped in large red blankets, she accepted that if seen, she would stand out.

As Kara stared at the city, still fifty miles away, her vision changed. Soon she was seeing through the buildings, through the metal pods and people…

“No!” the girl screamed, closing her eyes tightly. She had nearly ran into a tree this morning, only seeing it at the last second. Kal would have been crushed and she was forced to stop. Closing her eyes seemed to help. Once her eyes were reopened, her vision was normal.

“Okay, so if I look at something too hard or to long I start to see through it. So keep your eyes moving and don’t focus on one thing to long. Right Kal? Right?”

“Hungry.” was his only reply. He had a limited vocabulary that usually revolved around food.

“I know, believe me I know. Let me get somewhere, I can probably find a water source there. I need to get us closer, find a place to hide and you can have a bottle okay? We have four left. Then… that’s as far as I have gotten but its better than nothing right? Right? You agree?”

“Hungry.”

“Of course you are. Lets move.”

Kara’s plan was cut short however when she was within a mile of the first highway she had ever seen. The asphalt surface was fascinating but the noises from the city cut short her study. Her ears were bombarded with thousands of sounds, all of them loud. She pressed one ear to Kal’s blanket and dropped her bag, using her hand to cover the other ear.

It still didn’t work, the pain in her head too great, the noise unbelievable, the smells too much. While she could smell what she thought was food, judging by how much her nose wanted to be near it, she also smelt fumes, horrible fumes, the smelt the humanoids in the distance, the sweat on their skin, the trash from the city, Kara smelt everything. It was too much, she felt as if the city was attacking her. Kara ran the direction she came, in tears.

“I failed you. I’m sorry, I can’t do it. It’s too much. Are you okay?”

“Hungry.” was his reply once again, so Kara figured the sounds didn’t bother him as much. She wondered if this was one of those powers her mother talked about. She knew she was stronger as the past days had shown her. She knew she could see through things and it made her dizzy. Was the city really that loud, the winged creatures overhead, or were her senses enhanced? That must be the case because if Kara was crying due to the noise and smells, Kal El should be also. Was it because he was smaller?

The young Kryptonian looked around, trying to come up with another plan. She sat on the ground and pulled a bottle out of the bag. Kara did not like being in the open field but no one was around. She would hear them. Feeding Kal his bottle and beginning to feel faint once again she looked hard, determined to keep her balance, not to get lost in the weird effect of seeing through things. She saw the mountains and the range continuing beyond… wait.

A structure built of the same material as the large brown and green columns she had ran through for most of her time on this planet. There was another structure, what must be a dwelling. What caught her attention the most was the area of soil with plants growing from the ground. She had seen this in Krypton. One of her uncles who had married into the family developed many vegetables, using soil substitutes for the people of the city. If these were growing in the wild, they must be free. It wouldn’t be stealing. Kara waited impatiently for Kal to finish his bottle and then ran, not as fast as she could but covering the distance in impressive time. She stopped short and knelt down, taking in the two buildings. Peering at the two structures she was able to see inside both. No skeletons were walking around, no one appeared to be living in this dwelling. It must have been abandoned or set up here for the purpose of mining this food.

Walking slowly towards the soil, she was pleased to see like her uncle’s lab this was a food source. A strong smell caught her attention first. She sat Kal down, instructing him to sit and crawled over the ground. At this point she was so covered in dirt, her appearance made no difference to her any longer, Digging with her hand she found the vegetable with a purple covering. Peeling the cover back that did not seem appealing, she took a bite of the onion beneath it.

The taste assaulted her senses but she was able to digest it, She wolfed the onion down quickly and considered another but her breath was burning. Perhaps another? She moved along searching the leafy plants until the sound assaulted her once again. Looking up she saw a pod on wheels coming towards the farm. She had a minute at most to hide.

“Kawa?”

Kara turned around and to her delight and horror she noted Kal El was standing and took shaky steps toward her, reaching out.

“Why did you have to have your first steps when we are about to be attacked?” she complained but smiled regardless, opening her arms. The smiling toddler half walked and half fell into her arms. Deciding to wait for dark to eat more and allow her stomach to process this very strong vegetable she had consumed, she rewrapped Kal and grabbed the bag, moving to the first structure. This did not have the furniture the other did so she suspected it wouldn’t be a residence.

She ran into an empty structure full of yellow grass and a metal contraption like the pods but larger with no covered cabin. Moving towards the back, she hid in the darkness trying to cover herself in hay.

“Please Rao, I love him but let him be quiet. He just had his first steps, please don’t let him cry right now.” she begged.

Kal El tried to wiggle out of her arms but she held him tight, flinching when the pod’s door slammed shut and the occupants walked into the residence.

Taking in her surroundings, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she saw and smelt something new. In the corner in boxes were brown round objects. Slipping over, still holding on to Kal, she examined them.

Kara tried to peel the potato with her hand but had no luck. She squeezed and watched the vegetable mash up, a white, solid substance coming out from behind the skin. Taking a quick taste with her finger, she was relieved it tasted fine. It was food. She had never seen this type of food but her growling stomach did not care at the moment. She bit into one, skin and all. Her teeth had no trouble breaking into the hard vegetable and while it had no taste and was covered in dirt, she was beyond being picky. Kara ate and ate. Kal tried to stand and she let him, feeling so good at the moment. Not only were the brown vegetables drawing out the stringent taste of the onions, the potatoes were filling her up quickly. She squeezed on, let the white edible portion, at the least the one inside that was dirt free, pop out. Breaking off a chunk she smashed it in her fingers easily and gave Kal a bite, watching him closely. He seemed to like it so she smashed more, keeping an ear out for the resident of the house, but scared to try and see. She couldn’t afford to be dizzy at this moment. Kal was standing, shakily but smiling, lapping the white smushed substance off her finger.

Kara couldn’t help but smile. She finally had a win. After Kal had gotten bored or full, she wasn’t sure which, Kara finished off the rest of the potatoes. She did her best not to think about the fact that these were gathered and most likely belonged to the resident. She knew in the back of her mind she had probably stolen, just as she knew her honor had to take a backseat to survival. More importantly Kal’s survival. Without her, he would not survive.

The baby was beginning to doze, so she rewrapped him and held him, leaning against the soft yellow grass in the dark corner. She would only close her eyes for a second, just to rest them and would listen for the resident if he decided to walk this way. Kara knew she would hear him.

Kara was out in seconds as the sun went down, her belly full, Kal El sleeping soundly and exhausted herself.

In her dreams she was in the hangar, standing next to her smiling, crying mother. She begged her mother to come with her. The woman unclasped the necklace from behind her neck and reached for her daughter…

Kara’s eyes shot open at the sound of the house door opening. It was full dark outside and she had no idea how long she had been out. Kal was still sleeping but had been whimpering in his sleep. Kara desperately hoped the food she had given him wasn’t hurting his stomach. He hadn’t eaten a lot and it had been clean…

Her mind refocused on a voice outside.

“Who is there? I hear you. I told you kids to stay the hell out of my barn. I hear you moaning.”

Kara froze, not wanting to confront the resident. She had no idea what he was saying anyway. Picking up the bag with one arm,Kal in the other, she ran, blowing past the man as he walked in front of the door. Kal woke and cried out, but Kara’s world was rocked by the noise she heard, a noise that reminded her of Krytpon, the last sound she heard.

She barely felt the shotgun pellets hit her back, but the noise dropped her. She fell to her knees and lay down, shielding Kal with her body and putting both hands over her ringing ears.

“Hey, what are you… I didn’t hit you, I just wanted to scare you… Oh God your a little girl. I shot a little girl.”

The farmer reached down and grabbed the back of her neck, trying to turn her over, his hand tangling into her mother’s necklace. He rolled her over, seeing the beautiful girl and the baby under her. Both were crying.

“Are… are you…”

Kara attacked, shoving both her hands onto the man’s chest and pushed with all her might, surprised to see he flew back into the barn, hitting the wall and dropping to the ground. Picking up Kal and the bag, she ran, praying to Rao she didn’t hear anymore explosions. Kara didn’t think, didn’t wonder how she had pushed the man so far, didn’t think about where she was going, she just ran.

Donaldson Farm, Boise, Idaho

Connolly and Gavin pulled up in the Corvette they had rented that J’onn would have a fit about when he saw the expense report. Government Sedans weren’t really their style. While Webb and Hawk searched Boise and Dante continued the search by chopper using infrared scanners the two men had received a tip off from Vivian about a strange 911 call.

“Looks like we got beat here Jay. I guess Henshaw is determined to have his experiments.”

Connolly saw the two DEO agents, wearing black BDUs, talking to a middle aged bald man in overalls and a dirty white t shirt. Connolly and Gavin were dressed in jeans and tee shirts, not seeing the need to search the country in camo.

“These DEO dicks may as well where shirts that say Men in Black. What do you want to bet they are using FBI this time. What FBI agent dresses like that?” Connolly asked himself.

The two stepped out of the car and approached the house. All three were looking at them.

“This is not your…” was as far as the one DEO agent got before he was chopped in the throat, while Gavin punched the other in the kidney and followed it with a stranglehold until he passed out after 5 seconds. Connolly pinched the carotid artery of his agent and both were heaps on the ground.

“Not to be rude but we are on an important mission and don’t have time to bullshit. Brett Donaldson, age 43, divorced, no kids, no official employment and receiving Government benefits while selling produce for cash, correct? You also bail hay and sell it but you don’t report that either. Unless you want to end up like these men you are going to talk. You called 911 last night and reported that you fired a warning shot at a wild animal, only to find a girl and a baby on the ground. The young girl then attacked you and threw you from the edge of your garden into that barn, a good thirty feet. I got that right?”

“Yes sir. Who are you?”

“Your biggest problem if I even suspect you are lying to me. Tell me what happened, the whole story.”

“The police didn’t believe me. These FBI guys you just assaulted, am I gonna get in trouble for that?”

“Like I said, you got bigger problems to worry about.”

“I used to be in the service son. You should be careful…”

‘

“Shut up or my friend burns down your house for starters. Start talking.”

The man blanched a bit but decided looking at the two feds on the ground, he probably should talk.

“Uh… I told the police but they said I was probably drunk. I wasn’t drunk. My back is killing me and I got bruises all over my chest…”

“I’m not your damn doctor. What happened?” Connolly asked for the last time.

“I was closin up for the night, walked out here to lock the barn. I heard some noises, moaning and whimpering and stuff. I thought it might be kids… you know.”

“You think a couple of teenagers are comin to your redneck farm to get laid? What the hell is wrong with you? I couldn’t imagine getting it on anywhere near your vicinity you little…”

“Ty, the man was talking. Continue.”

“Anyway I went back inside and grabbed my 410. I figured I’d scare the kids. I got to the barn and this blur moved out, right past me. It couldn’t be no kids so I fired, thinking it must have been a wild animal. Then I heard a scream and saw this figure hit the ground. I walked over to make sure whatever it was, was dead. I can’t have hogs and wild dogs tearing up my garden. You understand?”

Connolly and Gavin stared at the man. He took a deep breath. “So I walk over and its this girl. She was wearing this white outfit I think but it was filthy. I don’t know if she was homeless or what. I grabbed her by the back of the neck and she rolled over. There was this damn baby underneath her but she was alright. I know I hit her, the back of her shirt was shredded but there wasn’t any blood. I was gonna get her help but she stood up and pushed me. Next thing I know I’m waking up against the barn and she is gone. I called the police but they didn’t believe me, said I was drunk.”

“Were you?”Connolly asked.

“No! I may have had a couple but I know what happened.”

“So you shot at what you thought was a creature with a gun you intended to scare teenager with. A creature that was running from you, not attacking you.”

“I got a right to protect my place. That is my livelihood out there.”

“And the police didn’t find any blood?”

“No, I don’t know, she must have had some kind of body armor I didn’t see.”

“Would you show me exactly where she fell down?”

“Yeah, follow me.”

“Ty check the barn, I’ll be there in a sec.”

Gavin walked off to investigate while Connolly followed the bastard.

“It was right here.” Donaldson told him before his world became pain. Connolly crushed the side of his knee, punched him in the small of his back and twisted his arm on the way down, dislocating the man’s shoulder. Crawling on the ground, crying, Connolly knelt over him, lifting the back of his head and slid a knife under his throat.

“You can call the police all you want. I’m the guy who stomps over civil liberties and gets away with it. Here is what is going to happen. You are about to go to sleep like those men over there. When you wake up you can crawl to a phone and call an ambulance. Tell them you had a tractor accident. If you say anything else I will know. I am going to have someone watching this farm. If you are seen with a gun in your hand I will order you to be killed. Its going to be messy and you are going to be awake the entire time. If you ever, ever try to shoot at someone again, especially a little girl I will come back for you, torture you for days, weeks and you will be begging me for death the entire time. Do you believe me?”

“God yes!”

“Good, because I am not lying. I want to kill you right now but my boss wouldn’t want to do the paperwork. If this happens again he will just have to deal. Pray you never see me again.”

A chop to the back of his head and Donaldson joined the DEO agents in peaceful slumber.

Connolly took a look around, checking the tracks. He saw no blood, thankfully, small scraps of white cloth, he pocketed to keep from the DEO and… a necklace.

Picking up the strange jewelry he walked into the barn.

“He still alive?” Gavin asked casually.

“Unfortunately. What have you found?”

“The girl likes potatoes. Looks like she ate a whole lot of them whole, but smashed some up. Must have been feeding the kid. How the hell could she stand to eat that many raw potatoes? I like mine baked with cheddar…”

“When you are starving and alone in unfamiliar territory you will eat anything. On the good side, we know she can eat human food so we don’t have to worry about her starving. On the downside she is going to stay away from populated areas and be more cautious. She is probably scared to death right now. Maybe I should kill the bastard.”

Connolly opened up his com.

“Reaper, Charon. Listen up.” he told Webb and Hawk on the other side of Boise. “The kid took a shotgun blast to the back and didn’t bleed. She then threw the man who shot her about thirty feet. No telling how far he would have gone if he hadn’t hit the barn. Keep all guns hidden, any weapons. She will be scared, very scared. If she screamed and dropped when she was shot and wasn’t injured, the noise probably hurt her. We are going to have to talk to her very quietly, no weapons, no sudden moves. Do not corner her. If she runs let her run and we can keep an eye on her from the air. Dante is still flying so we can watch from a distance. Everybody understand? Do not scare her, no loud noises and do not even arm yourself. She won’t hurt you unless she is cornered.”

“How sure are you?” Webb asked.

“She could have killed that man and raided his house for supplies. He woke her from a nightmare. Whatever happened to her planet I have a feeling it was very, very bad. She has no family except the baby she has and will protect at all costs. She is hungry and could be sensitive to loud sounds. We won’t find her today. She is gone, probably still heading East, maybe in the mountains but most likely as far away as she can get from the unfortunate bastard who had a tractor incident outside.”

“Copy. Moving the search. We can take Wyoming.”

“Look for isolated farms she could possibly steal food from and nearby caves. Its what I would do if I was scared of humans and hungry. Also look for water sources. She has to be drinking somewhere. I’m sending Ty to Montana and I am covering Utah. Viv, keep hacking those 911 calls. Look for any reports of burglaries, especially of food. She can’t have that many diapers on her. She is going to need to resupply. She may be scared but she isn’t weak, she is a fighter.”

“Copy Connolly.” Viv responded. Connolly turned his com off.

“Damn, Viv didn’t call you a name. This is getting serious.”

“There is a scared little girl out there with a baby, Ty. We have to find her, make friends and get her to safety.” Connolly told him, raising the necklace to examine it more closely.

“What the hell is that?”

“If the Earth was gone and you were sent to an alien world with only a small bag, you would want to keep everything you brought with you, every memento close to you, right?”

“Yeah…”

“This is hers. It got ripped off last night. We find her, we get it back to her. Lets go. You get to tell J’onn he has to explain two more DEO agents falling down accidentally.”