Chapter 18: Liberty
Marie was pretty certain she had never seen a more beautiful day as the one she was seeing now. Her shadow, long and dark, stretched before her in the scorching afternoon sun of the desert, the dry wind whipping at her long brown locks as she fled her underground prison.
She was free.
The dry, rust coloured sand of the ground sped by beneath her bare feet in a blur, and a surge of elation coursed its way through Marie’s veins as she deftly avoided the cacti and sun-fried shrubbery that dotted the vast, arid expanse. She couldn’t stop, couldn’t slow down, and that she had no idea where she was going mattered not one bit.
A scorching desert sun hung in a cloudless blue sky, setting the skin of Marie’s arms and shoulders on fire. There was no shade in sight, no shelter from the unrelenting rays of hot sun. The red mountains in the distance were hazy and blurred by waves of heat, dizzying Marie as she ran toward no destination in particular. It didn’t matter where she was headed, at any rate. The only thing of importance to her was that she get as far away as possible from wherever she was.
Marie had no idea how long she had been running, only that by the time her feet finally landed on grass, she was so tired and dehydrated she wasn’t sure she’d be able to go any farther. It was the sound of water, somewhere in the distance, that gave her that second wind, that final push...because water meant that there would be boats, and boats meant there would be people...people who could help her .
Tears of relief stung at Marie’s eyes as she raced through the coniferous regions bordering the desert, everything before her appearing as through a kaleidoscope. She revelled in every tree branch that scraped against her arms and legs, every blade of grass that tickled at the soles of her feet, basking in all of the wonderful sounds and sensations that she never thought she would live to experience again.
Marie stumbled and slowed her pace a bit as the earth beneath her grew jagged and sharp, rocks piercing through the spongy dirt and scraping at the bottoms of her feet until the thick bush around her grew sparse and everything beneath her turned to rock. Scraping her way down a steep escarpment, Marie found herself standing on a pebbly coast, perfectly crystal blue water stretching outward as far as the eyes could reach. Stumbling over the rocks, Marie brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the brilliant glow of the Mexican sun and looked out onto the water, hoping against hope to see someone - anyone - who could help her.
She couldn’t help the sob of raw emotion that escaped from deep within her chest as her prayers were answered, and a ship appeared in the distance. It was just a hazy vision at first, the vessel appearing as no larger than a small black dot amidst the thick waves of heat blanketing the horizon; it wasn’t long, however, before the dot was growing larger, closer, and Marie’s heart pounded hard in her chest as as she realized it was turning in her direction.
The sea breeze stole the yelling plea from her lips as she waved her arms above her head in wide arcs, signalling frantically to the ship. Marie couldn’t be certain at first whether or not anyone aboard the ship was able to see her from where she stood, but she finally allowed herself to be hopeful when the long, bellowing sound of the ship’s horn thronged out into the flawless afternoon sky above.
Marie continued to flag the ship for a few more minutes, just to be sure...then, when the horn sounded twice more and Marie was confident that she had been seen, she sank her exhausted body down onto a large rock and waited for the ship to journey the rest of the way along the watery expanse toward the coastline where she sat. The tears she had been holding back finally broke and flooded her cheeks as she awaited her salvation, her petite shoulders starting to tremble as she half-laughed, half-sobbed her relief.
She wasn’t going to die. Not today anyway, and not by Erik’s hand. She was going to live to see the faces of her children and grandchildren; she would live to see many more days as beautiful as this.
It wasn’t until the ship drew close enough for Marie to catch glimpse of the thick blue-grey billows of smoke emanating from its pipes that a sickly feeling crept up on her. Something wasn’t right. Racking her brain, she tried to figure out what was out of place. Everything was perfect...too perfect, almost. But that wasn’t what concerned her most. What concerned her most was that no matter how hard she fought to remember her escape, no matter how clear the details of the the rest of the day...
...she couldn’t remember how she got out .
Tears of joy turned to tears of despair as Marie’s eyes fluttered up toward the too-perfect indigo sky, and then her heart shattered in her chest for the millionth time as her utopia began to crumble, fall apart at the seams. The ship’s horn sounded again as it slowly turned and drifted back in the direction it came from, and a soundless scream of desperation rose from within Marie as the heavens above peeled away in large, jigsaw-like pieces to reveal the infinite blackness, the reality that lay beneath. She hadn’t escaped at all.
Marie’s rested her head back against the wall of her tiny, lightless holding cell, her heart sinking as everything around her returned to how it always was: silent, dark, and solitary.
God, it seemed so real this time, as though her delirium rattled brain had figured out everything that was wrong with the countless hallucinations that came before it, and fixed whatever had been out of place. The sky had always been too blue, or there’d been no birds in the sky, or the surface of the water was too clear and shimmery. Something had always been not quite right, and Marie had known it instantly...and despite that, she had faithfully accepted the illusions, seeing them as her only escape from the demons that were threatening to take over her mind and soul.
The illusions started when she stopped counting, that being the moment that she realized her ring, the plain gold band that Logan had given her, was gone. She had no idea when it had been taken; it could have been right after having been drugged by the blue-skinned woman, or even worse, while she was passed out in this very spot. The point was, she didn’t know when it happened, and when she discovered it missing, her last glimmer of hope disappeared with it. It was the only thing she had left of Logan and his promise to her...and now that it was gone, she had nothing.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true...there was still one thing left. The hope of a quick and painless death this time around. Marie didn’t know how she would endure anything else. She couldn’t go through it all again. Couldn’t endure the beating, the stench of burning of skin, the rats, the god-awful sound and soul-leeching torture of that damn machine.
She’d kept hoping to run out of air in her tiny chamber, to asphyxiate before Erik could even get his hands on her. As the hours passed and she found herself still breathing, she began to accept that it simply wasn’t her fate to die here. The cocksucker had made sure there was barely enough oxygen in her holding cell to keep her alive...there was no way he was going to let her off so easy.
Still tucked into one of the roughed-in corners of her crypt, Marie could feel her strength faltering with each passing second. She could barely even raise her bound hands to wipe the sweat soaked hair from her forehead and temples. She could her Erik’s voice now, icy and evil. As the noise grew inside her head and her breathing grew shallow, she now began to wish for another of those hope offering illusions, if for nothing more than the temporary peace it would bring her; and when it finally came, she welcomed it as her window to a world she would never see again.
~*~*~
She'd better fuckin’ be here, Logan thought to himself as he traversed the half-mile distance from where he parked the bike to where the blue bitch told him Marie was being held captive.
She'd better fuckin’ be here and she'd better be alive.
Having killed the sound of the bike’s engine a fair enough distance from the co-ordinates he’d been given, Logan’s walk across the barren wasteland was just a long enough for the hot desert sun to further heat the blood that already boiled in his veins. Someone was gonna die for this. And it sure as shit wasn’t gonna to be Marie.
He’d been on the road all morning and afternoon; the sun was growing a hazy burnt orange in the sky, sinking closer to the red mountain range bordering the desert as the day drew on. Thick waves of heat blurred the vision of a remote campsite even further as it began to appear in the foreground.
It looked like a campfire at first glance, a shimmering spot of light amidst the ruddy landscape; but as he approached and the hazy vision became closer and clearer, Logan realized that it was in fact the aluminum siding of of a trailer glinting in the hot blaze of the sun above.
His boots crunching on the hard-packed sand beneath him, Logan leaned his bare back against the scorching hot metal of the vehicle’s frame and prowled along its side toward the entrance. As his claws slid out from between his knuckles, he became vaguely aware of the absurdity of the situation. Why would Magneto go to such lengths to capture Marie only to hold her prisoner in a trailer of all goddamn things?
It was only when he approached the entrance to the cabin, poised and ready to rip the rusty door right off its hinges, that one of his steel-toed boots kicked against the ground, shifting something beneath him, and looking down to see what it was, he realized that Marie wasn’t in the trailer.
She was underground.
Logan stepped away from the trailer quietly, stealing a glance over his shoulder at the parked vessel as he used his boots to kick away the red sand that had blown over the iron slab beneath him. Once the massive trap door was completely uncovered, Logan stepped off of it and, sliding his claws back into their housings, bent down to lift the long pair of rusty chains that lay amidst the remaining dusty patches of sand.
Bracing himself, Logan gave the chains a hard pull. His already tired and sweaty muscles worked arduously as he slowly dragged the leaden door out of its place, the edges of the iron slab screeching and shrilling loudly as it scraped against the lip of the entrance.
The unbearable heat inside the tiny crawl space was the first thing that struck Logan as he hastily made his way down the rotting steps of the wooden ladder that descended from the entrance to the ground below, the day’s remaining rays of sun illuminating his way.
And then he saw her, and and something indescribable twisted in his chest as his gaze fell upon the petite woman, clothed in nothing more than a white sundress. She sat folded into one of the dark corners, her eyes focused straight ahead of her, as though she were seeing something that wasn’t there.
“Marie!” Logan breathed out in relief, approaching and kneeling on the rough ground before her. He could hear her soft breaths , quick and shallow, as she stared straight ahead, her eyes glazed over in delirium.
“Darlin?” he whispered, bringing a hand up to touch her face.
“No!” she suddenly gasped, recoiling from his touch, and then her eyes looked into his...latched onto lucidity...and Logan watched as realization started to slowly trickle into her gaze, and then she was coming back to him, the faraway glaze in her eyes finally giving way to clarity.
“Logan...” she said wanly, and then a sob of relief broke from her lips . “Oh, thank G --”
She didn’t even have the time to finish her exclamation before Logan swept her face into his hands and landed his lips on hers, and it wasn’t until that very moment, tangling his fingers in her sweat dampened hair and pulling her even closer to him, that he realized how very much he loved this woman...needed this woman.
They tasted each other hotly and hungrily, and shit, it was taking every ounce of his restraint to pull away from her, but now wasn’t the time to lose his senses. Marie whimpered a bit in protest as their lips parted.
“Hey...” Logan whispered breathily, as he nuzzled his unshaven cheek against hers, rubbing his scent onto her, “...soon’s I get you somewhere safe, I promise I’ll kiss you all you want, baby.”
Logan looked into her eyes and the corners of her mouth curled up into a smile at his words, and God it was like someone had taken his heart, pieced it back together and put it back into his chest. He brought her bound hands up and gently pressed them to his lips, then scooped her up off of the ground, her damp face burrowing into his neck as he carried her up the ladder.
Once they were above ground, Logan laid Marie’s frail body on the dusty earth and slid a claw from his knuckles, preparing to free her of the bonds holding her wrists and ankles together. About to cut the thick rope, Logan suddenly froze when his olfactory senses were slammed with the unmistakable scent of an unwanted presence.
“Not so fast, cowboy,” unfurled a deep, snarling voice from behind them, and Logan knew instantly who it was. Knew even before he turned around to see the spur-heeled boots, the trademark red suspenders...the long, shaggy, unkempt hair..
Logan growled low in his throat and rose to his feet, extending all six claws as he turned to face his adversary. Looking into the opaque black eyes of the hulking man-beast who appeared from behind the trailer, Logan knew he was going to have a hell of a fight on his hands. This was a ruthless feral, as notorious for his bloodlust as for his absolute lack of mercy. Not to mention he was ugly as hell.
Sabretooth.
...Goddammit.
Logan barely had time to finish the thought before his burly opponent swung out a shotgun, cocked the barrel, and fired a loud, echoing shot directly into Logan’s chest. Thrown nearly four feet back by the force of the blast, the next two things Logan was aware of were the grainy scrape of the ground at his back and the twilight magenta of the desert sky above.
Seconds later the pain set in, and Logan let out a roaring yell, twisting on the ground as the excruciating burn of the shotgun bullets ripped into his skin and muscles. His eyes watering, Logan’s hands flew to his bloody chest, frantically scraping the searing pellets from his flesh. A barely conscious Marie could be seen a few feet away from Logan as he turned on his side and coughed, his healing factor finally starting to kick in and do its work on his wounds.
The holes in his chest hadn’t even finished closing up before Sabretooth’s boot was lodged under his chin, his shotgun pointed at Logan’s face. Severely pissed off at this point, Logan growled fiercely, swiping his claws and cutting the barrel in half. The weapon now gone, Logan took another swipe and delivered three deep gashes to Sabretooth’s leg.
Blood sped from the cut tendon, and Sabretooth howled in pain, stumbling backward. Logan took the chance to pounce on him, and then the real struggle began, the two beasts growling and roaring ferociously as they wrestled in the sand, each of them trying to do as much maiming to the other before their healing abilities could recover. Logan was aware only of the alternating vision of sky and sand as they rolled around viciously in combat, Sabretooth’s sharp black claws slicing into his skin as he tried to get leverage on him.
It turned out that Sabretooth got leverage on Logan first, though, crushing him into the dirt and taking a swipe at Logan’s face. Logan caught Sabretooth’s hand just before it made contact, and then he snarled loudly as his eye caught the gleam of something on the feral’s pinky finger.
Something that looked a whole hell of a lot like the gold ring Logan had given to Marie.
Logan bared his teeth rabidly, growling low in his chest as Sabretooth leaned in close to his face, and the burly creature tightened one of his massive hands around Logan’s throat. His fangs revealed themselves in a twisted sneer and Logan could smell the sour, stale stench of his breath as his face drew nearer.
“Your girlfriend owes me a scream,” the beast on top of him thundered, and then something deep within Logan snapped, sending a rush of adrenaline and a vicious roar ripping through his body as he vaulted himself up from the earth. After a brief struggle, Logan managed to roll Sabretooth onto his back, and moments later, had his claws buried fist deep in Sabretooth’s chest.
Sabretooth’s howl rang out into the night as Logan’s claws twisted inside of him, and he writhed in the dirt, gurgling on his own blood. Grunting with effort, Logan used his free hand to snap up Sabretooth’s, singling out his fifth finger.
“This is MINE!!” Logan barked, pulling his bloody claws from the writhing Sabretooth’s chest, and then seconds later, the offending digit was sliced clean off of Sabretooth’s hand. Sabretooth roared in pain, shielding the bone-jagged stump with his other hand as his blood spurted from it. Rising to his feet, Logan removed the gold band from the severed finger, shoving it into the back pocket of his khakis before tossing the bloody appendage onto the ground.
Sabretooth growled loudly, kicking his leg out and knocking Logan onto his front. The wind knocked out of him, Logan managed to scrape to his feet, only to bellow out in pain as he felt the swipe of Sabretooth’s claws in his back. Logan tripped forward a bit, and then the sound of chains could be heard behind him. Before he could turn to face his opponent, Sabretooth had one of the long links wrapped around Logan’s throat.
His claws slicing fruitlessly through the air, Logan began to cough and sputter as Sabretooth growled and grunted in effort behind him, yanking the chains so tightly around his jugular that Logan felt as though his eyes would burst. The two men thrashed about wildly as they struggled, slamming into the side of the trailer and leaving large dents in the aluminum with each loud collision. Logan choked for air as the chain constricted tighter and tighter around his airway, and willed himself not to lose consciousness as stars began to explode before his eyes.
Logan’s fingers clawed frantically at the chains around his neck, trying to get them under the links and make some room for air, but it was useless. The already darkening desert was growing dimmer still as Logan slowly crumpled to his knees on the sandy ground. Wheezing and fighting to breathe, Logan could then feel Sabretooth’s body, crushingly heavy on his back, as he fell forward onto his elbows.
And then, just as Logan could feel the capillaries in his eyes bursting, and just as everything was going black all around him, something gave way. The chains around Logan’s neck loosened a bit, and Logan was suddenly finding it easier to breathe. Choking and gulping for air, Logan pulled at the chains, loosening them; then, as the world came back to him, he realized that it wasn’t him doing all the choking and gasping.
It was Sabretooth.
Logan crawled out from under Sabretooth’s weighty body and turned to face the creature, whose skin had turned a sickly shade of grey, large veins popping out all over his face as he convulsed stiffly. It almost looked like he was getting the life sucked out of him. Then Logan sat up fully and realized that he was.
Marie had managed to inch her way over to where the two had been fighting, where she then slipped her bound hands up one of Sabretooth’s pant cuffs and wrapped her fingers around his bare calf.
Logan could do nothing but sit and stare on in gape mouthed awe as Marie drained Sabretooth’s soul from his body, the fierceness that once characterized the beast’s black eyes now reflected in hers. After a few moments, Marie finally let go, rolling exhaustedly onto her back as Sabretooth’s limp body fell forward into the dirt with a muted thud.
“Son of a bitch,” she coughed out, and Logan couldn’t help the hoarse exhalation that escaped his chest as he scrambled to his feet and rushed over to where she lay.
There was a renewed clarity and alertness in her eyes as Logan knelt over her, unbinding her wrists and ankles. Once her limbs were free, Logan pulled her tightly into his arms, pressing a kiss to her damp forehead before standing her up to her feet.
“Is he dead?” she asked, shivering as she looked past Logan to the lifeless form on the ground. Logan turned to look at Sabretooth’s still body, which was already beginning to turn back to its normal color.
“Not yet,” Logan replied, giving Marie a meaningful look as he slid a claw from between his knuckles.
Marie swallowed, then turned her back as Logan made his way to the near-corpse. Kneeling beside it, Logan yanked the head up by the hair, and heard the faint sound of Marie dry-heaving behind him as he finished the job. Finally, Logan dragged what was left of Sabretooth toward the open trap door, tossing the body and the head into the darkness before raising the chains from the ground and dragging the door back into place.
The threat now gone, Logan made his way over to where Marie stood and folded her into his strong chest. Pressing gentle kisses to the temple and cheek of the woman he thought he’d never see again, Logan wanted nothing more than to look into those gorgeous brown eyes and reassure her that this was the end of it...that it was finally over.
But he couldn’t, because he knew that it wouldn’t be long before Magneto’s henchmen arrived and found Sabretooth’s dead body where Marie’s live one was supposed to be, and then God knew how many of his mercenaries would be surrounding the entire region. They’d be lucky to even make it out of the desert, and if they did, Magneto’s agents wouldn’t be far behind them.
So he couldn’t tell her that it was over. They still had tonight, though...and as he swept Marie up into his arms, breathing deeply of her scent as they made their way back to the bike, Logan decided that for now, that was enough.
~*~
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