Chapter Seven

-------------- ---------------

That evening . . .

-------------- ---------------

Talia was sitting around a table on one of the abandoned subway cars, having a pleasant meal of ravioli when she sensed a presence at the door. Without looking up, Talia began to speak. "So, have you finished being a bitch for this week, or do you still have some minutes left on your plan?"

"That's not fair," Red said, sitting down across from her friend.

"It's completely fucking fair and you know it," Talia said irritably.

Red closed her eyes. "Yeah, I guess so."

Talia felt some of her anger melt away. Red had the best of intentions, but had been under a lot of stress. "As long as we agree on that," she said smugly. "I'm sorry things didn't go better in Los Angeles. Still no info on who is sending these hellspawn after us?"

"I don't think they're after us specifically. I think their tribe is making some kind of power play. I just . . . what was Robbie thinking?" she asked bitterly, standing up and staring out the car window. She saw her brother hobbling around the lower platform, chatting with some friends and showing off his scars. "Why did you guys . . ."

"We didn't know he had left until it was too late. We followed his scent as soon as we realized he was being foolish." Talia stared at her friend pointedly. "We wouldn't have gotten to him in time without . . ."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Red grumbled. She sat down again. "It's just supplies are running low and we almost got caught on our last scavenging party. I just wasn't prepared to deal with a new person right now."

"We help people," Talia reminded her, "and Jane needs our help more than most. She's fucked up Red, and I don't mean just physically. I got her talking today, and she's hurting inside."

Red wasn't made of stone, though she sometimes tried to pretend she was. And Talia sounded concerned. "How bad?"

"Bad. As far as I can tell, her dad died when she was nine. Her mother was incapable of being alone and married the first guy she could. Jane's stepfather physically and sexually abused her until she was able to run away. Then the Hollywood 'producers' and 'directors' had their shot at her. Her now ex-landlord was trying to extort sexual favors from her whenever she was short on rent money, and she actually sort of gave in once." Talia put her head in her hands. "Red, every bit of physical contact she's had almost her whole life has caused her pain and/or humiliation. And she hasn't had any friends or family to turn to. Red, we can't turn her away."

Red sighed. "We won't. Hopefully she'll have a useful Talent, but even if she doesn't, we'll let her stay."

Talia leaned over and gave her gorgeous friend a hug. "I knew I could count on you."

"Do what you can to help her along, and you and Arthur need to let me know when she's physically able to manifest her Talent. And . . . thanks for keeping me in check," Red said, a little embarrassed.

"No problem. Sometime I forget how much people ask of you, so I guess you're entitled to lose your head sometimes." Talia gave her friend a kiss on the cheek. "But you might want to talk to Jane sometime. She might be a little more comfortable if you can convince her you don't hate her."

Red stomped her foot like a little girl. "Talia, you KNOW that I suck at apologies."

"Practice makes perfect," Talia said.

------------- ------------

The next day . . .

------------- ------------

Jane was sitting around the area of the platform where Arthur had worked on her the previous day. She had felt good enough to wander around a bit and no longer needed the wheel chair. She was even wearing some "real" clothes, namely baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt. The underground station was fairly sizeable, and included two platforms, a number of offices and a lobby area. There were also ten subway cars trapped in the tunnel, and the tracks went for a pretty long distance in either direction. There were sub-tunnels and maintenance shafts that led to the surface, which is how the Strays got in and out of the Den.

"Hey there," came a voice from the tracks.

Jane looked down and saw Red jumping four feet from the rails to the platform with relative ease. She looked around to see if there was someone else Red might be talking to or if there was a place she could hide.

Red knew the look of cornered prey, and that was the look she saw on Jane's face. "Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to yell at you," she said, taking a step forward. Jane took two steps back. "You don't need to be scared of . . . hey, stop backing up!" she snapped, and Jane looked ready to run.

"Red, stop scaring my patient!" Arthur said, walking up. But Arthur had a smile on his face. He knew Red's "scary face," and this wasn't it.

"I'm not . . . that's not what . . . oooh! I told Talia I sucked at this!" Red stopped and took a deep breath, visibly trying to maintain her composure. "I just wanted to tell you that . . . for the last time, stop backing up!" she said again.

Arthur put himself between Red and Jane. "Red, it's time for her healing session. Why don't you take a few minutes and . . ."

"Don't patronize me Arthur," Red warned. But Arthur didn't look particularly afraid. He just waved her away, and waited until she stormed off, grumbling the entire time. He turned around and Jane was pressed up against the wall. "C'mon over here and have a seat," he said. "The mean woman is gone." Jane slowly walked over and had a seat, her breath increasingly labored. "Are you okay? She wasn't threatening you . . . really."

"She hates me," Jane reiterated. "She doesn't want me here."

"I don't think that's true. I've got a feeling she's trying but . . . well, her people skills aren't quite what they should be. Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"Better," Jane said earnestly. "How . . . how long have you been able to do this?" she asked as he stuck his hands up under her sweatshirt and felt for the tender areas. She trembled a little bit at first, but quickly calmed down. Arthur saw that as an encouraging sign.

As he applied some healing magic to one side, he took a deep whiff. "Uhm, Jane? Have you had a chance to shower since you've been down here?"

Jane blushed. "Nuh . . . no. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to touch me . . ."

"It's okay. After we're done, go find Mindy. Do you remember who she is? Good. She's in charge of laundry. She'll get you some more clean clothes and a towel, and she can show you where the showers are."

Arthur finished up the session, and Jane was amazed at how much better she felt. Her abdomen was feeling a bit stiff, but most of the pain was already gone. What should have taken many months to heal was taking about a week. She very tentatively took a step towards him, gave Arthur a quick hug and then fled up the stairs. She didn't see the quirky smile on his face.

Jane quickly sought out Mindy. She was talking with her brothers Michael and Matthew, their friend Nathaniel, as well as with Anya, the girl capable of turning invisible. Jane wasn't sure why Anya wouldn't want to be seen . . . she looked like a particularly Hispanic Cindy Crawford, minus the "beauty mark." And Mindy wasn't exactly an eyesore either. Her bare midriff showed a rock-hard set of abdominal muscles, stood a few inches taller than Jane, and had curly blonde hair framing her impish face. Jane stood a ways off waiting for an opportunity to speak but too afraid to approach the group. Anya noticed her.

"Hey Jane," she said demurely. She even sounded sexy. "How are you feeling?"

Jane stared at the ground while she replied, "I . . . I need to talk to . . . to Mindy." She heard footsteps approach, and the entire group moved closer, causing her to take a step back.

"Hey guys, why don't you find something to do, and I'll catch up," Mindy suggested.

Jane looked up and saw them leaving, Anya's arms draped over the shoulders of Michael and Nathaniel while Matthew ran off on another errand.

"So what's up?" Mindy said with a smile, holding her distance.

"Arthur . . . said you could . . . show me where the showers are," the girl said, stumbling over her words. "I guess I smell pretty bad."

"Well, you've kinda been in bad shape for the last week, and it's not like anyone down here exactly smells like roses. Follow me."

Mindy showed Jane to a storage room that had all their extra clothing. Jane noticed that some of those clothes still had tags on them, but decided not to ask any questions. Jane could barely remember the sizes of clothing that she used to wear, but Mindy helped her pick out a selection that would fit her, then found her a towel and some shaving supplies.

"And the showers are over here," Mindy said. "First thing I have to warn you about though is that these are communal, coed showers. This used to be a maintenance area that we converted into showers. There ARE stalls and shower curtains, but that's as much privacy as we can promise. There's a bunch of different kinds of shampoos and conditioners in there . . . just grab whatever you fancy." Mindy looked at the incredibly long ponytail that Jane was sporting. "Did you want some help washing that?" she asked appreciatively. "You have GORGEOUS hair!"

Jane blushed. "No thank you," she said. "I'm used to washing it by myself. Thuh . . . thank you."

Jane walked inside the makeshift room. There were about a dozen large shower stalls placed at various points throughout the room. Jane made her way to the most isolated of them, pulled the curtain closed and stepped inside. She quickly got undressed, but just before turning the water on noticed that the stall directly across from hers was in use . . . sort of.

Jane saw Nathaniel and Michael, completely nude and on their knees in the shower. They apparently didn't care that they could be seen, though they seemed preoccupied and didn't notice that Jane had come in. The both seemed to be in the throes of ecstasy while fucking . . . nothing. They were at least three feet away from each other and . . .

'Their penises are gone!' Jane thought. Then she heard Nathaniel speak.

"Okay Anya, cut that out. It's creepy!"

Anya appeared, trapped between the two men. Nathaniel's member was buried in Anya's mouth while Michael was fucking her pussy.

Jane couldn't believe it. She had found herself in that position a few times in Hollywood, but she had felt . . . nothing . . . when doing it. Anya was obviously getting off on being sandwiched between the two studs. She had her hands on Nathaniel's butt cheeks and was encouraging him to fuck her face even faster.

"You gotta love Anya," Michael said. "She's always ready to screw." With that, he gave a quick slap on the girl's ass before grabbing her hips and fucking the girl even harder.

Jane turned on the shower, hoping they would realize they weren't alone and close their curtain. They either didn't notice or didn't care. Jane stopped peeking through the curtain . . . for a moment. She was amazed at how good the water felt, even if it was a bit cool. She let the water just cascade for a little while, washing away the outer layer of grime. She took a while to shampoo her hair and had just finished rinsing it out when she heard something that surprised her.