Could it be? PART 8!! Pink Pony riders club. Insanity is welcome, sanity is not.

[Mika4Life13]

Come back, Emzee! I'm full of angst and sushi and I miss you!!

:tears:Guy love..

[Mika4Life13]

Hey Mzee, me lovez you long tiiiime xoxo

Thanks:teehee:

[Mika4Life13]

*blows dust*

[soangel]

I'll post

[soangel]

Nathaniel, the second in charge, split his group in two: One group would come with him and catch the PPRs, the other group would stay in the camp and ensure that Liam didn't find out what Nathaniel was up to. Nathaniel left once the sun had set and snuck up to the house quietly. Each member of his group were hidden around the house, and could all see and hear what was going on. Nathaniel inserted a tiny earpiece in his ear and touched it slightly to turn it on. He then activated the heat seaking glasses. He knew at once that the PPRs were still in the house.

The PPRs had set up fake bodies in the beds to make it look as if they were asleep, should Liam come visiting in the middle of the night.

"Okay, are we ready to go?" Cosmo asked.

The PPRs either nodded or said yes, so they all left the house. They immediately went into the woods, and walked as quickly and quietly as they could. When they were sure they could not be seen, Liam and his team followed.

 

Artsy stopped suddenly and sniffed the air. Lolly ran into her and swore. "Why the hell did you stop?" she muttered. The rest of the group stopped and looked at Artsy and Lolly.

Artsy frowned and looked behind the group. "Could've sworn we were being followed."

"You're being paranoid." I stated. "They're got no clue that we're leaving."

"I think we ought to be careful. Maybe we should split up now." Artsy replied.

"Maybe that's a good idea." Soa replied.

I shook my head. "The longer we stand here and listen to this crap the bigger chance we have of being discovered. We need to get over the border. Am I really the only one who thinks this is paranoia?"

"Yes." Mika replied.

"We're splitting up now, and that's final Nico. You can either like it, or you can chance it on your own."

I frowned and folded my arms.

"Right, does everyone remember where you were going?"

Everyone nodded.

Cal, Finn, ER, Lolly, Mickey, Cosmo and I stood together, ready to head for the airport in Glasgow, and Artsy, Mzee, Glow, Soa, Kelzy, Becky and Mika would go to Dumfries and pick up the mail and get it redirected to Osaka.

Just as Cal was about to leave, Cal grabber her arm and whispered something in her ear. She frowned, looked at him and nodded gravely. She then turned and ran away quietly. Cal looked at the rest of us and waved us on.

 

Later...

 

Artsy stopped and sniffed the air again. Crap, it's them, she thought. She stopped the group and pulled them in close. "Someone is definitely following us. I think it's people from the Movement. I remember smelling that smell."

"Are you certain?" Kelzy asked.

Artsy nodded. "We need to get them off our tails. I have a plan..."

 

Later again...

 

It was early morning by the time we reached the border to Scotland.

"Well that's a problem..." I muttered bitterly as I eyed the 8 ft tall electrified fence.

Cal picked up a branch and threw it at the fence. We all cringed as the branch was fried in 3 seconds flat. "I'd say climbing over it is out of the question."

Mickey in the direction of the road, where there were a large number of people and grinned. "Who feels like becoming a refugee?"

 

 

 

I had to name the second in charge, it was annoying just referring to him as second in charge...

Before we could head closer to the border we needed to get rid of our tail. As the others headed off, we huddled in a group, making a conspicuous amount of noise to distract them from the others leaving. We were discussing a destination - a fake one of course, in loud voices, as we consulted a map on a spare touch screen computer Mickey had left with us. We were trying to appear lost.

 

Artsy gave a little growl suddenly to let us know that the group who was tailing us was moving into position around us. A second growl a few seconds later let us know they were within range

A quick telepathic conversation relayed via Kelz ensued "Mzee you charm the 5 behind, and hold them, Soa use a vision to hold as many as you can and I'll round up stragglers, so that Becky can put them all to sleep" Artsy told us, as we all nodded in agreement. The people sneaking up on us were now only a few feet away and still thought we were unaware - fools that they were

 

Suddenly, we all turned around. Mzee held her 5 guys in thrawl with her charm, making them a drooling gibbering mess, while I projected a gigantic wall into the short term memories of the others, making it appear to surround them. It was slightly more difficult to project across the idea that they had tried and failed to get out before, and that they were unarmed.

 

Meanwhile Artsy faced off against Nathaniel, who seemed to have escaped both charm and memory lashing. He took off at a run, but she was faster and she soon had him pined to the ground. It was easy for her to knock him unconscious and drag him to the circle we were leading the others to, Mzee through charm enticement, and me through bringing the walls in closer and closer. Once they were all within range Becky was easily able to put them to sleep.

"How long will they stay under?" asked Kelz

"A few hours once I release the hold. It'll give us plenty of time to head to the border

"I can give us a little more time then" I said, squatting down and touching two of our chasers at once. "They knew we were leaving tonight which means maybe the place was bugged. They might know who we are, and I can't leave that memory there"

It didn't take long the memories I wanted gone and remove them. As fas as all these men knew they had been out for survellience in the woods when they had been attacked by Nation spies. Of course there seemed, from some of their memories, to be those back in the camp who still knew, but we couldn't go back for them.

Finally only Nathienal was next. He proved more difficult than the others, and not just because I was beginning to lag. It seemed he had a natural resistance to powers that affected the mind in any way. Luckily Arts had knocked him out, or who knew when he would awake. However, I was eventually able to replace the section I wanted to replace.

 

Job completed, I stood up, wavering slightly, and grimacing as I felt the invisible blows raining down over my body. They had been faint for awhile, but getting stronger - I had overused my power, and now it was punishing me through my short term memory.

"Becky you can let them go now. I need you to put me under" I muttered through gritted teeth.

The others looked kinda worried but knew from their own memories that this was something that had happened a few times before.

"I knew I'd have to carry your ass to Scotland Soa," Artsy muttered with a wry grin, as I smiled back through a grimace

"Well I do so hate to disappoint" I replied, before falling mercily into unconscious sleep. Artsy easy picked me up and we headed in the direction of the border.

 

Meanwhile

Nico and company had managed, thanks to Finn's charm, to borrow clothes from the refugees. They were now able to blend in with them, after adding a bit of dirt over everything and putting on weary expressions. Now all they needed to do was get through the checkpoint.

 

Back with the other group.

We had walked for a while, until we found the same 8 foot electric fence the others had, though in a different position. It seemed the thing went all along the border, and as there was no way to climb it, we began to walk parallel to it, looking for a checkpoint where we could use our powers on someone to get through

[artsyfartsy17]

Ok, so before I read back and post (and I will, I promise) I have to share this because it's pretty much the most amazing thing that's happened to me in the last month at least.

 

Today I had a phone interview with a summer camp that I really wanted to work at and it went great, the interviewer and I really hit it off and even though they can't offer me the position I wanted, they can give me the one right below it (less responsibility and $20 less in daily pay, but also more free time to explore the area and help other employees with the kids) and it's still the best offer I have so far. PLUS, it's basically a guaranteed job, what with how awesome the interview went and how the interviewer said "Can't wait to meet you in person this summer!":mf_lustslow:

 

BUT, during the interview, I had another call come in on my phone. I didn't answer it (obviously, since I was in the middle of an interview) and it went to my voicemail. When I was done with the interview, I checked the message and it was a woman from some unknown camp in MINNESOTA that I never applied to. It turns out that when I filled out an application for one of the camps in California, they were part of some nationwide camp network, and since they didn't have a position for me, they sent my application out to the entire network, and this camp in Minnesota hires lots of people from all over the world anyways, and my application was impressive enough that they called me directly!

 

So the thing is, this Minnesota camp wants to hire me as a cook, which is the position I wanted to have at the California camp, so if I got hired, I'd have what I originally wanted. I looked up the camp's website, and this year is their 101th year of working, and they're known internationally as an award-winning summer camp! To put this in perspective, the camp in California charges around $350 per kid for the summer. The one in Minnesota charges $3,000!! And no, that's not a typo! Nearly 10 times as much! Because of this, they have much better staff facilities, with running water, electricity, bathrooms and fireplaces inside 2-story cabins. And now I'm torn, because it's an amazing opportunity, but I don't want to let down the camp in California, especially after such a good interview, and I know that I'll have to accept that position in the next week if I want it. Plus I don't know yet if I'd have to pay for my own plane tickets to Minnesota or if they're going to pay me more than the California camp is going to.

So now I am . Sam says to not panic or think too much about making a decision until after I've called the woman in Minnesota back and figured out if they'll pay to fly me out and what my daily wages will be, but naturally, I am panicking anyway.

[artsyfartsy17]

Oh, and I have ANOTHER interview for an completely different camp tomorrow morning. It's pushing the limits of what I can balance on my plate, but it was made a week ago and would be rude to cancel so late, and in case I completely lose my sanity and destroy the offers from the first two camps, I can always have something to fall back on.

[soangel]

Oh wow thats awesome Arts. Definately ring the Minnesota one back and get the deal on them, and go to the last interview.

[artsyfartsy17]

Before we could head closer to the border we needed to get rid of our tail. As the others headed off, we huddled in a group, making a conspicuous amount of noise to distract them from the others leaving. We were discussing a destination - a fake one of course, in loud voices, as we consulted a map on a spare touch screen computer Mickey had left with us. We were trying to appear lost.

 

Artsy gave a little growl suddenly to let us know that the group who was tailing us was moving into position around us. A second growl a few seconds later let us know they were within range

A quick telepathic conversation relayed via Kelz ensued "Mzee you charm the 5 behind, and hold them, Soa use a vision to hold as many as you can and I'll round up stragglers, so that Becky can put them all to sleep" Artsy told us, as we all nodded in agreement. The people sneaking up on us were now only a few feet away and still thought we were unaware - fools that they were

 

Suddenly, we all turned around. Mzee held her 5 guys in thrawl with her charm, making them a drooling gibbering mess, while I projected a gigantic wall into the short term memories of the others, making it appear to surround them. It was slightly more difficult to project across the idea that they had tried and failed to get out before, and that they were unarmed.

 

Meanwhile Artsy faced off against Nathaniel, who seemed to have escaped both charm and memory lashing. He took off at a run, but she was faster and she soon had him pined to the ground. It was easy for her to knock him unconscious and drag him to the circle we were leading the others to, Mzee through charm enticement, and me through bringing the walls in closer and closer. Once they were all within range Becky was easily able to put them to sleep.

"How long will they stay under?" asked Kelz

"A few hours once I release the hold. It'll give us plenty of time to head to the border

"I can give us a little more time then" I said, squatting down and touching two of our chasers at once. "They knew we were leaving tonight which means maybe the place was bugged. They might know who we are, and I can't leave that memory there"

It didn't take long the memories I wanted gone and remove them. As fas as all these men knew they had been out for survellience in the woods when they had been attacked by Nation spies. Of course there seemed, from some of their memories, to be those back in the camp who still knew, but we couldn't go back for them.

Finally only Nathienal was next. He proved more difficult than the others, and not just because I was beginning to lag. It seemed he had a natural resistance to powers that affected the mind in any way. Luckily Arts had knocked him out, or who knew when he would awake. However, I was eventually able to replace the section I wanted to replace.

 

Job completed, I stood up, wavering slightly, and grimacing as I felt the invisible blows raining down over my body. They had been faint for awhile, but getting stronger - I had overused my power, and now it was punishing me through my short term memory.

"Becky you can let them go now. I need you to put me under" I muttered through gritted teeth.

The others looked kinda worried but knew from their own memories that this was something that had happened a few times before.

"I knew I'd have to carry your ass to Scotland Soa," Artsy muttered with a wry grin, as I smiled back through a grimace

"Well I do so hate to disappoint" I replied, before falling mercily into unconscious sleep. Artsy easy picked me up and we headed in the direction of the border.

 

Meanwhile

Nico and company had managed, thanks to Finn's charm, to borrow clothes from the refugees. They were now able to blend in with them, after adding a bit of dirt over everything and putting on weary expressions. Now all they needed to do was get through the checkpoint.

 

Back with the other group.

We had walked for a while, until we found the same 8 foot electric fence the others had, though in a different position. It seemed the thing went all along the border, and as there was no way to climb it, we began to walk parallel to it, looking for a checkpoint where we could use our powers on someone to get through

 

We walked for a couple of hours before coming upon a checkpoint with a gate guarded by soldiers. They tensed as we walked up to them and gripped their guns tightly.

"What business do you have here?" the tallest one asked in a thick Scots accent..

"We need to cross the border," I replied, "We're Confederation refugees."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You could be spies for all I know. Some of you look English."

Sending a message to Kelzy to broadcast to the others en masse to keep quiet lest someone's (Becky) accent get us in trouble, I stared the soldier down coldly.

"We're americans. We camped too close to a Nation checkpoint and the soldiers there took us as hostages. You don't know what we've been through to get here. Let us through."

The soldiers looked at each other, still unsure. Then Emzee suddenly raised a hand to her forehead and swooned. One of the soldiers ran to catch her just before she hit the ground. She looked up at the soldier who caught her and batted her eyelashes. The soldier stared down at her, entranced.

"Oh please, we've come so far. It's horrible on the other side. Won't you please let us through to the Confederation, where I know that big strong men like you can protect me?"

M and the soldier holding her both looked up at the commander with big, beseeching eyes. He sighed, knowing his opinion was outnumbered and without probable cause. He waved us through, but placed a heavy hand on my shoulder as I started to pass him. He shot me a warning glance, his deep brown eyes deadly serious.

"You look familiar," he said, then nodded to Soa, still unconscious in my arms, "So does she. And something about you all is not right. You will be seeing me again, and next time, you're going to explain everything."

A low, barely audible growl rumbled in my throat, but behind the anger and annoyance, I vaguely noted that without the gun and the army uniform and the pissy attitude, he would've been a looker. Blinking over this revelation, I shoved past him without a word. What was it with me and Scotsmen? Maybe I was transferring my attraction for Calvin onto any random guy now. Lord help me.

 

We strolled down the road to Glasgow, knowing there wouldn't be any cars we could hitch a ride with coming past until the morning, and not until we traveled deeper into Scotland. I would be ok walking all night without sleep, but for the others' sakes, I scanned the surrounding woods for ideal places to hide and rest when the time came that someone's legs would simply refuse to carry them any further.

 

Hours later, back on the other side of the border...

Nathaniel woke up amongst his men, confused and trying to remember what he was doing and where he was.

[nico_collard]

Ok, so before I read back and post (and I will, I promise) I have to share this because it's pretty much the most amazing thing that's happened to me in the last month at least.

 

Today I had a phone interview with a summer camp that I really wanted to work at and it went great, the interviewer and I really hit it off and even though they can't offer me the position I wanted, they can give me the one right below it (less responsibility and $20 less in daily pay, but also more free time to explore the area and help other employees with the kids) and it's still the best offer I have so far. PLUS, it's basically a guaranteed job, what with how awesome the interview went and how the interviewer said "Can't wait to meet you in person this summer!":mf_lustslow:

 

BUT, during the interview, I had another call come in on my phone. I didn't answer it (obviously, since I was in the middle of an interview) and it went to my voicemail. When I was done with the interview, I checked the message and it was a woman from some unknown camp in MINNESOTA that I never applied to. It turns out that when I filled out an application for one of the camps in California, they were part of some nationwide camp network, and since they didn't have a position for me, they sent my application out to the entire network, and this camp in Minnesota hires lots of people from all over the world anyways, and my application was impressive enough that they called me directly!

 

So the thing is, this Minnesota camp wants to hire me as a cook, which is the position I wanted to have at the California camp, so if I got hired, I'd have what I originally wanted. I looked up the camp's website, and this year is their 101th year of working, and they're known internationally as an award-winning summer camp! To put this in perspective, the camp in California charges around $350 per kid for the summer. The one in Minnesota charges $3,000!! And no, that's not a typo! Nearly 10 times as much! Because of this, they have much better staff facilities, with running water, electricity, bathrooms and fireplaces inside 2-story cabins. And now I'm torn, because it's an amazing opportunity, but I don't want to let down the camp in California, especially after such a good interview, and I know that I'll have to accept that position in the next week if I want it. Plus I don't know yet if I'd have to pay for my own plane tickets to Minnesota or if they're going to pay me more than the California camp is going to.

So now I am . Sam says to not panic or think too much about making a decision until after I've called the woman in Minnesota back and figured out if they'll pay to fly me out and what my daily wages will be, but naturally, I am panicking anyway.

 

Oh, and I have ANOTHER interview for an completely different camp tomorrow morning. It's pushing the limits of what I can balance on my plate, but it was made a week ago and would be rude to cancel so late, and in case I completely lose my sanity and destroy the offers from the first two camps, I can always have something to fall back on.

 

Wow, aren't you popular!

 

I agree with Soa, and I would love to post but I'm absolutely buggered, and I have a headache...

[artsyfartsy17]

Oh wow thats awesome Arts. Definately ring the Minnesota one back and get the deal on them, and go to the last interview.

Called the lady in Minnesota (turns out she doesn't actually live in Minnesota, she's in Colorado, but she works at the camp in Minnesota in the summer), but she was so vague and told me that part of my paycheck is devoted to travel costs, but it's ok because there might be a carpool (like I'm going to drive from California to Minnesota with a complete stranger:shocked:) and she couldn't really tell me anything about the salary range and she kept saying that there were all these things she could only discuss in the interview and etc. that I just ended up asking her what her processing time was for an applicant. She said if we set up an interview before the end of this week, then barring unusual circumstances, the decision would be announced on Monday.

We set up an interview for tomorrow and I applied online for the position. I figure she'll probably be more prepared with the specifics when there's an actual interview, and if I do get the job, I'll know about it fast enough that I'll have plenty of time to decide before either camp presses me for a decision.

Wow, aren't you popular!

[soangel]

Mmm I'll try to do a post. Try being the word

[soangel]

We walked for a couple of hours before coming upon a checkpoint with a gate guarded by soldiers. They tensed as we walked up to them and gripped their guns tightly.

"What business do you have here?" the tallest one asked in a thick Scots accent..

"We need to cross the border," I replied, "We're Confederation refugees."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You could be spies for all I know. Some of you look English."

Sending a message to Kelzy to broadcast to the others en masse to keep quiet lest someone's (Becky) accent get us in trouble, I stared the soldier down coldly.

"We're americans. We camped too close to a Nation checkpoint and the soldiers there took us as hostages. You don't know what we've been through to get here. Let us through."

The soldiers looked at each other, still unsure. Then Emzee suddenly raised a hand to her forehead and swooned. One of the soldiers ran to catch her just before she hit the ground. She looked up at the soldier who caught her and batted her eyelashes. The soldier stared down at her, entranced.

"Oh please, we've come so far. It's horrible on the other side. Won't you please let us through to the Confederation, where I know that big strong men like you can protect me?"

M and the soldier holding her both looked up at the commander with big, beseeching eyes. He sighed, knowing his opinion was outnumbered and without probable cause. He waved us through, but placed a heavy hand on my shoulder as I started to pass him. He shot me a warning glance, his deep brown eyes deadly serious.

"You look familiar," he said, then nodded to Soa, still unconscious in my arms, "So does she. And something about you all is not right. You will be seeing me again, and next time, you're going to explain everything."

A low, barely audible growl rumbled in my throat, but behind the anger and annoyance, I vaguely noted that without the gun and the army uniform and the pissy attitude, he would've been a looker. Blinking over this revelation, I shoved past him without a word. What was it with me and Scotsmen? Maybe I was transferring my attraction for Calvin onto any random guy now. Lord help me.

 

We strolled down the road to Glasgow, knowing there wouldn't be any cars we could hitch a ride with coming past until the morning, and not until we traveled deeper into Scotland. I would be ok walking all night without sleep, but for the others' sakes, I scanned the surrounding woods for ideal places to hide and rest when the time came that someone's legs would simply refuse to carry them any further.

 

Hours later, back on the other side of the border...

Nathaniel woke up amongst his men, confused and trying to remember what he was doing and where he was.

 

Artsy had finally managed to find a semi secluded heavily forested area not too far from the road, and we were all soon bedded down, even if it may have not been the most comfortable place.

"Supplies, that is definately something we need to get together again," mzee mumbled, sleepily.

"And we need more practice with roughing it. This ground hurts and there are leaves in my hair" Mika whined.

"Shhh we need to get walking again in the morning if we want to get to dumfries before we rendezvous with the others" Artsy hushed us. Everyone settled into a restless sleep, except for whoever was on watch at the time, except me who was still unconscious thanks to Becky.

 

Meanwhile, the others had managed to make it into the Confederation side of the border. Nico had done most of the talking, seeing as Australia was part of the Confederation, explaining that their ids had been stolen from them. It was a common occurence, many of the refugees were without ID. They were soon processed into a refugee camp on the other side of the border, a place they planned to escape from after a night of rest.

 

Back with our group

I was the first to awake in the morning, and quickly removed Becky of her watch duty so she could get another hour sleep before we headed off again.

 

An hour later we were all up, and walking back along the road. Traffic was beginning again, but most of the cars going the way we wanted were army cars due to the proximity of the border.

However, one of the jeeps soon pulled over, stopping beside us.

"I told you we would be meeting again" a voice we recognised as the man from the border greeted us from inside the near empty jeep. "Where you headed?"

We all frowned. This guy was suspicious of us, but it was unlikley we'd get another lift until we walked for a while.

"Glasgow for now" Artsy answered.

"And after Glasgow?" the man replied.

"We'll tell you when we get there" I answered him, exchanging glances with the others. We never let anyone know our complete plans if we could help it.

"Well get in. Your not likely to get much of a lift around here, and this way I can keep a bit of an eye on you and work out why some of you are so damn familar" he said, opening the door closest to us. "There should just be enough room for you all"

Soon we were all crowded into the jeep, on our way to Glasgow

 

(someone needs to name this guy, but I can't come up with one at the moment)

[Becky]

You sound spoilt for choice, Arts Well done though!

I just finished The Time Travellers Wife. New favourite book. And, hopefully, news books = inspiration.

I enclose a picture of Harvey - it's difficult to get him to stay still long enough to get a good picture. And I'm getting used to the new camera and can't master the art of holding it still

 

 

I'm 17 today!! And I got a lovely glass penguin for my desk! It's beautiful. As is my new blue camera

[nico_collard]

You sound spoilt for choice, Arts Well done though!

I just finished The Time Travellers Wife. New favourite book. And, hopefully, news books = inspiration.

I enclose a picture of Harvey - it's difficult to get him to stay still long enough to get a good picture. And I'm getting used to the new camera and can't master the art of holding it still

 

 

I'm 17 today!! And I got a lovely glass penguin for my desk! It's beautiful. As is my new blue camera

 

Awwww! What a gorgeous puppy!

 

 

And happy birthday Becky! Hope you had a great day!

[MissPie]

You sound spoilt for choice, Arts Well done though!

I just finished The Time Travellers Wife. New favourite book. And, hopefully, news books = inspiration.

I enclose a picture of Harvey - it's difficult to get him to stay still long enough to get a good picture. And I'm getting used to the new camera and can't master the art of holding it still

 

 

I'm 17 today!! And I got a lovely glass penguin for my desk! It's beautiful. As is my new blue camera

 

He's so cute!

 

Happy Birthday!

 

 

I'll try to post..

[MissPie]

Artsy had finally managed to find a semi secluded heavily forested area not too far from the road, and we were all soon bedded down, even if it may have not been the most comfortable place.

"Supplies, that is definately something we need to get together again," mzee mumbled, sleepily.

"And we need more practice with roughing it. This ground hurts and there are leaves in my hair" Mika whined.

"Shhh we need to get walking again in the morning if we want to get to dumfries before we rendezvous with the others" Artsy hushed us. Everyone settled into a restless sleep, except for whoever was on watch at the time, except me who was still unconscious thanks to Becky.

 

Meanwhile, the others had managed to make it into the Confederation side of the border. Nico had done most of the talking, seeing as Australia was part of the Confederation, explaining that their ids had been stolen from them. It was a common occurence, many of the refugees were without ID. They were soon processed into a refugee camp on the other side of the border, a place they planned to escape from after a night of rest.

 

Back with our group

I was the first to awake in the morning, and quickly removed Becky of her watch duty so she could get another hour sleep before we headed off again.

 

An hour later we were all up, and walking back along the road. Traffic was beginning again, but most of the cars going the way we wanted were army cars due to the proximity of the border.

However, one of the jeeps soon pulled over, stopping beside us.

"I told you we would be meeting again" a voice we recognised as the man from the border greeted us from inside the near empty jeep. "Where you headed?"

We all frowned. This guy was suspicious of us, but it was unlikley we'd get another lift until we walked for a while.

"Glasgow for now" Artsy answered.

"And after Glasgow?" the man replied.

"We'll tell you when we get there" I answered him, exchanging glances with the others. We never let anyone know our complete plans if we could help it.

"Well get in. Your not likely to get much of a lift around here, and this way I can keep a bit of an eye on you and work out why some of you are so damn familar" he said, opening the door closest to us. "There should just be enough room for you all"

Soon we were all crowded into the jeep, on our way to Glasgow

 

(someone needs to name this guy, but I can't come up with one at the moment)

 

The refugee camp was, well, a typical refugee camp, set up provisionally and crowded. Yet it was slightly too well-protected for my taste. When, I wondered, did the governments learn to take care of refugee camps like this in the middle of the war? Not that it was a bad thing, but it didn't help our escaping plans. Soldiers were patrolling the outlines of the camp, both making sure that no one was going to attack and that none of the refugees were going to leave and live in the country illegally. As we found our tent "for the night" - we were going to leave before the night was over, of course - I was eying the patrols, trying to figure out the rhythm. The time wasn't quite long enough, but I did see they had rather irregular intervals. Apparently, it was going to be a matter of luck and superpowers.

 

(can't do more, gotta do chores etc etc )

[artsyfartsy17]

*bounces into thread*

 

Becks, Harvey is adorable and Happy belated Birthday.

 

I had the most epic PPR dream last night and it gave me some interesting ideas for a new story arch, but I'll keep that on the back burner since we've got plenty of things going on already.

Posting!

[artsyfartsy17]

The refugee camp was, well, a typical refugee camp, set up provisionally and crowded. Yet it was slightly too well-protected for my taste. When, I wondered, did the governments learn to take care of refugee camps like this in the middle of the war? Not that it was a bad thing, but it didn't help our escaping plans. Soldiers were patrolling the outlines of the camp, both making sure that no one was going to attack and that none of the refugees were going to leave and live in the country illegally. As we found our tent "for the night" - we were going to leave before the night was over, of course - I was eying the patrols, trying to figure out the rhythm. The time wasn't quite long enough, but I did see they had rather irregular intervals. Apparently, it was going to be a matter of luck and superpowers.

 

(can't do more, gotta do chores etc etc )

 

The wind whipped up our hair as we sped along the road towards Glasgow. We watched for road signs, knowing that the highway to Dumfries wouldn't be far from the border. When I spotted the sign, I nodded to Soa and she caught M's eye. She inclined her head in agreement, then turned to our friend the military man and started chatting him up while Soa took a large knife from his knapsack on the floor. She handed the knife to me, than began on removing the memory of the knife from the soldier's mind. I watched the soldier, who was sitting in front of me, making sure his head was turned into the car towards M. Soa watched the jeeps ahead and behind us. This was going to be difficult, and she was going to have to manipulate a lot of minds at the same time.

I leaned out the side of the jeep and plunged the knife into the back tire below, then quickly jumped back into my seat and hid the knife under the seat as the jeep began to bump and jerk on a slashed tire. Soa quickly checked the minds of the passengers in the jeeps around us. There were only a couple of men who had seen a flash of something, and one man who had seen me damage the tire for sure, and Soa erased the images from their minds so that they were just as shocked as everyone else when we had to pull over to the side of the road.

The soldier in front of me hopped out and looked at the damaged tire as the rest of the jeeps drove past onto Glasgow.

"Lord, it looks like it was slashed with a dagger!" he exclaimed, "What happened?"

The driver shrugged, "I didn't see anything in the road that would slash it."

I hopped out and looked at my handiwork. It was indeed an impressive, jagged hole. I glanced at the soldier.

"Whoa. How is a hole like that possible, soldier?"

He gave me a stern look.

"The name's Mulholland. Archer Mulholland. And it shouldn't be possible. You were sitting behind me. Did you see anything?"

I was getting sick of this man's commanding manner. I answered him in a deliberately insolent tone.

"No, Archer, I didn't see anything at all. Why, anything that could make a hole like that and not be seen would have to be...supernatural." I smiled, flashing just enough fang to make him wonder if he'd really seen it. He stared at me, his face unreadable.

"Mulholland. And I don't know what you're playing at, but for some reason, I think you're involved."

"Oh, come off it, Mulholland," Soa drawled sarcastically from the jeep, "Like we want to be stranded anywhere in the Scottish wilderness with a grump who's going to look in our direction every time something goes wrong."

Mulholland looked up at her in irritation as Becky covered a giggle with her hand.

"I thought you were all american. What's an aussie doing with you?"

"What's it matter?" asked M. Luckily for us, Mulholland didn't know a canadian from an american. "Aren't we all on the same side?"

He started to answer her, but the driver spoke up.

"Break it up, Mulholland. We're not here to pass judgement right now. We need to get moving again. Did you pack the spare tire?"

"We used it last week when that Nation unit shot out the left front one during that skirmish. We've got nothing."

M looked over at the map casually.

"Hey, fancy that," she said, "At the turn ahead and down the road a ways is Dumfries."

"Bet there are tires in Dumfries," I suggested.

"Lots of tires," Soa emphasized.

"Just down the road," Becky quipped. Mulholland and the driver exchanged glances.

"Alright then, Dumfries it is," the driver said, smiling cheerfully.

[artsyfartsy17]

Nobody here?

[soangel]

I'll do a post (before I spend most of the day studying - yay)

[Mika4Life13]

I need to catch up

[soangel]

The wind whipped up our hair as we sped along the road towards Glasgow. We watched for road signs, knowing that the highway to Dumfries wouldn't be far from the border. When I spotted the sign, I nodded to Soa and she caught M's eye. She inclined her head in agreement, then turned to our friend the military man and started chatting him up while Soa took a large knife from his knapsack on the floor. She handed the knife to me, than began on removing the memory of the knife from the soldier's mind. I watched the soldier, who was sitting in front of me, making sure his head was turned into the car towards M. Soa watched the jeeps ahead and behind us. This was going to be difficult, and she was going to have to manipulate a lot of minds at the same time.

I leaned out the side of the jeep and plunged the knife into the back tire below, then quickly jumped back into my seat and hid the knife under the seat as the jeep began to bump and jerk on a slashed tire. Soa quickly checked the minds of the passengers in the jeeps around us. There were only a couple of men who had seen a flash of something, and one man who had seen me damage the tire for sure, and Soa erased the images from their minds so that they were just as shocked as everyone else when we had to pull over to the side of the road.

The soldier in front of me hopped out and looked at the damaged tire as the rest of the jeeps drove past onto Glasgow.

"Lord, it looks like it was slashed with a dagger!" he exclaimed, "What happened?"

The driver shrugged, "I didn't see anything in the road that would slash it."

I hopped out and looked at my handiwork. It was indeed an impressive, jagged hole. I glanced at the soldier.

"Whoa. How is a hole like that possible, soldier?"

He gave me a stern look.

"The name's Mulholland. Archer Mulholland. And it shouldn't be possible. You were sitting behind me. Did you see anything?"

I was getting sick of this man's commanding manner. I answered him in a deliberately insolent tone.

"No, Archer, I didn't see anything at all. Why, anything that could make a hole like that and not be seen would have to be...supernatural." I smiled, flashing just enough fang to make him wonder if he'd really seen it. He stared at me, his face unreadable.

"Mulholland. And I don't know what you're playing at, but for some reason, I think you're involved."

"Oh, come off it, Mulholland," Soa drawled sarcastically from the jeep, "Like we want to be stranded anywhere in the Scottish wilderness with a grump who's going to look in our direction every time something goes wrong."

Mulholland looked up at her in irritation as Becky covered a giggle with her hand.

"I thought you were all american. What's an aussie doing with you?"

"What's it matter?" asked M. Luckily for us, Mulholland didn't know a canadian from an american. "Aren't we all on the same side?"

He started to answer her, but the driver spoke up.

"Break it up, Mulholland. We're not here to pass judgement right now. We need to get moving again. Did you pack the spare tire?"

"We used it last week when that Nation unit shot out the left front one during that skirmish. We've got nothing."

M looked over at the map casually.

"Hey, fancy that," she said, "At the turn ahead and down the road a ways is Dumfries."

"Bet there are tires in Dumfries," I suggested.

"Lots of tires," Soa emphasized.

"Just down the road," Becky quipped. Mulholland and the driver exchanged glances.

"Alright then, Dumfries it is," the driver said, smiling cheerfully.

 

We began walking down the road, Mulholland shooting suspicious glances at us as we went and trying to keep us in sight. He had ordered the driver to lead the way, and he was taking the rear, both with guns ready. It may have been to protect us, but at the same time it also partly felt like they were treating us as the danger.

"How you holding up?" Arts whispered, coming up beside me.

I quickly gave myself a mental check over. "I never do like large scale alterations, but it wasn't too bad. I should still be able to alter more, if we need it"

Artsy nodded, and indicated the driver and Mulholland. "Good, because we might need it. I don't trust these guys"

"And they don't trust us clearly. It's a perfect match" I murmured with a grin

"Alright you guys, less chatter more walking." Mulholland ordered. "I need to get this tyre and return to the jeep as soon as possible."

We nodded and walked in silence for a bit - after all we had a slight walk ahead of us after all and we needed to think of ideas for some of us to lose the escort so we could grab the passports and other documents from the postal box.

 

Meanwhile.

The others had spent the day monitoring the irregular intervals in which the guards patrolled the camp and could find no pattern. They were hoping that night would prove an exception, and that they could escape into the cover of darkness. After all, they couldn't afford to spend months just waiting to be processed.

 

Luckily for them, the interval between patrols seemed to lengthen as night set in. Of course, that could be because the giant spotlights around the area made everything super bright, meaning anyone escaping would soon be spotted and possibly gunned down.

"We need to take out those lights" Mickey murmured.

Nico nodded "I can do that. Just let me know when"

"and if need be, I can charm a guard" added Finn. "we have methods"

"and I can take out a few guards. I'm quicker than they are, and a lot scarier" Calvin added

The group sat down to discuss how they were to escape, wishing a little for some of the powers in the other group. Mass unconscious would be a nice one right now or telepathy to ensure the conversation wasn't eavesdropped on.

 

 

Meanwhile.

Nathienal had arrived back at his camp to find a squadron of men he couldn't remember leaving in charge had taken *has forgotten the name of their leader* captive. Apparently he had ordered it, before he went out to hunt a group who had escaped from the Movement camp. Either his memory was tampered with, or his men were acting against orders and, having picked each of these men himself and ensured through less than peaceful means that they were loyal to him, he knew it had to be the former.

 

Which meant that not only was he dealing with a group with either superpowers, the thought of which made him laugh, or they had powerful and plentiful doses of the new memory drug, which probably meant they were spies. For that reason alone he would have to get them back.

 

Plus they'd drugged him. That made it personal.

[MissPie]

Posting!

[MissPie]

We began walking down the road, Mulholland shooting suspicious glances at us as we went and trying to keep us in sight. He had ordered the driver to lead the way, and he was taking the rear, both with guns ready. It may have been to protect us, but at the same time it also partly felt like they were treating us as the danger.

"How you holding up?" Arts whispered, coming up beside me.

I quickly gave myself a mental check over. "I never do like large scale alterations, but it wasn't too bad. I should still be able to alter more, if we need it"

Artsy nodded, and indicated the driver and Mulholland. "Good, because we might need it. I don't trust these guys"

"And they don't trust us clearly. It's a perfect match" I murmured with a grin

"Alright you guys, less chatter more walking." Mulholland ordered. "I need to get this tyre and return to the jeep as soon as possible."

We nodded and walked in silence for a bit - after all we had a slight walk ahead of us after all and we needed to think of ideas for some of us to lose the escort so we could grab the passports and other documents from the postal box.

 

Meanwhile.

The others had spent the day monitoring the irregular intervals in which the guards patrolled the camp and could find no pattern. They were hoping that night would prove an exception, and that they could escape into the cover of darkness. After all, they couldn't afford to spend months just waiting to be processed.

 

Luckily for them, the interval between patrols seemed to lengthen as night set in. Of course, that could be because the giant spotlights around the area made everything super bright, meaning anyone escaping would soon be spotted and possibly gunned down.

"We need to take out those lights" Mickey murmured.

Nico nodded "I can do that. Just let me know when"

"and if need be, I can charm a guard" added Finn. "we have methods"

"and I can take out a few guards. I'm quicker than they are, and a lot scarier" Calvin added

The group sat down to discuss how they were to escape, wishing a little for some of the powers in the other group. Mass unconscious would be a nice one right now or telepathy to ensure the conversation wasn't eavesdropped on.

 

 

Meanwhile.

Nathienal had arrived back at his camp to find a squadron of men he couldn't remember leaving in charge had taken *has forgotten the name of their leader* captive. Apparently he had ordered it, before he went out to hunt a group who had escaped from the Movement camp. Either his memory was tampered with, or his men were acting against orders and, having picked each of these men himself and ensured through less than peaceful means that they were loyal to him, he knew it had to be the former.

 

Which meant that not only was he dealing with a group with either superpowers, the thought of which made him laugh, or they had powerful and plentiful doses of the new memory drug, which probably meant they were spies. For that reason alone he would have to get them back.

 

Plus they'd drugged him. That made it personal.

 

It was about eleven o’clock when we decided to go for it. The plan had been discussed largely, and even though it wasn’t 100% fool-proof, we felt we wouldn’t get a better one anytime soon. Nico made the lights go out. To anyone else, it must look like a simple power cut. We used the time of confusion that followed to get to the edge of the refugee camp, where we each hid in the shade of a tent, waiting for Cal to signal us the coast was clear. One by one, we snuck out of our hiding places. Most got over the relatively low fence without any problems, but when it was only Calvin, Nico and me, the next two guards came by. We could hear them talk in low voices. “…checked with the engineer. He should be … some light any minute.” As they were passing way too slowly, we exchanged worried looks. After some extremely long seconds, it was Nico who decided we take the risk. I went first, walking as quietly as possible and climbing over the fence like the others had done. Crouching next to them, I watched one of the guards turn just as Nico made the fence duck slightly.

 

Meanwhile

Nathaniel was leaning against the wall in his office, rubbing his temples. He couldn’t seem to remember that group he had been going after. That thought drove him mad. His men had released Liam, and everything was back to normal in the Movement camp – on the outside. On the inside, some fifteen people were planning to get information on said group. Having checked with each other what they knew, they had realized they still had too few to follow the group. Nobody remembered what had been on the monitoring camera tape that had apparently made them go after those people. Liam wouldn’t say a thing. “You have no right to follow them. They didn’t have to stay, so you cannot catch them back now”, he had dismissed Nathaniel’s attempt at questioning him about them. Now, his group was having a meeting. He should go back inside.

“Alright, we need to get the tapes of the house they were staying in. They’re most probably spies, and those tapes could tell us a lot about them.” “You said that half an hour ago, Sir”, someone sighed. It was a thin, not very tall man with dark skin and a slight French accent. His baritone voice sounded absolutely stoical. Nathaniel exploded. “I know I have! But did we get any further? The tapes should be in the safe, which we can only access together with Liam! Knowing him, he might as well have already destroyed them!” He was virtually fuming. “Get a grip…” the man murmured, which was a mistake. “No, Fabien, I am not getting a grip” They drugged us, and they could be telling either party about us right now! We don’t even know where they’re headed!” He had stood up, approaching poor Fabien in a fairly threatening manner. His grey-ish eyes could as well have been flashing. Both the Frenchman and the redhaired woman next to him rose, grabbing Nathaniel’s arms and forcing him back onto his chair. When he had calmed down a little, the woman spoke up. “We know very well that this group of people could be dangerous for the Movement, and I think I speak for everyone in this room saying that we will support you.” An overall nodding went around the room. “However, uncontrolled rage and seeking for revenge will not help us, much less so as long as we don’t even know their position. We have to act with thought now.” Her superior gave her a nod as she reoccupied her seat. “Thank you for that, Amy. Now the tapes. Like I said, I bet Liam put them in the safe, but to access it, both the leader and the second in charge are needed. Liam won’t do it voluntarily, I’m sure. “Don’t you miss the times where you’d simply steal a key for that kind of problem?” an older man threw in. Nathaniel sighed. “Certainly. Nowadays, with all of those voice, fingertips and pupil checks, we’ll need Liam himself – probably drugged, to make him do it.” “And it is not sure the system won’t notice he’s not in his proper state of mind then”, a young blonde girl with glasses added.

“The other possibility, of course, would be … to cause a change in the leadership.” The team looked astonished. “Nat … “, Amy finally said, “you don’t mean … eliminate Liam?”