Worst Nightmare

Lorna didn't like that she was being forced into the middle of nowhere. However, the power flares whenever her daughter decided that one of her internal organs needed to get kicked were becoming a bigger problem. The Frost's and Reeva insisted that she needed to go somewhere isolated while they looked for a solution. The power flares were dangerous in several different ways; not only was Lorna throwing metal around like it didn't weigh anything but they could draw attention to the rest of the Inner Circle. The Frost's found a cabin in the middle of the woods that no one knew about. They removed all of the metal that they could bringing the cabin down to its bare minimum of wood. None of it was comfortable and Andy made a face when he saw the cot she had to sleep on.

He wanted to stay but he was better off trying to help the Frost's and Reeva find a semi safe place for Lorna to give birth. They left her alone two days ago and Lorna was bored out of her skull. There was no running water in the cabin, the pipes were too dangerous considering the power flares, so all she had were plastic jugs for water and freeze dried food in plastic with plastic utensils. There were books so Lorna read a lot but being alone meant she did feel safe. That was why she didn't tell anyone about the singular knife she had in her boot when they left her alone. Lorna would lay in bed and throw the knife into the air and catch it with her powers. She thought about the face that Marcos would be making if he saw her doing that six months pregnant.

Since she was alone there was a strict schedule as to when other people would come. If anyone approach the cabin before the scheduled visitations they were not supposed to be there. Lorna wasn't sure what they wanted her to do with nothing, since they didn't know about the knife, to defend herself but Lorna agreed to the terms nevertheless. That was why the hairs stood up on the back of her neck when she heard someone approaching the cabin in the middle of the afternoon on the second day. No one was supposed to come until tomorrow and no one from the Inner Circle, including Andy, would dare disobey a direct order from Reeva. Lorna kept her back to the door and held her knife tightly in her hand. She wouldn't let whomever was approaching get the drop on her. She had a little girl to protect, a life growing inside of her that she could feel, and that was the most important thing. Lorna felt the knife with her powers and steadied herself.

The door opened and Lorna wasted no time. She threw the knife with the full force of her powers. She wasn't aiming anywhere in particular, somewhere in the chest or the torso, so this person couldn't hurt her. Lorna heard them grunt in pain and she could feel the metal in their blood. She turned to tell them that it was wrong to approach this place and Lorna felt her blood run cold.

It was Marcos. He stood in the doorway of the cabin and looked at the knife in his stomach like it surprised him to see it there. His golden blood was beginning to stain and burn his shirt already. He looked at her with such pain in her eyes that Lorna felt like she was going to be sick.

"Marcos," she whispered as he stumbled back from the entrance to the cabin and fell into the dirt. Lorna scrambled to his side and fell to her knees beside him. The knife was embedded into his stomach directly to the hilt and Lorna had no idea if removing it would make things worse. "Marcos, what are you doing here?"

"I came for you," he said through his teeth. Marcos tried to hide pain from everyone but never from her. Lorna could see him struggling against the stab wound in his stomach. Out of other options she removed the knife and whispered apologies as when Marcos grunted in pain. Lorna took off her sweater and tried to press it to the wound but his blood was burning the clothes and her hands. "Lorna, it isn't safe."

"Stop talking," she said trying to think of way to get in touch with the Inner Circle. They might not be on the same side but if she insisted they would treat him. They had to.

"No, they followed you here. Sentinel Services knows you're here and they're coming for you," he said. "They found a bunch of old weapons from when they would fight the Brotherhood back in the day. It's all plastic. They're coming for you and you need to run."

"I'm not leaving you here," Lorna snapped. Marcos looked like he was going to argue but Lorna wouldn't here anything about it. She ignored the burn from Marcos blood when she shoved the knife back into her boot and struggled to pull him to his feet. There was no point staying in the cabin; it would be easy to flush them out. They needed to get somewhere with more metal so they could defend themselves. Lorna reached out with her powers as far as she could and found a rangers station not far away. There was metal there, enough that she might be able to protect them, and a way for her to contact the Inner Circle. Lorna tied her sweater around his stomach to try and stop the blood flow but it wouldn't be enoiugh. She put Marcos' arm over her shoulder and the two of them began to make their way through the woods.

"This is too slow," Marcos said as he began to stumble more and more. His tanned skin was taken on an ashen color and he was leaving a trail of glowing blood behind them. "You need to leave me and run."

"I did this to you so I'm not leaving," Lorna insisted. She was about to call them a team, that they stuck together, but the words got caught in her throat. Lorna didn't regret leaving the Underground, she believed in what she was doing, but she did regret that leaving the Underground meant leaving Marcos. She wasn't sure what to say but the sound of voices drew her attention. They glanced over their shoulders and Lorna could see soldiers moving in on their direction. They weren't carrying anything with metal, even their clothes didn't have any metal on them, and the most she could do was push a few of them back by the fillings in their teeth. It wasn't enough and a crossbow bolt made of plastic narrowly missed taking off their heads.

Lorna tried to run but between the baby and Marcos getting weaker they didn't have anywhere to go. Marcos stumbled and fell to the ground and nearly took Lorna with him. Her sweater was burned away by his blood and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his pale skin. Lorna didn't know what to do so she put herself between Sentinel Services and him. She pulled the singular knife out of her boot and decided that she was going to go down fighting. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Marcos raise a hand but it seemed he didn't have the strength to use his powers. She was it so she took several steps forward and prepared herself.

"That's enough Miss. Dane," a voice called out as they were surrounded by members of Sentinel Services whom were all using various plastic guns, bows, and crossbows. They weren't just aiming for her; some of them were pointed at Marcos as well.

"Come one step closer and I'll put this knife through your head," Lorna warned but the man laughed at her.

"Of course and we'll put an arrow into Mr. Diaz's heart, is that what you want?" he asked. One of the soldiers got close enough to Marcos and Lorna was about to cut them down when they stepped on one of his hands. He cried out in pain and she could hear the bones cracking. The soldier had a crossbow, made of plastic so she could do nothing, pointed at his heart. "Put the knife down or we'll put him down."

"Lorna, don't-" Marcos started but he cut himself off when the soldier twisted their heel on his hand. She couldn't watch him suffer like this and Lorna tried to fight the tears as she dropped the knife.

"Get away from him," she hissed as she fell to her knees next to him. Lorna had her back to the enemy but she was helpless and the least she could was stay close to Marcos until they got to wherever Sentinel Services was going to take them. She took one of his hands, the one still intact, into her own and held on tight. Lorna didn't fight when the Agent walked behind her and she gasped when the collar cut her off from her powers.

"Take her," he said and two soldiers tried to force Lorna to her feet.

"Wait, what about him? He needs medical attention right away. What are you going to do to him?" she asked as she tried to fight them off. The Agent looked at her and then at Marcos with a raised eyebrow.

"He's of no use to us like this," he said and Lorna felt her heart stop. They couldn't just leave him like this, he wouldn't make it, and Lorna felt her entire world begin to crumble.

"No, no, you can't just leave him here! You need to help him!" She was screaming now and she was fighting with everything she had. Lorna still held onto Marcos' hand but they were trying to pull her away from him. They couldn't do that, they couldn't, she couldn't let this happen.

"We didn't do anything to him. It looks like your knife was the thing that hurt him so we're under no obligation to help him. He's going to die anyway and he's of no use to us. Let's move out." More hands pulled at her but Lorna still couldn't let him go. The knife was beginning to move despite the collar sending shocks through her body. She lost her grip on his hand but continued to reach for him as they dragged her away. Marcos was reaching for her too until his hand went limp and the light in his eyes faded.

Lorna screamed and the world shattered.

Lorna woke up to the Frost's, Reeva, and Andy all trying to calm her down. She was in headquarters and there was no cabin. Marcos' blood wasn't on her hands and she wasn't being taken away by Sentinel Services. She hadn't watched him die because he was okay. He had to be okay. When Lorna was finally aware that it was a dream and everything was fine the Frost's and Reeva left. Andy, however, stayed. Lorna was still under the covers but Andy climbed onto her bed and lay down next to her while staying on top of the blankets. He was close enough that Lorna could feel his presence but he didn't touch her until she reached over and grasped his hand. Lorna held on tight for the entire night and Andy didn't ask what her nightmare was about.