part0020

Josh and Nik were already at the front door by the time Logan and Leo joined them, their fists hammering against the wood as they shouted Sierra's name through the solid wood, and for a brief moment Logan regretted having Nik give up all of his strength back at the house, for it would be a while before he could take it back in again. In usual circumstances Logan would have been the voice of reason, calming them down with Josh assisting him. But then these were not usual circumstances. The harsh beat of his heart pounded in his ears and he knew that he would not be the reason today, not where Sierra was concerned.

He had arrived in this small English town ready for the school year, the Council having pulled strings and forged paper work in order to squeeze him onto the school pay roll so he could find the girl they were after. It had taken him no time at all to see her, knowing from one touch of her desk after she sat at it on the first day that she was who they'd been searching for, the missing link. He had watched from afar, seeing the distance she kept from those around her, hearing the unfavourable rumours circling about her home, and he vowed even then to get her out, to save her no matter what.

She was their sixth point, the one to bind them all in their Hexagon and unite their powers across the board. With her they would be strong, unstoppable, complete, content. They could live however and wherever they chose and all they had to do was complete the odd assignment for the Council to keep Earth safe from the darkness. But first they needed her to accept them, their lives, their powers, which was easier said than done when she had apparently been raised with no idea of who or what she really was.

After five minutes of banging against the door to no avail, Nik slumped forward and rested his forehead against it with his eyes closed.

"I could bash it down." He said, and, whilst Logan knew he wasn't joking around, he also knew Nik wasn't ready to take in any more power, not yet .

"Wait." He turned to Leo, gesturing aimlessly in a silent question, but Leo shook his head.

"I've tried but all I'm hitting is darkness. Either she's not here or..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence as they all filled in the blank themselves. Logan's conscience warred, not wanting to risk Nik's health but also not wanting to leave Sierra in danger. He looked to his second in command, who stared back at him with such resolution that he knew he wasn't really asking this of Nik- instead, Nik was willingly charging into the line of fire to help. With a decisive nod, Logan gestured at Nik.

He didn't need telling twice. The others stepped back as Nik closed his eyes, drawing his arms out to his sides before closing them in again with a deep breath, turning himself into a battering ram as he charged the door and knocked it down in one fell swoop. In moments they had swarmed the house, pausing in the almost bare hall to listen for any sounds that Sierra might be inside .

"I say we find the basement." Josh suggested. "That was where her fear came from, right?"

Leo nodded in confirmation and the team spread out, looking for any doorway that could lead to the basement holding their girl.

"Nothing in the kitchen" Nik called.

"Living room's clear." Josh responded.

Leo and Logan exchanged helpless looks as Logan leaned against the small book case, punching it in frustration as he called out.

"Nothing in the hall either."

They reconvened in the entryway, the four of them not sure on how to proceed now that they had found no basement.

"Let's sweep the upstairs, just be sure." Logan told them. "Failing that, we call her over and over until she answers."

With brief nods they jogged up the stairway with Logan remaining behind to keep watch for her parents arriving home. He peered at the car at the end of the garden, seeing Theo sitting up slowly as he looked around. Logan waved out to him and he slowly got out of the car, heading towards the house with faltering steps.

When he got closer Logan had to reign in his surprise at the sight before him. Theo was pale, his eyes wide and haunted as he hunched over to grip at his sides. He looked tired, with black bags forming under his eyes as he raised them to look at Logan.

"She's here," he rasped, his voice sounded sore and scratchy. "I can feel her. She's not quite conscious, but she is here."

Logan shook his head slowly, unsure of how to tell him they couldn't find her.

Theo's insistence, the desperation in his eyes and the pleading tone to his voice, shook Logan in a way that he couldn't put a name to. He heard the others coming up slowly behind him, knowing without looking that they hadn't found her even as his other brother stood before him, imploring him with his eyes, convinced that she was close .

"Please, Logan," he whispered. "I know she is in there, please."

Logan closed his eyes and nodded once before he turned back to the house. He walked slowly past his brothers, not meeting their stares as he steeled himself for what he had to do, what he always tried not to do.

Whilst his brothers could usually control the intensity of their abilities with just a thought, Logan's ability had only two levels- off, and on. But, if Theo and Nik could handle the after effects of over-using their power to help Sierra, then so could he.

He took a deep, steadying breath and reached his hand out to the frame of the door, gripping it tightly until his knuckles turned white. Silence surrounded him as his brothers stepped back to watch him work, and he began.

His mind raced through the house, starting from when it was very first built sixty years ago and seeing the builders who had laid each brick, the painters who had coloured the walls, the fitters who had placed the electrics. He twitched his mind and flitted forth, seeing a family move in with their two daughters and a dog, and watched as they grew older and went their separate ways. He twitched again and found a young couple, neither of them happy as they moved around the house separate to one another, no love between them as they carried on their affairs until they could take it no more. He watched as the house grew empty, no owner in sight until a second couple came along, this time happy and laughing as they took in the sight of their home. They breathed life into its walls, decorating the rooms as they made it into their own home, tending to the garden and joking with one another until...they weren't any more. He watched as they struggled for a child, as it drove a wedge between them and desperation sank into their hearts and home after each failed attempt. He twitched again and sped forth to the same couple, this time praising the wife's rising stomach and sharing tears of joy that their dream had come true. They painted the baby's room a bright, happy yellow, and so it stayed to this very day. He twitched again, seeing a small Sierra playing with her Father in the garden, watching with a smile as he picked her up and twirled her through the air to the sound of her shrieks and giggles. He watched as she baked a cake with her Mother, flour covering her face and hair as she furiously beat the mixture to the sound of her Mothers hysterical laughter as the Father watched with love and mirth in his eyes. He twitched again, enjoying his peek at Sierra's life and the joy it had held, wondering where it could have all gone wrong. He twitched again, and he found his answer.

Sierra was crying and the house was shaking as rain poured against the windows. Her Father no longer looked at her with love but instead with fear as he backed away from his crying child. The smile dropped from Logan's face as he twitched again and saw Sierra playing with a small kitten, a sweet smile on her innocent face before her Father came, took the kitten by the scruff of its neck and broke it in half. He twitched, he twitched over and over as Sierra's once happy life transformed before his very eyes and he saw her resenting her ability, quashing it down as much as she could as her Father reigned endless terror on her innocent soul. He watched as she shut out the animals that came to her, as she turned away her friends at school for fear of pain and punishment, as she knocked herself out every time she felt her power growing inside of her. Tears fell down his cheeks as he saw her beaten, as he watched her Mother beg for mercy for her daughter until she couldn't any more, until she too sat and told Sierra she should never have been born .

His heart was breaking, and he twitched again.

He saw Sierra run through the doorway, breathless but smiling as she dropped her bag to the floor. It was today he realised, after she had left their house-she was wearing the same clothes. Had they been the cause for her smile?

She walked slowly into the house, pausing with a titled head as she listened out. She moved towards the kitchen and a shadow stepped out from the living room behind her, moving so quietly that she never stood a chance. Logan longed to warn her, to shout out to her, but it was no use. This was just a memory, a memory of the house; he would have no influence here.

Her father gripped her arm and span her around, and her eyes widened as she saw her attacker before her. Without a word he gripped her neck and lifted her from the floor, slamming her against the wall as he tightened his grip. Her eyes bulged as she gripped at her throat, clawing at his hands and arms as she tried to release his grip.

He shook her tightly, causing her hands to drop as her eyes began to roll into her head and her face turned a deep purple. With a snarl he released her, throwing her to the ground in a crumpled heap before he began to lay his fists into her, over and over as he attacked her anywhere he could reach. She regained consciousness and begged him for mercy but he didn't listen, he barely even seemed to notice her words as he inflicted more injuries.

He grabbed her by the arms, yanking her up from the floor again as he dragged her through the hallway and to the small bookcase at the other end. He dropped her to the ground where she barely moved before he reached into the book case...and it swung open. He grabbed her forearm and hauled her to her feet, placing his face close to hers as he snarled at her once more.

Logan yanked his arm from the door frame and fell back, landing with a thud on his ass, his eyes wide as he gasped for breath and stared at the unassuming book case at the other end of the hall.

He ignored his brothers shouts as he scrambled back to his feet, raced down the hall and skidded to a stop before the book case that he had hit only moments before. Peering intently he reached a hand in, feeling along the edges until he found a small latch tucked into the side frame, hidden by a book. With a hooked finger he tugged on it and the case swung open like a doorway, revealing the steps that had been hidden behind it. He looked to his brothers shocked faces before meeting Theo's relieved eyes.