Some Called Angels

Malak pulled down the single bag she had brought with her and turned to see Piotr giving her a strange look. "You have other things below, don't you?"

She tilted her head to the side looking at him confused. "The man I bought my ticket from asked why I only had the one bag too. Why does it confuse everyone that I don't?"

His dark brow furrowed as if something was bothering him. She wondered what it was. "So few possessions with no place to go?" he asked. "This does not please me to know. It is clear to me now that you have no been properly cared for."

Her jaw dropped. He couldn't possibly think that. "No!" she cried. "It's not that at all. My father and... well... sometimes my brother, they cared me for as best as they could, but... I couldn't stay," she whispered bowing her head. "I can't go back. Not to my father, to my brother, or to John."

"Because you are a mutant?" he asked in a soft voice, filled with compassion.

She shook her head again. "No, because they can hurt me." The words were whispered with horror. She knew that Piotr wouldn't be able to understand. She was afraid to tell him what it meant to. If she told him than... well than he would treat her differently. Everyone always did. If it wasn't because she was a mutant, it was because she could do what she could do.

Strong arms crushed her against a chest, a growl vibrated from his chest throughout her body. "This is not acceptable!" he snapped in fury. "They should protect you not-"

"No!" Malak repeated more empathetically pushing away from Piotr's chest. He allowed her down and only could stare at her in shock. "Don't talk about them that way! Th-they don't mean it! It's just... they just..." she shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut tight. She had left them, but that didn't mean that they were bad. She refused to believe that they were. "I-I was wrong. I'm so sorry. I can't travel with you."

"Malak, I'm sorry," Piotr said reaching out.

Malak ducked away shaking her head. She couldn't let him touch her. "No," she whispered shaking her head. "No, no, no," the words repeated themselves over and over as she reached up and pressed her hands to her ears, stumbling back a step with each word.

"Malak. Malak!" She tried to expel his voice from her ears as she spun on her heel and started to run. She couldn't stay. Not if he thought that about her father, brother, and John. And she couldn't tell him what she could do. That only meant one thing.

She had to run again.