Do Not Go Gentle - REVIEW THIS STORY

Written by Lori McDonald
Last updated: 01/02/2007 02:01:11 AM

Chapter 2

The balance broke.

With a sob, he clutched Rogue to him and ran. The prisoners howled in their cages as he ran past.

"You promised!" The man he'd spoken to shrieked. "You promised you'd free us!"

He wanted to stop and go back, but the terror was too strong. The instant when he could have resisted was past and all he could do was run.

And how he hated himself for it.

Covered in sweat, gasping for air to make himself move faster, he ran out of the holding area and through the chemical room, Rogue clutched to his chest like a rag doll. As long as he kept hold of her, everything would be okay, but she was heavy and her weight slowed him down. She moaned, starting to wake up.

There was no sign of Sinister as he pounded down the corridor to the exit, but he didn't slow down. When he'd first been captured by the geneticist, he'd seen firsthand how fast he could move, how relentless was his pursuit. He'd tracked him across the world without pause, driving him onward into exhaustion until, in a theatre in Seattle, he couldn't run or fight anymore. There he'd been given a choice. Join Sinister's minions or join his experiments.

It'd been out of pride that he chose the cages. Out of defiance. He'd thought himself good enough to escape at any time. Sinister had taught him that escape was impossible, that resisting was futile. He knew that. He ran anyway.

He hit the latch on the exit door with his hip and ran out into a grey field with low gorse bushes. There was no place to hide he could see, no way to prevent Sinister from seeing him anywhere on the horizon.

In his arms, Rogue moaned again, her eyes fluttering. Even with the collar on, she was more resistant to the sedative than an ordinary woman.

Setting her down for a moment, he slung her across his shoulders instead. Then he started moving as quickly as he could towards a stand of trees about a mile away. It was the only cover he could see and he didn't dare use the road. Beneath his feet, the ground was sandly, hard to walk on.

"LeBeau."

Terrified, he looked back. Sinister was coming across the field towards him. He wasn't staggering in the sand, carrying a woman who dragged him down with every step. He wasn't numb with panic and he was gaining.

He gave an inarticulate wail and tried to run faster. The fear was a pressure in him, threatening to break everything he was and it grew as he tripped and fell. Rogue rolled out of his grasp and started coughing, trying to push herself up.

"You may as well stop running," Sinister called from only fifty feet away. "You can't escape me. Your efforts have been noted, but if you don't surrender now, I will punish you."

He looked back over his shoulder, eyes wide. Sinister was only fourty feet away. He began to tremble. Thirty feet away. He couldn't breathe. Twenty feet. He wanted to run, fight, run, fight, run, run, run...

When Sinister was only ten feet away, something inside him snapped. He felt it break and then he was screaming, all his fear and pain bubbling out uncontrollably. He could only think of one thing now.

He ran, his voice stripped raw from shrieking, his feet digging in the sand for purchase. He ran as fast as he could, as hard as he could. Never planning to stop.

"Remy, help me!"

Suddenly, he realized what he'd done and reeled, tripping over a gorse bush.

He'd left Rogue behind.

Horrified, he lifted his head and looked back. Sinister was holding Rogue up by her hair and she struggled against him weakly.

*"Rogue!"* He screamed. "Let her go!"

Sinister looked at him calmly. "Then come and get her."

He couldn't do it. He wanted to, he loved her more than anything in the world, but he couldn't take that step, any more than he could step off the ground and fly. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he shook his head.

"Remy," Rogue breathed. He didn't know if there was any condemnation in her eyes, though. He couldn't look at them.

Suddenly, he heard an engine and his heart soared with hope at the sight of the Blackbird.

Sinister saw it too. "How inconvenient," he murmured.

"Ya finished, Sinister!" Rogue growled, still trying to free her hair from his grip.

"Not quite." Turning, he looked back towards the low, windowless building he used for his labs.

It exploded.

The Blackbird swerved in the air, trying to maintain control in the sudden updraft.

"God damn ya ta hell, Sinister!" Rogue cried.

The geneticist raised an eyebrow. "God? There is no such creature." He looked at him. "I will return for you another time," he promised.

Then he teleported away, taking Rogue with him.

"NOOO!!!!" He screamed, throwing himself at the empty place where they'd been. It was just bare sand, lifeless.

The X-Men found him there minutes later, kneeling in the sand staring at the burning building. He didn't flinch as they surrounded him, yelling their inevitable questions. He didn't react at all.

Hank knelt before him, peering into his eyes. "He's in shock," he told them.

"He doesn't look hurt," Bobby protested.

"It isn't that kind of shock, Bobby." Jean put her arm around him. "Come on, hon, let's get you out of here."

Her mind touched his as she led him to the Blackbird, reading his memories of what happened. He didn't try to stop her.

#It's not your fault, Remy,# she told him telepathically, using the name she'd found in his mind. #There's nothing you could have done to prevent this. You would only have died too.#

He didn't respond.

Ever.