After another three days, Marie was beginning to go insane worrying about Logan. She hadn’t been allowed anywhere near the room he was being kept which meant that she couldn’t check up on him or let him know that she was there. Marie was terrified about what condition Logan would be at this point.
For hours on end, she was would sit on the cot in her small room, willing to send her thoughts to Logan. In her mind, he was completely silent, something which frightened Marie. She wanted to be able to hear Logan’s voice in her head. She hadn’t realized how comforting his voice was until she no longer had it there to keep her company. For the most part she was by herself, with only her fear on Creed’s reappearance to keep her company.
Marie wished that she knew what Erik had planned for her. So far she had been told nothing while Erik and Mystique busied themselves with planning all the key points. That worried her. She knew that nothing the two of them planned would be good, but the fact that it was taking them so long only made Marie all the more nervous. For the first time ever, Marie was finally beginning to figure out why people always said there was a calm before a storm. Erik was building and army which, unfortunately, also included Marie an her brother.
When they had originally met, Marie had hoped that she would get more of a chance to get to know Kurt before all hell broke loose. As it was, the only time that Marie saw her brother was when everyone gathered for meals in the large dining room. She had heard whispers of Kurt’s powers. That he could teleport himself and anyone he was touching. If that was true, he might be able to help her get to Logan. For that to happen, though, she would need to meet with Kurt without anyone else around because there was no way that Erik or Mystique would allow her anywhere near Logan.
Chewing on her bottom lip, Marie rose from her small bed and padded towards the closet where an entire wardrobe of black clothing hung. Still unused to being able to touch people without sucking their lives, Marie covered as much of her skin as she could in a pair of form fitting-fitting pants, a long sleeve shirt, knee length duster and heavy boots. She almost felt safe covered up as she was.
Heading to the door, Marie snuck out of the room. She needed to get to Logan somehow. Even for just a moment to let him know that she was still there. He had to be going out of his mind. Logan wasn’t all that good at closed spaces. Not that she could blame him. After what they had been through, Marie wasn’t all that fond of being closed in either.
Poking her head out the door, Marie checked to make sure that no one else was there. When she was sure that it was all clear, Marie slipped out into the hallway and in the direction of the room Logan was being kept. If she was lucky, they might have accidentally left the door unlocked. It was unlikely, but Marie was more than willing to take the chance. It was the only one that she had.
“Ah’m comin’, sugah,” Marie whispered under her breath as she crept down the corridor towards the room where Logan was.
She kept her eyes alert at all times, on the lookout for anyone and anything that could stop her. There was no way that she was going to let anyone stop her. There was Creed, but Marie hoped that she wouldn’t have to come across him. If Creed was there, Marie knew that she would be completely helpless. She couldn’t even set eyes on the monster without trembling in fear. Creed scared her more than anything else ever had in her entire life. More than Dwyer and Dr. Montgomery combined.
The sound of footsteps echoing from an adjoining hallway had Marie instantly on edge. She quickly darted into a nearby hallway, willing the person to go in the opposite direction.
A sudden hand on her arm nearly made Marie cry out. She stifled it at the last moment by shoving her fist in her mouth. Marie whirled around, fearful of who she would see there. To her relief, it was Kurt standing behind her with a sheepish expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, Marie. I didn’t mean to startle you,” Kurt apologized, backing away slightly.
Marie waved her hand in his direction. “Ah’ll be fine as soon as mah heart starts beatin’ again. Actually, Ah’m glad yer here. Ah could use yer help.”
“How can I be of service?” Kurt asked with an extravagant bow.
Marie couldn’t help but grin at Kurt’s bow and quickly pulled him back up. “Can ya really do that zappy disappearin’ teleport thing?”
“You mean this?” Kurt said, disappearing in a puff of smoke. He reappeared a second later some thirty feet down the corridor. A second later, he was standing right next to her. “You need to teleport somewhere?”
“Ah need t’ get inta that room where Logan is. Ah’m real worried ‘bout him. You’ve gotta help me, Kurt. Ah need Logan,” Marie pleaded, placing her hand on Kurt’s arm.
“Are you sure it’s such a wise idea to go in there? This Logan seems like a very violent man,” Kurt told her, glancing around nervously.
Marie shook her head instantly, her eyes going wide. “No! Logan’s not violent. Well, only t’ people who want t’ hurt him. Or me. Logan’s the most gentle person Ah know. He just hates t’ be closed in an’ Ah know that he doesn’t like not knowin’ what’s happenin’ t’ me.”
“So Logan won’t hurt you?” Kurt pressed.
“‘Course not! Logan loves me,” Marie insisted, running her fingers through her long hair. “An’ Ah love him. So much. Which is why Ah need t’ do whatever Ah can t’ get him outta that room.”
Kurt scratched at his right eyebrow as he debated whether or not to help Marie. If Kurt didn’t agree to help her, Marie knew that it wouldn’t stop her from doing everything that she could to get to Logan. His help would only make it easier and while she prayed that he would, Marie would understand it if he chose not to.
Kurt nodded his head, one corner of his mouth tilting upwards. “All right, I’ll help you. But I’m only doing this because your my sister.”
Marie flashed Kurt a wide grin, all but bouncing up and down. “Thank ya so much, Kurt. Ya have no idea how much this means t’ me.”
“I think I have an idea,” Kurt said, holding out a hand towards Marie. “Shall we?”
Marie placed her hand in Kurt’s, unprepared for the quickness of the transportation. She saw a quick flash of light and then she was standing in the same room that Logan was being held prisoner. Marie didn’t even have time to orient herself before the flash repeated itself. This time Marie found herself only two feet away from Logan.
“Logan!” Marie shrieked, kneeling down in front of him.
What she saw broke her heart.
Logan was lying on his side, curled in a fetal position and staring straight ahead. The only problem was that Logan’s eyes were completely dead. He was seeing nothing. For Logan to be in such a catatonic state frightened Marie more than when he was screaming and clawing away at metal-- the same metal that his claws were made of --that he could never hope to get through.
“Logan? Sugah, can ya hear me?” Marie murmured, running her fingers through Logan’s hair. She laid out on her side next to him, molding her body to his. “Logan, Ah need ya t’ blink yer eyes. Somethin’. Anythin’. Come on, Logan, yer scarin’ me. Please let me know that ya can hear me.”
Still, there was nothing, and Marie couldn’t contain the sob that escaped her. Logan wasn’t supposed to be like that. Logan wasn’t someone who gave in like that. Logan was strong. He fought. He didn’t go catatonic.
“Please don’t do this, Logan,” Marie whimpered, pressing her face against his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him, holding onto him as tight as she could. Logan didn’t so much as twitch a muscle when she held onto him, making Marie cry harder.
“Logan, please. Ah’m right here, Logan. Ah’m right here. An’ Ah’m not goin’ anywhere. Ah’m not gonna leave ya, Logan, Ah swear. Ah love ya so much. Please just blink yer eyes or hug me. Do somethin’ fer me. That’s all Ah’m askin’, sugah. Just let me know yer still here with me,” Marie pleaded, tilting her head so that she could see his face.
Marie felt Kurt’s hand on her shoulder and began to sob even harder. Were it not for the feel of Logan’s heart beating in his chest or his gentle breath blowing out slowly against her shoulder, it would have been as though Logan was dead. But he wasn’t. He was still alive, but after three days Logan had slipped into a part of his mind where Marie couldn’t reach him.
There was a brilliant flash then Marie found herself lying on something much more comfortable than the cold floor of Logan’s cell.
“I can give you a few minutes here, Marie. Hopefully it will be enough for you to help Logan, but he will have to go back in that room.,” Kurt said from somewhere off to her right.
Marie simply nodded her head, not taking her eyes off of Logan. “Thank you, Kurt.”
There was a distinctive pfft! as Kurt disappeared again, leaving Marie alone with Logan.
“Ah know that ya can hear me, Logan,” Marie whispered, smoothing her hand up and down his arm. “An’ that it’s probably real peaceful where ya are now, but Ah need ya t’ come back t’ me. ‘Cause Ah need ya right now. So much. Yer what keeps me strong, what keeps me sane. Yer the reason Ah fight. An’ if yer not here, Ah don’t know if Ah can fight. So please come back t’ me, sugah. Ah’m beggin ya.”
Nothing.
Logan was still as a statue. Still as a corpse. That second thought cause a shudder to run up Marie’s spine. She didn’t want to think of Logan like that. Logan was strong. He was the strongest person that she knew and for Erik to destroy him so easily was just wrong. It wasn’t allowed. Logan wasn’t allowed to be beaten so easily.
“Please come back t’ me!” Marie sobbed, clutching at Logan’s shoulders. “Ah can’t do this without ya!”
Suddenly, Marie felt Logan’s arms slip around her waist. His grip was gentle, the movement almost non-existent, but it was Logan moving of his own accord.