Bring The Heat

10. Someone Else's Aftermath

"Nope... nope... noooo! Why are there so many band shirts?" Rebound asked, almost distraught at this point. He was kneeling in the mountain of clothes BM had bought for Wren, and holding handfuls of band shirts like they were a dying loved one. Wren was sitting on the bed watching, holding her head in her hands.

She sighed.

"I listened to AC/DC ONE time..."

Rebound laughed.

"Yup... don't wanna make that mistake. Some of these are alright though, I guess..."

Wren glanced over at the much, much smaller pile of clothes that Rebound had deemed 'passable'. She sighed again.

Rebound looked up at her, an annoyed look on his face.

"I don't wanna be doing this either, rookie. I shoulda just come with you..."

Big talk from the guy who was little more than a walking caricature of a teenage bad boy. Wren had started watching loads of American movies with Tenson, as he, and more recently, she, was obsessed with movies. They made great friends, and surely having only movies and about a couple days of consciousness as a base for reality wouldn't bring up any kind of issues in future! Everything would be fine...

Still, Wren said nothing, and apparently, her silence was telling. Rebound was still staring, and her eyes were still averted.

"Something else getting to ya?" he asked, concernedly.

It was strange, hearing him be so genuine...

Wren nodded, and Rebound sighed.

"It's about Mothman, isn't it?" he asked, seeming kinda pissed.

Mothman was his nickname for the intruder, who was actually called Dominic, they had learned. He was claiming that he wasn't in control during the attack, which Wren thought was complete bullshit, but no, everyone thought he should stay with them, and not even for tests. To live wih them! And now everyone was being really tense around Wren, except Tenson, who seemed a bit too innocent to notice the hatred inside of her. The most she could respect Dominic for was staying out of her way.

"I just don't see how everyone's cool with him being here. He almost killed you guys!" she exploded, angrily.

"Ok. Well, as someone who was ACTUALLY THERE, and who NEARLY DIED, I say we trust him. Cece and Tenson'll say the same. Can you please just get over yourself? This whole ordeal is bringing down the mood." Rebound retorted.

Wren just got up and stormed out of the room. Why was everyone being so crazy? THEY WERE LIVING WITH A KILLER! Well, attempted killer, but that's almost just as bad! Hatred brewed inside of her, and she felt like she was about to get violent herself. If she ever saw that asshole's face, she swore, she woul-

"Oh. Hi..." Dominic said, caught off guard by this sudden confrontation.

Fuck!

He just stood there, like he was meant to be there or something. Wren stared at him, taken aback by this audacity. He was holding an apology letter, like he was just gonna slide it under her door and they'd be cool, and it wouldn't matter that he was a killer, and that he had almost killed everyone, and that Wren had almost lost everyone!

She smacked the note out of his hands and burst into a sprint down the hall. Her rage had boiled over, and was leaking out of her body - but not as a violent outburst, or an explosion... as tears. She had to be somewhere else... Wren tore through the hangar, and out into the woods out front. Cece, who had been welding again, saw this, and lifted her welding mask, putting her head in her hands.

"Aiya... hothead..." she groaned.

-(5 MINUTES LATER)-

Wren was sobbing behind a tree. She didn't know why, though. She should be furious if anything! But she just didn't have the energy - her eyes hurt, her head hurt, and her heart hurt most of all. She had been aching for the past couple of days...

"Hey there. Thought I'd find you hiding out here! It's... a great spot to be sad, isn't it?"

Wren wiped her eyes, startled. By now, she knew that soothing voice like the back of her hand. BM stepped out from behind the tree, and Wren looked down at the ground so he didn't see her crying. But he sat down himself, against the moss-covered tree across from her. He didn't seem to care as the damp greenery stained his suit. Wren looked up at him hesitantly. He was going to say something preachy, or try to lure her in by talking about how things were going at the compound lately, like he was oblivious to what had been going on.

"I knew a girl who used to come out here a lot, just to take her mind off of things. You'd... you'd like her a lot."

'Here it comes,' Wren though. But instead, he reached down and picked a small, four-leaf clover off of the ground.

"These are meant to be lucky, y'know. But they're everywhere. Some people think that means they aren't lucky, but I don't think so. I think we're lucky to have something inconsequential like this that can brighten someone's day, and even luckier that it's so common."

Wren didn't get the relevance, but this was BM's plan. He wasn't going to make her see 'the truth' because she did, Dominic had attacked her friends, and she had every right to be wary. That was her truth, and it was one. He just knew that Wren was having a hard time and wanted to talk to her. And it worked; she seemed caught up in his words. BM smiled.

"I like that about people. And I feel sad for people who don't think like that. Some people come up to me, as a successful businessman, and ask me the most nihilistic things. But I tell them that hope is more important, and they sigh, all annoyed, like it wasn't the smartest man in the world saying it. But I don't know. Maybe I'm lying to them.

The thing is, when you've got power of any kind, not just power like ours, there will always be people who need your specific help. Now here's what I think. That boy in there-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Wren interrupted. She really didn't; she wasn't going to change her mind, but also hated the idea of arguing with BM.

"We're gonna have to, Wren. And just let me finish, ok?" he replied calmly. There was silence for a second as Wren considered it, then nodded.

"I don't believe Dominic was in control. You can decide if that frees him of the blame for his actions - that's your choice,"

Wren was surprised, and really glad to hear him say this. She didn't like feeling like she was the bad guy... even though she trusted herself, she felt like she was in the wrong when everyone else was against her.

"but that means that there's someone else out there who can control others. As people with power, and as people who can help, we have the duty of making sure that this person is stopped."

Wren hadn't even noticed him transition from calm to serious, but she knew she believed every word he had said. And she realized that he had just filled the hole she had been feeling in her life; lack of a cause. She had so far been nothing more than the girl with no past, and it was about time she began to build a future. And so she nodded, and went back inside with him. As they passed through the hangar, Cece gave her a warm smile. Who the hell could hurt her? This reminded Wren of something she wanted to ask BM:

"So why are they attacking us?"

BM's mind flashed back to what Tenson had told him - about Dominic's possessor searching for a girl. He also thought about how he had made everyone who was there at the time - even Rebound - swear to never tell Wren about who the possessor was asking after. If she knew it was her, she'd run away, and... it hadn't taken BM long to find out who Wren was, or used to be. Her past was another thing left unsaid for now, but her running away hadn't gone so well before. She was someone best handled with care...

"I don't know, but we'll try to look into it tomorrow. The first thing to do is rest up!" he answered. Wren seemed satisfied with this, so he left her to return to her room.