Planet X (Under Construction)

CH 7: The Fire

(Austin, Texas)

The continuous sound of snoring was all that could be heard in the tiny motel Ace had cramped himself and Sierra into. While Sierra slept curled up on the bed, the previous events of today having drained her out, Ace laid passed out on the pull out couch. The motel wasn't exactly five star material but it was clean with decent air conditioning, which was good enough for Ace.

It was almost morning with the sun peaking over the horizon and allowing light to spill into the room. An internal clock going off in his head, Ace awoke from his slumber, groggily regarding his surroundings. He stretched himself up into a sitting position, running a quick hand through his mess of a hair. He should shave his hair again, Ace thought as he played with a small strand of it. His hair was short, only an inch long, but having no hair at all would be much easier to deal with- because there would be nothing to deal with at all. He'd go out and buy a razor later today, Ace finally decided, getting up an lazily making his way into the bathroom.

He'd gone into pee but decided last minute to take a shower. He took his time, just sitting underneath the shower head as he sorted through hi thoughts. He couldn't do this - take care of them both. He had enough trouble keeping his head above water, his only saving grave being his powers. Even then he still got into his fair share of trouble, like that time in LA with the Crips. He'd gotten a nice scar from that pathetic episode of his life.

But the more he thought about it the more he realized that he didn't have another choice. He couldn't just leave her to fend for herself - freaks had to stick together. The thought made him smile. He wondered for a moment, if she was a freak for the same reason he was or if her powers were the effects of something else? It'd be nice if they shared the same origin story, but it was unlikely. His father had told him he had come alone to this world. And he wouldn't have lied to him about that. Right?

Ace didn't want to think about the subject anymore and standing up he turned off the water. Grabbing a towel he dried himself up quickly before opening up the door, Sierra's sleep mumbling reminding him of her presence just outside the door. Ace froze in mid step as he exited from the bathroom, realizing the embarrassing mistake he was about to make. He sidestepped back into the bathroom, and peaked out double checking to make sure Sierra wasn't going to wake up any time soon, he was pretty sure Sierra seeing him half naked in nothing but a towel wouldn't help their already awkward friendship. Who was he kidding? Ace thought with a snort, they were barely acquaintances.

After a few more minutes of listening to Sierra's soft snoring, Ace decided she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon and grabbed his clothes with haste before entering back into the bathroom. He changed into them, checking himself over in the mirror for a minute before exiting back out. "Sierra?" he spoke out softly, curious to see if she was awake yet. She wasn't. Letting out a sigh, he jogged over to the kitchenette fridge that, much to his own convenience, had a little note pad and pen on it. 'Be back in half an hour or so - A' he scribbled down messily before shadow traveling out.

Sierra stayed asleep for about twenty more minutes after Ace left, but soon a loud pounding at the door forced her awake. "Sarah! Open up the fucking door!" Sierra sat up groggily at this. Who the hell was Sarah? She thought for a moment, then realized that was the fake name Ace had given her when they'd originally checked into the motel; Sarah Greene. "Sarah fucking Pierce!" Pierce? Oh no. Sierra fell back onto the bed with a loud thud, whoever was yelling up a storm outside had the wrong Sarah, and Sierra was more than reluctant to go out and inform him of this. She just wanted to go back to sleep, but as the screams outside her door became louder she knew she'd have to get up and inform whoever it was outside of their mistake before he broke down the door.

She dragged her feet over towards the door, unlocking it for the stranger. Normally she might've been scared opening up the door to a completely unknown and very angry stranger, but she wasn't exactly normal anymore. Worst came to worse she could always set whoever it was on fire "You are so fucking de-," the voice continued to rant but stopped short when they caught sight of Sierra. "You're not Sarah," the boy before her said bluntly.