Torn.

[Luke]

Luke stared at Dream. He was scared too, though there was no way he could say it. He felt uneasy all of a sudden and glanced toward the garden entrance. His heart skipped a beat when he noticed Pearl, half hiding behind the shrubbery. He jumped to his feet and accidentally tripped, falling backwards out of the fountain and onto his back on the flagstone of the courtyard. He yelped as pain shot through his body, out from his spine, but immediately jumped up again. "Pearl!" He finally spoke up. It was almost a cry. He suddenly realized how cold it was. "Pearl- I... I didn't mean... you shouldn't have seen... oh my God..." Luke covered his face with his hands, confused and in pain. He could see Pearl's tears from across the garden, and it tore him up inside. But there was no way he could break away from Dream's heart now. It would kill her. So he did the only thing he could do-

He made a break for it.

He dashed away, jumped the low garden wall in one move, and kept going. He couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't care about where he was going or what he was thinking. He ran straight for the outer gate and deftly climbed a bowed tree nearby it. In the top he leapt from the branches, narrowly missing the top of the fence, and landed on the road on his feet. He glanced one more time toward the light in the garden, then ran down the road like the Hounds of Hell were on his heels.

He woke with a start, oblivious as to when or how he'd fallen asleep. He was lying on frozen ground, and a light dusting of snow had covered him, crystalizing his hair and clothes. He jumped up and spun around, confused. Then he remembered what he'd done. "No... oh no..." If Dream died because of him, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. What would he do? He tried to assess the situation. He was alone in the woods. The sun had risen, but it was dark here. He tried taking a few steps, but feared going the wrong way, away from the road. The road. Where was the road?

[Screech]

Screech was walking away from the road. Despite the scarcety of people on it, he didn't want to press his luck. He wasn't sure if he was headed the right direction, either. It had been so long since he'd left...

His thoughts were interrupted by the crunch of snow ahead. He moved behind a thick tree and peered toward the source of the sound. A kid, maybe seventeen, was standing in a clearing, looking disoriented and possibly injured. Unnerved by the presence of a human, but curious as to what the boy was doing in the middle of nowhere, dressed in what appeared to be jeans and a T-shirt, no less, he stepped cautiously forward. Finding the kid virtually no threat at all, he spoke up quietly.

"You look lost."

[Luke]

"You look lost."

Out of the pure silence of the cold, dead forest, the gruff voice was like a grenade detonating behind him at three in the morning in an empty feild. Something Luke had experienced firsthand.

Luke screamed with everything he had, spinning around on the spot and falling into the snow. He gasped so hard he nearly gagged when he saw a gruff, mean-looking man towering over him. He threw his hands up and screamed. "OH, GOD! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

Normally, Luke feared no man, no matter his height or the threat he posed, but Luke was so emotionally and mentally distraught, he could barely move to fight. He was at this stranger's mercy. He couldn't even remember how to use his powers, his mind was in such a frenzy. He felt liek an utter coward, but all he could think was not to die, and to continue running. And trying to fight this thug-like man seemed the worst possible choice at the moment, despite the spree of horrible choices he'd been making before.

[Screech]

He raised an eyebrow. "Kill you?" He stared at this clearly injured boy and suspected he must see him as a threat. "Kid, nothing could be further from my mind," he said, holding out his hand to help him up.

[Luke]

Luke tentatively accepted the man's hand and got to his feet. "Who... who are you? And what are you doing out here?" Who in their right mind would be wandering out here in below freezing weather? He looked almost lost himself. "Are you... looking for something?"

[Wolverine]

Logan raced down the highway at nearly twice the speed limit. He didn't know if he was even going the right direction. Suddenly, he pulled over and got out of the car. He could smell Luke on the air. And he wasn't alone. Logan growled and turned to Jack. "Stay in the car." He shut the door and walked into the trees, as snow began to drift from the sky anew.

[Screech]

"As a matter of fact, I am." Screech looked about him, observing his snow-covered surroundings. "I'm looking for a school. You may have heard of it. It's called Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters. You probably don't know about it, because it's a... private school." Screech didn't want some kid knowing the location of mutants, so he didn't mention them.

[Luke]

Luke's eyes widened. "You're looking for-" He suddenly had a terrible feeling. This guy was a rebel. He was looking for the X-Men. Luke just knew it. He inconspicuously twitched his fingers into a loose fist, and snow lifted in a white cloud behind the man, forming into a giant fist. He opened his fingers and the fist behind the man got ready to close around him.

(OOC: Screech has permission to Powerplay Luke, since I read all his stuff before he posts =P)

[Screech]

Screech saw the movement from the corner of his eye. He instantly knew what he had to do. Using his power of gravitation, he lifted a hand and Luke was pushed to the ground with the force of a falling bus. The boy was smashed into the snow, unable to move. "Easy, kid, you have no idea what you're gettin' yourself into."

[Luke]

Luke didn't know what hit him. He was three feet under the snow. He couldn't move. He felt like he'd been hammered literally, into the ground. He couldn't breathe. If the snow hadn't been so deep and soft, he was sure he'd have been flattened. He finally managed to breathe. "GAH! LET ME GO! AAAAH!" He was being crushed.

[Wolverine]

Logan heard Luke cry out and rushed toward the sound of his distress. He saw the man, back to Logan, and ran at him. He saw Luke in the snow and leapt at the man, tackling him. He punched the man three times, then gripped him by his throat. His claws shot out with a metallic sound and held them centimeters from the man's face. He paused for a second, confused. "...Trent? Trent Murdock?" He leapt to his feet.

[Screech]

Screech was dazed, but the minute he heard his name, he too leapt to his feet. His vision began to clear, and the face he saw first, he surprisingly recognized. "Logan? What are you doing here?!"

[Wolverine]

"What am I doing here?" He growled. "You left on yer revenge spree years ago, bub." He tapped Screech in the chest with a finger in a challenging manner. "So what's new, Trent? Kill those guys yet? Didja even find the bastards? And what gives you the right to manhandle our students? Let 'im go." Logan demanded, pointing at Luke, immobile in the snow.

[Screech]

Screech released the child, not taking his eyes off Logan. "No," he said sadly, "No, I didn't find any good leads, let alone any people that were involved." He remembered every detail of his journey, and it made him feel like a failure. "Also, this 'student' of yours attacked me, for reasons unknown to me. Why don't you ask him why he just tried to smother me." He tapped Logan back.

[Luke]

Luke jumped to his feet and wobbled a little, catching Logan's shoulder for support. "Hey, you're looking for the X-Men, and you don't look like a good-guy to me!" He accused. "You look like some kind of rebel!" He groaned and almost fell over, still woozy from the gravity attack.