!Friday Snippet from geonncannon
Here's a little snippet of a conversation between Helen and one of the girls she is trying to help in the course of the story. I used the situation and time frame to explore a lot of Helen's feelings about the Five (and to pepper in some history about them).
Enjoy!
Helen found the park without any trouble. Katya was sitting on a bench, her hands held out in front of her so she could stare at her palms. She looked up as Helen approached, scoffed, and stood up. She walked toward the back of the lot, but the perimeter was surrounded by a rickety security fence. Katya gestured at the fence and turned back to face Helen. "Everywhere I go, I am trapped by walls. Did Lees send you?"
"I offered to come find you. May we sit?"
Katya shrugged and walked back to the bench. Helen sat beside her and looked around the park. It was obvious the lot had started out as the remnants of a building bombed during the war, but the residents had done an admirable job of sprucing it up. Flowers dotted the landscape along the edges of the lot, crawling up the brick wall of neighboring buildings. "This garden is probably the only spot of color I've seen since I arrived here. I can see why you would be drawn here."
"You want to save me from this hellhole. You think no one could possibly want to live here." She kept her face still, obviously combating tears. "But you don't understand. You can't understand. This is my home."
"I understand better than you might think, Katya. When I was younger, I had a group of friends. We were scholars, all interested in the mysteries of life and existence. We all had different reasons for arriving in the same place, but we found one another. During our explorations, we did something that was perhaps... ill-advised in retrospect. We tied ourselves together forever. Some of us moved on to do great things, and others..." She looked away and composed herself before she continued.
"One member of the group was my fiancé. We were so in love. And then I discovered that what we had done changed him in horrible, unthinkable ways. He became a monster that I didn't even recognize. I went from wearing his ring to shooting him, and I aimed to kill. Another member of our group began robbing banks to make a living, while another became such a danger that he was forced to fake his death in order to escape the authorities."
Katya was staring at her now, and Helen faced her fully.
"These men complicate my life in ways that you cannot imagine. And yet, when I think of a life without them in it... As horrible as they are, they represent a connection to a past that has been stolen from me bit by bit. John, my fiancé, has vanished. Nikola, the one who faked his death, has been silent for nearly forty years and I wonder if I will ever see him again. Nigel, the bank robber, is dead. There are only two of us now. The bank robber, the murderer, and the maniac, and I wish every day to see them again. I'm sure that may seem peculiar to you--"
Katya spoke softly. "Just as my desire to remain here would seem odd to you."
Helen smiled. "Sometimes we're not fortunate enough to choose who or what receives our loyalty. And sometimes, once loyalty has been given, it's not something that can be explained or justified. This is your home, and I will not force you to leave it. But since I'm here, I will do everything in my power to ensure you can control your powers so you're not a danger to yourself, your sisters, or to others."
"You can do that?"
"It's what I do."
Enjoy!
Helen found the park without any trouble. Katya was sitting on a bench, her hands held out in front of her so she could stare at her palms. She looked up as Helen approached, scoffed, and stood up. She walked toward the back of the lot, but the perimeter was surrounded by a rickety security fence. Katya gestured at the fence and turned back to face Helen. "Everywhere I go, I am trapped by walls. Did Lees send you?"
"I offered to come find you. May we sit?"
Katya shrugged and walked back to the bench. Helen sat beside her and looked around the park. It was obvious the lot had started out as the remnants of a building bombed during the war, but the residents had done an admirable job of sprucing it up. Flowers dotted the landscape along the edges of the lot, crawling up the brick wall of neighboring buildings. "This garden is probably the only spot of color I've seen since I arrived here. I can see why you would be drawn here."
"You want to save me from this hellhole. You think no one could possibly want to live here." She kept her face still, obviously combating tears. "But you don't understand. You can't understand. This is my home."
"I understand better than you might think, Katya. When I was younger, I had a group of friends. We were scholars, all interested in the mysteries of life and existence. We all had different reasons for arriving in the same place, but we found one another. During our explorations, we did something that was perhaps... ill-advised in retrospect. We tied ourselves together forever. Some of us moved on to do great things, and others..." She looked away and composed herself before she continued.
"One member of the group was my fiancé. We were so in love. And then I discovered that what we had done changed him in horrible, unthinkable ways. He became a monster that I didn't even recognize. I went from wearing his ring to shooting him, and I aimed to kill. Another member of our group began robbing banks to make a living, while another became such a danger that he was forced to fake his death in order to escape the authorities."
Katya was staring at her now, and Helen faced her fully.
"These men complicate my life in ways that you cannot imagine. And yet, when I think of a life without them in it... As horrible as they are, they represent a connection to a past that has been stolen from me bit by bit. John, my fiancé, has vanished. Nikola, the one who faked his death, has been silent for nearly forty years and I wonder if I will ever see him again. Nigel, the bank robber, is dead. There are only two of us now. The bank robber, the murderer, and the maniac, and I wish every day to see them again. I'm sure that may seem peculiar to you--"
Katya spoke softly. "Just as my desire to remain here would seem odd to you."
Helen smiled. "Sometimes we're not fortunate enough to choose who or what receives our loyalty. And sometimes, once loyalty has been given, it's not something that can be explained or justified. This is your home, and I will not force you to leave it. But since I'm here, I will do everything in my power to ensure you can control your powers so you're not a danger to yourself, your sisters, or to others."
"You can do that?"
"It's what I do."