Thankfully, it was late enough in the morning that it seemed like they missed the breakfast rush.

From the walk into town and the general feel of the town, Natasha was left with the impression that this was a town that only a number of people actually stayed in. There were a lot of semi-trucks carrying lumber, which made sense given the number of trees around. It was a strange shift from the city she grew up in, skyscrapers and exhaust. The air even felt cleaner out here, it was strange. Yet, she found herself not minding it too much as time went on.

However, Natasha mostly kept to herself, hands in her pockets as Matthew and Yvette made idle chit-chat with Andrei and amongst the two of them. Matthew was a retired doctor, which was a little surprising to hear considering he didn’t look like he was too far into his thirties. His wife was a novelist, self-published, but she had seen some mild success from that. Naturally, Natasha and Andrei were offered copies of her newest novel when she would see them next.

Natasha didn’t mind, if anything she figured she might like to have some reading material. She had never been a big television person and found herself wanting to be outdoors more often than not.

Which explained why she was warming to the town so quickly, despite the unfortunate situation.

Yet, even with the momentary distraction, Natasha couldn’t help but feel awkward being inside the diner. Matthew and Yvette were greeted with some familiarity, and with her and Andrei being so new, it made sense that they were singled out. With Andrei’s status as her guardian, the looks were guaranteed.

The waitress was a young woman, maybe only somewhat younger than Natasha herself, yet she caught how she looked her up and down for a moment as they were introduced.

Still, if she had opinions, at least the waitress didn’t voice them as she led the four of them to a booth. Naturally, Andrei sat on the outside with Natasha near the window. She knew the drill, though the menu at least allowed her to put her mind elsewhere.

“With you two from out of the country,” Yvette started, “I wonder if we should suggest something special. This place has a great plate of steak, eggs and pancakes.”

“I do not eat meat,” Andrei replied, not quite looking up from his menu but Natasha could hear the catch in his voice. Embarrassment, maybe?

“Vegan, or…?” Natasha asked, causing him to glance toward her.

“No, I just cut them out,” he replied simply, “I am not that hungry, but thank you for the suggestion.”

“...Well, I’ll get it,” Natasha said, feeling somewhat awkward that Yvette’s hospitality was backfiring a bit.

“You’ll like it,” Yvette said with a small grin.

She sure was…positive. Natasha hadn’t heard her say anything all that negative since they had shown up at the cabin, some sort of smile on the other woman’s face. Despite stepping forward with the introductions, Matthew was a little quieter than she had been expecting. He talked when spoken to, but there was something in his eyes. It felt like he was watching her very closely sometimes. Natasha wasn’t unfamiliar with the sensation while out in public, yet it didn’t make her feel all that great.

If this is some ploy to get me somewhere alone and…well, Andrei is here. I guess if he’s willing to move from Romania to Canada for this job, I figure he would catch onto something like that.

Still, despite the thoughts, Natasha still felt a little tense. In light of that, she wasn’t too irritated that Andrei was sitting between her and whoever felt like making her day shittier. She knew she wasn’t exactly welcome in most places. Most people wouldn’t notice if she were alone, but with Andrei there, it made it pretty obvious that she was an enhanced human.

The thoughts were starting to circle, despite Natasha’s best efforts to pull her mind from it. Even after they had ordered their breakfasts and Matthew talked some more with Andrei, Natasha couldn’t pay attention. She tried to keep her gaze on things outside the window, watching the vehicles pass and people walking around. Yet, she could feel a strange sensation building up in her. It felt a bit like a tension in her gut, which she tried to breathe through.

That is until it bloomed into full-blown nausea. She could feel that headache from last night come back, aching behind her eyes as she felt a cold sweat break out across her face and neck.

“I need some air,” she stated, cutting into the middle of the conversation. At least, that was what she gathered from the somewhat surprised looks she got.

Andrei stood promptly–at least she didn’t have to ask him to move. She heard him say that they would be right back, which almost made Natasha want to snap at him. Of course, she was aware of his protocol, but at the moment she couldn’t help but wish he would break it for a couple of minutes.

It didn’t matter, she just wanted outside for a bit. Thankfully, the movement and the fresh air knocked some of the nausea out of her, but Natasha still felt unsteady on her feet. If her body was crying out for food or the medications she was both starting and coming off of, she didn’t know. It could have been both. Regardless, it was miserable.

“Are you okay?” Andrei asked, a part of her almost forgetting he was there. Natasha could catch the concern in his tone, his dark gaze looking over her face somewhat. Yet, with how uncomfortable she was feeling, Natasha spoke without thinking.

“No. I’m a long way from home and a damn prisoner sitting in a diner like I’m not one. I can’t even have a minute to myself–can’t you just go for a bit?”

“You know my answer,” Andrei stated, that professional distance back in place.

“You can’t just stand in the doorway?” Natasha asked, gesturing toward the door to the diner, “What trouble can I get into out here?”

As much as she was expecting the same rejection, that she would have to just accept his presence there while she fought off a breakdown, Andrei actually seemed to reconsider. There was some conflict in his gaze, probably trying to reason if doing so would be out of line. At least, Natasha figured that was what it was. Her old guardian would have told her to shut up. To suck it up.

“Only a couple minutes,” he settled on, “Stay here. If you don’t, I will have to follow you.”

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Okay, sure.”

She wasn’t going to. Natasha knew she wasn’t before the words even left her mouth. She just wanted a place to be on her own, to take in her situation while she wasn’t stuck between Andrei in a diner booth or in a car with him. Yet, Andrei seemed to take her agreement, turning to head toward the door. Natasha took in a curious onlooker, an older man in a black cap with the name of some sort of company on it. She dismissed him easily enough, but his presence only seemed to solidify her decision to disappear for a bit.

Once she was sure Andrei was inside, Natasha took her chance to turn around the corner of the building and start walking.

There wasn’t too much behind the town's main strip, but the trees made a nice cover. Harder for her to find, too. At least, for a while. She knew there was no ending to this where she didn’t get some sort of lecture or report written up about her, and she would accept that. Natasha just wanted to deal with the damn headache and nausea without having to hold a conversation with their neighbours.

The sound of rushing water pulled Natasha from going down that line of thought too far. She walked through some more trees until she found a small stream. The morning sun lit up the area nicely, though she could feel some of the bite to the air around her. A small, scenic bridge a little further down led toward a hiking trail. As much as she did want to go hiking at some point, she didn’t want to push her luck any more than she had.

She just wasn’t feeling good, mentally or physically. The events of the last twenty-four hours and all of this might have been too much. Natasha knew she usually didn’t flip a switch like that usually, she had developed that over the last couple of years. Pent up anger, abuse–she didn’t want to think about it.

There was something moving around behind her.

Natasha let out a slow sigh before turning around, her tone firm.

“Look, I know you…”

The words died in her throat when she saw that man in the black cap standing not too far from her, hands tucked into his jacket pockets. With him much closer than before, she could make out his brow's tightness and the gray touch to his facial hair. The hard expression and slight curl to his lip told her a lot about why he was there before he even said anything.

She turned to face him fully, raising her head as she prepared to back off or make a run for it. All too familiar with that look on his face, she knew this wasn’t going to go well.

“So, I guess you’re the one I’ve been hearing about,” he started, his voice gruff as he stepped toward her a little more, “the criminal the States shipped up here with that sympathizer.”

Sympathizer. Ah, he had issues with guardians, too.

“I am just getting some fresh air.”

“Off leash?”

“I’m not a damn dog.”

“No, but you’re a danger to me and my family,” the stranger snapped, that anger hidden behind his gaze slipping out in the bite his words had, “If had any say, you wouldn’t be out anywhere.”

“Well, you can take that up with my guardian. I just want to get back.”

Despite the stranger’s body language, Natasha tried to make a move to slip by him and get out of the current situation. Yet, his hand shot out and grabbed at her forearm, his grip tight. He spun her back around, the force of the movement making her shoulder and arm burn. There was a rushing in Natasha’s ears, for a moment she wasn’t standing by a stream with a stranger. Instead, she was staring into hard, green eyes, the scent of lilac hitting her nostrils and she could see the rage on her old guardian’s face. Her hatred and vitriol were the same as this stranger's toward her.

She could feel her arms tingling, the memory of the push that sent her old guardian into the living room wall playing out in her mind for a few moments. That had been a powerful surge, it had almost knocked Natasha over in return. The impact had killed her guardian, blood on the wall behind her head as she slid down it, the look in her eyes dull.

“Let go of me,” Natasha grit out, the effects of the memory lingering as she could feel that familiar build up in her.

“No, you’re gonna listen to me–”

Natasha couldn’t, the rushing in her ears and the pounding in her heart robbing her of a retort until her head exploded in pain. That headache from the bathroom in that gas station returned with a vengeance. Immediately, she started to struggle, panic gripping her tightly as she could still feel that power building up. Her skull felt like it was being torn in half.

Yet, suddenly the man’s grip was gone. Natasha fell almost blindly to the ground, shutting her eyes against the pain in her head before she managed to open her eyes in a squint.

The man stumbled back, Natasha thinking for a few moments that she had sent out a push from her mind to get him back off. Yet, the slow feeling of her power build-up ebbing out told her that wasn’t the case. It took her a few moments to register the person with his back to her, his posture tense.

“Back away.” Andrei’s voice was hard as he stressed each word. He wasn’t playing around.

“You fine with letting her wander around? Just kill whoever she wants?” the stranger snapped, taking a couple of threatening steps toward Andrei.

“I see no bodies.”

“Well, then maybe we should keep it that way. If I see her around town again–”

“Threaten her again. I only warn once. Walk away, she is my care and you have no reason to be here.”

“Great job you’re doing here, comra–”

The stranger moved to step around Andrei, Natasha instinctively backing up when she realized he wanted to pass her. Yet, Andrei grabbed his arm and shoved him back. Apparently it was done with some force, considering the stumble that almost knocked the other man on his ass.

“You walk around,” Andrei instructed, pointing toward the path behind him, “I can not let you near her. Try to fight me on that, and I will have to retaliate.”

“Oh, there’ll be retaliation,” the man said before he finally took a couple of steps back. His gaze landed on Natasha for a few moments, the anger there keeping her from raising up from where she sat in the dirt.

Eventually, even if the moments felt like an eternity, the guy walked off and Andrei seemed to back off his defensive position. Natasha let out a sigh, bowing her head as she rubbed at her eyes. The sunlight was making them throb, that headache persisting but at least it wasn’t as horrible as before.

“I told you–” Andrei started, but Natasha raised her head back up.

“I know what you told me,” she snapped, “I just…I just wanted to be alone. I found that nice stream. I didn’t think some stranger from across the street would follow me out. Wouldn’t have happened if he didn’t see you talking with me at the diner, you wear that damn badge like you’re proud of the attention it brings me.”

“I need to abide by my codes,” Andrei stated, “it has to be visible so people know what my job is. It allows me to act in a way that protects you.”

“Great job you’ve done,” Natasha stated, still not getting up from the ground. She could feel that burning behind her eyes. She knew she should have just left it with the snarky retort, but the words started coming up and she couldn’t help herself.

“I thought…” she continued, trying to fight back the tears, “I thought when we would arrive here, maybe it was remote enough that people wouldn’t treat me like I was some animal to be chased off or gawked at. I guess I was stupid for thinking that.”

“Matthew and Yvette like you,” Andrei stated, finally stepping closer to her, “That man is the third person you have met here. You know…you know how some people will treat you. We can not back out of this situation now.”

“I know…I just wanted to gather myself. Y’know, get some air. Like a normal person.”

“I know you did,” Andrei said, the sternness in his tone dropping somewhat, “I am sorry I was not here quicker.”

Natasha waved her hand, “I…I walked off when I said I wouldn’t. I should have expected something like this.”

“Come on,” Andrei stated, extending his hand down to help her up, “I know the withdrawal from the drugs is hitting you. We can take the breakfast back to the cabin.”