ACT 2

CHAPTER 10

OCTOBER 21st 10:10 P.M.

--BOONE--

Boone quietly shut the front door of the house as he snuck out. The rest were asleep inside, as Boone should be too with the plans set for tomorrow. But he had something else on his mind that if he needed to care of now. Boone tip toed down the wooden steps and walked through the forest, retracing the path that they carved out earlier that day. He walked for a few minutes until he made it onto the road that ran along the outskirts of the trees. It was quiet at this time of night, with only the occasional car passing by. Boone looked back and forth, scanning the length of the road until he was sure that nobody was coming. He went up to the old and run down streetlight; it's bulb barely casting any light. Boone placed his hand against it and siphoned its energy. The lights along the entire street began flickering rapidly as he felt their power flow into him.

Boone hadn't been holding much power at all recently. Miriam had asked this of him; high energy levels were dangerous to his body and wearing him down. Seeing as she was not long for this world, it was easy to lay off for some time. It's what made him wear the limiter across his chest. Boone wanted to be strong for her, strong in a way that no amount of power can make him.

But now, he needed this if he wanted to go see her. His tattoos illuminated on his skin as he continued to siphon. By now, the whole area's power grid was beginning to weaken. The rush felt good in his body, like a weight on his chest that was he struggling to breathe against was lifted. As his addiction was itched, his mind cleared and relaxed. The limiter insistently beeped as Boone gathered the last bit of energy he needed. He smacked the large button on the device to silence it, then lifted off the ground.

It felt refreshing to finally feel this strength again. If he was going to tag along with the group on this mission, he was going to need more. Miriam doesn't have to know...

Boone lifted off above the tree line, orienting himself as he took off towards Chicago. At his speed, he could be there in 10 minutes. The cold air rushing by him felt good as it flowed through his hair. He looked down at the towns and buildings below him, brimming with power to take. He couldn't. At least not now. He had been doing good for so long; he couldn't go see Miriam right now just to disappoint her. She had knack for knowing when he was charged.

Boone's trip ended as he set down in front of his home in the suburbs of Chicago. He stood out in front, staring blankly at the façade of the house. A crowd of fans roaring for October baseball just a few blocks away faintly echoed through the streets. Boone often took some time before he went in to see her. Seeing her in her condition broke his heart every time. But he couldn't let her see that.

The front door opened as a nurse stepped out of the house.

"Oh, good evening Mr. Carter," she said. Boone weakly raised his hand in greeting. "I didn't know you were going to be here tonight."

"Impulse thing, I guess," he replied.

"I just administered her meds, so she'll be asleep by now. I think it's best she gets her rest so I can tell her you stopped by tomorrow morning?"

"It's ok. I won't wake her."

The nurse subtly nodded her head. "Well, in any case, you have a goodnight, Mr. Carter."

"Thanks," Boone said as she walked by him to her car. He opened the door to his home; it's inside dull and quiet. It was dark and void of life. Silence hung heavy as a ticking clock struck rhythmically. To the unfamiliar, the house would seem eerie. Even to Boone, what used to be a place of comfort to him was starting to lose its luster. The soul of this home was fading. He went into his bedroom where Miriam lay on a hospital bed. An EKG machine beeped to the pace of her heart. Each time he saw her, she looked worse than before. This was no exception.

Boone quietly walked up next to her bed and lightly set himself down on the edge. He looked down at his wife; she looked sickly but peaceful.

"Hey," he whispered. "I'm going to be gone the next couple of days." Boone knew she wasn't going to hear any of this, but he wanted to say it to her anyways. It meant something to him.

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"Hopefully it'll only be a couple of days," he started. "I don't want to worry you with the details, but it's something that I have to do." He softly grabbed her hand that lay by her side.

"I'm with the guys again. I'll tell them you said hello." Boone looked off into the emptiness of the room. Part of him wanted to wake her up. As selfish as it may be, he just wanted to hear her voice. For all he knew, this might be her last day. She might be gone by the time he got back. But at the same time, he didn't know what else to say. Boone didn't want to leave her with the thought that he was going to be in danger. That he was going to be using again. It may have been best that he never came here at all. At least if she did pass, there would be no stress.

This circulated in his head. Ultimately, he knew it was best that she didn't know. As long as she knew that he came by to see her, that's what matters. He let go of her hand, lamenting the loss of the feeling as he gently got off the bed. Boone walked towards the door, stopping in the frame to look back at Miriam one last time. It pained him to walk away from her like this. Under any other circumstances, there wouldn't be anything more important than being with her right now. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he rubbed them with his thumb and index finger.

"Boone?"

He quickly took his fingers off his eyes to see Miriam awake, looking at him.

"I'm sorry," he said as he wiped away tears. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok," she said. “What’s up?”

“Just coming to visit. That’s all.”

“Then come visit me,” she said, patting the edge of her hospital bed. Boone walked over and settled down, sitting mostly off the bed to not take up her space.

“What’ve you been doing the past couple of days?” Miriam asked.

“A few things,” he said. “It’s a lot-“

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”

“You should really get some rest. The nurse gave you your meds anyways. You should be asleep by now.”

“Exactly. So hurry up and tell me before I fall asleep.”

“I’ll give you the short story.”

“I’m all ears,” she said, settling into bed and staring into her husband’s eyes.

“Well, for starters-“

“Did you meet up with Leo and Tommy?”

“I didn’t even say three words,” he laughed.

“I’m sorry,” she laughed with him. “I just remembered that so I wanted to ask before you got going.”

“That’s apart of the story.”

“Okay good. Continue.”

“I did meet up with Leo and Tommy. Turns out they were there that night in Chicago.”

“See? I knew it.”

“You did know it, yeah,” Boone said. “Anyways, we got to talking, and we decided that we were going to investigate. See if we can’t figure out who did it and why.”

Miriam blinked softly and rubbed her thumbs together, intently listening on his story.

“We ended up going to D.C. to talk with Roger. Roger Fuld, that is. Do you remember him?” She looked up to the corner of her eyes, trying to rack her brain for the name.

“I may have talked to you about him before, I’m not sure.”

“I don’t remember a Roger.”

“Well, anyway. Roger’s the director of the CIA, and works closely with the vice president. Now president. He told us some good information, and uhh… Yeah, then uhh,” he danced around, trying to avoid the part where he got murdered in front of them.

“We found Frank there too, funny enough.”

“Frank was there too?” Miriam asked.

“Yeah, we almost ran him over. He was running in the street and we found him. He had basically the same idea as us, except more direct. Used his shapeshifting and got in the White House, pulled some crucial stuff for our investigation.”

“What did he find?” she asked.

“We’ll save that for another day,” Boone said. “It’s a lot.”

“Oh, okay,” she said. “Where are you at now?”

“We’re staying at a friend of Leo and Tommy’s place. She’s a sorceress, so she’s got a pretty good place-“

“She?” Miriam interrupted.

“Yeah,” Boone said cautiously. “Her names Laurel. She’s nice.”

He regretted ever bringing her up. He forgot about his wife’s jealousy when it came to other women sometimes.

“How do you know her?”

“Me? I don’t. Not really. I mean I’ve heard of her before from Leo and Tommy. The three of them rescued Regis together. I’ve met her once or twice.”

She stared down at her lap, mulling her teeth.

“Whatever, it’s not important, Miriam. God, why are you always like this? I mean, what the fuck?”

“What?” she said, hurt.

Boone caught himself, pinching the bridge of his nose, rethinking his next words.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

“I was just curious…”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

Boone sat there silently, rubbing his temples. Miriam timidly looked, hoping they could push past this moment.

“Keep going,” she said, nudging him with her leg.

“Yeah, uhh. So,” Boone started awkwardly. “We’re going somewhere.”

"You're going somewhere?"

"Yeah... I don’t want to get into details. I don't want you to worry."

"Oh…"

Boone looked down at his feet. "Right... It’s a lot, and it’s late so. Other time, maybe."

“Okay,” she said depressed.

“Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you,” he apologized.

“No, it’s okay,” Miriam assured. “It’s late.”

“Yeah…” he agreed. “I’ll get on out of here. Let you get some rest.”

“Okay, sure,” she said. “How long will you be gone?”

“Hopefully no longer than two days.”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”

Boone slowly lifted off of the bed, leaning over and gently kissing Miriam on the forehead. He stopped in the doorway, turning around at her again.

"Don't worry about me," she said. "I’ll be here."

“Yeah… Alright...”

He awkwardly smacked his lips, frozen in the doorway.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said, walking out somberly.

Miriam sniffled, rubbing back the ears in her eyes, as her husband left, setting her up for isolation for the next few days.