Escape

[Urchin]

From the look on Tom's face--a blank canvas, eyebrows raised--it didn't. Shoulders jerking into a shrug, the man turned and began to descend the stairs. "I'll get d'car from Betty."

Ten minutes later he returned, keys in one hand and an enormous brown bag of food in the other. Tom jerked his head in the direction of the parking lot and exited the chapel.

[Ever Talbot]

I admit it, I winced when Jav threw that book at me. The thought of some unseen thing passing through my body and coming out the other end was still strange. Said the freaky looking girl with floppy ears and ninja-turtle hands,

Now Tom had gone, come back and apparently gotten us a car; I grabbed onto Javier (Waaaaaaaaaaaay too much hand holding today - if I blush any harder, I'll pass out!) and gave him what I hoped was a happy and confident smile.

"Let's get going...and at the first sign of trouble, we portal out of there, okay?"

[Javier Spencer]

I need to figure out how to explain this stupid portal crap. Tom leaves for the car, and I apologize to Ever. "Sorry if I scared you." Tom's back before any more can be said, and we head out to the car. I nod a positive response to Ever's proposal and just try to breathe calmly, squeezing her hand maybe a bit harder than I mean to.

"We'll be fine."

I'm sure this all looks like teenage melodrama to Tom, but this really is a fairly significant update to our daily lives. I hadn't expected our escape to work at all, and I had expected it to be weeks, even months before finding a place we could live at.

"Things sure happened in a hurry today."

[Urchin]

Betty's car was an old, though well-maintained, white Honda. The exterior was meticulously polished and the windows free of any dirt or water marks. An impressive feat in the bustling dirt of New York City. Tom unlocked the driver's side door, thumbing at a panel of buttons to unlock the rest of the vehicle. He tossed the sack lunch into the backseat; he'd let Ever and Javier have a few awkward moments to debate sitting together or not.

It had been some years since Tom had driven a car. Long enough for his liscense to expire at least, and he said a silent prayer of thanks that the Honda was automatic.

The car started smoothly, and the mutant shifted it into gear. The teenagers were still standing outside. With an impatient frown, Tom blasted the horn sharply. "You two's slower den a duck whats got one leg!" He shook a piece of paper at them, with spidery writing on it.

"One o' you'se is t'nav'gater. Swiftlike, b'ys, swiftlike!"

[Ever Talbot]

I hustle over to the car and climb into the back seat. There's no way I'm playing navigator -- Jav has a much better sense of direction than I do. I didn't even consider sitting beside him, even though, if worse came to worse, it would be easier to portal outta there if we were together.

"Uh, Javier can help you - he's better at that sort of thing than I am."

[Javier Spencer]

I take shotgun, in order to better help navigate. Besides, I feel like I've been crowding/coddling/babying Ever. Let's let her breathe for a bit without me getting over-protective or trying to push her one way or the other.

"Gimme the directions," I say to Tom. "Let's see what's what."

[Urchin]

With a grunt Tom passed the boy the paper. He had a vague notion of which direction to drive in and, drinking deeply from his flask, turned left out of the parking lot.

Glancing quickly into the side mirror, the mutant jerked the car into the next lane over. It was a difficult manouver, in New York traffic, and his efforts were awarding with a few indignant horn blares. Tom glowered and neatly lifted his middle finger over his shoulder.

"Ah mind yer mout' or git off ta road y'bastards," He grumbled, liberally pressing their own horn. He glanced over at Javier. "Ye gots a mind yet lad? Where's it to?"

[Javier Spencer]

"Hang on, hang on."

I read over the directions once or twice, noting the big roads, then look up to the street. The directions are laid out by a combination of number of traffic lights, landmarks, and street names. I check the ones around us, then look back to the instructions. I hear there's this website called "Mapquest" which rules.

"Three lights until we make our first right."