HEROES Chapter 2

He wasn't quite sure when or how it happened but Tim and Morgan's hitchhiker under the seats had fallen asleep. When he finally awoke with the rising sun he was a bit confused and started to come out. As soon as the first tendril of shadow touched the sun reality set in. There was a low squeal of pain followed by the slight scent of burning flesh.

Morgan barely heard the squeal of pain, but she heard in none-the-less. She tapped Tim on the thigh and when he looked at her she motioned with her hand down in her lap that there was someone or something in the back seat. She waited for him to pull over before leaping into action.

As he pulled over, it just happened to be under a large tree, casting the Hummer in total shade. Morgan, being small in size, leapt over the seat and started searching for whatever was in or under the backseat.

When Morgan dives over the seat she finds nothing but whatever Tim has on the floor of the Hummer and some shadows. But on closer inspection one shadow in particular seems out of place. It doesn't seems to match anything in the vehicle. Then it moves of its own accord. Now that just aint normal. Shadows don't normally do that. Then a face forms in the darkness in front of Morgan. "Please don't hurt me."

It took Grey a moment before his focus managed to find the officer in front of him standing before a patrol car. While his grin faded, his tics took over and his body convulsed several times as he shouted "PIG! FATTY!!" His eyes drifted off, half-closed and looking away from the cop until the tics calmed. He then looked blearily up at the cop, his head lulling.

"I . . . I ain't doin . . . shit. . . leave me alone..." he mumbled. Heavy-lidded, Grey could barely keep his eyes open enough to look at the navy blue blur that was the cop in front of him. For a moment, it looked as though he had fallen asleep until his face and head abruptly twitched and his shouts echoed loudly in the night. "D--! FATASS!" As though his own odd behavior had woken him, Grey's eye turned lazily back towards the cop and he snapped again in slurred but voluntary speech. "the f*&# you still doin' here? Leemee alone!" A vain attempt to get up and walk away resulted in his merely sliding further down the tree trunk so that his head threatened to slip off of its support and hit the grass below him.

"Hey, hey. Enough with the language pal." Warned Jimmy, still keeping his distance. When he saw the van pull up, and two other officers joined him and Tyrone he gave a sigh relief. Not because he didn't think he and his partner weren't capable of handling the little shit, but because aside from it being standard protocol, he couldn't be sure what the guy's problem was. Every night they came across at least a couple of wacko's who forgot to take their medication and the so the voices in their head told them drive their car in the grocery store or hack up their best friend with a butter knife. "I dunno, what this guys problem is fellas, but he's really fond of the insults." Jimmy explained to the officers who were specially trained to handle these situations. "Y'know if you ask me guys, this is the real problem, these nuts. People are all bent outta shape over these mutants, but we see this shit every night. When are they goin' ta pass law to make these cupcakes take their meds?"

Tyrone shot his partner a look to let him know that he was crossing the line and Jimmy looked at him shrugging his shoulders, "Hey, I am just sayin', Tyrone. These guys got no respect for themselves —". He was cut off by his partner taking him aside and talking some sense into the man.

"What's the matter with you, man?" Questioned Tyrone, "We don't even know what this guys problem is, and you're goin' all off. Ranting about people not takin' their meds again. Just cool it man."

One of the other officers, knelt down beside Grey. "Sir... sir, have you recently taken any pills or consumed any alcoholic beverages this evening?" She asked then reached out and gently took his wrist to check his pulse, while flashing a small flash light in his eyes.

Tim glanced at Morgan, with a smile, as she asked a series of questions. "Tha ranch ain't much, justa small three bedroom house, a barn and corral on two sections of Texas prarrie northwest of Arnette. Yep thar ar harses that need broke and about ten head of wild mustangs I adopted."

Tim then seen Morgan motion to the back seat and he quickly pulled over under a tree. When she sceamed, Tim was out of the SUV and had the back drivers side door open in what seemed to be an instant, his pistol drawn. When he heard the shadow say "Don't hurt me." Tim lowered his weapon and said "Well come on out frum under thar pardner, we ain't a mind ta hurt anyone, yet. Now comence ta telin' us what yur doin' under thar, and whar ya came frum."

Tim kep a close eye on the shadow, looked at Morgan and asked "Ya alright thar darlin'? .........

The cops' words were nothing but indecipherable babbling in Grey's ears. He squinted as a painfully bright light pierced his eyes and turned his head away, but when he felt a touch on his wrist, he sprang to life, wrenching his arm away. Scrambling away, he somehow managed to get unsteadily to his feet and survey the warped images of the people around him. "Don't f#@$in touch me!" he shouted, his face twitching slightly as he stood precariously on what to him felt like soft, shaking ground. His jaw slack, his eyes narrowed to slits, his drowsy mind struggled to take in who was cornering him and why. His stomach churned against the drugs coursing through him.

"The . . . the f#%$ are you?" Grey stammered, swaying slightly against the quivering world around him. "Hey!" he suddenly cried, dawning realization widening his eyes from slits to heavy-lidded, "you seen the Wrangler?" There was a pause in which he seemed to have lost reality, staring blearily into space for a second before his face ticked again, his head repeating the motion and the word "BITCH!" randomly bursting from him before he acknowledged the cops again. "Where . . . where's the Wrangler guy?!" Grey demanded again, his speech slurred as he fought sleep.

As Grey wavered and staggered to his feet, the female officer who had been trying to check his pulse and assess his condition fell backwards. She had only lost her balance but this prompted the other three men to spring into action and subdue the young man after what they believed to be an assault had occurred. One officer, a stocky man of hispanic heritage reached to grab Grey's arm, while Tyrone who was only a step away went for the other. While, Jimmy decided to pull his gun and have it ready as he screamed, "On the ground now!"

The police were now done handling Grey with kid-gloves and their intentions were to handcuff and toss him into the van. They'd take him down to county lock-up and assess him there, that is if they did in fact manage to apprehend what they figured was a regular human.

Grey jerked his arm away and, gritting his teeth, leaped up, kicking off about half way up the trunk and barely managing to grab hold of a branch well hidden among the shadowy leaves. Pulling his gun, he held it so it was clearly visible and obviously aimed at no one before he fired a shot.

"HEY!" he shouted, "I . . . I thought you pigs were . . . lookin' for . . . for that Wrangler guy too!" he stammered, his voice growing hoarse as he retracted his gun and rubbed his eyes, leaning hard against the branch. "Either tell me where he is...." there was a pause in which Grey's stomach threatened to rebel and he doubled over a little more, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and willing the contents back down. Shaking his head, it was as though his body was bearing down even harder as sleep loomed heavily against him. "Tell me where he is or leave me the f&#$ alone you goddamn p-pigs..." The last word trailed slightly as Grey's body went limp, his head lulling against the branch. A split second before he would have toppled out of the tree, Grey tensed and managed to regain his balance. "D . . . don't-- BITCH! ASSHOLE!-- f#$* with me!" he shouted finally, the vibration of his own shouts rippling painfully through his entire body and churning his stomach a little more.

The face disappears as the shadow slides out of the SUV. It disappears for a moment in the shadow of the tree before a dark figure rises up before them. Slowly features become somewhat clearly as he becomes solid. Standing before the couple is a man covered from head to toe in black. Hooded cloak, black gloves, boots and dark sunglasses. The only skin they can see is what isn't covered on his face. The man is pitch black.

"Remember the gas station when you still had the Mustang? Nice care by the way. I sort of hitched a ride under your seats. Sorry. I just needed to get out of there. Sunlight can kill me and the shadows were fading fast. Um...I'll understand if you want to leave me here. Should be fine until the sun sets."

Tim , looked over at Morgan then back at the Shadow Man, as Tim started to think od him as. "Well pardner ya know ya could of just asked fur a lift. What ya runnin' from any ways, the law?"

"To be honest, the only thing I really run from is the sun. Nobody except my parents even know I exist. That's one of the good things about being a living shadow. I'm sorry. You're right. Should have just asked but I was desperate."

He then looks over at Morgan and what looks like a grin crosses his lips. "Sean Miller or you can call me Shadow. Either works. Used to call myself that back home when I went after the crooks."

"Howdy Sean." Tim said putting his weapon back under his jacket and extending his hand. "Where ya headed ta? Morgan and me we're headed upstate fur a spell. I reckon ya cin tag along if ya a mind ta. I ain't got much use fur crooks myself. Put a few away in my day. But I gotta tell ya we're kinda on the run arselves. Got a couple of FBI agents on ar tail. An probably some of them damned "R.I.G.G's Act agents as well 'for too long. But ifin' ya wanta ride a spell yur mor' than welcome." Tim said "I figure ya been ridin' with us long 'nough ta figer out what we are.

The Hummer's got heavy tinted glass for tha skyroofs and tha rear windas,an' tha widshields tinted, so the sun won't get at ya."

He looks at Tim, shaking his hand then watches as Morgan disappears behind the bushes. "Yeah. I heard pretty much everything. But if you and your girlfriend don't mind then taking a ride might be good. Might be able to help if you get into trouble too."

"Right now gittin' inta a heap a trouble is what I seem ta be very good at." Tim said with a grin. "Ya et yet, thar be some ham sandwiches in that shoe box an some coffee in that thar thermos. An ifin'n ya don't mind soon as Morgan gits back I think we should mosie on down tha road. I ain't got a hankerin' ta 'splain ta no New York Trooper why we ar pulled off under a tree in a state park talkin ta a shadowman. No offense intended."

"None taken, sir." Sean melts down into a little shadow pool with a face. "This better?" He moves towards the Hummer then just waits for the others "By the way, I apologize if I scared you or anything."

"Aw go 'head an climb on in a relax in the back seat thar. Ya kin keep yur shadowman form if'n ya ar more confutable." Tim said as he waited for Morgan outside of the vehicle.

Tim saw Morgan running for the vehicle and jumped in the Hummer. shutting his door and starting the vehicle. Seeing the bear bound out of the woods, Tim was about to jump back out of the vehicle when Morgan dove into the passanger's seat. "I thought ya had a thing with animal's darlin'. ..... Looks ta me like yuo and that thar bar had a diference of opinion 'bout sumpthin."

"Close? That was a freaking bear. Usually doesn't get much closer than that." Sean had watched the whole thing from inside the SUV. The sun had started to get to be a bit much for him so the shadow man had gotten in the vehicle before going solid again. "Do you normally try to make friends with wild animals?"