Generation X, The X-Men, The Age of Apocalypse and all 
related characters are the property of Marvel Comics. No 
copyright infringement is intended.

This story and all related characters are the property of the 
author.

Yep. As my beta-readers so kindly pointed out to me, this one 
is ridiculously short. All I can say is: Can’t gove it all away,. 
Now can I? <g>
________

To Hell and Back:
Part 6



They found shelter in a shallow indentation against the side of 
a cliff wall. Reasonably sheltered from the wind, they feasted 
on the bread Claudia had scavenged along the way and drank 
away the ever present thirst with water from a nearby mountain 
stream, the cleanest water Claudia had ever seen without a 
treatment plant.

Angelo refused to build a fire so close to the castle, claiming 
that if anyone was there they would undoubtedly see it. 
Claudia knew he was right, but as the three of them huddled 
together beneath the two blankets they carried with them, she 
couldn't help but wish for the warmth of the fire.

The earth beneath them was soft and Claudia was exhausted. 
She surrendered to sleep easily and with little resistance.

It wasn't until the dreams started that she realized she should 
have fought a little harder.

It was so unfamiliar now. The dreams she'd had since she was a 
little girl had all but ceased in the months since she'd met 
Angelo and Jubilee. But her demons refused to leave her in 
peace for long, it seemed.

Claudia found herself sitting cross-legged on a wide fourposter 
bed covered in a pale yellow comforter and draped with a 
canopy of the same color. The walls of the room were a clean, 
pure white, the curtains matched the comforter. The door 
opened and a little girl, perhaps eight or nine years old, peered 
in. Wide brown eyes peered at her from beneath thick raven 
black bangs. "Claudia?"

"I'm all right." Her words came in the voice of a little girl. She 
had no control over her voice, she spoke the words her memory 
gave her, helpless to stop them, to change them.

The little girl pushed the door open further and entered the 
room. An even younger girl, no more than three or four, tagged 
along, holding on tightly to the older girl's left hand. The 
younger girl had the same dark eyes and hair. They were 
obviously sisters.

"Are you all right?" the older one asked solicitously, genuinely 
concerned. "Daddy said that you weren't feeling well."

"I'm fine," Claudia replied. She raised one hand to brush her 
own black hair away from her face.

"Can we join you?" The little girl didn't wait for an answer. 
"Yvette was worried about you," she said as she climbed onto 
the bed in one smooth  movement. "After what *he* did..."

"It's not that. I was just remembering..." Claudia's voice trailed 
off.

"Remembering what, Claudia?" The little girl tilted her head to 
the side and regarded Claudia with eyes that were far too 
intelligent for someone her age.

Claudia  met her gaze with eye the same shade and size and 
every bit as intelligent. "Remembering you, Monet."

***

to be continued