Knowing that I was now on a short time limit, I quickly yet silently walked down the stairs, stopping right before the stairs opened up to the basement; leaning against the wall, I heightened my perception of time, causing the world around me to slow down to crawl, no even slower than that. Peeking around the corner, I spotted a small, unfinished basement that looked like its only use was for extra storage.
A few foldable tables were set up in the middle; they were covered with beakers, bunsen burners, vials, and many other things you'd find in a chemistry lab, though it was evident to me that it was how they produced their drugs. There was an older bald man wearing safety gear standing right before the tables, producing drugs, while not too far away, another man was lying on an old couch, though his face was hidden behind a newspaper, seemingly sleeping.
'Seeing how focused the older man is, I doubt he was the one talking; it's probably that man lying on the couch, which means he's not actually sleeping.' Thought Tut with a slight frown as he looked around before spotting a person chained to a metal pipe in the corner of the room.
Seeing the person in the corner, I intently checked her clothes, and to my anger, they were the same green blouse and black jeans Sara had worn when she stormed out of her house. Clenching my fist in anger, I took a deep breath to calm myself as I quickly created a way to escape the house with Sara without getting caught.
'The person making drugs is facing the opposite direction of Sara, while the man resting on the couch is also on the opposite side of the wall, which is good for me. So long as I'm quiet, I doubt either of them will notice my presence; I just hope Sara is smart enough to stay silent.' Mused Tut with a calculated look in his eyes as he formulated an escape path.
I wasn't worried about them knowing someone had been here, so long as they didn't know who it was, I didn't care; hiding behind the wall, I lowered my perception back to normal, causing the old, practically frozen man to move again. Silently walking down the stairs, keeping an eye on the two just in case, I arrived before Sara; placing my hand atop her shoulder, I pulled the sack that was covering her face, allowing me to see her bruised cheek, red, puffy eyes, tear streaks down the side of her face and tied mouth.
With the sack now off, Sara looked up at me, and almost instantly, the fear that had consumed her eyes had disappeared, only for it to reappear with greater intensity. She tried talking, but with her mouth tied, It all sounded gibberish, so against my better judgment, I swiftly untied the rag that bound her mouth.
"Tut, you need to leave!" Said Sara quietly as she looked at Tut with concern before warily glancing at the two people in the room, who still hadn't noticed him.
"Yeah, I know, so let's get out of here." Replied Tut in a whisper as he set the basketball that was in his hands in Sara's lap before looking behind her.
"You won't be able to free me; they tied me with a chain; just leave before you ge-" Stated Sara worriedly as she felt Tut mess with the chain, though before she could finish, the chains that bound her hands suddenly loosened.
"Got it, now come on; let's get out of here." Declared Tut with a smirk as he grabbed the basketball from her lap and helped her up.
Just as I was about to turn around, I saw Sara look to the left before her eyes widened in fear, causing me to grab my forehead and sigh; turning around, the man who was previously resting on the sofa was pointing a gun at us while the older man merely gave a glance before ignoring us.
"Well, well, well, what do we got here? Is this your boyfriend, girly?" Said Coby with a nasally voice as he approached Tut and a frightened Sara, though he was smart enough to keep a distance.
'Fuck me, I'm going to have to kill him, aren't I?' Thought Tut with a frown as he protectively stood in front of Sara, who seemed to be consumed with fear.
"Heh, I didn't expect you were into young boys; you don't even look like you've hit puberty yet; how old are you, 10? 11?" Asked Coby while shifting his gun before Sara and Tut.
"11, and for the record, she's not my girlfriend; she's a friend. Besides, I'm not interested in children." Replied Tut calmly, though he was really thinking of ways to get out of here without needing to kill anyone.
"Coby! Jackson! We've been found out; the van has been busted open; we need to leave first thing in the morning." Yelled a man from upstairs as he quickly ran down the stairs with a gun in hand before suddenly freezing when he saw Tut and Sara.
"Don't worry; I've captured the snooping mouse; he was trying to free his little redhead friend." Said Coby with a smirk as he glanced behind him, eyeing the man standing on the stairs.
"Hmm, I don't know, a kid? Do you think a kid is strong enough to pry open a van? You should know our vans are specially made; for someone to be able to pry it open, I don't think a crowbar will be enough." Said the man suspiciously while standing next to Colby as he eyed Tut, who slightly frowned in response.
"Now that you mention it, unlike the girl, he's completely calm in the face of a gun; either he's an idiot." Remarked Colby with a slight frown, his expression becoming serious as he cocked his pistol.
"Or he's confident he'll escape unharmed. Maybe a Mutant." Muttered the man solemnly while staring daggers at Tut, his desire to kill him increasing by a second.
'I guess thugs aren't as stupid as movies and TV shows make them out to be, although I guess if you wish to be at their level in the drug business, you can't be stupid.' Thought Tut with a frown as he eyed Jackson, the man concocting drugs, who stopped what he was doing and grabbed a pistol before pointing it at them.
"Let's kill them; mutants are dangerous people with unpredictable abilities." Said Jackson without showing a single bit of emotion despite being about to kill two children.
"Tch, dammit; she was definitely going to sell well on the underground market." Commented the man before he hardened his eyes, placing his finger on the trigger.
"W-We're going to die, I-I'm sorry, Tut." Muttered Sara softly, with tears streaming down her face; she hugged Tut, her sudden movements prompting the three men to shoot without constraint.
Heightening my perception, I watched how the bullets moved through the air, creating slight ripples; unfortunately, there wasn't much I could do even with my heightened perception. I couldn't move; I'd crack the ground beneath my feet, leaving behind a footprint, and although I doubted anyone would be able to trace it back to me, I wasn't risking it, not when I had a family. Besides, as that man had said, mutants have unpredictable abilities; who is to say someone doesn't have the ability to see the past of particular objects?
Shaking my head in defeat, I turned around and covered Sara with my body before lowering my perception once more, causing the bullets to speedily hit my back, but they honestly felt like someone was throwing paper balls at me. Once the men finally emptied their clips, I swiftly turned around and grabbed the pistol I had stolen from the van before aiming right at them and shooting three times, killing all three of them.
Now, killing them with a pistol was kind of ironic for me, but my whole goal was to leave as little evidence as possible that could cause anyone to suspect someone with superpowers was involved.
"Haa, I didn't want to do that, but ya'll nigga's kind of forced my hand." Muttered Tut with a sad sigh as he watched the three corpses fall onto the ground.
I really didn't want to kill anyone, but I couldn't allow anyone to know of my abilities; however, when I turned around, I saw Sara looking at me with eyes full of astonishment, causing me to sigh once more.
"T-Tut, h-how, h-how are you alive; t-those bullets, I-I saw them hit you." Asked Sara in disbelief as she pointed at the crumpled bullets lying directly at Tut's feet.
"A-Are you a m-mutant like t-those guys said?" Added Sara as she eyed Tut, though instead of fear, which is typical among humans, her eyes glowed with interest.
"It's-Yeah, I'm a mutant, so in return for saving you, Sara, can you please not tell anyone about this? Please? If people find out I'm a mutant, I'm not worried about my safety, but my parents, they're just normal humans like you, Jean, and Mr. and Ms. Grey." Asked Tut with an almost pleading expression as he reached down and picked Sara up, surprising him with how rapidly she nodded her head.
"I-I promise; n-no matter what happens, I'll never tell anyone!" Stated Sara with a smile of gratitude amidst her tear-stricken face before she suddenly lunged forward, embracing Tut in a tight hug, releasing all the accumulated emotions she had experienced over the past few stressful hours.
"I-I was scared, Pharaoh! I thought they were going to r-rape me, beat me, kill me!" Yelled Sara in a cracked voice, and like a dam, endless tears streamed down her face onto Tut's shoulder while he did his best to comfort her.
"Haa, let it all out, Sara; you're safe; with me here, even an army would be hard-pressed to kill you." Said Pharaoh softly while reciprocating the hug and rubbing her back, sharing his warmth and making her feel safe.
___
___
Got a new laptop for my birthday, so that's awesome👍🏾. Also, since y'all did donate a lot of power stones yesterday, here you guys go; just make sure to keep it up!