@King Kindred

Vera Regina Gilmour

Edna’s Dinner: Trenton, New Jersey- 3:50 PM

Vera felt exhausted from what seemed like her work day would last forever. She had been not only serving but also helping the dishwasher because their second one didn’t show up. But she knew that her shift was going to end soon. Then she could go to her apartment for the long weekend. She planned on going to the park to do some bird watching. This was something she liked to do to relax her troubled mind. There were only ten more minutes and she hoped nothing bad would happen before her time was up. While she was delivering a black male his order, she was called over by a group of clearly drunk truckers. Putting on a smile she walked over to their table. She could smell the alcohol from halfway across the room.

Walking towards them with a smile she had on her face as she approached them. “Hello gentleman, how may I take your order?” She had a notebook and pen in her hand. Ignoring the lustful looks of the men. She was used to that particular look, and usually, it was best to ignore it.

“Sure ya can sweetheart. I want a steak with eggs. Medium rare with my eggs scrambled.” A large man whom she assumed was the leader of the group. The others soon gave their order to Vera. She jolted down their order also dropping her pen when the leader of the group slapped her ass. Turning back to look at them laughing like he did was hilarious. For a moment her eyes seemed to change colour. And to a keen eye could see for a moment it turned yellow before quickly returning to being bright blue. Vera went into the kitchen and took a few deep breaths. She was not going to get angry again, the last time it happened she stabbed a guy in the groin with a fork. But she doesn’t remember doing that and really could only remember the aftermath of the incident. Vera had to run away so she wouldn’t be caught by the police.

When their food was ready she felt she should make up an excuse not to do so. But then she would be yelled at by her boss, which was something she didn’t want. Looking over at the clock she let out a sigh of relief when she noticed her shift was done. After putting away her work outfit she walked out of the back of the restaurant and towards her car. From behind her, she could hear a voice speaking to her. Freezing in place hoping it wasn't a police officer. As she turned around she could see her friend running towards her. Her name was Bertha Martins another waitress who worked with her.

“Sorry Regina but you forgot your purse.” She handed Vera her purse. Regina Martins was the fake name she was using to evade the cops. Bertha was the only person at the dinner that cared about her.

“Thank you, Bertha.” Vera said softly smiling while reaching over towards the purse. But she froze as a vision came into her mind. Every time it happened her nostrils were filled by the smell of burnt toast. The vision was of two police officers recognizing her face and bolting out to the restaurant to apprehend her. Quickly she took her purse before fishing out her keys from it. From behind her, she could hear the back door of the restaurant open. She hoped it was the dishwasher throwing out some garbage. But as she turned her head she saw two police officers coming towards her. It would take them fifteen seconds to reach her if they ran. Quickly she tried reaching for her keys which were in her purse. Frantically fished it out of her purse while Bertha watched in confusion.

Vera could see the police officers coming towards her. Again she seemed to freeze as the two seemed to close the gap. Everything seemed to go blank as time seemed to freeze in place. A few moments later the officers were down on the ground groaning in pain. The scream of Bertha seemed to snap Vera out of her haze. Looking down at the officers she held her hands to her mouth letting out a muffled sob. Not realizing how it happened she knew she had to leave before they got back up again. Bertha looked in shock as she saw Vera rushing into her car. Starting it up before crashing into the car that was parked behind her. And because she was in such a rush she crashed into the car in front of her as well. Completely totalling it.

Getting out of the car and looking around for one she could use. Finally, she noticed there was a gun in her hand. The gun having belonged to the police officer she beat up. She didn’t know where to go or what to do. Her instinct if that is what it was told her to get a car and escape before more police came. Vera looked around for a car she could use to escape.

Cassius decided to things were getting a little hot in New York. He didn't have any proof, but ever since he's been saving people here in the States he feels like he's being watched. He wanted to get away to feel a little less paranoid and see more of the country. He rented a car and started his trip in New Jersey. It felt more suburban, but that was pretty much one of the main differences he found so far. He decided to stop in a diner to get some food before he moved onto his next destination. Unfortunately this diner provided a view of New Jersey that he honestly wish he hadn't seen. The staff seemed to be genuinely nice. Their patrons on the other hand were a different story.

As soon as Cassius received his order a group of truckers clearly drunker than they ever needed to be operating heavy machinery it wasn't even five-o-clock yet. He sighed wishing he could do something for the waitress. Especially once their leader sexually assaulted her to the amusement of his merry band of assholes. He sighed and continued to eat his food. He noticed the waitress leaving shortly after and looked back to the group. He wanted to give her a tip, but he'd do something for her here first. The leader stood up to walk over to a JukeBox and before he could reach it Cassius used his telekinesis to cause the trucker to trip over his own feet and fall forward into the jukebox causing his friends to laugh at him.

Cassius laughed as well before placing money on the table and walked outside. Once he stepped into the cool afternoon air he turned his head to see two officers on the floor groaning in pain. What did he just walk into? Then he heard a crash and turned his head to witness another. The waitress from earlier then got out of the car and it was clear she was in a panicked state. He didn't know what was going on, but he felt like he needed to help her. He wasn't a fan of the police and his mom wouldn't forgive him if he just abandoned a scared woman who clearly needed a hero.

Cassius cloaked his body in his energy to transport himself at a speed the others couldn't see him while distracted by the chaos of the accident. He reached the other side of the parking lot and got into his rental car and turned it on. He then pulled out of his parking spot and drove up to his waitress.

"You look like you need help. Get in."

@Eviledd1984

@King Kindred

Vera Regina Gilmour

Edna’s Dinner: Trenton, New Jersey- 3:50 PM

Vera looked around frantically for a vehicle to escape. She was sure that the police would surround her. Her mind started racing imagining herself inside a jail cell. Another even worse image came into her head. She imagined she was sitting in a gas chamber waiting for that deadly gas to fill the room and kill her. Vera felt like her legs couldn’t budge even though she wanted to run. She felt like a deer stuck frozen in front of an oncoming car. Her train of thought was broken when she heard a voice calling to her. Quickly she turned around towards the source of the voice. Noticing the black male that she had served before she left the restaurant. Without another thought, she ran over to the car getting into the passenger’s seat.

“Thank you, sir. I greatly appreciate your help.” She put the gun into her purse hoping that he wouldn’t notice. “They are trying to arrest me for a crime I didn’t even commit. But they seem pretty adamant that I did it.” She smiled but it was a smile of self-doubt and sadness. She was sure she didn’t commit the crimes they accused her of. But perhaps they were right and she was a killer. Vera poked her head out of the window being glad no police cars were chasing after them. “My name is Vera by the way. It’s nice to meet to meet you.” She extended her hand hoping he would shake it.

@Eviledd1984





Cassius did notice her placing the gun in her purse. He guessed she took it from the police, but he wasn't concerned for his safety. He didn't know what happened back there or in her past, but it was clear to him that she wasn't lying. He knew blackouts were a thing and dissociative identities as well, but he was no doctor. Just some guy who had way too many books to read when he was a kid thanks to his mother. From what he remembered both of those phenomena typically stemmed from some form of trauma. If that was the case for this woman as well then she was likely a victim and anything she did do was triggered by fear and self preservation. If that were the case then he'd show her that she was as safe as possible with him.

Vera pulled Cassius from the thoughts roaming through his mind when she reached her hand out to shake his. He extended his as well with a smile. "I'm Cassius." His French accent pouring out as he introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Vera. I wish it were under better circumstances. I'm not too concerned about your past. I sort of have this hobby of helping people in need so I've come to be a good read of people." He tried to be as warm with her as possible to assure her that she didn't have to worry about him turning her into the police or abandoning her out of fear. "But to lighten the mood I saw that jerk of a trucker fall into the Jukebox after you left the diner." He finished with a laugh.

@King Kindred

Vera Regina Gilmour

Trenton, New Jersey- 3:50 PM

Vera looked back at Cassius feeling good that she was relatively safe. Although she was not sure if the man had any ulterior motives. “Do you mind if we go back to my place, i need to collect my things.” Vera hoped that Cassius wouldn’t mind making a detour, since she wouldn’t be in Trenton for a long time. Once he did agree the car ride itself was quite uneventful. As Cassius parked near her apartment she told him that she would be quick. Mentioning to him that he could escape if the police arrived. This would seem strange but her reasoning was so he would go to jail with her. Vera left his car and started walking towards her apartment. Occasionally she would look left and right making sure that she didn’t see any police cars coming.

As she made her way toward her apartment door she was stopped by her neighbour. A fragile-looking woman who was coming back from grocery shopping. “Hello Vera, you look like in a rush what’s up?” She asked setting down her bags near her door.

Vera smiled putting her hands into her pocket to try and fish out her keys. Holding her keys in her hand before speaking. “I’m moving actually, I have to take care of my grandmother she’s been diagnosed with lung cancer. So I have to move back with my parents and help take care of her.” An obvious lie that she hoped her neighbour would believe.

The woman seemed to look at Vera with deep sympathy. She seemed to understand the need to make sacrifices to care for a dying loved one. “Well if you are packing up perhaps I can help you?” Vera nodded her head wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Give me a few minutes to put away my groceries and then I’ll come help you.” Her neighbour opened her door and quickly disappeared inside. Vera went into her apartment and walked over to her closet where she had her suitcases.

Lugging the suitcases onto the bed and started picking what clothes she wanted to bring. In reality, she wasn’t too picky about what clothes to bring, mostly she was stuffing the suitcases with as many clothes it could fit. What Vera didn’t seem to notice was her neighbour calling the police. Vera finished packing up and started lugging her luggage down the long stairs. She had another vision causing her to make the luggage roll loudly down the stairs. In her vision, she could see her neighbour finishing her phone call and the police rushing over. “Oh no.” She muttered before starting to run down the stairs. Tripping over herself she was sent rolling down the stairs along with her luggage. Landing hard one of her suitcases. Her pants were ripped with blood running down from her knees and her legs. “OW.” Screaming she slowly stood up and tried to grab her luggage. Rushing towards Cassius’ car throwing all of her luggage into the back seat.

“The police are coming, we need to get out of here and FAST.” Vera said closing the passenger side door. The two of them could hear the sound of police sirens coming closer. The young girl pulled out the gun from her purse. “ Do you know how to use this?” She asked assuming he did because he was black. The police cars were now quickly trying to caught up to Cassius' car.