It appeared that his waitress had thought that the idea of that creepy guy just continuing staring was funny and Sam figured it was more of a nervous laugh than anything else. He knew they both felt threatened by the man but she felt game enough to accept his plan. Which meant that whatever happened next was on him… it was now his responsibility to keep her safe.

She gave him one last smile as she stood and he let her have a small head start before rising after her. When he did stand and turn around, she was almost at the kitchen door and the intruder was staring avidly at her. This did not bode well. As she disappeared from sight, Sam made his way across the room but the other man’s attention was not on him anymore. Fear started to tighten in Sam’s stomach and his mind raced as he watched their stalker follow into the kitchen.

"Hello there. Who's your friend?"

Creeping slowly up to the door the other two had just passed through he caught the man’s words and they made him shudder. Why did that guy want to know and if he had a problem with him why was he pestering the girl?

"Just a customer. I don't even know his name,"

He somewhat doubted that her reply would satisfy the man, which meant that he was going to have to do something, anything before the situation got even more out of hand. Fear and doubt made Sam hesitate. He was not a hero, what could he do to help? Well to begin with, not running away would be good. Taking a deep breath Sam forced himself into the room beyond and into the middle of the confrontation. Mustering courage that he definitely did not feel he addressed their aggressor.

“What is it to you who I am?”

Slowly the man turned to face him and Sam throat constricted. He hoped that the man would feel outnumbered and leave. And he hoped that his waitress would take this moment of distraction to go and get the rest of the staff.

Sarah froze when she saw the look in the man's eyes. He looked like a mountain lion on the hunt. Then her thoughts hit her. This man was hunting them. They had separated and he went after the weakest first. They had played into his trap.

>>“What is it to you who I am?”

She sucked in a breath as the man's face changed. He wasn't faking politeness anymore. There was a smirk on his face that scared her. He wanted them in the kitchen.

Then he turned away from her. He was facing the customer now. Who was he hunting? She couldn't tell. He seemed to be hunting them both, but he didn't go after her to fight.

"Don't you think it's bad that your friend doesn't know your name?" the man asked. His voice was polite.

Sarah slipped her right foot out of her shoe as he spoke. When her foot was firmly on the ground, she started with the other. If she wanted to be quiet as she ran, her shoes had to go.

"Don't you think it's bad that your friend doesn't know your name?"

Why did this guy want so much for them to be friends? Sam was having a hard time working out a real motive behind this and it was making anticipating what was to come next almost impossible. One thing he was glad to see thought was that the girl seemed to be following the same line of thought as he was: run.
Sam saw that it was going to fall to him to keep the other guy occupied long enough for her to slip away.

“She’s not my friend; I only met her about fifteen minutes ago. She’s a waitress, I’m a customer.”

He felt stupid having to explain things like that, wasn’t it a normal thing for someone who walked into a restaurant to just be a customer? He tried to keep track of whether or not the waitress had got away but he was worried that his gaze might lead the other man to turn around and notice what she was doing. So he ploughed on and asked him more question.

“Look I don’t know what you want with me but she just works here leave her out of it.”

The man’s sick smile widened at that statement and his gaze read: “so you’re trying to protect her, hey?”. Then without warning he started turning back towards her.
Out of instinct Sam reached out to grab the guy’s arm. It seemed like the only way to stop him. However physical contact seemed to have been the provocation that their aggressor had been waiting for.

Sam caught a brief look of satisfaction in the man’s eyes as his fist caught the illusion mutant in the lower jaw.
Pain exploded in Sam’s head and then for a brief moment… nothing.

>>“She’s not my friend; I only met her about fifteen minutes ago. She’s a waitress, I’m a customer.”

Her shoes were off. She didn't stay there any longer. She ran. The meal the chef had finished was waiting for her, but she passed it. If the chef wasn't in the room, if meant that he was in the break room. Most of the staff was in there today. This was one of the slowest days she had ever seen.

When she was halfway to the door that led to the break room, she heard a distinct sound. Flesh hitting flesh. The sound caused Sarah to stumble for a moment before she stopped running completely.

She knew that sound well enough to know it was a violent act of some sort. One of the men had hit the other. Could she go back and look? Did she have time to check? Would it--

"Here, pretty lady. Come out, come out, where ever you are," she heard. It was the stalker person. He was taunting her.

"Shit," she mumbled under her breath.

With that she turned back to running. She didn't look behind her as she heard the sound of boots hitting the tiled floor. She went to the break room door, only to find it locked, from the inside.

"No one can help you and your friend now," the voice taunted.

Sarah huffed as she raced to the other side of the kitchen. There were tables, stoves, and other things she could hide behind there.

"Why must you keep calling him that?" she yelled out as she ran. It was a stupid thing to do, but she couldn't help herself. Luckily the sounds in the kitchen liked to echo. "The only thing we have in common is you!"

Where was everyone? When she had left, people were talking and she could hear the normal kitchen sounds. She had even heard the tv in the break room. It had been some soap opera. Something in Spanish.

She shook her head so she focused. What was going on here?

As the world came back into focus Sam seriously wished it hadn’t. His head felt like it was about to explode. His first instinct was to touch the wounded area and access the damage. One split lip which was bleeding slightly and one hell of a lump on the back of his head. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and tried to remember how he had hurt the back of his head when he clearly remembered being hit in the jaw.

It was only as he hauled himself upright using the doorframe that the pieces came together. He had been hit and he had fallen backward… probably straight into the aforementioned doorframe. He groaned as the world swam in front of his vision and he wondered how long he had been out for.

The answer came to him quickly enough, in the form of a series of loud noises coming from the kitchen. It appeared that his ordeal was not over yet. Slowly he edged himself towards the source of the sound. His pace was dictated by the blurred way the world seemed to spin around him as for the need for stealth. As he reached the door he took moment to access the situation.

Disappointment and anguish filled him when he saw what was going on. He had seriously hoped that the girl would have been able to find help but apparently it was not to be. It turned out that the man had got her almost cornered; soon she would have to turn and face him. Now was the time for him to do something… something more useful than getting punched in the face.

That did not leave him with many options; actually it only left him with one… He had considered calling the cops but he was not sure that that would work. This man seemed crazed enough not to care, which only left him with his singular and extremely passive mutant power. Sam had to hope that he at least provide a distraction.

Focusing his blurred mind on the man, he reached for that telltale tingling that indicated that his power was active. He knew this was going to be a weird moment. Their aggressor would see him as someone else while Sarah would see him as himself. And he had no idea who he was impersonating…

Sarah was crouched behind a counter on one side of the kitchen. She could hear the boots stop right behind her. She froze. There wasn't any other sounds that she could pick up. There was some fabric shifting. Otherwise it was quiet. Sarah was even holding her breath.

"Brother?" she heard the man question.

He sounded shocked. There was also some sadness in there. He sounded like he was seeing someone he hadn't in a long time. This caused the young woman to frown.

She and the two men seemed to be the only ones in the kitchen. There was no one else as far as she knew. Did someone else enter the area while she was running? She decided it would be best to peek out and see.

Her movements were slow as she peeked around the corner of the counter. She had peeked out on the side of the counter behind the attacking male. She looked past him to see her customer. What was going on? If that was her brother, why had he attacked?

"How? They told me you were dead."

One thought floated through Sarah's mind: 'What the hell?'

A grating silence greeted him as he stepped into the room. Seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity as he took in the scene. He could not see the girl but he could guess her location because the guy was closing in on her fast. Sam closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain in his head, he was going to need all of his concentration for what was to come.

As time picked up once more he took another step into the room and the sound of his footstep drew the man’s attention. Their aggressor whirled towards him and Sam had to force himself to stay put and keep a neutral expression on his face. He did not know who he was supposed to be but whoever it was would be friendly towards this guy. So he couldn’t go around scowling… at least not yet.

"Brother?"

The surprise that resonated in the other man’s voice had become a common thing for Sam when using his power. No one expected to see their loved one in some random place they had no business being. So Sam pushed past the look of shock on the man’s face and latched on to the important information he had been given. He now knew that he was a male which made things easier, being a woman was hard as they did not move the same. And being a family member was also good because he could rebuke him and probably get away with it.

"How? They told me you were dead."

Sam suppressed a groan. He hated being a dead person; things were always so much more complicated when that happened. Mainly because the person he used his powers on were so much more surprised. Thoughts now raced through his head, he needed to find a way to get this guy out of here and he needed to do it now before the illusion fell apart or he gave himself away.

“Never mind that, the cops are coming we’ve gotta leave.”

Sam was thankful that his power altered his voice as well because his English accent would have given him away every time otherwise. He was playing the “let’s leave now” card because he would not be able to answer any personal questions properly.

“I just ran past some beat up kid screaming for help and the cops. We gotta go NOW!”

He made himself shout the last word and hoped that it would break the shocked look on the man’s face and prompt him into action. If he could only get him as far as the street outside they should be safe.

The young woman watched the scene in front of her with shock. She placed her hand on the floor to help herself stay up. She could feel the adrenaline rush start to fade. She'd be sleeping hard.

>>“Never mind that, the cops are coming we’ve gotta leave.”

Okay... So something was going on... Sarah was confused, but she kept quiet.

>>“I just ran past some beat up kid screaming for help and the cops. We gotta go NOW!”

Sarah shook her head as she listened to the words coming out of his mouth. They didn't make sense to her. How could one person not realize another was their supposed dead brother? 'Or,' she thought, 'is this a mutation thing? Is that even possible?'[/color] She had heard of strange mutations, but this didn't even seem possible.

"What?" the attacker questioned. He had stepped towards the other man. "How are you here? Mom and Pop..." He took another step forward. "They went away for your murder." He took another step closer. He wasn't as shocked now. There was more sadness in his voice now. "I buried you."

Sarah suddenly realized that whatever plan there was, wasn't going to work for much longer. 'How much longer will this work? How effective is his mutation?' She looked around the area of the kitchen she was stuck in. There had to be a phone somewhere. If the police weren't heard soon... Sarah shook herself from that thought. She had to focus.

Surprise and shock ran across their attacker’s face and Sam almost found himself holding his breath. If this play did not work than they were in for it. Besides if the man did not make a move soon the adrenaline that was masking the pain in his head would wear off and then he’d be in no real state to do anything.

“What?”

The man took a step forward and Sam tensed, he could not afford to allow physical contact but he could not flinch away either. The fact that he just had to stand there was torture, it made every muscle in his body strain and he knew that he’d feel terrible in a very short while, whether he got beaten to a pulp or not.

"How are you here? Mom and Pop...They went away for your murder. I buried you."

Sam hated doing this to people; he hated to see the hope reignite in their eyes that hope that maybe all that they had been through before was a lie. But this guy had pushed him into it; he had pushed him to the point where there had been no more options, so the sympathy vanished. All that was left was the fear, fear that this guy would touch him and realize that it was all an illusion.

So before anything else could happen Sam turned on his heels and ran for the door. He did not run to fast because the whole point was that he would be followed but he had to admit the urge to just bolt and get the hell out of there was strong. He risked a glance back just to make sure the guy was following and then hit the door to the street running.

As Sarah watched the first male, her customer, ran out of the kitchen. Then the other male followed. The first male was moving slowly, or not as fast as the waitress thought he could travel.

"Wait!" the attacker yelled out.

Then they were both gone. The brunette moved out from the counter as soon as she was sure they weren't coming back. She stood up on shaky legs and worked her way to the changing rooms. One of the girls had a cell phone in her locker. Sarah knew she could get it and call for help.

She was freaking out, but her body was on autopilot. It was similar to how she acted if something went wrong while camping. It was the things drilled into her by her mother's family.

As the shaken twenty-three year old reached the woman's changing room, the attacking man reached the streets.

The few passersby present on the street outside turned at the sound of the restaurant door violently hitting the wall as Sam thrust it open. He did not stop running as he came out into the street but instead turned left and slowed slightly to make sure his pursuer could see in which direction he had gone. Beside if he got too far away from the other man his mutation’s affect would ware off and that would be a bad thing.

Sam’s plan was simple enough, get to somewhere with a bit of a crowd and then turn off his mutation. His hopes were that the man would continue to search for his brother and forget about his initial purpose. He did not have to wait long before the door to the restaurant once again struck the wall signaling the presence of his prey.

The idea of the man now being the prey for his mutation would have been almost amusing if it did not mean using himself as bait. However now was not the time to think about such things, he picked up his pace once more and pushed on, in what he hoped was the direction of a busy street.

-----

Minutes passed and all Sam could concentrate on was his breathing and the fact that the man was actually still following him. This was made easier by the fact that the other guy kept shouting at him to stop and wait. He did however have to admit that he was seriously out of shape, running like this should not be this hard and he knew that when the adrenaline wore off he was going to feel seriously crap. That and his head had started to pound once again; he reckoned that by now he had a pretty huge lump.

Then he finally saw it, the street he had been looking for. It appeared to be a busy shopping thoroughfare and there was a good crowd. He knew that this was his salvation, so to make sure that the other man would follow he let out one last taunt.

“Come on we’re nearly home free!”

Then he plunged into the crowd and slowly slowed to a walk. When he had mixed in with the surrounding people he let his mutation drop, he could still here the man calling for him but he did not turn around. Instead he ducked into a shop and waited there long for a while before he headed back out into the street and started retracing his steps back to the restaurant.

All the while he expected a hand to reach out and grab him.

When Sarah opened the door to the women's changing room she found her fellow waitresses and the hostess tied up. With shaky hands the brunette worked to untie at least one of them. When one of the higher 'ranked' waitresses were freed, said waitress headed for the men's changing room to free them.

"What happened out there?" one of the girls asked.

The brunette shook as she freed the girl that had spoken. "Some guy attacked me and a customer. I'm not sure why."

When most of the working staff was freed, the cook and head waitress forced Sarah to go take a seat somewhere while they called the cops. The shaken woman gladly agreed. When she exited the kitchen, she headed for the table she and the man, who she now deemed a mutant, had sat in. She picked up his pen as she sat and started to fill in her answers to the survey. She needed something to keep her mind off of what had occurred minutes before.

When she was just about finished, the police showed up. They asked every one of the staff for their statements, taking the people to separate rooms. When the police went to talk to Sarah, she had finished the survey.

"I'm not too sure why he attacked us, but he did," she told the officer. "We noticed that he was watching us and made a plan to figure out who he was after: me or my customer. I would go to the kitchen and he the bathroom.

"When I got to the kitchen the man attacked. My customer distracted him for me to look for help. I couldn't find any. I guess they fought a little. The attacker went after me next. I kept him occupied long enough for my customer to come-to. The two men talked long enough for the attacker to, I guess, forget about me.

"When my customer left, the other man followed. I waited for a bit before heading to the changing room, where I found the others. I helped get most of the girls free before coming out here to calm down," she finished.

She hoped there wouldn't be anymore questions. She had already told them what she remembered the attacker looked like. She didn't want her story to conflict with the other 'victim' if they found him. She had said what she saw happen. If his story didn't match there could be a bit of trouble.

The trip back to the restaurant seemed to take forever. The headache caused by his fall was back with a vengeance and it meant that every step he took made him feel queasy. But he managed to make it back without being grabbed or falling over in the street. However when he got there he seriously wished that he had just laid down in an alley somewhere to have a nap, because there were cops everywhere.

He hesitated for an instant, torn between facing this mess and just plain running away. But he guessed it would look fishy to have come this far and then suddenly turn around and leave. So he mustered what strength he had left, gritted his teeth against the pain in his head and walked up to the nearest officer.

After he had explained who he was it only took instants for him to be ushered inside and thoroughly questioned. He told them all he knew, all but the part where he had used his mutation to imitate the mad man’s dead brother. He did not think that the police would let off so easily if he did. As it stood they took down his contact details in case they needed more info later, told him he had done well and let him go.

For a few minutes he sat where they had left him, he did not feel ready or particularly capable of getting up right that minute. So he sat and went over how he was going to get himself back to the mansion, because he knew he could go and see the doctor once he got there but the trip seemed just a bit too daunting at the moment. Then another though flashed through his mind: his surveys! Now those he did feel like he could recover, they would only be a few tables over, so on unsteady feet he stood and started heading for the table he had occupied previously.

Sarah was bored. After her statement had been taken, the officers left her be. The few paramedics in the area were focused on the bruised men. The women were still giving statements or crying, depending on the individual. This left Sarah to her own devices.

So she doodled. She used her blue waitressing pen. Due to the lack of avaliable paper, she used the corner of her completed survey.

Her aimless lines began to form the shape of what she had seen when she hid behind the counter. Two men facing each other in a long empty space. When she realized what it was she was drawing, she started to add detail that hadn't been there. Eventually she had what appeared to be a scene from an Old Western movie. Two 'cowboys' facing each other on the deserted road, ready to pull their guns and shoot.

The way she had changed the scene made her smile. It helped her deal with what had happened. She was coaping.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that her customer had returned. "Hi," she greeted weakly after she turned to face him.

When he finally covered the short distance back to his initial table he was surprised to find his waitress sat there. As she once more greeted him, he pulled out a chair and sat down, stranding was proving to be pretty difficult and he would need his strength to get home. Once he was sat across from her it occurred to him that he did not even know her name and he felt that referring to her as “the waitress” after what had just happened seemed a little off.

“I’m Sam by the way… and I suppose I’m pleased to meet you although I would rather it have happened under better circumstances.”

He felt better having introduced himself, as if they could now be friendly with each other instead of formal. After all he was no longer a client here, as he doubted he would ever see that burger. He took a few moments to look her over and was relieve to see that she had gotten away mostly unscathed. Which made him wonder how his face looked, his lip was pretty swollen where he had been punched and if he looked the way he felt he must be a mess. So he tried a reassuring smile before she could worry.

“Sorry the adrenaline rush is coming to an end and I’m paying for it. What happened here while I was gone?”

He could tell by the police presence that she had wasted no time in calling the cops, but that did not explain why she had not been able to get help from any of the other staff earlier.