The Cabin:

Carlos

Carlos woke up early. 

It's a habit he can't break. At some point, he enjoyed waking up early. It gave him extra time before he had to go to school.

(Also, it's so cold his balls could shrivel up and die.)

He throws off the thick duvet, shivering as the cold seeps in. He's not used to the silence, there are no cars or people. Just birds and wind.

He can say he's not a big fan of the snow.

Maya probably hates it more if he's being honest.

Carlos watches the window, imagining a nice summer morning with a burning sunrise setting fire to the sky. This place is different from home. There are hardly any buildings around and all he can see is sky and forest.

A jacket hangs off the poster of his small bed frame. He shrugs it on and zips up to his neck even though he's indoors.

He runs his fingers through his hair as he walks down the hall and descends the narrow stairs. His room is on the second floor, his window is smaller and faces southward.

The smell of blueberry pancakes fills the air.

His stomach grumbles. He can't remember the last time he had a full meal.

Maya hums softly in the kitchen, slightly off-key. She flips a pancake and turns the dial on the analogue radio. Carlos watches her, not sure if he should greet her or not.

"Morning," Maya greets him instead. She doesn't turn around. "I'm not used to making this much food. Do you think it'll be enough?"

Carlos eyes the stack of pancakes next to her on the counter and the batter that remains in the mixing bowl.

He pushes down the feeling of grief as he thinks of his mother. They shared a lot of mornings like these; his mother humming her opera tunes while Carlos helped her make breakfast. Both of them were early risers, unable to go back to sleep.

"I think it's too many." He nods, pulling out a carton of orange juice from the fridge. "I've never had blueberry pancakes before. I only saw them on TV."

Maya pats his back and reaches over his shoulder to grab a few glasses from the cabinet.

She smells nice. Her perfume is sweet and spicy at the same time.

He knows that she'll keep him safe but he's not sure how to feel about the fact that he has a whole gaggle of siblings. He feels like a stray puppy.

Maya and him sit in silence as he waits for the others.

He sneaks in occasionally glances in between bites. Maya is as silent as him which is a relief.

She's pretty, he thinks.

His mother used to tell him that he was softer than the other boys. She was right. In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with that. He cried easily when he scraped his knee or if another boy pushed him in school. Over the years, he learned not to cry because he didn't want his mother to worry about him. His uncle—when he was sober enough to muster up a thought—would say that he had to be the man of the house.

He fiddles with the butter knife. "Can I ask you a question?"

Maya pauses mid-bite. "You just did but go ahead."

"Um..." he glances around, noticing the blueberries scattered around the countertop. "How long are we going to be here?"

Maya chews thoughtfully, washing it down with a sip of orange juice. "I don't know. Could be a few months."

"Do you know what happened to my mom?"

Maya regards him strangely. It's not until much later that he learns that it's heartbreak written all over her face.

Carlos looked down, his ears turning red. "I'm sorry. That's a stupid question—"

"It's not." Maya reached out, her fingers curling around his hand. He could see the small scars crisscrossed into her skin. "We'll find her. I'm sure she misses you, Carlos."

Carlos knows that it's stupid to hope. He's seen countless people disappear in his neighbourhood. Girls would disappear into the night and little kids would be found in the hills. He never imagined that it would happen to him...or his mother.

Maybe he could be wrong.

He desperately prayed that he was. Just this once.

—

Maya

I'm not sure how to comfort a child.

Carlos washes the dishes in the sink. He's a quiet kid and hardly speaks unless spoken to.

I'm going to keep an eye on him.

Annette and Rayan tumble down the stairs, bickering with each other. Once they see the pancakes they shut up and start chowing down.

Maybe I should've made more.

I made a note to myself to find a way to get the TV working. We need some sort of link to the outside world.

Safia hasn't come down yet. I'm not sure if I should knock on her door or not. I don't plan to get electrocuted so early in the morning. I place a plate aside for her.  I'm sure she'll eat when she's hungry.

Clint left me an envelope. I flick out a knife and cut it open.

"Can I have a knife?" Rayan asks.

"Not a chance," I reply.

He pouts and tries to throw a blueberry at my head. I open my mouth to catch it.

Annette giggles, reaching for a glass of milk. "What are you doing?" She asks.

"Going over your documents," I say. "Just because we're in hiding doesn't mean you can't get an education."

"School sucks," Rayan exclaims.

I shrug. "Meh."

We're in the middle of Montana. So damn remote that there's a town three miles south and a whole bunch of ranches all around us.

(I'm not sure if Montana was on my bucket list of places to visit.)

Each of us has a set of new IDs, passports, and travel documents. Everything we need to start a new life is there, even the schools for each of the kids.

Oh shit, I thought, I have to get school supplies. And some provisions too. Crap, I completely forgot about clothes.

"What do you guys think about a road trip?" I ask, looking for my truck keys.

Rayan perked up, nearly dropping his fork. "Yes!"

—

Somehow I managed to wrangle four kids into the old Ford pickup truck. Safia sits in the front with me and Carlos, Annette, and Rayan sit in the back.

We're not even five minutes in until Rayan and Annette start arguing with each other.

Carlos looks uncomfortable sitting in between them.

I try my best to mimic the glare my mom used to give me when I was younger through the rearview mirror. Neither of them cared.

"That's it! Break it up, you two!" I snap. "Don't make me turn this truck around!"

Annette tried to hit Rayan but Carlos put his arm out, blocking her. Rayan stuck his tongue out.

"He started it!" She said.

"Tattletale!"

"I'll show you what a tattletale is!"

"Hey! Knock it off!"

Safia snorts. "What are you going to do? Ground them?"

Oh, she just had to bring out the 'G' word.

"Try me, kid," I said, pressing down on the accelerator.

It took us forty-five minutes to get to Choteau, Montana. It was a small town, barely 2000 people. I doubt anyone would notice us.

I park in front of one of the stores. Thankfully this place still uses quarters for their parking meter. Oh, the pitfalls of American society. How far we have fallen.

Annette and Rayan stopped fighting after I threatened to ground them. I'm not sure how firm that threat is but I'm not going to push my luck.

I hold Rayan's hand to keep him from flying away. Literally.

"Alright, listen up," I say, putting my hands on my hips. "If we're gonna do this, we're gonna have to establish some ground rules."

"I promise I won't turn anything invisible," Annette piped up. "And Safia promised she won't electrify someone if they annoy her."

Carlos looked confused. "Don't you mean electrocute."

Annette shrugged. "Tomato, tomato."

"When did I say that?" Safia shrieks.

She smiles angelically. "Breakfast."

"That's wonderful, Annette. That brings me to my first rule." I lower my voice and lean in. "Rule number one, do not use your powers in public. These are normal folks around here and they definitely will not take kindly to us. Rule number two, where I go is where you go."

Rayan raises his hand.

I sigh. "Yes, Rayan?"

"What about school?" He asks.

"I'm not following you into school. I'll drop you guys off but that's it." I said. "Anything else."

"Nope."

"Great. I'll continue." I say. "Rule number three, you will have a curfew. The only places you'll be going to is school and the cabin, anything else I'll have to come with you. I'm not budging in that so don't even try to argue with me."

Safia rolls her eyes, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Great, I'll just bore myself to death."

"Better than nothing. Rule number four, if anyone asks you anything suspicious, you tell me immediately. Got it?"

They all murmured in agreement. Safia made a sort of grunt and then lifted her hood to hide her hair.

The rest of the day went by easily. I got the kids their school supplies from a local store and some groceries from the local market.

We got a few odd stares here and there.

I would have to get used to that. We didn't exactly look like the rest of the demographic. Hell, we looked like the discount version of The Brady Bunch.

Or maybe the Gallaghers from Shameless was a more accurate description?

Oh, would you look at that. I'm getting better at pop culture references. Deadpool would be so proud of me.

Clint left me a few thousand in cash. It's enough to cover the expenses but if we're going to be here for the long term then I should get a job.

My current job for S.H.I.E.L.D. was security specialist. Other than that and honorary Avenger I didn't have much job experience.

Honestly, I'd consider myself lucky if I got a job in this economy.

Carlos helps me load the bags into the back of the truck. I bought him a couple of books from the local bookstore. I think this is his way of thanking me.

Safia is grabbing two large pizzas for dinner with Annette and Rayan who are excited to start school tomorrow.

I would have to figure out a chore schedule when I got home. It's a small cabin but I doubted I would have all the time in the world to cook and clean. Maybe I could figure out a way to make the kids get an allowance. They would have to work for it though.

I'm not a total dictator.

It's almost twilight by the time we leave. The ride back is quiet. Rayan is snoring and Annette braids his hair. Carlos reads a book, oblivious to the world. Safia fiddles with the radio, changing stations every five minutes till she finds a station she's satisfied with.

The soft soprano of Madonna's 'Like A Prayer' fills the space between us.

At least she has good taste in music.