Logan gasped for air, blood dripping from his claws in the darkness. The moonlight reflected on the claws, creating a chilling gleam.
He turned to look at Jack; in the urgency of the situation, he had instinctively extended his claws.
He had resolved the wild boar crisis, but a greater danger might be approaching due to his exposed claws.
Logan looked at Jack beside him, only to see a look of surprise mixed with a hint of joy. "You... are you a mutant?"
"Do you know about mutants?"
Logan frowned. In this era, mutants were a subject only a few would discuss.
"Of course."
Jack looked at Logan's claws, his eyes shining. "When I was a kid, I often heard about your exploits."
Logan thought for a moment, sighed, and retracted his claws. He nodded, looked at the vast darkness, and said: "Let's go back. It's too dangerous here."
No one knew if the gunshots had attracted more dangerous animals.
Jack nodded repeatedly, but before leaving, he looked regretfully at the wild boar carcasses scattered on the ground.
They were all valuable, but it was too dark to deal with them, so he had to give up.
Upon reaching the town, Logan returned to his hotel room.
The Professor was already asleep, and Laura and Caliban were watching TV on the sofa.
As soon as he entered, Caliban noticed the blood on Logan's hands and asked anxiously: "What happened? I just heard gunshots. Did they catch up to us?"
Laura's round eyes were filled with concern as she looked at the blood on Logan's hands.
"It's nothing," Logan shook his head, went to the bathroom to wash his hands, and said: "I just killed some wild boars that attacked us."
After washing off the bloodstains, he dried his hands and said: "We have to get out of here."
Hearing this, Caliban quickly looked up. After all, in their life as fugitives, sleeping peacefully in a hotel was a rare luxury, and he was reluctant to give it up.
"Did you get into trouble again?" Caliban asked helplessly.
Logan shook his head. "It's a bit complicated to explain. We need to reach Nevada fast."
With that, he threw the paper towels in the trash and quickly packed his bags.
He wasn't sure if Jack's reaction upon discovering his identity was real or feigned. After all, there were too many hypocritical people like Chris; they might look at you with superficial admiration, but secretly they might be calling the police.
For safety, he had to leave with Caliban and the others that very night.
Logan finished tidying the room, went to wake Charles, and turned off the TV for Laura. He said to Caliban, who was behind him: "I'll go get the car. Bring the Professor and Laura down later."
After giving these instructions, Logan quickly went downstairs, but just as he reached the top, he suddenly noticed several lights flashing at the hotel entrance. Several black vans stopped in front of the hotel, and a group of intimidating-looking men entered with heavy steps.
Logan quickly backed up and leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs.
A rough voice echoed in his ears. Someone asked Jack at the reception: "Have you seen a bearded man? He was with an old man, a little girl, and a pale, sickly-looking albino patient."
Logan, standing at the foot of the stairs, felt a chill. It was clear that the group was pursuing him. He cautiously clenched his fist, slowly extending his steel claws, with a cold glint in his eyes.
"No," Jack's blunt answer surprised Logan.
He hadn't expected the other man to help him; after all, mutants were now wanted criminals, and harboring them was no small matter.
"You can go up and see for yourselves if you don't believe me. We haven't had any guests in the hotel today," Jack's voice repeated, as if the men didn't believe his previous answer.
Logan quickly turned around, quietly ran back to his room, and carefully closed the door.
Caliban, who was packing, looked bewildered. "What's wrong?"
"They're after us!" Logan explained, quickly stuffing all the luggage under the bed, making the room look like no one was in it. Caliban understood the seriousness of the situation and rushed to help.
After leaving the room as it was, Logan looked around, opened the closet, put Charles inside, and told Laura and Caliban: "You two get in too and don't make any noise!"
Laura nodded obediently, and Caliban, before getting into the closet, didn't forget to grab a pistol for defense.
Fortunately, the closet was large enough for the three of them to fit comfortably.
After closing the closet, Logan quickly turned off the lights and leaned against the door, pressing his ear against it to listen for any sound outside.
After a while, footsteps were heard.
Logan crouched alertly behind the door, his gaze icy and his fists clenched.
At the same time, Jack was guiding them with a large bunch of keys, opening door after door with several burly men.
"I told you, there's no one here,"
Jack's impatient voice was heard through the door. "We've searched so many rooms, you should believe me. Are you going to search this one too? Okay, okay, wait, let me find the key."
The jingling of the keychain indicated to Logan that Jack was purposefully stalling.
Logan tiptoed into the inner room, closed the door abruptly, and listened attentively to the sounds outside.
The front door opened, and Jack turned on the light. The group took a quick look around the living room before turning to check the adjacent room, with no intention of staying there.
After about ten minutes, everything was quiet outside, except for the faint sound of cars starting below.
Logan cautiously approached the window, peeked through the curtains, and only after confirming that the cars were gone, did he let the Professor and the others out.
They sat on the sofa and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Were those Dr. Rice's men?" Logan asked Laura.
The girl remained silent, but nodded firmly.
Logan frowned and cursed: "Those guys are very persistent!"
He hadn't expected them to find them so quickly; they really had a sharp nose.
"We have to get out of here," Caliban said worriedly. The previous incident had left him shaken; he had no fighting ability, and the skill of the pursuers would turn him into a lamb for the slaughter.
Knock, knock, knock. Just then, there was a knock at the door.
The group, which had just relaxed, became alert again. Caliban quickly raised his pistol, staring intently at the door.
Logan also approached cautiously, peering through the peephole. Seeing only Jack outside, he gave a reassuring gesture, telling Caliban to lower the pistol, and opened the door.
"Don't worry, they're gone," Jack said with a smile as soon as the door opened.
Logan nodded gratefully. "Thank you."
"You saved my life, it's what I had to do,"
Jack shook his head, then looked at the group inside and suddenly smiled. "My wife has cooked a lot of food and I need your help getting rid of it. Do you have some free time?"
Logan understood Jack's good intentions and nodded: "Of course. I'll talk to them."
He turned to Caliban and the others, explaining: "If we leave now, we might run into Dr. Rice's scum. They've already searched this place and shouldn't come back soon. We are safe here."
Caliban hesitated, while Laura remained silent.
Charles, however, smiled and said: "Then, let's go have dinner together; I'm starving."