An Abandoned military base, near Seattle
Midnight
A shadowy form hides in the darkness of this cold Friday night. It moves too fast for our minds to register their identity. We see them leap over the barbed wire of a 5-metre fence, and with the favour the rays of moonlight trickling through the grey clouds, we see that it is a girl; a very beautiful girl with long, black hair and pale skin. She is dressed completely in black: tight pants, tank top, an ankle-length leather trench coat and to complete the outfit, a pair of boots she had probably stolen from a biker shop. There are several warehouses, she goes to the first one and heads to the rear door; opens her backpack and rummages inside until she finds a small plastic explosive charge. She sticks it to the door, and places a detonator on it. She puts on a 5-second fuse, and runs to avoid the blast. The door explodes, flying into fragments of steel. She rushes into the smoke and fire and emerges unharmed.
She examines the room. The people who were there had certainly left in a hurry: military equipment is lying all over the place, weapons are still aligned, and on the table, there are some uniforms covered with dust. She grins as she thinks, "Wow, all those weapons reunited at the same place, this is so cool!" She barely can contain herself as she inspects the place more thoroughly, looking at the FAMAS 5.56mm, Colt M4, P90, H & K 9mm, Benelli, Glock, Desert Eagle and all the types of handguns, shotguns, rifles and submachine guns you could imagine. She takes her time and checks the handguns first; there are guns there for all tastes…Beretta 9mm, Five-Seven… and even a few .45 Magnums. There are even silencers and holsters. A real jackpot. She chooses a few from all the types of weapons and steals boxes of ammunitions. She puts them into their steel boxes. Then, she opens the back door, and backs an old van in front of the heap of boxes. It takes her about 45 minutes, even with superhuman strength, to carry them into the van. She then drives it into another abandoned warehouse near the exit of Seattle, the moon shining at her back.
Unknown Apartment
High Rise District
Seattle
Saturday, 9:11 a.m.
She woke up suddenly and sat up in her bed, covered with sweat. Still, the images of her nightmare floated in front of her eyes. She remembers…
Flashback
"Noooo!"
"Shut up!"
We see her strapped to a chair as somebody trains a laser into her eye; she struggles but doesn't get anywhere. She is forced to see images…To make her forget…FORGET WHAT?
End flashback
She tried to remember what she was brainwashed for but, that's all she can ever get; a tiny fragment of a memory that rang no proverbial bells in her mind. She checked her alarm clock and saw that she was late for work. She dressed quickly; tight, black jeans, white T-shirt and a dark blue vest. She also put on her running shoes and her gloves. She brushed her teeth, grabbed her wallet, her cell phone and her sector pass. Finally ready, it was off to Jam Pony. It had been two months since she had moved to Seattle, met Alec at the "Dust", a bar in Sector 6. She'd met his friends: Max, OC, Sketchy and Logan. They had been so good to her, so accepting. She had asked Alec to help her find a job and here she was, working at the bike messenger service.
She was deep in her thoughts, thinking of the past few weeks when she finally arrived to work. Her blue eyes scrutinized the desk behind which Normal, the boss, usually was.
Rap music is playing, a song from Ms. Dynamite, It Takes More.
"Hey, missy-miss, what's happened to you? You aren't late… usually." She knew he kinda liked her because of her efficiency and reliability under pressure, like when a customer calls 5 minutes before closing.
"Hey, Mister Reagan. Sorry I'm late… I didn't sleep a lot last night and-"
"It's okay," he interrupted. "That's the first time so I'll forget about this. Just see it doesn't happen again. Here," he said, handing her a package. "Sector 3."
"Just lemme get my things and I'll be ready in a sec." As she headed over to her locker she saw Max, OC and Alec talking in the locker area. She was in the middle of taking off her backpack when Alec, wearing dark green cargo pants with a black, long sleeved shirt and his eternal leather jacket, stood up and walked over to her.
"Hey Avey!"
"Hey, Alec"
He called her Avey, short for Avrianna, a name she chose from an old TV show she watched from when she was living in San Francisco. He leant in closer to her, making sure to keep his voice low to avoid any curious ears. "So, did your little jaunt work?"
"Yup. Biggs should have taken it by now"
"Great!" He said, glad that it had gone okay. "Hmm," he sighed, "I guess I should go now hey? I got a package to deliver to sector 3."
"Nice coincidence: I got one too," Avey smiled.
"Cool. You wanna come with me?"
"Sure."
"Jam Pony messengers. We got some deliveries to do."
The cop glances casually at their sector passes before they're pulled out of his sight. Satisfied, he signalled to his colleague to lift the barrier. "Here ya go, have a nice day"
Avey smiled and nodded politely. They rode to the address written on Avey's package. They stayed silent until they gave the package to his owner.
"Jam Pony Messenger, we got a package for you"
She gives him the package and holds out the clipboard with a pen. She points to the line with an "X".
"Mister, you have to put your signature right here."
He took the pen and did what he had to. She flipped the clipboard shut and took the pen back with a small smile on her face. The man took a dollar from his pocket and handed it to Avey. Her smile got a little bigger in return as she pocketed the note. Alec raised an eyebrow but said nothing... well, at least until they got out of the ordinary's earshot.
"Geez, what men will do for a beautiful girl." The female transgenic said nothing, only smiled mysteriously, a smug glint in her eyes.
"Well, maybe if you were to have lunch with me, especially if I was the one who's paying, would help you to…" She trailed off, astonished by his look. He had stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her. She stopped her bike in bewilderment. "What? What did I say?"
He just continued staring at her, seeming to be somewhere else. Suddenly, he shook his head and muttered, more to himself than to her, "No, it can't be…"
"What can't be?" She said, still utterly puzzled, almost scared by his uncharacteristic behaviour.
"Nothing, it's just that you look like…. someone I used to know…" His face hardened slightly as he said, "But the fact is, that person is dead…" He added, after a pause, his eyebrows knitting together in consideration. "I think…"
It was Avey's turn to frown her eyebrows. "Okay… so… what's your final answer?"
"About what?" he said, a flicker of apprehension passing over his face as he said this.
"Hello! Having a lunch with me!"
He smiled at her; relieved she'd already forgotten about his moment of uncertainty. "Sure, milady." He glanced at his watch. "But there's an hour left until lunchtime."
"We still have enough time to deliver another package, if we hurry."
"Sure thing!" He moved forward; his next deliver was to a house nearby. Avey had to go to Sector 9.
"See ya at Jam Pony at lunchtime?"
"Sure! Bye!" She nodded and took off on her bike.
On her way to the next package's address, she noticed Max, who was doing a delivery. Avrianna stops her bike in front of the house to wait for Max. Her job done, the young woman noticed Avey and greeted her.
"Hey! Where's your buddy?" Max said jokingly.
"My buddy's gone. He had a package to deliver before lunchtime. My next is for Sector 9. You got another one?"
"Nope. But I can go with ya if you want."
"Sure. Always good having some company." Riding at full speed, Avey quickly delivered the package and the two young women returned to Jam Pony.
"So, Avey," asked Max, "what do ya got for lunch?"
"Nothing. Got a few bucks to spend with a nice guy."
"You kinda like him, huh?"
"Alec? Yeah, he's a good guy and all. But I keep asking myself," she said, smiling slightly, trying to keep the mood light, "why you're so bitchy to him…"
"You don't know anything of what happened before," Max replied frustratedly.
"Whoa, calm down! Just askin'! I wanna know you… even if I don't remember myself a couple of months at Manticore… And all those nightmares…" (((MEL'S NOTE: The part "even if I don't remember myself a couple of months at Manticore…" confused me, it's not very clear and not very well worded. I'm not sure what you're trying to say. Are you trying to say that she doesn't remember Manticore, only a few months and all the nightmares, or that she doesn't remember what happened to her and what she did the first few months after Manticore was burned down…)))
"What do you mean" Max asked, suddenly worried about her friend.
"When I close my eyes, I get all these, uh, what do you call them?"
"Flashbacks?" Max suggested, knowing all too well what she was talking about.
"Yeah. I get all these flashbacks, from back at Manticore and the last thing I remember is that I was strapped down as somebody trained a laser in my eye, forcing me to watch…"
"Watch what?" Max ask, captivated
"I dunno… something. And I keep seeing this barcode…"
She frowned, her eyebrows creasing in concern, almost confusion. "What designation?" Her question shot out of her mouth before she could have stopped it.
"Can't tell. It was just a partial one… 331 something"
"Well, that can't help, practically all the X5s barcode begin by 331."
"Yeah. Mine is 330..."
"332... the third number mean the year of our birth: 2 is for 2000, 1 for 1999 and 0 for 1998. I only know two transgenics whose barcode got a 0 at the third position. You and my brother… Zack."
"Zack? Who is he?"
"Well, his designation's 599"
Avey blinks. "What?"
"599," Max repeats, becoming more wary of Avey's revelations.
"Mine is 598. I wonder if that…"
"Means something? Probably… Like why my fucking DNA has no junk bases..."
"Maybe you're the One, made to save the world," she says, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "Like in this weird pre-Pulse movie, the Matrix." The two young women laugh together, happiness lighting up their faces for those few precious seconds.
"You were saying that you didn't know anything about what happened before. Before... at Manticore or once you guys went outside?" (((MEL'S NOTE: Is it Max or Avey who says this line and the next line because I'm not sure.)))
"This isn't a funny story to tell…"
Max shrugged. "I don't care."
"I spent ten years of my life trying to escape from Lydecker, the man who was in charge of the project. He was trying to find the ones I escaped with. Well, I found most of them," Max said with an almost smug tone. (((MEL'S NOTE: Somehow, I'm not sure Max would begin a conversation about Ben. It's a painful subject for her and Max is very much the 'strong and silent type' who would pass on talking about the brother she murdered…but you could fix that by having Avey ask Max about him, say Alec mentioned him once and said to talk to Max about it…something along those lines.))) And there was Ben, he's identical as Alec, physically, anyway…"
"His clone?"
"His twin…" Max paused, staring into the distance, an almost wistful look on her face. "At Manticore, he wanted answers for everything, like why we were there and why they made us. He made all these beautiful stories…" She smiled as she remembered. "…But when we escaped, it was like he didn't understand anything in this crappy world and there were too many questions he didn't have answers for. So I guess he just… cracked… When I finally found him, he was murdering people." Max takes a deep breath. It was obvious that she was stealing herself to talk about this, knowing that the future benefit would outweigh the present pain. She began again. "We were in the woods and he was hurt. He couldn't run… Manticore was closing in. He didn't want to go back there so I…" Her voice broke just as the dam she had built so carefully started to crack; tears of unshed grief slid down her face.
Avrianna goes on for her. "You were forced to kill him."
Max nods, suddenly looking tired. Avey tried to comfort her. "Look, come with me. I'll ask Normal if you can take the rest of the day off."
Max looked at her, overwhelmed by her friend's kindness. An almost timid smile shone out from underneath her tearful expression. "Why are you doing this? It's been only a month since I've met you. You don't owe me anything."
"Why do you think?" She asks gently, her voice full of genuine concern. "Because I care about you. And stop saying stupid things."
"Good point," Max joked weakly.
Avey looked into her friend's eyes and saw all the pain and sadness her friend has had to bear. How is it possible that someone so young is already so weighed down with guilt and bitterness, she wondered.
"Hey, OC. How it's going?"
"Fine I guess. I saw you with my boo," she said, cutting to the chase. "What did you do to her?" Although the question was almost rude, her protective demeanour revealed her good and loving intentions.
"Me, nothing. She's not feelin' okay. I think she needs a good friend right now and she's only known me for a while so maybe you should go over then instead. I dunno her as well as you do."
"Aiight. Anything for my boo", OC said, already walking towards Max.
Avey approached Normal's desk. "Hey boss, I need to ask a favour…"
"Sure, anything for one of the best messengers."
"Well, ya see, a friend of mine is sick and needs to take the afternoon off, so I was wondering if…"
Normal already knew which friend Avey was talking about: the shiftless, perpetually late one. He looked into her eyes and he heard himself say, "Well, okay," he said relenting. "But she's gotta do a double shift tomorrow!" He said, realising he was turning soft.
"Normal, she ain't feeling okay. Please..."
"Okay, no double shift," he sighed in defeat. "But just remember that I'm only doing this as a favour to you not her." Avrianna gave him a smile.
"Thanks!" She exclaimed, her face lighting up with triumph. Avey walked over to see the two girls.
"Good news: you're free." Avey told Max happily.
"Thanks, I owe you one."
Avrianna waved her hand, dismissing her comment. "It's okay…"
Since she couldn't find Alec anywhere, she took her cell phone out and called him, knowing that he always carried it with him. She started to worry as she realized that there wasn't any answer. She went to Normal's desk.
"Normal, do you know where Alec is?"
"I thought he was with you!" He screeched with worry that his Golden Boy was alone in the world, his current location unknown.
"Damn… thanks, anyway," Avey answered, not looking at Normal who is now shifting his weight nervously between each foot, trying to decide on a course of action.
Outside Jam Pony, Avrianna began checking the surroundings of Jam Pony to see if Alec was there. Suddenly, with her sensitive hearing, she heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Struggling to get there as fast as she could without alerting anyone to her superhuman speed, she followed the source of the sound. She saw Alec getting beaten up by six or seven guys. She saw red and drew her knife from its sheath. She leapt behind the flunkey who had begun to strangle Alec with a chain; she swiftly stabbed him in his side, removing her blade, full of blood. Then, she punched him on the temple, making him fall aside. Alec was free now and fighting at Avey's side. He took the chain that was lying on the ground and used it as a projectile, throwing it at one of the men's head, and his target fell to the ground, joining his friends. There were three left. Avey, her knife still in hand, made a back flip, hitting a man below his chin, knocking him unconscious. Alec kicked his opponent in the groin, making him bend in pain, giving him the opportunity to introduce his knee to the man's nose. Avey was circling her enemy, who was holding a baseball bat, looking for an opening. He swung the bat in Avey's face, but his target wasn't there anymore. She grinned at him.
"That all you've got?"
He attempted one more time to hit her but she blocked the bat with her open palm while kicking the man in his gut at full strength, making him fly a few meters away. His head violently hit the brick wall as he crashed. She felt a sudden pain and looked for its origin. She saw blood spurt out of her left shoulder. She furrowed her brow, wondering what must've happen…
She tried to walk, her face suddenly draining of colour. She managed to take a few steps only to collapse into the swirling tornado of white pain, red blood and black emptiness. Unconscious…