Chapter 3: An unFamiliar World
Alana84: Thanks for the nice words! Sorry this chapter is so late. Hope you like it!
fee-kh: This story's actually part 3 of a sort of big story. The trial was covered in Transgenic on Trial and the reason for the trial is covered in Can't Save Everyone. I guess I have a lot to say!
Author's Note: Thanks a lot for the reviews everyone! Sorry for the delay. School takes up a lot of time. I will try to be more prompt in the future. This thing is all mapped out in my head. Just have to leak it out. This chapter is kinda eerie, kinda angsty. Hope you enjoy it!
Max and Alec took their fighting stances as they gauged their adversaries. They were completely flanked on all sides by White's cronies. The X5s and Joshua blocked Sandeman and CJ from the Familiars and started to attack. Max started attacking the Familiar in front of her. After a few carefully placed punches and kicks, she managed to take him down. She panted slightly; realizing beating a Familiar took at least three times the effort of beating down a normal human. She threw an upper cut at the Familiar to the right and hoped Alec and Joshua were doing better.
Alec was a whirlwind of fists and kicks. He managed to take down two Familiars; landing one right in the gut and another right in the nuts. He had to remember to thank Max for the underhanded move she had taught him back in the ring. As he gazed down at the last Familiar, quite satisfied with himself, another one came up behind him. He whirled around and threw a punch to his face. The Familiars caught his fist and socked him in the jaw twice. He stumbled backwards into another thug, who promptly elbowed him in the back. Alec flung to the ground, smacking into the pavement and went down for the count.
Joshua, despite his more passive childhood, was fighting quite well. He was knocking the Familiars down like bowling pins, flinging them into the walls of Sandeman's shack. He sank his fangs into the arm of one startled Familiar and shoved him into the cupboard, shattering the board. After he had disposed of a third Familiar, White, who had been watched with an amused expression on his face, approached Joshua casually. Joshua bared his teeth angrily, not knowing if he could resist cracking White's spine a second time. He glared angrily into the eyes of the murderer.
"We meet again dog-boy. You know, us Familiars… we're not supposed to feel pain. But what you did to me that night… it felt very much like pain," he snorted. "And well, I just want to say-"Joshua's eyes averted from the unflinching glare to White's arm, which was tucked into his jacket. But too late… in a moment White shoved an electric prod into Joshua's chest. Josh's eyes bugged out in shock. He grunted and tried to push away from the sharp pain in his chest, but his face met the floor next to Alec's.
"- I didn't much care for it," White finished, smiling triumphantly.
"Joshua!" Max cried as she saw him hit the ground. She elbowed the Familiar she was fighting in the face and dashed over to her friend. Just as she reached him, another Familiar came up behind her and twisted her arm behind her back. She grunted and struggled against his grasp. Before she could make a move, another Familiar grabbed her other arm, lifting her up off of the ground. Max struggled against their tight hold. Seeing the fight, White walked up to her, a cocky smile plastered on her face.
"Looks like the tactical move would be to give up, 452. You're friends are down for the count or… defenseless," he said, nodding at CJ and Sandeman who cowered in the back of the room, flanked by Familiars. "You wouldn't want to put them in any kind of jeopardy, would you?"
Max observed the state of her friends and sighed. She kept a stoic look, not wanting to give White the pleasure of her despair. "You win this round White," she sneered.
"I win this always, 452," he smiled.
Max sighed as the truck climbed clumsily over a speed bump, rocking back and forth. She scratched at the handcuffs clamped on her wrists and stared at her fellow passengers who appeared just as miserable. Alec, Joshua, Sandeman, and CJ huddled together atop a couple of ratty cardboard boxes. Alec and Joshua shifted uncomfortably, also bound by handcuffs. Six Familiars also stood near the sides of the truck, silently observing their prisoners. A grate blocked them off from the front of the truck where Ames drove the armored truck.
"What's the plan Max?" Joshua whispered, leaning toward her.
"Sit tight, that's the plan," Max murmured, nonchalantly.
"Yea, great plan Max," Alec retorted. "Hey guys!" he called to the Familiars. "Ever hear of seat beats? You know… might be a good idea." The truck rattled over another bump rattling harder from side to side. "Barf bag? Barf bag will work too."
Sandeman crawled over to the grate and stuck his fingers through. "Ames my boy… what's become of you?" he asked whispering through the holes.
CJ looked at George, who was clinging even tighter to his arm in fear. He grasped him by the neck and spoke to him. "See, George? Didn't we tell Dad he was crazy?"
Sandeman looked backward. Everyone was nodding, even the other Familiars. No one spoke for the rest of the trip.
When they arrived at last, everyone was quickly herded to their cells. Familiars watched the visitors and nodded as they passed through. Max, CJ, and Sandeman were placed in one cell; Alec and Joshua were thrown into the adjoining cell. Max frowned as she grasped one of the bars. This all seemed so… well coordinated. Ames walked up to her cell, still smirking.
"Comfy 452?" he asked.
"'Comfy'… right. Compared to this Manticore seems like the Ritz," Alec moaned, taking in his meager surroundings. Max rolled her eyes and faced White.
"You wanna tell me how you did this?" she asked.
"This? Ah well, this was easy. See, I set my dim witted brother here loose, knowing he would find you," he explained, gesturing toward CJ.
"You're lying," Max interrupted. "CJ couldn't have any bugs on him. We checked him when he first approached us," she said, remembering how Zach had been tagged after she helped break him out of Manticore.
"Not CJ," White said. He walked beside CJ and began patting his snake absently. "It was good old George here. He wasn't too thrilled about us sticking an implant down his throat, but we Familiars have always had a special relationship with our cold blooded friends."
CJ looked at George in shock. "CJ? How could you!" he asked, incredulously.
"Good relationship, huh? Wait'll I tell them how you like to crack them open and drink their blood. Bet they'll stick you on their 'do not invite' list next time," Max remarked.
"Yes 452, we do use their blood. You're very clever to find our secrets after our years of hiding, but not clever enough. You're just not powerful enough to prevent the events set in motion thousands of years ago."
"Don't be so sure," she answered, confidently.
"Oh yea? The plan has already been set in motion. Right now Familiars have taken over all levels of government in countries around the world. You're already too late."
Max raised an eyebrow, not believing what she was hearing. "You're bluffing."
"You think so? Well, let's just see what your friend Eyes Only has to say about that." He grabbed a remote and switched on a small television set that hung on the ceiling.
Max's eyes locked onto Logan's as she watched the familiar image flash onto the screen. Alec, Joshua, Sandeman, and CJ all huddled to the edge of the cell to watch the broadcast.
Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin. The cable hack will last exactly sixty seconds. It cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped, and it is the only free voice left in this city. Countries all over the world from England to China, and even these United States have been taken over by a cult called Familiars. These Familiars have gained power through lies, intimidation, bribery, and murder. They have taken down and assassinated those in power in all branches of government. These monsters have taken control of the world as we know it. They are stronger and more powerful than you and I, but they will not break our will. Fight them. Go underground. But do not give in. Stay strong in the struggle. Peace. Out.
Disturbing images flashed throughout the broadcast. In the U.S., the President put his hands in the air staring fearfully at the Familiars surrounding him, the vice president grasped at his heart, leaders in the House of Representatives and the Senate hid on the floor holding their legs in a fetal position. Logan had informants from all over the world send him footage. World leaders from every continent surrendered their positions to the men and women dressed in long, red cloaks.
When the broadcast ended, Max stared at White with wide eyes. "Pretty impressive, huh?" he boasted.
Max had to cling to some kind of hope. She tried to keep her fear hidden as best she could. There must be something she had missed. She couldn't have really lost. "So why keep us here? Why not just get rid of us?"
"Ahhh, 452. I consider myself a dignified, respectable kinda guy, but I'm only human. I needed my taste of vengeance for what you did to my son. I want you to watch the people around you, the people you love, die for your failure. I want you to see the whole world as you know it, crash down in front of you," he said icily.
Sandeman came up to the bars to face his son. "Ames, my boy… we're your family. Me, CJ... even them. You know this is wrong. You can still stop this. Please, my son." He reached his hand out from the bars and grasped his son's hand in his. For a moment, White was stoic as he looked at his father's hand. A wave of emotions seemed to register on his face and his eyes appeared wetter. Then in a split second he yanked his hand away from Sandeman's grasp in a violent motion.
"Don't you tell me what's right and wrong!" he screamed angrily. "You left me! You left us for them!" he cried, pointing to Max, Alec, and Joshua. "These freaks! These abominations!" White panted, a bit spun from his emotional outburst. He breathed and started to collect himself.
"But you won't have to choose any longer, Dad," he added practically spitting out the last word. "Because we are going to kill them… one by one."
"Ames… you can't! You won't! We're your family. I know somewhere in there you're a decent man. You won't do this. You can't do this to us," Sandeman pleaded.
"Oh I can't?" White asked slyly. He pulled a gun from his jacket and shot CJ straight in the chest in one swift motion. A startled CJ toppled backwards and fell to the floor.
"You're not my family," White said coldly, lowering his pistol. The others had barely registered the shock of the murder when Joshua suddenly slammed backwards to the back of his cell. Max rushed over to the side of her cell.
"Joshua? Josh, you okay?" she asked, concerned.
"Don't feel so hot," he murmured as he slumped to the floor. Alec breathed and put his hand on his forehead.
"Yeah, y'know… I don't feel so hot either," he agreed as he also started to slide to the floor.
Max whirled around and faced her creator as her façade of courage faded away. "What's happening?" she asked; desperation apparent in her voice.
"The comet," Sandeman whispered his eyes blank. Max gazed skyward as she watched the comet streak across the atmosphere. It shone brilliantly and lit up the entire sky. If it hadn't signaled the end of mankind, it would have been quite lovely, she realized as she watched helplessly.
"Game over 452," Ames announced triumphantly.
Max hung her head. She had failed.
