Previously on Slide:
Logan tells Max he might have found a man who could help them with the virus. He explains how he spoke with the scientist, how the man seemed to think he could find a cure, but he needs a sample of the virus in order to do so.
She stutters a "no problem" and assures Logan she will be on it tomorrow night.
"You ok?" Alec asks, as they walk down the steps of the Space Needle.
"Yeah."
"You sure?"
She sighs in annoyance. "Yes, Alec. I'm sure."
"Listen, I can see you're not ok… I mean you should be excited or have at least a small, almost invisible, smile on your face, but you don't."
Alex inexpertly writes a 'CHEER UP, MAXIE' in yellow letters over the outer wall of the Space Needle.
"Max, you sure about this?" he asks before entering the building.
"Yeah."
Max knocks on a door with the inscription "Quinn Mallory".
"Dr Mallory? I'm here in behalf of Logan Cale."
"So, you must be the virus carrier," he says casually to Max, still looking apprehensive. "Should we start?" he stammers.
"You're not from Manticore," Alec states. Soldiers rush into the hall, blocking any exit they may have had.
"Who are you?" Max asks low but menacingly.
"A man came to me after work a few days ago. White, he said his name was. He said I had to pretend to be a doctor and get a blood sample from a woman that would be coming to see me. I asked why should I do it…" he gulps, feeling bile rising, as he pauses a moment, his eyes with unshed tears. "He said he had my wife, Wade. And he would kill her unless I did what he said."
"I can get you out of here," the scientist suddenly says.
"Why?" Max asks.
"Because I can't do this. Whatever happens tonight, I know I'm a dead man already, as well as my wife."
The scientist shows them a small, black device. On the front there's a dark grey button and what appears to be some sort of timer system.
"It's a Parallel Universe Transporting Device. P.U.T," the crazy haired man explains to them. "This device opens a 'door', a wormhole, to parallel universes. You can travel from world to world with this little thing. These other worlds might seem like this one, but they're not, there's always something different. The difference is either obvious, or it might be something small. But there's always something different. You just have to walk right through the wormhole," the scientist goes on. "See the red numbers? These indicate how long it'll take for another wormhole to be created. Remember that if you don't activate it when the clock hits zero, you'll be stuck there. Indefinitely."
All at once the hinges of the door separating them from White and his men gives.
"Max, we have to go," Alec yells, leaving no room for discussion. "Now!"
White enters the room just in time to see a bright light quickly disappear next to the dead body of Dr Mallory.
452 and 494 were no longer in the room.
Chapter 2:
Author: Christique, featuring MeryKey
Rated: PG
Summary: Max and Alec hit a new world, where Alec is the only existing Male. He thinks this world is heaven to him. Will he ever learn the lesson?
Chapter 2: The World Where Alec is the Only Male
"Ooof!"
With a grunt, Alec landed hard on the solid metal of the Space Needle. He rubbed his bottom with one hand, pushed himself up off the ground with the other, and turned around to glare at the spot where the vortex was disappearing. The huge, swirling, bluish-green wormhole shrunk down to the size of a pinprick in midair before winking out of existence completely.
Inside the vortex, it really was pretty, if one could get over the whole inter-dimension traveling aspect of it. The tunnel looked like it was covered with a blanket of stars embedded in dark velvet and satin, and it swam by faster than even transgenic blurring abilities allowed. All in all, the experience of sliding between worlds was quite a dazzling head rush.
Alec had never before despised something so beautiful.
He shook his head wonderingly. "No matter how many times I see it, I'm never gonna get used to that thing..." he murmured to himself.
He finally spotted Max, and his lips parted in surprise. The woman was on her feet! Max noticed the look of slight indignation on his face and smiled. "Beginner's luck," she offered, knowing that the act itself was enough to upset him. Alec hated losing almost as much as she did.
Alec frowned. "That is so not fair."
Max shrugged nonchalantly. "That's life. Unfair."
Alec shook his head with a rueful smile. He paused thoughtfully and said, "You know… we made a hell of a team back there. We saved Logan from… you… and we even managed to give him instructions on how to take down Manticore and break out Seth and the others."
"Hey, whaddaya mean 'we'? That last phone call was all my idea," Max retorted.
"Huh, okay, fine. I concede… The preventive action was all you," he answered with an amused grin.
Max chuckled softly before her own grin faded away slowly. She looked around at what was left of the Space Needle and through the broken window glasses where the remains of Seattle were visible. Forcing down the beginnings of panic that resulted from that sight required all of her transgenic strength.
"This isn't home," Max muttered to herself so that Alec couldn't hear, brows knitted together in worry. Trying desperately to calm herself, she sighed and sat down by the edge, resting her chin on her knees.
Shrugging off initial confusion induced by Max's sudden mood swing, Alec glanced down at the small woman uncomfortably for a moment before joining her. He sat down without comment and the pair watched the Seattle skyline for long minutes in silence.
Alec had never been one for silence. "So… What's on your mind?"
Max turned her head to face Alec, her cheek resting on her knee. "Just that this kinda sucks, doncha' think?"
"What does?"
"This!" She lifted her head and spread her arms wide, gesturing to the world below them that wasn't theirs. "This mess we're in! How many worlds are we gonna hafta pass through before we get home?"
Alec stood up slowly. "What do you mean, Max?"
"Alec, you can't tell me you didn't notice this isn't our home."
He stood and ran a hand through his already mussed-up light-brown hair, uncomfortable under her intent gaze. "Well, maybe home will be the next portal. No reason to give up now. I mean, it can't be too much longer before we find it, right?"
Despite her desire to believe his words, she couldn't keep away the doomed feeling lingering in her mind and heart. The fact was, their only hope of escape finding Mallory, and so far, that search had found little, if any success. They hadn't even managed an area code, much less an address. She stood up suddenly and stared absently into the sky for a while with her arms crossed before turning to look him in the eye. "What if we never make it home?"
Alec shook his head. "Max, don't say that."
She continued as if he hadn't said anything. "What if we're doomed to jump dimensions 'til we go crazy, or die, or both? What if this," she spread a hand once more, "is our life?"
Alec's gaze never left Max's eyes as he closed the space between them. "We're gonna get home. We will. You hear me, Max?" She gave him a small nod. "Never doubt that." He paused awkwardly, looking uncomfortable, before he hesitantly offered a comforting smile. "We'll get through this. I promise," he murmured into the night.
Max nodded and then turned away from him. She hadn't been expecting to find comfort in Alec. Then again, she hadn't expected to fail in finding any useful clues of making it back for so long.
She squared her shoulders and looked out at the world again. Though she didn't like it any better this time around, they still had the same goal, doubles running around or not. "We need to see if Mallory's here. That's our only shot right now." Alec nodded in agreement. "So that means we've gotta get off this thing and prepare ourselves for whatever's down there," she continued with a nod toward the streets of Seattle.
"Yep." Alec walked over to the exit. He opened the door to the stairs and held it for Max. "Ladies first," he said with a gesture and a smirk. Max rolled her eyes and started down the stairs.
"So where do we start?" Alec asked as he clapped and rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"Let's try a phone book before someone has to state the obvious for us this time," Max replied blandly.
Alec shrugged. "Okay. …You wanna try Logan's place again?" he asked cautiously.
Max shot him a hard look. "Let's just look around for a phone book."
He nodded slowly. "So… you don't wanna see if we can find Logan here?"
She stopped walking and turned to face him. "I wanna see if we can find Mallory here, all right?"
Alec held up his hands defensively. "All right, all right. I guess we can try this apartment." They walked up to the first habitat they could find, and Alec firmly rapped his knuckles on the door three times. He turned to Max. "Here, let me do the talking. I think I'd do a better job of being nice."
Max glared. "You think you're nice?"
"Hey, I always try to be nice to you, Max. Not that you ever notice..."
Max abruptly cut him off with a violent gesture and cocked her head to listen. An intent frown crept onto her face as she stared silently into space. Then, without warning, she crouched low and crept carefully around the corner framework of the place, pushing herself up against the side of the building to hide. Alec followed close behind her with confusion painting his face.
After a moment of standing pressed up against the siding in silent anticipation, Alec lowered his voice to a soft whisper. "What is it?"
"Shuttup," Max muttered back absently.
Alec frowned and listened, trying to look everywhere at once, until he could hear what they were listening for. Footsteps...
"...must get there soon, Sister. The Chieftess will be displeased if we are late."
"I know that, Gilda. The Chieftess has a temper that is truly legendary! We must make haste."
"Yes. We will gather up our Sisters and arrive together. It begins soon."
"I suppose we can bring along..."
As the footsteps and the voices faded away, Max and Alec shared a look of confusion and concern. They waited until the two women were completely out of hearing range before they dared to move, coming to a crouch on the balls of their feet.
"What was that all about? The Chieftess?"
Alec shrugged. "I dunno…" Then his face split into a roguish grin. "But the idea of attending a gathering of sisters sounds pretty good to me…"
Max frowned and swatted him on the head. "You idiot! We've gotta find Mallory, OK? That's our top priority!"
"OK, OK! Geez, you don't have to freak out on me!"
Max's glare lingered on him a moment longer before she scanned the area and cautiously rose from her crouch. The coast was clear, so she motioned for Alec to follow her.
The pair of transgenics walked along the deserted street in the direction of the two women. The women were easy to keep track of – they both wore sandals and strange cream-colored dresses of a coarse material, tied at the waist with a woven leather cord.
Also on their waists, though, were nasty-looking belt knives inside leather holsters. Bulging pockets carrying who-knew-what were attached to the holsters, and another strip of leather on their backs supported a slim but deadly spear.
More and more 'sisters' were seen as they went on, all dressed and armed in the same way and all joining the first two Max and Alec had been silently following. Just as Max was thinking about how difficult it would be to follow any longer without getting caught, they rounded a bend in the path and came to what must have been the 'gathering'.
They stood before what looked like the remains of a pre-Pulse baseball field, only the women here clearly had not maintained the structure very well. It resembled the Roman Coliseum more than the place where the Seattle ball team used to throw pitches. The walls had mostly crumbled, and the white lines had long since faded. The line in the dirt marking the diamond and the grass had blurred beyond recognition, and the grass itself had become overgrown after years of neglect.
The women gathered there didn't seem to mind at all, though, no matter how dreary their surroundings. They all wore the odd leather and cloth, and they all stood in a crowd, mingling and chatting in low voices so that Max and Alec seemed to be standing right outside of a gigantic beehive.
Without taking his eyes off of the strange gathering, Alec leaned closer to Max and murmured, "So… why are we following them again? Do you think they're hiding a phone book behind the animal skins?" He flashed her a charming smile as he finished.
Max rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? No one was at that apartment. That side of town must be abandoned. And something tells me there are no books here, let alone one filled with names and numbers."
Alec's grin faded as he caught on to her dim view of his intelligence. His wounded pride made him defend weakly, "I figured it was abandoned."
Max rolled her eyes again, but remained silent as she continued to try and assess the situation as well as see how many other people were around.
Alec broke the silence, bored again. "Whaddaya think they're doing?"
Max shook her head slowly. "I don't know," she answered in a whisper.
Alec looked around at all the girls gathered there. A smile began to creep onto his face. "Y'know, Max, this could be a fun world. A guy could get used to this."
Max shot him a sidelong glare. "Well, fortunately for me, neither of us will be staying long enough to try."
Alec pursed his lips in annoyance at being shot down so easily.
"C'mon. It looks like they're not gonna be moving from this spot for a while, so we have time to explore." As she said this, Max stood to leave, pulling out the PUT device to see if they really did have time.
Alec looked from Max to the gathering and back again with puppy eyes. "Wait, where are we going?"
Max quickly scanned the time meter on the device. The red numbers said that they had nine hours before they had to activate the next wormhole, their shortest amount of time yet. Max nodded and tucked the PUT device back into her coat pocket. "To find some answers."
"We've gotta track down Mallory, but all the people we've seen so far were heading toward this dilapidated baseball stadium," she continued with a thoughtful frown.
Alec shrugged. "I was never a big fan of baseball anyways."
"But they said it was a gathering of sisters, so I guess the money question is…"
"…Where are all the guys," Alec finished.
"Right." Max looked over at him. "Think we can find a local willing to chat?"
Alec smirked at her. "With my charm and good looks, we can get anyone to chat with us."
Max shook her head and replied, "Let's hope that for once, you're right."
"I'm always right," Alec retorted with a smirk.
They found their way to the city streets, but Seattle looked like a ghost town. There was no activity anywhere. The gusting wind sent hollow roaring noises and whistles through open windows and carried bits of garbage rattling along empty streets. There were no cars, and there weren't even any people down on luck huddled around a flaming trashcan to warm their hands. The silence was almost oppressive.
"Hello?" Max called, and as soon as she did, she heard her own voice echoing back at her. The hollow noise reverberated through the abandoned roads and alleys before fading away into silence once more. She didn't want to admit it to Alec, but she couldn't help second-guessing herself. If there was no one by the Needle, and there's no one here, where the heck is everybody? It seemed highly unlikely that the entire population could sustain itself confined to the area by the stadium.
They walked around for a few more minutes meeting nothing. Alec turned to Max. "Listen, I think we should go back to the 'gathering' thingie and see what they're doing there. Obviously that's where they all are right now. It's not like we're accomplishing anything by wandering around in this empty rat-hole anyways."
That's right, Max thought to herself. Maybe this was where they lived, but with their luck, there was some special ceremony going on right when they needed to single someone out. Then again, it could work to their advantage. If everyone was gathering, that meant Mallory would be there as well. The only problem was singling him out amongst the 'sisters' and their doting leader.
"Yeah…" Max agreed. "Looks like we're gonna hafta get a sneak peek at this 'Chieftess' person."
"You seek the Chieftess?"
Max and Alec both spun around abruptly to face the direction of the voice. Stepping out of an unlit old coffee shop was…
"Asha?"
Max stared incredulously at the blonde woman emerging from the shadows. Alec's mouth hung open in shock. Asha wore the scratchy white cloth and leather slings and sandals, just like all of the other people they had seen. But she also carried a pistol holstered at her waist. Right now, she was looking at the two of them with a frown of confusion marring her brow.
She froze as her gaze rested on Max. A slight widening of her eyes and a straighter posture were the only outward signs of surprise she gave. An instant later, she was relaxed again and looked as if nothing had happened. It was all so fast that Max wondered if she'd just imagined it.
"How did you know my name? You are outlanders, yes?"
Max shook her head to clear the weirdness of the situation from it. She hadn't meant to blurt the woman's name out like that, but Asha's sudden presence was unsettling, if helpful. She hoped.
"We were told to come find you. So you're Asha?" Alec covered quickly. "Yeah, we… we're, uh, outlanders."
Asha nodded knowingly. "Yes. Your strange outfits say as much." Max bit back a smart-assed reply about Asha's own ridiculous wardrobe. "Yes, I am Asha. And you are…?"
"Max," she said quickly. "And this is—,"
"Alec." The transgenic male politely extended his hand and smiled.
Asha eyed him curiously. "You have an awfully deep voice, Alec. And a very… unique scent about you." She frowned. "You are a woman, aren't you?"
Alec's jaw dropped.
"Why would you say that?" Max blurted out in shocked confusion.
Asha turned to face Max. "Well, Max, there are no men left on this earth. Surely that is not news to you." Alec's eyes bulged.
"Right. No guys, of course," Max said casually, even though she was panicking inside. Through her rising panic, a strange thought gripped her. If there weren't any men on the entire planet… "So, uh, how do you… uh…," she started, unable to stop herself.
Funny what the mind latches onto in times of crisis…
At this question, Alec finally found his voice. "How do you ladies keep the human race alive and kicking? Last I checked, humans don't reproduce by budding." Max suppressed an annoyed groan at his bluntness.
"You truly do not know?" Asha asked incredulously.
Max shrugged and put on a tight smile. "Well, like we said, we're outsiders."
"Outlanders," Alec corrected quickly.
"Outlanders," Max agreed with an annoyed nod.
Asha eyed them curiously a moment longer before explaining. "Well, after the virus struck, we collected all the sperm cells we could from the males left in the world. They knew it was the only way to allow us to survive, so they did what they could."
Alec could only stare dumbly at Asha while Max tried to wrap her head around what the woman was talking about. One word in particular had her all hung up.
"'The virus'?" Max asked thickly.
Asha nodded. "Yes, the terrible virus that left us women alone on this planet. It kills males at birth. For some reason, though, it has no effect on females. None that we've discovered over the years, anyway."
"So… you just keep… gigantic sperm banks…?" Max trailed lamely. Asha nodded again.
"Yes. And we built large facilities that specialize in sperm cloning, just in case we run low on our supply."
"So… you guys don't… I mean, you have no way of… You can't… uh…" The girls stared at Alec as he stammered uncomfortably. He cleared his throat roughly. "You never get any?"
Max's confused expression transformed into a withering glare. Asha just quirked an eyebrow.
Apparently gaining confidence, as well as ignoring Max's glare, Alec braved forward. "I mean, how do you live like that? You ladies get no pleasure out of life! You must be even more uptight than Maxie here! Well, I guess it would explain the spears…"
Max punched him hard on the shoulder, causing Alec to cut off with a sharp intake of breath. He turned to shoot her a sullen glare. "Whadja do that for?!"
"Can't you be serious for one second of your life? And don't call me Maxie!"
"I was being serious!"
"Yeah, right!"
A small cough from Asha interrupted the shouting match. "So you are male? That is truly incredible! No, it is impossible. If the virus doesn't strike at birth, it strikes later in life. The longest life recorded for a male on this earth since the dreadful virus began is three years. No male has lived past three years old. All are struck down."
Max and Alec shared an uneasy, wary look.
"And yet…" Asha trailed as she drew closer to Alec. Her eyes roved over his every feature as if trying to memorize them. "Your presence brings a strange… feeling… inside of me…" She reached up to touch his strong jaw line with the backs of her fingers. "One that no female presence has ever brought on…." Her eyes turned predatory.
Alec smirked down at her confidently. His eyes locked onto hers as he said, "If you'd like, I can prove my manhood to you." Asha grinned.
Max glared at the spectacle. "You've gotta be kidding, Alec. You can't take advantage of her like that. Especially not in front of me!"
Alec turned to grin at Max. "What's the matter, Max? Jealous?"
"NO," Max answered emphatically.
"And it's not 'taking advantage.' I don't exactly hear her complaining," he finished with a smug look.
Max stared. "Are you serious? I don't exactly think that she's ever been hit on, you big idiot!" she hissed angrily.
"Of course I'm not serious. Like you said, I can't be serious for one second of my life," Alec returned impudently in a flat tone.
"Ummm… Max? Alec?"
Asha had been standing next to Alec, gaze going back and forth between the pair, watching the childish exchange in irritation, arms crossed beneath her breasts. The transgenics stopped bickering and looked over at her now.
"Listen, you outlanders can stay here and argue all you'd like, but I really must be going. If you were truly sent to find me, the assembly must be starting soon, and it would not do well to interrupt the Chieftess by showing up late."
Max's face lit up at hearing this. "Hey, we'll come with you! We actually have a lot of questions that might be answered if we can talk to… the Chieftess," she said awkwardly, as if testing the word out in her mouth.
Alec joined in. "Yeah, like, say, am I the only guy you've ever seen? Any… really old males been around?"
Asha looked at him strangely. "You, Alec, are the first and only male I've ever laid eyes on." She paused with a coy grin. "But you make me wish that the male half of the race hadn't died off."
"Oh, how romantic," Max mocked with a fake smile.
Asha turned to face her coldly. "Does that answer your questions? I hope so, because outlanders are forbidden to attend the assemblies."
"What?!" Max and Alec blurted out in unison.
"Whaddaya mean, 'forbidden'?" Max asked challengingly.
"Forbidden. Not allowed. The Chieftess will surely arrest you. If you are lucky, that is," Asha replied with a frosty expression.
Max shook her head with eyes squeezed shut in surrender. "Fine. Whatever. We don't need to stick around here, anyways."
"We, uh… we don't?" Alec asked, slightly taken aback.
Max opened her eyes and focused them, and her frustration, on Alec. "No, we don't! Mallory's no female! They haven't seen him! His presence would cause quite a commotion, don't you think? Hence, he isn't here. So let's get the hell outta here!"
Max took out the PUT device and checked the time meter before returning her gaze to Alec. "We've got just under 8 hours stuck here, so I say we go find ourselves a nice, quiet spot for a nap and wait it out!"
"Wait, why are you eager to leave? Don't you think this place merits some searching before we up and go? I mean, just because she says she hasn't seen him, it doesn't mean he isn't here."
"We need to find Mallory," said Max with the quickly dwindling patience of an adult talking to a slow-witted child.
"And that means we need to get some answers from this Chieftess. If anyone would know everyone in this city, it would be their leader, right?" asked Alec smoothly.
Max opened her mouth to respond, but found she couldn't argue with Alec's logic. She closed her mouth and thought about what he'd said with a frown. How could she be sure that this world's Asha was right, that she knew everyone in this city and didn't know Mallory? How can I be sure she's telling the truth? Alec was right. They had to search deeper.
She hated it when he was right.
Max's thoughts were cut short by Asha's annoyed voice interrupting.
"Well, you outlanders do what you must. I must be going." With that, Asha turned on her heel and strode off quickly toward the assembly.
Max and Alec stared at her retreating back. They glanced at each other and nodded in silent agreement before creeping after her.
Asha unwittingly led them back to the assembly, and Max and Alec did their best to stay out of sight while peering in to watch once they reached their destination.
Alec once again took the opportunity to glance around at all of the females there. Something about knowing that he was the only male in the whole world messed with his head. Thinking with his Y chromosome, he scanned the crowd with the words "potential" and "ripe" flashing through his mind inappropriately.
He wore what Max could only think to describe as the "guy look," all cocky smugness and filthy suggestions. She shot him a disgusted sidelong glare and tried to keep herself from strangling him on the spot. They were supposed to be looking for the leader! Max withheld her anger as long as she could, which was about 10 seconds. She reached over to flick his temple hard, enjoying the sound it made when their bones connected. He spun to face her at the gesture. "What?"
"Pay attention! And quit drooling. It's not gonna score you any points with all of the virgins you've been ogling so ravenously!" she hissed at him quietly.
Infuriatingly enough, Alec seemed to be amused at her reaction instead of properly abashed, like he should have been at his offensive behavior. Max nearly ground her teeth in frustration. "Don't worry, Max. The only scorecard I keep is yours." He punctuated the statement with a smirk. His hazel eyes burned directly into Max's.
Max suddenly regretted being in hiding. She wanted nothing more than to knock some sense into him and quite literally kick his ass. She didn't have much practice in holding her temper around him, and so she was finding difficulty coming up with a quiet response.
Just when Max thought that she couldn't take his heated stare any more and opened her mouth to deliver a biting response, Alec turned away and began to speak while he scanned the crowd again. "Besides, I'm just enjoying the view. I'd never mix myself up in anything like that."
Max scoffed at his denial. "What, a one-night-stand that you'd get away with, zero complications?" she asked in open disbelief. "Since when?"
Alec pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he contemplated his answer. "Since… all right, fine. I guess I'm just not in the mood."
Max surprisingly smiled at the statement. "Figures, now that you've got your pick of the flock. You are such a guy."
He gave her a look that read 'what?' but said nothing more for a while, and instead averted his attention back to the strange gathering of women. His sights were suddenly taken by one woman in particular, a rather scrawny one with intensely blue eyes hidden beneath a pair of glasses that caught the sunlight and returned it with a vengeance. The spear looked ridiculous on her back, especially around several, much bulkier women armed in the same way.
Alec suppressed a shudder. "Kinda makes ya wonder who donated all the sperm, eh?" He chuckled and looked over at Max. She was staring straight ahead with wide eyes.
"Max?"
His smile slipped when she still didn't answer. "Max." Alec followed her gaze and found the source of her lack of responsiveness.
Original Cindy stood on the pitcher's mound, a spear taller than a person held in one hand while the other rested with attitude on her hip. Her jaw jutted out with a look of authority as she examined the girls gathered there. Then suddenly, she opened her mouth and spoke in a loud and formal voice, "She comes."
As if the two words were a signal, the entire crowd turned as one to face the pitcher's mound. Two rows of sentry women, each big and burly enough to be a man, marched onto the mound and then scattered to circle it, revealing…
"All hail! All hail! She comes! She comes!
The chants came from all sides, and spears were raised with each cry. Those without spears shook fists, and everyone had their gazes fixed upon the raised mound in the center of the field.
Max's mouth fell open as she watched herself step up onto the mound and thrust the deadly blade of a gilded and heavily ornamented spear into it. The crowd abruptly fell silent as if on command.
'Max' wore all leather, none of the scratchy white cloth, and there wasn't much leather at that. Alec took note of this detail, and his brow climbed nearly to his hairline. He swallowed hard and scrubbed a hand quickly through his already mussed-up light brown hair.
"Alec, I think I'm the Chieftess!" Max whispered fiercely in a panic. Alec nodded dumbly.
Max's eyes bulged when she finally noticed all of the runes on the cheeks, arms, shoulders, legs, chest, and smooth belly of the girl. It was all she could do not to gasp aloud in shock. Max herself didn't have anything close to that amount of runes. The Max of this world was almost completely covered with them! Maybe that's why she's cool with not wearing any actual clothes!
"I've got a ton of runes…" Max said softly to herself.
"You do? Wait, there's more?" Alec asked, turning to give Max a concerned once-over. "Where?" His fingers crept toward her shirt, threatening to lift it a little.
Max ripped herself away from his touch and glared at him. "Not me, me!" she answered with a nod toward the scantily clad Max with the spear.
Alec followed her gaze and focused his eyes on the exposed skin, ignoring the thoughts it brought and the burning flush that crept into his cheeks. Sure enough, the caramel-colored skin was tattooed almost everywhere he looked. Precious few spots had no runes at all. One of those was the valley between her leather-clad breasts…
With a loud clearing of his throat, Alec tore his stare away and turned to face Max, who was glaring at him. The transgenic male prayed that she didn't notice the pink staining his cheeks. It wouldn't do well for her to read his thoughts now.
"Could you be any louder?! They could hear us!" Max whispered in an angry hiss. Alec almost sighed in relief.
She turned away from him to stare toward the rune-covered Max on the mound and spoke absently. "I need to get closer, see those runes."
"Here, Max, take my phone. You can get a snapshot of them," Alec offered, rustling through his leather jacket in search of his cell phone.
"Yeah… Thanks," Max said as she took the proffered phone. "Here, hold this for me," she added and handed him the PUT device. She turned to creep away.
A light touch on her shoulder stopped her mid-creep. Max looked from Alec's hand to his face slowly, suddenly tense.
"Why are you giving me the slidey-thing?" Alec asked seriously.
Max stared. "Y'know, in case things don't go according to plan," she answered vaguely.
Alec's face twisted in disbelief. "You want me to leave you here if something goes sideways?"
Max met his gaze calmly. "I want you to do what you have to do and not get your ass shot up doing it. The 'slidey-thing' might help with that."
"No, Max. I'm not gonna leave you here."
He wasn't going anywhere without her. Max could see that as she looked into his unwavering hazel eyes. She expected surprise, but the truth was, she didn't find it so hard to believe, and she couldn't help smiling as she looked into his determined stare.
The worry of him noticing her appreciation or approval quickly reminded her that this was no time to be paying attention to Alec's better qualities. "Do what you have to do," Max repeated before turning to leave once more.
She moved in silence, drawing no attention to herself as she stole away toward the pitcher's mound. Finally, she got close enough to see the runes without using her enhanced vision. Max carefully flipped the phone open and pressed the camera button. Immediately, the phone's background turned into a video camera, seeing what Max was. She zoomed in as much as the phone would allow…
"There is a man among us."
Max's eyes darted over to where Alec was crouched in alarm. His own eyes were rounded in shock and fear. He caught Max's gaze and motioned for her to get going. Then he started to back further into the shadows.
The murmur that followed the announcement made in Max's voice drowned out any noise she might have made scooting even closer. But the milling masses of women kept getting in the way of the camera, so Max couldn't find a good opportunity. When she finally got a good glimpse of the woman, she forgot about the picture as anger bubbled up inside her.
Standing next to the Amazonian Max was a smug-looking Asha. The woman had ratted them out! Max stopped herself from grinding her teeth in frustration. She'd deal with the blonde rodent later, she promised herself. For now, she had to take the damn picture and get back to Alec. They absolutely had to get out of there now!
She aimed the camera at her other self and waited until she had a clear shot. Finally, she found the moment and pressed the button that would allow her to capture the image forever.
Max's eyes widened in horror when the phone made a loud sound imitating a real camera as it took the picture. She looked down at the thing as if she'd been holding a bomb and then shot Alec an accusatory glance. Why didn't he warn her that it was going to be so noisy?
But Alec was surrounded by women with spears. In her panic, Max hadn't noticed them closing in around him. Her heart constricted in sudden fear for the male transgenic. He stood with hands held up in surrender, the PUT device poking out of his pocket. They held him at spear-point. Max told herself fiercely to calm down and get her head in the game, but the image of Alec being tortured by those… Amazons!… kept popping up sickeningly into her mind. Focus, soldier! Get that picture!
Max turned to face the Chieftess once more and found herself looking into the inquisitive eyes of the women starting to gather around her. Max saw that she was quickly being surrounded, and her panic mounted to a great crescendo. The Chieftess herself slowly approached the circle and gazed down at Max, brown eyes meeting their perfect match, widening in surprise before turning into a cold glare.
"She is the other outlander," the Chieftess said calmly. "And she mocks me," she added in an icy tone.
At that, the spears came out and directed themselves at Max. All traces of curiosity or uncertainty melted away into anger and hostility. How am I mocking her? Max thought indignantly.
"Take her to the prison," Max heard herself command. Her world went black as a scratchy blindfold was placed over her eyes.
"Hey!" Max shouted, unable to stop herself. "What the hell is that for?"
"Gag her, too. She even means to mock my voice!" Max's voice called in outraged command.
"I'll do a whole lot more than mo- " she began angrily before another scratchy cloth was shoved into her mouth. Max fought the impulse to throw up; it tasted like dried sweat and dirt. She tried to shout for Alec, but the only thing that came out was a garbled and muffled cry that sounded so pathetic that Max gave up. She wouldn't give these awful women the satisfaction of hearing her sound weak.
"You know where to take her," Max heard the Amazon version of herself say as she was roughly dragged forward.
And I thought I was a bitch! Max thought angrily as she was prodded along.
Alec heard the low voices all around him fade away after he was forcibly seated on the ground and had his arms tied around a pole behind him. Footsteps made him stiffen before he felt hands reach around his face to untie the blindfold blocking his vision. When the cloth was removed, his eyes focused on the lovely face in front of him, framed with dark silky hair that hung to the waist.
The fact that her hair was too long and that her eyes were too cold stopped him from blurting her name out in surprise. Well, that and the vile cloth stuffed in his mouth. The thing had a nauseating taste that made Alec continually suppress the urge to ralph all over the place. It's not Max, it's her evil twin.
The evil twin removed the nasty gag cloth at long last, and Alec turned his head to the side to spit several times once her hand was out of the way. When his head turned to face front again, though, it was grabbed by delicate hands. It was Alec's only warning before a pair of full lips collided with his hungrily.
He couldn't stop himself from responding with a fire. His thoughts escaped him as he took in the sweet taste of her lips. He sorely regretted not having the use of his hands, leaving him with an unfulfilled burning desire to pull her closer, feel her hot skin melt under his touch.
Abruptly she pulled away, seemingly breathless, and allowed a coy smile to touch her now slightly swollen lips. "I've never seen a man before, much less kissed one," Max said to him with that smile. She touched her lips gently with her fingertips and added, "And that was quite a first kiss."
"Should you need a second or third…" Alec blurted out with a smirk.
Her coy smile evaporated instantly. "You are not to speak of this," she commanded in a serious tone, ignoring his blatant innuendo. "Do you understand?"
Alec's smirk faltered a bit, but he nodded. "I never kiss and tell," he said confidently, before a thought came to him that for a moment made him want to evaporate into thin air. Max, not this one, but the real one, would kill him if she knew.
"That is good," her double said before she turned and walked away.
Alec stared after her in confusion and. What did I just do? Though he hadn't had much time to think about a reaction, he was sure that Max wouldn't be so understanding once she found out. She doesn't have to know, he thought decisively, but that didn't make the worry inside him disappear.
While he considered how he was going to keep this from her, it occurred to him that he'd just kissed her double. Is that what Max tastes like? he couldn't help wondering, a thought that brought the image of Max glaring into his mind. I've got to get out of here…
Max grunted against her gag in protest at the rough treatment of her person. Was it really necessary to keep poking at her with those awful spears?
She felt herself being knocked down and dragged across the ground. "Hey!" she shouted in a gurgling cry through the foul gag. The only response was a shove that slammed her backside up against a thick wooden pole. Her hands were lifted above her head and tied around the pole behind her back. This is not good…
Abruptly, the blindfold was ripped away from her eyes, letting in sunlight with a blinding intensity. Max squinted at the silhouette of a person outlined in light in front of her. After a moment of blinking, her eyes adjusted…
…and widened as she realized who it was standing there. She heard a muffled voice escape from behind the rank cloth stuffed in her mouth, and then the gag was mercifully removed. Max spat repeatedly on the ground in front of her to get the dreadful taste out of her mouth, fighting her gag reflexes all the while. Then she turned back to look up at the person in her cell.
At seeing Original Cindy glare down at her, she felt a surge of relief that the cloth had muffled her yell. It wouldn't do well to have the woman asking her all sorts of questions, starting with, 'How do you know my name?'
"Aiight, imposter. You gon' tell Original Cindy what this bitch is," she began abruptly, holding up, to Max's horror, the PUT device.
So much for avoiding questions…
Max arranged her face into what she hoped was an innocent expression. She'd seen Alec do it often enough when he was in trouble. "Wish I knew," she said with a shrug.
Cindy's glare deepened. Suddenly, Max found herself staring cross-eyed at a spear-point right in front of her nose. "I won't ask again."
If I don't answer her, I'll be a transgenic shish kabob! Shit!
Mind racing for an answer, Max swallowed. This was going to be awkward… "It's… a portal device. It's how Alec and I got here. …We're trying to get home, but we need to find the guy who made that thing so we can ask him how to use it." She looked Cindy right in the eye to let her know that she wasn't lying.
Now would be a great time for lightning to strike, right inside this… Jam Pony?!
For the first time, Max took in her surroundings. Yes, she was in the basement of her place of employment. The only thing missing was Normal and his "Bip bip bip!"-ing. He'd freak if he saw this! It was totally in ruins. The walls were chipped and dirty, a thick layer of dust coated the floor, and it stank of mildew. Naturally, there wasn't a single package to deliver.
Guess that means there're no bikes upstairs for me to pedal my ass outta here.
"You think you're funny, outlander?" Cindy asked menacingly. "Fine. You don't wanna tell me the truth, you can answer to the Chieftess," she said as she turned to leave.
The door closed behind her, and Max looked around, not really seeing any of it. If Cindy had the PUT device, that meant she took it from Alec. So where was he? Max felt a rush of fear. What if they'd killed him? Don't be stupid, Max. You saw how interested Asha was in him. They wouldn't immediately kill the only guy they've ever seen.
But that begged another question: What would they do to the only guy they've ever seen? Max frowned at the thought. He's probably somewhere enjoying himself right now while I'm chained to the wall like some prisoner…
She shook her head to focus on coming up with a plan, like how to get the PUT device back from Original Cindy's evil, poke-happy twin.
Once the initial shock of kissing Max's double had worn off, Alec decided there was no reason for him to feel guilty. He didn't have much of a choice, and besides that, as he'd told the woman, he didn't plan on telling anyone, especially not Max.
In the meantime, he couldn't quite keep the grin from his face as he looked around at all of the women staring at him. During the short time since he'd been captured, a whole flock of the Amazons had decided to go look at "the male" just to see what one actually looked like. The looks he was getting ranged from the sort of face one would make at a carnie to coy smiles and wide eyes. These girls were fascinated by him! The transgenic knew lust when he saw it…
I guess this isn't so bad…
The whole crowd was abuzz with whispers, and every eye was trained on Alec. He somehow managed to pose even while tied to the pole. His grin caused a gasp from a few in the group, which only made it widen. A guy could get used to this… Then again, he knew he was bound to get bored of their reactions sooner or later.
"Out, everyone! NOW!" boomed an assertive voice over the hushed chatter. The women quickly dispersed with lowered eyes, but not fear. It seemed they were used to these types of orders. The smile on Alec's face slid away at the change in audience. When he looked up and saw who had barked the order, he felt a surge of hope rise in him. However, at seeing the look on Cindy's face, that hope was promptly squashed.
He decided it would be a bad idea to say hi, or really to say anything at all, so he bit back the cheeky remark he'd had locked and loaded on the tip of his tongue. Original Cindy did not look happy.
"You outlanders just had to come an' make a scene…," she said sullenly. She straightened and placed a hand on her leather-clad hip while the other hand dangled the PUT device in front of him. "Since yo' smart-ass girlfriend didn't wanna answer, you gon' tell Original Cindy what the hell this thing is." It was clear from her tone that that was not a request.
Alec swallowed hard. That meant Max was still alive. He frowned at realizing he'd been too busy enjoying the attentions of all of the other women to worry about her whereabouts and safety… "First, tell me where she is," he said firmly.
The slap that turned his head sideways would have hurt much more if he'd been a normal human being, but the shock of it caused his eyes to widen. Cindy's glare met him as she crouched around and got right in his face. "You don't call the shots here, outlander." She said the title like a swear word and even curled her lip upon saying it, as if it tasted bad in her mouth.
"Now. I'll ask you one – more – time," she continued fiercely. "What the hell am I holding?"
Alec gave her a dark look through his lashes as his head hung low. "It looks like a remote control. You got a boob tube anywhere? My show's on in five minutes."
Cindy's glare deepened against Alec's belief that it was already as deep as it could go. He sincerely thought she was going to slap him again, and he braced himself for just that when she straightened and turned around without another word. As quickly as that, the room was empty and Alec was alone again.
He moved his jaw around, trying to shake off the pain of her slap the only way he could with his hands bound behind him. I guess not all of the ladies here love me…
Max looked up with a sudden alertness. She'd definitely just heard Cindy's voice yelling. It sounded like it had come from the floor above her…
She squinted at the ceiling, focusing all of her transgenic senses to pick up on everything they could. Cindy had yelled at a lot of people to get out. Did that mean Alec was up there? Her stare intensified at the thought. It was hard to tell whether the transgenic was really up there or not, since she couldn't see through the ceiling and sounds were muffled a floor away. Damn shame Manticore couldn't splice me up with something useful like X-ray vision…
…There it was! Max felt a glimmer of hope as she just barely made out a deep rumble that could only be a man's voice. Alec was most certainly the only person in the entire world who could produce a man's voice. Max strained to catch what he was saying, but she'd been lucky enough to hear the low vibrations, so deciphering words was impossible. She pursed her lips and gave up. Alec was alive. He was upstairs. I'm gonna hafta bust us out.
Knowing that Alec wasn't going to be able to escape without her help made her determined to break free. She started rubbing the scratchy rope binding her hands against the pole up and down, causing some friction to begin heating the rope and pole. It was a long shot, hoping the rope would fray against the rust on the pole, but it was the only one Max could think of.
She knew the PUT device was slowly ticking down. Their hourglass was persistently draining of sand as they sat there as bound prisoners. She'd be damned if she was going to get stuck in this abominable place! Why'd I let him talk me into staying here? With a grunt, Max redoubled her efforts. The only sounds she let herself hear now were her forceful breathing and the scratching of rope on rust. I'm gonna kick his ass! she thought with a wave of anger, the emotion helping to give her more energy. But I gotta save it first.
Alec's head jerked up at the sound of lazy, approaching footsteps. He saw Chieftess Max leaning casually against the doorway staring at him with hooded eyes. His own eyes instantly took on a guarded look that made Max smile mirthlessly.
"What's your name?"
Caution turned into confusion. "Why do you ask?" he said carefully. He thought for sure that Asha would have already passed on that information.
She smirked. "A pet should have a name. If you don't already have one, I'm sure I can come up with one," she added as her dark smile stretched. The look on her face made Alec's hackles rise.
"'Pet'?" he repeated with disgust coloring the edge in his voice.
"Of course! Why else do you think we've kept you here? You are to be property of the Chieftess. That is your purpose in life, since the gods miraculously spared you from the fate that meets all other men. It is a sign that you are divine indeed and are thus suitable only for the Chieftess." Max's eyes ran openly over his body and came to rest on his face once more, all with that same predatory smile that Asha had given him earlier.
"Lady, I know you like me and want me all to yourself, but there are lots of lonely women out there. I come offering some warm company, and it just wouldn't be fair of you to monopolize it," Alec answered with a shit-eating grin. It was the only way he could think to piss her off into not wanting to keep him as a pet. The very thought made his skin crawl…
A strange look crossed Max's features and was shaken off almost imperceptibly. Then she shot him a devilish grin and came closer. Before Alec could process what was happening, she had straddled his legs, kneeling inches from his face. "Warm company? Do tell…"
Alec felt his blood boil and start to head south as the girl who could have been Max's exact replica if not for the excess runes lean in and capture his lips with hers, pressing her body against his bound one. Alec leaned into her kiss as his mind clouded over for a moment before he realized what he was doing. Abruptly, he turned his head sideways to break the kiss. Max's hazy eyes came back into focus after a few seconds and bore angrily into his.
"Why did you stop? C'mon, pet, you know you enjoyed that," she added with a coy smile. She pressed a hand to his chest, causing him to flinch. "Your heart is beating erratically, and your breathing is heavy. You can't hide your desire, pet."
Alec frowned at her. "Yeah, and being called 'pet' just turns me on that much more," he said sarcastically.
The woman glared. "I could call you something else if you obeyed and gave me your name," she retorted.
"Forget it," he said firmly as he turned his head to avoid looking at her.
Alec felt her approaching and clenched his hands on the other side of the pole, keeping his gaze steady and staring stubbornly at a noticeably loose brick in the crumbling wall as if it would burst into flames if he concentrated hard enough. Her breath tickled his taut neck as she spoke.
"Fine. But you must remember not to utter a single word of this to anyone. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," Alec said simply, praying his Manticore mask was hiding his surprised confusion. If he was supposed to be her pet, why was it so important that no one knew about it? She was the Chieftess; she could do anything she damn well pleased in this world, right? The women here practically worshipped her, and he was sure that if a claim was staked on him openly none of the other women would try anything to contest or compromise it. He might as well have been branded. Like a cow… I'm just meat to these girls…
The high and mighty Chieftess slid away and left him alone with his confusion once again. "Damnit," he muttered softly before saying for the second time, "I gotta get outta here…"
The sun had stopped shining in her eyes. Max took note of this as she continued to struggle with her ropes. A wave of panic swept over her at the realization that night had fallen. They were quickly running out of time.
The sound of the door opening made her stop what she was doing immediately. She didn't think she'd worn through enough of the rope to be able to break it just yet, especially with her lack of strength brought on by hunger, but there was no sense in drawing attention to the fact that she was attempting to escape. Her arms were tired…
Cindy was back, it seemed. Max noticed that her hands were empty. Where was the PUT device? It wasn't like the woman had pockets in her skimpy Amazon uniform. Her brow furrowed in furious thinking and worry, but Cindy was too far away still to see her face.
Suddenly, Max's stomach rumbled loudly. She glanced down at it in surprise as an idea came to her. "What's a girl gotta do to get some grub around here?" she called out to her captor.
Cindy stiffened at the tone she'd used to address her, but she turned right around and left the way she'd come without a backward glance. Max smiled and resumed her attempts to fray the rope, despite the protest of every muscle in her arms and back.
After a few moments, the dark woman returned with a tray of hot food. Max didn't have to hear her steps or the door opening again to know she was coming; her nose took deep pulls of the air without her notice, and her mouth watered at what it picked up. Her stomach gave its loud greeting once more to Cindy as she entered. Max gave her arms a rest as soon as the door opened. Damn, I really must be hungry! Stupid metabolism…
Cindy set the tray in Max's lap and pulled up a crate to sit on. Max looked from the tray to Cindy and back again. She stared for a moment, looking as pitiful as she could manage. "Um…. Is this some new kind of torture? Set the food there just out of reach as the prisoner starves to death?"
Cindy looked up at her in surprise. She seemed to have been daydreaming. "What'a you talkin' 'bout?"
Max nodded to the tray on her lap and wiggled her fingers lamely. "How's a girl supposed to eat if she can't use her hands?" After a pause, she added, "A little help?"
Cindy finally understood and rolled her eyes with a loud sigh. "Fine. I guess you're right." To Max's dismay, the woman didn't reach for the knife in her leather belt to cut the ropes away. Instead, Max found herself being spoon-fed some hot beef stew.
Damnit! I wanted her to cut me loose, not feed me like a friggin' baby! She couldn't argue, though. She really did need the nourishment right then, and it seemed that was the only way she was going to get it. Max tried to hide her indignation and swallowed her pride in another spoonful of stew.
After she'd eaten everything on the tray, she felt like she could've consumed it all again and still have room for more, but instead of complaining, she decided to do some recon. The PUT device absolutely had to be found!
"Thought you said the Chieftess was gonna deal with me," Max stated casually.
"I did. And she will. Just not now. She's busy with the other prisoner," Cindy said with a curl to her lip. Max recognized disgust on her face immediately.
"You really don't like him, huh?" she prodded.
Cindy turned to face her squarely. "Just 'cuz you sleepin' wit him don't mean that every other girl has to," she said bluntly.
Max ignored the crude accusation along with her amazement at Cindy's knowledge of slang terms for sex in a sexless world. "Seems like they really want to, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," Cindy answered disgustedly. "We were just fine until you outlanders showed up," she added in a bitter voice. "Ain't no wise-ass man to put their panties in a bunch…"
Max nodded understandingly. "Alec's quite the charmer." She immediately cringed inside at the statement. I can't believe I just said that. God, if he ever hears about this, I'll throw myself off the Space Needle… After a pause, she continued. "It surprises me, though. Wherever we go, the girls all seem gaga over him. Why aren't you?" She knew the answer, of course. If she was truly Original Cindy, she played for the all-girl team.
The look on OC's face would normally elicit a laugh out of Max, but today, it read hope. "Are you kiddin' me? Original Cindy ain't impressed by some… three-legged dog."
"But I guess no one else feels that way, huh?" Max pushed her further.
"Wha'chu tryin' ta say, outlander?" Cindy asked, clearly getting agitated.
"I just noticed some things, that's all…" Max trailed, purposefully cryptic.
Original Cindy's eyes narrowed. "What kind of things?"
"I know him real well, you know," Max began. "He doesn't really care about any of those girls. Just uses them for their bodies and then leaves 'em with a broken heart."
Original Cindy almost sneered. "You sound like a scorned lover."
Max blushed out of surprise but quickly went back to her plan. "No. See maybe your leader is foolish enough to fall trap to his… 'charm', but I've got a head on my shoulders. I'm only with him because of that device."
"Device…?" Cindy trailed before her eyes widened as she remembered. "The strange box you lied to me about. What does it do?"
Max knew the plan was rash and something that Alec was more likely to do, but given the short time that they had on this World, she didn't think she had any other options. "It's what brought us here. Do you really think he's that special? Like he's immune and has been in hiding? You said it yourself, we don't belong here."
"What is the source of its power?" Cindy asked.
"It's the box!" Max answered immediately, irritated. "But here's the problem. If that guy and I aren't together before the time runs out, we'll be stuck here forever."
Cindy shrugged. "Fine with me, my Chieftess is no fool like you rudely tried to say. She'll be bored with him soon and then he can go on being our slave."
Max tried to act more like Alec, pulling out a cocky grin. "Are you sure about that? Didn't you say your Chieftess was gonna come talk to me? What happened? Was she too distracted?"
All the questions were increasing Original Cindy's irritation and she left immediately.
The smile immediately fell from Max's face once she was alone again. She used her transgenic speed to rub at the ropes and continue to try and escape. I can't count on her insecurities, she thought with a worry. I hope Alec is having better luck than me…
Alec tried to stay awake as time passed. He felt that now more than ever he needed to be on full alert. There was no telling what these women would do if they unsuspectingly approached him. He wondered if he still had any chance of charming his way to escape.
Approaching footsteps made his body stiffen as he prepared for the worst.
He was immediately relieved to see who it was. Until he realized that it wasn't going to help him escape.
"Your girlfriend tells me you like to use women," Original Cindy said angrily. "And I don't like having to wait to come see you alone. You need to get out of this land before you cause any more trouble."
Alec felt relief again as he took in her words. She's going to help me escape! "Yes!" he agreed eagerly, "That's a brilliant idea. I wouldn't want you to have any more trouble. So maybe I should leave."
"Yes," Cindy agreed, pulling out the PUT device.
Alec didn't think his grin could grow any wider, but the site of the tool to his escape brought just that. "How'd you know?" he asked before his thoughts settled on Max. "Where is she? Is she coming soon?"
Cindy's smile suddenly looked less generous and kind to Alec. He started wondering if she was really going to help them or not. Then a quiet panic started dancing through him as his eyes rolled over the time left – twenty minutes and ticking.
"Did you really think I would let you go and give you the magic box?" she said finally with a slight laugh. "Original Cindy's gonna smash this magic box first, and then your insulting face!"
"Woah wait, my face has been called many things, but 'insulting'? Can't we talk about this first? I never knew you were so violent!"
"I don't think so," she said, raising the PUT device above her head and about to throw it as hard as she could into the ground.
But just on the nick of time, an olive tanned hand gripped OC's arm. OC looked over her shoulder in surprise, meeting the big, dark eyes of her Chieftess only to soon realize it was not her Chieftess at all. It was the mocking outlander.
Alec sighed in relief when Max's face came into view. He could see her face was hard in concentration, in combat mode. In a matter of seconds, his travel companion spun OC around, her balance failing her, which Max took advantage of. Max punched her old friend's jaw, rendering her unconscious, but not before she had mastered to yelled 'guards!'.
Max couldn't help blurting a guilty 'sorry' to the sleeping figure of her best friend, as she picked up the PUT device, which laid on the limp grip of OC's hand. Her eyes immediately fell on Alec once she stood up.
"Well, that's got to be the dumbest plan in history," she heard Alec mutter. She stopped short and narrowed her at him, still tied up to a pole.
"Excuse me?"
"Did you really think telling OC that the PUT would get rid of me was the best idea? The woman clearly has it against me… here and everywhere!" he spat.
"It was a good idea! Not my fault you don't know how to make it work for you advantage, which you're usually good at when it comes to get into some skank's panties!"
Alec was about to argue with her that her conception of "good idea" was slightly distorted when they heard footsteps hurrying their way.
"What's going on?" a short, yet muscular blonde demanded at the sight of Original Cindy's unconscious body lying on the floor.
Max took her down easily, but that didn't stop two more guards showing up.
"Yeah, really good idea!" said Alec, as he fought against the ropes holding him against the pole.
Max struggled with a tall dark haired Amazon; the woman's arm was tightly wrapped around Max's neck as the other approached her, some sort of slim club in her hands.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Max spat, although the choke-hold around her throat was making it difficult for any sound to come out right. "But from what I heard," she continued before kicking the approaching red-haired Amazon on the chest. She used the strength of the kick to push back the one holding her by the neck and wiggled out of her grip. "You were enjoying yourself in all your man glory!"
Then, Max grabbed the dark-haired woman by the arm and spun her in the air, landing on her back with loud smack.
"Enjoying myself?! Right! I was being manhandled sounds more likely!"
Max went for the one with the club, although the weapon now laying on the floor, feet away from its intended owner.
"Oh, please! Like you didn't enjoy all the attention!" she continued arguing as she dodged a kick from the red-head.
"It's not that entertaining when people only see you a piece of ass, you know?" he replied.
"Oh, is that right? 'Cause here I was, thinking treating people like a piece of ass was just another day in the office to you," Max countered back sarcastically.
"Well, it stops being fun when they refer to you as a pretty faced 'pet'. It's… degrading."
Max finally put the red-haired Amazon down, making that 4 unconscious Amazon women on the floor. It was getting crowded.
"Wait, let me get this straight," Max said then, flipping her hair over her shoulder, sticking her right hip out. "Alec, the King of empty and meaningless relationships, is upset because he's wanted only for his looks?"
"Well, I think it was something else of mine they were interested in, but I'm glad you notice my good looks, Max."
She rolled his eyes at him, bending down to take the knife wrapped around OC's leg. Max cut the ropes tying Alec to the pole and set him free.
"I hope you learn something from this. If we don't get killed first, that is."
They could hear more footsteps. "We have to go," Alec said then, stating the obvious, as Max handed the egg timer to him.
They were able to outrun them all; dodging rocks and arrows on their way out of town. All except for the Chieftess. Amazon Max.
They had barely 4 minutes before they would have to push the button to open a new worm hole that would, hopefully, take them home. Just then Max was yanked back by her hair; she lost her balance, falling flat on her ass, but blurred up on her feet immediately. Her clone, the Chieftess, held a very sharp knife against her neck.
Alec assessed the situation. They wouldn't be able to blur out of this one. The Chieftess had their same abilities.
"Ok, how 'bout we all calm down, for a minute… or four?" he uttered in his most persuasive tone, his hands held up high in sign of surrender.
"She mocks and steals from me," the Chieftess accused with a pointed nudge against Max's neck.
Alec frowned but soon answered. "Who said she stole from you?" He had realized as soon as he understood the Chieftess was claiming ownership of him that his mouth would be the only thing that could get them out of this alive.
It was the Chieftess' turn to frown but then her face turned to complete delight when he bowed down in front of her.
"I am yours. And this is my present for you." Alec looked at Max, who, in turn, looked confused. "We can get rid of the offending outlander now. No witnesses. And I'll be completely yours."
The Chieftess' hand held the knife firmly against Max, so Alec pushed it. He stood up and was soon right in front of the Chieftess. His hazel eyes never left her deep brown ones; the intensity in them making her knees turn to jell-o. A long moment had passed and Alec's anxiety was well hidden. They were running out of time.
He slowly reached for her cheek and softly caressed it. He leaned forward, ignoring Max's eye-roll, and it was then, mere inches away from her soft, pouty lips, that the Chieftess' breathing hitched, her hold on the knife loosened infinitesimally and her eyelids dropped on their own accord.
And it was then that Max took hold of the situation.
Within seconds, it was her hand holding the knife against the Chieftess' neck. Alec backed up and her eyes snapped open. He couldn't shake the guilt at the betrayed look in her eyes. They were Max's eyes, after all. And he'd seen that look before.
"Don't move," Max ordered. She backed up until she was standing right next to Alec. "Turn around." They would have to do this fast. They had barely a minute. Her double did as she was told quietly, but knowing herself, Max knew her other self was probably livid at the moment. "Do you have the PUT?" she asked Alec.
"Out and ready," he answered pulling it up so she could see it. They backed up slowly, her eyes trained on her double. When they were a few feet from her, they blurred the opposite way, feeling rather than hearing the Chieftess follow after them at the same speed.
The timer hit zero and Alec pushed the red button. Max turned at that exact same second and threw the knife at her double, aiming at her thigh. It hit its target just as they both ran into the warm hole right in front of them, leaving the Chieftess on the floor pressing her hands against the bleeding wound and looking up at the magnificent lights that soon disappeared along with the outlanders that had come to disturbed their peace. It would be many years before anyone forgot about the outlanders; about the only living male that anyone had ever seen.
TBC
Check the next post for an announcement. Thanks!! MK.-