Backslide

Fuming, Max thew herself against the bars of her cell. Her body ricocheted off the ringing bars and toppled to the ground. She lay on the ground, staring up at the ceiling, unable to move from the paralyzing pain. Slowly, realizing that she couldn't stay in that helpless position forever, Max rolled over and pushed herself up in a crude push up. She managed to sit and lean against the bars of her cell, facing Zack, but with her back towards the door.

Zack was pacing and running his hands through his hair every once in awhile. Constantly, he was glancing over at Max, as if checking on her to see if she was ok. Max knew that he was taking the guilt for all of their capture. He felt as though it was his responsibility to protect all of them from Lydecker. It wouldn't happen. Max's and Zack's eyes met and he opened his mouth to say something.

Just then, five men dressed in black, burst through the door. Wordless, they turned off the electricity and walked into Max's cell. She attempted to scuttle away, but was unable to move fast enough. They handcuffed her hands behind her back and dragged her out on her knees. Her attempt at fighting was incredibly pathetic…even for a normal human. She was screaming. Out of pain. Out of fear of the present…and the future.

Zack slammed his body against the bars, not hurting as much as she. "Let her go!" he yelled. "Let her go!" Max's face disappeared out of the closing door as he repeated the words again. Angrily, he pounded his fists on the iron bars, pleading with them to break under his blow. This time he fell to the ground.

He sat on the cold concrete in a poor Indian Style. As Max's screams faded away from the echoing chamber, he gazed down at his split knuckles. And for the first time, he began to cry. His tears mixed with the blood and fell upon his jeans, flowering out on the fabric. Once again he had failed.

How long passed was unknown to Zack-time no longer held any relevance for him. He had rolled up into a miserable, sulking ball on his hard metal cot and was facing the white washed brick wall. Inside he was hollow and sick. Outside, the blood had dried, but left smears up and down his arms. Nothing mattered.

The X-5 were gone to him and Max had been taken away. Her screams still haunted him as he imagined what Lydecker had done to her. He shivered and tried to get warm, there was nothing more he could do.