Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Never have, and sadly, never will.
Please R/R!
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THE HUNT
Chapter Three
Between Hope and Loss
As Max hit the ground from the impact of the bullet, she instantly curled up into a ball and clasped her side in pain. The bullet had gone straight through the side of her stomach. She could tell that she wasn't badly wounded, but it hurt like hell. Max scrambled to her feet after seeing the X7s closing in on her; most of them slowing down to refill their chambers.
"Dammit." She said as she continued to run, an aching pain filled her mind and warned her to stop. Max weaved off the street as another barrage of bullets came hurtling towards her. She jumped through the trees and over the underbrush. Holding her wounded right side with her left hand was slowing her down and making her loose momentum. Yes, she was out of Manticore's grounds, but she still wasn't out of the woods yet. Literally speaking.
Her breath was even more weakened then before due to her sudden blood loss and the running she had done all day. Max slowed down and leaned up against a tree, sweat was pouring down her face and the clouds of her breath threatened to give her position away.
Then it was silent again. The only thing she could hear was her forced shallow breathing. Max pulled her hand away from her side and saw the blood that covered it. She was dropping fast. She needed to get somewhere warm. There wouldn't be any permanent damage if she could get it cleaned right away. She needed somewhere safe and reliable. Somewhere like Logan's place. Max smiled faintly. She was going love dropping in on his place; his surprised expression would be enough for her.
Over the two months, it had been a horrible battle to stay out of the solider mind. Madame X tried everything to reprogram her, but she wouldn't give. Over a week ago, she finally gave in and broke, right in front of the bitch too. Well, at least, Madame X thought she was broken.
When she was allowed to roam freely between her exercises and talk with Brin, she made another mental map of the grounds and possible ways to escape.
Brin.
Brin was so happy that Max was 'back on their team,' it was like nothing had happened before. She had missed Brin so much, but still planned to keep her word to get her out of there. As much as Max was faking it, she wanted Brin to do it with her, persuade her to try and escape as well, even though, deep down, she knew it was nearly impossible.
As Max had climbed out of the window and down to the ground for her escape, Brin saw her pleaded with her to stay. When Max said she couldn't, not after what they had done, Brin called her a 'treacherous snake' and went for Madame X. The sirens had blared and the lights flew over the grounds right as the sun began to rise. That's when it all started and when it all ended.
It was so hard not to give in, when so much was being offered to her and they made it seem so good and tried to make her feel bad for leaving the first time. She blocked them out, them and the guilt they tried to bring with them. She kept thinking of her friends, Zack, her siblings and mostly Logan. His eyes were full of so much pain when she was in his arms after being shot in the heart, she never wanted him to hurt, not like that.
"He thinks I'm dead." She thought bitterly. "And I would be dead if Zack didn't ... "
Max shook her head, not the time. She *would* be dead if she didn't get out of there quickly. Max started to run, but a heavy ambush of fatigue flew over her. Everything started to get dark and fuzzy. The forest started to spin rapidly and become a continuous blur. The last thing she remembered was looking up at the falling snow that started to cover her hot and paled face from the ground and Madame X's face as she looked down on her, smiling with those hollow eyes.
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Logan hadn't felt so alive in two months. Bling was checking out some of the files that Logan had printed off and he was hacking into the Manticore files again. He wanted to be sure, he wanted to be positive that he wasn't leading himself into a trap of disappointment.
Logan cracked his sore knuckles and squinted at the screen. What time was it? He glanced at his watch. It was getting late, oh well. Didn't matter. Bling yawned beside him and Logan looked over at him. He was straining to read the files and his eyes were half-mast.
"Thanks for the help Bling, but I can take it from here." He said quietly as he took the files from Bling's hand who happily gave them up.
"You sure?" He asked as he suppressed a yawn.
Logan smiled. "Yeah."
"All right. I'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Ok. Thanks for your help." Logan shouted as Bling shut the door behind him. Logan turned his attention back to the computer. He was trying to find where they had put Max, what section and what room. With that, he could contact Syl and Krit who could help her escape. It seemed to be a perfect plan, until he stopped to think about all the holes they might run into.
Questions of his faith in the mission were zooming around in his head like a ricocheted bullet. No, he didn't want to think of bullets or guns at the moment. Still, he had his doubts. What if Syl and Krit were captured in the attempt? What if he didn't get the correct information and instead they broke into the X7's dorm. That would be bad, very bad.
But the worst possibility that refused to leave his mind was the thought of Manticore successfully changing Max to the same face that she was in the pictures he saw of her.
Blood. Death. Attack. Obey. Fight. Kill.
It was all part of her life as a child at Manticore. What if they were able to bring it back out in her?
Logan shook his head and clinged to the hope that all the talk she did about never being that again was true and he could hold her to it. But he still wondered what they had been doing to her all this time. Manticore would want to break her the second her scratches healed, if not before.
Logan continued to think about Max and Manticore as he clicked away at his keyboard. The time was slowly ticking away and the penthouse was getting cold while the city grew silent. He yawned and rubbed his eyes; he couldn't fall asleep, not when Max was alive and trapped in that Hell.
He clicked into a few more files and finally found what he was looking for. The assigned room for the damaged X5 and the file made since her surgery, it was simple, but enough. A log that was kept by some officer or doctor of Manticore, too bad for them that he found it. He skimmed over the file that read;
Manticore
Infirmary Room
10-16-2021
12:33 am
X5-452
Received heart transplant from X5-599
Assigned Rm. # 33c Level 3 Section D
10-17 In recovery from surgery, all vital signs are stable
10-18 X5 shows signs of resistance towards Manticore
10-22 X5 almost completely healed from surgery, prepared for reprogramming.
10-27 X5 continues to resist Manticore solider ops.
11-15 Took down a Manticore guard in attempt to escape. Tranquilizer darts were used to stabilize her.
11-28 Has begun to undergo a specialized treatment for reprogramming, results are looking high
12-10 X5-452 has successfully been reprogrammed and is scheduled for daily training.
That was it. There hadn't been any other dates entered into the log. Logan leaned back in his chair and stared dismally at December 10th's entry. It couldn't be true. But, what if, it was?
Please R/R!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
THE HUNT
Chapter Three
Between Hope and Loss
As Max hit the ground from the impact of the bullet, she instantly curled up into a ball and clasped her side in pain. The bullet had gone straight through the side of her stomach. She could tell that she wasn't badly wounded, but it hurt like hell. Max scrambled to her feet after seeing the X7s closing in on her; most of them slowing down to refill their chambers.
"Dammit." She said as she continued to run, an aching pain filled her mind and warned her to stop. Max weaved off the street as another barrage of bullets came hurtling towards her. She jumped through the trees and over the underbrush. Holding her wounded right side with her left hand was slowing her down and making her loose momentum. Yes, she was out of Manticore's grounds, but she still wasn't out of the woods yet. Literally speaking.
Her breath was even more weakened then before due to her sudden blood loss and the running she had done all day. Max slowed down and leaned up against a tree, sweat was pouring down her face and the clouds of her breath threatened to give her position away.
Then it was silent again. The only thing she could hear was her forced shallow breathing. Max pulled her hand away from her side and saw the blood that covered it. She was dropping fast. She needed to get somewhere warm. There wouldn't be any permanent damage if she could get it cleaned right away. She needed somewhere safe and reliable. Somewhere like Logan's place. Max smiled faintly. She was going love dropping in on his place; his surprised expression would be enough for her.
Over the two months, it had been a horrible battle to stay out of the solider mind. Madame X tried everything to reprogram her, but she wouldn't give. Over a week ago, she finally gave in and broke, right in front of the bitch too. Well, at least, Madame X thought she was broken.
When she was allowed to roam freely between her exercises and talk with Brin, she made another mental map of the grounds and possible ways to escape.
Brin.
Brin was so happy that Max was 'back on their team,' it was like nothing had happened before. She had missed Brin so much, but still planned to keep her word to get her out of there. As much as Max was faking it, she wanted Brin to do it with her, persuade her to try and escape as well, even though, deep down, she knew it was nearly impossible.
As Max had climbed out of the window and down to the ground for her escape, Brin saw her pleaded with her to stay. When Max said she couldn't, not after what they had done, Brin called her a 'treacherous snake' and went for Madame X. The sirens had blared and the lights flew over the grounds right as the sun began to rise. That's when it all started and when it all ended.
It was so hard not to give in, when so much was being offered to her and they made it seem so good and tried to make her feel bad for leaving the first time. She blocked them out, them and the guilt they tried to bring with them. She kept thinking of her friends, Zack, her siblings and mostly Logan. His eyes were full of so much pain when she was in his arms after being shot in the heart, she never wanted him to hurt, not like that.
"He thinks I'm dead." She thought bitterly. "And I would be dead if Zack didn't ... "
Max shook her head, not the time. She *would* be dead if she didn't get out of there quickly. Max started to run, but a heavy ambush of fatigue flew over her. Everything started to get dark and fuzzy. The forest started to spin rapidly and become a continuous blur. The last thing she remembered was looking up at the falling snow that started to cover her hot and paled face from the ground and Madame X's face as she looked down on her, smiling with those hollow eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan hadn't felt so alive in two months. Bling was checking out some of the files that Logan had printed off and he was hacking into the Manticore files again. He wanted to be sure, he wanted to be positive that he wasn't leading himself into a trap of disappointment.
Logan cracked his sore knuckles and squinted at the screen. What time was it? He glanced at his watch. It was getting late, oh well. Didn't matter. Bling yawned beside him and Logan looked over at him. He was straining to read the files and his eyes were half-mast.
"Thanks for the help Bling, but I can take it from here." He said quietly as he took the files from Bling's hand who happily gave them up.
"You sure?" He asked as he suppressed a yawn.
Logan smiled. "Yeah."
"All right. I'll be back first thing in the morning."
"Ok. Thanks for your help." Logan shouted as Bling shut the door behind him. Logan turned his attention back to the computer. He was trying to find where they had put Max, what section and what room. With that, he could contact Syl and Krit who could help her escape. It seemed to be a perfect plan, until he stopped to think about all the holes they might run into.
Questions of his faith in the mission were zooming around in his head like a ricocheted bullet. No, he didn't want to think of bullets or guns at the moment. Still, he had his doubts. What if Syl and Krit were captured in the attempt? What if he didn't get the correct information and instead they broke into the X7's dorm. That would be bad, very bad.
But the worst possibility that refused to leave his mind was the thought of Manticore successfully changing Max to the same face that she was in the pictures he saw of her.
Blood. Death. Attack. Obey. Fight. Kill.
It was all part of her life as a child at Manticore. What if they were able to bring it back out in her?
Logan shook his head and clinged to the hope that all the talk she did about never being that again was true and he could hold her to it. But he still wondered what they had been doing to her all this time. Manticore would want to break her the second her scratches healed, if not before.
Logan continued to think about Max and Manticore as he clicked away at his keyboard. The time was slowly ticking away and the penthouse was getting cold while the city grew silent. He yawned and rubbed his eyes; he couldn't fall asleep, not when Max was alive and trapped in that Hell.
He clicked into a few more files and finally found what he was looking for. The assigned room for the damaged X5 and the file made since her surgery, it was simple, but enough. A log that was kept by some officer or doctor of Manticore, too bad for them that he found it. He skimmed over the file that read;
Manticore
Infirmary Room
10-16-2021
12:33 am
X5-452
Received heart transplant from X5-599
Assigned Rm. # 33c Level 3 Section D
10-17 In recovery from surgery, all vital signs are stable
10-18 X5 shows signs of resistance towards Manticore
10-22 X5 almost completely healed from surgery, prepared for reprogramming.
10-27 X5 continues to resist Manticore solider ops.
11-15 Took down a Manticore guard in attempt to escape. Tranquilizer darts were used to stabilize her.
11-28 Has begun to undergo a specialized treatment for reprogramming, results are looking high
12-10 X5-452 has successfully been reprogrammed and is scheduled for daily training.
That was it. There hadn't been any other dates entered into the log. Logan leaned back in his chair and stared dismally at December 10th's entry. It couldn't be true. But, what if, it was?