Five years later
Max stood by the door, watching Zack and Jenna, now 10, work on their daily training routine with Bling. At first, Bling had the upper hand over them, but soon enough, they got stronger and stronger, and now they were the ones with the upper hand. As she watched them, she couldn't help thinking back to when she was in Manticore, going through her training.
She remembered nights when she, or Zack, would comfort the other X5 kids after a hard day. Like the time, about a year before the escape, when Brin had gotten in trouble for not paying attention. She was forced to run ten laps around the base. That night, she literally fell into bed, her entire body sore. From her bed, Max had seen her crying silently. She'd gotten up and carefully made her way to her.
"Brin? You okay?" she'd asked the girl in a whisper.
"It hurts, Max," she'd answered, still crying.
"I know," said Max, then, "I'll be right back." She'd gone to the bathroom and retrieved a few towels, getting them wet, but twisting the extra water out. She'd went back to Brin and put them where it hurt the most. Soon, Brin had fallen asleep. In the morning, the towels were gone, she must have put them back. Without the guards noticing, Brin had smiled to her.
"Thank you," she'd mouthed. Max had nodded in response.
She came back to reality, just in time to see Jenna flip Bling over unto the ground. Zack stood to the side, applauding his sister. She smiled and helped the man up.
"Very good," said Bling, slightly out of breath.
"You okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he sat down.
"Is it my turn yet?" asked Zack.
"Gimme a minute, okay?"
"Sure!" he said as he walked up to Jenna.
"That was great!"
"Thank you. I can't wait for our lessons this afternoon. Dad said he had a special subject." The two were home schooled, since they figured it might not be such a good idea to put them in a public school. It wasn't much surprise to either Max or Logan that the two were very quick learners. As much as it scared Max that they were becoming almost as good as any Manticore soldiers. Only they had the bonus of no seizures.
*
Later that day
The kids were having their daily lessons with Logan, so Max did what she did most of the time in those occasions. She sat by the window, reminiscing about her childhood. Somehow, the more she tried to put the thoughts aside, the more they bombarded her.
Zack... if he knew there was a young boy out there with his name... because of him... she wondered how he would react. He'd always been a bit... tough. Always serious, almost never took time to do something fun. When he did, it was always under the pretext of making sure the others wouldn't do something stupid. She remembered, when they'd picked names... he'd rejected the idea at first, but they could tell he wanted it too.
She'd almost escaped with Jondy, they were so close, and then she fell through the ice. After that, Jondy must have ran off, trying to get herself out. It was understandable in a way. She wondered where she was now. She had so much to tell her. When they were little, she was like her 'confidant', a living diary, someone she could tell everything and anything about how she felt...
She wished she could tell her how she'd found her mom. She wanted to tell her how their moms had been friends while they were in Manticore. But that would mean telling her... her mother was dead. If the moment came, she didn't know that she could do that to her. She didn't deserve such pain. She was a wonderful person... even though she hadn't spoken to her in... 25 years. That was so strange to her... a quarter of a century... since she'd seen her or spoken to her... But there was no doubt in Max's mind... She would still be the same sweet person... the reason she'd named her daughter after her... even though she didn't bear her actual name, that was where it had come from.
She remembered the first time she'd felt like there was a group within the X5s... ones that would look out for each other. All of them did, but most were too busy with the 'mission' to do anything else. Twelve of them had become a group... and even though there were twelve to escape Manticore in 2009, only nine had made it out from their group.
It was about three years before the escape. Max, Zack, Jondy, Tinga, Brin, Ben, Krit, Syl, Jace, Eva, Jack and Zane, along with the other X5s were in their beds. None of them really required sleep, but it was mandatory, so they at least pretended to. Ben was doing his regular routine of reviewing what he'd learned during the day, when he started feeling strange. He looked down to his hand and saw that it was shaking. Soon his whole body was shaking violently.
He let out a small sound. Eleven of the X5s got up from their beds, the others not even looking. They went to see him. "Ben? What's wrong?" asked Syl.
"I... don't... know," he'd managed to let out.
"Maybe we should get someone," suggested Krit.
"What are they gonna do to him?" asked Jace.
"Everyone go back to bed. Max, help me get him out there," ordered Zack. The others obeyed. Max and Zack helped Ben up and across the room to outside the door.
They were immediately spotted by the guards. "Return to your beds immediately," the first one to reach them had said.
"He's sick," informed Zack.
"Go back in there, we'll take care of it," said the guard as he picked up Ben and walked away. Zack and Max stood there for a few seconds, but finally, they went back in.
When they'd closed the door, the nine who'd gone back to bed came to meet them. "What happened?" asked Tinga.
"They said they'd take care of it," said Max.
"Is he gonna be okay?" asked Eva.
"I don't know," said Max.
"What do we do now?" asked Brin.
"There isn't much to do. All we can do is wait," said Zane.
They went back to bed and waited. An hour passed before Ben walked back in. Once more, the kids got up. "Ben, are you okay?" asked Jondy.
"Yeah, I guess," he'd said.
"What did they do?" asked Jack.
"Gave me some medicine. I heard them talk. They say it's going to keep happening. To me... to all of us." The kids didn't like the sound of that.
"We'll be okay. All of us can be there for the others when it happens." They considered it and all nodded in approval. From then on, they had been like a unit within the X5s. No one seemed to notice, which was great for them. The night of the escape, they had planned to reunite on the other side of the gate. Already, their group was no longer whole. That afternoon, Jack had been lost. That had been a major hit to the group, but they knew then there was no other option anymore.
And so they headed out, the eleven remaining, plus a few other X5s who'd followed them. Soon, they lost Eva, at Lydecker's hand. And Jace had not left the building. She had backed out, for a reason they never knew. So the remaining nine went on, not knowing if they ever WOULD be together again. Their group had been severed, three of them lost.
There was no reunion on the other side of the gate. No pats on the back and cheers of freedom. They were all by themselves, separated. Each headed in different directions, only hoping that one day, someday, they would be together again, like before...
"Momma?" Max came back to reality and saw her children standing by her. She smiled and signaled for them to sit with her. Each took a side, Zack on the left and Jenna on the right. Max put her arms over their shoulders and took them close to her.
"Don't ever lose each other, okay? No matter what happens, you two stay together." The kids didn't move, taking comfort in their mother's embrace.
"We will, Momma," said Jenna.
"I promise," said Zack.
Max stood by the door, watching Zack and Jenna, now 10, work on their daily training routine with Bling. At first, Bling had the upper hand over them, but soon enough, they got stronger and stronger, and now they were the ones with the upper hand. As she watched them, she couldn't help thinking back to when she was in Manticore, going through her training.
She remembered nights when she, or Zack, would comfort the other X5 kids after a hard day. Like the time, about a year before the escape, when Brin had gotten in trouble for not paying attention. She was forced to run ten laps around the base. That night, she literally fell into bed, her entire body sore. From her bed, Max had seen her crying silently. She'd gotten up and carefully made her way to her.
"Brin? You okay?" she'd asked the girl in a whisper.
"It hurts, Max," she'd answered, still crying.
"I know," said Max, then, "I'll be right back." She'd gone to the bathroom and retrieved a few towels, getting them wet, but twisting the extra water out. She'd went back to Brin and put them where it hurt the most. Soon, Brin had fallen asleep. In the morning, the towels were gone, she must have put them back. Without the guards noticing, Brin had smiled to her.
"Thank you," she'd mouthed. Max had nodded in response.
She came back to reality, just in time to see Jenna flip Bling over unto the ground. Zack stood to the side, applauding his sister. She smiled and helped the man up.
"Very good," said Bling, slightly out of breath.
"You okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said as he sat down.
"Is it my turn yet?" asked Zack.
"Gimme a minute, okay?"
"Sure!" he said as he walked up to Jenna.
"That was great!"
"Thank you. I can't wait for our lessons this afternoon. Dad said he had a special subject." The two were home schooled, since they figured it might not be such a good idea to put them in a public school. It wasn't much surprise to either Max or Logan that the two were very quick learners. As much as it scared Max that they were becoming almost as good as any Manticore soldiers. Only they had the bonus of no seizures.
*
Later that day
The kids were having their daily lessons with Logan, so Max did what she did most of the time in those occasions. She sat by the window, reminiscing about her childhood. Somehow, the more she tried to put the thoughts aside, the more they bombarded her.
Zack... if he knew there was a young boy out there with his name... because of him... she wondered how he would react. He'd always been a bit... tough. Always serious, almost never took time to do something fun. When he did, it was always under the pretext of making sure the others wouldn't do something stupid. She remembered, when they'd picked names... he'd rejected the idea at first, but they could tell he wanted it too.
She'd almost escaped with Jondy, they were so close, and then she fell through the ice. After that, Jondy must have ran off, trying to get herself out. It was understandable in a way. She wondered where she was now. She had so much to tell her. When they were little, she was like her 'confidant', a living diary, someone she could tell everything and anything about how she felt...
She wished she could tell her how she'd found her mom. She wanted to tell her how their moms had been friends while they were in Manticore. But that would mean telling her... her mother was dead. If the moment came, she didn't know that she could do that to her. She didn't deserve such pain. She was a wonderful person... even though she hadn't spoken to her in... 25 years. That was so strange to her... a quarter of a century... since she'd seen her or spoken to her... But there was no doubt in Max's mind... She would still be the same sweet person... the reason she'd named her daughter after her... even though she didn't bear her actual name, that was where it had come from.
She remembered the first time she'd felt like there was a group within the X5s... ones that would look out for each other. All of them did, but most were too busy with the 'mission' to do anything else. Twelve of them had become a group... and even though there were twelve to escape Manticore in 2009, only nine had made it out from their group.
It was about three years before the escape. Max, Zack, Jondy, Tinga, Brin, Ben, Krit, Syl, Jace, Eva, Jack and Zane, along with the other X5s were in their beds. None of them really required sleep, but it was mandatory, so they at least pretended to. Ben was doing his regular routine of reviewing what he'd learned during the day, when he started feeling strange. He looked down to his hand and saw that it was shaking. Soon his whole body was shaking violently.
He let out a small sound. Eleven of the X5s got up from their beds, the others not even looking. They went to see him. "Ben? What's wrong?" asked Syl.
"I... don't... know," he'd managed to let out.
"Maybe we should get someone," suggested Krit.
"What are they gonna do to him?" asked Jace.
"Everyone go back to bed. Max, help me get him out there," ordered Zack. The others obeyed. Max and Zack helped Ben up and across the room to outside the door.
They were immediately spotted by the guards. "Return to your beds immediately," the first one to reach them had said.
"He's sick," informed Zack.
"Go back in there, we'll take care of it," said the guard as he picked up Ben and walked away. Zack and Max stood there for a few seconds, but finally, they went back in.
When they'd closed the door, the nine who'd gone back to bed came to meet them. "What happened?" asked Tinga.
"They said they'd take care of it," said Max.
"Is he gonna be okay?" asked Eva.
"I don't know," said Max.
"What do we do now?" asked Brin.
"There isn't much to do. All we can do is wait," said Zane.
They went back to bed and waited. An hour passed before Ben walked back in. Once more, the kids got up. "Ben, are you okay?" asked Jondy.
"Yeah, I guess," he'd said.
"What did they do?" asked Jack.
"Gave me some medicine. I heard them talk. They say it's going to keep happening. To me... to all of us." The kids didn't like the sound of that.
"We'll be okay. All of us can be there for the others when it happens." They considered it and all nodded in approval. From then on, they had been like a unit within the X5s. No one seemed to notice, which was great for them. The night of the escape, they had planned to reunite on the other side of the gate. Already, their group was no longer whole. That afternoon, Jack had been lost. That had been a major hit to the group, but they knew then there was no other option anymore.
And so they headed out, the eleven remaining, plus a few other X5s who'd followed them. Soon, they lost Eva, at Lydecker's hand. And Jace had not left the building. She had backed out, for a reason they never knew. So the remaining nine went on, not knowing if they ever WOULD be together again. Their group had been severed, three of them lost.
There was no reunion on the other side of the gate. No pats on the back and cheers of freedom. They were all by themselves, separated. Each headed in different directions, only hoping that one day, someday, they would be together again, like before...
"Momma?" Max came back to reality and saw her children standing by her. She smiled and signaled for them to sit with her. Each took a side, Zack on the left and Jenna on the right. Max put her arms over their shoulders and took them close to her.
"Don't ever lose each other, okay? No matter what happens, you two stay together." The kids didn't move, taking comfort in their mother's embrace.
"We will, Momma," said Jenna.
"I promise," said Zack.