Zack's Perspective
When Max tells me she found something on Logan, the first thing I think of is that he's somehow alive. Any chance I had of her loving me suddenly disappeared. She'd want to go after him, especially if he's here, on this base. I know she wouldn't leave him to die in the flames we'd be creating. If something happens to him again, she'd re-live his death. This time I might not be able to stop her from breaking down. Even if we did find him, she'd live with the guilt of not knowing he was alive. She'd blame me for telling her he was dead. She'd never forgive me, and say I had been misleading her on purpose. Just like she did the morning I found her. I'd never be able to earn her trust back; I wouldn't even be a brother to her anymore. I'd loose everything.
I didn't want to look at the file, but I felt compelled to do so. It would be easier to walk away and pretend none of this was happening, but I needed to be here for her. Even if she wouldn't love me, I still needed to be her brother; I can't abandon her. If she walks away from me, that's her choice; her decision.
I slowly walk towards her as I feel the pain of jealousy building in my heart. I can take on an army of soldiers, but for some reason, I fear having to look at this file, and see how it will change my life. I work up the courage to take the file from her hand. I look at the first line, "Deceased". I breathe a sigh of relief knowing Logan truly did die the night Manticore took his body away. I know I shouldn't be relieved that he's dead, I should be disappointed because he's not alive, but I can't bring myself to that level. The thought that Logan might take away Max from me again was almost to much to bare. As I read down the file further, I see that DNA had been taken from Logan; I flip back to the opening page and see a boy staring back at me with the same eyes I've grown to hate; the same eyes Logan had. I stare at the picture not wanting to comprehend what I saw before me. I faced my own clone, but facing Logan's was something different. Logan had represented everything I could never have, and this clone has taken his place.
My attentions is drawn back to Max as she tells me that she's got to go after the clone, that's she's got to save Logan. I turn away from her furious at the thought she would let her emotions get in her way. She truly is trying to turn him into Logan. Even if he is so much younger than her, he will once again steal her heart away from me. For all I know, he might have already. I tell her there is no time and we have to download the stuff off of the computer. I remind myself that this boy is a trained soldier, he isn't the innocent computer hacker Logan was. I set the file down on the desk expecting her to be right behind me; instead, I hear the door open and footsteps run down the hall away from me. As I pick up the file, not wanting to leave with out it, a piece of paper falls to the floor. I pick it up and go to stuff it into the folder when something catches my eye.
"First hand to hand combat mission: Against X5-734(Brinn): Target was destroyed after 7 minutes and 3 seconds."
The target was Brinn. After all this time of wondering what had happened to her, I finally know. I lost another sister to this horrible place. Brinn is another victim of Manticore. They used her to test a science experiment; they wasted her life; they killed her. No! Logan's clone killed her; the clone Max wants to try and save.
I push my thoughts of Brinn out of my mind. Right now, I need to worry about Max. If this Logan clone killed Brinn, he'll kill Max too. I have to make sure she doesn't run into him. I have to find her before he does. I stuff the file in my jacket and take off running down the hall in the same direction Max went, somehow I have to make her believe me. This clone isn't what he seems; this file is proof enough. My heart is racing as I worry about her safety. It seems to take an eternity to run to the end of hall. My feet feel like lead. They seem to move slower and slower. When I finally go around the corner, I see Max in the distance. I feel like I have been stabbed in the heart with a knife. I'm to late!
Max's Perspective
When I turn around, standing before me is a boy. He can't be older than five. I look into his eyes and feel compassion towards him. His eyes are the same as a man I once loved.
As he walks towards me, I speak to him, "Logan, I love you."
The boy starts to laugh, "You must be Max. They told me what they did to you. They told me I'm your true love."
I ignore him laughing and I ask him, "Then you know how much I want to help you get out of here?"
I feel my heart race as he searches my eyes, but it doesn't beat with the same excitement as it did with Logan; it's different with him. He tells me he knows how much I loved Logan and how I was willing to sacrifice myself to save him, just as Zack had been willing to do for me. It's almost like he knows everything about me. I search his eyes not sure if I'm seeing compassion in them, or if it's just something I made up to make myself feel better. I want desperately for him to love me, to run towards me and put his arms around my neck.
I begin to hear foot steps coming down the hall, I tell him we have to get out of here. I didn't want to get caught. This Logan was Manticore's new prize procession and they'd do anything to stop me from taking him. Just as I'm about ready to take off running again, but this time he'll be behind me, he speaks to me.
He tells me, "I love you Max and I want to be with you forever."
I turn and face him as a tear runs down my cheek. I kneel down in front of him and allow him to run towards my arms. I embrace him the way a mother would a child. I cry, for this is the child I would have wanted. I can never love his as I did Logan and I know this now, but I can raise him as my son. I stay there with him, holding him in a tight embrace, until the footsteps round the corner.
I look up and see Zack standing in front of me. He looks like he has seen a ghost. I can tell he's upset, but I don't understand why. This boy will become a part of our family; he'll be one of us.
He begins to pull away from me. I let him go knowing I'm going to have to face Zack. I ignore the boy as I give Zack all my attention. I turn and look into his eyes; I see pain in them. He looks at me like I have some how betrayed him. Another tear drips down my check, but this time it's for Zack; he just doesn't know it. I never wanted to hurt him, I just thought this would be another chance to allow a part of Logan to live on.
Zack's Perspective
Max has broken my heart, but this time I feel no jealousy, only pain. She disobeyed an order to have a chance at getting Logan back. No wonder she wouldn't allow me to tell her I love her. She would do anything to get him back, even if that means taking his clone.
I look in her eyes and search her feelings; I see her pain. She knows she has hurt me deeply and this time I don't try and hide it from her. I can't; I love her. She has the right to know the truth; I was just to scared to make her listen. As the clone steps away from her, I ignore what ever it is he's doing. For a moment I forget he is my enemy. All of my attentions is on Max. I just stare at her, the beautiful women in front of me. Trying not to break down any more than I have already, I choke back a tear that is aching to come out. Before I can say anything to her, I hear a loud bang.
Somewhere, a gun had been fired. It must have been the clone; there is no one else here that would have a desire to kill me. I can sense a bullet moving towards me. I try to stay put even though I know it will strike my body. No pain is greater than that of a broken heart. I understand now how Max felt when Logan was killed before her very eyes. She would have rather died than deal with the pain her soul was feeling. I can't go on like this; I can't continue to love Max knowing she will never be able to love me the way I love her.
I watch her eyes, they mesmerize me with their dark beauty. When she hears the gun go off and she knows the bullet is going to strike me, she reacts. She attacks Logan's clone. Feeling as though a terrible misfortune has been released from my heart and not all hope is lost, I try to move out of the way. I push myself towards the floor, but I'm to late. I feel the bullet enter my body and exit again. I fall to the floor and look up at Max and the clone. I try to stay conscious. I have to help her, but my body is becoming weak. I don't want her to have the same fate as Brinn. I try to sit up, but I'm to weak to do so. I feel my head start to spin, my body starts going numb, and everything fades to black.
