Hey! Thankyou to Zanna for the review. (Looking sheepish) You're right, 'wheelboy' was the wrong word, because Logan can walk. Sorry about that. Here's the next part.
Breakfast has long since been eaten. OC didn't really seem to like the idea, but hunger won out over revoltion. I can tell that Jondy woke up about an hour ago, but is still pretending to be out cold, probably trying to wriggle out of her ropes. I'm not worried, we were all taught how to tie up our prisoners. I'm letting her have her solitude though. I'm still not sure I can talk to her without punching her in the face.
That just leaves OC and me trying unsuccessfully not to look at each other, both sitting in uncomfortable silence. OC takes a deep breath, staring intently at a stick next to her. Oh God, here it comes…
"Okay, break it down for Original Cindy cause she's missin somethin here. She was sittin mindin her own business in her apartment, then she's grabbed by some bitch that you seem to know but I'm getting the drift that the two o you are less than friends. You pull some damn fine moves an' knock the bitch out, then drag the her and Original Cindy over to Logan's like somebody's tryin to kill ya, tell me that 'they' got im, an bring us out here to the middle o nowhere. Now yer just sittin there coolin yer heals. What the hell is goin on?" I get the feeling she'd been rehearsing this in her head. I know I've been spending at least as long figuring out how to answer. I finally decided a little while ago just to come clean with her. After all she's been through, she deserves the truth, and I've been getting tired of hiding it from her. If she hates me, it'll be for Max, the X5, not Max, the courier.
"The people after me, " I start brokenly "they're bad people."
"Original Cindy kinda figured that out somewhere between when the bitch put a gun to her head and when you made er hit the floor, What I wanna know is what you been up to ta get yerself mixed up with them."
"It isn't my fault." That sounds too defensive, but it's too late now. "I'm not who you think I am. I'm not really even human." She snorts.
"What, yer gonna try an make Original Cindy believe yer an alien er somethin? Come on, Max." I recoil slightly, hurt by the fact that the idea of something like me existing is so preposterous that my best friend doesn't believe in me.
"Not an alien, a chimera, The people that are after me, they're the people that made me. Me and a bunch of others, we were made to be they're perfect soldiers, raised from birth to be the ultimate weapons. That speech sounded way too close to Lydecker's spoutings for comfort, and it doesn't seem to have done much good. OC's looking at me with a completely blank look on her face. She finally splutters a single word.
"Made?" I walk over to her and drop to my knees, spinning so that my back is toward her, and flip my hair over my head.
"What do you see."
"Max what…" She starts, baffled.
"Just look. What do you see?" She peers at my neck for a second.
"A tattoo. Kinda like a barcode." Her tone is flat, not seeing the point of this.
"It's not a tattoo. It's real. It means that until last month, I belonged to Manticore- the people who made me. I was their perfect little soldier." I tell her, unable to keep the bitterness from lacing my voice. I shrug and spin around so we're face to face again.
"But not anymore, I broke out last month, and they'd have to kill me to make me go back there again." I swallow. "The first time you saw me I was still working for them, but Logan opened my eyes." A smile blooms on my face as I think of everything he's done for me, and turns bitter as I wonder what must be happening to him now. "I went back there once, when I went to visit my mother?" She nods, remembering the note I left. "But it was like I was someone else…everything seemed so dead…Then I found out about all of the X5s that they've killed before, and they didn't even care, we're just things to them, that settled it for me. I ran away, and came back here. I didn't think they'd find me so soon." I sigh and look over at Jondy, who snaps her eyes shut when she sees me looking at her. "Jondy's another X5, my sister. We used to be tight, but to her, I'm just a traitor now, a deserter. She was sent to try to catch me, you just got caught in the crossfire. Another group was sent to catch Logan for…helping me." OC's looking at me with something between awe and fear, completely at a loss for words. I look intently at her, willing her to understand. "Original Cindy…this has nothing to do with you, and I can't tell you how sorry I am for getting you involved in it. If I could make so none of this ever happened, I would in a heartbeat, but I can't, and I'm sorry." I bite my lip a bit. "After a few days, once they figure out that I'm not there anymore, you can probably go back. You didn't know what was going on, if I'm not near you, they should just forget about you. And that means that you get your life back." Finally out of anything to say, I wait nervously for any response, silently praying that she'll forgive me for all of this. She at least looks like she believes me now, but she's not looking at me. Whether it's out of horror or anger or what, I can't tell. Annoyed that Manticore didn't bother to mix some psychic abilities in with all the physical ones, I stare at her forehead, vainly trying anyway. She finally looks up, one eyebrow raised mockingly, her mouth quirked.
"Boo, what makes you think this don't have 'nothin to do with me? These peeps mess with my homegirl, Original Cindy's gonna put the smack-down on their asses." I choke on a sob as I laugh, tears of relief streaming down my cheeks. I've been doing that way too much lately, I must be getting soft. OC envelops me in a hug.
"Thank you." I whisper. That doesn't even come close to expressing everything I want to say, but it's the only word I can think of.
"Whatcha thankin me for? It's what a boo's for." I smile through my tears, surprising myself by actually feeling like smiling. I have a friend.
