On the crest overlooking the Manticore base, Zack stood with his feet planted heavily in the thick and glittering snow. He was as oblivious to the cold as he was with his feelings at that moment. For, if he had tried to think about the freezing ice that gathered around his ankles and spilled into his socks, creating tiny ice balls that clung to his bare skin, he would have burst into sobs once the emotions invaded his body.
He had killed Brin.
Yes, it had been necessary because she would've have killed him without a moment's hesitation. After all, the only thing that she would have had to do would be to have flicked her hand, and his neck would have snapped. And there were a thousand more ways to die that Zack preferred than having his bones broken by a spawn of Lydecker.
Tenderly, Zack reached up to touch the spot on his neck where Brin had touched it with her bare hands. It burned now. Burned as his barcode had when he had gotten that removed.
Biting down hard on his cold jaw, Zack pushed the memories away of both the barcode and Brin. He couldn't sit and dwell on memories now or else he would become a big sobbing piece of flesh that couldn't help anyone.
Looking up to the top floor of the Manticore building, he saw a distinctly lit window. Using his enforced eyesight, he saw Logan sitting in front of the window, watching him.
So, they hadn't killed little Miracle Boy after all. Zack wasn't sure whether to be happy for Max or to scream in frustration that Logan was still around.
As he shoved his hands deeper into the chilled leather of his jacket, Zack began to turn and walk away, letting his feet crunch through the thick snow. Snow poured in through the top of his shoes and froze his already numbed skin.
Now, he not only had Max's escape to worry about, but Logan's as well. If Max found out that Logan was in there, she wouldn't leave until he was at her side. And, considering that Logan wasn't anywhere near light on his feet, the escape would be frantic and ill planned.
Zack walked heavily through the woods, knowing that he was leaving trails. Fine, he thought bitterly to himself, if they want to follow my footsteps, let them. Won't do them any good. Just get the little devils more confused than they already are. For surely, you have to be confused if you're following someone like Lydecker.
Unsure of what to do next, Zack merely kept on plodding along, trying his best to ignore the pain of the cold. He didn't want to invade Manticore alone, but contacting someone would take time. Time that he really couldn't value to waste. They wouldn't immediately start brainwashing Max; they'd wait and test her until the order was given. So, time was of the essence because if he couldn't get to Max, she too, would end up like Brin.
Not what he needed.
Pulling the gun out of his jacket, Zack checked it for a bullet amount. Three. Five, at the very most. He could take down a couple guards by himself and then shoot the Manticore Lady, and kill Lydecker while he was at.
Nodding satisfactorily, he decided to continue through the forest to find a better gun. Five bullets wouldn't save him if he needed to. Max and Logan both weren't going to be able to defend themselves; he needed better ammunition.
He continued through the snow-encrusted forest and pulled away from the memories so that they couldn't touch him. Then, as he remembered Brin's dying words, Zack crumpled and fell to the ground, trying not to cry so that the tears wouldn't freeze his numbed skin.
