Max didn't dare to open her eyes for she knew exactly where she was. The thick binds may have been placed over her wrists and ankles, but the one that hurt the most was the one over her heart that no one else could see. She had failed. Failed not only Logan, but Zack as well. She could easily picture Zack's vapid face as he shook his head at her, reminding her that she let sentimentalities make decisions for her. Now, she thought, I'm paying for it. And, Logan won't ever get out because Zack certainly won't save him, and I cannot either. We're all doomed. Doomed to die here in this hellhole.
In the distance, she heard a door opening and hesitantly opened her eyes. As she had ultimately assumed, she was in a confiscation area of some kind. But, that wasn't what surprised her the most. It was that through the heavy, iron door walked Lydecker.
He moved with a slow, plodding pace like one might during a funeral procession, and he had a bottle of water hanging from his right hand. Max was amazed to see that his usually vibrant and stealthy eyes were dull and lifeless.
As if it took all the energy he had, Lydecker pulled up a rotating stool on wheels and sat down beside Max. She said nothing, but watched him intently. He was lifeless and hurting, and she didn't know why all of sudden he would act so odd.
"I'm guessing you haven't heard anything," he said more to his water bottle than to her.
"What are you talking about?"
Slowly, his head enormously heavy, Lydecker turned to look at her. She was surprised to smell no alcohol on his breath nor to see the bloodshot eyes of an alcoholic. But, he was struggling nonetheless.
"Your sisters. You haven't heard-have you?"
"No."
Lydecker pursed his lips and nodded to himself. He hated to tell Max the news he had arrived with. After all, he would do anything to prevent her from being hurt. But, at the same time, she needed to know. She had a right to. Not just as a sibling, but as a human.
"Brin…is…" He stopped and took a long swig of water. Eventually, he stopped swallowing and let the water drain into his mouth so that it may have cleansed him of all the wrongdoings in his life that had led to this annihilation.
"What's wrong with Brin?" Max asked cautiously. Just because Lydecker may have looked sober and solemn, didn't mean that he couldn't snap at any moment. In her book, he was dangerous as long as he was alive.
"She's dead," Lydecker finally stated.
Max inhaled sharply and turned away from him so that he would not see the tears that coated her eyes over. No, she thought, Brin can't be dead. And it's all my fault, if I hadn't let her go back…
"Tinga's lost to us, too," Lydecker added.
Max stopped her guilt from invading her mind and held it carefully at bay. "What?" she whispered to the ceiling.
"She's been brainwashed-"
"And you had nothing to do with this?" Max bit, even though the threat of tears was severely harsh.
"Nothing. If I had, I could stop it. But, I don't know how it was done. And the person who did will take that secret to their grave."
"Tinga's gone then?"
"Yes. Max, I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen." He was babbling now. Mindless and unplanned babbling as he realized what he had done to Max. What he had done to the fate of Manticore. If only he had stopped Renfro, then perhaps Brin would still be alive and Tinga would be fine.
"If you never meant for this to happen," she said quietly, "then you should have never created us."
"But, you…all of you…were better than I could have hoped for. Everything would have gone according to plan had she not became involved."
"She?"
"Renfro, the bitch that ruined your sisters."
"And the one who I saved," Max muttered, realized how many mistakes she had made in the past twenty-four hours.
"So, you did, then?"
"Yes." She paused and turned to face Lydecker. He seemed weak enough, gullible too. Perhaps he could be reasoned with. "Lydecker?" she said, addressing him for the first time since she had escaped eleven years ago.
He looked up slowly and they met eyes. Surprisingly, he was the first to look away.
"I have a request for you," she told him.
"Yes?"
"I want…I want you to release Logan Cale from your possession and take me instead."
