As Raven rifled down the darkened streets she caught a familiar scent. Zack had recently passed through here and seemed to be heading north. She followed the trail, losing it a few times, then easily picking it up again. Only fifteen minutes later Zack's scent was becoming more intense, she was catching up. From the odors that followed along Zack's trail she could tell that he was on a motorcycle, but in the cluttered streets it was easy for a bike to catch up to it's motorized brethren. Especially when powered by Manticore legs.
Something else was in the air. It, too, intensified as she followed the path, though at a much faster rate. Much like animals, she could smell slight changes in a human's body, and what her nose picked up on made no sense. Zack was having a seizure, but continued to ride his motorcycle. What would drive him to do such a foolishly dangerous thing? she pondered. Most of the troops that were after him were pulling back from the city to regroup after the fall of Lydecker. And those who remained could not know where to begin to search for him. If he feared her and her siblings were on his trail he would have left earlier that morning. So what exactly was Zack doing taking such a risk? Like herself he was trained as a soldier, he would know the difference between a calculated risk and a pointless one.
More questions and still no answers. It was beginning to frustrate Raven to no end. After a few more minutes she could hear the motor of Zack's cycle, and minutes after that he was in sight. It was obvious he was an experienced biker but his movements were awkward and strained. His muscles were seizing but he continued to ride and so she continued to follow. The sound of his engine easily hid the soft pedaling of her bike. Some thirty minutes later, there was a faint noise up ahead. Soon the buildings of the city began to give way to sparse groves of trees, and a large military complex lay before them. As they approached Raven could recognize the sound now, it was the blades of a helicopter slicing through the air. Zack too must have heard it, for his shaking body perked up, and he leaned low to his bike, apparently wanting to become more aerodynamic so as to slice precious moments of his time.
Further down the road she saw with her hawk eye night vision what must have been the purpose for his hurried ride. The one known as Kat was in the back seat of the helicopter, the young boy she called Cole was sitting by the window. Apparently not wanting to waste any time, Zack tried to leap from his bike as he pushed it aside and dash off toward the helicopter. The operative word was tried. His legs did not obey his command and he crashed his bike. His body was flung meters ahead, and landed in a heap. No graceful landing of the Manticore born.
Even after this Raven could not believe what she saw. Zack's legs were shaking, obviously not of his own will, but he continued to claw at the road, dragging his body along. Inch by inch he moved along the ground. Did he really expect to get a hold of Kat and Cole that way. His desperation sickened her. No one she knew would sink to such frantic attempts.
"Kat! Cole!" he screamed the names over and over again as though quantity could some how compensate for the blanketing sounds of the helicopter blades. He even continued to yell as, off in the distance, the helicopter slowly lifted from the ground. Focusing her eyes again, Raven looked to find the little boy straighten his back and, with large eyes, peering out the window towards Zack. The boy had heard, raising the chubby little hand of a three year old to the window in a gesture of goodbye. It was then that the tiny shackles and tiny chains that bound his wrists were revealed. Kat never heard his cries, but if she did she chose to ignore them.
Finally when the helicopter was out of sight, Zack lay on his back, his whole body convulsing now. With unsteady hands he reached toward his pocket to retrieve the tryptophan that was his only relief. However, every time he got close his hand would jerk again and the pills would once again be out of reach. Raven could not watch any longer. Tentatively, she approached him, like a timid animal being beckoned out by food. As she came nearer he could feel her presence and his head fell, rather than turn, in her direction. She slowly stepped closer and in his eyes she could see dread. Raven reveled in that look when it was in the eyes of a drug lord or a dictator. That last glance of fear that acknowledged her as their death. But in Zack's proud eyes, it did not fit.
Avoiding direct eye contact she went over to him and lifted his seizing body with ease, he could do nothing to stop her, even if he wanted to. After laying him beside his bike in the ditch beside the road, she reached for what his shaky arm could not retrieve before. Withdrawing the pills she lifted his head up and placed two to his mouth. Though still somewhat untrusting of her actions he accepted the pills and after much difficulty swallowed them down, motioning for more. Six pills later, a sheen of sweat coating him from his efforts, he let his eyes close waiting for his muscles to calm. They stayed there the rest of the night, Raven kneeling by his side, studying the face of her father.
*****
"Logan we gotta go," Bling's voice made it past the door and cut into his dreams like a machete through palm leaves, "Your appointment is in an hour."
Opening his eyes he realized he had fell asleep in his chair, his head resting on his arm on the bed, his right hand still clutching Max's. After a few moments he looked up to find her brown eyes staring at him.
"Morning sunshine," her voice was friendly, and a small smile crept to her lips but she was still tired.
"Hey," he smiled back, relieved to find her conscious, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm healing okay, still a little sore in the shoulder though." Lying back down on her back, she tested her own theory, rolling her shoulder and wincing at the effort. "I'll be fine after one more day."
"Don't push yourself..."
"Actually I was thinking of pumping some weights and sparring with the big boys at the gym." She flashed him that little smile, "… I think Bling is waiting for you."
"Yeah."
"What appointment is it?"
"It's a yearly routine us humans do since our bodies don't heal themselves." He couldn't explain why he lied to her. Probably because if he said allowed that he had a chance of walking again, he would probably jinx the whole procedure. After taking a shower, and regular morning ablutions he came out of the washroom to find Max still laying on her back, eyes closed.
Thinking Max was asleep, he wheeled to the door but just before he opened it she spoke.
"Logan. What were you fighting about?" It caught him a little off guard.
"With who?"
"You and Zack were fighting earlier, what were you fighting about?"
"Nothing major," again he lied, but what else could he say? That they were fighting over possession of her? Nothing more left her lips, so he opened the door and left.
Though she knew he was out of earshot, she said it aloud anyways, testing if she had the guts to admit it out loud, even to an empty room. A lonely tear fell from the corner of her eye, "Logan, Zack is right. I have to leave Seattle."
*****
What was wrong with him anyways? The X-5 she had worked with at Manticore never went through anything like this. All through the night he would begin to shudder and wake up just to take down more pills and fall asleep again. Surely this couldn't be right. It got to the point where he didn't care that she was a threat, only that hers was the hand that supplied him with his tryptophan.
Now the small vile was empty, the sun was beginning to rise and Zack had still not fully awakened. Opting to use his motorcycle, which wasn't too badly damaged, she loaded him up and headed toward the city. Raven rationalized that if she followed his trail back to where he came from she could find his stash of pills. It was a more daunting task than she had imagined. She always followed, never having to trace back and though her olfactory sense was enhanced she did not have the skill of a bloodhound. Barely able to follow the fading trail, she strayed several times from the path.
*****
Awakening from the anesthetics, Logan never felt more relaxed in his life. The clock across the room showed it was no more than thirty minutes from when he went under the knife. That couldn't be right, he thought, shaking his head as though that might advance the clock to its proper time.
Sitting up in the bed he looked down at the two bumps under the covers that were his legs. Did he dare try to test them so early? Slowly, with a hesitant hand he reached out to his right leg. Nothing. He could feel his leg like a lump of meat under his hand, but his leg registered nothing.
"Fuck," he cursed silently to the empty room, and then a smile of defeat came to his face. [I]Why do I try and kid myself like this? You're never gonna walk Logan…[/I]
"Ah, I see you're up already." The doctor came in smiling, obviously misunderstanding the reason for Logan's own grin.
"Yeah."
"The procedure was a success. Dr. Marion said that was her easiest yet."
"What are you talking about? My legs still don't work. I can't feel anything."
"Logan, you have to be patient. We didn't repair your old cells. You must understand that the stem cells we injected into your spine need time to grow and take over the functions of the nerve cells they are meant to replace. Currently they are still undifferentiated. You just need to give it time."
Logan laughed at himself for his impatience, he was never one to wait. "I'm sorry Sam, it's just…I want my legs back, I really want my life back."
The doctor nodded his head in sympathy, "Completely understandable. Now, as for what you should do now. First, you have to tell your boss to lay off for a while, because you need a lot of rest. Also, you'll still need Bling around to work out your legs. And then there is this…" Out of his right pocket he produced a small bottle of clear liquid. "This is a combination of hormones and neurotransmitters…"
"Are you trying to take credit for my years of work Dr. Carr?" A woman stepped into the room, a metallic clipboard in hand.
"Logan, this is Dr. Marion. She is an accomplished neurosurgeon who has helped develop and test the stem cell theory which has brought us all here today."
She stepped to the foot of the bed. "Oh stop it Dr. Carr, I'm blushing." Her sarcasm reminded Logan of Max. "But really I don't think he needs to hear my credentials."
Logan studied the woman's face. How could she be such an accomplished surgeon when she looked like she was barely in her thirties? Her straight blond hair was held back in a clip, her eyes were a soft green. He watched as she pulled a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear.
"Does our patient here speak?" she turned to Dr. Carr.
"Yes," Logan blurted out, "I speak." He laughed at his horrible grammar.
A smile came to her lips. "It's good to see you are fine now. I was just checking in, making sure Dr. Carr gave me some credit. Didn't want him taking all the glory. I just have to go make a few phone calls but I will be calling you later today checking in on your progress. It was nice meeting with you Mr. Cale."
"Logan, please," Logan said before thinking.
"Logan," she smiled again, then nodded her head to Dr. Carr, "Doctor." A quick turn on her heels and she was out of the room. Both men watched as she left. The room felt that much emptier with her gone.
"Like I was saying," Dr Carr continued from where he left off, "this contains a combination of hormones and neurotransmitters that Dr. Marion developed that will speed up the process. Take a five milligram shot first thing in the morning, and another last thing before bed. Any more than that could overload your system. Don't worry too much if you miss one. The shots aren't absolutely necessary, but with them you will get more dramatic results. Any questions?"
Logan looked around the room as if looking for a question to pluck out of the air, "Nope."
"Then I'll have a nurse come in with your clothes and some needles you can take home with you. After that you're free to go."
"Thank you Doctor."
"It's the least I could do."
Alone again in the cold sterile room, Logan idly fingered the small vile that was the key to his freedom from that chair.
*****
It was already nine when Zack finally regained enough awareness to question his situation. His legs were still numb so jumping off the speeding bike was not an option. He reached out to take control, trying to turn the bike in any other direction, but he did not have the strength for it. Besides this Manticore girl could have easily overpowered him. "Where are you bringing me?" The question drew out the first words he had ever heard leave his daughter's mouth.
"I'm bringing you home." her voice was not steely and lifeless like he would have expected it to be. She seemed to be trying to comfort him.
"I won't let you take me back there." Fear overtook him and he did not care if they crashed. Death was more favorable than Manticore. Pulling his arms up he tried to enclose them around her neck.
With one hand she reached up, grabbed his wrist and pulled it away like a scarf. "Not Manticore, your home. You need more of your pills," she said, not at all phased that he just tried to snap her neck.
"Do you really think I will tell you where my safe house is so you can go running back to Manticore with the location?"
"Why would I run back there, when I just ran away?"
Zack did not believe her words. "Convince me."
"Don't you think you would be back at Manticore already? If I wanted to bring you back I would have done so last night. What tactical advantage do I have by saving your ass?" She spoke like an experienced soldier stuck in the body of a preteen. Which is exactly what she was.
"You want to know where the others are." He tried to inflate his shaky voice with confidence.
"I could have easily tortured the locations out of you. You would have had no time to forget the way we were all taught. Besides, if they wanted you back they would have gotten you. My brothers and sisters could have easily captured all the X-5 by now."
Zack would have come back with another accusation but he grabbed his head as a stabbing pain exploded behind his eyes.
"If you would rather die than trust me, now's your chance because you have no more pills."
Another flare if pain shot up his spine before he could consider her words.
"It doesn't matter. Even if you don't agree, I will find where you came from, your scent is leading me straight there. If you just tell me where it is directly we will get to your pills a lot faster." By the way he was leaning on her now Raven could tell the pain was too much for him to bear. She didn't bother to wait for an answer and continued to follow her nose. This safe house he spoke of must have been close because she could now smell Max in the air.
*****
Max had lay there, between Logan's sheets, for another hour or so after he had left. His warm scent still lingered on the soft cotton, and closing her eyes she could imagine his presence beside her. She looked around the room at the mahogany walls of Logan's bedroom, trying to burn the image on her brain. This was the safest place she had ever known and she didn't want to forget it when she left with Zack to Canada.
Though she could have probably stayed there all day, hunger tugged at her belly and she got up, leaving the warm covers for the washroom. Approaching the mirror she saw that she was wearing one of Logan's long sleeved shirts, her own was probably too bloody. The dull ache still lingered as she tried to roll her shoulder once again. With an uncertain hand she reached up to pull back the neck of the shirt to reveal the large white bandage that covered the wound. Why had she done that anyway? Slowly, she pulled back the corner.
[I]Why did I save that black haired girl? It wasn't like she was even really my daughter.[/I] She thought to herself as she pulled the bandage back revealing the slight discoloring that was the entry wound. Straight from the sci-fi movies her body healed at an impossible rate. Within the day that blemish would be gone, or so Max could only assume as she had never been damaged so badly before. Fully removing the bandage she wiped away the traces of blood and tossed it in the garbage. It was then that she noticed the handles all over the bathroom. Each one placed no more than an arms length from the next. Did Logan put these up? Why weren't they around the rest of the house? Max shook her head, [I] Typical. Why do men refuse to show any weaknesses?[/I] But truthfully Max could not blame him, if she lost the use of her legs in the blink of an eye…
Again, her stomach growled in protest, for she had not eaten for more than a day now. Still in the clothes she had slept in, her own pants and Logan's shirt, she went to the kitchen straight for a bowl of cereal. On the way she passed the office. She could almost see Logan's outline in front of the computer.
Despite her pleading stomach she absentmindedly stirred her cereal studying the apartments features. There was no doubt she was going to miss this place. If Logan would just give her one reason to stay...
Her thought was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Peering through the peep hole she saw Zack's face, pale with eyelids half closed, but upon opening the door she was greeted by the intense blue grey eyes of the X-6 girl.
Something else was in the air. It, too, intensified as she followed the path, though at a much faster rate. Much like animals, she could smell slight changes in a human's body, and what her nose picked up on made no sense. Zack was having a seizure, but continued to ride his motorcycle. What would drive him to do such a foolishly dangerous thing? she pondered. Most of the troops that were after him were pulling back from the city to regroup after the fall of Lydecker. And those who remained could not know where to begin to search for him. If he feared her and her siblings were on his trail he would have left earlier that morning. So what exactly was Zack doing taking such a risk? Like herself he was trained as a soldier, he would know the difference between a calculated risk and a pointless one.
More questions and still no answers. It was beginning to frustrate Raven to no end. After a few more minutes she could hear the motor of Zack's cycle, and minutes after that he was in sight. It was obvious he was an experienced biker but his movements were awkward and strained. His muscles were seizing but he continued to ride and so she continued to follow. The sound of his engine easily hid the soft pedaling of her bike. Some thirty minutes later, there was a faint noise up ahead. Soon the buildings of the city began to give way to sparse groves of trees, and a large military complex lay before them. As they approached Raven could recognize the sound now, it was the blades of a helicopter slicing through the air. Zack too must have heard it, for his shaking body perked up, and he leaned low to his bike, apparently wanting to become more aerodynamic so as to slice precious moments of his time.
Further down the road she saw with her hawk eye night vision what must have been the purpose for his hurried ride. The one known as Kat was in the back seat of the helicopter, the young boy she called Cole was sitting by the window. Apparently not wanting to waste any time, Zack tried to leap from his bike as he pushed it aside and dash off toward the helicopter. The operative word was tried. His legs did not obey his command and he crashed his bike. His body was flung meters ahead, and landed in a heap. No graceful landing of the Manticore born.
Even after this Raven could not believe what she saw. Zack's legs were shaking, obviously not of his own will, but he continued to claw at the road, dragging his body along. Inch by inch he moved along the ground. Did he really expect to get a hold of Kat and Cole that way. His desperation sickened her. No one she knew would sink to such frantic attempts.
"Kat! Cole!" he screamed the names over and over again as though quantity could some how compensate for the blanketing sounds of the helicopter blades. He even continued to yell as, off in the distance, the helicopter slowly lifted from the ground. Focusing her eyes again, Raven looked to find the little boy straighten his back and, with large eyes, peering out the window towards Zack. The boy had heard, raising the chubby little hand of a three year old to the window in a gesture of goodbye. It was then that the tiny shackles and tiny chains that bound his wrists were revealed. Kat never heard his cries, but if she did she chose to ignore them.
Finally when the helicopter was out of sight, Zack lay on his back, his whole body convulsing now. With unsteady hands he reached toward his pocket to retrieve the tryptophan that was his only relief. However, every time he got close his hand would jerk again and the pills would once again be out of reach. Raven could not watch any longer. Tentatively, she approached him, like a timid animal being beckoned out by food. As she came nearer he could feel her presence and his head fell, rather than turn, in her direction. She slowly stepped closer and in his eyes she could see dread. Raven reveled in that look when it was in the eyes of a drug lord or a dictator. That last glance of fear that acknowledged her as their death. But in Zack's proud eyes, it did not fit.
Avoiding direct eye contact she went over to him and lifted his seizing body with ease, he could do nothing to stop her, even if he wanted to. After laying him beside his bike in the ditch beside the road, she reached for what his shaky arm could not retrieve before. Withdrawing the pills she lifted his head up and placed two to his mouth. Though still somewhat untrusting of her actions he accepted the pills and after much difficulty swallowed them down, motioning for more. Six pills later, a sheen of sweat coating him from his efforts, he let his eyes close waiting for his muscles to calm. They stayed there the rest of the night, Raven kneeling by his side, studying the face of her father.
*****
"Logan we gotta go," Bling's voice made it past the door and cut into his dreams like a machete through palm leaves, "Your appointment is in an hour."
Opening his eyes he realized he had fell asleep in his chair, his head resting on his arm on the bed, his right hand still clutching Max's. After a few moments he looked up to find her brown eyes staring at him.
"Morning sunshine," her voice was friendly, and a small smile crept to her lips but she was still tired.
"Hey," he smiled back, relieved to find her conscious, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm healing okay, still a little sore in the shoulder though." Lying back down on her back, she tested her own theory, rolling her shoulder and wincing at the effort. "I'll be fine after one more day."
"Don't push yourself..."
"Actually I was thinking of pumping some weights and sparring with the big boys at the gym." She flashed him that little smile, "… I think Bling is waiting for you."
"Yeah."
"What appointment is it?"
"It's a yearly routine us humans do since our bodies don't heal themselves." He couldn't explain why he lied to her. Probably because if he said allowed that he had a chance of walking again, he would probably jinx the whole procedure. After taking a shower, and regular morning ablutions he came out of the washroom to find Max still laying on her back, eyes closed.
Thinking Max was asleep, he wheeled to the door but just before he opened it she spoke.
"Logan. What were you fighting about?" It caught him a little off guard.
"With who?"
"You and Zack were fighting earlier, what were you fighting about?"
"Nothing major," again he lied, but what else could he say? That they were fighting over possession of her? Nothing more left her lips, so he opened the door and left.
Though she knew he was out of earshot, she said it aloud anyways, testing if she had the guts to admit it out loud, even to an empty room. A lonely tear fell from the corner of her eye, "Logan, Zack is right. I have to leave Seattle."
*****
What was wrong with him anyways? The X-5 she had worked with at Manticore never went through anything like this. All through the night he would begin to shudder and wake up just to take down more pills and fall asleep again. Surely this couldn't be right. It got to the point where he didn't care that she was a threat, only that hers was the hand that supplied him with his tryptophan.
Now the small vile was empty, the sun was beginning to rise and Zack had still not fully awakened. Opting to use his motorcycle, which wasn't too badly damaged, she loaded him up and headed toward the city. Raven rationalized that if she followed his trail back to where he came from she could find his stash of pills. It was a more daunting task than she had imagined. She always followed, never having to trace back and though her olfactory sense was enhanced she did not have the skill of a bloodhound. Barely able to follow the fading trail, she strayed several times from the path.
*****
Awakening from the anesthetics, Logan never felt more relaxed in his life. The clock across the room showed it was no more than thirty minutes from when he went under the knife. That couldn't be right, he thought, shaking his head as though that might advance the clock to its proper time.
Sitting up in the bed he looked down at the two bumps under the covers that were his legs. Did he dare try to test them so early? Slowly, with a hesitant hand he reached out to his right leg. Nothing. He could feel his leg like a lump of meat under his hand, but his leg registered nothing.
"Fuck," he cursed silently to the empty room, and then a smile of defeat came to his face. [I]Why do I try and kid myself like this? You're never gonna walk Logan…[/I]
"Ah, I see you're up already." The doctor came in smiling, obviously misunderstanding the reason for Logan's own grin.
"Yeah."
"The procedure was a success. Dr. Marion said that was her easiest yet."
"What are you talking about? My legs still don't work. I can't feel anything."
"Logan, you have to be patient. We didn't repair your old cells. You must understand that the stem cells we injected into your spine need time to grow and take over the functions of the nerve cells they are meant to replace. Currently they are still undifferentiated. You just need to give it time."
Logan laughed at himself for his impatience, he was never one to wait. "I'm sorry Sam, it's just…I want my legs back, I really want my life back."
The doctor nodded his head in sympathy, "Completely understandable. Now, as for what you should do now. First, you have to tell your boss to lay off for a while, because you need a lot of rest. Also, you'll still need Bling around to work out your legs. And then there is this…" Out of his right pocket he produced a small bottle of clear liquid. "This is a combination of hormones and neurotransmitters…"
"Are you trying to take credit for my years of work Dr. Carr?" A woman stepped into the room, a metallic clipboard in hand.
"Logan, this is Dr. Marion. She is an accomplished neurosurgeon who has helped develop and test the stem cell theory which has brought us all here today."
She stepped to the foot of the bed. "Oh stop it Dr. Carr, I'm blushing." Her sarcasm reminded Logan of Max. "But really I don't think he needs to hear my credentials."
Logan studied the woman's face. How could she be such an accomplished surgeon when she looked like she was barely in her thirties? Her straight blond hair was held back in a clip, her eyes were a soft green. He watched as she pulled a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear.
"Does our patient here speak?" she turned to Dr. Carr.
"Yes," Logan blurted out, "I speak." He laughed at his horrible grammar.
A smile came to her lips. "It's good to see you are fine now. I was just checking in, making sure Dr. Carr gave me some credit. Didn't want him taking all the glory. I just have to go make a few phone calls but I will be calling you later today checking in on your progress. It was nice meeting with you Mr. Cale."
"Logan, please," Logan said before thinking.
"Logan," she smiled again, then nodded her head to Dr. Carr, "Doctor." A quick turn on her heels and she was out of the room. Both men watched as she left. The room felt that much emptier with her gone.
"Like I was saying," Dr Carr continued from where he left off, "this contains a combination of hormones and neurotransmitters that Dr. Marion developed that will speed up the process. Take a five milligram shot first thing in the morning, and another last thing before bed. Any more than that could overload your system. Don't worry too much if you miss one. The shots aren't absolutely necessary, but with them you will get more dramatic results. Any questions?"
Logan looked around the room as if looking for a question to pluck out of the air, "Nope."
"Then I'll have a nurse come in with your clothes and some needles you can take home with you. After that you're free to go."
"Thank you Doctor."
"It's the least I could do."
Alone again in the cold sterile room, Logan idly fingered the small vile that was the key to his freedom from that chair.
*****
It was already nine when Zack finally regained enough awareness to question his situation. His legs were still numb so jumping off the speeding bike was not an option. He reached out to take control, trying to turn the bike in any other direction, but he did not have the strength for it. Besides this Manticore girl could have easily overpowered him. "Where are you bringing me?" The question drew out the first words he had ever heard leave his daughter's mouth.
"I'm bringing you home." her voice was not steely and lifeless like he would have expected it to be. She seemed to be trying to comfort him.
"I won't let you take me back there." Fear overtook him and he did not care if they crashed. Death was more favorable than Manticore. Pulling his arms up he tried to enclose them around her neck.
With one hand she reached up, grabbed his wrist and pulled it away like a scarf. "Not Manticore, your home. You need more of your pills," she said, not at all phased that he just tried to snap her neck.
"Do you really think I will tell you where my safe house is so you can go running back to Manticore with the location?"
"Why would I run back there, when I just ran away?"
Zack did not believe her words. "Convince me."
"Don't you think you would be back at Manticore already? If I wanted to bring you back I would have done so last night. What tactical advantage do I have by saving your ass?" She spoke like an experienced soldier stuck in the body of a preteen. Which is exactly what she was.
"You want to know where the others are." He tried to inflate his shaky voice with confidence.
"I could have easily tortured the locations out of you. You would have had no time to forget the way we were all taught. Besides, if they wanted you back they would have gotten you. My brothers and sisters could have easily captured all the X-5 by now."
Zack would have come back with another accusation but he grabbed his head as a stabbing pain exploded behind his eyes.
"If you would rather die than trust me, now's your chance because you have no more pills."
Another flare if pain shot up his spine before he could consider her words.
"It doesn't matter. Even if you don't agree, I will find where you came from, your scent is leading me straight there. If you just tell me where it is directly we will get to your pills a lot faster." By the way he was leaning on her now Raven could tell the pain was too much for him to bear. She didn't bother to wait for an answer and continued to follow her nose. This safe house he spoke of must have been close because she could now smell Max in the air.
*****
Max had lay there, between Logan's sheets, for another hour or so after he had left. His warm scent still lingered on the soft cotton, and closing her eyes she could imagine his presence beside her. She looked around the room at the mahogany walls of Logan's bedroom, trying to burn the image on her brain. This was the safest place she had ever known and she didn't want to forget it when she left with Zack to Canada.
Though she could have probably stayed there all day, hunger tugged at her belly and she got up, leaving the warm covers for the washroom. Approaching the mirror she saw that she was wearing one of Logan's long sleeved shirts, her own was probably too bloody. The dull ache still lingered as she tried to roll her shoulder once again. With an uncertain hand she reached up to pull back the neck of the shirt to reveal the large white bandage that covered the wound. Why had she done that anyway? Slowly, she pulled back the corner.
[I]Why did I save that black haired girl? It wasn't like she was even really my daughter.[/I] She thought to herself as she pulled the bandage back revealing the slight discoloring that was the entry wound. Straight from the sci-fi movies her body healed at an impossible rate. Within the day that blemish would be gone, or so Max could only assume as she had never been damaged so badly before. Fully removing the bandage she wiped away the traces of blood and tossed it in the garbage. It was then that she noticed the handles all over the bathroom. Each one placed no more than an arms length from the next. Did Logan put these up? Why weren't they around the rest of the house? Max shook her head, [I] Typical. Why do men refuse to show any weaknesses?[/I] But truthfully Max could not blame him, if she lost the use of her legs in the blink of an eye…
Again, her stomach growled in protest, for she had not eaten for more than a day now. Still in the clothes she had slept in, her own pants and Logan's shirt, she went to the kitchen straight for a bowl of cereal. On the way she passed the office. She could almost see Logan's outline in front of the computer.
Despite her pleading stomach she absentmindedly stirred her cereal studying the apartments features. There was no doubt she was going to miss this place. If Logan would just give her one reason to stay...
Her thought was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Peering through the peep hole she saw Zack's face, pale with eyelids half closed, but upon opening the door she was greeted by the intense blue grey eyes of the X-6 girl.