"I still don't see why we have to do this at night. It's dark!" Max
grumbled.
"It's scarier. More suspenseful. Dramatic. Makes a better story," Zack replied.
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
The four of them were creeping along relatively silently through the ex-Manticorian field at night. Logan was tiptoe-ing really comically because he had wanted to be quiet like everyone else, but it just made him look funny.
All of a sudden, there was a muffled whumph as Max, who was in front, ran into something. "Ack," she pointed out.
Logan shined a flashlight at the whumphing thing so they could see what it was. Max gasped when she saw who she had bumped into.
"Dr. Hansen?!"
"What? Oh, it's Max, right?"
Max nodded. "What are you doing here? And why do you have a picture of my barcode?"
"Oh, that. I took it to compare to another picture. I thought I might know who your mother was." Max stared. "But it turns out it wasn't you…some other X-5. Sorry."
"Oh. But what were you doing here anyway?"
"Uh, I was…I was just trying to help," she began. "I wanted to get all the info I could to help the…transgenics with any Manticore-related problems. Like your virus. I kinda lied to you before – they never sent anybody after me. I just heard they were working with DNA-targeting and I did some research and came up with the cure. So, if anyone you know ever has, uh, problems, send 'em to me. I just want to help," she repeated.
Nobody said anything for a long time. Max hadn't told Zack and Alec about the cure yet. Finally, Zack took a breath like he was going to speak. Max protectively inched toward Logan, ready to fight if the need arose.
"You…you got…a cure? The virus?" Alec's eyes flicked back and forth like he was at a tennis match. Max nodded slowly. "Oh. So are y – I mean, uh, congratulations." Zack cut himself off before he could ask the question he didn't want an answer to. Max remained silent.
Logan spoke up. "Sorry to bother you then, Dr. Hansen. We'll go now and leave you alone." Nobody said another word all the way until they went to bed. The thought of sneaking into Logan's room again never even crossed Max's mind.
"It's scarier. More suspenseful. Dramatic. Makes a better story," Zack replied.
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
The four of them were creeping along relatively silently through the ex-Manticorian field at night. Logan was tiptoe-ing really comically because he had wanted to be quiet like everyone else, but it just made him look funny.
All of a sudden, there was a muffled whumph as Max, who was in front, ran into something. "Ack," she pointed out.
Logan shined a flashlight at the whumphing thing so they could see what it was. Max gasped when she saw who she had bumped into.
"Dr. Hansen?!"
"What? Oh, it's Max, right?"
Max nodded. "What are you doing here? And why do you have a picture of my barcode?"
"Oh, that. I took it to compare to another picture. I thought I might know who your mother was." Max stared. "But it turns out it wasn't you…some other X-5. Sorry."
"Oh. But what were you doing here anyway?"
"Uh, I was…I was just trying to help," she began. "I wanted to get all the info I could to help the…transgenics with any Manticore-related problems. Like your virus. I kinda lied to you before – they never sent anybody after me. I just heard they were working with DNA-targeting and I did some research and came up with the cure. So, if anyone you know ever has, uh, problems, send 'em to me. I just want to help," she repeated.
Nobody said anything for a long time. Max hadn't told Zack and Alec about the cure yet. Finally, Zack took a breath like he was going to speak. Max protectively inched toward Logan, ready to fight if the need arose.
"You…you got…a cure? The virus?" Alec's eyes flicked back and forth like he was at a tennis match. Max nodded slowly. "Oh. So are y – I mean, uh, congratulations." Zack cut himself off before he could ask the question he didn't want an answer to. Max remained silent.
Logan spoke up. "Sorry to bother you then, Dr. Hansen. We'll go now and leave you alone." Nobody said another word all the way until they went to bed. The thought of sneaking into Logan's room again never even crossed Max's mind.