Chapter 5
Her body trembled form the tears squeezing past her closed eyes; she had been sobbing almost non-stop since her return to the penthouse. Who could blame her? She had just lost her brother, her confidant, and her love. Though, the soldier in her told her to stop crying the human just couldn't stop. The pain was just too much for her to handle. She had never lost someone the way she just lost him. He died. Brian died, and it was all her fault. How could she have let that happen? All she could think of was how his body fell to the ground, the thunderclap of the gun firing. Of what he said as he took his last breath. She could only recall his last words." I love you Heather". She had never felt this immense pain before, this pain of her aching heart. Her heart literally hurt and she never got to say what had been in her heart all that time. She didn't get to tell him that she loved him too.
Her siblings had dragged her away from Brian's dead figure; she didn't want to leave. It was the only way of survival, the soldiers were everywhere. Even the X-5 decided it was time to go. The rest of the X-8 followed, they leapt back into the van Logan was in and went to the penthouse, devising yet another plan to take Manticore down and retrieving what had been lost. Max and Zack.
And so, she had been sitting by the window on Logan's couch, crying non-stop since they got there. The other's were gathered around devising another plan, to invade the building again. This time they knew who the trader was. Scott…
Nick had finally realized why Scott would take off, vanishing in the middle of the night. He didn't want to say anything before, but now he knew he should of. He too blamed himself for Brian's death. Scott betrayed them, betrayed them all. For Scott not only killed his older brother, but when Brian died they all did. Brian wasn't just their brother, and C.O but he had bee there from the beginning. He took care of his younger brothers and sisters; they needed him more than they've ever needed him before.
*~*~*
The three of them came out from the wooded area. Zack, Brin and Max were sent to try to retrieve the escaped transgenics. But Max wasn't planning to follow through on her orders, she had to find a way out. With or without, Brin and Zack. Although she loved Zack, he might not be in the state of mind to want to be free once again. After all, he was reidocrinated. All she could hope was that he too, had found a way out of the reindocrination, and found the right state of mind.
It had been brutal how Brian was sacrificed, killed by his own brother. Now it was her job not to let her siblings do the same thing, she had to stop Brin and Zack.
Brin took off the other way, she decided that it was best for them to split up. Zack nodded showing he understood.
Max followed Zack until Brin was out of sight. Then he turned around. He stared at his sibling for a moment before he began to speak.
"I remember how it feels to be free, to feel what it's like to be your own boss. Not having someone like Renfro breathing down your neck…. Someone so inferior as her commanding your every move. I'm not giving up my freedom to do her dirty work."
Max smiled at Zack's comment. They both knew that Renfro had implanted tracking devises into them, not thinking that they would rip it out of their skin. But they did, again they found a river and placed the tracking devises into the rapidly flowing water. They had taken back their freedom.
*~*~*
Max and Zack reached Logan's penthouse in due time. They climbed in unnoticed by the people inside.
They stood at the doorway until Zane looked up from the blue prints of Manticore and saw Max and Zack standing they're waiting. Zane smiled.
"Look whose here everyone!"
Everyone looked up from their work, and saw both Max and Zack standing there at the doorway of Logan's penthouse. Both groups and Logan gathered around the two transgenics.
Logan and Max embraced, while Zack just watched on. He didn't understand why he loved Max the way he did. He practically told her when he had been traumatized in Manticore, and escaped into that cave. She did nothing, nothing but stared at his form lying there trying so hard to get some rest. He had never been so hurt before, never, he endured numerous physical wounds, but nothing could mend those of the wounds caused by Max.
Max and Logan pulled apart from their hug. Max smiled and hugged each of her siblings and the X8. She studied the X8 noticing that two of their members were missing, she now knew that the inevitable had happened. Brian was dead. Where was Scott?
"Hey guys, where's Scott?"
Heather and Liz looked straight at Nick as to encourage him to tell them what they knew.
"He killed Brian, he's in Manticore." Nick choked out. "Scott betrayed us all."
"I'm sorry" Was all Max could say. Zack just nodded at Max's comment.
Heather then suddenly stood up, wiping away her tears she began to speak.
"When we went in to get Brian, Nick and I went into Refro's office." Her voice wavered, her eyes once again swelled with tears. Heather wiped the tears away and continued to talk. "I came across this folder with mine and Brian's barcode in it. It seems that Manticore has been playing around with our DNA."
Zack looked at Heather, a questioning look in his eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"Manticore, or should I say Renfro has been using our DNA to make children. Transgenic with transgenic. I picked the folder up… here it is." Heather replied as she handed the folder to Zack. "It says that they fertilized an egg cell… my egg cell… the child is already showing signs of heightened abilities and senses. This kid isn't even a year old yet!"
"I see…" Was all Zack said as he read the files over.
*~*~*
He was tied to a bed; restraints held his hands to the metal bars. The low beeping sound came every few seconds, signaling that he was ok. He was on life support but he was going to be fine. A soldier stood bye his bedside, the one who put Brian there in the first place. The one designated as X-8840, stared at the sleeping form, he once called a brother. Now he will call him X-8682, and that will be Brian's designation.