Disclaimer: None belong to me, they're all Cameron's etc.
Authors Note: Chapter 3 is up. I need constant encouragement to continue or else I lose all will to write.
DARK TERROR
Chapter 3 - Screaming
Alec clutched his side in pain, cursing himself as he moved down the dark side streets. How could I be so stupid! He thought angrily. Right now he was working on getting back to the motel he and Max were staying in. The job that he had though would be relatively simple had gone sideways and he had ended up with a 3 inch deep stab wound to his side. Luckily the knife had gone in clean and had missed any organs or arteries. "Small mercies" Alec muttered to himself, pulling his coat tighter closed, one hand hidden inside pressed against the wound. The streets were filled with the normal night people. Those that only came out after dark to cause whatever trouble they could. Alec quickened his step. There had been twice as many men at the target as he had thought there would be, although granted he hadn't done very detailed recon, given that he had to take Max with him. The cash he had been after was now safely in his pocket, paid for in blood.
The drug dealers that had survived the initial fight had been trying to find him and it had taken Alec hours to lose them, the whole day in fact. He was so worried about Max being on her own, the job had only been meant to take 2 hours tops. Alec saw the broken neon lights of the motel and broke into a limping jog. Reaching the door of his room, he took a steadying breath. Please be okay Max… He begged silently.
The door swung open, revealing the darkness in the room. Alec fumbled for the light switch. As the artificial light flooded the room he sighed deeply in relief. Amid the shadows of the cast light sat Max. She was still in the same position she had been when he left, her hair still gleaming and her eyes still staring blindly at that spot on the carpet.
"Max." Alec kicked the door shut and limped over to her. He knelt, feeling his injury protest at the action. Alec touched her face lightly and then smiled sadly to himself. She was fine. Or as fine as she had been since he left that morning. Alec tried to talk to her. "I'm back Max. We have the money, I'm just gonna get changed and then we'll go eat. You hungry?" He asked rhetorically. She of course hadn't eaten all day without him there to look after her. Alec regretted this as he went off to the bathroom to change.
Leaving the door open he shrugged off his jacket and then peeled off the t shirt he was wearing. It was saturated in blood all down the front. Alec grimaced and turned to throw the shirt by the door. He stopped abruptly, stunned to see Max standing there in the frame.
Her eyes were fixed on the bloody shirt and without warning she opened her mouth and began to scream. Really scream. Shocked, Alec winced and he dropped the shirt as Max's ear splitting screams filled the small room with her terror. His wound still seeping blood he rushed over to her.
"Max!" He grabbed her upper arms firmly, standing close despite how her screams were verging on hurting his eardrums. "Max! Its okay!" This was the first time in over a month that he had heard her utter any sound at all and he was both scared and thrilled by it. His bloody shirt must have set her off. All that blood reminding her of Logan's horrific death and the medical and personal torture she had suffered at the hands of White.
Alec didn't know if Max's reaction was a very good or a very bad sign of her possible recovery. What he did know was that if she didn't stop screaming then someone was eventually going to call the police. As apathetic as society had become to other peoples problems, they would probably do it just to get the noise to stop.
"Max, its alright, look! Its just a small wound, I'm okay!" Alec shook Max lightly, unable to break through her abject fear. "Max!" Frustrated and scared of the repercussions if the cops did come, Alec grabbed one of Max's hands and acted instinctively, pressing it against his naked chest, over his heart. He used his other hand to stroke her face the way he did when she suffered her night terrors.
Slowly Max's screams quietened as she seemed to respond to the steady beat of his heart and the stroking of her face, until only her ragged breathing and whimpers could be heard. Alec breathed in relief and he released the hand that held Max's captive against his chest. To his surprise Max moved forward instantly, pressing the side of her face against where her hand had been, listening to his heart beat. Alec let his hands move naturally to hold her in position there, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other stroking her hair reassuringly.
"Its okay. Shh. Everything's alright Max." He continued to murmur. "Max?" He said her name questioningly into the new silence that now filled the room. He hardly dared hope for a response. It had been so long since Max had spoken.
There was nothing. Alec felt Max start to fall as she leaned against him. Reacting automatically Alec reached to catch her, lifting her in his strong arms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing even. The pain of his injury had faded to a distant memory now, in the face of these unexpected events.
Alec carried Max over to the bed they had shared the night before and checked her pulse efficiently. It was steady and Alec breathed silently in relief. He didn't know quite what to make of this but for the first time in a long time he dared to have hope that Max would come back to him. Alec leaned over her and pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.
"Your okay Maxie. Your going to be fine." He whispered, smoothing her hair back from her face. Alec didn't want to leave her, even to go and attend to his wound or clean the blood from his body. But it was necessary so he darted quickly to the bathroom and filled a bowl with water and carried it and his first aid kit back to the bed where Max lay. His actions hadn't disturbed her and she still lay peacefully, as though she were sleeping. Alec wondered at this. Could she be asleep? As far as he could tell, she hadn't slept since he had taken her from White's grip.
Watching her the whole time, Alec started to clean the stab injury and wash the blood off. Max was still resting when he finished. Alec had originally intended for them to leave this evening. Now though he knew that was impossible. He was hurt and Max was asleep after the first encouraging sign of recovery he had witnessed. Alec hoped dearly this was a good sign and not indicative of pushing her further into the darkness she was already in. Tomorrow was the best option they had now. Early tomorrow morning, after breakfast, they would get on the first bus out of town.
Sighing, Alec lay down next to Max on the creaky old bed, being careful not to disturb the bandages around him. Gently he positioned himself to spoon around Max's motionless body, pulling her close so that her back rested comfortably against his chest. Alec breathed in the scent of her hair as he nuzzled the top of her head. Please be okay Max. Please… The last thought repeated in his head as Alec drifted off to sleep and dreamt of the past that had brought them here.
Flashback;
"Hey Logan." Alec greeted the other man cheerfully as he let himself into the penthouse apartment at Foggle Towers. Logan was in his study and turned to see Alec wander in.
"You know, I would really appreciate it if you would start using that thing we norms call a doorbell." Logan said, as he glared at the younger man. Alec shrugged unrepentingly.
"Give me a break. I'm not here for a chit chat or a lecture on manners, alright? Just came round to give you back this." Alec reached into the bag he was carrying and withdrew the small statue of Bast that he had stolen 2 days ago. Logan's eyes widened in surprise.
"Max said you'd already fenced it." He breathed as he reached out to examine the beautiful gold statue."
Alec turned his head to stare out the window, avoiding Logan's gaze. "Yeah well, Max was pretty upset with me, so I figured it was for the good of my continued survival to get it back." He said flippantly. Logan having no idea how the black market worked from the end of a thief just nodded, accepting that it must be relatively easy to get something back after fencing it.
"Right. Well I'd thank you but then you did steal it from me in the first place." Logan pointed out. Alec smirked in response.
"Whatever. Just make sure you tell Max that I've been a good little transgenic." Alec got up to leave and walked to the front door, followed by Logan who was using the exoskeleton. "Seeing me out Cale? I didn't know you cared." Alec flashed an insincere smile which Logan returned.
"Just making sure nothing else falls into those pockets of yours." He told him. Alec laughed lightly at that and reached for the door handle.
Present;
Alec whimpered in his sleep, his grip on Max's body tightening, the memory of the events from the next few minutes hard for his subconscious to re live.
Flashback;
The door to Logan's apartment smashed open. Alec was thrown backwards by the force, crashing into Logan as they both fell to the ground. Recovering quickly Alec saw the military soldiers and leaped to his feet, throwing his fist into the face of the first one he saw. Logan was still stunned and lying on the ground as the exosuit jerked his unresponsive limbs spasmodically. Clearly it was damaged. Alec felt the sting of a needle injecting him from behind and then darkness encroached his vision, as he too fell to the floor.
Present;
Alec sat up in bed gasping for breath at the memory of the attack on Logan's place. He looked over at Max, thankful when he saw she was undisturbed. Alec rubbed a hand over his features and lay back against the thin pillow, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Oh God… He hadn't particularly liked Logan but the way he had protected Max… Alec swallowed hard. In death Logan had gained Alec's respect, something that no other norm had ever really done before, Alec having been taught since birth that norms were inferior to him. And me, I was useless! Alec's balled his hands into fists. Unconscious half the time and then - Alec couldn't continue these memories any further. Logan had been tortured by White for Max's location. Tortured. Slowly, painfully, methodically right there in his own home. And Logan had held out. Held out in the hope that by some miracle Max would know what was happening and leave town. Of course she hadn't and Logan's suffering had all been in vain.
White had actually laughed when Max had walked through Logan's door, calling his name in a cheerful greeting. Alec could remember with cursed clarity the exact expression on Logan's face as he heard her voice and through the ruin of his face and the bloody mess of his body, he had tried to speak her name. Alec shut his eyes against the memory that filled his mind. The hardly audible whisper of Max's name by Logan. Max's scream as she saw what had been done to the man she loved. White's laughter at the simplicity of Max's entrance. How could she have known?
Alec gave up on the hope of sleep returning and stood slowly. He walked over to the window and looked out at the filthy streets in the bad area. He had been handcuffed to a radiator when he had come around. White had assumed that Logan, a mere civilian with no training would be quicker to crack than Alec, a trained soldier. Alec had thought so too at first. He had thought that Logan would give up Max after the first ten minutes to be honest. But he hadn't. Alec and White had both underestimated the man. Underestimated just how much he loved Max.
Alec felt the guilt rise in his throat, along with the acidic taste of vomit. He had seen men and women tortured before, he had grown up in Manticore, he was by no means innocent to the world of pain, death and torture. However at Manticore it was somehow cleaner. They used psychoactive drugs and deprivation or overstimulation to get information. Just as effective and the risks of accidentally killing the subject was much lower. What White had done to Logan was nothing short of sadistic, he had even gained pleasure from it, Alec was sure of that. Logan had been almost unrecognisable by the time Max had arrived.
Max's reaction to the sight in front of her had been almost as bad as the agony on Logan's face when he realised he had failed her. She had come to him and now she would end up in the hands of those she feared most. It had all been for nothing, and Alec had been there, cuffed and helpless, a simple spectator to the unfolding horror. So much blood… Alec shook his head violently in denial, as though he could shake the memories from his mind. Max had run to Logan of course. It was like she hadn't even seen White or the others, all she saw was Logan. She had reached out for him longing to touch him but remembering the virus, snatching her hands away a hairs breath from Logan's skin.
Flashback;
"Logan!!! No! Your going to be fine, I - Oh God Logan! Don't leave me, please. I love you -" Max cried, kneeling beside his restrained torn body. Logan's one clear blue eye was the only recognisable part, the other missing, leaving a blood filled messy hole.
"Max - " Logan choked, blood coming from his mouth. "Max - I'm sor - "
BANG!
"No!!!" Max screamed as Logan's body jerked once as a bullet impacted into his forehead, shattering his skull and blowing a hole though the back of his head. Blood splattered over Max's face and clothes. Logan's body was limp, dead now, and all Alec could do was thank whatever God there was for it. Not Max though. She screamed. Screamed like Logan had when White had started to cut into him, inch by inch.
"Logan!!! No! Please No!!!" She couldn't hurt him anymore and Max threw herself forward to gather Logan's still body into her arms, touching his destroyed face, his crimson soaked hair. "Logan!"
Present;
It had gone quickly after that. Max had become aware of her surroundings and attacked White in an insane act of rage. A soldier had shot at her in panic, missing but the bullet had richoched and scraped the side of Alec's head. He had passed out, the only thing that had probably saved him. That as well as the fact that even minor head wounds tend to bleed cospiciouly. Alec had woke to find himself alone, his head resting in a pool of his own blood. Max was gone. Logan's mangled body lay near him, the only sign of the travesty that had transpired.
Alec turned to look back at Max, who was still sleeping. Tonight had been a small catharsis for him. He hadn't thought of that day since he had woken to find Max missing. Every hour he had spent since then had been looking for Max. When he found her and saw what White had been doing to her… There were none of the grotesque physical signs on Max now, which would have remained on any normal person. She healed fast, as all of them did. Although her body still bore faint scars, these too would fade given enough time. The memory of what Alec had seen of what Max had gone through was something he was still unprepared to think of. The horror too much for his mind to comprehend. It was no wonder that Max had been unable to maintain her sanity through it all.
Without even realising it Alec had drifted back to the bed where Max lay. His hand reached to touch her, gently feeling her soft skin with a gentle caress, so at odds with the suffering White had inflicted with his own hands. Alec felt a cold chill descend around his body at even the passing thought of White getting his hands back on Max. "Never" Alec swore to the sleeping woman. "No ones going to hurt you again Max. Not ever."
TBC.