Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, all belong to Cameron etc.

Authors Note: Merry Christmas! A new chapter as your present, review and let me know if you liked it!

DARK TERROR

Chapter 5 - Waking to the Nightmare

Alec looked nervously around the dimly lit club. He was seated there with Max next to him, her hand clasped tightly in his. They were in New York now and just about as far from Seattle as they could get without leaving the country. It had been 3 weeks since Max had first started to come out of her traumatised shell. Small things really but they added up enough to give Alec hope that Max would really recover.

In a way Max was more trouble now than when she was a completely mute and motionless doll. They were having difficulty finding places to stay because the nightly terrors Max suffered, which used to mean silent screams, now meant incredibly vocal screams. All of this made travel slower and Alec had been concerned for sometime that White might be able to catch up to them. Max also couldn't be depended on to stay where he left her. 10 days ago, Alec had to leave her alone in a motel room for a few hours. When he got back she was nowhere to be found. His panic had nearly overwhelmed him and he had spent the next few hours searching the neighbour hood and questioning anyone around about seeing any military operations occur. He had eventually returned to the motel in order to grab his stuff before going to look further a field for her. It was when he had ripped open the closet door that he found Max. She was curled up in a tiny ball rocking back and forth, seemingly unaware of her environment. Alec's relief had been so great that he had actually yelled at her for scaring him like that. She hadn't seemed to take it in though and the guilt struck him an instant later, he had just had been so terrified that White had found her.

Still it was worth it. Every time Max did something on her own, moved, even screamed, it meant she was coming back to him. She had yet to speak but over the last few days she had been reacting more to him, making eye contact. She had even started responding to some simple verbal instructions, instead of having to be physically prompted to do everything.

Alec had found himself wondering if maybe it would take another extreme form of stimuli to give Max another break through. The first had been unintentional. His blood soaked shirt had started her screaming and seemed to initiate her recovery. Perhaps another memory prompt might help more. Alec was seriously reluctant to try anything such as talking about what had happened to her, he was afraid that if it didn't help, then it might regress her back to the state she had been in before. It was too much of a risk as far as he was concerned.

Anyway right now they had a more immediate problem. White was here in New York. Some soldiers had been around the area showing photos of Max and him to people. Alec had no doubt that their orders were to kill him and capture Max. Whatever experiments White wanted Max for, he seemed to want her alive now rather than dead as had been his original goal, after the fire that had destroyed Manticore. Maybe its just for himself that he wants her alive. Alec thought bitterly. Sick basterd seems to get off on pain and you cant hurt a corpse.

Winter was in full force now, the falling snow allowing a greater ease of invisibility. Alec and Max were both dressed in heavy winter coats, Max's with a loose hood which obscured much of her face. They had been heading back to the motel they were staying in when Alec had caught sight of the soldiers coming down on their room. It was fortunate that the military were basically incapable of subtly and he had got himself and Max out of there fast.

The club was a perfect place to hide in for now, the pounding music and heavy dancing crowd providing good cover. Alec had managed to find some seats and ordered a few drinks so they would blend in. They had been here over two hours now and Max seemed to be getting distressed by the noise and flashing lights. Alec wished they could move on and he was desperately trying to think of a plan to get them out of the city.

Agitated Alec took another swig of his beer. Max whimpered at that moment and turned to hide her face in his neck. "Max?" Alec asked, setting his glass down. She was more upset than he had realised, her whole body shaking minutely. Alec pulled her over and lifted her with his strong arms into his lap, cradling her like a baby. "It's alright Max" He whispered in her ear. "Shh. Just a little longer, I promise." The hour was late and Alec could only pray that Max wasn't about to start one of her screaming fits, even with the noise level what it was, people would hear her. He rubbed his hand up and down her spine comfortingly, his other already automatically stroking her face. "Its okay Maxie, its okay." He soothed. Alec felt some of the tension ease from her body as he held her.

"Hey, your honey doesn't seem too happy with you buddy." A mans voice came from next to him and Alec turned to see a large muscled man leering at Max.

Alec clenched his jaw. "She's fine, just a bit tired." He said, hoping the guy would leave them alone. No such luck. The man had clearly had a bit to drink and now wanted to have a bit of fun.

"Yeah? Or maybe she's just tired of you!" The guy laughed like he had just said the most clever thing ever. "Come on honey, I bet I can show you a better time than this pretty boy!" One meaty hand came out and grabbed Max's upper arm, pulling her off Alec's lap and into his arms. Alec was surprised at the speed of the action. Things were rapidly spiralling into a bad area. Max stumbled as the man pulled her flush against his body and Alec leapt to his feet.

"Look, I don't want any trouble, just let her go." He said trying to reign back his anger, knowing the last thing they needed now was a fight. He could take this man down easily but the attention it would cause was too risky. Alec could see that Max appeared to have shut down completely in the face of this stranger manhandling her and he was afraid that this might cause a setback in her recovery.

Oblivious to the undertones that were going on, the thug tried to pull Max away from Alec towards the exit. "I got the biggest bed you ever saw baby, how about I show it to you?" One hand reached down to grope Max's ass and Alec saw red. He grabbed the guys arm away from Max and slammed his fist into the drunks nose.

Blood spurted as his nose shattered and Max fell sideways against a chair. A blonde girl nearby steadied her, asking if she was alright. The guy seemed too drunk to feel the pain and he lurched forward to try and attack Alec. Ducking Alec followed his punch with a solid kick to the stomach, collapsing the man to the ground.

A small crowd had gathered by now and Alec looked around desperately for Max. He saw her with the girl who was now using a tissue from her purse to clean Max's face from the blood that had splattered on her when Alec had broken the drunks nose. Pushing his way past people, ignoring the comments, Alec reached Max. "Max!" He tilted her head up to him and examined her quickly. "Are you alright?" There was no indication that Max saw him, not a flicker of acknowledgement that he had even spoken.

"Man, she's pretty out of it, she gonna be okay?" The girl asked concerned

Alec cast her a quick glance. "Yeah, she's just had a lot to drink, thanks for your help. Alec took Max's arm and started pulling her through the crowd. They had to get out of here right now.

Once outside Alec could see the situation wasn't going to better any time soon. There were several soldiers walking the area. Quickly Alec back tracked, running down an ally, pulling Max behind him. The air was like ice to his lungs and he could see his breath coming in clouds in front of him. The roads were icy but despite the constant softly falling snow it had failed to settle over the city streets, save for the sides and gutters. Alec could hear Max breathing quickly behind him and he slowed, leaning against the damp brick wall. They were safe for the moment.

Alec looked over to Max. White snow had settled in her dark hair, the hood of her coat having fallen back during their run. In the ghostly dim street lamps the swirling fog and falling snow flakes gave her a fragile ethereal beauty. Max looked like a dark angel, standing there in all her pain and suffering. She was moving her hand now, the white fingers gently brushing her face where the blood had landed, not from tonight. From before. From when Logan had been shot, ending his pain and splattering his blood over Max's lovely features. "Max." Alec reached for her. "Max, you okay?" Her breathing increased, panic driving it and Alec started to be seriously worried.

"Logan." One word, hardly audible. The first she had spoken for over 2 months. If Alec hadn't possessed enhanced hearing he doubt he would have heard it. Alec grabbed Max's head in his hands and lifted it to study her face. Her expression was mostly blank but her rich brown eyes looked stunned.

"Max." Alec didn't know what to say. She had spoken, it was what he had been waiting for. But she had remembered Logan, remembered his death judging from her reaction and the cause of it. "Max its okay." He said helplessly. It wasn't okay, Logan was dead. Max didn't respond and her eyes unfocused.

"Logan…" The whisper came again. Alec couldn't stand it and he roughly pulled her against him, burying his face into her neck. He held her so tightly he was afraid he was hurting her.

"I'm sorry Max, I'm so sorry." His fingers gripped her head firmly as the words tumbled from his mouth, saturated in guilt. Max's body felt stiff against his, it was like holding a statue.

Alec heard the sound of voices nearby and tried to clear his mind. He pulled back from Max and looked around. They had to keep moving. He looked to Max, she was still staring blankly ahead, a single tear resting on her cheek, fallen from her wide shocked eyes. Alec acted without thinking, kissing her skin where the salty drop lay. "Max -" His voice broke with emotion and Alec shook his head in disgust with himself. What was he thinking? Now was not the time for this, not unless he wanted an early funeral for himself and a return to hell for Max.

"We have to go Max." Alec was grateful that his voice came out stronger than he felt. He tried to pull Max with him but she resisted. "Max!" He said angrily. "We have to go now!" She still refused to move. Alec could hear the voices getting louder and he turned to her, grabbing her shoulders.


"Logan." Max whimpered. Alec felt a burst of irrational anger at the dead man. Damn you Logan for dying like that! Damn you for holding Max to Seattle! Damn you for making Max love you before I even got the chance!

"Now Max!" He held her arm so tight that he knew bruises would show. Showing the first strength Alec had seen in a long time, Max refused to be moved and Alec turned on her, yelling, not caring who heard them now.

"Logan's dead Max! Do you hear me? He's dead!" Tears fell from his hazel eyes freely. "Now White's coming for us and we need to get out of here right now or you know what he'll do to you!"

Max's eyes flashed to Alec's and the blood drained from her face at his words. She moved so fast Alec didn't even realise that she had snatched the gun that was always at his side, until it was pointed at the side of her head.

Jesus! Alec's mind went blank. One hand knocked the gun from Max's grasp and his other moved without his awareness. The gun still skidding along the wet concrete, Alec struck Max hard across the face. The world snapped back into reality the second he felt his hand impact on her cheekbone and saw her head jerk with the force of the blow. Oh God Max!

"Max-" Alec was speechless. The footsteps were closer. There was no time, no time. Alec reached forward and swung Max into his arms. He ran, holding her, away from the men approaching their position. Alec should have been considering their escape options. But all he could see was Max pointing the gun at her own head, and all he could hear was the sound of his hand hitting against the icy skin of the woman he loved.

TBC.

A/N: Not very festive I know but completely not my fault, this chapter kind of wrote itself. Again, have a good Xmas!