Title: Stuff that happens...
Author: Me
Summary: AU, set right before the pilot. M/L
... someone had drawn several lines next to each other - a barcode, the same she had tattooed on her neck.......
Note: Hey, I'm back. Just give this story a try and please review 'cause I love reading your comments. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story "a goddess" - you guys are awesome. Also huge thanks to my beta Trice for without her this story would be crap.
Prologue
In the dim light of the jam-packed train compartment, she was merely a shadow among others. Somehow she had managed to find a place next to the window; now her eyes were fixed on the passing landscape and the patches of night sky visible from her position. Ignoring the noises of the train and the whispers around her, she let her thoughts wander, thinking about things she didn't want to remember.
The gentle back and forth movement of the train occasionally jerked her in this or that direction, interrupting for a moment the slow song she had started humming for no other reason than to keep herself occupied and her mind numb. As time passed, the train continued it's journey, steady on its tracks, leaving Max to hum her songs.
At dawn, the people around her started to wake up from the troubled slumber in the uncomfortable seats. They stood up, stretched, greeted each other and fumbled in their luggage to find something to eat. Somewhere near Max, a small child started to whine. Talking to it quietly, the mother tried to hush it by softly stroking it's cheek. Watching the scene, Max shuddered at the thought of this baby having to face the same ruined world she had found after her escape.
"Are you hungry? You look like you haven't eaten in days." Turning around to face the source of the voice, she was greeted by the sight of an old woman who just then tossed a chocolate bar toward her. Max caught it and confused, she looked down at herself, taking in her appearance. Her clothes were ragged and her oversized sweater was torn over her right shoulder. The hair framing her pale face was messy and several cuts adorned her hands.
Max found herself wondering how that had happened, but couldn't find an explanation. The last 24 hours seemed like a dream to her and she couldn't focus on the details. She didn't have the power to concentrate and so she leaned back against the wall in defeat.
"This train is going back to Seattle, right?", Max asked the woman, more polite than curious. Suddenly the thought "back home" popped into her mind. She shook her head. Max had never regarded the city as her home. She had never thought of it as the place where she belonged. For weeks now, her life there had seemed an eternity away, nothing more than a fading memory. Strange - in a few hours she would walk back into Jam Pony and everything would probably be exactly like she had left it - Seattle hadn't changed.
The chocolate-woman was still watching her closely, a warm expression on her face. "Yeah, it is", she answered the question Max had already forgotten. "You aren't used to travelling, are you? You look a little lost. I also felt uncertain about the trains after the pulse hit. Before, nobody traveled like that." The woman woman's incessant chatter made Max shut her eyes briefly.
The sounds of a train journey, the feeling of the movement, someone coughing near her.
"No, I've been travelling a lot lately. I'm alright." Max managed to smile weakly before turning around. In her mind, she added 'But-I'm-lost-anyway' and sighed. She couldn't explain what had happened to her. Trying to survive had never been easy since she had left Manticore but she had somehow gotten used to it.
Max remembered what it had been like to feel freedom for the first time. She remembered being frightened as hell and not knowing what to do. The same feeling of being lost, alone in a world that was her enemy, pervaded her every fiber now, weighing oppressively on her mind.
It was near noon when the train finally stopped. Watching all the others get their luggage, Max waited, being the last one to get out of the train. She didn't have a suitcase with her, so she was free to wander around the city. Normally she would ride her bike or her motorcycle but she didn't want to do that at the moment. She was still confused and disorientated, unwilling to face her roommate or anyone else she knew.
So she just kept on walking through the crowded streets of the poorest sector of Seattle, where nobody cared about a weird girl like her. Max didn't seem to notice them either and her face stayed blank and emotionless.
Wandering around aimlessly like that for hours finally got her to the top of the Space Needle, where she had spent countless nights just wondering about her siblings, Manticore and the escape.
Max closed her eyes and pictured twelve kids running down the dark corridors of a building. Remembering Zack giving the signal for them to jump through the huge window, she shuddered.
Glass crushing, wind blowing roughly, eleven hearts beating near her.
She could still feel the cold snow beneath her feet, and the ice breaking under her weight.
That had been the last time she had seen them. Since then she had moved on, always intent on finding what little family she had left.
She forced herself to think about this night again and again. It was a safe topic, better than analyzing her current situation. The wind started blowing, chilling her to the bone.
There had been snow in Chicago.
Slowly her thoughts started to get a life of their own. They wandered back in time to the day before. Chicago had been just another run-down city, with people looking just as desperate as in Seattle. There had been these unfamiliar faces, the need for food and the cold that affected everyone else but her.
Max stood up. Glancing down on the city, she bit her lip, uncertain of the next step. Then, reaching a decision, she quickly turned around and stormed off. She knew that she had to face her life again, that it didn't help if she moped around all day.
The first sight that greeted her when she entered her apartment was Kendra's underwear drying on her motorcycle. Her roommate herself was gone, probably with some guy doing whatever they did. But Max preferred being alone anyway. She slowly crossed the untidy kitchen by kicking Kendra's things away with her feet. Then she went into her room and stripped her sweater off. Grabbing a new shirt from a drawer, she quickly brushed her hair before returning to her motorcycle.
Just moments later she went off.
After a fast journey, on which she crossed half of Seattle, she finally reached her destination. Carefully, she put her motorcycle away and looked around. Although she was satisfied because she couldn't see anyone, she hesitated for a moment. Then the expression on her face went from uncertain to determined and she picked the lock of the old house in front of her. Without turning on the light, she slowly made her way down the wooden stairs and stopped in front of a door. After taking a deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob with a shaking hand and entered.
The basement was in a horrible condition. The big closet next to the door was open and all the stuff was lying on the floor. She could see a huge pile of clothes lying in a corner and books were scattered all over the place. The drawers on the other side of the room had been pulled out and the bed was ruffled.
She walked to the back and found the computer broken, as well as a smashed lamp. Sighing, she picked up a camera from the floor. They had done a good job but she knew that they hadn't found what they were looking for. A small smile of victory curved her lips. She had been there when all the important stuff had been deleted. It hadn't made much sense to her back then, but now she understood everything.
Max walked over and sat down on the bed. Ten minutes later she was still there, motionless. Then her eyes stopped on a book on the nightstand. Holding her breath, she carefully reached out and touched the cover. It was kind of funny that it was still where it belonged and not on the floor with all the other stuff.
Finally Max grabbed and opened it.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the marked page. Her hand reached to her neck and her fingers rubbed a spot right under the hairline. For a while she couldn't tear her eyes off the top of the page, where someone had drawn several lines next to each other - a barcode, the same she had tattooed on her neck.
Suddenly, her head snapped around. She was sure she had heard a cough behind her.. But she was alone in the dark basement. Nobody was there, except her own reflection in the cracked gold-framed mirror on the wall. Max stood up and stepped toward it, peering at the image in front of her.
The blue eyes she spotted next to hers seemed to look lovingly in her direction, but a mere moment later, they were gone. Max took a deep breath.
"If I want to live like before, I'll have to forget you, Logan Cale."
Author: Me
Summary: AU, set right before the pilot. M/L
... someone had drawn several lines next to each other - a barcode, the same she had tattooed on her neck.......
Note: Hey, I'm back. Just give this story a try and please review 'cause I love reading your comments. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story "a goddess" - you guys are awesome. Also huge thanks to my beta Trice for without her this story would be crap.
Prologue
In the dim light of the jam-packed train compartment, she was merely a shadow among others. Somehow she had managed to find a place next to the window; now her eyes were fixed on the passing landscape and the patches of night sky visible from her position. Ignoring the noises of the train and the whispers around her, she let her thoughts wander, thinking about things she didn't want to remember.
The gentle back and forth movement of the train occasionally jerked her in this or that direction, interrupting for a moment the slow song she had started humming for no other reason than to keep herself occupied and her mind numb. As time passed, the train continued it's journey, steady on its tracks, leaving Max to hum her songs.
At dawn, the people around her started to wake up from the troubled slumber in the uncomfortable seats. They stood up, stretched, greeted each other and fumbled in their luggage to find something to eat. Somewhere near Max, a small child started to whine. Talking to it quietly, the mother tried to hush it by softly stroking it's cheek. Watching the scene, Max shuddered at the thought of this baby having to face the same ruined world she had found after her escape.
"Are you hungry? You look like you haven't eaten in days." Turning around to face the source of the voice, she was greeted by the sight of an old woman who just then tossed a chocolate bar toward her. Max caught it and confused, she looked down at herself, taking in her appearance. Her clothes were ragged and her oversized sweater was torn over her right shoulder. The hair framing her pale face was messy and several cuts adorned her hands.
Max found herself wondering how that had happened, but couldn't find an explanation. The last 24 hours seemed like a dream to her and she couldn't focus on the details. She didn't have the power to concentrate and so she leaned back against the wall in defeat.
"This train is going back to Seattle, right?", Max asked the woman, more polite than curious. Suddenly the thought "back home" popped into her mind. She shook her head. Max had never regarded the city as her home. She had never thought of it as the place where she belonged. For weeks now, her life there had seemed an eternity away, nothing more than a fading memory. Strange - in a few hours she would walk back into Jam Pony and everything would probably be exactly like she had left it - Seattle hadn't changed.
The chocolate-woman was still watching her closely, a warm expression on her face. "Yeah, it is", she answered the question Max had already forgotten. "You aren't used to travelling, are you? You look a little lost. I also felt uncertain about the trains after the pulse hit. Before, nobody traveled like that." The woman woman's incessant chatter made Max shut her eyes briefly.
The sounds of a train journey, the feeling of the movement, someone coughing near her.
"No, I've been travelling a lot lately. I'm alright." Max managed to smile weakly before turning around. In her mind, she added 'But-I'm-lost-anyway' and sighed. She couldn't explain what had happened to her. Trying to survive had never been easy since she had left Manticore but she had somehow gotten used to it.
Max remembered what it had been like to feel freedom for the first time. She remembered being frightened as hell and not knowing what to do. The same feeling of being lost, alone in a world that was her enemy, pervaded her every fiber now, weighing oppressively on her mind.
It was near noon when the train finally stopped. Watching all the others get their luggage, Max waited, being the last one to get out of the train. She didn't have a suitcase with her, so she was free to wander around the city. Normally she would ride her bike or her motorcycle but she didn't want to do that at the moment. She was still confused and disorientated, unwilling to face her roommate or anyone else she knew.
So she just kept on walking through the crowded streets of the poorest sector of Seattle, where nobody cared about a weird girl like her. Max didn't seem to notice them either and her face stayed blank and emotionless.
Wandering around aimlessly like that for hours finally got her to the top of the Space Needle, where she had spent countless nights just wondering about her siblings, Manticore and the escape.
Max closed her eyes and pictured twelve kids running down the dark corridors of a building. Remembering Zack giving the signal for them to jump through the huge window, she shuddered.
Glass crushing, wind blowing roughly, eleven hearts beating near her.
She could still feel the cold snow beneath her feet, and the ice breaking under her weight.
That had been the last time she had seen them. Since then she had moved on, always intent on finding what little family she had left.
She forced herself to think about this night again and again. It was a safe topic, better than analyzing her current situation. The wind started blowing, chilling her to the bone.
There had been snow in Chicago.
Slowly her thoughts started to get a life of their own. They wandered back in time to the day before. Chicago had been just another run-down city, with people looking just as desperate as in Seattle. There had been these unfamiliar faces, the need for food and the cold that affected everyone else but her.
Max stood up. Glancing down on the city, she bit her lip, uncertain of the next step. Then, reaching a decision, she quickly turned around and stormed off. She knew that she had to face her life again, that it didn't help if she moped around all day.
The first sight that greeted her when she entered her apartment was Kendra's underwear drying on her motorcycle. Her roommate herself was gone, probably with some guy doing whatever they did. But Max preferred being alone anyway. She slowly crossed the untidy kitchen by kicking Kendra's things away with her feet. Then she went into her room and stripped her sweater off. Grabbing a new shirt from a drawer, she quickly brushed her hair before returning to her motorcycle.
Just moments later she went off.
After a fast journey, on which she crossed half of Seattle, she finally reached her destination. Carefully, she put her motorcycle away and looked around. Although she was satisfied because she couldn't see anyone, she hesitated for a moment. Then the expression on her face went from uncertain to determined and she picked the lock of the old house in front of her. Without turning on the light, she slowly made her way down the wooden stairs and stopped in front of a door. After taking a deep breath, she grabbed the doorknob with a shaking hand and entered.
The basement was in a horrible condition. The big closet next to the door was open and all the stuff was lying on the floor. She could see a huge pile of clothes lying in a corner and books were scattered all over the place. The drawers on the other side of the room had been pulled out and the bed was ruffled.
She walked to the back and found the computer broken, as well as a smashed lamp. Sighing, she picked up a camera from the floor. They had done a good job but she knew that they hadn't found what they were looking for. A small smile of victory curved her lips. She had been there when all the important stuff had been deleted. It hadn't made much sense to her back then, but now she understood everything.
Max walked over and sat down on the bed. Ten minutes later she was still there, motionless. Then her eyes stopped on a book on the nightstand. Holding her breath, she carefully reached out and touched the cover. It was kind of funny that it was still where it belonged and not on the floor with all the other stuff.
Finally Max grabbed and opened it.
Her eyes widened at the sight of the marked page. Her hand reached to her neck and her fingers rubbed a spot right under the hairline. For a while she couldn't tear her eyes off the top of the page, where someone had drawn several lines next to each other - a barcode, the same she had tattooed on her neck.
Suddenly, her head snapped around. She was sure she had heard a cough behind her.. But she was alone in the dark basement. Nobody was there, except her own reflection in the cracked gold-framed mirror on the wall. Max stood up and stepped toward it, peering at the image in front of her.
The blue eyes she spotted next to hers seemed to look lovingly in her direction, but a mere moment later, they were gone. Max took a deep breath.
"If I want to live like before, I'll have to forget you, Logan Cale."