Groundwork and Abduction

Max bolted awake in bed, there was a change in the air that she didn't understand. She didn't remember any of them returning the barracks to it's normal configuration or anyone going to bed. She didn't remember Jondy or herself being really tired enough to sleep either. She looked around the barracks, her eyesight was blurry but everyone was in their cots sound asleep. Locke, X5-861, was tossing and turning in his sleep but nothing else seemed wrong so Max allowed herself to drift back off to sleep content for the moment.

Later that night Max darted awake in her bed sitting up straight. She couldn't move for a moment and panicked. She let her mind wander while her brain re-gained control of her body. She couldn't sleep but she knew it wasn't from nerves about the exercise they would be engaged in later in the day, she knew it was something else. She trusted Zack and new the exercise would go off without a hitch. In honesty she hadn't been able to sleep since Avi had been terminated. She'd been extremely worried about Jondy since the accident that she had in the submersion tanks. In reality she had always had problems sleeping but it had really gotten bad when she had wandered into the infirmary and saw what the nomalies had done to Jack. It was close to two hours away from inspection time, she could tell from the way the shadows played across the

barracks ceiling, yet no one stirred.

This time it was something important which had woken her up. Max looked around the barracks and was actually brought down by what she saw. She knew it was done for a reason but it didn't make her feel better knowing why they did it. It was a constant reminder of their failure but had it been done any other way she would have felt cheated and that their memories had been wronged. Jack's cot lay stripped down to the springs and empty. Ash's cot lay made and empty. Max continued to scan the room. Jondy's cot was empty and so was Rayne's. That was normal because Max usually met them and a few others up on the roof, that fact actually helped to put her at ease. Krit and Locke's cots were also empty, they must have joined Rayne and Jondy up on the roof. Zack and the others were out cold. Max was about to go join them up on the roof when

a smell that was not normal caught her attention and drew her sluggish body into the corner by the barracks door.

Krit was curled up in a tight ball hugging his knees and cradled between his cot and the wall. He was rocking back and forth his eyes were wide, his face pale and tear stained and his head slowly knocking against the wall. Max crouched next to Krit and he jumped.

"Max you're okay?" He reached out to touch her as if to see if she was really there.

Max nodded softly. "What's wrong little brother?"

Krit broke down and pulled his hand away from Max. His hand was shaking. "I thought they took you too." Krit twitched. "I'm scared Max, they're going to take me away too."

"Krit what are you talking about?" Max asked softly.

"They drugged us . . . and they too him in the night . . . back all black . . . and there are five empty cots now . . . all gone . . . they took them." Krit ranted his thumb making it's way into his mouth for comfort.

"Krit calm down." Max wrapped an arm around her only younger sibling.

"No!" Krit screamed at the top of his lungs and no one still let in the barracks even stirred.

Max winched and stared at him. "What?"

"Concentrate." Krit said almost frantically. "Smell the air . . . it's strongest near Zack."

Max strolled over the where Zack slept and snapped her fingers. He didn't stir or even flinch. So Max concentrated and leaned in close to Zack inhaling hard. There was something wrong with his sent, something too chemical. It confused Max until she though and remembered just how tired they all had been last night when they had been briefed on the mission. She though about how she had struggled to waken earlier in the night. She thought hard about their unorthodox late night allowance of free time and even more unorthodox and lavish dinner.

"They drugged us?"

Krit nodded because he couldn't trust himself to speak. Max returned to his side.

She spoke softly to soothe him. "Krit the drugs just have you confused, no one's gone that wasn't gone before we went to sleep." Max and Jondy were the only ones who knew Krit was still afraid of the dark. "You must have been having the bad place dream."

"No, Max, no." Krit shook his head and held out his shaky hand. "They are going to come for me soon."

"Who Krit, no one's going to take you anywhere." Max held Krit close. "The drugs worked less on Jondy, Rayne, Locke you and I. That's all."

At the sound of Locke's name Krit became frantic. "No one else was awake . . . I wasn't even awake really, I fell back asleep at first, Locke was tossing and turning."

"He was having a nightmare." Max nodded. "I woke up for a few seconds."

"Not a nightmare Max, it became a nightmare. . ." Krit shivered. "Jondy and Rayne went up to the high place. Locke had the shakes bad."

"Locke had a seizure?" Max asked and Krit simply nodded.

"They took Jack. Now they took Locke. They're coming to take me soon, I know it." Krit held out his shaking hands and Max swatted them away.

"Who Krit tell me."

"Four of them all as dark as night and covered in black from head to toe. They banged open the barracks door and looked around making elementary hand signals .Then they went over to Locke's cot checking the barcodes on the footlockers as they went. I couldn't get out of bed! My eyes were open but my body didn't work. I tried. I really did. They saw Locke shaking and nodded to each other then made some more hand signals I didn't recognize and said some stuff I didn't understand. They sounded like they were speaking in code, then they picked him up. They carried him out the door, shut it and locked it behind them. They sealed in the dark and I tried but I couldn't do anything but fall back asleep." Krit was crying again. "Nomalies, Max, nomalies. All I could see was the whites of their eyes in the dark. They swarmed around him and they took him, gobbled him up. Locke's gone. I thought they got Rayne, Jondy and you too."

"Locke." Max said softly her voice cracking. "They . . . no they wouldn't. Not two so close." Max squared her shoulders. "I'm going to go up to the roof to see Jondy, Rayne and Locke."

"Don't leave me." Krit grabbed hold on to Max's hand tightly. "Don't leave me alone in the dark."

Max sighed. Krit needed a mission to get his head back into the game. "Krit listen. I need you to stay here incase they come back. I need a look out. You can stand right by the window but don't take your eyes off of the door. It'll be better there."

"Yes Ma'am." Krit pulled himself together putting on the fake mask of calm they were taught to always wear and stood up.

"Krit don't." Max shook her head and squeezed his hand tight, "I'll be right back."

Max disappeared out of the window and climbed up the drain pipe to the barracks roof. For a moment she didn't see anyone and panicked fearing that Krit had been right.

"Maxie." She heard her name being hissed and she spun around.

Max turned and saw Jondy sitting Indian-style on the roof by the blue lady's alter. Rayne laid on her side curled up like a cat with her head in Jondy's lap. Jondy methodically stroked Rayne's hair and motioned for Max to join them. Max looked down at Rayne. Rayne's face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed, her cheeks tear stained and she was out cold.

"Jondy?" Max's voice gave away her fear at the condition of her elder sister and Locke's absence.

Jondy nodded. "I heard you talking and Krit's right about it all." Jondy's voice was hallow. "I saw it too, so did Rayne. Rayne thinks that Krit's nomalies are just guards, but I'm not so sure."

"What's wrong with Rayne?"

"She saw it too and you know that Locke is her favorite brother." Jondy said. "I took her up to the high place and the Blue Lady's alter to calm her down. The emotional strain got to her." Jondy hung her head. "I can't wake her."

"They drugged us." Max said bluntly. "You can't smell anything else in the barracks now. Krit pointed it out to me and I can't wake anyone else up either."

"Shark DNA." Jondy said softly. "Shock and fear for Rayne."

Max nodded.

"Thought we were going to be stuck up here past morning inspection." Jondy looked grateful that Max was there.

Max moved back to the ledge above the drain pipe and window. "Psst, Krit."

Her little brothers frightened face leaned out of the window and gazed silently up at her waiting for an order.

"We need you to help us get Rayne down from the roof, the drug finally got to her."

Krit nodded. "I'm ready."

Jondy and Max lowered Rayne down to Krit the same way that the others had gotten Max off of the roof the other day. Krit pulled Rayne through the window and waited until Jondy and Max returned to the barracks. Max and Jondy too the burden of Rayne from Krit and lightly deposited her on her own cot. Jondy tucked Rayne in.

"Max." Krit was the only who consistently called her Max because he was younger then her.

Max turned her attention to Krit who was staring as Zack's cot. Zack lay in his cot, wide alert eyes following the trio's every movement, but because of the after effect of the drug he could not move or speak yet. There was a hint of panic behind Zack's sleep laden eyes.

"Paralytics." Max answered the words finally popping into her mind and straight out of her mouth in order to explain the situation to her C.O. "Stay calm and breathe steady. It wears off pretty fast. They drugged us."

Seeing Zack awake Krit fled into his older brothers cot for safety. Jondy checked on Rayne and then she and Max moved over to Zack's cot as well.

"Don't fight it Zack." Max urged.

"What?" Zack managed to get out the one word.

Krit started to cry again and Jondy and Max stared at each other.

"Well-," Jondy started.

"See-," Max began.

Both girls stopped.

"They took Locke away." They said in sync.

Zack's eyes flashed with anger and disbelief.

"Nomalies." The word fell from Krit's lips and hung ominously in the air.

Zack pulled himself up into a sitting position propped up against the pillow but seconds later he was out cold. Max leaned over and snapped her fingers in Zack's face and there was no response from there C.O.

"Zack we need you right now." Jondy yelled and shook Zack while Max snapped her fingers in his face repeatedly.

Zack jerked alert a look of panic in his eyes. "What is it?"

"You fell asleep." Krit said softly.

Zack blinked hard, trying to get his bearings. "Locke?"

"They've never drugged us just to take someone away to the infirmary for testing." Jondy sounded skeptical.

"It was the Nomalies." Krit said forcefully. "Black figures matching the dark." He shuddered. "All I could see were the whites of their eyes."

Jondy nodded. "Four of them. They came in while Locke was having a fit of the shakes. They took him away."

"I saw it but I couldn't move." Krit sounded apologetic.

"It's okay Krit." Zack was still he still didn't have any control over his motor skills. "They made it this way."

"But why?" Max asked. "What makes Locke different?"

"I don't know Maxie." Zack's voice was monotone and his tongue was still thick in his mouth. He swallowed hard. "They know we have the extraction exercise today."

"Why would they lower our moral further?" Jondy asked softly.

"To test us. To push us farther and just because they can." Zack swallowed hard and chocked a bit. "All I can do is skip breakfast and try and get a word with Lydecker, but he won't tell me anything if he doesn't want to."

Max and Jondy nodded in sync.

"He must be able to tell you something." Krit was unwilling to accept his own failing.

"What do we tell the others?" Jondy asked wishing that either Ben or Tinga were awake.

Zack said his words slow and low. "Does Rayne know?" Rayne and Locke were close and even Zack was aware of it.

Jondy closed her eyes and nodded softly. "She saw part of it and became hysterical. I took her up to the high place to calm her down."

Zack nodded. "I'll take care of telling the rest before our breifing and after I speak to Lydecker. You three are at liberty to say only what you feel is necessary to keep everyone, especially Rayne, calm until I return with the Intel."

Three small shaved heads nodded their consent, curtly.

Zack gazed to the barracks window where they usually got out to get up to the high place. 'It's near time for morning inspection. You should all return to your own cots."

Krit looked terrified and did a bad job of hiding it. After all he was only five years old , just like Max.

"Krit?" Zack met his younger brothers eyes.

Krit stiffened. "Zack they're going to take me away too."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Jondy fired back at him.

Krit looked at Max who offered him a small smile and a re-assuring nod. Krit held his shaking hands out in front of Zack.

"Nerves." Zack dismissed it. He didn't want to scare his little brother any further. "It's like Ben always says, the sun is chasing the darkness away now, and no one will be back in here until inspection. We've got a long day ahead of us. I order you all to get back to bed."

Max squeezed Krit's hand and gave him a quick hug then nodded to his cot in the far corner. Krit slumped a little, dejected, but trudged back to his own cot. Jondy and Max climbed into their neighboring cots. Zack was the only one who went back to sleep. Max rolled on to her left side, Jondy rolled to her right and the spent the time until morning inspection in constant eyes contact. They "spoke" using a blinking code that they had worked out over their sleepless nights. Krit spent the rest of the time staring at the spotted ceiling, counting the wholes in the tiles and flinching at every little sound.