'X5452, X5452, do you hear me?' shrilled the voice in the shadows. A young girl, no older than 10, stood erect in the hallway of a cold corridor after sneaking away for a blanket that could keep Jondy warm. The night was well along, which she had hoped would give her cover. There had been very little commotion but some night drills going on in the back courtyards. But those were the Olders' who lived with her, every one of them she had never met. A tall, broad shouldered man walked towards her with his boots squishing against the floor and his gun clinking in its holster. The gun could have been just for show but not one of her siblings really knew for sure. She studied it for weight; how low the gun sank in the pouch, trying hard not to seem obvious.
'What are you looking at, 452?' said the man, stopping in front of the young girl
with the menacing shadow of night covering his face. 'What are you wanting?' he rephrased, taking her arm and squeezing it so tight she feared a scream would cause her to explode. Quicker than she could move, he dragged her, knees on the frigid cement floor, down the long dark hallway. Her mind hurried through maneuvers that could free her, but her opponent was too fierce and her
superior. If she really was stronger than him as she thought, she was far too
afraid to test it.
'Have you forgotten already to hide your curiosity?' His voice was so loud it could have filled two rooms this size, leaving a wake of maniacal echoes for her to stomach. 'Let me teach you again,' his shrill, eager voice told her while switching on the overhead projector.
'CURIOSITY'
It flashed over a pale white background in solid black text, quickly followed by
another.
'KILLED'
The girl bit the insides of her mouth to keep alert. Blood began filling her dry
mouth, tasting bittersweet.
'THE'
Fear filled her as the man paced in the shadows behind the room. She couldn't
see him, but his steps gave him away.
'MAX'
She blinked furiously at the screen, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks.
'Max!!!!!'
Screams filled her mind, nothing but screams. The room grew blurry; her mind
raced.
'Wake up, Max, wake up!' She felt something hot touch her face, forcing her
alert. She came to, facing a more pleasant reality than the one she had dreamed. It was Alec, waking her from her nightmare. Rolling over, she stared up at the ceiling with relief.
"Oh God, it was just a dream." Facing Alec she sped away the dreams harsh
reality, that once she had been in such a hell. Alec's worried eyes traced the
figure of her face, emptying her fear. Giving in, Max breathed out as she
caressed the back of his neck, "So is this."
"Sure is." he admitted and with more relief than he had the chance before. After
all, there never really had been any time for the two of them to discover things
about each other too well before. There were always bad guys trying to kill
them, boyfriends and girlfriends that got in the way, and nasty virus' to keep
their minds tied up. After alluding most of the bad guys, ditching the boyfriend
and girlfriend, Alec and Max finally had time to discover the companionship in
themselves. And what they found was that it had been what both had been
looking for for so long. Max loved Alec with her whole heart and Alec loved Max
like she were his baby girl. Together in a fight they were stalwart baddies but
together in love they were lusty romantics.
"Took long enough for it to come true, huh?" Max said as she let Alec rest his
head on her chest, her fingers running through his hair. He groaned.
"I love it when you do that," he reminded her as she smiled knowingly, "my own private massager."
"Well, thats what I am here for!" Max replied triumphantly. He reached up for
her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.
"I just love that your here," he told her, "I feel like I never see you."
"You saw me just a day ago." Max added, only she knew what he meant. The
two just never could get enough of one another. A curse to being transgenics in
love. There was always some diabolical ex-boyfriend taking up your time by
sending you on missions to help peace reign. Alec begged her nearly every time
to just ignore Logan but Max knew the missions were far too important, also that he wouldn't even ask her if he could do the missions himself, which was
impossible care of that pesky leg problem of his. Max took the missions on the
idea of things being cool between Logan and her, even after all that went down a year ago. After the virus became too much for them, that without being able to touch one another, they just came down to the conclusion that friends was all it ever could be. And though Alec suspected Logan still cared for Max more than
'just friends', he wouldn't let her know. Logan had asked him not to.
"Its not enough," Alec whined, taking the back of her hand and rubbing it against his lips, "I need you more." Max giggled to herself, thinking it was so cute how he could just get enough of her.
"I don't have anything to do tonight," she told Alec, remembering nothing Logan asked her to do, "lets go do something together."
"A date?" he asked her, rolling to the other side of the bed and staring in her
eyes. Max nodded. "Great, I'll get a shower!"
"You want to go right now?"
"Well, yeah, before Logan calls you and asks you to do something. If we're not
here, if you leave behind your cell phone, then we can have the entire day to
ourselves. It'll be just like I dreamed."
"But Alec, what if its really important?" Max hated the way maturity sounded
when talking with Alec. She loved being irresponsible when he was around. She
could feel young again.
"Then...," he thought aloud, "he'll have to wait." Max got up off the bed, strolling towards Alec with a whimpery face, "Oh don't give me that face, Max. Please?" Max picked the cell phone out of his sock drawer that was wide open and started to dial, "Are you calling him? No, don't do that, he'll think you WANT to help!" Max shushed him and pressed the phone to her ear. With a smile, she said hello. Alec groaned and stomped into the bathroom.
"Hi, I'd like to make reservations for two, when's the next available time for a
table? Around 3:00? Thank you." Coming out of the bathroom, Max could see the startling expression of glee in Alec's face.
"I thought-" he said and hugged her, "Baby girl, you are the best." Powering off
the cell phones and un-plugging the telephone connection to the apartment Max
fell back onto the bed while Alec showered, smiling to herself.
"Finally."
'What are you looking at, 452?' said the man, stopping in front of the young girl
with the menacing shadow of night covering his face. 'What are you wanting?' he rephrased, taking her arm and squeezing it so tight she feared a scream would cause her to explode. Quicker than she could move, he dragged her, knees on the frigid cement floor, down the long dark hallway. Her mind hurried through maneuvers that could free her, but her opponent was too fierce and her
superior. If she really was stronger than him as she thought, she was far too
afraid to test it.
'Have you forgotten already to hide your curiosity?' His voice was so loud it could have filled two rooms this size, leaving a wake of maniacal echoes for her to stomach. 'Let me teach you again,' his shrill, eager voice told her while switching on the overhead projector.
'CURIOSITY'
It flashed over a pale white background in solid black text, quickly followed by
another.
'KILLED'
The girl bit the insides of her mouth to keep alert. Blood began filling her dry
mouth, tasting bittersweet.
'THE'
Fear filled her as the man paced in the shadows behind the room. She couldn't
see him, but his steps gave him away.
'MAX'
She blinked furiously at the screen, wondering if her eyes were playing tricks.
'Max!!!!!'
Screams filled her mind, nothing but screams. The room grew blurry; her mind
raced.
'Wake up, Max, wake up!' She felt something hot touch her face, forcing her
alert. She came to, facing a more pleasant reality than the one she had dreamed. It was Alec, waking her from her nightmare. Rolling over, she stared up at the ceiling with relief.
"Oh God, it was just a dream." Facing Alec she sped away the dreams harsh
reality, that once she had been in such a hell. Alec's worried eyes traced the
figure of her face, emptying her fear. Giving in, Max breathed out as she
caressed the back of his neck, "So is this."
"Sure is." he admitted and with more relief than he had the chance before. After
all, there never really had been any time for the two of them to discover things
about each other too well before. There were always bad guys trying to kill
them, boyfriends and girlfriends that got in the way, and nasty virus' to keep
their minds tied up. After alluding most of the bad guys, ditching the boyfriend
and girlfriend, Alec and Max finally had time to discover the companionship in
themselves. And what they found was that it had been what both had been
looking for for so long. Max loved Alec with her whole heart and Alec loved Max
like she were his baby girl. Together in a fight they were stalwart baddies but
together in love they were lusty romantics.
"Took long enough for it to come true, huh?" Max said as she let Alec rest his
head on her chest, her fingers running through his hair. He groaned.
"I love it when you do that," he reminded her as she smiled knowingly, "my own private massager."
"Well, thats what I am here for!" Max replied triumphantly. He reached up for
her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it.
"I just love that your here," he told her, "I feel like I never see you."
"You saw me just a day ago." Max added, only she knew what he meant. The
two just never could get enough of one another. A curse to being transgenics in
love. There was always some diabolical ex-boyfriend taking up your time by
sending you on missions to help peace reign. Alec begged her nearly every time
to just ignore Logan but Max knew the missions were far too important, also that he wouldn't even ask her if he could do the missions himself, which was
impossible care of that pesky leg problem of his. Max took the missions on the
idea of things being cool between Logan and her, even after all that went down a year ago. After the virus became too much for them, that without being able to touch one another, they just came down to the conclusion that friends was all it ever could be. And though Alec suspected Logan still cared for Max more than
'just friends', he wouldn't let her know. Logan had asked him not to.
"Its not enough," Alec whined, taking the back of her hand and rubbing it against his lips, "I need you more." Max giggled to herself, thinking it was so cute how he could just get enough of her.
"I don't have anything to do tonight," she told Alec, remembering nothing Logan asked her to do, "lets go do something together."
"A date?" he asked her, rolling to the other side of the bed and staring in her
eyes. Max nodded. "Great, I'll get a shower!"
"You want to go right now?"
"Well, yeah, before Logan calls you and asks you to do something. If we're not
here, if you leave behind your cell phone, then we can have the entire day to
ourselves. It'll be just like I dreamed."
"But Alec, what if its really important?" Max hated the way maturity sounded
when talking with Alec. She loved being irresponsible when he was around. She
could feel young again.
"Then...," he thought aloud, "he'll have to wait." Max got up off the bed, strolling towards Alec with a whimpery face, "Oh don't give me that face, Max. Please?" Max picked the cell phone out of his sock drawer that was wide open and started to dial, "Are you calling him? No, don't do that, he'll think you WANT to help!" Max shushed him and pressed the phone to her ear. With a smile, she said hello. Alec groaned and stomped into the bathroom.
"Hi, I'd like to make reservations for two, when's the next available time for a
table? Around 3:00? Thank you." Coming out of the bathroom, Max could see the startling expression of glee in Alec's face.
"I thought-" he said and hugged her, "Baby girl, you are the best." Powering off
the cell phones and un-plugging the telephone connection to the apartment Max
fell back onto the bed while Alec showered, smiling to herself.
"Finally."