The Story of Max Cale
by pari106
pari106@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html
Disclaimer and rating in chapter 1.
Chapter 7
There were crickets chirping. The moon was shining down.
Max perched on her branch, staring down at the ground below.
She wasn't moving, but somehow the shrubs and flowers were shrinking beneath her as if she were
climbing…higher and higher…
But the sidewalks didn't shrink.
They stretched out into an endless gray, surrounding her. Suffocating her.
She's terrified.
The gray void is a gaping maw, and she is terrified of being swallowed by it.
She wants to run away, but there is nowhere to run. She's frozen in place. She wants to climb away, but
she is afraid to try.
She wants to fly, but she doesn't have wings.
And her branch somehow continues to rise on its own. But it isn't rising fast enough.
The grayness beneath her just keeps growing…and growing…sucking her in.
Max's heart begins to pound, and her hands begin to sweat.
The branch is hard and cold beneath her. Smooth and flat…and gray…
Concrete.
Max looks at it, startled, then down at the city street below.
The sound of crickets has turned into the soft lull of traffic, and the moonlight has turned into lamplight.
And Max is so startled, she jolts. And loses her precarious perch on the branch that is no longer a branch.
Without being able to scream, Max begins to fall. She begins to plummet towards the sidewalk below…
And then he catches her.
A man in black, his face hidden, comes up behind her and catches her. She has no idea how. But suddenly,
she isn't falling anymore.
He wraps his arms around her arms, pinning them to her sides. Then he leans in close, and she can feel the
heat of his breath against her cheek, even through the fabric of her mask…
Mask?
And he speaks her name…
"Syl?"
Max's eyes popped open as she was suddenly awake.
"Syl?" the voice asked again.
Max blinked. She no longer saw a branch or a sidewalk, a city or a garden. She saw a floor.
A floor that was moving beneath her.
A vehicle, she suddenly realized. She was in a moving vehicle.
Max finally sat up, looking around her. She was in the back of a van, she realized.
The windows were so dark she could barely see out of them, and there was nothing else in the back there
with her.
But there was someone in the front, driving.
"Hey, Syl, are you gonna sleep all day, or what?"
Max froze.
It was him. The man that had grabbed her.
She stared forward at the back of the driver's seat. All she could see was the back of the driver's head – he
was blonde. She could see one strong arm, and strong hands gripping the steering wheel. He was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. It was him – she could tell by the voice.
Max swallowed.
"Syl?"
Then he turned to look at her, just briefly.
And Max nearly choked.
He was gorgeous. He really was. He had strong features and the bluest blue eyes…
And he'd kidnapped her.
The truth hit Max in a rush, snapping her out of the reverie into which she'd fallen.
Gorgeous or not, this man had climbed to the roof, had snuck up on her, had knocked her out, and had
thrown her in the back of this van. Now he was taking her only God knows where. And there was no
telling what he planned once they were there.
This was Logan's spy. His assassin. Max had intended to help her brother by catching this man, but she'd
been caught instead.
'Oh, God…'
She felt sick.
"Well?"
He was still talking, and now he was frowning. Max could see the expression on his face through the
rearview mirror, even though he'd turned back to the road.
"Aren't you going to say something, Syl?"
'Sill.' He kept saying that.
Max gathered her courage and raised her chin.
Well, he had her. But panicking wasn't going to help her any. She had to make him believe that she
wasn't afraid of him. She had to make herself believe that she wasn't afraid of him. Now.
"I might," she said, attempting calm. "If you call me by my real name."
She didn't know what sort of response she expected from that. But she certainly hadn't expected the
response she got.
Zack's eyes widened.
And he screeched on the brakes so fast, they both went flying forward into the dashboard.
Max was once again unconscious.
by pari106
pari106@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html
Disclaimer and rating in chapter 1.
Chapter 7
There were crickets chirping. The moon was shining down.
Max perched on her branch, staring down at the ground below.
She wasn't moving, but somehow the shrubs and flowers were shrinking beneath her as if she were
climbing…higher and higher…
But the sidewalks didn't shrink.
They stretched out into an endless gray, surrounding her. Suffocating her.
She's terrified.
The gray void is a gaping maw, and she is terrified of being swallowed by it.
She wants to run away, but there is nowhere to run. She's frozen in place. She wants to climb away, but
she is afraid to try.
She wants to fly, but she doesn't have wings.
And her branch somehow continues to rise on its own. But it isn't rising fast enough.
The grayness beneath her just keeps growing…and growing…sucking her in.
Max's heart begins to pound, and her hands begin to sweat.
The branch is hard and cold beneath her. Smooth and flat…and gray…
Concrete.
Max looks at it, startled, then down at the city street below.
The sound of crickets has turned into the soft lull of traffic, and the moonlight has turned into lamplight.
And Max is so startled, she jolts. And loses her precarious perch on the branch that is no longer a branch.
Without being able to scream, Max begins to fall. She begins to plummet towards the sidewalk below…
And then he catches her.
A man in black, his face hidden, comes up behind her and catches her. She has no idea how. But suddenly,
she isn't falling anymore.
He wraps his arms around her arms, pinning them to her sides. Then he leans in close, and she can feel the
heat of his breath against her cheek, even through the fabric of her mask…
Mask?
And he speaks her name…
"Syl?"
Max's eyes popped open as she was suddenly awake.
"Syl?" the voice asked again.
Max blinked. She no longer saw a branch or a sidewalk, a city or a garden. She saw a floor.
A floor that was moving beneath her.
A vehicle, she suddenly realized. She was in a moving vehicle.
Max finally sat up, looking around her. She was in the back of a van, she realized.
The windows were so dark she could barely see out of them, and there was nothing else in the back there
with her.
But there was someone in the front, driving.
"Hey, Syl, are you gonna sleep all day, or what?"
Max froze.
It was him. The man that had grabbed her.
She stared forward at the back of the driver's seat. All she could see was the back of the driver's head – he
was blonde. She could see one strong arm, and strong hands gripping the steering wheel. He was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. It was him – she could tell by the voice.
Max swallowed.
"Syl?"
Then he turned to look at her, just briefly.
And Max nearly choked.
He was gorgeous. He really was. He had strong features and the bluest blue eyes…
And he'd kidnapped her.
The truth hit Max in a rush, snapping her out of the reverie into which she'd fallen.
Gorgeous or not, this man had climbed to the roof, had snuck up on her, had knocked her out, and had
thrown her in the back of this van. Now he was taking her only God knows where. And there was no
telling what he planned once they were there.
This was Logan's spy. His assassin. Max had intended to help her brother by catching this man, but she'd
been caught instead.
'Oh, God…'
She felt sick.
"Well?"
He was still talking, and now he was frowning. Max could see the expression on his face through the
rearview mirror, even though he'd turned back to the road.
"Aren't you going to say something, Syl?"
'Sill.' He kept saying that.
Max gathered her courage and raised her chin.
Well, he had her. But panicking wasn't going to help her any. She had to make him believe that she
wasn't afraid of him. She had to make herself believe that she wasn't afraid of him. Now.
"I might," she said, attempting calm. "If you call me by my real name."
She didn't know what sort of response she expected from that. But she certainly hadn't expected the
response she got.
Zack's eyes widened.
And he screeched on the brakes so fast, they both went flying forward into the dashboard.
Max was once again unconscious.