Caged Hearts

Part 5

          Max looked wistfully at her pink and white sandals before shoving them into her knapsack.  After zipping the small bag all the way, she bent over to her feet and began lacing up her boots. 

          She never had any feelings towards her boots positive or negative until this moment.  She hated them.  The sandals she got to wear for the past week were so much more comfortable.  Her toes were free to wiggle and feel the warmth of the air as she walked around the beautiful place she had just been.  Being back in the boots meant the end of sunshine, tropical drinks, and nightly sprints on the beach while her target's household slept.

Now it was back to long marches in the freezing Seattle rain, stomping feet hitting the pavement or tiles in perfect sync, and muddy, cold hands from removing every speck of dirt that stained these black boots. 

Before when she was returning from a mission, the thought that Alec would be there was always a consolation.  And when she was stuck on base, the idea that he was either there or would be back from a mission soon enough always distracted her from the dismal routine that made up life at Manticore.  But it had been over five months since she last saw him.  Day after day with nothing to look forward to; only utter loneliness.

***

Her eyes were dull and her voice monotone as she recited the parameters of her successful mission to her handler.

After being dismissed she was ordered to medical for a check up and then she was to report to barracks for the remainder of the night as was protocol.  She stood patiently against the wall as a detail of X8s passed by.  The sound of their tiny bare feet slapping the floor was the only one they made. 

Max took one step in the direction of the infirmary but halted when a figure walked out.  She couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her lips when he looked towards her, but lucky for her, it wasn't that loud.

It was Alec.  At least she was almost positive it was.  She couldn't be one hundred percent sure because of how different he looked since the last time she saw him.

He was so much thinner.  All his hair had been shaved off.  However, the gaunt frame, and shorn head weren't what made Max hesitant to believe that was Alec standing not too far away from her. It was his eyes.  Never had she seen anyone look so haunted, let alone him.  Despite everything there was always light and warmth radiating from those hazel orbs; just a different degree depending on the circumstance.  But the eyes looking at her now were completely void of everything. 

Right now Max didn't care about the consequences, she needed to hear him speak or at least see a trace of the boy she knew in those eyes.  She moved towards him and to her relief he made his way towards her.  Stopping now, not wanting to talk to him in front of the infirmary she waited until he came to her.  When he was only a few steps away, she chanced a smile as she looked up at him, only to see that he wasn't looking at her, and what's more, didn't look like he intended to stop.

"Alec?"  She whispered when he passed her by with not so much a glance.  Max spun in his direction.  "494." She said a bit louder.

He turned around but Max was struck dumb at the way he seemed to be looking straight through her.  He waited in silence but when the seconds ticked by with no words forming on her tongue, he turned his back on her again and walked away.

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