Chapter 12:

May had witnessed the horrible scene in the hallway, though neither Lex nor Salene knew it. They had been too wrapped up in their own argument to notice her standing quietly behind them. The depth of Salene's denial had stunned and hurt May. The kiss that they had shared earlier had given her hope. Perhaps someday soon they could be together, but not now. Not after what she had heard tonight. After Salene fled to her room, and Lex went down to the café to join the others, May quietly made her way up to the roof.

As she sat looking down on the city that she had called home for so long she wondered whether or not the long battle to keep the dream alive was really worth it. First Zoot and Ebony, then the Guardian, then Ram and Mega, each one wanted the city for themselves. Each one was willing to battle the Mallrats for the right to rule. But May didn't care who ruled the city. She had never understood the Mallrats quest for control, for order, for peace. She was a survivor. Before she had become a Mallrat she had been alright. She hadn't needed to battle and scheme and spy. She had simply done what was necessary to survive. And now look what she had been reduced to. Sitting on a roof, pondering how her life had come to this.

For the millionth time she began to count the months since she had discovered her condition. One…Two…Three…she counted on her fingers, Four…Five…Six…she began on her second hand…Seven…Eight…she paused in her count and thought back. How long had it been really? How far along was she? It had been six months since Lex had left for Liberty, she was sure of that, six months since she had told the Mallrats that she was pregnant. But before that, she wasn't sure…seven months, she thought, since Mega's defeat, eight since she had been allowed back into the mall…Nine…oh no…was it nine months since she had been with him…nine months since she had become pregnant.

A shadow moved below her. Startled from her thoughts she got to her feet and strained her eyes to see into the darkness below. "Who's there?" She called down. There was no answer.

She was being silly, she thought. The shock of her recent realization and the bombing was making her a bit skittish. It was probably just one of Jay's guards.

In the shadows below he stood silently…watching. May, it was May…he had only caught a glimpse of her earlier, and now with the darkness and the distance between them, his view was not much improved. But as he stood there gazing at her form in the moonlight, she turned to the side for a moment. Then, silhouetted against the moonlit sky, her profile clearly showed that she was pregnant.

For a moment his thoughts scattered. Uncharacteristically, he found himself unable to focus on his plan. May was pregnant…Was it his? Could it be? How far along was she?

"No…" he whispered softly to himself, "this changes nothing. She's only a Mallrat, a vert, a pawn. It's not mine anyway, it can't be."

But what if it was his…what then? Was he willing to destroy his own child?

Of course he was. He would do anything to gain control and restore order, to have his revenge on Ram and the Mallrats. He was willing to destroy his own brother, he could do the same to May and whoever's child she carried. She was nothing to him.

Suddenly, he felt as though he had seen enough of the mall for one night. He was weary and tired and needed to rest and gather his thoughts. He stepped from his hiding place and made his way down the alleyway to the street. A feeling that he was being watched overcame him and he turned and looked up into the night toward the roof of the mall. May was there, looking down on him. Their eyes locked. Chills raced down his spine as he stood rooted to the spot, staring across the distance at her. She raised her hand in a small waive while she lay the other over the spot where her unborn child rested.

Gripped by a peculiar emotion that he hadn't allowed himself to experience since childhood, Mega suddenly felt the need to get away, fast. He turned abruptly and began to run from the mall without looking back at the lonely figure on the rooftop.