And now we come down to it…

Day Twenty Seven

In retrospect, Max really should have known it would happen. She really, really should. That didn't mean it didn't surprise her when it did.

It didn't matter that now they were hungry and weaker. It didn't matter that they'd already seen Mole and the others fail miserably. It didn't matter that they had almost no ammunition left and fewer people to use it.

None of it mattered. They still tried to break through the line of soldiers surrounding Terminal City.

They tried and they died.

Max heard the sound of a small explosion first. Alec was beside her. They'd been organizing another rat patrol.

Alec's head snapped up. "No!" he shouted and started to run in the direction of the explosion. Max raced alongside him. "I told them it was suicide!" he said angrily. "They said they weren't going to try!"

"Who said?" Max demanded.

"Everybody!" Alec ground out. "They had a meeting!"

"When?" Max asked, appalled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause you were still in your room staring at the wall and refusing to talk!" he shot back. "I thought I had them talked down!"

They were getting closer and they could hear sporadic gunfire, followed by another small explosion. They stopped at the edge of the last building that would give them cover and peeked around the corner.

There were a dozen bodies in the open space between them and the fence, and more beyond. A few had almost made it to freedom before they died. The fence had a hole in it and one of the military trucks was badly damaged, but the soldiers were clearly holding the line.

"Fido," Alec said through gritted teeth. "He used the pipe bombs he scrounged together."

Max looked around desperately for signs that anyone was still alive and saw a couple of people had managed to take cover behind a crumbled brick wall. They were dragging a third injured person, but they were pinned by gunfire and couldn't get far.

Max turned to Alec to make sure he'd noticed what was happening, but she quickly realized that she had her own man down. Alec was pale as a ghost, sweating, and clutching his chest.

"Alec!"

"Need a second," he gasped out.

"What's wrong?"

"Dunno. Ever since… got shot… something not right."

No, no, no. Her mind was screaming that she couldn't lose him, too. She'd never felt more useless than she had while trapped in Terminal City. Now Alec was in trouble and she had others pinned. She didn't know where to start first.

Max glanced back at the three who were still being shot at and decided that at this point, they were first in line. "Ok, just… stay here," she told Alec. "I'll be back." Max waited for Alec to slide to the ground and sit with his back to the wall before turning her attention to the other current disaster. "Once I'm over there, can you give me cover fire to get them out?"

Alec nodded. "Only have a few rounds though," he huffed. "Be fast."

"I can get over there ok. Save it for when we try to move whoever's injured."

Max blurred toward the three that were pinned, moving so fast to get across the open space, she slammed into the low concrete wall they were using for shelter. It jarred her shoulder and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. It took her a second to get her breath and focus on the three she'd come to help.

Quarter was the one down. She'd been shot multiple times and there was a pool of blood forming beneath her.

"You," Quarter said when she saw her. "It would be you."

"Don't talk, Quarter," Max urged, mostly because she was gurgling when she did. "We'll get you out of here."

Quarter shook her head. "I'm done for." She coughed, spattering her cheeks and lips with blood. "Promise me something."

"What?"

"Take care… of Alec."

Max blinked, hesitating because she wasn't sure what to say. It didn't matter though, because Quarter continued.

"He doesn't…" She coughed again, gasping for breath. "I tried… but, he doesn't… Even when I'm… right next to him… it's like… I'm not there, but…," Quarter made direct eye contact with her, "he sees you. He listens… even when he pretends… he doesn't."

"Ok, ok," Max said just to stop her. She looked toward Alec, wondering if she could get him across the open space to sit with Quarter, but Alec was in bad shape, himself. "I'll watch out for him."

Quarter must have known she was just trying to appease her. Her eyes blazed with fury. She reached out and grabbed Max's shirt, jerking her down so that they were nose to nose. "He doesn't care… about me. Just you. So promise me," she snarled.

"I promise," Max said with all the sincerity she could muster. After all, she was worried about Alec herself. She purposely chose not to think about the rest of what Quarter was saying.

Quarter released her and slumped back to the ground, struggling for breath and quickly losing the battle. It didn't take long before she was gone.

"Poor kid," Fido said.

Max looked to the side. She hadn't realized who the other two were who'd been trying to pull Quarter out of the line of fire. For a second Max tried to be angry that Fido had used what little artillery they had left in a suicide run for freedom. Honestly, though, she couldn't work up enough energy. They'd tried and they'd paid the price. It was done and there was nothing she could do about it.

"She tried everything she could to get Alec to notice her," Fido observed.

The other Transgenic, a female named Bark, nodded in agreement. "Kind of fighting a lost cause, wasn't she?" she said, a sad smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

Bark rolled her eyes. "Right. Like you don't know."

"No, I don't," Max replied crossly. Except she did, but she was so ignoring it. She wasn't blind to others assumptions, but they were wrong and now wasn't the time anyway.

Fido and Bark looked at each other as if in disbelief. Finally, Fido shook his head and Bark snorted. "Whatever. Stay in denial all you want. We should get out of here."

Max realized that the shooting had stopped. She supposed the soldiers had run out of targets. She glanced up to see that Alec had recovered enough that he was watching her and the others, waiting to see if he needed to offer cover fire for them to get out of the open. Now that they weren't hauling an injured party, it wasn't necessary.

Max and the two others blurred back to where Alec was sitting. A soldier made a token effort, but the shots went wide.

"How many?" Alec asked.

"Fifteen, I think," Fido answered solemnly. "We had to try, man. You know we did." His tone was pleading and much like Max, Alec couldn't seem to find the energy to be angry. He just seemed sad, sad and tired.

"I know," was all he replied.

They could all do the math. That left maybe a dozen Transgenics left in Terminal City. Alec glanced back to where Quarter's body was still lying.

"Sorry about Quarter," Max said, not really sure of Alec's feelings for her. "She… asked me to… she was worried about you."

Alec nodded. He pursed his lips, clearly troubled. "She was desperate to get out of here. Guess she got her wish."

"You all right?" Max asked, freshly worried when Alec stood and wobbled on his feet. She didn't know what was going on with him and it scared her to death. She needed him to be ok.

"I'm not dead yet," he said. "Guess that's the best we can manage right now."

"But-"

"Doesn't matter," he cut her off. "Can't do anything about it. We should round up the others, see who's left."

Max nodded and put her arm through his. She'd made a promise and she was going to keep it, not that she wouldn't have helped him anyway. Alec let her take some of his weight and the four of them slowly made their way back toward Command.

"I'll call the Colonel," Max said to no one in particular. "I'll ask for a ceasefire so we can collect the bodies."

"Good," Alec said. "I don't think I could stand the smell again."

Day Thirty

Max woke to find that Alec was sitting beside her. He looked… broken.

Max had been sleeping on the floor, using her jacket as a blanket. She sat up and turned slightly so she was facing him. "What is it?" she asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"Dalton died during the night."

Max felt the blood drain from her face. "What?"

"He was smaller. Not enough food I guess. Or maybe something missing he needed." He shrugged. "No way to know really."

"Are you sure he's… gone?"

Alec's head drooped slightly. "I know how to take a pulse, Max." He turned his head farther away. He couldn't look at her. "I know dead, too."

"I'm… I'm sorry." What else could she say really? She wondered how close some of the others were. No food, or nutrients necessary for their high functioning, but problematic bodies. They were all beginning to break down. Alec looked emaciated, his cheeks sunken, and it was only partially due to the bullet wound that hadn't healed properly.

"Pace is gone, too."

"Pace?" Max had a vague memory of a smaller X-4 male. She'd never really talked to him which was surprising given how few of them were left.

"Good guy," Alec said dully. "One of Wilbur's crew. They warned us they wouldn't make it without the selenium supplements."

Alec pulled his knees up and rested his elbows on them. He covered his face with his hands, then slid them to the side to support his head. He cried silently and Max couldn't bring herself to pretend she didn't notice. Alec had sought her out because he couldn't allow himself to break down in front of the others, but he apparently trusted her enough. Still, he put a hand over his mouth to keep silent.

Max slid closer and leaned into his side. "It's just us, Alec," she whispered. "It's ok."

The sob that followed solidified what Max had already known. There were no more options. She knew what had to be done. They'd lost and she couldn't pretend otherwise. Not anymore.

Max sat beside him for several minutes while Alec collected himself. He used his filthy shirt to wipe the evidence of his tears from his face and straightened, shoving all of his emotions back into the locker where he kept them hidden.

"I could really use a bath," he said. "You think they'll let us have one?"

"If they don't just kill us," Max answered.

Alec sniffed, a sad smile on his face. "That's why I like you, Max. Your eternal optimism."

"Yeah. Pretty sure it's a DNA thing. Can't help it."

Alec shifted. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. "If they kill us, I just want you to know… I had big plans to wear you down, marry you, and move to Texas."

Max froze in place, shocked into silence. She didn't know if he was joking or not. She didn't know if she wanted to know if he was joking. This was Alec after all. She knew she'd lost Logan, but still… It just wasn't possible no matter what Quarter thought she saw or how many knowing looks Fido and Bark shot each other.

Alec wiped his face again with his sleeve. "You can quit freaking out, Max. We're probably gonna die and you'll never have to worry about whether I was serious or not."

"But-"

"Come on." He stood and held out a hand for her to take. "Let's get this done before anyone else dies."

His expression was bleak and Max remembered how the conversation had started in the first place. She knew the deaths of Quarter and the others in the last escape attempt had affected him deeply. He hadn't been the same since. He'd been quieter, visibly troubled. Now Dalton was dead and he felt personally responsible.

Max took the offered hand and got to her feet. Alec opened the door and together they walked to Command.

The others were already waiting for her. They knew what was about to happen. There were eleven Transgenics and two Transhumans. That was all that was left, a handful of trained soldiers, all wasting away, along with Joshua and a female who was older and visibly feline. She'd probably been an early version of the Xs with cat DNA, but they hadn't quite got the cocktail right.

Max didn't wait any longer. She walked straight to the phone. It was the only electronic device still working. The colonel had graciously allowed the land line to remain working for the very reason she was about to use it.

Max picked up the phone and dialed. After several seconds it was answered.

"We surrender."

More soon…