Disclaimer: All Dark Angel characters belong to James Cameron and Fox.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this story. I've been more into my other story and school has slowed me down too. This is once again from the scientist's POV. Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy…
ME: You'll have to wait and find out, but VERY good guess! *wink*
Zaz: As with my other story, I'll try to make each chapter longer. Are you still here? I haven't seen your reviews in a while…
***Reviewer Poll: Which day of the week should I update this story?
Chapter 8: Max Thoughts
Max's mind was amazing. She could do so much at one time. For some reason; however, all the pressure and work seemed to make her forget all her sessions with Sandman. Consciously, she couldn't remember anything, but subconsciously, it was all stored away, saved for a later time when it would be useful. What seemed important was one particular paragraph:
"When darkness crosses thy Earth's path, the strongest kind are those who last.
But then comes one, from thy race is great, who saves thy Earth from thy evil race.
Peace she brings so all can see, thy true nature and finally be free."
It sounded like a biblical event, but I couldn't be sure. Another time I checked back…there was a memory of a pair of eyes. I never knew who they belonged to…another X5? I never saw any other eyes peeking in during their sessions when I was there, but Max is an X5…she notices things a normal person wouldn't…
I didn't look back into her past too much. There wasn't enough time. Being the youngest in her group also made her feel forgotten. She didn't like being the youngest. They always viewed her as the weakest when it came to physical training. She really didn't like it. Zack wasn't helping much either. He just treated her as a baby sister. She wanted so badly to prove to them she was just as good. Her best friend/sister was Jondy.
Academics were easy for her, but the training exercises started out a little difficult. After a while, though, she adapted to their rigorous activities and knew it like the back of her hand. Once she knew the course; however, her speed and accuracy for each activity improved and led her to rank third best in her unit.
In the years that followed, I sensed a feeling of rebellion, but said nothing. Maybe if I did, they wouldn't have been able to escape. But I'm glad they had that chance. On that day in the wintry night of 2009, they snuck out of bed and broke out. In doing so, several died…including Eva, at Lydecker's hand. Thirteen escaped that night. And things forever changed.
I remember the night so clearly…all was silent…then came an alarm. It was so loud I thought it would wake up the whole world. I left my room and heard all the soldiers outside rush out of our headquarters. When I asked Kim whether or not she knew what was happening, she just responded with a shrug. I quickly got dressed and left the building along with several other scientists. As I exited the building, there it was. Around eleven X5s were running towards the perimeter. Soldiers chased after them, but they were no match when it came to speed. The X5s dodged all the bullets and jumped the fence in less than five minutes! It happened so fast. I thought I saw Max among them, but I couldn't be sure. Later, I discovered it was Max's unit that escaped. As they all escaped, I returned to my room. There was nothing left to see.
The following days, Lydecker seemed to withdraw and didn't really care too much about the project anymore. I guess he felt as if he failed his job. That was when a close friend of his took over: Elizabeth Renfro. She isn't the nicest person in the world, but she got the job done. For the next 10 years, I continued to work in Psy-Ops. After 5 years, Manticore was relocated to another building near the city of Seattle that was posing as a Veteran's Hospital. Most of our assignments concerned the re-indoctrination of the soldiers. All always including something about the '09 escapees…usually the 'fact' that they were traitors, the enemies, and were to be brought in if ever found. I was only following orders when I set up the 'programming' device, but every time I did, I would always wonder if the soldiers we 'taught' knew the truth. I always wondered whether or not they questioned things like the escaped X5s did. But the chances of it seemed little. Their minds were not able to resist the indoctrination. They were made weaker than the escaped X5s. They only knew to be obedient…nothing else.
Around the year 2020, the DNA lab exploded. Years and years of research burned to dust. Who set it off? Rumor has it that it was several X5 escapees. I found that to be true later. The only known names were 452 and 599…Max and Zack. Secretly, I was proud of Max, but outside, I acted as any of the other scientists…scared. Renfro was furious…very furious when this event took place. This led her to begin the breeding program, but let's get back to Max and Zack.
When escaping Manticore (once again), they were caught in a wave of bullets. Max was shot by her X7 clone…sad, yes. Her clone was not even aware of who she shot! The bullet landed in a chamber in her heart. This nearly cost her her life had Zack not sacrificed himself for her. Zack was wounded and also captured. All the other escapees involved in this event made it out of Manticore safely. Zack lost his life, Max was stuck in Manticore.
The explosion didn't affect the scientists too much; however. Someone suggested a breeding program, and Renfro accepted the idea. All we had to do was pair them off. Who would work best with whom and would their offspring hold different traits than that of the parents. It wasn't too difficult. With the capture of Max; though, some scientists were involved with other assignments.
I was told to pair her off with another X5. What was the use? I thought to myself. I knew she wouldn't want to participate in such a ridiculous program, but not wanting to get on Renfro's bad side, I analyzed the list and decided to pair her up with X5-494. He was the clone of her sibling, Ben. He didn't look too bad…but knowing Max, looks didn't seem to matter. I never knew how the breeding program between them turned out though. Pairing her up was the only assignment I had involving Max. Other scientists were put in charge of re-indoctrinating her (not that it really worked, but don't tell anyone else…) and such. One day, I heard Dave bragging about being able to handle the rogue of Manticore. Funny, though, that I never saw him again after that day. His department was the DNA scans and assays…at least that's what I think it was. I wonder what happened…
Renfro mainly dealt with Max, though. I didn't want to imagine the pain she would be put through at the hands of that heartless woman, but I'm sure she would pull through.
Months passed. I continued to watch Max from a distance. There was always a longing in her eyes for freedom. I guess she really missed it. I was glad to see that they weren't able to re-indoctrinate her. She was only playing along. Smart. Her memories of freedom would still remain. I guess because of this, she was still able to plan an escape…
As the end of the year neared, I was approaching the end of my contract. My twenty years were nearly up. I was glad. I didn't have to wait; however. Max managed to escape. Her escape didn't quite please Renfro. The streaming bulletin broadcasting the location of Manticore by someone known as Eyes Only pushed her over the edge. She locked up the barracks with all the transgenics caged in and torched the place. None of the scientists were alerted. I'm not sure whether or not the doors to our headquarters were locked, but if they were, they unlocked and freed any of the scientists who were trapped inside. This I heard from Kim, who tried to persuade me to believe that they would lock the doors on them. Who knows? I showed doubt, but deep down, I knew the truth. They wanted to get rid of any evidence that Manticore existed, even their faithful workers and scientists. During the occurrence of the explosion, I happened to be researching in the library so I was able to quickly leave. Like all the other transgenics that were somehow released, I ran. I slipped through a hole I had noticed in the fence for quite a long time. Now I see why it was a good thing I never reported it. When I reached a road, I hitched a ride into town. Now I wander around aimlessly, not knowing what to do next…
***If by chance the escape or anything else is incorrect, please tell me and I will fix it. I'm not exactly sure at this point if everything is true. I based this on what I can remember so PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong. I'd appreciate it. ***
***If you haven't noticed, this chapter is really long compared to the other chapters. It will hopefully make up for the extremely long period of time for which I did not update this story. I hope all my reviewers are still out there! ***
***Thanks for Reviewing***