Chapter nineteen – something's wrong with this picture
What if, in the escape of '09, Max hadn't escaped with the others? What if Jondy had tried to save her when she fell in the ice, but in the end, they both got caught?
…
'12
Max and Jondy waited in their doorway, watching as the rest of their unit formed two lines. Only when everyone was in the line except them, and had started marching did they position themselves at the end of the line. Keeping the distance between them and the next pair as large as possible without getting into trouble, Max and Jondy marched with the group to the mess hall.
"What happened today? Why were you unconscious when I found you?" Max whispered to Jondy, making sure that the next pair, Elia and Jace, couldn't hear them.
"While the rest of you were on that mission, I was wandering around the barracks. I got bored of that, and wandered over to the medical wing, thinking that I might see Dr Aly, and talk to her for a while. She wasn't in her office, but the computer was on. I looked and found a document about the '09 escapees."
"What did it say?"
"I only read the first couple of lines, and they said that there was an escapee here, needing medical attention. Star. So I went exploring, and found where she was being kept. I went into a storeroom, changed into a nurse's outfit, grabbed a tray and fooled the guards into letting me in.
"I talked to Star for a bit, but then one of the guards looked in. I attacked, and knocked the two of them out. I helped Star up; she didn't look too bad, and gave her some painkillers. We had to kill the guards before we left, and went back to the barracks. I told her to knock me out, before she went over the roof to the High Place. From there she went through the woods. I hope she got out all right."
"She did."
"How do you know?"
"I saw her. She was just about to jump the fence, but I stopped her. We didn't say much, and she left. Last I saw of her, she was running full speed away from here."
"That's good. At least she..."
"Shh." Max ordered Jondy.
They had reached the mess hall, and were some of the last ones to get in. Quickly they got a tray of food each, and grabbed one of the last free tables, a table for two in the middle. They ate in silence, because there were too many people who could hear them. Although meals time rules had relaxed a lot since after the escape, not many of the X-series soldiers talked during meals.
Once Jondy and Max had finished eating, they took their trays back, before starting back to the barracks. They were the first to have finished, so the hallways were empty. Before Max could ask Jondy any questions though, Jondy held up her hand, telling Max to be quiet. Max stood still as Jondy walked over to a door, and pressed her ear against it. She waited a minute, before springing back, and grabbing Max's arm. They had just started to walk again, when the door opened, and the Colonel walked out of it. Spying Max and Jondy, he stopped.
"210, 452. I was just about to go to the mess hall to find you. Follow me, I need to ask you some questions."
Obediently, Max and Jondy followed the Colonel through the hallways, until they reached his headquarters. Opening the door, he ushered them in. As they stood at attention in front of his desk, he went behind it, and sat down.
"452. When you returned from mission today, you found 210 unconscious in front of your dorm room, correct?"
"Yes, Sir."
"What did you do then, 452?"
"Sir, I carried 210 into the room, and placed her on the bed. I was about to go to the medical wing to get someone to come and look at her, when she woke up."
"Why didn't you take her to the medical wing yourself?"
"Sir, she was too heavy to carry, Sir. I would not have made it to the medical wing without dropping her, or having to stop and rest. And because none of the others had returned, Sir, I could not ask for their help."
"What did you do when she woke up?"
"Sir, I helped her to the medical wing straight away. The doctor, Dr Schinkoff, looked over her, and said that there was no concussion. All that was wrong was that 210 had a bruised jaw. She then permitted us to return to the barracks."
"Very well. Now, 210. Why were you unconscious?"
"Sir, I was on my way back from the bathroom when something attacked me from above. The assailant had been over my head, and had dropped onto my shoulders as I walked past. I attempted to turn and fight them, but they punched me in the jaw, before knocking me out. Then next thing I recall was waking up in my room."
"Did you see who the person was that attacked you?"
"From what I could tell, Sir, they were about my height, and in a medical gown."
"Do you know whether they were male or female? And distinct features?"
"Only that they had short brown hair. I wasn't able to get a good look, Sir, but I think they were female."
"Did they say anyting to you? Anything at all?"
"No, Sir."
"Thank you, you have been most helpful. You are..."
Before the Colonel could finish his sentence, a TAC leader burst through the door.
"Sir! We have a problem. It seems that the X-5 you found, 665, has escaped. The two guards that were guarding her room are dead, Sir. And there is no sign of her anywhere."
"What?" the Colonel yelled. "How did this happen?"
"We don't know Sir. There was a tray left in her room, though. We think that a nurse went in to give her some meds, and the X-5 overcame her, and got out the door, to kill the guards. We don't know where she could be Sir. Would you like the building to go into lock-down?"
"No. That won't be necessary. I want you to search the whole facility. Every room, you understand? And every inch of the grounds as well. I want all of your men out there, now!"
"Yes, Sir." The TAC leader saluted before running out of the room.
Turning to Max and Jondy, the Colonel looked them over before speaking.
"It seems that we may have found your assailant, 210. For now, both of you will return to your barracks and gather up your unit. I want your entire unit out on the first perimeter fence. If you see anything strange, anything at all, you have permission to follow up on it. If, however, any of your unit attempts an escape again, you will all be punished severely. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, Sir."
"452, you will be in charge, 210 you will be second in command. You must hurry. If you find 665, capture her. Do not kill. Dismissed."
Max and Jondy ran out of the room, and back to the barracks. There, they could see that the X-5's that had returned from meals had been told to wait in the corridor, as guards searched their rooms. Running up to the first set of rooms, Max and Jondy stopped.
"X-5's to me!" Max yelled, loud enough that the boys could hear her from her corridor. They turned and saw her and Jondy, and jogged up to join them. Counting them, Max found that there were twelve missing.
"Where are the rest? There are twelve missing. Where are they?"
"Right here." Alec called from behind her. He was leading the remaining eleven behind him. As they got closer, they saw what was happening, and stopped.
"What's going on?" Alec asked.
"If you stand on this side of me, you will find out." Max ordered. She waited until the entire unit was on one side of her, before giving them the orders.
"X-5's. One of the rouge X-5's was re-captured. Unfortunately she has somehow gotten out of her cell, killed her two guards, and escaped. We are to be on first fence duty, until the Colonel tells us to come back in. If you see anything strange, the Colonel has given permission to follow it up. However, if any one person attempts to escape, then everyone will be punished severely. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, you will work in pairs, and patrol the fence. X-5's pair up!"
The result was instantaneous. The X-5's paired up, and formed two lines, in their pairs. Max was just about to lead them out, when 598 stopped her.
"I'm in charge here, 452. I will lead us out."
"No, you won't." Max replied. "The Colonel has ordered me to take charge for this mission, and Jondy is to be my second in command. If you do not believe me, then go to the Colonel yourself. But do not stop us from obeying our orders."
598 stepped back in line, just as Ty stepped forward.
"You've told us what to do, Max." He remarked. "But who are we chasing? Who is it that got caught?"
"Star. For you, Beta team, 665. Anna's twin."
"How will we know whether it is Anna we see or this 665?" Toni asked.
Jondy spoke up. "665 has longer hair. She attacked me today, and I saw that her hair is about chin-length. None of our hair is longer than ear-length."
"If you find her, you are only permitted to capture, not kill. And if that is enough, let's go." Max ordered. She waited for the lines to re-form, before setting out at a run. When they finally reached the first perimeter fence, Max started assigning people posts.
"If you find anything, give the discovery signal. If you hear the discovery signal, do not attempt to help, but stay where you are assigned. If you find anything worth reporting, Jondy and I will be at this post here." Max told her unit, before any of them left.
Once every one was at their post, Max and Jondy stood at theirs, talking.
"Do you think Star's gonna be okay?" Max asked.
"Of course she is. She told me, she's CO now."
"What? Why? What happened to Zack?"
"Zack is okay. Star said that he just went weird. It was like he got really guilty, and couldn't take it anymore. He's safe, and happy. Star said that he is living a normal life now."
"How come Star got caught anyway?"
"She was saving Tinga from something. She said that all the others are out there too. She only mentioned Krit, Syl, Micah, Tinga, Ben and Zack, but she knows where every one else is. She knows that they are all right. And she's looking after them."
"With Star as a CO, how could they not be? Everyone knew that Star was one of the best leaders. If something happened to Zack and Eva, then Star was the one to lead."
"I know. She'll do good. Just like Zack would have done good."
"Yeah. I wonder...Jace? Elia? What are you doing?"
"We found a body just on the other side of the fence. It looks like one of the TAC leaders. We thought that you should know."
"Good. We will come and look it over." Max said as they ran over to where the body was. He was lying face down five feet in front of the fence. Max and Jace jumped over, and Max rolled the body over. The man was one of the guards on sentry duty that day. His neck had been broken.
"Who would have done this?" Max murmured to herself.
Jace heard, and spoke up. "She did it. Star. Star betrayed us. She's a traitor. And now she's killing our people."
"Wait a minute, how do we know it was her?"
"Who else would it be? They are all traitors, they deserted us. Their minds have been corrupted by the outside world. They cannot see that in here, it is better. That the outside world is dirty and diseased."
"They are not traitors!" Max yelled. "They just took the opportunity when it arose. You cannot blame them for doing it."
"They are traitors. And I can, I will blame them. They are cowards, running away from those who are helping them."
"You think Manticore is helping us? Do you? They torture us! They are training us to kill people!"
"They do what they deem necessary to make sure that we obey the orders, and finish the mission."
Max and Jace stood, and faced each other in fighting positions. Max swung her fist and hit Jace in the nose, making it bleed. Jace blocked the next swing, and brought her knee up into Max's stomach. Max grabbed her knee after it hit, and twisted it, making Jace fall to the ground. Jace immediately swung her legs out, and tripped Max. Before she could get back up, Jace jumped on her, and started punching her in the face. She hit twice, once in the eye, and once in the mouth, before Max grabbed her arms, and shoved her back.
Jumping up, Max and Jace circled each other. Jace swung her fist, but Max grabbed it, and simultaneously kicked Jace in the upper thigh, and punched her in the jaw. Letting go of her hand, Max hit her again, in the eye, and again in the mouth. Jace raised her fist, to punch Max again, but someone grabbed her elbow, just as Jondy wrapped her arm around Max's waist. Struggling against Jondy, Max watched as Jace fought Elia's hold.
"Stop it you two." Jondy ordered. "I don't care what you were fighting about, but stop it. Now, if anyone asks what happened, you disagreed with each other, and decided to fight it out. You will not tell the real reason. Understood Jace?"
"Why should I?"
"Because if the Colonel knew what you were really fighting about, the two of you might not see the day for a long time."
"Solitary?" Jace gasped.
"Yes, solitary. Now, go back to your post, and Elia, try and fix up Jace's wounds so that they aren't too noticeable."
"Yes, ma'am. What will you do with the body?" Elia asked.
"Leave it. I will tell the Colonel where it is, and have him send out someone to collect it. Now move."
Elia and Jace jumped the fence and stood at their post again. Jondy led Max further down the fence, before jumping over with her. Behind her, she could see that Elia was working on Jace's injuries. When they reached their post, Jondy sat Max down.
"What on Earth were you fighting about Max?"
"Jace said that Star was the one who killed the guard, because she's a traitor and a deserter. She said that all those who escaped are traitors, and that their minds have been corrupted by the outside world, and they can't see that what Manticore does for them is good. How can she say that? We both know what Manticore does is wrong! We know that the eleven who escaped aren't traitors. We know they aren't cowards. How can she say that about them?"
"This is what you were fighting about?"
"Yes."
"What else do you expect Max? Six months of psy-ops, two and a half years of watching those slides saying that those who left are cowards, snakes, traitors. That has changed us, Max. Maybe not you and me, but all of the others. Don't you see the looks on their faces when anyone brings up anything to do with those who escaped? They would gladly kill them, because they deserted us. They left us to be tortured. Never mind that that isn't what they really did, that is what Manticore tells us they have done, and that is what everyone else believes."
"But, I thought that nobody paid attention in those slides."
"Maybe not at first. But they all did just before it ended. Not everyone can act as well as you and I can Max. Not everyone was able to get through those six months of psy-ops. They believe what Manticore tells us now. They are good little soldiers. If they meet an escapee when they are on mission, then will bring them in, or kill them, because that is what Manticore has told us to do."
"But...They are our family. Don't they remember that?"
"Max. We have been simplified. We have been made to think that they were once family, but they betrayed us. Don't you understand?"
"I guess I do. I just don't want to believe it."
"I'm sorry, baby sister. But at least you, Alec, Sam, Toni and me know the truth. But that is all of us. And I wasn't sure that Sam and Toni could hold onto the old thoughts for much longer, but they have finally finished the slides. There will be no more psy-ops for us. No more slides. We are as simple as they can make us, without being dead to the world."
"I don't want to forget Jondy. If they make me, I don't know what I'll do."
"I know, baby sister. I know." Jondy sat next to her sister, and pulled her into a hug. "But for now, we have to keep pretending that we have forgotten. For now."