Hey Everybody! I AM SOOO Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've been so distracted with school starting and I've been gone all summer. Anyway, hope you like it! :)
A funny thing happens when you are in a confined space for a long time. 1) You start thinking about things you never would've thought about under normal circumstances. 2) You have no secrets. You end up spilling all your inner thoughts to whoever's with you. In this case it was Max. I told her everything and she told me everything in return. We spent long nights lying on the floor of the cell, whispering our secrets. And finally 3) you forget all about the future. You except the last thing you'll ever see will the walls or the ceiling of your confined space. True, they fed us and gave us water but your mind goes to the last possible situation.
The scientists gave us food and water but they also watched us. Watched us endlessly. Even at night we were being monitored. Sometimes they would take us out of the cell, under high security of course, and questioned us in small windowless rooms. Really the only difference between our cell and the room was that the room had a table and three chairs. Max and I were questioned at different times, never together.
At first we tried to keep track of the days but it eventually became useless. At most I guessed we had been in prison for at least a week and a half.
One night (I assumed it was night) I was lying on my back on the cell floor, my head resting back on my arms. Max had been gone for what seemed like hours. I was beginning to worry. I'd eaten dinner alone. They had only brought enough food for one so I assumed they gave Max hers when she was being questioned. They had questioned me more than her, mostly to find out where I came from. They kept threatening to torture me but I knew they wouldn't do it. They didn't know how I would react to their tortures and they needed me alive.
Max had told me they had threatened her too but so far they hadn't actually hurt her. Finally, I heard footsteps from down the hall. I stood and wrapped my knuckles around the bars until they turned white. Max was being supported between two white coats. Tears were coursing down her cheeks and her body was shaking with sobs.
One of the men opened the cell and pushed me back against the wall, harder than necessary. I gasped as my back smacked against the wall. They tossed Max in after me and she was sent clattering to the floor. Once they were gone I knelt down beside her. She wrapped her knees up by her chest. "Max," I whispered, running a hand over her shoulder. "Max, what happened?" She didn't answer. She just kept crying.
Finally, she was able to control herself. Between sobs I was able to make out, "I'm…so…sorry…Zuko….I-I…told!"
"What? Max what did you say?" I asked, trying to get some understandable words out of her.
"I-I couldn't help it! They…they…I just did! I'm soo sorry." She collapsed into another fit of sobs, dropping her head onto my chest. I rubbed her head, kissing her hair.
"You told them where the others where?" I confirmed. She nodded, still crying. I stared at the wall. Something was pulling at the back of my head.
"Max," I finally said, pulling her into my lap. "What did they do to you to get that information? Did they torture you? What did they do?" She didn't answer but she stopped crying. "Max, please!" She didn't answer.
I eventually gave up and laid back on the ground. Max laid back next to me. It didn't take long for her to fall into a deep sleep. I waited around half an hour after she had fallen asleep and then sat up. After a time, the scientists left us alone and didn't take us out for questioning. I turned and looked over Max's arms. No marks and scars, at least none that weren't given the last time they'd hurt her.
I rolled up her pants but there weren't any new marks there either. "How did they get the information out of her?" I whispered to myself. She wouldn't talk unless they tortured her or…I gasped my eyes wide and my breathing increasing. I squeezed my hand around hers. She stirred but didn't wake up. I knew how they got her to talk. And it hurt my heart to even consider it.
Suddenly, Max rolled over and looked up at me. Once she saw my expression she sat up. "What's wrong? What are they doing?" She studied my face.
"Noth-" I began but knew I couldn't keep it from her. "They threatened you, didn't they Max? They threatened you." She stared into my eyes.
"They always do…but…" She tried to hide what had been said but it was impossible.
"What did they threaten you with? Please Max, tell me." I begged, holding her hands in mine.
"They threatened to…they wanted to…" She stuttered, unable to say it.
"It was me! They threatened to kill me, to torture me!" As I said this, more tears erupted from her eyes. However she nodded so I knew it was true. "Max, why did you do that? Why did you give up the information? I could've taken it!"
She shook her head. "No, no Zuko. It wasn't that…I didn't doubt…I couldn't let them do that! I just couldn't! Let them hurt you and know it's all my fault. It was worse than torture, the worse torture. They surrounded me, put the idea in my head, and forced me to think about it, to see it in full color inside my head. It was…horrible."
I felt color rising in my cheeks. She stared into my eyes, silent tears falling down her cheeks. "But…Max. You shouldn't have. I'm not worth it. Fang and Angel. Nudge and Iggy. You love them and knew them. You barely know me!" I was nearly yelling, enraged by how she'd given up their lives for me.
"But I love you!" She exclaimed and threw herself at me. I fell back on the ground, my elbows hitting the floor with a thud. Her legs sprawled around mine, her chest hitting mine hard. She through her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately. At first I was shocked. Her cheeks, still wet from tears, rubbed against mine. My eyes remained open, wide with confusion, but they finally closed and my arms came up around her. My inhibitions switched off, sending me into a train of mind of bliss and happiness. Nothing mattered in the world. Nothing mattered except me and Max, our two bodies together, kissing.
Finally we broke apart and simply stared at each other. Stared into each other's eyes and nothing else. "I love you," she whispered.
After a second I finally whispered back, "I love you, Max." She smiled and pulled me close.
"I'm glad you're having a good time," a voice suddenly exclaimed from outside the cell. I stood and pulled Max behind me. It was a white coat and he was smiling. I gasped and gripped Max's wrists behind my back.
"What the Hell do you want?" I exclaimed, anger rising in my chest.
"Oh, have you forgotten? I know love can be an odd thing, and cause weird things to happen in the head but…" he paused and looked over us, a sickly smile on his face. "We still have to get your friends…and your coming with us."