I don't own MR

Max

I never thought I'd be leaning against the icy, metal bars of a cage again. I didn't think I'd be stretching my arm out to its longest length; reaching for a key that I would never quite reach. I knew I wouldn't, and Jeb knew I wouldn't. He only hung it there to mock me. To show me how I was a prisoner; and how only he decided when I could be set free.

The light that was the key faded into the darkness of my life as I gave up, my back sliding against the cool metal as I sat on the stone ground, pulling my knees to my chest. "Well Max, you lost," I whispered quietly, wrapping my arms around my stomach that was now bandaged. I still couldn't remember everything that happened; it all faded in and out like a blinking light at the end of the tunnel.

My vision blurred from the pain, or maybe from the loss of blood, as I laid there on the comforting grass, feeling tears in my eyes. All I could do was stay in place, unmoving for fear of the pain that would overwhelm me, or maybe even the sight of my boyfriend; dead. I couldn't bear feeling this useless… this worthless. It was like I shouldn't even be alive. All I could do was stare at the sky, while black dots made their way into my peripheral vision and my organs slowly began to fail me. I could already feel my heartbeat slowing down a fraction of a second, losing its life just as I was losing mine. And from what? A measly bullet wound?

"Hello Max," A silky voice sneered into my ear, and I forced myself to blink away the thoughts of my death just in time to see Jeb's back as he walked towards Fang, who had his father pinned for now.

"Fang!" I shrieked in warning, but as he turned around we both realized it was too late. We had lost. Jeb had won. The bullet flew through his neck like a butter knife cut through butter; and that's when I lost the strength to stay awake.

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a scream of frustration, punching my fist into the rough stone that was lazily pieced together to make the wall. "Ow! Dammit!" I yelled as I felt two of my knuckles crack. I cradled my useless hand in my working one, feeling my anger begin to build up at Jeb, at this cage, at my life.

Why did it have to be me? Why couldn't it have been some other poor, unfortunate soul? What made me so special?

"Good morning Max, how are you?" A silky voice asked slyly, and I pushed myself up onto my feet with my good hand and turned to glare at my father. In response to his questions, I flipped him off.

"Oh my day was wonderful, thanks for asking. I'm so glad you and Fang have so much in common," Jeb cheered with a cheshire smile that made me want to gag.

"Yeah, we both have daddy issues," I growled out, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Actually, I was going to talk about your perseverance," Jeb noted with a frown and I rolled my eyes.

"Flattery won't stop me from killing you, Jeb," I snarled viciously.

"Ah, another thing you and Fang have in common; you're both too weak to do anything to the people you love-"

"I don't love you! You're not my dad! You barely pass as father!" I shrieked, my hands clenching onto the bars as I yanked on them with all my might shrieking in fury at the man who thought he could waltz in here and tell me about what I could and couldn't do to the people I loved. As I pulled at the unmoving bars, my anger boiling over, pain began to prick at my hand and I let out a yell of agony, retracting my broken hand immediately back to me, holding it to my chest. It throbbed tauntingly, and I mentally smacked myself for succumbing to such a minor injury.

"Max, Sweetie, calm down. You hurt your hand, tsk, tsk, you always loved rough-housing."

"Because you always loved locking me up with monsters!" I yelled furiously, reaching my hand out towards the man who was the reason I was standing here, in a cell. Once again I was just inches away from my goal- and I didn't even have to look to know a smirk of satisfaction was spreading across Jeb's face. He was untouchable and he knew it.

"Oh, that reminds me! I have wonderful news!" He spoke up and I paused in my reaching-antics to look up at him. Usually whenever somebody like Jeb said they had 'wonderful news' you needed to listen.

"That thing that was in your stomach is dead."

I cried for hours after he left. I just sunk to the floor, curled into myself, and sobbed. The emotional agony slammed into me like a tidal wave, slithering into my lungs and drowning me in its bittersweet taste. The current pulled me under, filling the void with pain and suffering, tormenting me with knowing that my unborn child was dead.

I've always heard about how knowledge is power; and I guess for Jeb it really was, but for me it was just another way to stab me in the heart and twist the blade around. Knowledge wasn't just an advantage, it was a way to completely crumble your enemy to dust. I guess that had always been Jeb's ultimate goal. He had always struggled to find my breaking point, and now he had found it.

I knew somewhere in here there was a video camera that connected to a TV, and Jeb was currently watching me sob myself to sleep on the stone floor that cooled me to the bone. He was probably grinning in delight knowing he had finally shattered the last of Maximum Ride. He had finally found out that he could control me. That I was just as human as I was when I was three years old.

A shudder ran through me as I choked on my own tears, my fingers curling into a fist and my nails digging into my skin, drawing blood. I think I finally understood how Lupo felt, why she had just shut down. What it all came down to is she had lost a piece of herself when she lost her baby.

And it's even worse for her because somewhere it's still surviving, its genes being altered, and its life rapidly diving into the living hell I went through.

The selfish part of me wished my baby was still alive, just in a test tube at the School. But even as I began to think it I pushed the thought away and shook my head. This was for the better; it had to be. This is what I had wanted all along, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

The next time my eyes fluttered open, bright fluorescent lights blurred my vision and I snapped my head to look at the ground, my arm falling over my face to shield my eyes from the burning light.

"Max!" Fang's voice filtered into my ears as two strong arms wrapped me up in a warm embrace. I pushed myself closer into Fang, momentarily unaware of the news I was given however long ago.

But of course, it all came flooding back to me, and fresh tears welled up in my eyes as I buried my face into his shirt. I couldn't cry anymore though, especially not in front of Fang. It would destroy him even more than it destroyed me when he found out, and he didn't need to have to deal with my pathetic emotions as well as his own.

"Max, are you okay? Where did they take you? What did they do to you? Oh my God, you have a scar on your cheek, did somebody pull a knife on you?" Fang darted questions out quicker than I could process them as he pushed me back just far enough to take in my horrible appearance. My clothes were shredded and my skin was covered in grime and dirt. My hair was a rat's nest and I was cut up from head to toe. To make matters even worse Fang looked like he had just had a five hour bubble bath followed by a nice long nap. The only thing that really showed any signs that Fang had been locked up like me was the fact that one of his sleeves was halfway ripped away, his hair was greasy, and his nose was crooked.

"I'm fine, Fang," I lied through my teeth, forcing a small smile that instantly fell away. My boyfriend just shook his head at me, obviously aware of my lie, then glanced to the left of us. Only then did I realize that I wasn't in my cell anymore.

Pristine white tile glittered under me, and beige walls surrounded us. In the center of the room sat a metal table drilled into the floor that glowed with pride, and sitting in their own chairs behind the table was Fang's father and Jeb. Both of them held glamorous smiles that showed off their pearly white teeth, and yet the elation in their grins didn't quite reach their eyes.

"Nice to see you awake Max," Jeb spoke up finally in his silky voice, and I sneered at him, clutching onto Fang's hand like my life depended on it. In some ways, it did. I needed to know he was here to remind myself to keep fighting- if only for him.

"Funny, the feeling isn't mutual," I growled out, pushing myself up onto my feet and groaning when I put some weight on my broken hand. Fang's eyes held all the concern in the world for me in them as he took my injured hand in his own and looked at it, obviously ignoring the two giraffes in the room.

"You know, I really am shocked that you haven't told Fang about your child yet. After all you were so bent out of shape about the thing-"

"He or she wasn't a 'thing'," I hissed, interrupting Jeb mid-sentence. I realized then that I had mostly referred to my baby as 'it', and immediately felt a ping of regret.

"Uh Max, you used past tense," Fang pointed out warily, glancing from Jeb to me, and I sighed weakly, turning to Jeb.

"You're so great at delivering news why don't you?" I snarled bitterly, leaning into Fang to keep from falling over when my legs started shaking.

"Oh but it would be so much more rewarding coming out of your mouth-"

"While you two play your little mind games I'm going to get down to some actual business," Fang's father interrupted, and I glanced at him.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Aren't you supposed to be pregnant?" He shot back and I almost winced at how casual and sudden the comment was.

"Max, I am not emotionally capable of dealing with what everybody's implying so please tell me this is some sick joke," Fang muttered in my ear, and I just stared forward and the beige wall in front of me, just past Jeb's head. How could I lie to him? How could I tell him the truth? It was easier to just pretend he never asked the question, that way I would never have to answer.

Fang didn't say anything after my silence. Instead he pushed himself away from me and leaned against the wall somewhere behind me. I didn't dare turn to look at him; I was too afraid of what I'd see. He was disgusted with me probably. He might have even thought I killed our baby purposefully. After all from the moment I found out about it I didn't want anything to do with it- him or her.

"Now, let's get down to business. After all, you weren't invited into this pristine facility to smudge it up with your tears," Jeb cleared his throat, never looking at Fang. His eyes only stared into mine; waiting for my cracked walls to crumble. However, I couldn't fall in front of him- at least, not twice.

"Really? I just figured with all the torture that was the goal," I sneered viciously.

"Oh Max, you stupid little girl, we're not torturing you, you're torturing yourself, and everybody you think you love," Fang's dad flicked a hand in his direction and I finally risked a glance back at my boyfriend only to find him staring at the floor, his dark hair hiding the sorrow that swirled in his eyes.

"Maxine, we did not put you here to hurt you, we only need to run some tests, check up on your vitals-"

"The usual procedure?" I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Yeah thanks, but no thanks, Doc." I growled, glancing around and noticing the lack of a door. It must have been embedded in the walls, obviously the one behind Jeb and Fang's father. Upon a more focused inspection of the beige wall I found a thin, almost imperceptible outline of a single door. Plans began to formulate in my mind like a puzzle piece, putting two and two together until I found one what worked.

"Max, you must understand that I'm doing everything I do for good reason-" Jeb started, but the newly revived minion cut him off.

"Please, you love to watch her break as much as I love to watch Nicolas sob in the corner because he's a failure,"

"Shut up!" I shrieked, my thoughts blurring with the sharp words. "Don't talk about Fang like that! He has more than you ever will,"

"Well I've never had a failed relationship, or a dead child, so yes, I guess you're right," his father smirked brightly at me, showing me it was my move and that I was in checkmate. There was no way out, not without the one pawn that seemed to be just out of reach; Fang. If only he'd say something; if only he'd show me he was fully-functioning and ready to escape.

"You've also never loved anybody, or had a good family to support you, obviously. I'm guessing you had daddy issues too?" I asked, begging that he took the bait. All I needed is one wrong move from Fang's father and everything else would fall into place.

"This is not about Jim!" Jeb shouted, slamming a fist onto the table. He either knew what I was trying to do, or was utterly frustrated with my bickering. From the bright red color of his face, I guessed it was the latter.

"And this isn't about you either," I pointed out, slipping my hands into my pockets casually. Fang still said nothing, and I was still left on my own, with only myself to find a loophole.

"Right, this is about you, Max, all about-"

"Max run!" Fang shouted and I was momentarily caught off guard by his sudden alertness. Within the blink of an eye he had pounced over the table and tackled Jeb to the ground, stabbing something into his shoulder before turning to his father. Everybody was caught off guard by the looks of it, not even Jim made a move once the attack happened, and being Fang's father for seventeen years, you would think he would be able to read his own son.

"You're not running!" Fang yelled at me, lunging towards his father as he finally came out of his stupor.

"Right," I muttered, sprinting around the table and over the doors, easily hopping over Jeb like a simple hurdle in my way. I pounded and kicked on the doorway mercilessly, waiting for it to pop open. It took a few minutes of ungraceful roundhouse kicks and sloppy jabs before something must have short-circuited and the door halfway slid open, giving me just enough space to stick my hands through and manually push it open.

"Fang come on!" I called and Fang got in a few extra punches while I tapped my foot impatiently before leaving his bruised father on the pristine white tiles, covered in his own blood and dazed.

"Don't rush me!" He growled playfully, sprinting past me. Together we ran away from Jeb and Jim, together we got away.

Chapter 45 done. Sorry it took me so long to update but I have teachers who like to give lots of homework, state test, and the usual procrastination.

So anyways, onto the

QOTC

There a reference to Panic at the Disco, The Little Mermaid, and Mulan. They're small so you'd have to pay attention to find all three of them.

Soar on,

VR