They Said: Escape
By Jillybean
Flashbacks
"Send the remaining X5's to search for them within the premises." Lydecker ordered a commander.
"But sir, they might escape too-"
"They won't." Lydecker growled.
One of the little boys, X5 494, standing in the line is listening, and thinking about what was said. Although his commanders don't see it, he is watching them, out of the corner of his eye.
He is smarter than they are, he listens where they think he obeys. He realises there was something odd about their words.
"It's stupid, where are they going?" Asked 465, his eyes roving the ground contemptuously. 494 frowns, he doesn't answer his companion. They both carry guns, they both watch their feet, they both look out for bodies.
But the little boy does not believe one will be found.
"Come on 465, we got work to do." 494 snaps, he is the senior here.
He knows the designations of every 'escaped' X5. But only one matters now: X5 452
~
"It's nothing personal." The doctor assures him as they start the projector going. "We just want to check that the insanity is not hereditary."
The words strike him as unusually informal, perhaps the doctor believes that 494 won't be around long enough to report it. He watches the projected pictures on the wall, knowing the drill.
"Looks like a bat." He says of the first splodge.
"Monkey."
That's a cat.
You don't wanna know."
"494 - would you please answer the question?" A cold voice interrupts. 494 sighs and returns to answering.
The treadmill starts. 494 has no idea what his physical state has to do with his mental state but feigning obedience he runs on the treadmill, feeling alarmed as it speeds up, almost impossibly so.
"494. Take the square root of the first prime in the one hundred and five times table and multiply it by the square of your designation." A doctor says calmly. 494 restrains his surprise. He begins working it out.
"Quickly 494." The doctor says in irritance.
"Uh - 4331209.33784549370169188158087741!" He yells, his feet pound the treadmill.
"494 - what is the answer to-"
And so it continued.
Exhausted, mentally and physically he was not allowed to rest. The X6's chased him, they were just kids but they had guns, with real ammunition. They were under the impression he was dangerous.
494 ran throughout the woods, he couldn't feel his legs anymore, they just moved because that was all they'd ever done. He raced.
He knew now what had been strange about his Commanders words on the morning after the X5's escaped. He'd used the word escaped. That meant they'd gone somewhere better - somewhere real.
He wanted now to escape, he knew that the only way to escape was to be with Manticore, to go back to the missions, the assasinations, then he can truly escape.
"Congratulations X5 494. You've passed with a clean bill of health." Renfro says. 494 stares at her coldly.
"Thank you, ma'm."
~
"X5 452!" The commander bellows. 494's gaze doesn't shift, even though he knows she was one of the escaped, even though he knows she is 'hot', even though he know that he will eventually be paired up with her. But he watches, he is very good at watching without being noticed. Manticore trained him well.
X5 452 was in trouble again. 494 is unsure about her, she was on the outside for too long. He likes being outside, but she escaped. He hasn't yet.
But when the time comes, he will be waiting.
Present
"Alec!" Max yelled. Alec span around firing a couple of rapid shots at the approaching X7's.
"I knew this was a crap idea!" He yelled at Max while she helped the X6's into the van.
"Then why'd you come along!?" Max yelled, their verbal sparring was alarming the X6's, but it kept the two of them on their toes.
"Knew that you'd need me to save your transgenic ass again - woah! Shit that was close!"
Alec dodged another bullet and then he crumpled as he felt the searing heat of a lead bullet rip through his shoulder.
"Alec!" Max screamed. Alec scrambled to his feet.
"Get going Max!" He yelled, limping to the back of the van. Hands reached for him, pulling him inside even as Max revved the engine and they roared away from the bridge where the X7's shot at them.
"Alec, are you okay?" Max asked, helping him out of the van.
"Heh, never knew you cared." He grunted as he hit the floor. They were in an old warehouse. "Holy shit, do you have an aspirin, or several?"
"So much for genetic superiority." Max said, turning back to the X6's. She was disturbed by her concern for him, and disturbed by the fact she had nearly lost the X6's because of her concern.
Later she headed over to him, his t-shirt was soaked with blood and sweat, he'd taken off his jacket and he sat, eyes half closed, his back against an iron column that supported the cieling.
"Alec." She whispered softly, coruching down and taking her jacket off too. He looked at her, one eye still half closed.
"I think that something's wrong." He swallowed a little and eased himself into a more upright position. Max pulled the t-shirt over her head off, even while in pain Alec couldn't resist.
"You just couldn't wait to get my clothes off - ow!" He yelped as she ripped the t-shirt over his head to make him pay. She was instantly sorry, but she didn't say so.
"That looks painful." She said, but there was something else on her mind. Alec was shivering.
"Cold?" She asked absently. Alec let out a slight laugh.
"Heh - guessed my secret."
"Got the shakes?" Max asked, keeping her voice calm, the X6's were scare enough as it was.
"Aways got 'em bad. Lucky enough for me I could hide 'em."
"All right - shh, this is gonna hurt." She said, heating his pocket knife. Alec shut his eyes and leaned his head back.
"Um - Max?"
"Yeah?" She asked as she finished.
"I'm not sit still for this." He admitted.
"Right, you two!" Max called on two of the X6's. "Help me." At the same time she sat on him, preparing to hold him down.
Alec was shaking visibly now. Max watched, concerned.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Cacy asked, she was one of the X6's. Max bit her lip.
"Not unless we get him some tryptophan."
"Huh?"
"Nothing." Max shook her head, she shoved a stray strand of hair behind her ears. She headed for the entrance to the warehouse.
"Where are you going!?" Terry yelled, running forward. Alec looked up, his eyes finding Max instictively. He started to struggle to get up but fell back, defeated.
"You can't leave!" Frank said desperately, grabbing Max's hand. "You said that we had to wait until nightfall or White would find us."
"He doesn't have till nightfall." Max snarled, harsher than she intended.
"Max!" Alec managed to shout before lapsing into severe shakes.
"Alec, you know you don't." Max said firmly.
"I - don't - want - X6's - gotta protect." He muttered. Max looks outside.
"You said Eyes Only will come after night fall, he'll make it." Cacy begged her. Max knew she couldn't leave.
Alec was curled fetally, his entire body shaking. Max sat beside him, watching from the red sky in the skylights.
"Just hold on Alec." She whispered, stroking his soaked brow.
"N-never knew you c-c-cared." Alec managed through his seizures. Max leaned over him.
"No - ssh Alec, don't talk." She whispered.
"N-no - gotta listen Max - G-gotta get this -o-out! Ah it hurts!" He hissed. Max felt her eyes watering, she blinked tears away.
"M-max - please. Know that I - I wanna th-thank for all y-you d-done." He broke off, gasping. "A-a-all y-you've d-d-done f-for m-me."
"Alec. You're delirious."
"No. Scared." He managed to say without stuttering. He pulled his body around so he could look her in the eye. "S-scared of d-dying. P-please I-I love-"
"Alec." Max interrupted. "You're not dying."
"I a-am." Alec lost motor control. Max's mind coolly analysed his every problem. Her heart was weeping blood.
"Alec, Alec?! Alec please don't die." She whispered, leaning closer and holding him in her arms. It was with Ben all over again, it was with Logan all over again, it was with Zack all over again, it was with Tinga all over again.
But it was Alec, and Alec was not any of them. Alec meant more to her, he was never weak like Ben, always relying on Manticore, he coped no matter what his situation. He was not Logan, with a perfect moral stance and a heavy black cloud hanging over him. He was not Zack, so far stuck up his own ass that he couldn't see that transgenics were really no different from humans. He was no Tinga either, only wanting a family life.
He was Alec, the smart ass who was always ready for a challenge, who, despite himself, had a conscience.
"Don't leave me Alec, hold on, hold on Alec." Max whispered.
_____________________________________________________________
There are two endings to this fic, depending on you preference head for the sad one or the happy one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Don't leave me Alec, please?" Max begged. The warehouse slipped into darkness. There was the vague sound of a car in the distance. Max tightened her grip on Alec's shoulders. "Alec, you'd better not do this to me." She whispered. "Alec, damnitt please don't do this to me."
Flashbacks.
494 knew exactly what was wrong with their words. They'd said; 'escape'. Which meant there had to be a better place out there. Which meant 494 wasn't in the better place.
Present
Well now he was.
Max felt herself break down as the last shivers stopped. Logan's car burst in, Asha ran out with the Tryptophan.
"Max!" She cried.
"They're here." Max whispered in Alec's ear. "It's all right. Ssh Alec, it's all gonna be okay." She told him. She felt his last breath die away, in her arms.
"I love you." Max whispered just before Asha reached them.
"Maybe it's not too late!" Asha demanded, Max stood. He'd finally escaped.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max could hear the noise of Logan's car in the distance. The X6's were crowded around.
Logan's car burst in. Asha ran out, the bottle of Tryptophan in her hand. Max snatched it, feeling Alec's convulsions weaken. She ignored everything else, if she could heal Alec with sheer force of will she would.
Opening his mouth she slipped two pills in, rubbing his throat to make him swallow. He did so, and didn't choke. Max could feel herself shaking now, but with nerves rather than the seizures.
"Will he be okay?" Cacy asked what everyone else was thinking.
"Please say he will?" Frank begged. Logan was watching her. She knew that he was jealous.
Somehow, she didn't care.
"Alec?" Max asked as she heard a noise. She turned away from Logan and Asha and the softly glowing computer screens, and headed to the living quarters of Logan's apartment. "Ah." Alec was sitting up, glancing around him. His shoulder was bandaged.
"Alec." Max said again, smiling at him. "You're okay?"
"I think I might live." He swallowed and looked her in the eye. "Guess I got you to thank for that."
"No - Logan and Asha really." Max looked away. Alec heaved himself into a standing position. Max's hands on his muscled chest steadied him.
"Um - Max?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's my t-shirt?"
Logan watched through the glass partition.
"Logan?" Asha asked with a sad smile. Logan turned to her and shook his head, a self-depriciating smile on his face.
"Who am I kidding Asha, Max and I is just not gonna -" He cut off, his voice choked. With tears in his eyes but a smile on his face he turned back to see Max and Alec, involved in a very tender kiss. Suddenly Max broke away, she spun to see Logan, her expression was shocked, amazed and scared. Alec seemed pained, he looked Logan in the eye though, and Logan appreciated it.
Logan smiled at them both and turned away from the glass.
Because Max was happy, and that was all either man cared about.
Please e-mail the author of this story with your comments. jillybean@yahoo.com