Escape and Evade

Chapter 8



Max and Original Cindy sat on the edge of Logan's bed. Original Cindy hugged her and stroked her hair as Max cried quiet tears of sadness. She knew what she was going through. She knew about Ben, what Max had to do. Here she was going through the same thing with Alec. How painful it must have been for her to just leave him there for White to take. It was déjà vu all over again.



"Cindy, " Max said in a small voice.



Original Cindy pulled back slightly and looked down at Max, "Yeah."



Max pulled away from her and ran her hands over her face and carefully through her hair. When she pulled her hair from her face Original Cindy could tell she was still crying. Her face was red and streaked from the persistent tears. Max leaned forward on her knees looking out into the living room of Logan's apartment.



"How could I...how could I have left him?" Max asked quietly almost whispering.



Original Cindy sighed inwardly. She knew Max would try to make herself feel guilty for Alec being captured. "Max, it's not your fault. What other choice did you have? He wanted you to get away. He didn't want you to get taken too."



"It doesn't make it right...does it?" Max said looking down at her hands.



"It doesn't matter now, " Original Cindy said. She leaned forward into the same position as Max. "All that matters now is that we get him out of there."



Max turned toward her with a slight smile, "We?"



Original Cindy shrugged with a small smile, "What can I say, can't help but love the boy."



Max looked back down at her hands. "Yeah, " she whispered.



"Yeah, " Original Cindy whispered back. Max made a move to stand from the bed and Original Cindy helped her stand from the bed and they carefully made their way to the couch in the living room.



Logan heard noise behind him and looked to see Original Cindy helping Max to sit down on the couch. He smiled glad to see her at least awake and standing. He stood from his computer and made his way over to them.



"Hey, you're looking better, " he said kneeling in front of her.



She gave a smile, "Yeah, I feel better too." She touched the back of her head and winced slightly. "Next time I'll learn where to step."



"What happened?" Logan asked standing back up putting his hands in his pockets.



Max stared at the floor shaking her head slowly, "Everything was going good until...I accidentally gave away our position and we had to run through the compound to find an exit. Alec thought he found one but we ended up getting stuck in a room. We worked at the door for about half an hour, and of course by that time I was ready to kill Alec. Turns out he was just trying to piss me off so we could get the door unlodged. He made a smart-alec comment as he walked out the door and I stormed after him and the next thing I know I'm falling...fifty feet." She touched the back of her head again.



"How did you get out?" Original Cindy asked astonished.



"Climbed out later after I was feeling better. I was knocked out by the fall but...I could hear Alec's voice...he was so frantic. I was in and out for a while then when I finally came too Alec was asleep so I let him rest no one had found us yet and I couldn't hear anything, " Max explained still looking at the spot on the floor with kind of an amused expression on her face in regards to her and Alec's pitter patter. "Then we realized we couldn't stay down there forever so we decided to climb back up the hole as best we could." She took a deep breath, "Half way up we heard voices and stopped to see where they were headed. Finally, we got out and made our way to the front of the compound. That's when things really got strange." She shook her head again, "There were no guards, nothing. We knew it was a trap we knew as soon as we made a run for the fence they would come out of the wood works. Sure enough that's what they did. I made it over the fence but Alec got shot in the leg and couldn't make it over. I ripped the bottom of the fence and he crawled through and we made a run for it..." she trailed off her eyes becoming blank again.



"It's okay Max, " Original Cindy said rubbing her back.



Max's eyes filled with tears again. "We ran as far as we could till they caught up to us...Alec said he couldn't make it for me to go...that he would hold them off. I tried to take him with me but...he just...kept shoving me away and yelling at me to go." By now she had fresh tears running down her face.



Logan kneeled again and Max looked at him, "Don't worry Max. We'll get him back."



"I know, I promised him I would, " Max said wiping the tears away and standing from the couch on her own. She faltered slightly and instinctively Logan reached out grab her but Max quickly backed away bumping into the couch.



"Sorry, " Max said apologetic.



Logan didn't say anything just looked at her.



"I'm going after him, " Max said turning and making her way to the door.



"By yourself!" Original Cindy yelled going after her with Logan right behind her. "At least take Joshua with you."



"I can't involve Joshua in this it's too dangerous, " Max said as the elevator opened.



"Max this is insane you can't do this by yourself you can barely stand on your own, " Logan pleaded desperately



"Don't!" Max yelled turning quickly toward them. She stared at both Logan and Original Cindy with pleading eyes. They didn't understand they couldn't. She didn't know how much Alec meant to her until he was gone. The phrase 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone' was holding true in her case.



"I can't loose him, " Max said with a broken voice. She looked into Logan's eyes and could see the brief hurt in them. She loved Logan she did with all her heart. She didn't know what she felt for Alec she just knew she felt something for him. She slumped against the wall defeated. She didn't know what to do what to think. She knew she couldn't go in their all gung-ho she would only get them killed. She couldn't get Joshua involved she didn't want to risk him.



Suddenly, an idea hit her.



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Alec bit the inside of his lip as the whip cracked against his back again. White had been torturing him for hours asking the same old questions over and over.



Where is 452?



Where can I find her?



Who would know where she is?



But, he wouldn't answer just kept his eyes forward and his mouth shut. The pain was almost unbearable. He felt hot and cold at the same time. White had used the whip, needles, a knife...the list went on. There wasn't apart of his body that wasn't covered in blood from where it poured out of his wo. He. He hanged in his own puddle of blood limply.



White walked to stand in front of Alec and grabbed him by the chin making him look at him. "I can make this stop right now, just tell me..." Alec spit in his face cutting him off. White pulled out his handkerchief again to wipe his face then put it back in his pocket calmly. Without warning he punched Alec in the face smashing his nose, blood going everywhere. He didn't knock Alec out which surprised him.



"Take him down!" White yelled pacing in front of Alec.



The guards moved to release Alec letting him drop to the floor on his knees. Alec looked up in time to see White's foot coming in contact with his face. Alec fell back till he hit the wall the concrete cutting into his open whip wounds making him yell out in pain.



White stalked up to him grabbing him by the hair getting in his face, "Where's the transgenic in you now, huh?" White released Alec letting him fall back to the floor. "Can't even stand you're pathetic. That's why we're superior to you."



Alec spit blood out of his mouth and looked up at White. "I thought I was full of myself, but you've got me beat, " Alec remarked.



"I want 452!" White yelled getting impatient.



"She's long gone by now, " Alec breathed. He was in so much he could barely keep himself awake.
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White was about to say something when Otto opened the door and walked inside, "Sir, you won't believe it...452 just turned herself in..."