After Life -- Chapter 10: Leave Me Alone

[parallax23]

Chapter 10: Leave Me Alone

“You know, I didn’t realize how much I needed this,” Max said as she took another bite from her ice cream bar.

The late night stroll through the city had been like old times – times before the world knew what they were, times when they only looked out for number one.  So much had changed since then.  Max and Jondy had finally found each other.  Their family was together again and they weren’t running.  It had been a long time since Max had prowled the Seattle streets during the night.  It hadn’t been since the Siege began.  Even in the weeks before then, she hadn’t really enjoyed the nights the way she used to.  It was just business.

Nothing in the time she had been separated from Logan had been enjoyable.  But now that she would be separated from him forever, she would have to learn to make the best of things.  She was going to be a mother to a brand new person, and it had cost her Logan.  Everything had its price, didn’t it?

Jondy could tell there was a lot on her sister’s mind; even all their years apart hadn’t made Max less readable to her.  What Jondy couldn’t tell was what she could do to make her little sister feel better.  There was no magic speech to fix this.  So, Jondy went with the next best thing.

“I can’t believe you stole a box of ice cream bars,” Max said.  It wasn’t exactly taking from bad guys, but that was a lesson that hadn’t stuck with Jondy no matter how much Max tried to impress it upon her. 

“What?  You don’t want any?” Jondy asked as she tore open the cardboard box.

Max watched as Jondy pulled out an ice cream bar, then she snatched it from her hands before her sister could stop her.  “You really want to get between a pregnant lady and her ice cream?”

“Good point.  But just so you know, I’m not looking for new pants if you eat too many of these,” Jondy told her.  For the first time in weeks, she saw Max truly smile.  She smiled too.

They continued down the street, eating freshly stolen ice cream bars.  Max couldn’t remember the last time she had ice cream, or the last time she had thoroughly enjoyed a night out.  There was no one needing to be saved, no deal needing to be made.  It was almost like when she had first come to Seattle, when she would sit on the Space Needle wondering where Jondy was.  Now they were together, running through the night like she had wished so long ago.

It was strange how some wishes came true and how some had others had fizzled into tragedy.  Then there were things she hadn’t wished for…   She wasn’t sure if it was the flutter of her stomach or the new undeniable part of her life.  Since finding out she would be a mother, she had gone through several different emotions which mostly revolved around losing Logan and hiding the truth from those around her.  In that moment, the baby became a real part of her and she felt as though nothing in her life was more important.  No one was more important.  Would she disappoint it like she did with all the people she ever cared about?  Only time would tell.

“Well, well, well.  Look at what we’ve got here,” came a voice from behind them, when Cindy’s place was only a block away.

Max knew that it was just too much to ask that she have one night to enjoy with her sister.  It was the most relaxed she had been in weeks, and now she would have to break her streak of non-violence since battling Familiars.  She and Jondy turned around to see who it was that unwisely chose them to rob.

There were five boys no older than eighteen years old, dressed in the street uniform of baggy jeans, big shirts, baseball caps, and the smug expressions that came with trying too hard to be tough.  Max suddenly realized that some of them were kids from around the neighborhood that took Japanese lessons from Kendra.  So, this is what had become of them?

“Look, we aren’t in the sharing mood and we are the last people in the world you wanna piss off, so I suggest you run along home to your mommies,” Max said.

“Funny,” said the tall one with red hair.  “But we’re not interested in ice cream, Max.”

He pulled out a .09mm from behind his back.  They maintained their distance from the transgenics so they couldn’t be disarmed easily.  Someone had been watching more than Ren and Stimpy on TV.

“Seriously, are you kids stupid or something?  You know we’ve kicked the asses of people far scarier than you punks.  We don’t want trouble, but we’ll give you hell if you want it,” Jondy said in an effortless tone.

“We know what you are,” said a boy with curly hair.

“All the more reason to walk away while you still can,” Max went on, all too aware that her hands were tied.  If anyone heard of a transgenic fighting with a human, it would be the excuse so many had been waiting for to attack them.

“I don’t think you get it.  These are our streets – for people, not mutant freaks,” said the redhead.

It didn’t look like this was going to end well.  Transgenics were still second class citizens who could give a first class ass-kicking.  If anything happened to those boys, the blame would be squarely on them.  Max and Jondy knew they were caught between a rock and a hard place.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” asked Jondy.  “We have as much right to be here as you do.”

“Right?  You don’t even have the right to exist.  You think you’re going to take over our country and we’re going to let you?  No, I think we’re within our rights to try and stop you freaks, here and now so the human race has a fighting chance,” said the redhead, training his gun between Max and Jondy. 

When he finally set his aim on Max, she and Jondy both blurred out of the way.  This was literally child’s play to them.  They had been left with no choice, as flight was no longer an option, but to fight.  After taking down high trained tactical teams of black ops soldiers and deranged Familiars, a couple of neighborhood teenagers would be a piece of cake. 

It didn’t take much effort for Jondy and Max to teach the boys not to go messing with girls unless they wanted to taste pavement.  The redhead still hadn’t fired his gun when he and Jondy were left to go head to head.  He had become less confident after seeing his friends getting their asses handed to them, so Jondy didn’t expect him to put up much of a fight. 

The sound cut through the night.  A gunshot.  That was what stopped Jondy and the redhead before either could make a move.  Their heads quickly turned to see where it had come from. 

What Jondy saw was Max falling to the ground, and instinctively she rushed over to catch her. 

“What the hell?” shouted the redhead.  His gaze fell on his curly-haired companion lying on the ground, who had pulled his own weapon out.  Apparently he had gone down, but he hadn’t really blacked out like he pretended.  His gun was trained to shoot again at the girls, but Jondy’s foot appeared out of nowhere to kick it out of his hands.  Then she bent down to pick it up from the ground.

“I suggest you and your buddies get out of here now.  And if anything happens to my sister or her baby, let’s just say we’re the prettier and calmer ‘freaks.’  Got it?” 

The young men only caught parts of her speech as they dashed off into the night.  However, the redhead hadn’t moved from where he was standing. 

“Do you want me to shoot you?  Drop the gun and get out of here!” Jondy commanded.  She couldn’t get back to Max if he was still lurking around as a possible threat. 

The kid threw his gun on the floor.  “She’s pregnant?” 

Jondy snatched up the other gun and quickly went back over to her sister, but kept an eye on the boy to make sure he left.  “Just get out of here before I decide to shoot you anyway!” 

He nodded and ran off in the same direction his friends had.  He looked back once, but kept going until Jondy could no longer see him. 

“Max?” Jondy asked in a way that sounded more like a plea than anything else as she cradled her sister in her arms.  “Max, talk to me!” 

The red stain emanating from Max’s right thigh revealed the wound.  It was bleeding profusely, which meant the kid had hit an artery.  They needed to get out of the street and find her some medical help. 

“God, it hurts,” moaned Max. 

Her sister threw her arm around Max and got them both standing on their feet again.  She was losing blood fast. 

“Come on.  Stay with me,” Jondy said as she shouldered all of their weight.  “We’ll be at Cindy’s in no time.” 

The adrenaline was flowing through Jondy, giving her the strength to practically blur over to Original Cindy’s apartment without a second thought.  She wasn’t going to let anything happen to Max.  She had let her fall through the ice once before, and she had no intention of ever leaving her behind again. 

“Cindy!  Cindy, open up!  It’s an emergency!” Jondy screamed as she reached the floor their friend lived on.  She didn’t want to put Max down and Cindy had bolted all the locks along the door for the night. 

“Jondy?” asked Cindy’s voice as she undid the locks. 

She had been sleeping when she heard Jondy calling through the hall, then when the girl began banging on the door she realized that it wasn’t a dream.  The sight in front of her was what really woke her up though.  Jondy was supporting a pale Max, whose face was twisted in agony.  Jondy practically ran Cindy over trying to get her sister onto the couch. 

“Max was shot,” she explained as Cindy rushed to light more candles so they could see.  “Maxie, stay with me.” 

Max had started to feel cold, and her body reacted by trembling.  The initial numbness had worn off, and she was in so much pain she couldn’t tell where she was.  Shock wouldn’t be far behind.   

Original Cindy didn’t bother with pointless questions as she rushed over to the phone.  “She’s going to need a doctor.  We can’t risk anything because she’s pregnant.” 

Jondy nodded, sitting beside Max.  “Who are you calling?” 

OC didn’t respond to her.  “Logan?  Logan, it’s Cindy.  Max has been shot.  We’re over at my place.  Get your doctor friend and get your ass over here.  Now!” 

“No!” Max choked out in protest.  Meanwhile, Jondy attempted to check her wound.  The bullet was still in her and she was afraid of removing it. 

“What?  All right,” Cindy ignored Max and replied.  This was no time to let pride get in the way.  She hung up the phone and turned to Jondy.  “We’re gonna have to go to the hospital.” 

“No!” Max screamed again through the pain. 

“Max, think about the baby,” Jondy said in a soothing tone, brushing her hair back.  “Come on.  They’ll have to make sure it’s okay.  We can’t do that in Terminal City.” 

“Logan is on his way,” Cindy informed them.  “Get her downstairs.  I’ll put on some clothes and meet you there.  Girl, I’m sorry but there wasn’t nobody else I could call.” 

Max understood.  Logan was the least of her worries.  “Please let the baby be all right.” 

As Jondy helped Max to her feet, she wasn’t sure what to say.  How had so many things gone wrong so quickly?  The last time she had felt so helpless was when she thought Max died.  How could she have failed her again?  It was moments like these that Jondy would say a silent prayer to the Blue Lady.  Her prayers hadn’t always been answered, but having found Max and the others after all these years gave her hope that maybe someone up there had heard her. 

All she could do now was to wait for an answer.