Being Human

Chapter 3

Driving home Max tried prolong what would must likely be her last minutes of relaxation for the next four days.  Four days was the standard expulsion length for harming another student.  Max sighed.  The problem wasn’t that her superiors would be disappointed in her for the expulsion.  No, quite the opposite actually, they would be overjoyed at a chance to “properly train” her full-time for the next six days (including the weekend).

Sadly, the car ride came to an end and Max trudged into the building dreading the worst.  She headed towards the superiors office where she would receive her nightly training routine. 

Entering Mr. George’s office, her head superior, Max saw he was already smiling.  So he knew.  Good, she didn’t want to have to be the one to say it.  Although knowing Mr. George, he would wait for her to break the news. 

Plopping down in the small metal chair seated in front of his desk Max looked at the man.  He was a boring man, there was no other way to put it.  If you melded every middle-aged man in the United States and took the most common attributes you would get this guy.  The picture of average.  But, at the same time this almost made him frightening, almost mechanical in his design.  Someone could not be this average by accident.  The most interesting thing about him was having a last name that could also double as a first name.  When Max was younger she used to be endlessly amused by this.  She would pretend to herself that she was on a first name basis with him, and would tease him about it relentlessly.  “You must not really be a superior,” she would mock, “I can call you by your first name.”  Max had a childhood deprived of many things being in such intensive training.  She had to find humor in whatever she could. 

“So, did anything or importance occur in school today,” Mr. George asked raising his eyebrows in mock curiousity, gauging her reaction.

“I received an expulsion of four days,” Max said strongly.  She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing how much it killed her to know she had failed herself again.

 “Oh,” gasped Mr.George, feigning surprise,” and what would be the cause of such a suspension.”  I snapped a kids arm.”  This time Max mumbled, it really did pain her to admit it.

 “Well, that is unfortunate, but at least with this lapse in school you may be able to catch up on your training.”  Though he continued to look upset his eyes gave him away by smiling.  He handed her a spreadsheet.  “I have taken the liberty of putting together a little regimen for the next six days for you.”  He smiled

A half hour later Max found herself in the intensive training course.  On her back an electric shock ready to deliver 500 V (the maximum voltage without causing any permanent harm) if she did not reach the deactivator in time.  She had two hours to reach the deactivator which was located at the top of a steep rock wall that would have to be scaled.  Max was given a map and a knife.  The rock wall was situated approximately ten miles away, which would have been relatively simple had it not been for the dense foliage that separated Max from the deactivator.  Max sighed and got to work. 

She began at a light jog, dodging roots and tree branches, slicing though stray vines that got in her way.   Every so often a creature would cross her path. Max continued on until she reached a clearing.  Something felt off here.  The hairs on the back of Max’s neck stood on end in anticipation.    Lying in the clearing was a boy of about twelve from the looks of his small frame.  He had his back to her. Confused but wary Max cautiously made her way towards the boy.  Her superiors were notorious for providing confusing obstacles in the intensive training drills. 

Growing closer to the boy, until she was standing right behind him, Max became aware of a thick red substance seeping from the boy.  Suddenly it struck her, blood.  There was blood pulsing the boy’s side.  He was using his hands to try and hold it in but the effort was futile.  Max’s pulse quickened.  The blood made her fingers tingle, but not in a bad way.   She had a sudden desire to finish him off.  Max tried to clear her head, horrified at herself, but was unable.  Red clouded her vision and though her feet urged her to move towards the figure she fought it.  Her legs trembled and her brain seemed to be straining against itself, pounding.  And then it was over as soon as it had begun.  Her vision unclouded and she was released from whatever trance had overcome her.  Beads of sweat still slid down her face from the episode.  Her legs trembled. 

At this point she had been standing behind the boy for nearly ten seconds.  She looked down to find him staring straight at her.  There was something absent in his expression.  Then Max realized what it was, pain.  Too late her trained eye noticed the minute differences in the boy from one who was truly injured.  Her eye zoomed and saw the tiny particles of foundation that lightened his skin palor giving the appearance of blood loss.  The blood itself was of a thicker substance than that of true blood and where the wound started the blood should have been darker but rather remained the same color throughout. This had all been staged.

In an instant Max was aware the boy had unsheathed a knife.  With no hesitation he sent it plunging towards her.  In normal time it would have been near impossible to stop.  Max was not normal.  Time slowed down for her, the knife no longer a threatening weapon, but rather a target easily grabbed.  She snatched it by the handle before it could connect with her flesh.  She watched as the boy’s expression morphed from one of superiority at having tricked her, to one of surprise at finding himself suddenly empty-handed.  Max smiled.  In an instant she hooked her arm around his neck in a headlock.  Not wanting to risk him owning any more harmful weapons, yet now that her pain delirium had subsided, not wanting to hurt him either, she settled for pushing his pressure point until he passed out.  Satisfied she had him subdued she continued on her run. 

  As she began to jog, still struggling to cut through the foliage now branding two knives, red clouded her vision once again, but this time not from one of her episodes , but rather from pure anger.  How dare they bring an innocent boy into her training! They knew how dangerous she was, yet they forced a poor twelve year old to attack her.  It was inhumane and sick.  Angry thoughts continued to buzz around her head like little flies.  In a trance she continued her run

Finally she came upon the large slab of rock.  It was hard to miss being around a hundred feet tall.  Max sighed with relief.  Soon she would be able to disable the shock bomb on her back and give her superiors a piece of her mind.  Taking the knife in hand she looped a rope they had lefgt for her at the base of the rock around it and thrust it upward.  With any normal knife it would not have stuck, but this blade was engineered to be extrmely sharp and durable, perfect for using as an anchor on the rock.

Once the knife had stuck she began to scale rock.  It was a monotonous task scaling rocks.  Max had done it many times and had no fear of falling.  She never messed up.

Once at the top Max snatched the deactivator and stuck it into the electrical bomb.  The straps automatically released her.  As far as intensive training courses went this one had been relatively easy.  All but that of the boy.  It didn’t make sense.  The boy had not been a challenge, they knew she could easily take on ten men in hand to hand combat.  There was no chance of her losing.  They knew as well that the fake blood could not fool her for long.  Her eyes was trained to pick out details.  So what had been its purpose?

Max stormed into Mr. George’s office.  Seeing the serene expression on his face she was no longer merely angry, she was livid.

 “Oh hello Max, how was your intensive training?” He asked. 

“As if you don’t already know, its not like you don’t watch the tapes.  You sent an innocent boy into combat that could have very well ended fatally considering there were knives involved.  All for a training exercise.  I guess he’s just disposable to you?  Well I have a news flash for you buddy, people are not just papers cups.  You can just use one and throw it out when your done. And if you think you’ve gotten away with this you have another think coming –“ Max was abrubtly yanked backwards and thrown over someone’s shoulder.  “Hey I’m not- oh hey John.”  Max was surprised to see it was the twenty-year old spy who had her slung over his back.  Her initial surprise morphed into anger when she realized that she had been interrupted, and that she was being man-handled.  She hated  both of these things.  “In case you didn’t notice in that little self-centered brain of yours I was in the middle of a conversation there and it would be in the interest of your health to let me down.” 

“You know you really should have been born a red-head,” john stated.  Max’s anger was momentarily diffused by confusion.  “Um, why?” “Because your so hot-tempered, I mean sheesh you don’t even let a guy explain himself.”  “O really,”Max countered “I am very curious to hear your explanation.”  John allowed himself a smug look, knowing what he was about to say would effectively shut Max up.  “We’re going to the bar.”