Cut Yourself Free

Teeth

Today was one of the first days in a long time where Max got to sit at home and relax. At first, she was against it, thinking that she'd be missing out. But in actuality, nothing was going on at the Hackerspace. There was no grand scheme that Sitara cooked up or some odd mission Wrench needed volunteers for. Today, everyone except for Josh was at their own homes. It was no surprise that he was there. After all, he doesn't really do anything outside of coding.

Max decided it would be a good idea to visit him, mostly because she liked keeping him company. Even if they didn't really talk to each other when they were in the other's company. But that was the joy of hanging out with each other. They didn't need to speak. The silence was comfortable.

She grabbed her satchel and laptop, checking her apartment to make sure she didn't miss anything before heading out. The streetlamps and traffic lights illuminated the streets. People were still walking around outside despite it being almost nine at night. She took out her phone and started profiling people for fun, reading all the information she could on the strangers that passed by. Foot fetishist, porn addict, recently passed bar exam, art major, there was no limit to what she could find on these people. That's why the profiler was so fun to use.

As she got closer to Hackerspace, she decided to see what Josh was up to. She hacked into the cams inside the base and looked around, seeing no one at Josh's spot. His backpack was there, but he wasn't. Weird. She decided to check the area outside GG&G, and noticed a black van in the alleyway and some masked individuals struggling to hold down a man in a green jacket. Max immediately recognized them as Josh and sprinted towards the base, running past crowds of people in a panic. She looked down at her phone, seeing Josh slowly get overpowered.

Thinking quickly, she decided to control the van, making it speed forward out the alley. Then, she made the dim light in the alleyway flicker on and off before having it blink a message in morse code, reading "OMW". She was wondering how the hell he was getting kidnapped in such a populated area. Once she made her way to the park, she realized why. There were police blockades blocking all the roads leading into the park. There was a crowd trying to ask what had happened. Taking advantage of the distraction, she climbed up and nearby building and jumped from roof to roof. Her mind was panicking. She needed Josh with her.

Needed? I need him?

Her knees nearly slammed into the edge of the roof. She caught herself quickly before falling and pulled herself up. She didn't feel like she needed him, but she wanted him. But there was another thought in her mind. 

I want him to be mine, and mine only.

I'll kill anyone who hurts him.

Max shook her head furiously before jumping to the roof across. These thoughts she was having were similar to the people she hated. She was becoming possessive of Josh, and the more she denied it, the stronger those thoughts became. She felt like the people kidnapping Josh needed to pay with their life, but she couldn't kill them. People deserved to be hurt, but they didn't deserve to have their life taken from them, right?

She could see the flickering light and the sound of a struggle not too far away. She pulled out two long metal rods from her backpack with her right hand and jumped down to the alleyway below, landing right in top of the mask figure holding Josh. One tried to approach her, but was kicked away in an instant. She connected the rods to make a bo staff, pointing it towards the kidnappers. She looked to Josh, and could see the blood pouring out from under the bag over his head. The bag was moving with his breathing, although it was uneven and shaky. She angrily looked towards the assailants with deadly intent. Whoever hurt him would pay.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked lowly, twirling the staff in anticipation for an attack. No one made a move. They just watched her. Then, one pulled off their mask, and her heart dropped.