The Hands Of Fate

Chapter 1

Waking up in a random alleyway was not how Max wanted to spend his morning. Max laid with his back on the nasty concrete ground, staring at the sky above him. He blinked a few times, scrunching his face as he adjusted to the brightness of the sun. Overcome with a wave of exhaustion he tried to conserve his energy. As the rest of his body woke up, so did his mind... and his memories of the night before. He spent the past two months captured by Rodissius, being used as an experiment. He couldn't remember much of the details of his capture, just the pain. The taste of bile began crawling up his throat so Max launched himself sideways and threw up behind the dumpster next to him.

Right.

Alley.

His team were made up the most loyal fuckers in the world. It was a blessing and a curse, when Max first joined the team he was put off by how much they valued his opinion. Unfortunately most of their missions ended in a few wrong turns - case in point wherever the fuck Skylar sent him in her portal. Max bit back a curse when he tried to stand and the world spun around him. He slid back down against the brick wall and regained his bearings the best he could. "Toto we're not in Centium anymore," Max mumbled as he looked down the alley. Sad as it was, the first thing that tipped him off was the clear sky.

Pizza, Max thought with a grumbling stomach. He couldn't remember the last time he ate something. Rodisiuss didn't exactly offer him five course meals. Max focused his strength and used the wall for support as he pushed himself up. He let out a hiss and grabbed his right arm with his left hand. The burns were still healing. He was ninety percent sure the slice across his face was still healing too. The promise of food kept him going enough to get out of the alley but once he turned the corner his resolve crumpled. He tripped over a curb and hit the ground, cutting his hands on the sidewalk. Some people walked by him so Max reached out a hand, grabbing at their pants. " - I told you Jasper. We're not telling Ray about it - can you let go of my leg?" The guy asked, stopping to look down at him. Max leaned back against the pizzeria trash can and looked up at him. Something about the blond hair was... familiar.

"Henry, don't be rude. He looks like he's been through hell," the girl scolded. She knelt at Max's side and gently placed a hand to his forehead. "My name's Charlotte, who are you?" Charlotte asked. Henry knelt next to her, the third person with them pulled out his phone to call someone. Max wasn't paying too much attention to any of them if he was being honest.

"Hey kid," Henry patted Max's cheek to wake him up. Max peeled open his eyes to a sliver, looking at the blurry shapes of people in front of him. "We can get you to the hospital or something. It's not safe to be out in Dystopia this late." Max inhaled a shaky breath and shook his head at the mention of a hospital. "You look like hell warmed over, where else are we supposed to take you?" Henry asked. Max knew exactly what they were doing - tag teaming. Henry was trying to keep him awake while Charlotte checked over his injuries. Max let out a hiss in pain when Charlotte ran her finger across bruising on his arm.

"We can't just leave him," Charlotte said. The hands stopped touching him and Max relaxed a little bit more. He had to find a way back to Centium. The others were probably worried out of their minds. "We have to take him with us." Someone tried to protest that idea but Max couldn't care enough to stay focused anymore. He was tired, hurting, and hungry. They had pizza. That was enough for Max to trust them for now. If they wanted to hurt him they would've done it already. Unless of course they were just faking and are going to turn on him later.

"Hey you," Henry said, patting Max's cheek. "You gotta stay awake man. You probably have a concussion." Max tried to open his eyes again but he just couldn't. Sleep was so promising, an escape - peace. Max really did try, but inevitably exhaustion won him over, lulling him into a deep sleep.