Death's Shadow

Chapter 2

Maxxy let out a huff of air in annoyance, she was leaning against the wall of the gym with her arms crossed tightly against her chest. She watched as the commander and his soldiers were mobbed by cheerleaders and jocks. From Maxxy's position, 15 feet away, her poor eardrums were being assaulted by high pitched giggling and low chuckles. After ten minutes Maxxy was ready to just walk away and forget about the commander's request to talk with her. 

All of the sudden a group of 6 football players escaped the trap of cheerleaders and headed straight of Maxxy. She froze acting like a statue hoping that they would walk right passed her. To bad for her instead they created a tight half circle around her and the leader took a step forward to stare right at her face. Maxxy slowly stood up straight and faced the leader head on.

His name was Lincoln, he was the captain of the football team and her long time bully. He stood 6'2 with dark black hair and deep blue eyes, his skin was a dark tan that showcased an impressive set of muscles. Lincoln had never really liked Maxxy much, it could have been because she took his spot as the top of the class, or it could have been that he secretly liked her smug to much for his own comfort.

Lincoln glared at Maxxy and snapped, "How did you do it?"

Maxxy studied him with a small smirk while thinking to herself, I can never let him know how much he gets to me. Then she slowly questioned him, "What do you mean?"

That one question seemed to snap Lincoln's self control because he snarled and grabbed her throat thrusting her against the wall with a dull thud. He lifted her so only the very tips of her running shoes were touching the ground. Maxxy didn't even blink, her smirk stayed planted on her red lips and her deep brown eyes that were normally full of life and adventure,  stayed calm and dark. This seemed to make Lincoln even angrier because he spit out, "You know what I mean little nerd!"

Chuckling Maxxy brought up her hand to wipe her face and said, "Boy I couldn't understand a word you were saying when all your spit was flying at me."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back, Lincoln let out a short roar before slamming his fist into Maxxy's side. Somehow she didn't make a sound or even twitch. Her eyes stayed level with Lincoln's and her smirk stayed on her lips.

*****

"Commander!" 

Jason looked over his shoulder to see his second in commander Alex. Alex was a tall guy about 6'4 with dark hair and light green eyes, he was part native american giving him a strong bone structure and clear tan skin. Alex and Jason had been best friends since middle school, they had always been able to tell when the other was worried or angry, Alex was very very angry.

Jason searched the room looking for what would make Alex so angry, he saw a small group of a half dozen or so people standing 15 feet away from the rest of the group. What really caught his attention was the girl hang from her neck that was being pressed against the wall. Jason felt rage spark to life in his chest. Alex and Jason turned to each other but before either one could speak a loud roar came from the small group they spun and saw the group converging on the girl. Fist were flying like crazy and Jason lost sight of the girl as the whirlwind of limbs engulfed her.

Alex and Jason sprinted for the group. Jason's fist connected with one kid's jaw his other fist connected with another kid's stomach after a few seconds he stood behind the kid holding the girl up. Jason grabbed the kid by his shoulders and flung him out of the way. He dove to grab the girl before she hit the ground. He pulled her head into his lap and brushed the bronze hair out of her face. With the features of the girl unveiled Jason froze it was the same girl who had landed a hit on him earlier during the assembly. He studied her features for a moment, a prominent jaw and sharp nose gave her a commanding look and they captured his attention with a breathtaking beauty, her tan skin was clear and her hair laying in glossy waves around her head. He heard her take in a deep breathe then her eyes slowly opened. Jason was immediately sucked in by the deep brown of her eyes they were so dark they were almost black they were full of mystery and danger. 

Bam!

Maxxy had slammed her open palm into his nose and she rolled off his lap and onto the floor before jumping up and letting out a sharp breath of air.
Jason was stunned for a moment but when he looked up she had pulled up her army green t-shirt and he got a good look at a toned stomach with faint abs. Jason felt the air in his lungs make a quick exit as he saw the horrible bruises forming on her tan skin.

*****

Maxxy's eyes started filled with unshed tears but she snarled and refused to let them fall. She would not show weakness, not to Lincoln, not to anyone. Her eyes skimmed over the dark purple bruises,  she felt the back of her head where it had hit the wall a large bump was forming, last she slowly touched the bruises on her stomach and tested for cracked ribs. She smiled slightly when she realized that her ribs were all still intact. Once she had her tears under control she looked up at the man, Jason in front of her. The rage on his face made Maxxy take a quick step back. When he realized he scared her Jason smiled slightly and said, "I still don't know your name."

Maxxy chuckled and replied, "My name is Maxine Romano just call me Maxxy."

"Alright Maxxy, I have a really quick question . . . why did you just get pounded?" Jason asked.

"I did not get pounded." Maxxy defended, her eyes were calm and she dropped the shirt to recover her stomach, she stood close to the wall turning away from Jason she studied the room and its occupants.

"It looked a lot like you were getting pounded," Jason insisted

Maxxy turned to look in his eyes and she questioned, "How many boys were there?"

"Six."

"Six guys and one me, right?"

"Right."

"How many bruises?"

"I'm not sure?"

"Well let me tell you, there are four bruises on my stomach, two on my neck, and one on the back of my head, but there are over ten bruises forming on my arms."

"You stopped most of the punches?"

"Yes therefore I wouldn't call it being pounded." Maxxy concluded before turning to face the room again.

Jason chuckled before saying, "My original reason for wanting to talk to you is connected with something called the Prodigy Program."

Jason glanced at Maxxy she didn't move a muscle so he continued, "The Prodigy Program was started by five-star General Brooks when the Italian-American Alliance was first created. The idea of the program is to create a small unit of people as close to super soldiers as we can get them. The training starts when you are around 18 but in some cases, such as you, we will bring in kids younger or older. If you choose to enter the program you will be leaving everything behind, your family, your home, your friends. When your parents sign the release forms you become the property of the Italian-American government and we don't give up our assets easily."

Again he glanced at Maxxy she still hadn't moved but after a few seconds in a low voice she asked, "Where do I sign up?"  

*****

AN

Well that was intense. Tell me what you think! 

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