Title: Beautiful Goodbye
Part: 1
Author: Christine
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: Not mine....their owned by Katims, that lucky dog. The song is
Amanda Marshall's.
Summary: Max has a blast from the past....
Category: Max
Rating: PG
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fed up with my destiny
And this place of no return
Think I'll take another day
And slowly watch it burn
It doesn't really matter how the time goes by
Cause I still remember you and I
And that beautiful goodbye
The air stunk of death all around him. His people were dying, and he could
do nothing about it. He was their supposed leader, their savior, and he
couldn't save them.
His wife, Tess, was out in the city, trying to keep hope alive in the hearts
of the people. Isabel was with the other troop leaders in an underground
basement strategizing new attacks on the enemy. His best friend was in a meeting
with the Rebel Alliance council, trying to convince them that they needed to put
the Four Square on the front line. Though he was the leader, their government
worked much as a democracy. The council needed to agree with them on their
choices. The council wanted to wait longer before sending them out, but Michael
feared that they'd already waited much too long.
He stood by the window watching burning landscape. A feeling of hopelessness
washed over him. Some leader he'd turned out to be, he thought as he hung his
head low in shame.
Staggered through these empty streets
Laughing arm in arm
The night had made a mess of me
Your confession kept me warm
And I don't really miss you, I just need to know
Do you ever think of you and I
And that beautiful goodbye
"I have something to tell you," she said secretively to him as they walked down
the hall.
"What is it?" he looked at her, mildly curious.
"We've been granted permission to leave," she smiled slightly, her eyes gleaming
with anticipation for the fight. He felt his eyes tired eyes widen as his mouth
stretched into a smile. He lifted her in the air and swung her around. The way
she talked of their war, she kept it light, as to not induce more pressure on
him. She'd already sliced his burden in half and carried it on her own shoulders
though, and did it while still offering tender hope to their people. He set her
down gently, and took her face in his hands. She leaned up into him as his lips
touched her in a fiery kiss.
"It'll all be over soon, Max," she whispered, hugging him tightly. "You can stop
worrying about it, let me worry for you."
He pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head. "I love you."
When I see you now
I wonder how
I could've watched you walk away
If I let you down
Please forgive me now
For that beautiful goodbye
The following week the went out to battle. Unfortunately, Michael had been
right. The had waited far too long. The enemy had doubled in strength and
number; they were simply not strong enough to go on. Isabel went first. She had
been the weakest of all of them to begin with, what with her recent childbirth.
The enemy, sensing her weakness, had targeted her first. She was no match for
that much force. Michael was gone in the next instant. Seeing his wife dying, in
his anguish he'd lost his focus and stepped right into the enemy's path. Despite
his training, he'd allowed his emotions to get the best of him, one of his
biggest problems. He died instantly, his scorched body crumbling into a heap
next to Isabel's dying one. With a mirthless laugh, the enemy leader ordered his
troops on. As Max and Tess retreated into a small cave, leaving their troops to
fight the enemy. They needed to come up with a new attack, and fast. Their side
weren't going to last long, already 2/3 of their army had been captured and
enslaved.
"Tess," he cried. "Maybe it's not too late. We just need their bodies, and the
stones," he said urgently.
She shook her head solemnly, her tears coursing down her cheeks. "Oh, Max, you
know they're bodies were damaged beyond repair. It won't work," she whispered
sadly. "But we need to make a new plan of attack."
"What's the use," he spit out bitterly. She looked appalled by his venom.
"We can't mourn our loss just yet. We need to fight the enemy and succeed. For
them," she said gently.
"Let's just stay here for a while," he pleaded. He burrowed his face into the
niche between her neck and shoulder, inhaling her scent. She held him tightly
rocking back and forth, then pulled away.
"Max, you know what we have to do," she stared at him levelly.
"Go ahead without me, I'll be out soon," he shooed her on. She walked away
toward the mouth of the cave, turning back to look at him over her shoulder. As
she approached the cave opening, a buzzing whistle rang out in the air, and the
sky around them exploded. Tess was thrown back into the cave past Max,
screaming.
"Tess? Tess?!?" he shook her gently, fighting back sobs. Her eyes fluttered
open.
"Max?" she whispered.
"You''re alright. You're gonna be alright," he trembled, placing a soft kiss on
her forehead. She smiled weakly in return, but this time her smile held no hope.
"I love you," he cried, his tears falling into her hair and on her face.
"I...I love you, too," last words said, her head lolled back as her body
shuddered with her last breath.
Another buzzing whistle was heard as the cave exploded.
************************************************************
In these days of no regrets
I keep mine to myself
And all the things we never said
I can say for someone else
Cause nothing lasts forever, but we always try
And I just can't help but wonder why
We let it pass us by
Max woke up in a cold sweat. He'd just had a memory of his last life.
Apparently, it had been his last memory from his life. His cheeks were wet with
tears that he angrily brushed away. He swung his legs off the side of the bed
and padded down the hall to Isabel's room. He opened the door and peeked in,
relieved to see her asleep and well. He did a double take though when he noticed
another figure lying in the bed with her. Michael. Horrified, but not too
surprised after the way they'd been acting the past few months, he closed the
door quietly and went back to his room. Quickly dressing himself, he climbed out
the window into his yard.
He walked around his block several times before deciding where to go. He
soon was knocking on her door though, and after a few minutes of patiently
knocking and tossing pebbles at her window, she answered, groggy with sleep.
"Can I come in?" he asked, bouncing on his heels.
"Yeah, sure Max," she waved him in, confused.
"What are you doing here?" she settled herself down onto the loveseat next to
the sofa where he sat.
"I had a vision. A flashback, from my last life," he said nervously.
"Ohmygod, Max," she touched his arm gently, "what happened?"
He jerked away from her touch. "It was my last moments."
Tess leaned back into the chair. "I'm so sorry Max. Do you wanna talk about it?"
He could feel the tears forming at the edge of his eyes. He clasped his hands
behind his neck and leaned forward, his head between his knees, tortured. "Oh
god, oh my god."
"Max? What is it? It's alright, you can tell me," she coaxed him.
Suddenly he grabbed her hand. She was startled by the act of his hand over hers.
"You died," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "You died in my arms." He
broke down crying. She moved from the loveseat, and next to him on the sofa.
Wrapping her arms around the him, she held him tightly, rocking back and forth.
He turned to her, crying into her hair and holding her close.
"Shhhhh, it's alright, Max. I'm okay. We're alright, shhh," her voice soothed
him and gradually, his sobs stopped. Still they sat there in each others embrace
until the early morning sun started peeping through the blinds.
When I see you now
I wonder how
I could've watched you walk away
If I let you down
Please forgive me now
For that beautiful goodbye.
Later that day at school, Max saw Tess at the end of the hall. He stood in the
middle of the hallway staring at her. When she looked up and saw him, she gave
him an encouraging smile and a small wave. He felt a little better and was about
to walk over to her when he heard a voice.
"Who are you looking at?" Liz appeared at his side out of nowhere. She looked up
at him expectantly.
"What? Oh, nobody," he answered, his arm circling her waist, leading her in the
opposite direction. He tried to hide his regretful expression as he looked over
his shoulder and mouthed "Thank you" to her.
Tess smiled in response. From a distance, her smile looked genuine, but her eyes
filled with hopelessness as she turned away and walked to class.
The End