** Sidenote, the character and concept of Maximum and her world is not mine. This was done as part of an art trade on DeviantArt. The character and back-story belong to Queen-Tara. Human characters including Elizabeth and Sebastian Chase Matthews as well as the anonymous wolves belong to me **It All Comes Down to Time
A “Maximum” Short Story
Maximum was cautious, but that was because she was professional. Her steps were laden with care, her ears perked as her eyes scanned her surroundings. The constant reassuring hum of her mind wire buzzed in her ear, reminding her of one stable connection to civilization. Besides the mind wire, she was isolated. Maximum couldn’t say she entirely minded this, nor did it cause her any distress. She was accustomed to solitude, often yearned for and reveled in it. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment as she breathed in. The surrounding scents rushed to her, each registering to be stored away for later use.
And that was it, her task had begun. Her eyes reopened, the mismatched green and red orbs shining out of their sockets eerily. There weren’t many, in neither the animal kingdom nor mankind, who wished to or would dare meet that mutant gaze. Maximum picked up speed, her thickly muscled legs propelling her forward. The varying shades of green, scents of pine and cedar, flashed past her in a blur as she sped over the bracken ground. She gritted her teeth ever so slightly, growling under her breath.
Observation and retrieval, those are my orders. Why else would she be where she was now, deep in the woods far forsaken of any kind of sensible civilization?
Maximum halted suddenly, her claws spraying clumps of mud and fallen leaves. Her heart still beat at a leisurely pace, unbothered by the rigorous activity that would have left others panting and sweating. Then again, no human or animal could match her. She was created for that purpose and that purpose alone, to be a perfect weapon. She had the intelligence of the human mind, and the structure of a wolf with the cold lethal ferocity of a machine. She was designed for obedience, and obedient she was. Maximum lowered her head, sniffing at the ground. She had been given the scent of the man she was to hunt – a special case. Maximum nodded to herself with the smallest of toothy grins, she had the trail. She recited the criminal file as she ran, drilling the details into her mind. She wanted to remind herself why she was doing what she was, what her purpose was, why death was deserved. Her limbs moved of their own accord, carrying her over the scent trail. Her memory was flawless, bringing up a photographic image of the pages in the confidential file.
Name: Matthews, Sebastian Chase
Age: Twenty-Eight
Date of Birth: January 14th, 1983
Height: 6ft, 4in
Weight: app. 250 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Aliases: Jonathan Willis, Donatello Damascus, Bryce McCarthy And those were just the most inconsequential of details. With the intelligence level humans – and Maximum – possessed, she was never sure why they included such trivial information. For some, such information as hair or eye color, all appearance related, were important. That was for those who couldn’t identify by scent or detect frequency in pitch of voice for recognition, for those who were not wolf-hybrid lab created creatures. Abnormal senses and intelligence levels came in useful for Maximum, on a daily basis in fact. She mentally flipped the page, coming to family relations.
Mother: Anna Marie Matthews, deceased 2000, formerly Farren
Father: David Joseph Matthews, deceased 2000
Wife: Morgan Jane Damascus, married under alias, deceased 2009, formerly Thomas It was uncommonly short. Most familial relations included beloved aunts and uncles, grandparents, childhood friends, one case had listed all the pets some psychopath had kept. This guy, well he kept it simple didn’t he? Maximum was grateful. While official, the Government had a tendency to include so much unnecessary pages in files. Were the psychopath’s pets entertaining? Remotely. Was the information essential in tracking down and bringing in the psychopath? No. Maximum usually just skipped right to the history, the parts that held all the hints and tips.
Born in Seattle, Washington to a David and Anna Matthews, Sebastian is an only child. He began showing signs of psychiatric imbalance at the age of ten that manifested at a steady and alarming rate. He developed extreme paranoia, delusions and violent obsessive compulsive behavior ….
Again, always just a little too much detail. Maximum didn’t have time to read autobiographies on the people she was hunting. She had time for basics, necessities and getting the job done. She was continually puzzled over why simple bullet points could not be used. Would it not be simpler to jot down the most important points, to be briefed on at a later time?
…..He went to the police on three separate occasions with claims of kidnapping and murder, convinced that he was being lied to. He had reached a level of instability that proved unsafe, prompting visits to therapists and recommendations for institutional stays. Sebastian’s paranoia reached critical levels, leading to a violent break with reality. After being informed that he would receive more hourly psychiatric care, he seized a common kitchen knife and brutally stabbed both David and Anna Matthews. He later gouged out their eyes – it is assumed he felt paranoid about them following or watching his later movements. He then fled the premises and the state, aged seventeen. It is estimated David and Anna were each stabbed approximately seven times with great force….. It was disgusting, revolting, something that set weak stomachs churning. Yet, Maximum couldn’t help but acknowledge the brutality and strength – physically if not mentally – of the man she faced. To have stabbed each victim seven times, fourteen in total, while preventing either from escaping or incapacitating him was a feat indeed. Fear made people strong, made them desperate. This man, Sebastian, he was desperate yet he was calculative within his insanity. No word was meaningless, no action without serving a purpose. He was a planner, obsessive and meticulous. This he had shown.
….Sebastian Chase Matthews seemingly vanished from all public face, despite massive manhunts and investigations. He resurfaced nine years later, living under the name Donatello Damascus and residing in Colorado. He married Morgan Jane Damascus – then Morgan Jane Thomas – at the age of twenty-six. They were married inconspicuously for eight months, Sebastian eluding detection by local police. Donatello, having married Morgan for the purpose of blending in, soon grew distinctly distrustful of his wife. In a manner such as the murders of his parents nine years earlier, he stabbed Morgan seven times and gouged out her eyes. Having learned from previous experience, he stored his wife’s body away, carefully cleaning and hiding evidence. With as much nonchalance as he possessed, Donatello Damascus/ Sebastian Chase Matthews withdrew the money from his bank account, fueled his minivan and vanished once more. Morgan’s body was found approximately nine days later after she failed to call in sick for work or answer the door…. Three stab victims by the age of twenty-six. It was an impressive record, for a human of course. Twenty-six then, twenty-eight now, so about four years dog wise. Maximum smiled a slow cold smile. She had eclipsed that record, eclipsed all records in fact. She didn’t even do it because of mental issues, she did it because it was her job. It was what she was made for. Hunt down the terrorists. Sebastian Chase Matthews, he was a bad guy sure, but he wasn’t a terrorist. He was a sort of special case for Maximum. She continued reviewing the case file.
…Sebastian Chase Matthews/ Donatello Damascus again vanished from public views. Now a wanted criminal on the FBI’s list, all United States citizens were instructed to be wary. Posters and photos were passed around, yet there was no sign of the young man. Morgan Jane Damascus’ family offered a high reward for any information on their daughter’s murderer… Maximum hated rewards. They drove her insane. No one really gave information to help the family, it was all for the money. If they didn’t have information, they just made it up. They gave some grieving family a reason to hope for justice and walked away with money. It was disgusting, absolutely abhorrent. Yet, there it happened again and again. Maximum rolled her eyes when she saw posters on lamp poles. “Missing Cat – Please Call ### ### #### - $$$ reward”. A cat, money for a cat? It was ridiculous. Just buy a new cat. As for people, well a better offer might be this “Give us information on the killer so your kid isn’t stabbed and stuffed in a closet.” That sounded much more convincing in Maximum’s opinion.
….Sebastian Chase Matthews/Donatello Damascus finally resurfaced this time as Jonathan Willis. Jonathan Willis took a job at a local high school as a janitor. He worked there uneventfully for six months, having put on a significant amount of weight and shaved himself bald as a disguise. He went unnoticed. However, his paranoia began to rise as he picked out students from the school who resembled his deceased parents and wife. It is believed that his delusional mind convinced himself that they had returned to stalk him. An alarm went up immediately when Jonathan Willis, a high school freshman and two seniors vanished. He had taken two girls and a boy, each vaguely resembling his past victims. The bodies were found in dumpsters behind the school, each with the seven stab wounds and a bloody knife. The DNA was matched to Sebastian Chase Matthews/Donatello Damascus/ Jonathan Willis…. The rest went on in a pattern as such. He vanished for a few months, gained weight or lost weight, grew hair or shaved it off, bought fake glasses or some such other disguise. Then he came back, always blending right in with the community; a janitor, a teacher’s assistant, a cable man. They were all so innocent. Then people started looking familiar to him again. It always had to be in threes. A girl and a boy of the same age who represented his parents, then a girl significantly younger than the other two who represented his wife, they would all vanish. He tended to target younger people, seeing them as “reincarnations”. Therapists reasoned that his mind saw them as easier targets but twisted it into something his deluded mind could reason out as justified. They were always stabbed, each victim seven times. The bodies were dumped carelessly with the weapon. Then he vanished.
With all the DNA technology, the electronic trails, the pattern, one would think this guy would have been caught by now. But he hadn’t been, he was still on the run. All total, he had been credited with twelve murders, all in sets of three. If Maximum failed this assignment, his tally would raise to fifteen. Maximum growled under her breath. She didn’t tolerate failure. She never had. She increased her pace, not missing a beat even as startled robin’s cried and fled towards the sky or an angry squirrel chattered from a far up branch. The sounds of the forest, however unfamiliar to her, were not her concern. Her concern was Sebastian Chase Matthews. She skipped the rest of the file, not needing the bloody details of his twelve murders or the psychological reports. She went instead to her briefing, and why she was even here.
“This man is top priority. We’re talking highest security clearances.” Maximum didn’t know the name of the man she spoke to, but the superiority in his voice and the cost of his suit were enough to indicate he was important.
“What I need to know is why. I hunt terrorists. This man is a serial killer.” The suited man didn’t flinch, though most people usually took a minute to adjust to hearing English or Spanish or some other language coming fluently from the lips of a giant wolf-dog hybrid.
“It’s not who he is that concerns you. It’s who he’s taken.” Maximum’s ears perked with interest as the suited man continued. “Vice President Thompson has a nineteen year old daughter,” the suited man paused and held up a picture. Maximum peered at it. A smiling girl with dirty blonde hair was waving at the camera. “Elizabeth Nadine Thompson, she was taken from her apartment approximately eighteen hours ago.” The suited man laid the picture on the table and slid it across to Maximum. Maximum stared at it, committing the face to memory.
“And this is why I’m involved.” The suited man pressed his finger tips together, nodding. He opened a file, the file on Sebastian Chase Matthews which Maximum had already gone over in detail. He tapped the file in a business-like manner.
“Sebastian Chase Matthews was interrupted in his process, from what we understand Elizabeth and his other two captives are still alive. We were able to get a GPS reading on Elizabeth’s cell phone for a while, but lost the signal. He appears to have taken them to a secluded area in Brackner’s National Park.” The suited man glanced at his wrist watch, scowling. His eyes were solemn. “Mr. Matthews will want to get to somewhere he feels secure, most likely a cabin or some sort of small building. We estimate you have approximately six hours before those three people, including our young Miss. Thompson, will be dead.” He stood, apparently finished briefing Maximum. He nodded to her, clasping his hands behind his back. “We’ve authorized and requested the use of immediate lethal force.” Maximum nodded silently. Maximum wasn’t exactly sure how much time she had left. She would have estimated about four hours. Her time was running out, and so was Elizabeth’s. Maximum spurred on, Sebastian Chase Matthews’ scent was growing stronger, as well as the scents of his three captives. She wrinkled her nose with distaste. The sharp tang of their fear was overpowering. Her mind-wire buzzed in her ear, her partner’s clear voice ringing into her ear.
“You have four hours and counting Maximum. Satellite images have located a small structure approximately twelve miles southwest of your current position. This is the believed destination.” The buzzing stopped as her partner’s voice melted away. Blunt and to the point as always, she had no need for salutations and conversation. She adjusted her course, urging her muscles to a new speed. Her blood pumped and a slow smile spread on Maximum’s muzzle as she felt the rush of adrenaline in her veins. Earth passed beneath her paws at an incredible pace. Her hybrid legs stretched over massive amounts, giving her a speed unmatched by a racing greyhound. Twelve miles, she would make it.
Maximum sprung over a fallen tree-trunk, soaring above and landing with a graceful thud on all fours. She didn’t even pause, never looking behind her. She twitched her ears every so often as various forest creatures fled from her path. They were right to flee. She had been taught from the very beginning, interruptions were threats to be eliminated. Nothing mattered but the job. Maximum paused ever so slightly as she crossed a boundary, not a human boundary. She had entered the territory of a wolf pack. Her sensitive nose picked up the scent markings. Maximum flicked her ears, pausing for a brief moment of thought. Should the wolf pack become territorial they would slow her down, but going through their territory was the fastest route to her target. Maximum narrowed her eyes and spurred herself into motion. The wolves would just have to deal with her.
She couldn’t consider herself one of them, but they shared similar blood. Her wolf blood was easily visible in her size and build. No wolf would ever mistake her for one of them, but in a way they were a distant family to her. Maximum was not a sentimental being; she had no need for family or community. The thought merely intrigued her. Her ears flicked, picking up muted snarls and growls from the bushes. The pack had found her and they were not pleased, however they seemed to have the good sense not to disturb her. Instead they stayed hidden, running alongside her. She could feel their watchful gazes on her pelt. They didn’t trust her, and well they shouldn’t. The growls and distinct yips and barks comprised a language for the pack. She could hear them communicating with each other. For the first time, Maximum found herself at a slight disadvantage. She was fluent in English and Spanish among other human languages – yet she spoke nothing of the languages native to the blood that comprised her. She could watch body language, but it would never be the intricate communication that it was for this pack and all others. Yips were yips, growls were growls.
Maximum shook her head, banishing the thoughts. They were immaterial to her mission. The wolves were relaxing, falling behind. Maximum reasoned she must be reaching the edges of their territory. Where she had been being followed by at least seven pack members, she could now detect only one lone female. Maximum saw flashes of her cream and bracken fur through the bushes. She was petite in size, but had a grace and agility. She held her head high, her eyes filled with tranquility. Maximum reasoned this was their dominant female, guiding an intruder out of her land. Maximum felt a tingle of respect for the she-wolf as Maximum crossed the boundary. The cream and bracken she-wolf stepped from the bushes, watching silently as Maximum continued to run towards her destination. Silently, the she-wolf turned and vanished back inside her territory, returning to a pack she had once again defended.
“Maximum, you have two hours and counting. We estimate you are roughly three miles east of your destination. I assume there is no need to remind you of the urgency of your present assignment.” There was a note of irritation in Maximum’s partner’s voice as he buzzed over her mind-wire. Maximum ground her teeth, growling wordlessly under her breath. She needed no reminding of the importance of her mission. The mind-wire hummed as her partner vanished again. Maximum pushed herself to the fullest, breathing hard as her muscles caught fire. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her brow and she shook it off angrily.
The scents were strong, filling her nostrils and wrapping around her consciousness. They were so close, so achingly close. Maximum’s paws skimmed the ground as time ticked by. The building loomed out of the trees in front of her, a small wooden shack. It looked abandoned, though apparently Sebastian Chase Matthews had found use of it. Just as she reached the door, the metallic odor of fresh blood hit her. An ear piercing female scream echoed out form the confines of the shack. Maximum’s heart plummeted.
Too late.
Maximum threw herself against the door, bursting into the cabin. The gruesome scene that greeted her made her stomach churn. Sebastian Chase Matthews – or the man she assumed to be him – was standing over the body of a fallen woman. Maximum’s heart leapt, but calmed as he realized the woman had a cascade of raven black hair. Another body lay beside that of the woman, a man of similar age. Blood pooled around his chest. Maximum looked to the corner, finally finding Elizabeth Thompson.
She was bound and gagged though torrents of tears poured down her cheeks. Her dirty blonde hair – so perfectly straightened and maintained in her photo – was rumpled and matted. She was screaming against her gag, writhing in a desperate attempt to escape the tight ropes that held her captive. Maximum looked back to Sebastian Chase Matthews who had whirled. He was staring at her in confusion, the bloody knife held tightly in his grasp. Maximum didn’t have to count to know each of his fallen victims would have seven fatal stab wounds. Sebastian wrinkled his brow, while Maximum took an opportunity to asses him. He was thin, but possessed sinewy muscles. He had curled red hair and a smattering of freckles. He appeared very different from previous photos and descriptions. He shook his head, looking Maximum up and down.
“What the hell?” For some reason which Maximum could not fathom, this man did not fear her. Though Maximum could not begin to fathom what he saw when he looked at her. Perhaps his delusional mind had twisted her appearance into something slightly more…welcoming.
“Drop your weapon Mr. Matthews. I have been authorized to use immediate lethal force.” Sebastian didn’t drop his weapon, he just looked her up and down. Elizabeth had stopped screaming, staring wide eyed and fearful at Maximum.
“How come I understand you?” Maximum rolled her eyes. She found this routine tiring. She had a job. She took a threatening step forward, the porcupine like spines on her neck raising aggressively. Her eyes narrowed and she curled her lip, showing her deadly ivory canines. Maximum considered responding, but the words of the suited man echoed in her ears.
“We’ve authorized and requested the use of immediate lethal force.” She couldn’t ignore a direct request; it was as good as an order. No matter if Sebastian dropped his weapon, released Elizabeth and surrendered himself – his death was imminent. With a wordless snarl, Maximum bunched her muscles. She leapt for Sebastian. He stepped back, shouting and lifting his arms to shield himself with the knife still in hand. Maximum hit him like a brick, tackling Sebastian to the ground. She sunk her teeth in where she could, feeling satisfaction at his accompanying cries of pain. However, Sebastian overcame his surprise. With a furious shout, he began slashing at Maximum with the knife, whatever areas of her body he could reach. Maximum leapt back out of his range, gritting her teeth at the fiery pain where he had sliced her. She healed quickly, but it didn’t keep her from feeling pain.
Sebastian stood shakily, breathing hard and bleeding profusely. His eyes were crazed and maniacal. He looked between Maximum and Elizabeth, his lips curving upwards into something resembling a victorious grin. He lunged for Elizabeth, knife outstretch. Maximum sprang simultaneously, knocking into Sebastian’s side and away from Elizabeth. She heard the cracking sound of breaking ribs as he crumpled in a heap on the floor. The knife fell from his hands, clattering on the wood floorboards. Maximum stood over Sebastian, chest heaving from exertion. Her eyes were dark. Without any traces of regret or remorse, she bent her head and sank her teeth deep into his neck. Sebastian struggled for a moment, emitting a strangled gurgling cry before going still. Blood trickled from his open mouth as Maximum stepped away from his body. She panted, turning to Elizabeth.
The young girl was huddled against the wall, shivering with fear. She was sobbing once more, cowering away from Maximum. Maximum paused, not wishing to frighten the young girl too badly. She swiped her tongue around her lips in an attempt to remove the blood quickly staining her fur. She sat, curling her tail around her paws.
“I am here to save you.” Elizabeth looked Maximum up and down, still shaking. She nodded carefully, unable to speak because of her gag. Maximum stood slowly, walking towards Elizabeth. “I’m not going to hurt you.” She approached Elizabeth, bending her head. She carefully secured her teeth around the ropes binding Elizabeth’s hands together. She snapped them in her powerful jaws, releasing Elizabeth and stepping away. Elizabeth rubbed her wrists, wincing in pain as she untied her ankles and undid her gag. Elizabeth stood on shaking legs, leaning on the walls for support.
“What…what are you?” Elizabeth’s words were stammered, quiet and broken as she choked on sobs she wasn’t yet able to control. Maximum breathed in, preparing to go into the spiel about being a lab creation and etcetera. Instead Maximum chuckled quietly and answered.
“I’m your hero.” She walked towards Elizabeth, allowing the traumatized girl to lean on her for support. They exited the shack, walking far enough away to distance them from the stench of death. Maximum’s mind-wire buzzed in her ear as her partner’s mechanical voice rang out.
“You’ve run out of time, Maximum.” Maximum sighed irritably, bothering to reply for the first time that day. Elizabeth sat, hugging her knees to her chest and looking around at the surrounding trees in a daze.
“Mission completed. Target has been dealt with. We will need immediate disposal of three bodies and a team. We need to get this girl somewhere she feels safe.” There was a pause on the other end. Maximum wondered if her partner had picked up the tinge of guilt in her voice. She had saved Elizabeth, the main target, but been too late for Sebastian’s other victims. He was twenty-eight years old and finally dead, but not after taking fourteen innocents with him. Two could have been prevented, if Maximum had been there earlier, just minutes earlier. Just minutes later and she would have failed entirely. She heard the distant rumble of a helicopter as her mind-wire buzzed ahead.
“Teams are on their way.” Her partner’s voice faded away and Maximum stood watching as the helicopters landed. Bustling men and women poured out of the metal bodies. Many surrounded Elizabeth, a man and a woman holding her close. Others poured into the cabin, stringing police caution tape tight across the entrance. Maximum watched them bring the bodies out in bags, turning away from the scene without a backwards glance at Elizabeth. She vanished into the trees, intent on returning home.
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Subject: It All Comes Down To Time - A Short Story 
Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:53 pm
