<div style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'menlo'"><span style="font-size: 26px"><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(251, 160, 38)">| M A X |</span></span></span>​</div><br/><br/>There is only so long one can go before their legs give out, their lungs explode from the sheer exhaustion, and then skin numbs making each gust of sharp ribbons-like wind claim strands of White tangled hair and tan, freckled skin. But it was the freedom in the run, the feeling of flying and at times… The way the pain shot through the shins and carried the body as if weightless. It was days like this,<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/bc/97/15/bc971564672121f13783c8e38dd96aa8.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Max</a>loved.<br/><br/>The sun was the highest it had been in weeks, of course, once the rains had cleared and the spring flora pushed through the dead and heavy leaves of the fall past. Heavy white clouds wafted through the cerulean blue sky lazily but they did not bring with them the thought of darkness or dread, rather a time of change. Max had been running for miles, she had taken off around the earliest part of the morning before the rest of the tenants in the Nyx establishment had awoken for their daily duties. She had plans to gather a few supplies that she had been lacking in her own personal cache, but the moment she started down the small winding path down into the valley she knew she wouldn't be able to stop her legs from carrying her into a full sprint. Dust lifted behind, her creating a hazy cloud for her path as she ran, her boot prints had been completely distorted by the sheer speed she had taken.<br/><br/>She ran until her sides hurt, pulsed, and brought out a strangled cry of frustration, till pain shot up her shins and forced her to pause by the entrance of the establisment at least two miles out. those who had the creative gene in their body had wheeled in a massive slab of granite and carved in the name of their establishment upon the rocky cliff overlooking the valley. Taking in a deep, much-needed sigh she looked back squinting her eyes to see through the cloud of haze her running had created. The howling spring winds worked their way through the overgrown plains grass, bringing with it a sense of peace. Straightening the leather straps on her<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/72/ae/f2/72aef258bdc423ee98691d00ab63b23c.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">rucksack</a>,  which she had slung onto her shoulders prior to the start of her journey, her hands tight on the straps and her mind went over the specific items she would need to add to her kit. There was a fair amount that she was missing, but Max had heard through a series of communications, that one of the Shipping Container villages had been raided and now it was being absorbed into the capital of<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/e6/d1/5c/e6d15ca58fa531b7e95f4d4e4a8f1498.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"><i>Pandora.</i></a>Luckily Pandora forces hadn't entered the outer boundaries just yet, leaving villages scrambling and sending out scouts to see what items were up for grabs. Max wasn't a scout, but she did do things on her own personal gain.<br/><br/>After Max had moved away from The massive city of Pandora she found herself wandering for days, weeks, and even months for a place she could call her own. She had always been under her mother's eye, always in the shadow of one of the most powerful women in the New World. But her sixteenth birthday, the time of her coming of age celebration, she knew that it would be her time to stand aside from her mother and the other members of the Elite. Truthfully, Max didn't know what she wanted to do. If her mother died would she take her place? If another opening in the Elite opened would she fill the gap? She was so young, and so pressed for time. Max wanted to use this time to stray away from the group, find herself and her purpose in this expansive world.<br/><br/>After all, Max didn't inherit any of her mother's abilities like she had been promised. In fact, she had received a far greater gift... she just didn't know what it was yet.<br/><br/>As her thoughts ran between the list of items and her place in the New World society, she had walked nearly four miles in a blink of an eye. The<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c7/e9/6c/c7e96c4dbeabc0c5b787a87b1c8d84d2.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">valley </a>she had walked into was massive, at one point it had been one of the some of the worlds larges ravines, carved away by prehistoric water and harbored sea animals of all sorts. At one time families sailed on the waters, spent vacations in the cities surrounding, camped across the rocky sand, and lived their lives in the cities surrounding. But now several metal cities had sprouted up with in the<i><b>fifty years</b></i>and traded and provided homes for those in the same situation. Truly they were all living in the same form of limbo she had been, if not longer and far more taxing.<br/><br/>Max decided to stay away from other villages as she was not interested in following their clearances just to pass through to the next. It was still noon and she had a few hours before nightfall and that would give her enough time to find the abandoned city and then gather her items, she would take refuge in one of the cities then make her way back to<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/7c/ed/a8/7ceda8a1bd8c5462a8ca4d756e5c7732.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Nyx</a>in the early hours.<br/><br/>Two hours of covering ground and Max found herself at the toppled remains of<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c7/7c/5d/c77c5d632e5687d7a2e72dc115ab6e67.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">Horizon</a>. Max stared up at the colossus buildings created from multi-colored shipping containers, which carried rust on all sides due to the harsh winters in the valley. The containers had been stacked in a hexagonal shape, three stories, except the raiders, must have had some sort of explosives because part of the hexagon had toppled over and the contents had spilled out into the yellow grasses below. Before Max approached she made sure to check the surrounding area of others who may be scavenging, while they were all in the same boat, that didn't mean they all shared the same viewpoints. and because of her place in society she doubted some would take too kindly to her presence.<br/><br/>Max waited, as the sun overhead slid a notch lower into the distance, she could see that the air was still, unobstructed by Pandora forces and greedy scavengers. She pulled a crushed pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/7d/9c/ee/7d9ceeba04e34f6d9a17ac5ad200c63e.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">tunic dress </a>and looked into the box to see the quantity she had left. Three cigarettes slid back and forth and she crushed the box slightly more to stop their uneven slide. Taking a few puffs from the cigarette she let it hang from one side of her lips and started forward, meanwhile, Max pulled one side of the backpack forward, releasing the strap from her right shoulder and unclasping the main compartment, while unzipping the sides to allow the pack to expand. Each step she made was careful, she listened to each crunch her boot made into the rubble and flicked her eyes forward curiously and cautiously.<br/><br/>“Alright, medical supplies,” Max whispered to herself as she decided that she had wasted enough time gawking at the establishment and needed to get hold of the items before she was left with only the sunsets light. Peering into the first toppled container she noticed that it a strangely advanced set up. Granted each village was different and not everyone had the ability to get some of the materials they needed to create livable accommodations, but whoever lived here had the ability. While the massive formation was mangled it still showed signs of some<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/04/24/bf/0424bf6942d405dadc06713e3550973d.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">structured greenhouse.</a>Three sides of the container had been replaced by plastic dome windows, which seemed to stretch on for twenty feet. The plants inside had been completely dismantled, soil coated every crevice of the container and planter box imaginable, but from what Max could gather this wasn't a greenhouse for food, but simply tobacco.<br/><br/>Emerald green eyes searched around the shipping container for a moment before realizing that this wasn't a raider situation at all, but a warning. A few other villages in the area had taken up tobacco growth and had been trading items of higher value, Horizon had been one of these such villages.<br/><br/>There was nothing of value in this container so she decided to move ahead. Jumping down from the location she walked on to the next devastated and rusted container. This one had personal items, possibly from a larger family who had been living in this establishment; Max glanced around the container and pulled herself up into it. It had been particularly bent over one other and as she climbed upwards and over the end tables and furniture which had broken in the explosion. Curiously she picked through belongings, finding an engraved lighter to her delight, and then a few shiny articles of jewelry she figured she could use for trade. But that was only previously to what she truly needed.<br/><br/>Hiking up onto the couch which teetered precariously between the downward slant of the makeshift home, she continued her inspection. It slid when her small frame jumped onto the unstable cushions and she yelped out in surprise. Slowly she reached the top, but aside from the lighter and the jewelry, there was nothing else she could salvage.  Sliding back down from the top of all the clutter she nearly lost her footing and as Max reached the end of the entrance she stumbled back out onto the yellow plains. So far in her discoveries, Max was fairly disappointed. Stalking the grounds she looked to the sky and sighed, it was sundown she had one more chance at finding what she needed and she had to hurry before she missed her chance at getting to a safer destination.<br/><br/>Max flicked the tail end of the cigarette onto the ground before squashing it with the heel of her boot and carrying on. The last container was partially opened and a flickering white light spilled from the one operational door which banged loudly against the corrugated wall.  Cautiously she approached it as it looked occupied. From her pack, she pulled a Peacemaker<a class="link link--external" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/25/c4/6d/25c46dedba0afcb21b6796d0236de0d7.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">revolver </a>from the main compartment and cocked it. Slowly she approached and as the door swung open once more she used her shoulder to prop it open and glanced around inside.<br/><br/>Jackpot.<br/><br/>This entire container was full of medical supplies, in fact, it had been set up like a sophisticated hospital room. Bright lights lined the ceiling of the room, showcasing the offerings.  Several stools lined a desk which had been used for prepping medical utensils, while the other side boasted ten or so cabinets that hosted all of the medical supplies one would need in a pinch. The light which illuminated her way confirmed that no one was in this unit and she was free to move about. Max started opening cabinets which had been busted open in the fall and stuffed her backpack fill of gauze, syringes, bandages, wraps, saline solution, three sets of tweezers, tongue depressors, latex free gloves, face masks and anything else she could get her hands on. By the end of her little raid, her backpack was so full it almost looked like a pillow. It had been a shame to walk away from such a stash of prime supplies, but she now knew that some of these settlements had far more supplies than others she had visited.<br/><br/>Satisfied with her haul she exited the shipping container and looked to the now navy blue sky; It had darkened and small little shards of stars glittered overhead. While the horizon held a thin red line of fading sun. it wasn't ideal, but Max knew she couldn't travel at night, especially not with a bag full of supplies. A feeling a dread washed over her and she looked back, several of the containers were still intact and she knew she could take shelter in one of the abandoned homes and be perfectly fine… but the idea of living in someone else's home didn't sit well with her. Debating back and forth and another cigarette down she caught sight of one of the metal letters leading up to the second shipping container floor and stepped on to a partially broken walkway which had been built around the hexagon shaped establishment. Max sidled along with the corrugated metal box and finally dipped into a small alcove which held one of the lesser destroyed units.<br/><br/>The doors had flung open in the destruction of the establishment and as she leaned in she noticed it had been evacuated completely. Flicking on a light to the side she watched her surroundings closely; If anyone was inside they would have jumped up after being startled. Max didn't see anything move and once she had made that assessment she glanced around at the furniture. Every piece of furniture had been moved from the explosion and with it came a disorganized apartment-like space.  Pulling the doors closed behind her, with all her strength, she yanked on the lever to lock them into place so that they wouldn't give away her location in the night. Settling into the couch which had been shifted so much that it blocked one side of the container from the other. She curled up and pulled her knees to her chest then, draping the soft jersey like the fabric of her tunic over her knees to keep her warm. Max decided to keep the light on just in case she needed to hop up quickly and take out a few raiders, but aside from that, she allowed her tired eyes to close and lull her into a much-needed rest.