The ring pinched her hard. Blood trickled down her finger. “Ouch!” XJ yelled. “WTF?!” She shook her hand, and tried to pull the ring off but it refused to budge.
“LLLLet mmme! LLLLLet me hhhavee itt!” Ziggy grabbed her hand and tried to wrench it off.
A female computerized voice spoke from the ring. “Genetic match. Code grandchild activated.”
“Ouch! Stop Ziggy! Now’s not the time.” XJ jerked her hand away and nursed it.
While Ziggy bounced up and down, his Afro bounced like a little tiger. “SSSSomethhhhing’s gllllowwwwinggg.”
The ring was glowing … with blue light.
XJ blinked as dots raced in front of her eyes. She staggered and her head felt woozy. A voice told her not to let him touch anything. But her mind felt submerged in deep water. She couldn’t hold her balance.
Her head swam. She couldn’t stop him. “Ziggy—no!” Her mind tried to hold on, while the flood of information plunged her deeper. It was too late.
“Oooo. CCCaaann III kkEEEpp….” Ziggy jerked, grabbing a silver lamp, as electric, blue light shocked his body.
XJ sank to her knees trying to handle the cranium splitting headache … Ziggy’s screams sounded faint … she grabbed her head.
“Ziggy?” She asked disorientated. A high, pitched sound pierced her mind. Covering her ears, she crumpled in a deafening scream. Everything stopped…. There was nothingness…. Her mind sucked back like a computer reboot.
She didn’t remember how it happened but she was on the floor, and her face hurt. She rolled over.
A faint, male voice now hummed inside her head. “You can help your friend if you replace the chipset lamps back in their places. You have to place them over the optical motherboards in the floor.”
She rose and weakly used her telekinetic ability to place the furniture back. Finally, her mother’s three silver lamps were the only items left to be replaced. XJ looked over at Ziggy. His Afro smelled like it been scorched by a nasty hot comb. She hoped that he’d be okay.
She walked over to the location where she knew the lamp belonged and examined the floor. A blue, optical motherboard lived in the floor socket. Using her ability, she lifted the first lamp out of Ziggy’s open hand and placed it over the socket. It clicked in place. One by one she replaced the other lamps. Once the last lamp connected, a darker blue light in the shape of a triangle connected the room.
The female voice intoned, “Program complete.”
A door swung open next to the kitchen, and a holographic man’s face popped out. XJ squinted and shook her head. Was she seeing things? That’s when she realized that it was someone she recognized.
“Granddad? Granddad Kates? Is that you?”
The same male voice spoke. “Yes, doll. It’s me. Well, what’s left of me, anyway. Bring your friend inside my lab and we’ll see if we can’t revive him.”
XJ took a step towards Ziggy and the doorbell rang. She looked at her grandfather and the wall opening.
She raked her hands through her hair and frowned. “What am I supposed to do?”
XJ watched the ring loosen from her finger, and roll underneath the couch. She let out an irritated sigh. The doorbell rang again.
“I’ll close the door. They won’t know I’m here. Don’t worry doll. I’ll let you in.” XJ watched her grandfather disappear and the lab door slam shut.
She grumbled and stomped to the front door. “The story of my freaking life. Can’t anything ever be normal?”
Ziggy moaned and she glanced at him. She’d have to get rid of whoever this was, so her grandfather could help him.
Chapter 11
“The nearer GEPs come to the truth, the more dangerous their mission becomes.”
—John Brockman, News Conference
Brandon closed the door of his Mustang and walked down the Decatur, Georgia block to the GEP Daily Post, his father’s online newspaper. He loved downtown Decatur. The storefront businesses were rad and different. He liked the look.
He balled up his right fist and ground it into his open left hand. He had to figure out a way to convince XJ that Fitch was a fraud.
Brandon pushed the door open and marched into the building. His black combat boots echoed and the long belt chain that held his keys jingled. He ran his hand through his blond hair to make sure it spiked enough. Dressed in black jeans and an oversized black sweatshirt, he felt ready for espionage.
He walked to the elevator and got on. He’d been here with his dad before but this time it was different. No one was around since it was so late in the day. If he was lucky, Fitch wouldn’t be here either.
Brandon got off on the third floor and walked into the reception area. He had to play this smooth, if he wanted to get into Fitch’s office.
He looked at the receptionist. She was young and anorexic looking, with dark hair and really pale skin. She’d be easy enough to fool. He gave her his best smile to distract her while he lightly touched the top of her computer.
“Hey sweetness.” Brandon moved himself closer so he could use his technopathic ability to add himself onto Fitch’s calendar.
The wiry girl smiled. “Oh, may I help you?” She lifted a pencil to her mouth and tapped the eraser on her lips.
Brandon sensed his technopathic ability warm. Inside his mind’s eye, he could view her computer monitor. His hacking ability moved quick so it only took a few seconds to add his name to the calendar.
“I have an appointment with Mr. Fitch. He’s working on a story with me.” Brandon said glibly.
“Um … Mr. Fitch is currently in an important meeting. I’m sure he’s booked for the evening. Are you sure your appointment is for today?” The receptionist used the pencil to punch at her keyboard. “What was your name?” She smiled and looked up.
“Jay … Jay Arthur. We’re supposed to meet today.” Brandon straightened up and stepped back from the desk.
“I don’t know how I missed this. Come on back, Jay … um, Mr. Arthur.” The receptionist opened the door and escorted Brandon to Fitch’s office.
Brandon cautiously scanned the newsroom. The place was pretty empty. There were only a few reporters who didn’t seem the least bit interested in anything, except what was going on inside their own worlds.
Brandon relaxed and followed the receptionist. “Would you like coffee, tea or soda?” she asked.
“Um. Nope.” Brandon stuffed his hands deep inside his pockets and kept walking. He just wanted to get in to see what Fitch was hiding.
“Here we are.” The receptionist smiled. She would’ve been cute if she wasn’t so skinny.
Brandon smiled back at her and walked into Fitch’s office. Cigarette smoke made him hold his breath for a minute. Fitch must be a chain smoker…. The office is a nice size, though.
“Thanks … I’ll sit over here.” Brandon swiped his nose and pointed at a chair across the room.
“Mr. Fitch should be with you momentarily.” The receptionist smiled her way out of the room with hopeful eyes. The door clicked and Brandon headed towards Fitch’s desk. He saw what he needed amongst the OCD organized desk: Fitch’s Tablet PC.
Brandon plopped down in the reporter’s chair and put his boots on the desk. He needed to relax for this. He tapped into his ability and mentally dropped down into the tablet PC. Brandon smiled inside as he broke the encryption sequence. His mind melded with the PC and absorbed what was on it quickly.
His ability hummed throughout his mind and body. It felt good. His mind hacked deeper. He knew there was something hidden behind this weird firewall.
He’d found it! The proof he needed to show XJ!
He was about to store the information inside the recesses of his mind when the biomechanical virus took him down fast. He slapped himself mentally. He’d been careless. He pulled back inside his mind. The virus attacked and tried to rewrite his central nervous system. Brandon screamed inside his mind.
“Ugh!” He dropped the tablet on the floor to sever the conne
ction but it was too late.
The biomechanical virus infected him. He fought the virus internally. His whole body collapsed on the floor and he went into convulsions. A succession of 1-00-11-00-0-1-01 flashed across his eyes.
Shaking, he stared at the ceiling. He thought about XJ … her cute brown eyes, soft pecan colored skin, and sexy shape. He’d wanted to prove that Fitch was bad. That she should choose him. Mate-designation type or not.
Who would help her now?
Brandon moaned. He lifted a shaky hand to his forehead and swiped the sweat from his brow. This was all Fitch’s fault! Fitch worked for Todd Miller! His father!
Brandon pounded the round of his fists on the floor. He wanted to discredit his dad. He wanted to show the world that the man was a fraud and couldn’t be trusted.
Brandon rolled his head back and forth. He went in and out of delusion … drifting towards his mother. He missed her….
In a surreal moment, his mind jumped into a memory. Her beautiful eyes, loving touch, soothing voice relaxed his body. Warmth spread throughout him. A small swell of anger lingered. His mother had the ability to heal everyone except herself.
He could feel her power blossom within him. Where the virus was hot and fast, the healing was slow, cool. His body stopped, rebalanced and rebooted, but full healing would take time.
Voices snapped him back to reality. He needed to hide! He rolled over. His head still swam and pounded. Voices moved closer. He dragged himself into a small dark corner and scrunched up his legs.
It wasn’t the best hiding spot. He was tall and it was hard for him to compress his body, but he did. Hopefully, no one would notice him and he could get away.
He recognized Fitch’s voice and someone familiar. He looked at his skin. The number code 1-00-11-00-0-1-01 still slithered along his skin. The voices entered the room. Brandon tried to push back further into his hiding space.
“Yes, yes, Mr. Miller. I was able to secure the interview with the Patterson girl.” Fitch was irritating, but Todd’s presence made Brandon’s stomach turn.
“Just make sure you don’t fly off the cuff, Fitch. I don’t want this slapping the Network in the face.”
He’s playing a game! I knew it! He wanted to lash out, but his head swam. Later … I’ll get him later. Now, he needed to heal.
“I’ll do my best, sir. There won’t be a repeat of that last incident.” Fitch whined.
“Look, the mother was a revolutionary nut,” Todd went on. “And this daughter doesn’t look like she’s wrapped too tight. I don’t know what she’ll say. But to cover all of our butts, it’s better if you let me see the article before it’s run. I don’t want any surprises.”
His dad’s words slapped Brandon out of illness. How dare he talk about XJ like that?
He moaned loudly, and sprung out of the corner—physically lashing out at the blotched figure that closely resembled his father’s shape. But his body was too weak.
His father side-stepped the attack easily. “Brandon? What are you doing here?”
The words were clear in Brandon’s head, but came out in muddled confusion. “You caann’t st … op th … e trute!”
He tried to tongue lash Todd, but the room continued to spiral and spin out of control. The viral code skittered and skimmed faster across his body.
He lost consciousness in his dad’s arms staring into Fitch’s hostile grin.
Brandon awoke believing that he was still dreaming about his mother.
“Mom?” He called out.
“Shh….” He heard a calming voice. Someone fluffed his pillow and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“It’s okay, Brandon. You’re safe now.”
He rolled over in his bed. Something was bothering him. But he couldn’t remember what it was. He just wanted to rest.
How did I get in bed?
He pushed the covers back and leapt up, as he remembered his dad’s conversation with Fitch and the story.
The servants scrambled to his bedside and he was hit with questions. “Are you alright?”
“Does it still hurt?”
“How do you feel?”
Yadda, yadda … just leave me alone. Disturbed and agitated he yelled, “Where’s my father?”
Everything went still. His android, Nicki, said in a calm, mechanized voice, “Mr. Miller has been delayed at a business meeting. He will return shortly.”
“Get out! Get out all off you!” Brandon screamed, throwing pillows everywhere. Tears pushed behind his eyes, but he refused to allow them to flow.
His father had made a choice to hide the truth. And now, Brandon had made his.
He hobbled to the dresser and found his cell phone. He’d send a text to XJ, but how would he explain all of this to her? He still didn’t quite have the proof he needed to convince her to choose him and not Fitch.
Chapter 12
“We have information to suggest that CAGE abducts the strongest of us and takes us to a special lab called Zone 6. Many have lost their minds in that place.”
—Dorothy Kates-Patterson, Revolutionary News Conference
XJ stomped to the front door. She released an angry breath. Things were always falling apart or something crazy happening. How weird was it for her to have a holographic grandfather? Then, there was all of the craziness that led to Ziggy getting electrocuted.
Ziggy moaned softly, and she frowned. Is this another reporter? I can’t take one more thing!
XJ shook off her angst, and opened the door to face a pudgy-faced, brown-skinned woman with a short, relaxed hairstyle. She was dressed in a bland, brown suit and low-heeled shoes.
“Can I help you?” Can this day get any worse?
“Are you the offspring of Dorothy Kates-Patterson?” the tall woman asked.
XJ folded her arms across her chest. “Who wants to know?”
The woman didn’t make any eye contact with her. She held up a long sensor that blasted a red scan across XJ’s eyes. “Confirmed.”
“Who are you? Are you another reporter?” XJ squinted, trying to adjust her eyes after the blinding light.
“My name is Anne Hughes. I’m a social worker. Usually, I wouldn’t work a case such as yours. But Joanne Chesimard appears to be … umm, busy so you have me. Pack your bags.”
XJ kept her arms folded and tensed her shoulders. “What? I’m not going anywhere with you!”
Anne Hughes moved closer so that they were face to face. “Oh, yes, you are. You’re a 17-year old minor. One parent is in custody and the other is out of the country. You’re on your way to foster care.”
XJ’s heart beat faster. She tried to control the panic rolling through her system. “No, you don’t understand. I’m very independent and quite capable of—“
Ms. Hughes sucked in her tongue against her front gold tooth and made a disgusted sound. “Humph. A reasoner. You won’t be able to reason out of this. You aren’t safe on the streets alone. Minor GEPs are incapable of following the proper laws without parental units. Pack your things.”
XJ took a step back. “Do you know what I’ve been through today? Can’t you pick me up tomorrow? Surely, I can stay one night alone.”
Ziggy made a moaning sound in the background. Ms. Hughes pushed XJ out of the way to see Ziggy. She sneered.”Obviously minor GEPs can’t be left unattended.”
XJ tried to talk but her head began to tingle. She faintly heard Ms. Hughes’ voice while a hazy wall slowly spread across her mind. She lost her ability to think. She couldn’t control herself. She was a puppet. XJ saw Ms. Hughes’ mouth moving … her mind was being twisted back and forth until she did exactly what Anne Hughes wanted. She tried to snap back, but the sensation couldn’t be stopped.
Ms. Hughes said, “Don’t fight it. Let it happen. You’ll be safer in Zone 6.”
XJ shuddered. People who went to Zone 6 never returned. Would she ever see her mother again? She tried to fight back. The mind film stuck even closer. The more she fought the more entrapped she became.
Her mind felt like gluey sand—sticky and dirty.
XJ moved stiffly and mechanically. She went to her room and packed an overnight bag while time slipped away. Everything seemed like a mind-induced horror. Helpless, she walked into the living room and saw a CAGE officer picking up Ziggy.
Deep inside, she yelled a blood-curdling scream while outside her body moved according to Ms. Hughes’ instructions. A part of XJ watched in terror as her body performed tasks without her consent like she was Anne Hughes’ finger-puppet.
She grabbed her jacket with her audio gun and overnight bag. She glided down the porch stairs and slid into the government vehicle. Fighting back was useless, but she still tried. Fury and rage fumed inside until her body slumped, blacked out and shut down.
XJ’s eyes popped open when her head bumped. Groggy and confused she tried to reconnect the dots as she scanned the back seat of the SUV. She rubbed her temples. She had a monster headache. The inside of the car was dark, and she allowed her head to gently bump to the left to see if Ziggy was okay.
Ziggy made slow moaning noises. XJ moved her hand on top of his and squeezed. She lowered her head and swallowed, then squeezed her eyes shut.
It’s my fault that Ziggy is in this situation, she thought. How would she get them out of this? I need a plan. I need to fix this so that both of us are safe.
Shaking off her anxiety, she popped her eyes open and used her telekinetic ability to unlatch the lock on the door. It was hard for her to see out of the dark windows and into the passing trees along Highway-78.
But she knew they’d have a secure hiding place if they were able to roll out on the busy highway and hide in the underbrush. She craned her neck up to look out the window. It looked like they were getting close to the Stone Mountain CAGE facility gate.
XJ sensed that the social worker might be watching them in the mirror so she quickly smashed her eyelids together. She saw a rainbow of dots and splashes flutter across her eyelids.
She used this quiet moment to focus on waking Ziggy. She opened one eye and gently nudged him with her telekinetic ability. Ziggy toppled over.
Breaking Free Page 5