Breaking Free

by Alicia McCalla

  XJ jumped up on the ledge and pried the metal plate off the wall. She threw it on the floor. That’s when she felt the social worker trying to snake inside of their minds, but it was faint.

  Amber said, “My firewall is keeping her out, too. Just ignore it.”

  XJ pulled herself into the shaft and slid inside and Ziggy lost it. “I—I’m not going in there! I—I could die or something! N—No way! I can’t get in there!”

  “Ziggy take my hand,” XJ urged. “I’ll help you. This is our only way.” She could see his mind churning and she pushed him with her abilities.

  He reached for her hand and she pulled him up and into the shaft. Amber followed. The shaft was dark and they heard a muffled version of the mechanical voice. “The system will be back online in three minutes.”

  Amber’s voice shattered her impending fear. “Crawl to the right and then to the left!”

  XJ crawled quickly, but she heard Ziggy behind her. He was breathing hard and hyperventilating. Something inside her mind jumped. She realized that she could communicate with Ziggy mind to mind!

  She called to him. Ziggy we’re almost out.

  He’d heard her. X-XJ is that you?

  She sent him warm thoughts. We’ll be out soon, just keep crawling.

  O—OK. I love you XJ. Ziggy really was her best friend. XJ didn’t know what she’d do without him.

  Amber’s voice was a whisper. “Turn left, but be quiet, we’re right by the CAGE guard station.”

  XJ turned left and the CAGE mechanical voice announced, “The system will be back online in two minutes.”

  The voice spooked Ziggy and he lost it. He started shaking and sweating. XJ tried to calm him down, but she couldn’t.

  “I-I can’t do it X—XJ! I-I’m not G-Gonna make it!” Ziggy started to crawl to the nearest exit.

  “Ziggy, no!” XJ hissed. “You’ll get yourself killed! We’re almost out!”

  Before she could grab him, Ziggy kicked open the vent and fell out.

  XJ froze in shock. What should they do?

  She saw the words in Amber’s mind. We’ve got to keep moving!

  She wanted to go after him. But there was no way to help Ziggy if they all got caught. The CAGE mechanical voice said, “The system will be online in 58 seconds.”

  Amber pointed towards the next right. They crawled like crazy—kicked the vent open and jumped out into a storage area.

  “It’s okay,” Amber comforted her, “maybe we can find a way to help him later.”

  Fighting back the tears, XJ struggled to pull herself together.

  At that moment, the system came on. “System back online. Alert! Alert!”

  The lasers inside the shaft went red and wild. But at least they were out of the shaft.

  Now, they had to get out of the room.

  Chapter 48

  “I don’t care what I have to do. Once I have the code, I will be queen of the GEPs. Humans United won’t figure it out until it’s too late. They won’t stand a chance.”

  —Red Death

  Heather couldn’t believe how ungrateful Brandon was! She’d cared for him; looked out for him; loved him; and he repaid her by saving that jungle bunny, step sister of hers! The anger swirled inside. She tried to move her hands so that she could scratch his beautiful eyes out but Brandon held her tight.

  She laughed from deep in her belly. This situation was hilarious. She just kept laughing and laughing and laughing. She heard the other voice inside her mind, but it was fuzzy. And the look on Brandon’s face—priceless! She felt the microchip that they’d inserted grow warm. Was it releasing medicine?

  The voice inside her head tried to push through, yet she could only hear a whisper. The medicine felt so good that it made her toes curl. It certainly took the edge off.

  Heather cracked her neck. She felt good again. Something inside her clicked and she realized that she was sitting on Brandon’s lap. She maneuvered her body and repositioned quickly so her legs straddled him. She moved in close to his face, making their hands move low between them.

  “Brandon, I’m so happy to have your attention.” Heather scooted her rear-end closer to his manhood. “I know you want me. I know you feel me. I know you need me.” She whispered as she pushed all that was her on top of him. Her vision turned red.

  “You are crazy!” Brandon hissed.

  He seemed so cute when he looked in her eyes. He’d released her hands, so she used them to get closer and play with his sexy blond hair. Her body responded to being so close to him. His smell just turned her on….

  “Well, I can tell you one thing.” Her voice in her ears, sounded like she was singing a little song. “I know something you don’t know and it involves your daddy.”

  Heather kept twirling Brandon’s hair and then moved to kiss his face. She thought she saw confusion on his face. But the medicine made her feel so good and the object of her affection was close that she let that pass. She closed her eyes and scooted closer. She began to kiss his face, neck and then lips.

  She felt him take a deep breath. He was enjoying this, too! She opened her eyes and he’d turned his face to look towards the commotion brewing at the restroom door.

  The anger raged back.

  “No! No, you won’t look that way!” She tried to wrench his face back to her where it belonged. “Don’t you want to know what I know? Don’t you want to know my secrets?”

  The microchip warmed her again. Ooh, it feels so good!

  She saw his face change. “What do you want Heather? What the hell do you want from me?”

  “That’s more like it.” She hesitated, but continued, “I want you to go to the pageant with me. But to show you how much I love you, I’ll tell you one secret and after the pageant, I’ll give you some more, but at a very special price at a hotel.”

  Heather’s body lit up. It felt like her passion was on fire. She remembered what it was like between her and Brandon before, and she wanted that again.

  Brandon breathed deep again. “Tell me and I’ll consider it.”

  She walked her hand up his chest and put her mouth close to his ear. “Did you know that your Daddy was a double CAGE agent? He worked for CAGE and the Revolution. That’s what got your mom killed.”

  Heather let the information fall from her lips. He’d love her forever now. She felt so exquisite so she snuggled underneath his chin and smelled his lovely scent.

  More drugs flooded her system and she felt so good.

  Chapter 49

  “I never wanted to be a double agent. It just happened.”

  —Todd Miller

  Brandon sat in shock. Was what Heather saying true? His dad a double agent? He wanted—no needed—to find out more. He had to play this cool.

  He scooted Heather back. “If you tell me more, I’ll do what you want.”

  Brandon looked in Heather’s drug filled eyes. She smiled at him giddy, high. “Oh, Brandon! I knew you loved me! I knew you wanted me!”

  He allowed her to kiss him again, while revulsion tunneled through his stomach. He couldn’t wait until his game with her was over. A part of him felt sorry for Heather. He knew she was on something, but couldn’t tell what.

  Whatever it is, it’s definitely making her act like she’s got two different personalities.

  He could still hear the battle outside and he was worried about XJ. He had to get out to see what was going on. He put on a phony smile and said, “Heather, let’s get out of here. I want to look good for you.”

  She purred. She rubbed her face in Brandon’s neck and touched his chest. He was repulsed, but he didn’t move. He allowed her to fondle him. He felt used and cheap, but it was what he had to do.

  Heather leapt off his lap in a crackhead-like stupor. “Yes, let’s go!” She yanked Brandon out of the chair and twirled around. “He loves me! He loves me! He’s mine.”

  He looked at her with contempt. How long would he have to deal with this? At least long enough to get the information he n
eeded.

  “C’mon, sweety, let’s go this way.” Brandon spoke to her like she was a child. They left the office and he saw the commotion. The CAGE officers were delayed and the social workers were trying to bash the door in. But there was some sort of force field. He’d never seen anything like it.

  He tried to scope out what was going on. Heather grabbed his chin—twisting it to face her. “Don’t pay any attention to that. I want all your attention on me.”

  Brandon brought his eyes down to hers. God, she’s so irritating. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s go this way.”

  They turned down the hallway to exit the building. Heather sung some stupid song, and made their hands swing like they were real lovers. It was disgusting—especially with her in this druggy state.

  “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you need me?” Heather chanted over and over.

  Brandon kept his eyes on Heather, but scanned the area—wishing she would shut up. They turned another corner and that’s when he saw XJ and another girl in a storage closet.

  Her eyes met his. He could tell that she was crushed. Heather ran her hands up his back, but he couldn’t tell if she saw the girls.

  Brandon had to think quick. He could feel XJ’s fear and panic. He had to help her get out. When he looked down the hall, he saw Ziggy. Two front gate guards had captured him.

  “D—Don’t! L—Leave me alone! X—XJ!” Ziggy was yelling.

  Brandon turned back to see that it was killing XJ not to be able to help Ziggy. But he knew just like they did that XJ had to get out and come back for Ziggy.

  “Sir!” He shouted. “Sir, I think I saw something down that hallway! Maybe the revolutionaries are that way!”

  Ziggy yelled at Brandon. “You s—s—snitch! Y-You r—rich b—bastard! N—No good—“

  The CAGE Guards stunned Ziggy with a tranq gun, and carried him off. Brandon felt Heather turn.

  I can’t let her see XJ!

  He grabbed Heather’s face and pulled her close to his. XJ was peeking out the door. Their eyes met and he could see the pain on her face, as he closed his eyes and kissed Heather with everything that he had. His stomach turned, but he pushed it back down. No matter what, he had to help her get to safety.

  Brandon could feel Heather’s hungry response. He knew that XJ had gotten an eye full, but he hoped she’d forgive him. He hoped she still cared.

  I hope she got away.

  Chapter 50

  “I have a dream that one day I’ll break into CAGE and free my momma with the help of my cousins. They betta watch out! I’ll make sure that nothing is standing. It’ll all turn to dust, smoke and destruction.”

  —XJ Patterson

  XJ slammed her hands down on the lab table, and collapsed down on the chair. She couldn’t believe that she and Amber had made it out. They’d slipped out of the Regional CAGE office, while everyone was distracted, gotten into the government car and driven away.

  She decided it was best to get rid of the vehicle, so they stashed it miles away and caught the bus home. Exhausted, she put her head down on the table. She could hear Amber talking to Granddad Kates. She was pretty sure that Amber had no memory of him or of being a part of the family.

  The chatter between them became background sounds, as the swirl of emotions took XJ over. She had a small cyclone growing in her belly of anger, shock, and sadness. Ziggy was lost.

  And what’s up with Brandon sucking face with my uppity, white step sister? I feel like gagging!

  Although a part of her knew that Brandon did it to save her, she still didn’t like it. Jealously swirled, but she pushed it away. The life of a revolutionary was hard, and she couldn’t afford to have wild emotions taking her off mission.

  “You alright, doll?” Her grandfather sounded so sincere.

  XJ rolled her forehead back and forth on the table. ”I’ll be fine. It’s just been a really long day.”

  “I understand. I wanted you to know how proud I am of you. You’ve done a great job. Your mom would be proud, too. You’ve done something that she hasn’t been able to accomplish in years.”

  She wanted to cry—scream. She missed her mom so much. But if her mom had been here XJ would’ve never been a part of this.

  A tinge of sadness hit her. “I’m still not happy with this revolutionary stuff. I just wanted to be normal.”

  “Doll, you are anything but normal. Since Amber has connected with my system, and repaired some degraded cells I can remember better. And you are much, much more.”

  XJ held her head to look in Amber’s direction. Amber had herself hooked into her grandfather’s super-computer. “That looks so weird but cool. I guess it’s the story of my life.”

  “You have more abilities than you know, too,” Dr. Kates said. “I can’t remember them all, but you are the most special of all. You’re the leader or the cell that brings the three together.”

  XJ made an exasperated noise. “Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”

  She pushed the chair back making a scraping sound, and got up to talk to Amber. She bent down next to the terminal where Amber had attached herself.

  “This chair and station looks like it was made for you.”

  Amber’s eyes popped open. What a sight she was—with her brain all open and connected to the terminal like that!

  XJ smiled.”Hey, does that hurt at all?”

  “No, actually I feel quite energized and refreshed. I feel like I’ve come home. A part of this technology recognizes me.” Amber looked very happy in a geeky mechanical way.

  “So what’s happening over here?” XJ wanted to sound as normal as she could, standing next to the human technopathic changeling.

  Amber’s voice sounded mechanical. “I’m repairing some damaged cells, and working on that helmet you retrieved from the information hive.”

  She looked at Amber’s face. It moved like something mechanized. “Did you get anything?”

  “Y—Yes I believe that I have. Please walk over to the monitor on the far right. I’ve been able to extract the image as well as name of our last cousin.”

  XJ walked over to the monitor: a 3-D image of her last cousin swirled around in a circle.

  “This is amazing!” She studied the image. “Wait—I think I know this girl! That’s Whitney!”

  “Whitney Nichelle Potts. Student at Central GEP High. Age 17. Hold. Extrapolating additional records. She has a history with gang violence.”

  XJ stopped looking at the monitor and turned towards Amber. “Okay Amber, you sound so creepy like that. More machine than human.”

  Amber turned her face and smiled. “Sorry. I’ve only been allowed to interact with machines on a limited basis, and for experimental purposes with CAGE. This is the first time that I’ve been free to be me and just explore a system. It might make me a little mechanical. I’ll adjust.”

  XJ went back to study Whitney’s image. “Yeah … I remember that Whitney got put out of our high school and paneled for something. I remember liking her, but thinking she hung out with the wrong crowd. Wonder where I can find her?”

  Amber’s eyes closed, and she began moving as if she was in a trance. ”You’ll find her with gang members. They usually meet at Stone Mountain park after sunset.”

  XJ took a deep breath. “I never knew that Whitney and I were cousins. This sucks. Maybe I could’ve helped her or something.”

  Her grandfather walked up next to her. She could tell that he would have given her a hug, if he could. “I remember more,” he said, sounding dejected. “I think we did this to protect the three of you. It was the only way.”

  “I figured that. It still sucks.” XJ continued to look at the image and turned toward the incoming news. “Hey, turn up this second monitor.”

  It was Brandon with her step sister, Heather, walking on the red carpet for the Miss GEP High School Pageant. It was being televised on GEP TV’s Teen Sensation.

  Brandon said, “Yes. Heather and I are together….” He kissed Heather’s tem
ple, and XJ’s stomach twisted.

  “People have been speculating,” he continued, “but as you can see we’re here together. So everyone can stop guessing. We’re a couple.”

  She watched Brandon smile for the camera, and escort a bright and happy Heather into the pageant. She squeezed her hands into fists.

  She so wanted to scratch Brandon’s eyeballs out! I thought he’d kissed Heather to save me! But it looked like he really wanted that blond, pink freak.

  XJ was crushed but she sat up straight, realizing that she was a part of something bigger. She knew that she had to save her mom. She slammed one hand into the other. No matter what, she was on a mission.

  And with the help of her family, she would destroy CAGE forever.

  Author's Note

  When I was a little girl, my granddad made me feel like I was a princess.

  For many years, I was his only grandchild. As I became an adult, I would regularly call my granddad to check-in and tell him about my life, adventures, and latest escapades. When I would call, I’d play a game with him. I’d ask if he knew who I was because I never wanted him to forget. He would laugh and tell me that he could never forget me because I was unique and that he’d always remember my voice. He said, “How can I forget that you are my first granddaughter?”

  Then my grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

  The last years were difficult. When I'd call, it was hard for him to remember who I was. He knew my voice. He knew I was important. But he couldn’t always remember my name.

  When I wrote Breaking Free, I knew that I had to include my grandfather in some way. As a young man, he was brilliant. He was a trailblazer. He was cool.

  It was natural for me to use him as the inspiration behind XJ’s holographic grandfather. In Breaking Free, XJ’s grandfather chose to commit suicide rather than allow CAGE to swipe his mind. He sacrificed himself for the cause and copied his consciousness into a computer. As a holographic image, sometimes his body became corporeal and sometimes his memories degraded, but he was still able to use his genius to help XJ become a revolutionary leader.