Antidote Trilogy: The Complete Box Set

by Taylor Hondos

  I felt myself lifting from the ground and I smirked at the power I possessed. I flew along the walls until I swooped underneath a table, which opened up the ground underneath it. I was flying through a dark tunnel. I must have been here before because I knew where I was going without fail.

  I felt the breeze of cold air even though my body was full of heat and anger. I couldn’t help my feelings. I felt a fury that I couldn’t place the origin of, but I was going to use it against my target. After all, Aiden said not to attack tonight, but he didn’t say not to kill tonight.

  ***

  I was in the mysterious town in an instant. It seemed as if I were teleported there instead. The air was heavy with a sort of fierce belonging and immediately I felt that I didn’t belong or fit in to the square of destruction. I soared through the outskirts of the town and landed in a tree. I searched for a sign of movement and found that there was none.

  I steadied myself in the tree before I dropped down abruptly and caught myself as I landed straight on my feet with ease. I chuckled out loud to myself. This could be fun; the power that Dr. Ravana gave me, didn’t seem so bad.

  “Lena?” I heard a voice call and I kept walking absentmindedly. I continued on my way, turning to the left and a sudden weariness covered me and I felt like I was being followed. I peeked around and found that no one was there.

  Just when I was in the clear, I heard the voice speak again. “Lena?” This time it was a little louder and somehow sounded more confirming than a question ever should. A girl with bright red hair approached me. She reminded me of a clown. Her hair was unnaturally red, as if she had dyed it. The smile on her was sickening, and I felt my stomach twist. She was a slender thing and I had a gut feeling that I knew her.

  I stared deep into her eyes, which were a beautiful blue color. I racked my brain for some clarity, but there was none. “It’s you.” She stopped slowly and stared me up and down; not in the way I wanted to be stared at. She stared deeply into my eyes. “What have they done to you?” she said with a repulsed tone as she stepped back afraid. I felt my breath hitch in my throat from her revolted way of speaking to me.

  “You have the wrong person. I am not a Lena of which you speak of.” I said plainly and turned so that I could continue on my way. I felt a tight grip around my arm and felt myself being spun around. I didn’t get angry but I felt violated. Who was this girl to speak to me or touch me in any way at all?

  “You even talk different. You sound like a..” she stopped in her tracks and I thought I even saw tears welling into her eyes. “You’re one of them.” She started pacing and seemed to be hyperventilating. I laughed at the sight of her panic.

  “Miss. Calm down. I can help you find Lena. I really am not her. I am sorry.” I reached out to touch her but she shrank back.

  “Oh no. Don’t touch me.” she began crying and I shrank into myself. I wrapped my arms around me as if that would protect me from her. I needed to get away because she clearly wasn’t sane.

  “Miss.” I tried one more time, and she suddenly jerked her head up with a villainous smile on her. Her face froze. I tried to wave goodbye to her because it was all too creepy for me but just as I lifted my hand, a power beyond me pulled my arm down. Her stare was menacing but I felt the wave of control that I felt in Dr. Ravana’s mist but this was a little different. It was less sincere and welcoming.

  She laughed at me and broke her gaze. I felt the unknown spirit being lifted, and I gasped for air. It truly took my breath away to be under that control. I looked once more over at her and felt my breath take once more. The flaming red hair that she had finally seemed to suit her. Her once beautiful sea blue eyes were taken over by a fury. It seemed to turn her eyes into a red, not just any red but a red the color of pools of blood. “I never liked you anyways.” She whispered it, but it pierced through my skin.

  “You have the wrong girl.” I said a little frightened. Her eyes didn’t change back to the color they once were.

  Before I knew it, she was screaming. Not just any scream, but the scream of a banshee, the true omen of death. I cringed and felt as if I were going to pass out but then she was shouting and I could make out what she was saying.

  “I have another one.” She yelled in a menacing way. “And this one will be fun.”

  Before I had time to use my new talents to just get the hell away from it all, I was being pinned down. Before I knew it, cloth was going around my head. Darkness covered me and I smelt the smell of a bitter tomato. Arms were holding me in all types of ways, but I wasn’t even fighting them. Their grips were strong and uncomfortable, but to a normal person, these hands might have been hurtful.

  That was when someone smacked me in the back of the head. I saw spots fill my eyes and heard the grumbles of a man saying to me “Stop resisting.” Even though I wasn’t in the least bit. I gritted my teeth and knew that if he wanted to see a real resistance, then he would get one.

  The fury gathered behind my eyes. I felt my head radiating but unlike in my room, nothing blasted away or even began to melt. That was when I felt the blasts coming right back to me. I screamed in excruciating pain as I felt the explosions coming to me because they wouldn’t burn through the sack on my head.

  I felt a stronger hit to the side of my head and I screamed out in pain. Would I die right here? I knew I could fight them off. I had the strength, I knew I did. That was when someone pushed hard onto my right arm, it was a tender place, probably from my past life but it was the most unbearable pain of my life. The pain rippled all the way up to my head and I actually thought I would die in this very place, at that moment.

  “Who are you?” I finally gasped out in agony.

  “We are the Earth Saviors. We are the protectors. You and your kind have been around for too damn long.” The fiery red haired girl yelled to me. As if a child, I felt her foot nail into my knee. I didn’t even flinch from the effort. I laughed at her pathetic combat skills and her attempts to hurt me.

  I opened my eyes wide and realized I could barely make out her face. It was drawing closer to me and I moved through the pain of my arm. I lurched back as fast as I could and as far as my guard would allow me without noticing and punched the girl in front of me. I watched delicately as I saw something splutter from her nose, and I knew I hit the target. That was when the guards instinctively let go of me to see if their leader was okay. I punched again and this time found it was a new nose, a more delicate crunch this time.

  I heard screaming coming from in front of me. It was coming from whomever I hit. “Kaley!” she screamed loudly. “My nose is broken! Help! Oh my god! “ She shouted as I watched through my sack as she slammed to the ground.

  The red head, by the name of Kaley, reached down to pull on my other victim’s hair. “Get up.” Kaley shouted in outrage. “Get up or leave this group now, you coward.”

  I pulled the sack off my face while I had time and watched in horror as my fingers began to melt in a sickening way. The skin was peeling so profusely. While blood should have been pouring out of my skin, there wasn’t. Although my eyes didn’t burn through the sack, they most certainly heated the bag up. I closed my eyes and smiled to myself as I realized that the pain was dissipating. Not only was the pain disappearing, but also my skin was growing back in seconds.

  I smiled deliciously as I saw more flames approaching me. Obviously fire, burning, melting or heat didn’t bother my new body in the slightest way. There was a streak of pain that vanished quickly. Every single one of my attackers held a blowtorch.

  In some sick way, I welcomed the flames; they seemed to renew something in me. I wanted to see how much my body could take without breaking down. That’s when they all threw the fire death sticks at me. Smoke erupted around me and I felt heat. There was a nibble of pain but then it quickly stopped. I was being burned alive but it didn’t hurt me in one bit. The fire was not painful; it was as if a bite of heat was touching me instead.

  I looked around me and saw that where I st
ood, there was a circle of no fire. The flames would not touch me and I laughed cruelly at them. I took a deep breath, hoping the flames really were my friends as I walked through them. I prided myself to see the looks on the “Earth Saviors” faces. Kaley was in outrage.

  “Lena Alona. We will meet again. You can count on it. You will die and I swear to God it will be by my hands. You’re a monster now and you always were. That’s why mommy and daddy died, so they could leave you. You bitch!” She spat at me.

  I beamed again at her and tried hard to mimic the intimidating smile she wore not too long ago. The wrath I felt for this whole situation and the name she called me finally starting to build in me.

  I felt my eyes burning and I stared intently into her eyes as I had this morning in my room. Finally flames erupted around the ground where she stood. I just wanted to scare her but when I saw she still didn’t falter in her stance, I felt that it wasn’t enough to just scare her. I had to punish her. I had to make sure these people didn’t bother me during my task.

  “You and your people need to steer clear of me. Do you understand?” I said in the crisp voice. She didn’t respond, instead she stood taller and lifted her middle finger to me.

  “Lena. Go to hell.” That was enough for me. I reached beside me and I took the flames and held them in my hands. It tickled my skin and I laughed down at my new friend.

  “Well, you really shouldn’t have said that.” I said and then I released the flames. They crashed into her and she fell to the ground. All her followers crowded around her and I chuckled as cruelly as I could, which wasn’t hard. My heart felt evil, but I had to be the boss around here and not them. At least I gained one thing from this red headed devil. My name was Lena.

  Chapter Four: The Target

  AS I FLEW above the trees, I watched as the crowd grew around Kaley. Some were facing up to me and I could see their resentment of me all over their faces even from up here. I smirked down at my burning friend. All around her, people were stripping out of their clothes so that they could begin to pat her down with their jackets or articles of clothing. Men stood practically naked in the streets to get the fire out. From here, I could see that she no longer had a lot of hair. The right side of her head had not one speck of hair left. It was all singed off. She cursed into the air as she flopped uselessly on the ground.

  I gazed down at my body, which stayed untouched and unfazed by the flames. In that moment an unearthly thought came to mind, I owed this man. Dr. Ravana had given me powers that I could only dream of. I would use them for good. Well, I would use them against my enemies too. I continued to watch them and felt a little alarmed at how easy it was and how unaffected I was by the turn of events. Shouldn’t I feel a little remorseful for what I had just done to these people?

  I didn’t have time to feel bad. I had to remember my purpose here. My exchange had me unfocused and I had to remember my goal. The remorse would have to come later if it ever did. In my mind, I could see coordinates reappearing in my thoughts. My unidentified target was close by. My eyes blurred as I saw the coordinates. They seemed a little bit different than before. Before I knew it, I was being steered in a new direction. I felt like panicking but then my eyesight returned and I realized I was flying in the opposite direction of where the girl on fire stood. This must have meant my target had already left his original spot.

  I flew through the town, and all I saw were the mulled buildings once more until I approached a neighborhood. Only five houses were left standing while the rest of the houses seemed to have been obliterated. On the remaining ruins of homes, there were words. I caught sight of one. “The Earth Saviors Were Here.” Kaley and her weird band of followers came to mind. They seemed to be doing more bad than good.

  I continued to search around. There was debris all around. In the pit of my stomach, something seemed to harden and I lurched forward. I didn’t understand but I felt anger coursing through my veins. I landed lightly on a house with a forest green roof, which I felt was an odd color. The house across from me was gigantic. There were white shutters on the blue house, with a porch on the second floor. It was beautiful, and I couldn’t help but feel a comfort when I looked at it. I felt captivated and somehow connected to this house. I stared at it longer. I decided that if I didn’t have a home already, I would want this to be my home. It was everything I wanted. It gave off a feeling of home.

  There was a trigger in my head, and I felt as if I was being pulled from the roof. My eyes blurred once more and I was being moved again. I was walking and not flying. I was grateful for that. Then I stopped and I could see once more. I was still in view of the blue house, but I could see a new side of the house. The blue house had a side walkway that led to a door. By this door, there was a beautiful garden. There were pink flowers peaking through. This could only mean one thing; it was springtime. I wanted to rush down to look closer but I couldn’t. I looked to the yard and saw a swing set and I felt my throat constricting. For some reason, I felt emotionally attached to everything around this house.

  I knew that I wanted to stare at it forever and learn everything about the people who occupied this house, but then I saw movement. I crawled to the edge of the house and hid behind the bump in the roof and the chimney.

  The front door to the house creaked open and it looked as if the door were examining the outside before peering out to say “hello world.” I wanted to chuckle at myself but then a shadow approached the door. A boy with combat boots, jeans and a black tee shirt stepped out. He kneeled abruptly on the ground and touched the side of the house as if he were trying to caress it.

  I wanted to giggle at the sight but I was too mesmerized by him to shift or make a sound. I realized then, that he was trying to do something to the house. I listened, realizing my ears could be heightened in this sense as well. He started groaning to himself and cursing but he stopped himself short. He immediately stood as if a bee stung him right on the behind and he turned slowly. The turn was bitterly slow and I felt like he knew I was there.

  I didn’t budge when his face turned up towards the sky. He looked straight at the bump that I hid behind. I wanted to peek around to get a closer look, but I could see past the bump enough. He kept his gaze on the chimney and I felt my breath catching. I felt explosions go off in my head as he turned his entire body around to face the house I was on. This boy was something like a dream. Better yet, I was willing to say he was the boy from my dreams.

  He quickly turned back to the house and walked with extraordinary speed to his house. I didn’t want to move, but my legs were cramping. I got up and shook my legs out to get out the kinks and was ready to get a better hiding spot along a tree in the yard when I saw him. I stopped in place and felt panic in my throat.

  He stood perfectly still on the roof in front of me and stared at me as if I were the only thing in the world. He looked at me as if I were the most recognizable face he’d ever seen. There was a great distance between us but I could almost feel that he was right beside me. That was the type of warmth he was giving off to me. I shuddered at the thought of me being beside him. I wanted that.

  He waved to me on the roof and I was feeling bashful but threw a hand back. He must have known that I was there before and he was probably curious as to why. He didn’t go about his business but instead continued to stare.

  That was when signals went off in my head. Bile burned in my throat, as I looked deeper at him. I felt signals go off in my head as the strange voices returned. “Initiating target,” it whispered to me.

  I stood up taller and looked deeper at him. The boy from my dreams was my target? How could that be? He did not look like my enemy but then again, the people on the street did not appear to be either.

  I felt strongly for this boy and it made anger build inside me. I had no idea why but I felt that I really knew him. I felt love for him but there was confliction in my mind. The voices exploded louder and I covered my ears. They screamed for me to know that this is the target. I was the
only person worthy of this target. I had to act natural so he didn’t suspect that I was going to come and kill him eventually. I took my palms from my ears and swapped my hair to the side to pretend that was what I was up to, to begin with.

  I calmed down but the voices did not stop. They were quieter than before but they still reminded me of the enemy before me. He looked concerned when I lifted my head back up but I sat down to act as if I belonged to the house in which I stood on.

  He walked closer to the edge of his roof and I felt butterflies. I willed them away because this was the target I would have to kill. It would be hard to kill something so beautiful.

  “New to the neighborhood?” he smiled over at me in a knowing way and I couldn’t break my strength.

  “You could say that.” I said as sweet as my voice would allow.

  He stopped his stride short when I spoke. A strange look passed over his face and I looked on in admiration, internally slapping myself square in the face.

  “You seem different.” He said calmly and I was struck by this comment because this stranger seemed to think he knew me. I was about to shake my head to tell him he for sure didn’t know me but then he spoke. “What’s your name?” he said to me, curbing my discomfort at him believing he knew me.

  “I don’t talk to strangers.” I said in a charming way, and I was quickly reminded of how women try to flirt. I didn’t want to become that. I didn’t even know how to do that, come to think of it.

  “I see. Well, I don’t want to bother you ma’am. I just wanted to say, you look absolutely beautiful on the roof with the sun shining on your pale skin.” He bowed gracefully with a wide smile on his face, as if he were telling a joke. I couldn’t help but smile back and I was struck how familiar his actions were. I felt my heart patter against my chest. I was happy to feel that patter, it seemed as if I never felt that anymore.