“Sorry for what?” I asked through gritted teeth. “This isn’t your fault. Look to the precious one in front of you.” I groaned with my lips completely on the ground.
“What are you talking about? The precious one?” I left my head down and realized she must not have seen Gabe’s eyes yet.
“Gabe.” I said to her. I lifted my head back up just to see her reaction. Her eyes widened.
“Gabe?” she asked in surprise.
“Yes. Me.” Gabe said loudly, as he turned to face her. Astonishment registered on Holland’s face. I watched as his demeanor changed through my restricted vision. He looked frightened, even with his red eyes. He looked frightened of Holland, who I believed he once loved. Not anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Three: Go Where Our Problems Won’t Follow
SHE DIDN’T SPEAK for a long time. Her head was hanging low as she stood with Max holding her. She was sobbing, and it was silently but I could see her shoulders shaking furiously.
“Why?” she screamed after a long time. “How could you do this? I trusted you. No, we trusted you.” She looked to me and I shook my head and looked down to avoid the hurt in her eyes. I was betrayed but I knew Holland cared for Gabe in a different way. “You are an abomination. I hate you Gabe Mitchell. I hate you. How could you do this to us? I hope you die.” She bawled. He cringed a little but Dr. Ravana moved from his lounged position to look at Gave straight on in disappointment. Gabe caught sight of Dr. Ravana’s eyes and looked fiercely forward.
“Did you ever love me?” she asked weakly. I looked to him, hoping somewhere in his cold heart that he wouldn’t hurt Holland more.
He didn’t hesitate. “No.” she buried her head back down and didn’t lift up again. She was trembling from the tears and I could tell anger was building up in her because her breath became uneven as it did when she couldn’t handle a situation.
I felt that it was my time to speak; if not for me, for Holland. “You know so much about us. We will die because you know us so well. But I want you to look back at what you’re leaving behind.” I said to him.
“I have left nothing important behind. I don’t really care what I’ve left behind.” He said and held my gaze long before he looked to Holland just a second too long for my liking. He opened the door and still looked at her. He left the room in the blink of an eye but Dr. Ravana stayed behind.
“Isn’t it great how things can turn out?” His smile was nauseating. I didn’t respond. I watched Holland. She finally turned to me, ignoring my father’s presence all together.
“I really loved him. How stupid of me.” She sniffed in before continuing. “I have been with him this whole time. I never left his side and he was with them the whole time. How could I have not been suspicious?”
“I don’t understand what happened to make him do this.”
Dr. Ravana answered for us and I clenched my teeth at his voice. “Oh, Gabe was a part of my internship in the summer, just as Joseph was. He was a genius at the age of nine. He was a little boy, Jared’s age. He was far beyond the wits of teenagers and he said he wanted to be a scientist or a doctor. I told him he could be better than that. He was so smart. He believed in me. He was your friend by the chance of God.” He smirked down to us. “Gabe wasn’t your friend when he moved into the safe house. He was working for me the entire time. His friendship with you only made things easier for me.”
“Why did he agree to be a traitor? What did you give him?” I asked.
“Pure protection and power you can only dream of.” He said simply while shrugging his shoulders. “Well, until I see it is necessary to give it to him.” He walked over and before I knew it, he jerked my head up by my hair. “But he is fooled, he doesn’t see that I don’t think of him as a son. I see him as a weapon that was used and that his time will be spent. It is only a matter of time.” he turned to Holland. “What a shame, you could have been great. You would have been a beautiful addition to the family.” He chuckled before letting go of my hair.
Holland spoke up. “I don’t see how this is a family when you will dispose of those who are not important any longer.”
“I don’t care what you think. I care what I get in the end. They know that. I have told them from the beginning. And if they don’t listen, I have a master mind beside me.” He backed up.
“But I know him.” She told him. “I know his hopes and dreams. He loved me, you know?” she said softly.
“Because I asked him to.” Dr. Ravana told her. He backed away and Holland’s face registered the truth of it all. “I guess I will give you time to let your broken heart heal.” He smiled to her and she shuttered beside me.
We were left on the floor, and Holland began laughing weakly. I looked amazed at her. She moved the slightest bit in Max’s arms. I frowned at her. I couldn’t have her going crazy on me. She laughed crazed again.
“What on earth could you be laughing at?” I said impatiently to her. I sighed in annoyance.
“How much do you want to save her?” Holland asked and locked eyes with me.
“I’ll do anything.” I said.
“Thought you’d say something like that.” She shifted herself once more in Max’s arms. “Then forgive me.”
I felt myself panic but then she was moving her hand in the slightest bit. Before I knew it, I felt Lena’s weight being lifted off of me and I shot up as fast I could in that moment. When I looked around, I couldn’t find Lena. I searched around me until I looked to the ceiling. Lena was wrapped in rope, while being held in place to the ceiling. It must have been the same weapon that brought Lena and me back in earlier. Her mouth was tapped shut as well as Max beside her, who was wrapped as well.
“What was that?” I whispered through the silence.
“Gabe left me weapons. What an idiot.” She laughed insanely as she jerked me forward with the pull of her hand. We reached the window’s ledge that I was just at with Lena.
“We’re flying. Let’s go.” She pulled from her side a tiny device. She turned it over once in her hand and clicked it on. It turned into a jet pack and she grabbed my arm hastily. The smoke built in the air as I saw figures run in the room behind us, shouting.
We flew into the air before I could see who it was, and I held onto Holland for dear life as the pack jolted forward. “Where is there to go?” I screamed over the noise.
“No clue. I have no idea where we are. We will just fly.” I looked behind me to see many figures flying behind me. They all shouted in surreal voices, they told us to “come back” and “surrender.”
We soared through the sky, and I felt safe for a second before being slammed in the back of the head. My vision blurred, and I felt myself losing grip on Holland before she shouted in my ear to wake me back up. There was a second blow and as I slung forward, I let go of Holland.
The fall was fast, and for a moment, I welcomed death. I looked up to see Holland as she dived down to catch me. She caught me under the armpits, and I was held in place. As I clutched onto Holland, I looked behind me to see fifteen creatures tailing us. They were the robots that Lena was now, some had red eyes and some had emerald eyes.
I was ready to attack them when I caught my eyes on a pair of bright red eyes. Then I felt the fire I was prepared for. However, I wasn’t prepared for a more excruciating pain. It was as if someone was breaking every bone in my body while setting me on fire. When I finally found the strength to close my eyes, I had an idea.
“Holland. Fly towards the ocean now!” I shouted to her and still felt the pain.
She obeyed me, and I felt the mist of the ocean as we soared closer to it. I looked up to find that only one followed us as the others kept their distance from the water. I touched the water with my feet as the robot continued down. It was a boy and I didn’t recognize his face. His eyes were red, and I wondered how many others had to die. Gabe was forming his own army of red-eyed freak soldiers. I kicked as much water on him as I could with my feet.
His face turned a brig
ht red and steam escaped his ears. Blisters formed as soon as the steam stopped. He cried in pain and backed up as I continued to kick water up at him. He barely escaped the last splash of water and he flew to meet his crew above.
Holland and I stayed there for a while because none of the other robots soared down after seeing what happened. Holland looked menacingly up at them. “I hate them all.” She said in a chilled voice.
I looked into the air to see that they were gone. We decided to keep moving for what seemed like an hour. We soared close to the water. We finally saw something in the distance. As we approached it, I felt myself sigh in relief.
“We need to land there.” I told Holland.
“I don’t think we can make it there. The jetpack is losing speed.” Just as she said this, the jetpack made a pitiful sound. We caught each other’s eyes. Then we dropped.
We hit the water hard. I went under the water to feel relief. When I rose back up, I heard screams of horror. My heart started beating fast, and out of my periphery, I caught sight of Holland panicking.
“What’s wrong?” I shouted through the waves crashing down.
“Water burns.” She said between screams. I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to help except to help her swim to the island. As I grabbed her and attempted to lead her to the island, she pushed away from me. I reached frantically for her hand and heard her screams growing more intense.
She pulled something out of her pocket. It was neon yellow and a small circle. Through the screams we were elevated out of the water. I jolted in shock as I realized that we were in a raft. Gabe must have given her a lot of gadgets to use.
“I forgot about this one.” She said through gasps.
We floated a little. The waves were too much, and we needed to reach the land. I was going to tell Holland this but she had other plans. Holland laid her back on the raft. Some water splashed up, and I got in front of her to avoid it hitting her square on again.
“I can’t do this. I feel like Lena. I feel weak and I won’t let them control me.” She said softly to me. I didn’t answer. Instead I sat down on the float.
She continued. “We have to stop them. You know we can. We don’t need Gabe. We just need each other.” She climbed closer to me. “We can do this.” She looked me right in the eyes and nodded. I was taken aback.
As if she read my mind, she continued. “I know you’re unsure and don’t think you can do this, but you’re a genius too. You were in charge before you left and brought Lena back. You built the machines Gabe wanted created. We don’t need him.” She spoke softly to me and lifted up to give me a small hug.
“Jared. Your father is smart and we both hate him but you have his intelligence. Not the bad things in his mind but you have his mind. We can do this together. I can help build things. I can do whatever you need.”
I didn’t talk for a while and she grabbed my hand. “The girl you love is in there. She is trapped and she needs you. Don’t give up on her. I am sick for her and why? Because I love her like a sister and you deserve a speck of happiness. You can’t punish yourself forever for your mistakes.” I cringed but she persisted on. “We have to stop this. We have to save what is left of the world and rebuild it; together?” she held out her hand. I looked at it for a moment and then glanced into her eyes.
“How sure are you that we can do this?” I asked.
She gulped and told the truth that I didn’t want to hear. “Jared, we are the last people to save what is left of the world. We’re the last people who give a damn.” I took her hands in mine. “If not us, then who?”
“Holland, let’s die trying.” I said and I felt the raft being pulled over by a wave. It crashed down and I hovered my body over Holland’s. We finally reached the land, and I helped her out of it.
She smiled to me. “While we’re on this land, we have to recharge the pack. It recharges on it’s own so no worries and then we will be out of here. That raft has a speed button so keep it safe.” She hit the button, and it retracted back to its small shape.
She pulled out what appeared to be a million tiny gadgets from inside her pockets. Underneath her jeans, underneath her shirt, she took out a lot of things. “How did they never find those?” I said in shock. She laughed out loud.
“They become glued to my body and I hid them in places.” I held up my hand to stop her.
“Enough info. Got you.” She smiled and it seemed to pain her cheek because she instantly touched her cheek.
I cringed and she looked away quickly. I sat down on the ground and we began working frantically. I opened each gadget and began adjusting things on the insides. We had to make these weapons better and stronger than ever.
We weren’t sure where we would end up, but we knew the war was just starting and that we would have to finish it. We had to. We would either die or save the entire world. If we did die, we hoped it would be for the greater good. The world would never be the same, but we had to salvage its remains.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my mom, my dad, Dina, Dimitri, Grandma, Susie, Great Grandmother and Yiayia for giving me with the courage to write this book. I have many people to thank for the courage I have now.
I want to thank Edee for being there for me when I was still learning the ropes of book writing. I will always remember you and what you have done for me.
Thank you, Ron for taking my pictures. They are amazing and I can’t thank you enough.
Thank you to my editor, Measha, for being awesome and my second pair of eyes. You let me know what worked and what didn’t. You have changed the story in the best way possible.
Thank you to Ashley for listening to my vision. I could never have had my dream covers without you.
Thank you to my family for listening to me ramble on to you about wanting to write this book. All of you have believed in me and I’m blessed to have the biggest support system.
To my mom, who always told me to never give up even when I felt like I was going fail. You always told me I would make it happen if I put faith in myself first.
To my dad, who encouraged me and always believed in me, even when I was unsure.
To Dimitri, who always told me I could make it and that I was crazy not to try. And for always telling me that I will make it. I believe in you too. Your dreams will come true soon.
To Dina, who listened to me and encouraged me to do this. We both are going to do great things one day. I love you forever.
To Grandma, You always believed in me and you were so proud of me. I hope I still make you proud up there. I will see you again someday.
Finally, thank you for reading my books.
About the Author
Taylor Hondos attends the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, studying English Literature. In high school, she began writing “Antidote” and finished writing it by the end of her freshman year of college. “Prospect” is the second book in the Antidote trilogy. She plans to release “Corruption” next year. She lives with her family and adorable Miniature Schnauzer in North Carolina.
CORRUPTION
TAYLOR HONDOS
Copyright © 2017 Taylor Hondos
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
Print ISBN : 978-1-927940-83-9
EPUB ISBN : 978-1-927940-84-6
This is for all the dreamers out there.
PART ONE
Prologue: Gabe
Three Months Ago
THERE WAS NO one around for miles; a desolate place where there were no survivors. No fighters. There would be none by the end of this. I
knew this, and the world most certainly knew this.
I landed with a thud, and looked around out of habit to see if anyone had heard the sound. Of course they hadn’t though, no one cared, and there was no one left to hear. I squinted my eyes trying to grasp an image in the dark ahead of me. Finally as my eyes adjusted, I could see him. His eyes watched me from afar, unmoving. I waited. When I saw he wasn’t moving an inch from his place, I sighed deeply. He is going to make me walk the whole way to him, I thought anxiously.
I trudged forward slowly, milking it. Each clunk underneath me felt like a hammer slamming down on my back. Ha, Going to make you wait for me. If he wanted me to walk this whole way, then he was going to have to wait up on me.
She was heavy in my arms. Dead weight. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was slightly ajar. She was in a deep sleep. That was for sure. I examined her forehead. It was black, with dried up blood all around it. The rot was deep, and I didn’t know how she would ever be useful again. He wanted her though. She was the main part of this operation. I turned away from the rot before I felt ill. I had done this. I had caused her to rot so severely.
I wondered how Jared ever got so close to her. It was pretty gruesome being this close to her. Her head slumped over to the side in response to my thoughts. I held her as best as I could until I reached him.
“I see you brought the girl with you.” He spoke through the silence as a greeting to me. He turned away from me and began walking in the other direction. I rolled my eyes. Seriously? Do I have to carry her the whole damn way? I should throw her on the ground; maybe then he would pick her up.
“How’d you pull that off?” he said calmly. I smirked, but it was followed by a grunt as I tripped over my own feet. Idiot.
Antidote Trilogy: The Complete Box Set Page 33