by Marina Epley
Chase and Marcus stare at me, open-mouthed.
“Holy cow!” Chase exclaims.
“Was that you?” Marcus asks. “How did you do that?”
I offer no explanation. I’ve no idea how I did it.
I look at the metal door and it begins trembling. A moment later the metal buckles and breaks by the same invisible force.
“Don’t follow me,” I say to Marcus and Chase.
I enter the bunker, leaving them behind.
I walk slowly down a long dusky corridor, the same passageway I’d walked several months ago. It’s the same bunker where Guardian captured me before. It’s the place Hammer ruthlessly gunned down the leaders of our former government. And the place where I saw my mother for the last time, right before she shot me in the face.
This is where everything will end, I think. It seems logical and somehow fitting.
I run into squads of Guardian’s soldiers along the way. They open fire, trying to shoot me on sight, but their bullets veer harmlessly away. I continue walking ahead, as their flailing bodies ascend into the air. Their heads explode as I pass, flesh and blood splattering against the walls and ceiling.
I guess I’m truly some sort of monster now. And it’s unsettling to say the least. No one possessing this level of power should be allowed to live.
I enter the main office area, instantly recognizing the place. This is the room where everything happened. Guardian trapped me in here, pressing me against a wall to watch as Hammer killed the leaders of our government. I remember like it was yesterday.
I take a look around and suddenly, there he is. Casually sitting behind a large desk. It looks like he has been waiting for me. We face each other. This is the very man who’s destroyed our world and ruined my life. He’s also the one who ordered Kitty shot.
“So you finally made it, did you?” Guardian asks in his soft voice. “Bravo, my friend. You haven’t disappointed me after all.”
I remain silent. I hate the sound of his voice. I’m disgusted by seeing his face. And I’m not scared.
Guardian smiles mockingly. He rises to his feet, walks around his desk and stops right in front of me. I become tense. I know I can’t manipulate him in the same manner as I have with his soldiers. He’s probably still much stronger than me. His ability comes naturally. So it may be wise to wait until he makes the first move.
“So what now, Rex?” Guardian asks. “Why have you come? Have you finally returned home?”
“I’m here to kill you,” I answer.
Guardian laughs. “Do you really think you have the slightest chance to take me?”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” I say.
“Such arrogance!” He grins. “Do you remember asking why I chose you? Well, there’s a good reason. You’ve always been so disgustingly arrogant and stubborn. You always had to do things your own way. You amuse me. I immensely enjoyed watching your struggles. You realize of course, how most human beings are far too easy to subdue. But you, along with your little redhead friend, offered real challenges.” He sighs, adding, “I’m very sorry for your loss by the way. It must be terribly hard on you.”
He pauses. I don’t speak.
“Her death was accidental, you know,” Guardian continues. “My soldiers were directed to terminate you, not her. I’d never condone having such a unique breaker like Kitty destroyed. Her death is a tragedy.”
Guardian pauses again, waiting for my reaction. I remain quiet.
“You shouldn’t continue to waste energy blaming me for her death,” he adds. “It’s your own fault. Had you only accepted your destiny, she’d be still alive. Had you ceased resisting, you’d be leader of the Army of Justice by now. And Kitty could have become one of our top notch soldiers. Perhaps even a commander in time.”
“She would never have agreed to serve you,” I answer.
“How could you know that?”
I shrug.
“So let me ask you again. What happens now, Rex?” Guardian says. “Let’s consider the remote possibility that you kill me, ridiculous as that notion is. What then? Do you think breakers and non-breakers would then learn how to coexist in peace? Did the crazy professor convince you to believe in his fairy tales?” He lets out a laugh, looking at me with condescension. “We can never coexist in peace. And saying we, I mean all humanity. Hatred coupled with an innate desire to kill are part of our nature. It’s not love or friendship driving us to further development and progress. Our enemies make us strong and we have to have them in order to move forward. Were there no breakers left in this world, human beings would simply create another foe. They would find somebody else to hate, anyone with some slight variation from the norm. It may be those handicapped, or even people with a different color of eyes or hair. Don’t you agree?”
“Honestly,” I say, “I don’t give a damn.”
Guardian ignores my comment, continuing with his philosophical onslaught.
“Our hatred toward non-breakers is justified,” he states. “It’s the natural outcome of evolution. Out with the old, in with the new. That’s precisely what all animal species do.”
“We’re not animals,” I remind him.
“You’re still emotionally attached to the non-breakers, aren’t you?” Guardian asks.
I don’t answer.
“I respect your stubbornness,” he declares. “And I admit I enjoy our conversations. It’s difficult to find a person who’s willing to speak to me as an equal. It’s not easy being me, Rex. My soldiers are scared of me. And they all perceive me like some kind of God. It seems that you’re the only one who fully realizes that I’m just a man.”
“You would be mistaken,” I say. “I think you’re a freak.”
“You’re not intimidated by me, are you?” he asks, smiling. The table and chairs begin trembling behind him.
“No,” I answer. “And tonight, we’re both going to die.”
“You’ll be the one who dies this night my misguided friend,” he counters. “You’re a dead man and it’s time to put you in the grave for good.”
The table and chairs fly upward, ripped into pieces by an invisible force. Something hits me hard in the chest, knocking me across the room. At the same time, an unseen force also hits Guardian. It raises him off his feet and plunges him down hard. We’re on opposite sides of the room now, each trying to recover. Guardian is first to rise back to his feet.
“Not too shabby,” he says, laughing. “Holtzmann obviously did a great job with you, but did he instruct you on how to properly manipulate the telekinesis? I imagine you have no idea what you’re doing.”
Lamp bulbs explode above both our heads, sending shards of sharp glass raining down. I scramble to my feet and run toward the door to lure him outside. It shuts closed right in front of me.
“Coward!” Guardian yells. “You miserable, weak coward!”
The floor and walls begin vibrating. He’s going to kill me, I realize. I don’t mind dying, but I have one more thing to do first.
I concentrate harder. I manage to rip the door from the doorway and hurl it at Guardian. It doesn’t manage to hit him.
I run down the long passageway. The main exit, I think, I have to make it to the main exit. My heart is racing and my heartbeat is unsteady. I see everything only through a blurry red haze. The drug is beginning to kill me now.
Something grabs me from behind, forcing me down hard onto the floor. I look back and watch as Guardian walks toward me. He moves his feet slowly, because he has no reason to hurry. I’m the one running out of time.
“Do you really think you or anyone else can stop me?” he asks. “You can destroy my headquarters and kill all my puppets, but guess what? I don’t mind. I’ll rebuild everything only to allow it to be destroyed again.”
The force holding me abruptly raises me up into the air, smashing my body against the ceiling. I fall back down, hitting the floor hard. Sharp pain pierces through my left arm. I think it’s broken.
I me
ntally strike Guardian. I slam him against a wall, but can’t concentrate hard enough to keep him pinned down. He quickly blocks the attempt. I can hardly affect him at all.
“Very impressive,” he comments dryly. “But not quite good enough.”
I get to my feet, continuing to move toward the main exit. I’m limping badly and can’t move my left arm.
An invisible force strikes my head, knocking me down once again. Blood gushes from my nose, pooling on the floor. I realize Guardian is intent on tearing me into pieces. I find I’m still able to resist him only a little.
“Stop trying to block me,” I hear Guardian’s voice from behind. “You must realize there’s no use in it.”
I begin crawling toward the main exit. There’s about hundred yards between myself and the door, although it feels like a hundred miles.
Guardian laughs loudly.
“You’re like a worm,” he comments. “It’s so entertaining to watch.”
I don’t react, continuing to crawl and leaving behind a blood trail along the way.
“After you die, I’m going to kill all your friends as promised,” Guardian states, following after me. “Let’s see who we have on the list. Rebecca, Marian, Marcus, Chase, Victor. Or maybe Victor isn’t you friend? Well, I’ll terminate him anyway. Did I forget anybody? Oh, of course… Jessie. I shouldn’t forget her.”
Finally approaching the exit, something invisible grips my legs, dragging me back a few feet into the building. I concentrate, trying to fight it off. I hear Guardian’s derisive laughter. He’s not fighting with me, not really. He’s just toying with his victim in the same manner as a cat plays with a mouse before killing it.
I finally make it outside. It’s dark. I still hear gunfire in the distance. I look around, wondering where Marcus and Chase are. Hopefully, they’re still alive. They’ve probably taken cover, because Guardian will kill them on sight.
“It’s a beautiful night,” Guardian sighs, standing beside me now. “I’m actually glad Elimination has destroyed this place. It was a prison after all. It never really befitted serving as my headquarters.”
He tosses me up into the air again, only to smash me against the concrete below. I cry out in pain. I feel like every bone in my body has been broken. I lie on my back, watching Guardian watch me. He has a wide grin spread across his face. Something begins pressing me harder into the concrete. I concentrate, trying to stop him from crushing me. I reach back for anything that’s left in me and focus on resisting his will. Guardian winces in his effort.
“It’s all over, Rex,” he says. “Stop resisting. Make it easier on yourself.”
I continue concentrating, ignoring the pain. I have to distract Guardian as much as possible. He mustn’t focus on anything else, besides killing me.
Doing so seems to amuse him.
“Did you really believe you could kill me?” he asks. “Did you think you could overpower me, being all alone? You’re nothing in comparison to me. You’re just a drugged boy, one with no idea how to use his skill. I don’t even have to kill you myself. I could simply wait until the drug finishes you off.” He pauses, looking straight into my eyes. “Any last words, Rex?”
I don’t answer, concentrating.
A moment later, a bullet smashes into Guardian’s temple. Blood sprays from his head. His body remains standing for another instant before collapsing a few feet away. He has an astonished look on his face in death.
“I’m not alone!” I exclaim, kicking his corpse.
That’s it, I think, this is where everything ends.
I begin laughing. Guardian is dead and Jessie has gunned him down.
“Thank you,” I whisper, still laughing. “Thank you so much, Jess.”
I lie motionless on the ground, waiting for the drug to finish me off. My head and arm hurt, but the pain won’t be bothering me much longer. I’m about to join Kitty. I’m about to leave this violent, crazy world behind.
I smile. My heart begins to beat faster and faster, then slows. I can’t feel my legs. It’s getting difficult to breathe.
I think of Kitty. I want her image to be my final thought.
My vision darkens. I close my eyes, embracing death. It feels good and relieving, almost like falling asleep.
***
I awaken on my back in tall green grass. I sit up and find myself in the middle of a large beautiful meadow, colorful flowers blooming all around. I can’t understand where the heck I am or how I ended up here. The blue sky is impeccable. The temperature is neither hot nor cold. I feel a light pleasant breeze on my face. I can see some sort of farmhouse across the meadow and some dark shady woods on the horizon.
My jaw drops. Where am I?
I slowly rise to my feet, realizing that my left arm now seems perfectly fine. I don’t feel any pain anywhere. And on top of everything else, my right eye is no longer blind, and I can hear!
I stand unmoving, unable to comprehend everything.
“Rex!” I hear Kitty’s voice from behind.
“Kitty!” I exclaim, turning to face her.
Kitty falls right into my arms. I hug her tightly. She’s laughing and crying at the same time. She kisses my face and lips.
“Kitty!” I breathe out. “Are you real?”
“Of course I’m real!” she laughs. “I’ve been waiting for you! What took you so long?”
“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I say. “I had work to finish, I came as fast as I could.”
Kitty gives me another hug. She’s dressed in a summer dress, her long red hair flowing behind her back.
“What is this place?” I ask. “Is it heaven or just some hallucination?”
“I don’t really know,” Kitty answers. “But it doesn’t make any difference now, does it?”
“No,” I say. “It doesn’t matter a bit.”
She takes my hand, pulling me in the direction of the farmhouse.
“Come with me,” Kitty says. “I’ll show you around.”
We walk across the meadow, holding hands and smiling. I can’t stop staring at her.
“It’s so great here!” Kitty exclaims. “I’m sure you’ll like it. Everything is exactly the way you described. There are dinosaurs in the woods. We can hunt them later. The weather here is perfect year round. And the best thing about this place is that everybody is here. Chelsey, Lena, Jimmy, Vogel… everybody! Even Dustin and Christina.”
“Wheeler,” I say. “Is he here as well?”
“I don’t think so,” Kitty answers. “But if he ever shows up, we’re gonna kick him out. What can he do to us now? We’re already dead.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“I’m always right. Come. Marian must be waiting for us.”
“Marian? What is she doing here?”
“I don’t know. Is something wrong?”
Something bothers me for a second, but then I look into Kitty’s eyes and the worrisome thought disappears. I don’t care about anything else as long as I’m together again with Kitty.
“You’ll never leave me again, will you?” she asks.
“Never,” I answer sincerely. “I promise.”
Kitty smiles broadly, holding my hand and pulling me forward. I willingly follow, leaving all my worries and painful memories behind. I’m happy and there’s no other place in the world I’d wish to be.
Chapter 31
I hear voices and irritating beeping noises. I sense bright light through my closed eyelids. I realize I’m lying on my back on some sort of hard, cold surface. My entire body is hurting and I can’t move.
“We’ve brought him back,” somebody says in a firm voice. “He’s stabilizing now.”
What?! They brought me back? I don’t want to be brought back. I want to return to that wonderful, beautiful place where Kitty is waiting.
I’m desperate. I want to order the medics to let me go. I want to push them away, but remain motionless. No matter how hard I try, I can’t move. I can’t speak. I’m not even breathing on my
own. There’s a plastic tube inserted into a hole in my neck, hooked to a machine that steadily pumps oxygen into my lungs.
Despite my weakness, I manage to collect enough strength to raise my right arm. I grab the plastic tube and rip it away from my throat.
Doctors begin fussing over me. Somebody tries to unbend my fingers, but I hold onto the tube as tightly as I can. I’m not about to stay in this world. I’m returning to Kitty. I promised her I’d never leave her again, and that’s a promise I must keep.
A needle pricks my skin and the drug knocks me out. I don’t have any dreams this time, I’m all alone in pitch-black darkness.
***
When I next come to, I’m lying in bed inside a hospital room. I can hardly breathe and my hands are shaking. I attempt to sit up, but instantly fall back down.
A few minutes later, several doctors barge in. They shove a thermometer into my mouth. They take my blood pressure and shine a light into my eyes. I’m so confused and woozy that I can’t comprehend their words. But what I do pick up is that I’ve just spent the last five weeks in a medically induced coma until my condition stabilized. My heart didn’t fail after all, I only stopped breathing. Fortunately, Chase, Marcus and Jessie found me in time. They performed resuscitation until the medical team arrived. My body is now clean of Holtzmann’s drug and my prognosis is positive. The only complication is that my muscles have atrophied due to being totally incapacitated during the past few weeks. As soon as I regain my strength, I’ll be allowed to leave the hospital.
I’m obviously in that darn five percent the drug didn’t kill! And I’m going to kill Jessie.
The doctors say I’m extremely lucky. They call me a living miracle. I remain silent as I don’t share in their enthusiasm.
After the medics leave, a furious Holtzmann marches in.
“Why couldn’t you follow simple instructions?!” is the first thing I hear from him. “Why didn’t you inject the antidote?!”
The professor rages for a good ten minutes before finally calming down enough to update me on our current situation. The war has ended. Most of Guardian’s troops quickly surrendered after their leader’s demise. The majority of them are awaiting trial, locked away in prison. Of course they all deny their crimes, insisting that Guardian forced them to serve in his army against their wills.