The Restrainers: Third Book in The Amplified Series

by Lauren M. Flauding

  Adrian looks at me and gives me a weak smile, then his face changes as he takes in my uniform.

  "Hold on, you're a Restrainer?"

  I sigh. This is always the hardest part of the story to tell people. One, because it's the only part that's true, and two, because it reminds me of Miles.

  "When I escaped from the Dissenters, I came into the city and saw what had happened to everyone. I was able to get into the control tower to switch the Amplifiers back on and help the Governor get rid of the robots. In return, the Governor offered me the chance to become a Restrainer."

  "I can't believe it!" Adrian exclaims. “I heard the rumors that it was a clam who went up there, but I would never have imagined it was you!"

  "I know, pretty ironic, huh?" I say flatly.

  He lets out a sound that could be a laugh.

  "What's been happening here in the Community?" I ask, wanting to change the subject.

  "It's getting back to normal," he replies, sitting down on his couch. "People have been rebuilding and getting back to work. Right after the attack from the North, there were hundreds of people who requested to have their Amplifiers removed, but the Governor made them wait three months. When the time came around, only a handful actually went through with it."

  Of course, I think. The Governor knew the trauma of being overtaken by the robots would wear off once people got used to depending on their Amplifiers again.

  "Is the Override Program still in effect?" I ask.

  "Yeah, but it's only been activated a couple times since the attack.”

  Interesting. That's probably why most of those people felt less urgency to get rid of their Amplifiers.

  Suddenly, Adrian stands up and hugs me again.

  "Mari, I'm so glad you're alive," he confesses. "You can't imagine how hard it's been, I've felt so alone and so helpless."

  I feel so bad for him right now that I want break down and tell him mom and Daniel are actually still alive, but there's a sound at the door. I look over and see a small package being slipped under Adrian's door.

  Adrian practically throws me aside and lunges toward the package, swiping it up and tearing it open. He looks at me sheepishly once he realizes I'm staring at him. He pulls out several clear pills that look like nutrition capsules, only slightly larger.

  "Do you want one?" He asks hesitantly.

  "What are they? What do they do?"

  "They're Euphorics. They're like Intoxication capsules, but much stronger and they don't shut off your Amplifier. They're like ... here."

  He pops one of the pills in his mouth. His eyes close and he looks like he's unconscious for half a second, then his face lights up with a strange smile.

  "They just make you feel really, really good," he states stupidly, his eyes wide and glazed over. "They started handing them out after the attack from the North to help people get past the trauma."

  "Who started handing them out?"

  "I don't know, people."

  "You don't know who makes them or where they come from?"

  "They come from my buddy down the hall."

  "Where does he get them?"

  "Why does it matter, Mari? They're great! You could bash my knees in with a metal beam right now and I wouldn't feel a thing!"

  "How long do they last?"

  "About an hour. You should try one!" He offers the package to me and giggles a bit.

  "Maybe another time," I respond, eyeing the pill warily.

  Adrian shrugs his shoulders and puts the package on a nearby table, but the wide smile never leaves his face.

  "Listen," I say, stepping toward the door, "I have to get back my post, but it was really good to see you, Adrian. I'll see if I can stop by again next week sometime."

  "That would be marvelous, Mari!" He gushes, spreading his arms and spinning around.

  I back out of his apartment slowly, resolving to find out all I can about these new Euphorics.

  Chapter 4

  "You're sure it's safe?"

  "Yes, the cable will hold you," I repeat for the 10th time this morning. "Just put your feet into the loop on the bottom, hold on, and the cable will pull you up to the air barge."

  The girl looks at the cable suspiciously, but finally steps into the loop.

  I've been helping this year's new trainees get on to the air barge. I can't believe only two years ago it was me and my friends starting our training, excited to be getting Amplified and learning hundreds of new skills. I never could have imagined back then that I would be standing here as a Restrainer today.

  "Hey, are you Mari Quillen?"

  I turn around and see a young boy staring up at me.

  "Yes. Can I help you?"

  The boy doesn't say anything, he just continues to gaze up at me with his mouth open. This has been happening to me a lot lately. Apparently, word got out that I was the one who switched the Amplifiers back on that night of the attack. As much as the Restrainers hate me, it seems everyone else loves me. Almost every time I'm out in public, people will point at me or try to talk to me, so I do my best to stay out of sight, which isn't easy when you're wearing a metallic silver uniform.

  "Okay Quillen, it's time to climb up to the barge," Clint announces as he walks by. "Say goodbye to your little admirer," he adds condescendingly. I leave the boy will his mouth still gaping and follow Clint under the aloft barge to the other side where the rest of the Restrainers are gathering. The barge is about 250 feet in the air, but the force of the turbines keeping it afloat are still strong enough to make me feel like I'm being pounded into the ground. I stumble a couple times, but manage to keep my balance so I don't fall over.

  We reach the other side and each grab a cable. We have to climb them in order to get to the deck of the barge before the trainees do so we can help them over the edge. Just the thought of it makes my arms ache. I'll be climbing almost twice as high as I did when I snuck on the supply barge with Miles last year. Good thing I'm Amplified this time, I think bitterly.

  I hear the other Restrainers giving themselves commands and I follow suit.

  "Mari, climb the cable up to the air barge.”

  Hand over hand, I ascend the cable as quickly as I can. I glance around at the Restrainers climbing next to me. They're all climbing at the same rate, automatically, with almost bored expressions on their faces. I'm incredibly grateful when I feel the cables start ratcheting us up to the barge, but that doesn't mean I can stop. Arm strength has never been my forte, and the muscles there are already sore.

  "Mari, use your legs to climb the cable," I command myself. I wrap my legs tighter around the cord and start pushing myself up with my legs, which takes some of the strain off of my arms. A Restrainer next to me gives me an odd look.

  "The joints are out in my left elbow," I lie. "It hurts to use my arms."

  "You can take care of that with your Amplifier," the woman responds.

  "Of course! Good point," I answer, feigning relief. "I'll take care of that when we get to the barge."

  The woman rolls her eyes, probably thinking about how stupid I am, but luckily she doesn't press the matter further.

  I'm now moving up the cable like an inchworm. I've fallen a little behind the others, an inevitable result of my new climbing strategy. I try not to think about how much my body hurts and instead focus on how good the air feels up here. After what seems like hours I finally arrive at the deck of the barge.

  We run to the other side where the trainees will be coming up, and I get slightly nostalgic as we pass the Coliseum. I intentionally take a secondary position at the edge so I'll be steadying the trainees as they come on instead of using my aching arm muscles to pull them over the side. Once the cables bring them up to the barge, it doesn't take very much time to get them all on deck and lined up alphabetically. There are a lot less trainees than I had expected.

  When all the trainees are in position, a bulky man with long, stringy hair emerges from one of the nearby buildings. It's Justin, Talina's assistant
trainer. Apparently, he's been promoted to head trainer. He regards everyone, making an extra effort to throw a nasty glare in my direction, and then signals that the Restrainers can leave.

  I peek over the side of the barge. The landing park looks like a small, rectangular patch from up here. I strap on my goggles and smile in spite of myself.

  "Mari, jump off the barge and guide your body to the landing park.”

  I spread my arms wide and step off the edge of the deck as calmly as I can. I hear the wind rushing through my ears as I fall through the air. It's a little unnerving to think that all I have to steer myself are the movements of my own body. I struggle to keep my eyes on the landing park below; there's so much more to look at. I see the entire Community stretching out beneath me, the eight compounds connected to the city by the Mall-cruiser tracks. Altogether, it looks like a huge spider.

  I notice that I'm drifting away from my target on the landing park, so I adjust one of my hands slightly so that I float sideways. Soon I am centered again. I don't want to think about what would happen if I drifted outside of the park's boundaries. I continue to make small movements with my hands and feet, concentrating on keeping my body steady.

  I'm nearing the landing park now. For a few seconds I'm afraid the air turbines aren't on, but soon I feel the resistance. It begins as a minor pressure pushing up from below and steadily increases as it slows my descent. I'm one of the last Restrainers to get to the threshold in the landing park, probably because most of the others were doing fancy acrobatics on the way down while I just kept my body outstretched. We all hover about 4 feet up until the last stage of the turbines powers down and we fall lightly onto the grated floor.

  People that were watching our descent begin to disperse, and I grit my teeth and force myself to walk steadily out of the park. It's all I can do to try and keep my legs from shaking.

  ———

  When I finally get to my apartment building I'm startled to find that my door is slightly open. I look suspiciously down the bright hallway, but nothing seems out of place. Everything looks pristine, as usual. I had tried to avoid living in these extravagant apartments with all the other Restrainers, but it was expected. I didn't want to draw more attention to myself.

  I carefully push open the door, my other hand reaching for the gun at my side. I peer into the front room. Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary, everything is where I left it. My apartment is incredibly sparse. The only things I brought here were some clothes and my ancient music device, and the apartment was supplied with only the most necessary furniture. In general, the place looks very empty.

  I creep around the corner. The door to the bedroom is cracked open and I can see that someone is sitting on my bed. My heart starts beating faster. Who would want to break into my apartment? I take a deep breath, then kick open the door and aim my gun at the intruder.

  He jumps off the bed and puts his hands in the air.

  "Whoa! Mari! I just need to talk to you!"

  It's Liam.

  Chapter 5

  I quickly put my gun down when I see who it is, but I'm still a little shaken. Apparently, so is Liam.

  "What are you doing pointing a gun at my face?" He exclaims.

  "What are you doing breaking into my apartment?" I fire back.

  "I need to talk to you and I couldn't just stand out waiting for you in the hallway!"

  "You scared me! You could have been anyone! How did you get in?"

  "It was easy,” he replies, a little more calm now. “I used my Amplifier. You should really think about getting more complex locks."

  "Oh," I respond simply. I suddenly feel very vulnerable knowing that almost anyone could get into my apartment. "I'm sorry I almost shot you," I say, sitting down on the bed, "but you would have done the same thing in my situation."

  "If I were in your situation I'd work on a better security system."

  "Okay, I get it," I grumble. "Why do you need to talk to me?"

  "It's Alia."

  I feel an immediate heaviness in the room. I've thought countless times about how to get up to the North to find Alia, but none of my ideas seem possible. I've only been an official Restrainer for a few weeks now and I really don't have much influence with anyone. How could I expect to be approved for a costly rescue mission?

  "What do you want me to do?" I ask hopelessly.

  "Talk to Governor Plenaris," Liam responds.

  "Look, if you think the Governor and I are on good terms just because he made me a Restrainer, you are mistaken," I argue. "He hates me just as much as he ever did, maybe even more now, and he's not going to be thrilled with me if I ask him to go find some hostages he doesn't care about."

  "Maybe not the hostages," Liam counters," but I'll bet you anything he cares a lot about the technology."

  I bite my lip. I had never considered that angle.

  "Go on," I urge.

  "If you go to the Governor and request an assignment to recover some of the North's resources, I'm sure he'd consider it."

  "And I can find out what happened to Alia and the others while I'm there," I finish. "Liam, that's brilliant!"

  "It's pretty standard, actually," he responds. "I'm surprised you hadn't already thought of it with all of your enhanced abilities," he adds jokingly.

  I scowl at him, but he's right. I've been too distracted and narrow-minded lately with training and thinking about Miles. It's a sound plan. Now I just have to figure out how to get in to see Governor Plenaris.

  ———

  I take deep breaths as I climb the winding stairs to the top of the control tower. It's enough that I have to see the man I loathe during frequent Restrainer meetings, but now I have to face the Governor personally as well. I practically had to beg Clint to try to get me an appointment with him, which wasn't at all pleasant, but my reluctant handler came through. Now I'm regretting the whole situation.

  What if the Governor doesn't let me go? What if he suspects that I have ulterior motives? What if he does end up letting me go, but then requires something impossible from me? I desperately want to find Alia and bring her back - it's part of the reason I became a Restrainer - but this request could compromise everything.

  I reach the circular control room at the top of the tower which is surrounded by windows. I shudder as I recall the last time I was up here. Mostly everyone in the city was unconscious and the Governor was being held here while General Remington was attempting to kidnap the members of the Community. The two men were arguing about the West and destroying self-will. I still wonder how they knew each other.

  "Mari, it's your turn."

  I snap out of my memories and see Clint standing beside the door.

  "Make it quick," he warns as I step into the room. I'm surprised when he follows me in, but I'm actually relieved that he'll be in here with me.

  "You requested to see me, Miss Quillen?" The Governor remarks, turning to face me. "I hope nothing is wrong. Perhaps your duties are not exciting enough?" He suggests.

  "No sir, my duties are perfectly acceptable," I respond awkwardly.

  "Then what is your concern?"

  "I've been considering the North-"

  "The North is no longer a threat," the Governor cuts in. "After their crushing defeat several months ago, they have ceased their attacks."

  "Yes, thanks to you, sir," I reply. I have to work really hard to make myself sound sincere as I complement him and not gag on the words as the come out of my mouth. "However," I continue, "I think it would be beneficial to send a constituency to the North in an effort to acquire a sample of their technology. This way, we can be better equipped to defend ourselves if they attack again." I swallow hard. I'd rehearsed what I was going to say dozens of times, but I'm not sure if I was convincing enough.

  The Governor studies me and raises his eyebrows. After a few seconds, his mouth works itself into a smug smile.

  "I agree," he says deliberately. "You would be willing to undertake this operation?"


  "Of course."

  "Good. Normally, I wouldn't give this type of assignment to someone so inexperienced, but I'm having a hard time finding anyone who wants to work with you," the Governor explains, almost gleefully. "The North's inventions could be very useful to us, and it will be good to have you out of the way for a couple weeks." He turns to Clint. "You will accompany her."

  "Absolutely," Clint responds with a wide grin. I haven't seen him this excited since the time he caught a snake during training.

  "A select group of soldiers will also join you," Governor Plenaris states. "Transport and provisions will be prepared. You will leave in two days." The Governor looks absently over at the screens in the front of the room. "You are dismissed."

  I start to head out the door, relieved and elated that he approved my request.

  "Miss Quillen?"

  I turn back to the Governor, whose face is a mixture of amusement and loathing.

  "Don't disappoint me.”

  Chapter 6

  I nearly laugh out loud when Clint and I drive up to the warehouse behind the Governor's mansion and see the group assembled to go to the North. Standing in a line in their pristine soldier uniforms are Liam, Joby, Cassidy and Tristan. It will be nice to go to the North with some old friends, but something seems suspicious. I look over at Clint.

  "Who was in charge of selecting these soldiers?" I ask.

  "I was," Clint replies.

  "How did you know?"

  "I had to do a ton of research on you before I became your handler. I watched a lot of old surveillance. I know more about you than I'd like to admit. I also know you're really doing this to find your friend, but I don't really mind because it means a nice vacation for me in the North."

  "I don't know that I'd call it a vacation," I say lightly. Altogether, I'm surprised by Clint's sensitivity. I'm touched that he'd choose all my friends to come with me. Well, except...

  "Why Tristan?" I ask him.

  He smiles slyly as he looks at the sour-faced, blonde soldier.

  "I thought it'd be fun to see you get annoyed," he answers wryly. "Plus, I figured it'd be good for him to be with his sister."