The Restrainers: Third Book in The Amplified Series

by Lauren M. Flauding

  In the first few trials, they tried to make him do simple things like dig holes or transport cement blocks, but he wouldn't give in to the commands. All of the Restrainers there tried, thinking he might respond differently to one of their voices, but he was too strong. He just stood there glaring at the two way mirror. So they intensified the receptors in his Amplifier. After that, he started to submit to the Override commands, but always with a degree of hesitation. Some commands he would still resist completely, like anytime they wanted him to do combat.

  The guard told me they had to install holographic images to make the training more realistic, hoping it would break his concentration. It worked at first, but then he seemed to get used to it and continued to resist. I guess now they're breaking him down little by little, but not as fast as the Governor wants.

  I realize I'm shaking, and I sit down on my small bed in the guard's quarters to calm myself. This is what I wanted, to get to the prison and help Miles, but I didn't realize how much it would affect me. I didn't think about how I'd have to watch them hack away at his sanity and resolve. With all of the security measures surrounding him, escape seems impossible.

  I look back up at the screen showing Miles in his cell. The guard's quarters has multiple screens showing surveillance of all of the prisoners, but Miles is the most prominent. I stare intently at him for a few moments, wondering if it was really the best idea for me to become a Restrainer. Suddenly, Miles looks straight up into the camera. I scream and fall back on my bed, then shake my head at my foolish reaction. I peer into his fierce but beautiful eyes. He can't see me, he doesn't even know I'm here. Or does he?

  ———

  "Marianna, you need to report to the arena for Override instruction."

  I glare at the soldier standing over my bed. I hardly slept all night, and when I did, I had nightmares about Miles. It's probably unusual for this soldier to see a Restrainer sleep in, but you would too if you were up all night imagining someone you love systematically destroying themselves.

  "I'll be right there," I mumble, pulling myself out of bed. The soldier smirks at me before heading out the door.

  I throw on my silver Restrainer uniform and pull the unruly strands of my dark red hair back into a ponytail. The arena is not far from the guard's quarters, but I have to pass through the prisoner's area, so it makes it seem like a long walk. I hear whispers and I can feel them staring at me as I pass. I quicken my pace.

  When I get to the observation room, I find a tall woman with a stern expression.

  "Although you may think being a Restrainer gives you some sort of privilege, tardiness is not tolerated here," she remarks coldly.

  "I understand. It won't happen again."

  I turn to look through the two-way mirror and immediately feel nauseous. There are several people standing dejectedly in the arena, one is even lying on the dirt floor. I recognize a couple of them from the prison transport I came in the other day. I suppose these are the people she's going to use to teach me the Override.

  "Because these prisoners are new, they have not yet had their Amplification removed," she comments, gesturing out at the subjects. "This gives us an excellent opportunity to practice using the Override, and because these prisoners are in violation of the Equality Movement, there is no need for discretion," she adds with an evil smile. She unlocks a cabinet and pulls out a silver Override machine.

  "Operating the machines is fairly simple, you just have to ensure your coordinates are correct," she explains. "All of the Override machines here are already programmed to the prison's range of coordinates. In any other location, you can easily find the coordinates with your Amplifier." She runs her fingers over the buttons that cover the top of the box. "Each of these buttons represent a section within the range. If there's only one subject in the range or if you want all the subjects to perform the same commands, you can just use this large black button in the middle. Otherwise, you'll need to use the other buttons. You can also expand or decrease the size of the sections with this knob. That's all the information you need to know. From now on, it will be accessible through your Amplifier."

  I swallow hard as I look back at the subjects lined up in the arena.

  "Go ahead and give it a try," the woman urges, sliding the Override machine over to me. I slowly unwind the small microphone and push all the buttons that cover the area of the arena.

  "Jump once."

  I watch as all the people in the arena, even the one who was lying on the ground, perform a single jump together in unison. I give another command.

  "Do three cartwheels."

  Again, the people spring to life to complete the command.

  "Try isolating the subjects," the instructor suggests.

  I give a series of commands while alternating between the corresponding buttons.

  "Run the length of the arena."

  "Do fifty push ups."

  "Spin around in circles."

  "Go to sleep."

  "Do a double flip twist."

  "Dance."

  The arena explodes into a flurry of movement as everyone carries out their forced orders. I watch the activity with interest for a few moments, but I promptly drop the microphone when I realize how much I'm enjoying this. A knot forms in my stomach, and I want to push the Override machine as far away from me as possible. My instructor gives me an odd look, but doesn't ask any questions.

  "Well done," she remarks, surveying the activity through the window. "Now let's see how you do with prisoner 568."

  I catch my breath as she brings up a screen displaying Miles in his cell and pushes the button for his section.

  "You'll have to be forceful with your commands," she cautions. "This one is very resistant."

  I try to keep my hand from shaking as I take the microphone again. This is definitely not the way I want to let Miles know that I'm here. Giving him a frivolous command through the Override is about as bad as aiming a gun at his head. I'm about to speak when the door bursts open.

  "Rosheta, we need you to come handle a situation with prisoner 309,” a soldier announces.

  My instructor looks regretfully at Miles on the screen, then at me.

  "You stay here," she directs. "Don't do anything until I get back." She follows the soldier out the door and leaves me alone in the room.

  I busy myself for a while by rubbing the stub of my seared off finger, but after a few moments I can't help looking up at Miles. He's still exhibiting that careful calmness, but there's a desperation in the way he carries himself. I feel my pulse quickening as I study him. I glance over at the Override machine, the button for Miles' cell is still illuminated. I look quickly at the door, then quietly pick up the microphone.

  "Miles," I whisper hurriedly, "it's me. I'm really sorry I got you into this mess, but I swear I'll get you out of here."

  I stare at the screen, afraid that Miles is going to explode in anger, but instead he does something I never would have expected. He holds his head in his hands and starts crying.

  "Why can't you get her out of your head?" I hear him sob to himself through the surveillance. "She betrayed you, and yet you still think about her all the time, you still hear her voice in your mind. Why do you let her haunt you?"

  I feel sick. I slowly put the microphone down and realize that the only thing that could break Miles Paxton was me.

  Chapter 11

  I'm startled awake by the unpleasant sound of the Governor's shrill voice in my head. At first I'm livid. He assured me that the Restrainers were exempt from the Override. But then I realize it's not a command, it's an announcement.

  "Attention all Restrainer's currently posted at the prison, you are to report back to the city immediately. A transport will be there to collect you in 30 minutes."

  The guard's quarters erupts into activity as all of the Restrainers get out of bed and begin packing their various belongings. I only have some clothes and my ancient music device, so I head over early to the prison entrance to wait. I h
ave a fleeting thought about hanging back and freeing some of the prisoners, but there's no way they’d let me keep being a Restrainer after something like that and I'm not ready to give up on Miles just yet.

  Fortunately, Rosheta never came back the other day to make me try and command Miles through the Override. I guess the incident she was called for was so extreme that she was excused from training me. Unfortunately, I had to watch all of the other Restrainers attempt to control Miles in the arena a few hours later.

  Six Restrainers shackled him from head to foot and carried him into the arena. Then they laid him down, still bound, and ran into the observation room, remotely unlocking his shackles once they were safe behind the two way mirror. All of the precautions seemed a little extreme, especially since once his binds were opened, he just calmly got to his feet and waited. Each of the Restrainers took a turn with the Override machine. With every different command, Miles' response would be about the same. He would stand there solemnly for a few seconds and then finally give in to the order.

  "Touch your hands to your feet."

  "Nod your head."

  "Sit down."

  "Lay on your side."

  "Say your name."

  "Bend your knees.”

  All of these commands seemed like warm ups, things they'd already had him do before. This went on for a few minutes, with Miles looking like a reluctant puppet, and then the commands became more involved.

  "Do a back bend."

  "Crawl on your hands and knees."

  "Pinch your elbows."

  "Do a handstand."

  "Take off your shirt."

  "Sing."

  It took a little bit longer for Miles to complete these commands, and each time his face would distort into a mixture of concentration and hatred. It was clear that the Restrainers were having fun with him, even though they were trying to hide their laughter. They stopped smiling when they started trying the combat commands; the commands that Governor Plenaris ordered the Restrainers to give to Miles.

  "Do a roundhouse kick."

  "Throw a right hook."

  "Perform a spinning kick."

  He didn't comply with any of them. He just stood there, his eyes intense and his body shaking from the effort of resisting. The image still haunts me.

  The transport pulls up to the entrance and I climb into the very back. The other Restrainers come soon after and predictably, no one sits with me. They still don't like me. That's fine, after I saw what they were doing to Miles, I don't care much for them either.

  We leave the prison and I overhear a conversation between two Restrainers in front of me.

  "What do you think happened?"

  "I don't know, but usually when all the Restrainers are called back into the city it's because of a Dissenter attack."

  My stomach starts churning. The Dissenters? What if my mom and Daniel are there? I think. What am I supposed to do? Fight them? Hopefully they'll all be long gone by the time we get there.

  My anxiety doubles when the transport pulls up to the Governor's mansion, or rather, what used to be the Governor's mansion. The massive structure is completely destroyed. All that remains are a few pillars and half of a smoking wall.

  A stocky Restrainer runs up to the transport.

  "They made it look like they were attacking the control tower, and most of the Restrainers in the city fell for it and are now locked up and incapacitated in there," he reports gravely. "Then they bombed the mansion and took off toward the Mall-cruiser station. A few of them were in trucks, but most of them were on foot. We're guessing they're going to try and escape on the cruisers."

  We start heading in the direction of the station, and as we pull away, I see something written on the lone wall of the mansion in large, black letters.

  "RELEASE MILES."

  I realize this wasn't another one of the Dissenters routine missions to destroy Override machines or try to get people to renounce the Amplification system. This is a threat mission.

  We get to the station just as the cruisers are departing.

  "Split up and search every cruiser," an older Restrainer instructs. "I'll get the station manager to stop them from leaving."

  I know the Dissenter base is closest to Compounds Q and U, so I run to the Mall-cruiser going to Compound U. Nobody follows me, which is fortunate. There are gasps and murmurs when I get on board, and I see several people pointing at me and whispering my name to their neighbor. I move through the different compartments, not sure what I'm going to do if I find any of the Dissenters. I notice most of the cameras have been disabled. Smart move, I think, smiling at the uncanny ability of the Dissenters to constantly outwit the Restrainers.

  I'm nearing the back end of the cruiser when I almost trip over a loosened cover of one of the storage hatches in the floor. I carefully lift the cover and see about a dozen Dissenters wearing black helmets crouched down in the hatch. They aim their weapons at me, but suddenly one of the smaller one speaks up.

  "Don't shoot! That's my sister!"

  "Daniel?" I choke out, struggling to keep my voice low.

  "I don't care if it's your sister, she betrayed all of us and got Miles sent to prison,” a woman growls. I'm fairly certain it's Roxy. "She is the last person we need to make an exception for right now!"

  But before anyone can act, I hear someone come into the storage compartment. I quickly replace the cover on the hatch and straighten up.

  "What's in there?" An attractive brunette Restrainer asks.

  "You don't want to know," I respond, forcing a look of disgust. "Apparently, someone is relocating some graves, and they didn't do a very good job of covering the bodies."

  The Restrainer looks horrified and hurries out of the compartment. I follow her, taking one last glance at the hatch where the Dissenters are hidden before leaving.

  I emerge back into the station just in time to see a bunch of Restrainers escorting a group of Dissenters out from the Mall-cruiser that was heading to Compound Q. I cringe as they start to pull off their helmets, wondering how many might be old friends or acquaintances. Sure enough, from the eight in the group, I see Blaine and Jacqueline staring angrily back at me.

  "They need to be put in the holding cells in the control tower until we can take them to prison," one of the Restrainers announces.

  I purposely fall behind the procession of Restrainers and arrested Dissenters heading to the control tower. I'm really not in the mood to endure more animosity from the people I used to live with. It's bad enough that Miles hates me, but I guess I didn't really think about how the decision to be a Restrainer would affect my relationships with my old friends. Hopefully this will all be over soon.

  We walk through the main entrance of the control tower and step into what appears to be a party. Restrainers and soldiers are dancing around and talking loudly and happily. The whole situation seems a little bit creepy.

  "What happened here?" I ask the one solemn looking Restrainer in the room.

  “We followed the Dissenters in here, and then they diffused some chemicals into the room that made everybody act like this,” he explains. I glance around at the vacant smiles everyone has plastered on their faces. Something about it is familiar.

  "Our best guess," the sober Restrainer continues, "is that the chemicals have the same composition as the new Euphorics pills."

  Euphorics. I had completely forgotten about the mysterious capsules that had transformed Adrian's temperament. My distaste for the effects of the new pills grows as we make our way through the most ridiculous bunch of Restrainers I've ever seen. I'm sure they'll be embarrassed when they watch the surveillance of themselves later.

  I instinctively look around at the cameras in the control tower and see that they've also been disabled. So there will be no evidence of anything I might do in here, I think. I'm still at the back of the group taking the Dissenters to the holding cells. I grab a soldier who's still delirious from the Euphorics chemicals.

  "Where are we g
oing?" He asks goofily.

  "Just on a little stroll," I reply quietly.

  "Ooh, fun!" He says, swinging my hand as we walk.

  We reach the holding area and they shove all eight Restrainers into one cell. The Restrainer at the front latches the two heavy bolts on the cell door. There's a small window beyond the cells, and I lean over to the soldier I brought with me.

  "Hey," I whisper, "I think I see a rainbow out that window."

  "No way! I love rainbows!” He exclaims, lunging wildly through the group of Restrainers to get to the window. While everyone is focused on the chaotic soldier, I subtly undo the bolts on the cell door. I catch Jacqueline's eye. She nods her head slightly.

  They finally subdue the soldier looking for the non existent rainbow and everyone walks back out to the entrance of the control tower. The Restrainers and soldiers affected by the Euphorics are sent to the hospital for detoxing.

  Two hours later, when the prison transport comes for the Dissenters, they're gone.

  Chapter 12

  "It's just not natural! You shouldn't be taking them!"

  "Something that makes me feel this good can't be that bad!"

  "That's exactly why you should stay away from them! You can't rely on something else to make you happy! You are the only person who can control your feelings!"

  Adrian turns his back to me and starts doing something on his Transcriber. After the Dissenter assault, I was told I had two free days before going back to the prison. I decided to visit Adrian in his office at the nutrition factory where he's doing his labor rotation this week and found a whole bag of Euphorics on his desk. After seeing how the Euphorics affected the Restrainers in the control tower, I'm even more suspicious of them.

  "I guess I could try and cut back a little," Adrian admits reluctantly, still looking at his transcriber, "but it's not going to be easy. Especially since sometimes we're commanded to take them through the Override."

  "What do you mean?"

  "About once a week, we're instructed to take a Euphorics capsule."

  "So everyone has access to them?"