The Scorned (The Permutation Archives Book 3)

by Kindra Sowder

  I was numb.

  “How the Hell can they do this? What does all of this even mean?” Ryder snapped his voice like and words like bullets straight to the heart.

  “We will have to go through the documents that came in with the video transmission. We don’t know en…” my mother started.

  “Well, you techies need to figure it out,” he retorted.

  “We’re going to do our best to get to the bottom of it,” Adam replied, his fingers tapping on the keys again.

  I wasn’t paying attention. I could hear every word spoken, but they sounded like I was at the bottom of a well. They were muffled. In my numb state, the full weight of what King and Doctor Newton had spoken about didn’t even register.

  “Your best isn’t fast enough, Adam. What kind of tech expert are you, anyway?” Ryder shouted.

  “Ryder,” my mother yelled to meet him.

  Everything slammed into me then, my body becoming heavy and their shouts fading into the background. Searing heat flared in my chest, my heart skipped a beat and then sped up to meet the growing inferno inside me. Hot tears sprung to my eyes. I was a weapon, plain and simple. That was all there was to it. And I knew that, if they got their hands on me and decided to use me for whatever they had planned, there was no way I was making it out alive.

  That was what instinct told me, anyway. I felt myself unraveling. That was until Adam spoke again, his voice breaking through my hypnosis and their yelling.

  “I’ve got something.” His voice shattered the argument taking place around me. “I’ve got something,” he cried, elated.

  The room grew quiet, and all of us turned to stare at his profile. Those words drew me completely out of my reverie and snapped me back into reality and outside of myself.

  “It’s not about this Core Reactor, but it’s something, and you’re all going to want to hear,” Joy continued for him, staring at the screen and the document that held two signatures. Those of Doctor Newton and President Emerson King.

  “What does it say?” Gaia sniffed through her cries that had instantly dried up at the prospect of new information.

  Both Adam and Joy turned toward us slowly in their chairs after skimming the document for a few seconds.

  “Well,” my mother shouted, “spit it out. What does it say?”

  Nothing could have prepared me for what we would hear.

  “The Fallen Paradigm has a mole,” Adam admitted.

  Those words grabbed my attention, snapping me back into the moment where I stood, surrounded by some of the people I loved and adored. My heart skipped a beat, and I watched Ryder’s body tense, his muscles straining against his white t-shirt and sweat-covered flesh. Beads of it sat just above his upper lip and across his forehead. He was angry and terrified. That much was certain based on how he was acting.

  I licked my lips nervously and asked, “Does it say who?”

  Adam glanced back at the screen and scanned the words quickly. Shaking his head, he replied, “No. The only thing even close to a name is a code-name.”

  “And that is?” Ryder pushed.

  “Red,” Joy answered. “The code-name is Red.”

  “And there’s no other information on this Red?” Gaia asked as she gingerly wiped her nose with a delicate finger.

  “No, there’s nothing else,” Joy responded.

  I looked at my sister, the picture of innocence and purity. She had been thrown into this by me, and I took full responsibility for this. For her being exposed to the cruelty of the world and the men that occupied it. The men that wanted nothing more than their own needs or wants be met and damn everyone else.

  King was one of those men.

  But I knew I couldn’t comfort her. She looked weak and tired. All I would be able to do was hold her up, but that wasn’t what she needed. She needed someone or something that would help her to build that inner strength that radiated from within her, locked inside by fear of failure and death. I wanted nothing more than to be able to take it all away from her. I wanted to shoulder the guilt that she couldn’t do anything more besides sit behind a desk or help in the medical wing of the Paradigm. I was certain it weighed heavily on her. Blue eyes once bright with happiness were now dull and lifeless. Even her blonde hair and pale skin showed signs of stress. They were once luminescent like she had washed her body and hair in diamonds. Everything had changed, and I was the center of all of it. While that may have seemed self-absorbed to anyone else, I only saw the logic there since King’s end goal had so much to do with me.

  “Continue to do what you can to find out anything else about not just this Red, but John Baker, and King’s plan for my daughter. I don’t care what it takes or if you even sleep. Just, get it done,” my mother ordered.

  Joy and Adam’s eyes widened, but they turned back to the screens and did what she asked of them.

  Click. Click. Click. Click.

  The sound echoed off the walls with annoying ferocity.

  Turning to everyone else in the room, I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip, trying to look more intimidating than I felt.

  “So, what do we do now?”

  Chapter

  TWENTY-ONE

  I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, going over the plan in my head. All we knew to do was to wait for Adam and Joy to finish compiling all the information they could gather from the encrypted documents before we could truly act. All we could do besides wait was continue to build and continue to fight as well as we could with what little we had to go on.

  We had a mole in our midst. King and Doctor Newton of Fuji-O’Hara Industries created John Baker to bring me in, dead or alive. For what reason, exactly? That remained to be seen, but it had something to do with the Core Reactor that Newton had mentioned in the video feed. Another one of the creations of both evil masterminds behind the thirst for world dominance. Now I was left to figure out exactly how all of this fit together to obtain that. I was coming up empty. Not to mention, trying to find out who code-name Red was seemed to be a dead end the longer Adam and Joy put their heads together to decipher the rest of the information sent to us from what we believed to be an unknown source.

  This resulted in my lack of sleep as I huddled down, creeping through the forest surrounding the Fallen Paradigm’s headquarters. When I woke up that morning, Ryder already awake and pulling on his boots, I was handed a plethora of weaponry ranging from large to small. Some used projectiles. Other were blades. The most powerful weapon of them all was made of flesh and bone.

  Me.

  But I was expendable, even I knew that. Either way, it didn’t stop me from walking out of those massive doors to do what I felt was necessary. At that moment, since the vision had shown me that King and his men – along with Nero – were coming to take us down, I felt they needed me now more than ever. Especially my mother and Gaia, the relationship between my mother and I becoming more like that of mother and daughter than that of strangers. That was what we had become with the revelation that I wasn’t exactly human and our time apart when me and my friends were in King’s hands.

  That was how we ended up here. On Kiawah Island, so far from the city, I called home, hunting down imaginary snipers that most likely weren’t in our neck of the woods yet. Most likely not even across the Wall.

  Everyone that I deemed impeccable soldiers were on my squad that stalked the forests around our headquarters. Jameson, Ajax, Ryder, and Genevieve walked at my side, guns up and pointed in every direction that produced noise. Birds chirped, and tree frogs sand their beautiful song as we made our way closer to the coastline. We were responsible for a quadrant, the others spread out amongst the remaining five that covered the rest of the island. The sun peaked through the trees in flashes that speckled our black uniforms. Those were made up of nothing more than our typical wear, black on black w
ith hiking boots. Maybe a sidearm or two, which I had strapped to both hips along with an M-16 with a scope and silencer that hung across my back. Not only that but the twisting blade I had come to love when we were on the run. The Jagdkommando was one of the best knives produced. Made to cause the most damage with minimal effort.

  Silently moving through the trees and underbrush, I scanned my surroundings for any indication of the enemy, finding none. None that I could see. Definitely couldn’t hear over the rush of blood in my ears as my heart thudded against my ribcage. My index fingers rested in the spot before the trigger guard, ready for the moment I’d have to take yet another life. I didn’t relish in that fact. I hated it so much I’d rather not, but this was about survival and our fight to live just like any other creature on this Earth.

  “I say we split up. We can cover more ground that way, ya know? Check the rest of the quadrant a lot quicker. This just isn’t cutting it,” Ajax whispered to the rest of us, pushing the M-16 strapped to him across his chest, so it pointed at the ground.

  All of us watched Jameson carefully after he made the suggestion. He was our squad captain, Ajax being his second. I hadn’t expected a place among the ranks considering I was new to the group and the cause. Most of them had known each other for at least five years. While I had known my mother all my life, there was no way I could’ve been prepared for the fact that she led a rebellion for five years prior to when I found out about it. It didn’t bother me in the slightest that I didn’t have a true rank among them yet because I was one of many in the same predicament. Also, I already struggled with the thought that I may be leading these people on my own soon. I had enough on my plate without worrying about my position in the Fallen Paradigm.

  And after the vision of my mother’s death and our impending doom, there was enough anxiety to go around. Especially since I had no clue how it ended.

  Jameson seemed to mull it over before frowning, his brow furrowing, and stating, “I agree, but we need to do this in pairs.”

  “That leaves one of us on our own, man. Is that something we can be okay with?” Ryder questioned. He let the M-16 rest against his back and placed a hand on one of his side-arms as if he were about to pull it from the holster.

  “Yup,” Jameson replied decisively, “I’ll take the newbie.”

  Both Genevieve and I looked at each other, silently pointing out that there were two of us and not just one.

  “Pink Lightning, you’re with me,” Jameson said as he pointed to the young girl. “Ryder, you keep a good eye on that girl of yours. Ajax?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You okay going it alone?”

  Ajax’s eyes crinkled at the corners as a wide grin crossed over his face. Placing both hands on his massive weapon, he raised the scope to his eye and acted as if he were tracking down a target.

  “I was born ready, J. Born ready.”

  I snorted and rolled my eyes. “That’s a relief.”

  Ajax dropped the rifle and winked at me playfully. “Keep an eye on that one, man. That girl is trouble.”

  “I think I’m good, Ace,” Ryder snickered.

  “Enough lollygagging, ladies. Let’s head out,” Jameson ordered. “You two,” pointing at Ryder and me, “head toward the coast. Ajax, you’ll scan the interior. Genevieve, you and I will scan the tree line. Got it?”

  Most of us just nodded.

  “Got it,” Ajax voiced with a salute.

  With that, we all split off and went our separate ways as assigned, Ryder leading the way since I barely remembered what direction the coast was. Ryder turned north, lifting his rifle in prime position for the instance of a surprise attack. It was relatively quiet except for the sounds of Mother Nature, but that didn’t mean anything. Not only were there humans that were so well trained they couldn’t be seen, much less heard, but there were also Specials with a wide range of abilities we were in no way prepared for. And Ajax was walking through the forest without the protection of one. No backup. Just him, his guns, and his Jagdkommando Knife that seemed to be standard issue with the Paradigm.

  I mirrored Ryder’s stance as he trudged our way through the trees toward the coastline, which wouldn’t take long from where we had split off. I didn’t need the weapons and, while they could be a hindrance when it came to my innate abilities, I was thankful for them. It was one thing to have this invisible force you could control with just a thought or flick of a wrist. It was another to have something solid and corporeal in your hands to protect yourself with. By all accounts, it was great to have a backup.

  “Mila?” Ryder asked in a hushed whisper.

  “Yeah?”

  “Did I die? You know, in your vision?”

  I heard the hesitation in his voice as well as saw it in his movements as he stalked through the foliage. His muscles rolled slowly underneath his perfect skin, his once battered body showing very little evidence of it.

  “What?”

  I had to stop myself from freezing to the spot. I was caught off guard by the question and, in all reality, I didn’t want to think about it. Thinking about it would mean reliving it and seeing the slaughter of so many. And the pain. I didn’t want to bring back the pain.

  It was as if the memory of the agony alone would bring it rushing back into my body.

  His eyes flicked to me, and his foot almost missed his next step, but he caught himself before it even occurred.

  “Did you see my die?” he asked again, this time his tone was more serious than the moment previous.

  I could only answer with the truth.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

  The words were rushed, hurried because I truly didn’t know the answer. Had I seen him die? After watching my mother’s lifeless form fall to the ground in front of Nero, did I notice anything else? Had I spotted anything that could give even the smallest of clues when I slammed into my own body to experience the agony of being hit by – by what? I didn’t even know what the explanation was for that either. So, how was I to respond to him?

  More questions to add to the growing pile. All unanswered.

  “You don’t think so?”

  I couldn’t see his expression, but his entire body tensed. Each muscle in his body stiffened, and he took step after step, never once stopping so he could see my face as we spoke. I saw it in the distance. Sunlight peeked through the trees and the foliage like a welcome party, breaking up the secret-filled shadows of the woods. The Wall stood out in the distance, large and loomed over the ocean like a sentinel.

  “No, Ryder, I don’t think I did. I’m not sure.”

  We approached the tree line and stopped, lowering our weapons. Not having come into contact with anyone or anything since we entered the forest, I was beginning to think that maybe it had been a nightmare and not a premonition. I didn’t want to think we had stepped up our security measures for nothing. Used resources we didn’t have for a false alarm.

  “How can you not know?” he asked. He scrubbed his hand over his jaw and stared out at the sand and ocean beyond the trees with his brows knitted together and his lips set in a straight line of consternation. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  Then I noticed it. The emotion plain on his face and the solid pit in my chest I hadn’t been able to put my finger on.

  Grief.

  Grief for a loss we had yet to experience but knew was coming.

  “Oh, God, Ryder. I wish I knew how I didn’t. I guess I still have a lot to learn when it comes to all of,” I paused, pointing at my skull, and tapping my temple, “this. After they explained it, I still don’t really get it.”

  “Yeah, me neither,” he sighed.

  His arm brushed against mine and, when I looked up at him, he had his hands on his hips and still stared out at the ocean beyond our forest hideaway. He was bea
utiful, his profile absolutely perfect with a straight nose and long eyelashes that would make any woman jealous. His green eyes shined as the sunlight reflected off them. Tears rimmed his bottom lids, and I could see him trying to hold himself together as if he’d shatter into a million pieces without warning.

  Watching him stand there, no walls and no bars, I wondered if I looked the same when he saw me. If I was on the verge of breaking with just a delicate touch. I had no doubt that I did.

  “Do you think we can do this?” I asked, hesitantly.

  ‘Do what?” he replied, his eyes locking on my face.

  “Beat King.”

  He stood silent for a moment, watching me, and then turned his head to push out a heavy sigh. Almost like he had been holding his breath.

  “Does Cato’s vision count as evidence that we will?” he asked, confusion etched in his profile.

  “Let’s say it wasn’t a factor. Like it never happened,” I paused, licking my lips nervously. “Can we take King down? Me, you, and the Fallen Paradigm?” I pointed at each, waving my hand in the direction we came from to indicate the massive headquarters we lived in.

  A slow smile spread over his lips then, and he began to nod.

  “Yes,” he started. “Yes, we can. We can take that bastard down.” He pointed his index finger out and toward the Wall in the distance. “And that damn Wall, too.”

  “I second that,” I laughed.

  “I thought you would,” he replied seriously.

  Then silence fell upon us. Nothing awkward. Just thoughtful as we stood and listened to the calm. The birds sang their beautiful song and the ocean before us waved in our direction with the sound of rushing water. Almost like when it had filled the cabin of the plane I was in when it crashed into the river as we made our way here. Kiawah Island was beautiful — secluded — a perfect sanctuary for a rebellious group of inhuman soldiers and their sympathizers.