Elimination (The Mind Breaker Book 1)

by Marina Epley

  Chase frowns, seeming confused by the compliment.

  “Are you all right?” I ask Jessie. “I’m really sorry for all what you’ve gone through.”

  “Forget it,” she answers. “I knew what I was doing.” She keeps silent for a moment and then says with unease, “They’ve got my parents.”

  I understand what Jessie is talking about. Victor read her mind and told Elimination how to find her relatives. Now Elimination can use her parents to manipulate Jessie. I can’t find words to say.

  “May I kill this freak?” Jessie asks, pointing her rifle at Holtzmann.

  “No, don’t,” I answer. “He’s got nothing to do with it. He doesn’t want to hurt anybody. He’s just a very sick guy.”

  Chase holds his weapon on Jessie, waiting.

  “Whatever,” she concedes as she sits tiredly down on the floor.

  Time passes slowly. I’m drained and my entire body is hurting. I have no strength left to fight or run. It’s useless anyway. No matter what we try, we won’t be able to escape from this place. Maybe it’s time to give up. Maybe I’ll change my mind later, but right now I just want to forget about everything and sleep.

  It’s several hours later before guards break into the lab. I don’t resist.

  Chapter 15

  “I’m very disappointed with your behavior,” Browning says. “I’m afraid you haven’t left me any choice, but to transfer you to our top security prison.”

  Browning stands several feet away, perched in a doorway, accompanied by two armed guards. I remain in a sitting position on the floor, paying little attention to Browning’s words. I’m completely worn out.

  After Elimination subdued the outbreak, I was thrown into solitary. I haven’t received any medical attention. Nobody has brought food and water. I’d been waiting for hours to learn my fate. Finally, the warden has arrived to announce my punishment.

  “Maybe you think you’re in prison right now,” Browning continues. “You would be mistaken. This facility is merely a secured reorientation and rehabilitation center for breakers. We don’t blame you for being what you are here. Here we all have optimism for correcting a breaker’s wayward nature. We give breakers an opportunity to become a useful part of society again. You have wasted your opportunity, Rex. I offered you important work. Many breakers would kill to get such an offer, but you unfortunately rejected it. Additionally, you’ve endangered everybody’s life by initiating a riot. It’s very frustrating for me. I truly regret that everything has to end this way. You’re to be sent to our maximum security prison for breakers, which the residents there refer to as the Death Camp.”

  I feel somewhat amused, listening to Browning. He sounds pathetic. Even now he continues wearing a mask of goodness and virtue.

  “Whatever,” I answer.

  I don’t really care what fate they decide. I’m good as dead already. I’m only a little surprised by Browning’s decision to transport me to another prison. Wouldn’t it be easier just to kill me here? Well, maybe he wants me to die a little more slowly to maximize my suffering.

  “Such a waste,” Browning says, leaving. The guards close the cell door.

  Left alone, I think of Kitty. Where is she now? I hope she’s far away and somewhere safe. No matter what happens to me, I’m comforted in knowing that she escaped, and in keeping the belief that she remains alive and well.

  In an hour or so, the door opens and in walks Chase. At first I think he’s come to transfer me into the higher security prison. But he just stands in front of me, looking concerned, then asks, “Are you all right?”

  I realize he’s just visiting.

  “Do I look all right to you?” I answer.

  “I assume Browning has informed you about your imminent transfer to the Death Camp.”

  “What’s the big deal? I don’t care whether they keep me locked away in this prison or another one. I don’t have freedom in either place.”

  “That’s because you’ve no freaking idea what the Death Camp is. That place is a real hellhole for breakers.”

  “We have Wheeler, Carrel, Browning, and are caged like animals right here. How can it get much worse?”

  “Don’t be stupid, Rex. You can’t imagine how bad it can actually become. Do you want to know why we call it the Death Camp? Because no breaker ever comes back alive from there. It’s not so much of a prison as a slaughter house for breakers. That facility was designed to terminate breakers. They shoot hundreds of inmates each month and burn the bodies. Do you fully understand where you’re about to be sent?”

  I shrug.

  “What? You don’t care?” Chase asks.

  “I wonder why you care.”

  “Cause I know you haven’t committed the crimes you’ve been accused of. Everybody here is aware of that.”

  “So what’s your point?”

  Chase doesn’t answer. He only gives me a hard look, thinking. “In any case, the current situation is only your own doing,” he says. “You should have agreed to work with us. It was your opportunity to disprove Carrel, earn some respect as well as the privileges that come along with that.”

  I laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” Chase asks.

  “Nothing. You sound just like Browning.”

  Chase frowns.

  “Anyway, how’s Holtzmann?” I ask.

  “No worse from the wear,” Chase answers.

  “And his cousin?”

  “Rebecca will be okay. She’s worried out of her mind about you.”

  I smile. At least I saved Kitty, and Rebecca from Bulldog’s gang. I won’t be dying for nothing.

  “Gotta go, breaker,” Chase says. “We’ll transport you tomorrow. Try to enjoy your last night here.”

  After he leaves, I lie down on the stone floor and think of Kitty. I always think of her when I’m at my limit. Her image brings calmness and peace. I remember how we spent time together, planning for the future. When we’d have saved enough money, we’d leave the city and buy a house out in the country. Lots of land, a ranch with plenty of animals. Well, perhaps it was only my dream to have horses and live far away from the mainstream. Kitty dreamt of a villa close to the ocean, surrounded by palm trees. She’d never seen a real palm tree, but she always associated them with the lifestyle she hoped for. I smile, remembering her excitement as Kitty spoke about our future.

  Falling asleep, I see an odd dream. Kitty is standing in front of a tall, tough looking guy. He’s in his mid-thirties and wearing military style clothing. His face is lacking expression. Drake, I understand. His name is Drake. Another man stands beside Kitty. He wears the same uniform and is holding a shotgun. His face is disfigured with ugly burn scars. Somehow I understand that he dislikes Kitty and wishes her harm. He only tolerates her because of Drake.

  “They have to pay for his death,” Kitty says.

  Drake nods.

  “Retaliation will make them pay for everything they’ve done,” Drake says. “Our time is now.”

  My vision fades and I see Wheeler pressing a gun barrel to my head. He pulls the trigger and the bullet blows a large hole out the back of my skull. I cry out, waking me from my sleep. I have to touch the back of my head to check if I was really shot or it was just a dream.

  I’m not used to being a telepath and seeing visions. I need to learn how to determine dreams from actual visions happening in real time. I must be telepathically connected to Kitty. I don’t know how and why. Maybe because we spent so much time together or maybe it’s just because I thought of her before falling asleep. It doesn’t matter right now. What truly matters is that my Kitty is in serious danger.

  I hear the sound of footsteps and voices coming toward my cell.

  “Five minutes! No longer! They can discharge me for doing this,” I hear Chase’s voice.

  “Thank you so much, Chase,” a woman’s soft voice answers.

  I’m getting on my feet, as Rebecca enters the room. I’m surprised at seeing her. Moreover I’m amazed that Chas
e even let her in. She’s alone with no guards for protection. It must be against all their rules.

  Rebecca wears a simple black dress and a business style jacket. Her face has bruise marks from the night before, but she still looks beautiful. Her pitch black eyes carefully study me and are filled with worry.

  “Hi,” Rebecca says shakily.

  “Rebecca, what are you doing here?”

  “I’ve come to thank you once again for saving my life and the life of my cousin.”

  “It was coincidental,” I say. “I wasn’t exactly planning on saving anybody. I just wanted to escape.”

  “Nevertheless, you’ve saved us and I now feel very awkward. I really don’t even know what to say. After the death of my parents, I thought I’d never be obliged to a breaker. I used to hate all of you,” she sighs. “Now I think that my cousin may be correct believing that some breakers are actually good.”

  I listen in silence, still not understanding why she came to see me. Just to thank me? There must be something else.

  “I’m aware that Browning is sending you to the Death Camp,” Rebecca says. “Egbert protested as much as he could, but his power is limited. We all have to do what we’re told. We couldn’t help you in this matter.”

  “It’s all right,” I answer. “I don’t expect any help.”

  “No, it’s not all right,” Rebecca says. “Many wrong things happen in this place. I don’t want them to kill you. Once you enter the Death Camp, you won’t come out alive.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “Listen carefully. Tomorrow, Wheeler and several guards will be transporting you. The Death Camp is far away and they’ll have to stop for the night somewhere. It’s likely they’ll keep you in a cell within a police station where the officers are nonresistant. You understand?”

  “Not really.”

  “If you hypnotized those people, you might have a chance to escape.”

  “I have a blocking collar on,” I remind.

  “I can break it,” Rebecca answers.

  “What? I mean for real?”

  She nods.

  “I can’t take this collar off you because I don’t have the key. But I do know how to mess it up. This isn’t rocket science. I’ve worked for Egbert longer than a year and learned a few tricks.”

  Rebecca approaches cautiously, as if I may bite. She removes a small metallic object from her pocket and presses it against the collar around my neck. Her face is only a few inches from mine and I can feel her warm breath.

  “It’s a very strong magnet,” she says. “It should mess this thing up.” Then Rebecca looks me straight in the eye, saying, “I sincerely hope I never see you again, Rex.”

  She kisses me lightly on the cheek and leaves. I stand for several minutes, stunned and not believing what just happened. I touch the collar on my neck, checking for anything different. I still don’t know if the collar has been deactivated and if I can hypnotize people or not. I’m not sure I can trust Rebecca. But for the first time I do realize I might get a real chance to escape. And maybe even see Kitty again.

  The next day Chase arrives with three other guards and says, “Time to go, breaker.” He handcuffs me and leads the transport group out of the chamber toward the shower area.

  The officers give me the Elimination version of a shower, spraying me with a strong blast of cold water from a high pressure hose. Afterward, I get fresh inmate clothing, an orange jumpsuit free from stains of blood. I change, thinking about what may be coming next. I’m determined to escape, no matter how hard it proves to be.

  When we cross in front of Wheeler, he gives me a hateful look. I expect him to attack me or at least make some vicious comment, but it doesn’t happen. He only glares, remaining silent. Holtzmann is following closely behind Wheeler, shaking his head and arguing about something. Wheeler directs Holtzmann to shut his mouth, but the professor continues arguing.

  As they lead me outside, my heart races. I haven’t seen daylight for ages, it seems. Finally, I’m about to find out where I am. I’ve got no idea if the prison is in the city or somewhere in a less populated area.

  Chase suddenly places a blinding hood over my head and all I can see is darkness again. Officers grab an arm on each side and pull me along.

  “He’s still my subject!” I hear Holtzmann object. “I insist on escorting him myself. I have Browning’s permission.”

  “No way psycho,” Wheeler counters. “You’re staying right here. We’ve got enough problems without you.”

  “I’m responsible for securing all subjects and making sure nothing happens to them during transportation,” Holtzmann says. It doesn’t sound like a realistic explanation. Something is a little fishy about Holtzmann today.

  He argues for a good ten minutes longer when finally Wheeler gives in, “Fine! You can come, just don’t have a seizure. If you do, I’m not responsible.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Holtzmann answers in his usual polite manner.

  Outside the prison, I feel a chilling wind and can smell freshness in the air. I still can’t see where we are.

  They lead me inside a transport vehicle. It must be a bus, because I have to climb up two steps. Then guards shove me into a seat and chain my arms and legs. I’m blinded and trapped. I hear heavy footsteps. More people are ushered inside. I realize I’m not the only convict being transported.

  “You freaks sit tight now,” Wheeler says. “If anybody tries to get up or so much as even move, I’ll blow his head off. Simple as that, I won’t warn you twice.”

  He barks a command to the driver and the bus lurches forward. I think of my options. Can I really be sure that my blocking collar is now ineffective? I don’t know. I choose to trust Rebecca because she seems to be a sincere and honest person. As soon as we stop and I’m left unshackled near nonresistant officers, I’ll try hypnosis. Hopefully, I can make them do whatever I want. Then I’ll need to put as much distance between myself and Elimination as possible. Getting rid of this orange inmate clothing will be the first order of business. Then find a good place to hide and wait. Maybe later try to look for Kitty. Something else nags at me. Why would Elimination stop for a night and leave me inside a police station? What if they keep driving all night long? Hopefully it won’t happen and…

  “Stop here,” Wheeler commands.

  The bus slows down and comes to a complete stop. Have we arrived? I don’t think so.

  “Take this freak out,” Wheeler commands and many arms grab hold, pulling me up and leading me outside.

  “Wheeler, what are you doing?” Holtzmann protests.

  “Sir, we’re not supposed to stop here,” Chase says.

  “I’m authorizing this stop,” Wheeler answers.

  Something is wrong.

  Wheeler pulls the bag off my head. I squint into the sudden burst of sunshine. I find myself standing beside the large orange bus, surrounded by officers. I see two Elimination sedans, stopped behind. Wheeler stands before me, smiling.

  “Enjoy your last minutes, breaker,” he says.

  “Sir, this is against protocol,” Chase warns.

  Wheeler pays no attention. “Unchain this freak,” he commands and an officer frees my arms and legs.

  “You can’t do this!” Holtzmann protests. “You have no authorization. I’ll report everything to Browning.”

  Wheeler doesn’t care.

  “I see no reason to transfer you into another prison, breaker,” he says. “Things should be simplified when dealing with such outlaw breakers. You want your freedom, so take it. Now run.”

  He pulls his gun and switches off the safety. I realize that if I run he’ll shoot me in the back.

  “Let’s go, breaker,” Wheeler says. “Move it!”

  I stand still. A squad of Elimination officers hold their rifles on me. I look around. We’re on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.

  “Sir, they’re expecting him to arrive alive,” Chase protests.

  “Wheeler! Stop this insanity!
” Holtzmann shouts, coughing.

  “You don’t want to escape?” Wheeler smiles. “Run, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.”

  “Stop this!” Holtzmann yells. “You can’t shoot my subject!”

  Wheeler shoves him away and presses his gun barrel against my forehead. I close my eyes and concentrate as hard as I can, projecting my thoughts. I have to hypnotize the officers now or be killed. The excruciating headache hits me. They say I’m a level four breaker. I’ve done it once, let’s see if I can do it again.

  My hypnosis doesn’t work on the officers, but the bus driver steps out wearing a blank expression. His eyes are fixated on me. Attack the officers, I project. Attack them. They’re trying to kill you!

  The driver approaches one officer and suddenly grabs his rifle. The officer accidently fires his weapon as he reacts. The bullet strikes Wheeler in the shoulder, causing him to drop his handgun. Guards swarm the bus driver as Wheeler reaches for his weapon. I quickly dive down, knocking Wheeler back, then pick up the gun.

  As the guards begin to swing their rifles back around on me, Holtzmann leaps into the line of fire, waving his arms like a madman and yelling for them to stand down.

  Spontaneously, I point my gun at Holtzmann. He stares at me in shock, but doesn’t say anything.

  “I’ll shoot him,” I yell. “Drop your weapons if you want Holtzmann to live.”

  The officers don’t move.

  “Kill this breaker!” Wheeler snarls, holding pressure on his injured shoulder while glaring at me.

  “I’m not joking,” I repeat. “He’ll be dead along with a couple of you if you don’t do as I’ve asked.”

  “You don’t have to do this, Rex,” Chase says with a calming voice. “We can still work things out.”

  “Shut up, Chase,” I command. “Now drop your weapons!”

  A long pause follows. Everybody’s waiting. Holtzmann mumbles something incoherent. Wheeler must realize that the officers won’t shoot as long as I hold the professor hostage because he finally orders the officers to place their rifles on the ground. Holtzmann must be very important for their project.