by Marina Epley
“I won’t let you shoot them,” I say.
“Really?” Drake smiles. “I’m the commander here, boy, not you.” He points his weapon at me. “Retaliation can’t have two leaders.”
I don’t want to be anybody’s leader. I’m just tired of pointless killing. What I think doesn’t matter because Drake sees a threat in me now.
“I hate wasting strong breakers,” he says. “But I do believe you’re much more useful to Retaliation being dead than alive. Sorry.”
Something is happening. The corridor sways and becomes foggy. Drake is standing in front of me and I’m aiming my rifle at him, but I can’t make myself shoot. I’m just staring at Drake in a numbing stupor.
“You have no reason to live,” Drake says slowly. “Too many people have died because of you today. This is all your fault. I think you should kill yourself.”
My head is hurting. I don’t understand anything. What is he talking about? I want to shake off my trance, but I can’t. My mind and body seem to be paralyzed.
A bizarre thought comes to the front of my consciousness. I have to kill myself. Lena and Jimmy are dead because of me. Many innocent people have died today. Everything is my fault. I’ll be more useful to our cause if I’m dead.
“Put the barrel against your head,” Drake commands.
My arms involuntarily move and I find myself pressing the barrel of the rifle under my chin. I suddenly realize I’m about to shoot myself. What the hell am I doing, I think in shock. I try to lower the barrel away from my head and train it on Drake, but can’t.
“Rex!” Chase yells. “He’s hypnotizing you! Don’t do it, you have to fight him!”
I notice Drake isn’t wearing a collar around his neck. He must have found a way to take it off. I understand what’s happening, but can’t change anything. The desire to shoot myself is almost overwhelming. I can hardly resist.
“Pull the trigger,” Drake commands. “Now!”
“Don’t do it!” Chase shouts. “Think of Kitty! You’re stronger than him! Block him!”
Chase’s voice snaps me out of the hypnosis. Slowly, I move the barrel away from my face. I still can’t think clearly and each movement requires a strong effort.
Drake fires his handgun. The bullet slams into my chest, but still being numbed by hypnosis, I don’t feel any pain. My legs weaken and I collapse onto the floor. Everything becomes a blur. I fire my rifle in a desperate attempt to hit Drake. My hands are shaky and eyes unfocused. I miss. Drake approaches and picks up my rifle. I try to stand, but I’m too weak. It’s getting hard to breathe. I cough out blood.
Smiling, Drake smashes the butt of a rifle into my face. I still don’t feel any pain. The walls and ceiling spin in front of my eyes.
“You’re such a disgusting little rat,” Drake says accusingly. “I should have killed you the first moment I saw you on the island.”
He swings a rifle, hammering my head again. I’m too disoriented and stunned to resist. I don’t even have enough strength to project my thoughts toward Drake. I feel blood oozing from my wound.
“Leave him alone, freak!” Chase yells.
Drake steps on my chest, pressing the barrel against my head.
“You’ll be our dead hero,” he says. “Kitty will be really heartbroken to learn about your death. But don’t worry, Rex, I’ll help ease her pain.”
I snarl in anger. I can’t let him have Kitty. I have to do something.
“Rest in peace, hero,” Drake says, relishing the moment.
I hear the sound of a gunshot and blood sprays my face. I close my eyes, thinking I must be dead. When I look again, Drake is down on the floor beside me. There’s a large gaping hole in his forehead. Hammer is approaching, carrying a rifle. He’s just killed his commander.
“Why?” I mumble in shock.
“I’ve never really liked Drake,” Hammer answers calmly.
Now that Drake is dead, Hammer is the leader of Retaliation. I expect him to finish me off, but he just stands there watching, holding his rifle.
I strain to hear more, but fall unconscious as Hammer is speaking.
I awaken to sharp pain. I’m lying on a hard flat surface and somebody is holding my hand tightly. When I manage to focus my eyes, I see Kitty kneeling beside me. Her face is red from tears, but she’s smiling.
“Where am I?” I ask weakly.
“We’re on the aircraft,” Kitty answers. “Don’t worry. It’s all over. We’ve escaped.” She leans toward me, laughing and kissing my face. “You scared me to death,” she says. “When Hammer brought you, I thought you were dead. He said that the officers had shot Drake and were about to kill you, until he showed up and saved your life.”
I want to tell Kitty that most of what Hammer says is a lie, but I don’t have enough energy. I’m lightheaded and sleepy. My blood pressure must be too low.
“I don’t trust Hammer,” Kitty whispers. “Now he’s acting all friendly, but I’ll never forget how he tried to kill us.”
Neither will I. Something about Hammer worries me. I’m not buying his new attitude and friendliness. I don’t understand why he kept me alive. He must have a really strong motive for sparing me, but we can never feel too safe around him.
Overcoming my weakness, I look around. Rebecca, Victor, Frank and Jessie are sitting on the bench nearby. They all seem worn out. Rebecca is crying silently and looks very lost. Victor is swallowing pills from a plastic container.
“Where’s Holtzmann?” I ask.
Kitty doesn’t answer and her face becomes troubled. I continue staring at her expectantly and she finally tells, “He refused to come with us. He said he needed to stay with Elimination. Apparently he thinks he’ll be more useful there.”
Of course he does, I think with disappointment. Holtzmann still hopes to prevent the war and doesn’t accept the fact that the war has already begun. I had planned on making him leave with us, but that plan got shot down when I did. The other breakers don’t really care if Holtzmann lives or dies. He chose to stay and nobody forced him on the aircraft. I have no doubt Elimination will learn that Holtzmann helped us escape. I can only hope he’s too valuable to kill.
Kitty must know that I’m upset and looks away, holding my hand firmly.
I’m surprised Rebecca has chosen to leave without her cousin. She must have witnessed too much Elimination violence and corruption to remain loyal. I’m glad she’s with us now. Elimination has never been the right place for her.
I close my eyes, thinking of Lena, Jimmy and all those people who died today. Somehow it seems unfair that I’m still alive and they’re gone. I replay everything in my head. We’re free now and no longer have to be anybody’s lab rats, but this thought doesn’t make me feel much better. I want to stop thinking and I can’t. I want to fall asleep and never wake up again. It must be a lingering affliction from Drake’s hypnosis.
Kitty squeezes my hand tightly. “Please, don’t leave me, Rex,” she says softly.
Her voice brings me back. I glance at her and answer, “I’ll never leave you again, Kitty.”
That’s the truth. No matter how severe this injury is, I’m gonna survive and recover for Kitty. I have to protect her. A hard time is coming. This is not the end. This is just a beginning of the war between breakers and ordinary humans. There’s no going back for us. Our lives will never be the same. Elimination will soon come hunting us again. We’ll have to fight back.
I don’t know what our future holds. I don’t even know where we’re heading now or what we will do next. I only know I can’t stand by and let Elimination kill the innocent any longer. No more hiding and pretending to be ordinary. Finally, I accept who I am. I’m a mind breaker and I’ve chosen my side in this war.
Marina Epley
The Mind Breaker
RETALIATION
The Second Book in THE MIND BREAKER Trilogy
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Copyright by Marina Epley
Cover design by Adrijus Guscia
Part 1
Chapter 1
The constant noise of gunfire is driving me crazy. Our recruits continue their training even after dark. They shoot targets as they jog around the camp yelling out inspirational slogans. The training goes on and on incessantly. All in preparation for the last great war.
“Freedom for breakers!” I hear them shout alongside a sudden burst of rifle fire just outside my shack.
I don’t believe they can actually see what they’re shooting at in the darkness. Likely, they’re only wasting ammunition, hitting nothing but air. But learning how to shoot isn’t the primary focus of this training. The main goal is to keep the recruits wired and willing to kill any ordinary human they happen to encounter.
After yet another volley, I give up on trying to sleep. I’m too anxious to rest anyway. It’s almost sunrise and our mission will begin in a few hours. This is the day I’ve been waiting months for. The day when I’m going to capture and kill my sworn enemy, Captain Wheeler.
I crawl out of my sleeping bag, approach a small pile of clothes on the floor and dig out a pitch black uniform. The shirt used to have the hole from a bullet I took in the chest, but somebody sewed it recently. I know Hammer doesn’t want his recruits to learn I used to work for Elimination. It wouldn’t jive with the version of the story he’s already told them about me. Today though, I may need to have the ability to blend in.
As I walk outside, a group of recruits jog by. They all wear identical camo uniforms with heavy military boots, and carry assault rifles seemingly too big for their arms. Their ages range from ten to fifteen. Passing by, most kids salute awkwardly, their lips stretching into wide grins.
I can’t help from wincing. These recruits are way too young to be soldiers, but Hammer doesn’t give a damn about their age. He thinks all breakers must fight, even the children. Time was when I held the same belief. Not anymore.
The night air is hot and humid. I walk through our compound, stumbling through mud after the recent showers. Puddles of water glisten in the moonlight. I pass several tents and poorly built shacks. More than five hundred breakers live in our compound and the number is growing with each passing day. We don’t have enough space for all of them, so some have to sleep out in the open under the stars. It’s bearable during the spring and summer months, but we’ll have to think of something else when winter arrives. If we’re still alive, that is.
Another dozen or so recruits pass by, breathing hard and repeating spiteful slogans against non-breakers. All this hatred in the air worries me. Initially, Retaliation was a sanctuary of sorts, a safe place for mind breakers hunted by the government. But many ordinary people who managed to escape with us reside here as well.
After several minutes, I reach the edge of the compound, stopping in front of a large opening containing several rows of fresh graves. Our cemetery. The nameless graves have no headstones, the deceased fated for oblivion.
I don’t really know why I had to come here tonight. Maybe because I feel responsible for these deaths. A few months ago I swore an oath to protect the innocent from Elimination and stop the mindless killing. I’ve been an epic failure so far.
“What the heck are you doing out here?” I hear a harsh woman’s voice coming from behind me.
I don’t have to turn to know this is Jessie. She approaches and stops beside me, staring down at the graves. Her face is obscured in the dim light, but I can still see the scars on her chin and lips from the beating she took back in the Elimination prison. Jessie repeats her question, “What are you doing here, Rex?”
“Nothing,” I answer. “Just trying to find a quiet place to think.”
“You look like death warmed over,” she comments. “Have you slept any at all?”
“Just a little.”
“You sure you still want to go on the mission?”
I nod.
“Hammer won’t like that one little bit,” Jessie adds.
“I don’t care what he likes,” I snap. “I’m going.”
“Whatever,” Jessie says, yawning as she pulls a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of her camo jacket. Smoking, she says, “You’ve been sick for months. How are you gonna fight your way out if things go wrong?”
“Just give me a break,” I say, causing Jessie to grin.
It’s been five months since Drake, the former leader of Retaliation, shot me almost point blank in the chest. The bullet crushed some ribs and lodged inside my right lung. I almost bled to death, waiting to get proper medical care. By the time our mysterious supporters finally sent a medical team, I was close to falling into a coma. The medics performed surgery inside a tent under unsterile conditions, so I wound up with blood poisoning along with a subsequent case of pneumonia. Everybody thought I’d die. I finally recovered after about three months, but had become so weak that I could hardly stand on my own two feet. Hammer prohibited me from participating in rescue missions during that time. So, while other breakers were out risking their lives, I remained cooped up inside the camp.
That changes today. I’ve become strong enough to contribute and am not going to miss another rescue mission. Not this one, at least.
“Why do you think you have to come with us?” Jessie asks. “Is it because of him?”
I understand instantly whom she is referring to. Captain Wheeler. A burning mass of hatred swells inside me. I can still see Lena falling, then bleeding to death in my arms.
“You don’t have to come,” Jessie continues. “I’m gonna kill Wheeler this time. I swear it.”
“I don’t doubt you a bit,” I assure her.
“What then?” she insists. “Talk to me.”
I hesitate for a second. Jessie waits patiently for my answer. She’s one of the few people I trust. She’s helped Kitty and I during some of our darkest hours.
“I’m not sure what I’ve seen,” I say quietly. “The visions I’ve had are weird. I’ve never been able to locate Wheeler before. And then I suddenly get these really vivid visions. It’s just not normal.”
“How do you know what’s normal?” she asks.
“Exactly,” I say. “I don’t know, and that’s the problem.”
“I don’t understand.”
I sigh. I don’t understand either. Being a level 4 breaker, I have an ability not only for hypnotism, but also for reading memories and getting telepathic visions. Unfortunately, I can’t always differentiate false visions from the real ones.
“They were flat,” I add, taking another try. “Seemed unrealistic somehow.”
“So you do think something may go wrong,” Jessie concludes.
I nod again.
“Frank will be with me, along with a bunch of recruits,” she says. “Isn’t it enough? Why do you have to come?”
“What do you care?” I raise my voice, tired with her objections. Jessie doesn’t usually care what I do.
“Because your freaking life is too important to waste,” she answers. “Without you everything will go to hell around here. You’re the only one keeping Roger’s killers from slaughtering the non-breakers in camp.”
I open my mouth to disagree, but realize what she says is true.
“I’ll be all right,” I say, changing the subject. “Have you seen Kitty?”
“She’s in my tent,” Jessie answers, watching my reaction. “What have you done now?” she asks. “She’s really pissed at you.”
“I wouldn’t agree to take her along on this mission,” I answer.
“Why not?”
“I have to protect her.”
Jessie laughs, saying, “Protect her? I still
don’t think you can even protect yourself.”
I’ve heard this same statement from Jessie so many times that it’s become almost a joke between us.
We share a moment of silence, watching the beginnings of sunrise. The first beams of light reveal the eerie ruins of a long ago abandoned city in the distance. Hard to believe people had once lived there before the Eruption swept away half of the world. Miles and miles of ash-covered wasteland stretches out from our encampment further to the south. A huge lifeless desert. Thick woods surround our camp on the northern side.
Jessie finishes her cigarette, spits on the ground and says, “The briefing will begin soon.”
We head toward what passes for our mission center. A large construction made of bare logs, where recruits receive final instructions before going on missions.
A few teens in camo greet us as we enter. They sit along a row of benches, eating cold beans from a can. This cabin is the only one that is furnished.
One eager recruit approaches, offering a can of beans and a couple of candy bars. Canned food, candy bars and potato chips dominate our everyday diet because they’re high in calories and don’t require cooking. Sometimes I wonder if I’m ever going to taste a homemade meal again. I’m sick with all this junk food.
I hear a high-pitch giggling and turn toward the door. Laughing loudly, Kitty enters as all recruits stare in her direction. She’s wearing cut-off shorts and a t-shirt showing off a flat stomach. I’ve no idea where Kitty gets her civilian clothes from. She probably made an unauthorized visit into the nearest town and robbed a clothing store. Red curly hair falls gently down her narrow shoulders, coming down to her waist. Her face is still somewhat round and innocent enough, contrasting with her apparel. Kitty’s only fifteen, but looks even younger.
Jack follows her. Upon noticing me, Kitty grabs his hand and pulls him closer, whispering something into his ear. Then she giggles again, a little too loudly.