Tethered Twins Saga: Complete Trilogy (Twins, Souls and Hearts)

by Mike Essex

  As they moved ever closer to the door Gabe saw a blonde haired man stood in the doorway. Gabe gave him a nod of acknowledgement and the man walked back inside. No one else saw the exchange.

  “Almost there,” said Gabe.

  The gun started to feel heavy in March’s hands. His shoulders felt weak from carrying the light earlier and now keeping his arms locked in position was proving difficult. He rolled his shoulders backwards and tried to ease the pain.

  On the edges of the crowd orange eyed people sneaked around trying to find a way past the blue light. Whenever they got too close and touched the light they were stopped in their tracks. Yet, each step The Deck took forward, they would free another person from their grasp. The threat was continuous.

  The Deck walked face to face with their enemies, who looked like statues as they made their way past.

  The pain in his shoulder caused March to twitch, jarring his arm and pointing his gun up for just a second. It was enough time for one of the orange eyed people to break free and lunge towards him. By the time March had moved his arm back into position, two arms were stretched out in front of him over his shoulders. Had he been any slower he would have been caught.

  March ducked under one of the arms and they continued their path forward.

  Gabe reached the door first and he and Grace walked inside. The rest of the team formed a half circle around the door, facing outwards. As they shuffled into their new positions their orange eyed attackers got several steps closer. Thankfully The Deck were able to hold the line steady.

  “March, we need you!” said Gabe.

  March looked behind him keeping his gun held steady. He looked forwards again and saw three orange eyed people right in front of him.

  “I can cover you,” said Chris.

  March lowered himself to his knees and kept his gun pointed outwards. He then placed a hand behind him and started to crawl backwards.

  Slowly the team moved in closer and formed a tighter semi-circle around the door. Only five of them remained to hold the position.

  “All clear?” asked March.

  Chris confirmed everything was ok and March put his gun down and rose to his feet. He turned around just in time to see Gabe throw his first towards Grace as he let out an almighty scream.

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  Emmie Keyes

  My father had returned and he now held my arm in a tight grip and walked me out onto the stadium field.

  I could see row upon row of computers with orange lights lit up on them. On the stands of the stadium there were many more computers that didn’t have any lights on but could still be heard whirring away as if they were awaiting instructions. It looked like a computer was located in every seat of the stadium, with many more on ground level.

  “Just do exactly what I say,” said my father. He gripped my arm so tightly that it seemed more of a threat than comforting.

  Around the running track of the stadium were hundreds of satellite dishes aimed up to the sky. Thousands upon thousands of wires criss-crossed around the stadium connecting the satellites to computers but there was one destination every wire seemed to flow to.

  In the centre of the stadium was a large chair that connected up to thousands of wires. In the seat sat Tobias. He was held in place with a tight harness across his chest and a helmet on his head. From the helmet ran small wires that circled around his chair and the harness.

  It was a more high tech version of the machine I had seen in the video. The machine that Tobias had been subjected to when he was younger. It was horrific to think what had happened to him then and why he would want to subject himself to it again. Yet, the most horrific image of all was not Tobias but the chair that sat next to him. Unoccupied.

  “It that chair for me?” I asked my father.

  “Yes,” he replied. Tobias would no doubt be able to hear us by now so there was no more time for questions. I hoped what the man who claimed to be my father had told me was true. If he was my father, then I hoped I could trust him after all this time.

  “I have her,” said my father.

  Tobias did not move from his chair. His eyes remained motionless and he did not look at me. His gaze remained fixed at a point in the distance slightly upwards to the sky.

  “Welcome Emmie,” said Rex, who stood next to Tobias with Rufus. Tobias did not move and did not speak, he continued to use Rex as his voice and as his puppet.

  “Do you like everything I have shown you today?” he asked.

  “Why are you doing this to yourself?” I replied. “You hated the people who did this to you. Why would you return to the chair?”

  He didn’t reply for a moment as if his attention was elsewhere. I could hear shouting coming from outside of the stadium. Some of the voices sounded familiar.

  “What … they did … to me,” he replied, his voice breaking and trailing off every few words. “It cannot go … unpunished. I need to get revenge… and I need … you to do it.”

  “Me?” I asked. “But why?”

  “Show.. you…”

  “I’ve seen enough,” I replied, as Rex started to walk towards me, an arm held out to escort me.

  My father held one hand in the air in front of him. “I’ll do it,” he stated. He gripped tightly on my arm again and walked me towards the chair. I could see where we were heading and I tried to fight him. I’d seen what the chair could do and how it had destroyed a man. I couldn’t let that happen to me.

  “Trust me,” he whispered into my ear. As I looked at how Tobias was mesmerised at the distance, I started to trust my father even less. I tried to fight him but he yanked me forwards. “Emmie, you have to do this. If you fight me then it will ruin everything.”

  Rex looked at me with intrigue. I hoped my father hadn’t said too much. He was right, if I exposed him now then Rex, Rufus and my father would all be killed.

  He placed me into the chair and I was close enough now to hear Tobias groan. There was a low groaning sound coming from him which gradually increased in volume every so often and then died down again. It was like watching someone experience a dream, although this very clearly wasn’t one.

  My father placed the helmet onto my head and started to connect something into the back of it.

  “This is taking too long,” stated Rex and he walked in front of me, pulling my shirt upwards and ripping it slightly. He applied a silver gel to my stomach. Just like the video, I thought. He then drew wires from the harness and injected them into my chest and arms.

  Each injection gave off a burning sensation as it went into my skin. A sensation that did not stop even when the needle was all the way in. I could still feel it inside me, scraping inside my body and the burning sensation spread around the needle’s entry point.

  My arms were bound to the sides of the chair and the harness was placed around my chest. It was tight and made me gasp for air from the impact of it being tightened in place. Rex was not gentle in any way.

  “Ready,” said Rex and he held up a thumb in the air.

  “Ready,” said my father, although I could not see him behind me.

  For two minutes there was nothing but the pain of the needles in my body. Not a word was said and all I could hear were the mysterious shouts from outside the stadium and the groans of Tobias. The tension built up inside me. Rufus and Rex stood perfectly still, not giving any signs of what would happen.

  I could no longer see my father and I hoped that he truly was working on my side.

  Then without warning the burning sensation spread throughout my body. It snaked down nerve pathways and I could feel it travel down my arms and legs. By the time it reached my neck every inch of my body was tingling and warm.

  The tingling feeling worked upwards and as it passed my throat I felt like I was going to be sick. The sensation reached my nose and I could smell burning. By the time it had reached my brain my body started to shake in an attempt to remove the sensation but it was too late. It was a part of me now.

 
Rows of computers on the edge of stadium started to flicker and the harness in front of me gave off the same groan as Tobias. Then I realised that he wasn’t making the groaning noise, it was the sound of electricity crackling and the same thing was happening to me. I was being electrocuted from the inside. The burning I smelt was my insides being burned away. The sick feeling I felt, was my stomach acid being heated and forced upwards.

  My father dashed in front of me. “Fight it!” he shouted, no longer seeming to care about giving away his identity. “I know you can do this.”

  I didn’t know what to do. He hadn’t told me any of this or what would happen. I wasn’t sure how to fight.

  He tilted my head backwards and said “This will relieve the pain.”

  It did help slightly. It forced the sensation away from my head and took away some of the sick feeling. Yet the burning feeling remained and the points where the needles were in me now felt incredibly hot. I could feel my skin around them starting to burn on the outside.

  “Think about your centre,” said my father.

  Suddenly in-between the burning I started to feel a cool spot within me. It felt like a desert oasis and a momentary break from my pain. A small smile formed on my face as I felt a brief moment of peace that quickly faded as the heat raged back over me.

  “That’s it,” said my father. “Focus on that place.”

  “Don’t lose her!” said Tobias through Rex. It sounded like a threat.

  For my father’s sake I tried to find that peace again. I could feel it slightly around my belly where the grey coating had been applied but deep inside of me rather than on the outside. As I focused on that point I could feel the fire inside my body being pulled into that point.

  My neck felt cool and I felt like I was winning. The fire started to push back and I tried to focus even harder on that single point; just above my belly button. I could feel it there. It felt safe and it was all I could think about. For a moment I forgot that I was in the chair. I forgot about everyone. The only feeling in my body was that of the cool relief that spot offered.

  From that singular spot I felt a wave of cool wash over my body. The warm feeling was gone, yet something else had gone with it.

  I tried to open my eyes by all I could see was darkness. I couldn’t move my arms or feel my body. I felt motionless.

  For a second I wondered if I had died but then a familiar voice comforted me.

  “You did it,” said my father. He brought me back to reality but I could still not see or move. All of my senses had gone and there was nothing but darkness.

  FIFTY-NINE

  Emmie Keyes

  The first sense that came back to me was the power of hearing.

  The noise was overpowering. I could hear the screams of every person Tobias had taken control of. In amongst the chaos I could hear Rex apologising for what he had done. I could hear his every thought and how he longed to regain control and stop Tobias. Rufus too was worried and obsessed about grabbing a frying pan and beating Tobias with it.

  The thought made me want to laugh but I couldn’t articulate the sound. I felt like a passer-by observing Tobias’ power but with none of my own.

  My other senses were lost in the ether and the collection of other sounds were not familiar without any other context. I could hear Grace shouting and yelling at Gabe to stop. I had no idea why and hoped that she hadn’t been possessed by Tobias as well. Although if what The Deck told me was true that should be impossible.

  Then I could hear my father. I knew he hadn’t been turned so I must have been able to hear him through someone else like Rex.

  “Emmie has been successfully transfused,” he said.

  “Good,” said Tobias. This time it was his voice I could hear. There was no one else speaking his words for him. His voice was real and filled my head, blocking out every other sound.

  “Emmie,” said Tobias. “Welcome to the greatest experiment of all. You are now a part of the world that was created twenty one years ago and soon you’ll be able to see the true extent of what was done to me that day.”

  The blackness all around me started to light up slightly and in one corner there shone a bright beacon of light. It moved towards me as if Tobias wanted to show me something.

  As the light reached me and filled my vision I could see inside the Olympic stadium again. Am I seeing through my own eyes? I wondered. The view was not what I expected. I could see Tobias from head on and as the view shifted I could see myself in a chair held in place.

  The view moved closer and I could now see my face up close. My eyes were wide open and I was staring to the sky, just like Tobias had been. My arms were limp and I seemed lifeless.

  “Am I dead?” I asked and I could hear the words emerge from elsewhere. The voice was not my own. “Rex?” I asked and I could hear his voice repeating me.

  The view startled backwards away from me and I then realised what was happening. I focused on the floor and the view shifted downwards. I gasped in shock as the realisation hit me and then saw a hand raise up to stop the gasp.

  I was controlling Rex. He was carrying out my every thought and saying my every word.

  I looked around to try and get my bearings and saw Rufus standing totally still. In a heartbeat I was pulled away from the vision and towards a new bright light. As I approached this one I could now see through the eyes of Rufus and was looking back at Rex. I moved his arm to wave at Rex and then switched back to Rex so he could wave in return.

  “What have you done to me?” I asked and the words were echoed by both Rufus and Rex.

  “That’s nothing,” said Tobias. “With this power anything is possible. We can change the world in any way we wish. Imagine being able to take over anyone at any time. The possibilities are infinite.”

  He was right. This power could change the world for the better. If we took over corrupt politicians and the people who were destroying society then we could shape a better world. Yet everything I had seen of Tobias made this seem like an impossibility. The man was obsessed with war.

  I pulled away from the bright light. “In time you will be able to control many people at once, it will make you unstoppable just like I am now.”

  In front of me I saw many more lights emerge. “What are they?” I asked.

  “They are all people I control and with each minute I can control even more. My own private army,” he replied.

  I looked through one of the lights and was stuck in a body that could not move. In front of me were soldiers from The Deck shining a blue light in my face. They were trying to stop this chaos. Beyond those soldiers I could see Gabe and Grace fighting each other. I had suspected Gabe was unstable but this was something entirely different.

  “What have you done to him?” I asked.

  “Gabe?” replied Tobias. “He’s the test subject for a new serum we have been perfecting. I must admit it was quite handy having him back at TethTech when we needed a test dummy. It unlocks people’s raw strength, although it looks like it had some unexpected side effects.”

  I tried to move my new body but it was stuck from the blue light. All I could do was watch as Gabe tried to kill my best friend.

  --<><>--

  Grace Wilkerson

  “Why are you fighting us?” asked Grace. “Are you working for Tobias?”

  Gabe didn’t reply, he just kicked his leg out towards Grace’s chest. She grabbed his leg with her hands and twisted it, trying to force him downwards. He swung his arm around and punched her on the shoulder knocking her off balance and releasing his leg.

  March jumped on to Gabe’s back, holding both arms around his neck and his feet around Gabe’s belly. Gabe reached backwards with his hand to remove him but March swung his body weight to one side taking Gabe down with him. They both tumbled onto the floor.

  “Do you need our help?” shouted Chris, hearing the commotion behind him.

  “No,” said Grace. “You have to hold the line.”

  Chris looked
ahead at the orange eyed people who were still being held in place with the blue lights. “I hope you gave these guns long batteries March,” he joked.

  March tried to push Gabe off of him but he wasn’t strong enough. Gabe pulled his fist back ready to punch March. Grace kicked dirt from the floor towards Gabe and it hit him in the face. He moved his hands to his eyes to try and clear his vision and by leaning backwards he released March from the bulk of his weight.

  “You have to stop!” shouted Grace. “I don’t know why you are doing this but this isn’t you.”

  Gabe stood up on his feet again and cracked his knuckles. He formed a fist with his right arm and led with his left foot towards Grace. As he threw his fist forward she ducked and tried to avoid the impact but he anticipated it and hit her on her left side. She struggled to stay on her feet and he caught her with an upper cut with his right fist this time sending her tumbling backwards and on to the floor.

  “No!” shouted March, who tried to grab Gabe but was stopped by a kick to his leg. He felt the full force of the impact on his knee and it sent him down to the floor.

  Gabe sat down on top of Grace. “Now to do what General Kull couldn’t do.”

  The General, thought Grace and then she remembered the man who had tried to sexually assault her. The man who had almost broken her back. It was all about to happen again. “This isn’t you!” she screamed at Gabe.

  March tried to crawl towards Grace to help her but Gabe kicked him in the face, stunning him.

  He grabbed Grace’s top and started to tear it off her. “No!” she screamed. As Gabe went to place his hand on her chest a loud gunshot echoed through the air.

  Gabe placed a hand on his shoulder where the impact had occurred. Blood started to seep from the wound and he let out a groan of pain. The second and third bullets hit him in his chest, sending him over onto his side. The final impact was the butt of Grace’s gun as she knocked him off her and onto the floor.

  “Why?” asked Grace, as she looked down at the gun in her hand. “None of this is right.”