Influence (Influence Series Book 1)

by David R. Bernstein

  “Oh, very funny,” Caiden says, his cheeks turning bright red. “This chick looked like she was going to extract my soul for a snack.”

  Ava steps back into the arms of Maddux and says, “Sorry about that, I couldn’t resist.”

  Fun aside, I find myself curious about her and this push ability she jokes about. “Can you really do that with your ability?” I ask.

  “Yeah,” she says, the humor gone. “I’ve been fine-tuning it for fifteen years now. Practice makes perfect.”

  “Fifteen years?” I say, confused. “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-seven years young!” She winks at me.

  “How is that possible?” I ask. “I’ve always been told Influencer’s push ability fades as we get into our twenties.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you—I must be special.” She shrugs and smiles.

  Maddux pulls Farren and Caiden over to the table to show them some type of resistance report. Ava and I continue our conversation. “So, it seems like what you do to other people doesn’t bother you,” I say. I don’t look at her, pretending to focus instead on rolling a thread that dangles from my shirt.

  “Kaylin, right?” she asks.

  I nod my head.

  “Listen.” Her face gets more serious. “I believe we were given this power for a reason, and that our freewill shapes us. So, if I’m trying to make the world a better place, I have to use my gift and sometimes using it might lead to someone getting hurt. If we’re truly reality creators like we’ve been told, then our job is to weed out the bad elements to bring about a more pure world. All life is connected, but when the selfish corrode our bond for greedy purposes, then reality becomes fractured and the good of humanity is diluted.”

  Her thoughts reflect her age, that is for sure, but I doubt anyone has experienced the horrors that I have in such a short period of time. I wish I could have some of her confidence. Life right now would be easier to deal with if I did.

  “Hey, sweetie.” She rests her hand on my shoulder. “I’ve heard your story and I know what you’ve gone through. You have to understand something. We all share this collective experience called life. Everyone affects and molds reality, not just Influencers. What happens to someone is a result of cause and effect. Simply put, we all get what we give, in a sense. Bad people will have bad things happen to them. Don’t sweat it anymore, love.”

  She smiles and heads over to the table with the rest of them. There’s a struggle going on inside my mind. One part of me is holding onto the pain as a form a punishment for what I have done. While the other side is trying to let go of it so I can grow into something more. What that something is, I really don’t know.

  I sink into a creaky chair at the end of the table and listen to them discuss options for this mission. Looks like Maddux and Ava will be rounding out the rescue group. I don’t think Farren wants me involved in this mission, as they plan it without even asking for my expert advice. From what I pick up, the plan is to cause a subtle diversion and then draw Amanda to a place where we can grab her. I really don’t care what the plan is; I just want her back already.

  I can’t stop thinking about what Ava said to me. Before I met her, all I could think about was the pain I’ve caused to so many lives. I barely know her, but there’s a way about her that makes me question my deep personal guilt.

  Pushing down my jitters, I sit up in my seat. “I know you guys think I shouldn’t be involved in this mission,” I say. “I get it, but this is my friend and I’m done hiding.”

  The group at the table all turn to me trying to digest what I’ve said. Caiden turns to Farren with a look of eager excitement. He’s been ready to see what I can do since we first met.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” says Farren as he avoids Caiden’s glare. “You’re not a trained Influencer.”

  “It’s not your call,” I say. “If you want me to help this resistance, I need to make sure Amanda is safe. I don’t know any of you that well. I’m not about to leave her life in the hands of strangers. I’m going.”

  “Ava and I were never trained,” says Maddux. “Her ability has to find its own opportunities to blossom. Each one of us are different.”

  “We will watch her back,” Ava adds.

  Outnumbered, Farren has no choice but to agree. And just like that, I’m in.

  After a quick lunch of dehydrated rabbit, fern fiddleheads, and some overripe forest berries, we start gathering our things for our two-hour hike on to Hawthorne. I take a deep breath and then release as much of the guilt about the past as I can. Meeting Ava has helped me realize that if I’m going to be of any help on this mission, I can’t hesitate because of emotional weakness. Amanda needs me strong now more than ever. It’s time to test out what I can really do. Even if I have to hurt bad people who get in my way.

  10

  UNLEASHED

  AVA AND I walk together, following the jumbled footsteps of the boys who navigate the faint trail. The dust from their pounding, bulky boots tickles my nose. Noticing my discomfort, she hands me a clean cloth. Her personality is effortless, just like her boyfriend Maddux. Both of them are so positive, even when the world around them seems to suck. It’s amazing and I hope one day to live my life with this attitude. She might look like a fierce and towering warrior, but her spirit is nothing like that. Curiosity boils over and I find myself eager to learn more about her.

  “Why were you hunting down Harvesters in the inner cities?”

  “Well…” she looks up to the lush, overhanging evergreens, “it’s simple, really. When you were raised by them, if that’s what you call it, you can only handle so much cruelty before you turn on your own.”

  Her words stop me in my tracks. Catching up to her I ask, “Raised by Harvesters? How does that even happen?”

  “My mother was a pet for one of the clans.” She returns her focus to the trail. “She got pregnant and before the men discovered this she ran away, fleeing to the Vernon Trust up north.”

  “The Vernon Trust?” I ask.

  “Yeah, this was before they became the Vernon Society.”

  Most of the sector groups back then were more about gaining prestige than stealing power and land. They were superficial and wanted to build little utopian societies to gain the respect of the other groups. It was like a rich boys’ club, and they all needed more members to be bigger than the other clubs. This was before they started abusing Influencers. After that, it was all about greed and control.

  Ava pulls her ponytail forward and plays with the shiny ends. “I was born a few months later and all seemed well until my mother’s former clan discovered where she was,” she says. “The Harvesters nearly wiped out the whole Trust before they found us. The Vernon Trust made a deal with them and gave us up like we meant nothing to them. My mother’s Harvester master, my father, made an example of her by hanging her from a freeway overpass. I was raised by the other Harvester pets until the age of ten.”

  “Oh my gosh,” I gasp. “That’s horrible. I’m sorry. How did you ever get out of there?”

  “My push ability showed up and saved the day,” she says looking to the heavens above. “That’s why I believe our abilities, no matter how harsh they can be, were given to us so we can make this existence better for all who are good in this world.”

  This makes sense now; why she is so positive even when her ability is so dark. She must believe defeating the ugly elements of this world sometimes requires the use of not-so-pretty methods.

  She tells me the story of her escape. To avenge her mother’s death, her biological father was put into a ‘coma of fear,’ as she describes it. She says he is in a loop inside his own mind replaying his darkest fears.

  “Harvesters are the most fearful people in the world,” she says. “Desperation, fear, and selfishness only create a reality of paranoia and hate. I will never allow myself to be afraid again.”

  My life became scary and depressing once I started fearing what my ability can do to
people. If we truly share this conscious reality and we all shape it, then I need to do my part in making it as positive as possible. I have the power to bring more change to this world than anyone has ever seen before. No longer will I hide this ability because of fear. It’s time to embrace this gift and use it to make a difference in this world.

  11

  HAWTHORNE

  WE’VE REACHED THE outer edge of the Hawthorne hub, just outside the area where Magnus patrols. We won’t make our move until it gets dark, so we have a couple of hours to rest and prepare. That two-hour hike had us going up and down hills the entire time, and now my knees are throbbing. This rest is definitely called for. We find a fallen pine tree and all take a seat side by side. Farren sits to my left and Ava finds a spot to my right. I feel like one of the “cool kids” at the shelters.

  “Alright, guys, it’s time to iron things out,” Farren says. “We know our strategy, but we need to come up with the extraction point and figure out the diversion.”

  Maddux leans forward and suggests, “I can find where the hub’s Influencer is located. Then Ava can move in and push the vulnerable citizens to create a little panic.”

  “That will work.” Caiden nods in anticipation. “The rest of us will breach the settlement wing and make our way to the hub’s courtyard. From there Kaylin can use her mojo to find her friend.”

  Mojo is not what I would really call my ability, but I understand what he is saying. It has always been easy to feel the people I have the closest bond with. Almost like I sense when our awareness intersects.

  “Kaylin, are you okay with all this?” Farren asks.

  “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  Farren and Caiden go over a crude layout of the hub and plot out a way through the settlement wing to reach the courtyard. Once you move through the checkpoint, there is a clearing that separates both structures. They mention at this spot we will need to wait for the diversion in order to find an unmanned opening to the hub. I just hope I don’t slow them down.

  The planning dies down as our hunger kicks in. Maddux tosses each of us a food ration. I get a salmon dinner pack. There is nothing like a fake protein and mushy rice with water. Food is food, though.

  After slopping down their rations, Ava and Maddux slide off the tree to the ground, where they snuggle up together. It’s been a while since I’ve seen anyone show affection like this. They really do like each other and it shows. I try not to stare as they tease one another. With my arms folded and head high, I act like I’m not uncomfortable. Just then Farren slides closer to me. The universe must be toying with my nerves.

  “When we get Amanda back, will you finally trust me?” he asks.

  I haven’t thought about his act of betrayal since he convinced me to go with him to meet the resistance. This really doesn’t make sense, but I’ve grown to care for and need him in a way. I’m just not sure if it’s an Influencer trust thing, a silly girl thing, or maybe both. Whatever it is, I need to put it away as there are much bigger things to focus on right now.

  I turn to him and say, “I don’t control trust, or at least I don’t think I do. It just happens. Let’s just not die first, okay?”

  “Yeah, that sounds good,” he says, smiling.

  ***

  Caiden is playing with his gun. Not sure why he is so eager to jump into battle or conflict or whatever, but he keeps checking his wrist display and saying, “It’s almost go time.”

  I take a deep breath to quiet my nerves. I catch Farren looking at me as he talks to Maddux. They look like they are discussing something serious. Curiosity and an underlying lack of trust make me approach them to see what’s going on. They abruptly finish talking and break apart. That was odd. I catch up to Farren as he walks back to his pack near the fallen tree.

  “What was all that sneaky talk about?” I ask.

  “Sneaky talk?!” he says with a less-than-convincing grimace.

  “Yeah, you and Maddux seemed to be plotting something over there.”

  “Oh, no…” He pauses. “Just simple strategy stuff, that’s all.”

  I don’t press him any further, but something is definitely up. To be honest, I can’t really focus on this right now, as my nerves are trying to take over. An equally deep swallow follows each deep breath. I have to rein these feelings in if I’m going to be of any help on this mission. Farren notices my behavior and rests his hand on my back. His touch feels so warm and caring that it intensifies my nervous energy. He leans his head down to catch my eyes and asks, “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

  “No, but I have no choice at this point, do I?”

  Caiden signals to Farren that they’re ready to move out. Maddux tells us to look out for Ava’s diversion and then move in on the hub once we get the signal. We part ways with them and get ready to push forward.

  Farren, Caiden, and I start to make our way to the west side of the hub, where the settlement wing’s entrance lies. I remember this part of the hub because Farren took me there as his prisoner for processing. That’s not a pleasant memory, but now it feels completely different.

  Caiden has been watching the Magnus patrols for the last hour. He informs us that it should be clear now, as they have just passed the checkpoint that we need to go through. He says they will not return for about twenty minutes. This doesn’t give Maddux and Ava much time to do what they need to do, but they say it shouldn’t be an issue.

  Farren tells me that once we get to the wall we will be out of the patrol’s sightlines. From there we will wait for the signal and then take advantage of the chaos to make our way past the guards at the settlement wing’s entrance. There’s talk about a huge clearing inside the outer wall, and rooftop snipers. They keep relaying details of this plan to me, but I can’t focus and just want to get it over with. Farren assures me this is all possible, but I am having some serious doubts now. Nevertheless, we start running from the cover of one tree to the next. Caiden lumbers along breaking branches and making all sorts of noise. Every crackle from his clunky boots sends shockwaves of fear down my spine. This is not as stealthy as I was hoping it would be. Farren, on the other hand—who is actually bigger than Caiden—is having no problem navigating the terrain quietly. If I wasn’t so afraid of what is around the next turn I would be sprinting past these lugs. I guess there’s one benefit to traveling miles and miles every day just to stay safe.

  We burst out of the dense forest into the clearing before the hub’s towering wall. Caiden’s lack of an implant makes it vital that we don’t let this mission linger. We don’t want him exposed to the hub’s Influencer. He directs us to a couple of overgrown Buckeye trees that line the wall, about twenty yards from the settlement wing’s gate. We’re exposed here, and I don’t like it. We run as fast as we can to try to reach the cover near the wall when a distant alarm grabs our attention. We reach the trees and drop to the ground, nearly toppling over each other. Farren puts his arm over my chest and clutches my shoulder, locking me in place. Caiden has his weapon drawn and points in the direction of the gate. Staring through the trees, we collectively stop breathing.

  A couple of minutes pass with only the faint sound of the alarm repeating in the background. Farren loosens his grip and relaxes his body. Caiden turns to him and whispers, “The others must have tripped an alarm. We need to decide if we’re going to abort this mission or still wait for their signal.”

  “What is this signal we are waiting for anyway?” I whisper.

  “Maddux and I have two-way radio functionality on our wrist displays,” Caiden says, scanning over the clearing with intense focus.

  “Two-way radio?!” I blurt. “Every sector group monitors for those things. They will hear you guys and––”

  Farren cuts me off and says, “Kay, it’s okay, we aren’t using them for communication. Our tech guy, Owen, figured out a way to set the radio function of the device to send a simple signal in between the channels. We can’t talk to each other, but we can listen for the steady signal s
ent from any nearby radio-enabled device. When we hear it, we will know Ava’s push has taken hold.”

  Another five minutes pass and no signal. Doubt overtakes their faces. We need to act soon or we put our chances of escape at risk due to the increased Magnus patrols from the triggered alarm. Caiden leans upon one of the trees, his foot tapping over and over. I can tell he might explode at any moment. He is not designed to wait patiently. I sneak a glance at Farren. His brow is rigid and his eyes are locked forward. His mind must be on overdrive, thinking of every possible outcome. Seconds later, his head notches up as he breaks from his trance. He leans toward me and says, “Can you feel or sense anything? I mean… Have you ever been able to pick up on things that surround you? Both Maddux and Jax have some sort of internal Influencer sixth sense. Maybe you do, too.”

  Even though I’m supposed to be this powerful Influencer, I’ve never really thought of my ability as a daily part of my life. It was always something I’ve tried to hide and only use in extreme situations. Because of this, I’ve never tested what I can really do.

  “Um, I really don’t know,” I say. “I get slight feelings around people, but that’s about it.”

  It’s been ten minutes now since that alarm went off and there is still no sign from the others. Even Farren is getting antsy, looking over his shoulders every few seconds. His eyes have an intensity now that makes me worry even more.

  “Please, Kaylin,” he begs. “You need to try to open your mind to the environment. See if you can get a better picture of what’s going on. Jax told me that when Magnus makes him manipulate a large population, he always dissects the cluttered voices during the push. This allows him to use strong-minded people from the group to radiate his push out even further.”

  Farren tells me that when Jax does this, he can get a picture of what that person is seeing and feeling. It’s not the clearest, but it’s like he’s piggybacking on their mind to feel reality from their point of view.