Influence (Influence Series Book 1)

by David R. Bernstein

  Snipers and armed fighters flow out the front like water from a hose. They spread across the visible foreground, taking whatever vantage point they can find. Just around the corner is the outer gate to the Talas hub. It’s getting intense now.

  The plan is to take the gate by sheer numbers. This will give Jax, Miya, and their team an entry point through which they can go find the leadership. How they do that once they get in is beyond me. My team is tasked to disrupt and protect the group with our abilities. We weren’t overwhelmed with tons of details on purpose. They need us to concentrate and not overthink.

  Talas civilians are still going about their routine with little change from when I first picked them up an hour ago. Not knowing what’s coming is freaking me out. A young girl rushes from the frontline back to us. I don’t recognize her. She relays a quick message from Maddux.

  “There are three active Influencers in or around the hub. Stay sharp.”

  His ability has helped us to better understand what we’re dealing with. If we can counter their pushes during the battle, then there’s a good chance our fighters can overtake the hub. Ava says their Influencer network has always lacked the unique skillset of our resistance. From what she’s heard, they’re nothing more than a bunch of mood shifters.

  Ava pulls us over to a small grove of hemlock thickets just off the tracks. From here, we’ll see the attack on the outer gate. Just like the Hawthorne hub, Talas has an outer wall that leads into a courtyard. This open area is like a moat without the water. Cleared of overgrowth, this surround is about forty yards deep and circles the entire main structure. It makes for a perfect spot for snipers to pick off our people from above.

  Shielded from the gates, the support members take cover behind the scout vehicle. Amanda catches me looking over. In classic Amanda form, she gives me a silly grin followed by a thumbs up. She has always used wit to mask her fears. At least she is away from the action. Farren, on the other hand, waits for Caiden’s signal to charge the gates of Talas. Clutching his rifle, he appears locked in and ready to strike.

  A swift point from Caiden and the frontline move in. I’m too nervous to blink. Five armed fighters crouch as they spill out from the bend. Covering the few yards, they slam up against the cement outer wall to the right of the gate. There’s still no sign of Magnus countermeasures. The men and women with the sniper rifles take the spots the charging fighters left behind. From one knee they look to provide cover fire when needed. Farren signals for the group’s Influencers to move up. I need to stop watching him so much and keep my awareness open. Maddux leads this small group into a closer vantage point just off Farren’s location. Just as they reach him, Farren raises his weapon to his shoulder and points it toward the gate. My breathing picks up as he explodes toward the wall to join the fighters. I need to help him now.

  Once again, I open my awareness onto the hub, but there is still no one to connect to. All I sense is the generic movement of civilians, nothing else. They have to be shielded by a Magnus Influencer, as the conscious ripples that surround them are tightly contained to each individual. There is no open mind to piggyback from. Ava has been unable to alter the mindset of any unprotected Magnus supporters, as well. Something is up, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to find out with our abilities. Envee has been amplifying the reach of Kelen and Deeya with no luck. They’ve been focusing on gathering any intel about the civilians that they can. Ava, the kids, and I are failing hard. We need to get our fighters inside to see what is really going on.

  Loud pops make me flinch as hissing sounds fill the foreground. Caiden shouts out just outside the entrance, “Smoke grenades!”

  Jax and his team scramble back to the edges before the bend. Dark smoke drifts from the wall and clouds our vision. I no longer see Farren or the other fighters near the gate. A cluttered echo of disjointed commands rumbles from the front.

  The guards corral the support members to the rear of the scout vehicle. Amanda sits against the rear tire covering her ears. I want to rush to her, but she’s in about as safe a spot as anyone. I need to find out what’s going on up front. Without thinking, I lunge from the covering and sprint to the bend. Ava calls out for me to stop, but it’s too late, I am gone. She has to protect the young Influencers and won’t come after me. I sprint several yards and lean up against a granite boulder that shields me from the chaos just outside the gate. From here I can hear more clearly. I make out Farren shouting at the other fighters at the wall to stay put. Between wisps of smoke, I see Caiden holding his arm out to keep everyone else back. Farren and the others are alone now.

  I wait for a rain of bullets that never comes. Several more smoke grenades clank as they hit the ground, followed by increased clouds of gray. What’s the point of this? What are they up to?

  Jax and Miya rattle me out of my lock on the haze. Gasping for air, Miya yanks my hand and says, “Why are you out of position?”

  Jax interrupts her. “Kaylin, this isn’t the plan. What are you doing?”

  “Sorry, guys.” I keep my eyes locked forward, still searching for Farren. “I won’t hide back there if he’s in danger.”

  Unlike her normal holier-than-thou attitude, Miya grabs my other hand and forces me to look at her. “Hon, he means a lot to me too. Maybe not in the same way, but what I’m saying is that I understand. We just have to be smart now.”

  They might be right, but it doesn’t feel right to just stay behind this wall and do nothing. Before they have a chance to go on, a blast erupts from the gate. The burst dissipates the cloud of smoke from the area. We turn to see a mangled entrance jarred open and Farren and our fighters taking cover on either side. Farren must have been tired of waiting around choking on smoke. I want to call out to him, but that wouldn’t be smart. It could distract him or, even worse, expose the resistance’s position.

  “Fall back, fall back!” A command echoes from someone in the clearing over the wall.

  We’ve taken the front gate with little effort. Not even a bullet has been fired. This is starting off way too easy. That nervous feeling in my gut tells me there is more going on here.

  With the gate breached, Caiden leads his fighters to Farren’s position. He calls out for the snipers to eye the roof of the inner structure from inside the wall. Caiden and Farren’s teams work together now. Several heavily armed resistance funnel through the gate.

  Jax and Miya instruct me to stay put as they make their way to their support team at the outer wall just off the gate. Well, that’s not going to happen. After a slight hesitation, I move from the protection of the bend. Hunched over, I follow behind their team. I blend in with the fighters and find a spot on the wall. Everyone is too concerned with the fight to notice an out-of-place, unarmed Influencer. This is probably the most stupid thing I’ve ever done.

  “All clear,” says one of the snipers as she finishes a scan of the rooftop.

  Jax and his team begin to move through the gate. Nudged from all sides, I become one of the cattle herded through the entrance. This opening is a great choke point for Magnus to pick us off, but still nothing happens. I pass through the seared gate, its edges glowing hot from the blast. The exposed skin on my arm comes inches from the torched metal. There’s no settlement wing to navigate. Talas doesn’t do sorting, all their recruits come pre-vetted from Hawthorne or from the other entry hubs. We clear the gate and fan out into the opening. Farren has already moved fighters to the main structure. He’s unaware of my foolish actions. I’m not that lucky with Jax, as he rushes over to me near the inner wall.

  “Kaylin, what are you doing here?”

  I feel like an orphan getting scolded by a shelter supervisor. I try to explain why I’m here, but all I can think of is Farren. Then it comes to me.

  “You know something’s not right,” I plead. “Our Influencers are useless outside the gate.”

  I struggle to keep my eyes on him as my focus is pulled to Farren, who’s on the other side of the clearing. He waves and points people
into position near the hardened hub walls. I see him barking orders as his group falls into place.

  “I need to know what’s going on so I can use my push to help,” I say.

  Even if my intentions are not solely dedicated to the battle, I am right and he knows it.

  Not having time to talk me out of it, he turns from me and says, “Please just stay close to me and my team.”

  And just like that, I am now one of the frontline fighters about to storm the deadly Magnus headquarters.

  23

  NOT SO FAST

  OUTSIDE THE TALAS gates, Ava, the Influencers, Amanda, and the support members all remain. The rest of us are flush with the walls of the structure waiting for the next move.

  Caiden and Farren’s now-combined group is up ahead edging their way to the east entrance. Their movements remind me of our rescue mission for Amanda. They use the base of the hub to stay concealed while moving. Snipers pop on and off the wall as they keep an eye on the rooftops. Maddux and the frontline Influencers have joined their route. I don’t see a hint of fear in him. His face isn’t tense and his movements are slow and controlled. There’s no wasted effort with him. Maddux and Ava are both older, which means they have been living as active Influencers for much longer than me. This explains why nothing seems to faze them. They’ve been tapped into the collective consciousness of others for so long that they must be able to anticipate behavior much more easily. This gives them the confidence to overcome crazy odds. However, I’m not so sure with everything so greatly stacked against us.

  Jax and Miya are taking turns checking on me. Thirty seconds don’t go by without one of them looking back at me to make sure I haven’t somehow scaled the walls or something. My new wildcard attitude is making them nervous. The possibilities of what Farren and I could be is fueling this new sense of purpose. I know I can be much more effective closer to the action. Being useless beyond that wall is not an option. So, let’s hope overthrowing Magnus is as easy as busting our way through that outer gate. I doubt it, though.

  A heavy pressure engulfs my heart. The sensation rips the air from my lungs. A powerful push has just begun, and it’s not like anything I’ve felt before. I bend over and grab my knees to support my weakened body. Sadness overtakes my thoughts. The awareness of the area is dulled and the mood is somber, yet desperate. This push doesn’t affect me directly, but tapping into the collective fold of the area sends glimpses of despair to my mind. Pops of visual experiences flicker before me. Immersed within my mind, these bright explosions fill my inner thoughts. Glimpses of blurred memories come and go within a second of each other. They come and go so fast that it’s hard to understand what’s happening. This is making it impossible to counter this unfamiliar push.

  A loud crack vibrates from the structure wall. I flinch and cover my ears before I turn to see one of our fighters crumble to the ground. There’s a small pistol in his hand and a gushing hole above his brow. With blood splattered on the fighters nearest to him, the resistance jump from the mysterious event in shock. Covering my mouth, I try not to scream. I don’t understand—this fighter just took his own life.

  Without a second to process what happened, a woman runs into the clearing, forcing her own rifle into her mouth. Panicked shouts from the wall beg her to stop, but it is too late. The bullet rips through the back of her head. Momentum from the blast forces her body backward before she falls.

  Confusion paralyzes the group. Panning from side to side, I watch people looking to their neighbors in panic. Most of them pull their weapons in close to their bodies. Murmurs of fear ramp up as two others cry out before ending their own lives. The formation of the group is tearing apart.

  Jax rushes into the clearing, his arms outstretched, pleading with them to stay put. Noticing this, I see Farren pull out from the wall, aiming his weapon at the rooftop.

  “Focus on me,” Jax cries. “Someone is using their push ability on you.”

  He might not feel a push’s reflection the same way I can, but I’m sure he understands the uniqueness of what is happening. He shuffles up and down the line, trying to catch the attention of as many as he can.

  “What you’re feeling is not real,” he insists. “I need everyone without an implant to lower your weapons to the ground, now.”

  You don’t need to be an Influencer to feel the unease from everyone. We all look to our fellow fighter to wait for someone to act first. Then Caiden pulls out from the gathering toward Jax and Farren. His pace is slow. One hand clasps the back of his neck while the other holds a pistol. Uncertain of his intentions, Farren calls out for him to be the example for those without the protective block implant. “Caiden,” urges Farren. “Focus on me and drop your gun, okay?”

  Our collective lock on Caiden breaks as Tarex, one of the weapons trainers I briefly worked with, drops to his knees, sobbing. A large rifle draped across the back of his neck supports his arms. His eyes are shut as tears stream down his face.

  Before he has the chance to act on his misery, Caiden stops a few feet in front of him. With a blank look on his face, he raises the pistol to Tarex’s head. Cries of confusion and fear drown out the calls from Jax in the clearing.

  I’m able to make out what Caiden says. “It’s okay, brother, it will be over soon.”

  With Caiden never being an official part of a sector group, his implant-free mind is vulnerable. The push has taken hold of him. I can’t catch my breath. Everything is falling apart so fast.

  Without thinking, I barrel through frightened fighters toward Caiden. I disconnect from the morbid awareness affecting the area. This can’t happen, please don’t let this happen. I only make it a few yards before Farren slams him to the ground. The weapon discharges into the air as it flies several yard into the clearing. I flinch and almost trip, but manage to steady myself.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Caiden asks, shaking his head.

  The hit has broken him from the effects of the push. He’s clearly not sure what’s going on.

  “Are you with me, brother?” Farren asks, still on top of him.

  “Get off of me,” Caiden barks.

  Farren slides off and helps him to his feet. You can see in Caiden’s eyes that he realizes he was being influenced. He seems embarrassed. Farren peers over Caiden’s shoulder to find me just outside the line. He moves Caiden aside and, glaring at Jax, stomps over to me. I guess he doesn’t believe I’m capable of disobeying orders on my own. With a scowl on his face, he grabs my arms and quickly looks me over for injuries. Before he has a chance to say anything, another resistance member retrieves Caiden’s pistol. The woman is picking up where Caiden left off. She heads toward Tarex mumbling something about how it’s the right thing to do. Her eyes have that same dead look to them. Diverted, Farren bear hugs the woman and wrestles the weapon free. This isn’t going to be the end of this. The push will only continue to invade the reality of the unshielded at this wall. Enough’s enough.

  Rage brims inside me. My push has awakened. The emotion pent up in my belly fuels the expansion of my consciousness. Intense flickers of light streak across the darkness behind my closed eyes. Awareness floods over the Talas hub. It bypasses the simple mental ripples and I dive deeper into the manipulated reality of the area. The people sharing this forced reality burst before me. Large expanded ripples of individuals affected by this push fuse my focus onto them. Whoever is creating this altered reality is grabbing hold of unshielded resistance and shifting their mood to a horrid place. The dark push transfers from one mind to another so quickly that I’m unable to latch on to anyone long enough to counter it. All I see are quick explosions of darkened ripples bursting before my mind. They retract just before the next innocent mind suffers the same entanglement. The frustration fuels my ability, making it possible to match the dark push. I’m able to anticipate the next victim just as it starts. I’ve got you now. Each fighter in our group is diffused and brought back to their own individual piece of reality. The collective focus
of the group is calm once again. I stay engaged until the evil push fades from the area.

  My eyes flutter open as if I’m waking from a long nap. Farren is hunched over me, and his head shifts a bit as he tries to catch my attention. I’m able to disconnect from the effects of the push just as I find his dark gaze. An easy smile breaches the concern on his face.

  “So…” He pauses. “I’m assuming you must have changed their reality?”

  Exhaling in relief, I simply nod yes to him.

  We both take a second to look over the group. They’re reforming the line against the wall. Once again, they focus on the mission. Only the Influencers and shielded are standing around trying to piece things together.

  “Sorry I couldn’t warn you,” I say. “You could only take down so many at a time.”

  I clasp onto a few of his fingers and pull closer to him.

  “I know you like tackling people and all, but we have a mission to take care of here.” I chuckle.

  He smiles, rolling his eyes. It feels good to be with him again. I don’t like being in the back of the group. All I do there is fear for his safety.

  Besides Farren, Maddux and the other Influencers are the first to catch on to the altered reality. There’s no explanation needed for them. They get back to protecting the group with an even more heightened awareness. My defensive push has forced them to be alert at all times. We need to work together to overcome whatever sinister plans Magnus has in store for us.

  24

  DECISIONS

  “WE NEED TO reevaluate here, guys,” insists Jax.

  The leadership, including myself, need to decide if we should send the implant-free fighters back to the safety outside the gates. Positioned near the support vehicle, Owen has confirmed there’s been no one in their group affected by the morbid push. It appears the deadly power of this push is limited to a small radius near us. That’s good news, I guess.