EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set

by K. J. Chapman

  “I’m not happy about it, but I can’t sleep through the pain. After everything that has happened, sedation… well, I’m scared.”

  “I promise to keep an eye on you. I checked on you all night every night when you were recovering from surgery and it’s become a bit of a habit.”

  “I know,” I say.

  ***

  Slipping into a dream feels like stepping into a bath of liquid chocolate. This dream is void of colour. I walk through a black abyss of nothingness and feel the most at peace I have felt since… well, in a long time.

  A murmur echoes in the distance. Straining to listen, I pick up the tones of a male voice. Another, slightly louder voice accompanies it, and then another and another. They talk over each other. More voices create a hum of chatter much like the drone of bees.

  “Hello?” I call out.

  The voices rush at me, so loud that I can’t discern them. Male, female, sad, happy, angry, they all scream in my head. They’re followed by images flashing through my mind like a home video on fast forward. Lurching forward, I scream as my mind is consumed and my head buzzes. I’m reading people and I can’t stop.

  More images render me helpless. I’m incapable of thinking or doing anything save clasp at my head. The voices won’t let up: laughing, screaming, moaning, singing.

  “Stop!” I scream at nothing. I need to wake up. I need to fight through the fog weighing me down in sleep.

  “Teddie, can you hear me? It’s Rafe.” His voice is louder than the others. “You’re dreaming, Teddie. Wake yourself up. Follow my voice. Wake up, right now, Teddie!”

  “I hear her,” says the most beautifully desperate voice I have ever heard.

  “Adam?”

  Rafe’s voice takes over. “Wake up, now! Follow my voice, Kiddo.”

  I jerk awake, hovering horizontally above the bed. Everything is shaking violently. Rafe’s back is plastered against the wall as if an invisible force holds him there. Darcy is pinned against the door by the same force and whines in confusion.

  “Control it, Teddie. Find that place in your mind and lock it away.” Rafe says, telepathically.

  Focussing on the wayward flutter of telepathy, I concentrate on pushing it way back in my mind. The chatter in my head quietens to nothing, enabling me to rein in my telekinesis. I drop to the mattress like a sack of potatoes, desperately trying to control my raspy breathing.

  The force on Rafe lifts and he rushes to my bedside. Darcy continues to whine, licking at my hand that hangs over the edge of the mattress.

  “What did I do?” I whisper.

  Rafe helps me to sitting. “I must have drifted off. I should have been more careful. The sedation sent you into a deep sleep and you lost control of your abilities.”

  “But what did I do?” I ask again.

  “Your telepathy sent your telekinesis into overdrive. No one has woken, so I believe the rest of The Hive was unaffected.”

  “This used to happen when I was a kid,” I admit, rubbing at my temples. “It got even worse when Shana drugged me. I’d wake up and the whole house would be shaking,” I shake the fog from my head. “I thought I heard Adam?”

  “You were dreaming, Kiddo. You heard what you wanted to hear. I think sedatives are out of the picture from here on in.”

  “But what if it really was the link?”

  Rafe sighs loudly. “Try it now.” Closing my eyes, I think of Adam, but my mind is totally blank. “And the electrokinesis?” he urges. I hold out my palm, willing just one small spark. Rafe nods his head. “Now, do you see it was a dream?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Rafe hands me a tissue. “Stop crying and get on with it.”

  “I’m so tired,” I sob, face down in the dirt of the field. “It hurts.”

  He turns his back and strides away from me. “It will hurt until you strengthen your telepathy, and you won’t strengthen it unless it hurts. Do it again.”

  He must communicate with Charley in The Hive once again, because the searing pain of his infliction has me dropping to my knees for the millionth time. I’ve only ever felt the wrath of one other Inflictor, and Ty wasn’t half as bad as Charley. My brain is going to turn to soup.

  “Block him!” Rafe yells over the ringing in my ears. “Imagine that Charley is a Telepath working for the government who is hell bent on extracting information on the whereabouts of everyone you love. If you give them this information, you will have killed your love ones. Block your mind off, Cub!”

  His words sting as much as the infliction. It is a very real possibility that someone would use their ability against me in such a way. Finding one final burst of energy, and hissing through my teeth like a rattle snake, I push out the boundaries of my mind, forcing Charley away and imagining security shutters slamming down around it like those in a bank.

  The pain is gone. I glance up at Rafe through the sweat that runs into my eyes and give him the broadest of smiles. As I get to my feet, my body feels numb from adrenaline and my excitement sends the blood rushing to my head. “I did it,” I tell him, swaying with the breeze.

  Rafe slaps at my face, and I peer up at him from the ground. He takes my legs and holds them in the air.

  “Are you back with the living?” he asks.

  “Did I pass out?”

  “You’ll be alright,” he replies, unconcerned. “Now that you know you can do it, I want you to prove to me that you can do it again.”

  “Are you having a laugh?” I kick my legs free and scramble unsteadily to my feet. “Not a chance. At least let me sleep it off. I feel like my head is in a vice.”

  He tucks his hands into his pockets. “Do it again.”

  “Screw you,” I snap. How can he seriously think I’m doing it again after passing out? “I’m going back to The Hive.”

  “Are you disobeying a direct order?” he asks, gathering up his water bottle and radio.

  “Damn right, I am.”

  He heads back to the buggy. “Three laps of the perimeter.”

  “I just blacked out. Are you insane?”

  “So they say,” he shouts back, starting the buggy and waving goodbye.

  “You’re an asshole!” I scream after him.

  “I don’t see you running, Kiddo.”

  Knowing that it’ll just be worse for me if I don’t fulfil my punishment, I head up the field to start the run I have made quite a few times in the weeks since my training upped a gear. The ground is boggy, and my legs get a thick coating of mud and mulch. My trainers are lagged in dirt, and when I reach the part of the perimeter that I call ‘ankle breaker’ because of the uneven ground of stones and boulders protruding through the dirt, I slip and slide precariously. A boulder gets the better of me, sending me tumbling over my own feet and rolling down the incline of trees. I’m pretty sure I land in every bramble and stinging nettle on the way down.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I growl, pulling pieces of shrubbery out of my hair.

  The incline is a little steep to climb in this weather. If I continue following the perimeter from down here, I should come across a safer route back up. All I need are some exposed roots to cling to.

  Thankfully, the ground does start to level. I could climb back up and start back on my run around the perimeter, but that’s what Rafe would want, and that is exactly why I don’t do it. It’s not like I’m running away, I’m just doing something for me. Okay, I’m breaking rules because I bloody want to. I won’t go too far.

  The trees aren’t so dense that I have to climb over roots, but they’re enough to shelter me from the fresh onslaught of rain. The earthy stench of wet mulch is better than the sweaty smell in The Hive. I might just find somewhere to sit for a bit, catch my breath, and then finish up the gruelling run.

  After a couple of minutes, the trees start thinning and the rain manages to soak me through to the skin. Breaching the treeline, I gawp at a truly unexpected sight. The land gives way to a small gulley below. The river moves at quite some spe
ed due to the recent rainfall, but what little light breaks through the clouds glistens off it like diamonds. I feel like I can breathe here. The sensation of standing on top of the world is incredibly freeing when you spend a great deal of your time in a hole in the ground. Sitting on a ledge of rock, I lift my head up to the sky and scream. Wow, that feels good. I belt out another long, guttural yell until I finally feel ready to head back.

  By the time I make it back to The Hive, I don’t have the energy to levitate myself down the shaft. When Crow sees me climbing down rung by rung, he rushes over and lifts me down the remaining steps.

  “Don’t ask,” I say, as he eyes my muddy clothes and shredded legs and arms. “Tell Rafe I’m back, and tell him his granddaughter says he’s an evil bastard.”

  “Message received,” Rafe calls from the office doorway with a satisfied smirk on his face.

  Darcy bounds over at the sight of me. He licks at my bloodied leg.

  “This is what happens when you have a nut-job for a grandfather,” I say, throwing Rafe a pointed look.

  “Round two tomorrow, Kiddo. Sleep well.”

  I groan and stick my finger up at him, ignoring his peals of laughter as the door slams shut behind me.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Sitting on the benches in the women’s shower room with my towel around me, I wait for Jonah to arrive. It’s freezing in here. Being underground does have its draw backs. The showers are sectioned off by metal panelling that shows only our feet and heads. The space provided is barely enough to manoeuvre in, but twenty or so showers have been efficiently squished into the small area. The men’s shower rooms are opposite and are the mirror image of ours.

  “Hello, is everyone decent? Male doctor coming in,” calls Jonah.

  “It’s just me,” I call back.

  He edges in, glancing around the corner before trotting over to me. I don’t look to speak to him further. I turn on the bench and lower my towel off of my shoulders without a word. Even though both he and Rafe have seen my back injuries countless times since my surgery, it doesn’t get any easier when I have to expose them.

  “They are healing as expected. We can stop with the dressings now, but you will still require a moisturising gel.” He gently dabs the cool gel onto my scars. Some still smart a little, but I won’t let a hiss leave my lips. “Rafe has asked for me to assess you for extensive, combat training. I shall sign you off, however, I would prefer that you move forward with caution.” He laughs a little to himself. “I don’t know why I waste my breath. I know you will not pay any heed to my medical opinion.”

  “You know nothing about me,” I say, sliding a t-shirt over my head. I’m tired of assumptions being made about me.

  “I know why you dislike me, and I understand your reasons, but surely you know that I was just a pawn to Towley. You know what he is capable of. I could not go against him.”

  I lift my head, staring at the blank wall in front of me. “Another doctor I knew said the same thing about Alan Roscoe. She turned out to be a psychotic, supremacist who double-crossed everyone. I don’t trust you, doctor.” I purposely emphasise the last word. “I have no idea why Rafe does.”

  “Actually, despite the title, I am a surgeon- brain surgeon. Doctor is a role I have adopted for the current situation, and the current situation between Rafe and I is our own business,” Jonah states, pushing his glasses up his nose.

  The comment confuses me. What is it other than Rafe’s authority and threats keeping Jonah compliant?

  “Tell me.”

  “No.”

  I shift in my seat, squaring up to him and grabbing his shirt by the scruff. “You will tell me, right now.”

  “No, I most certainly will not. You may feel like I owe you something, but you can’t intimidate me, Teddie.” He shoves my hands away from him.

  “You implanted a bomb into my brain.” My voice is flat and tears leak from my eyes. That bomb was the deciding factor in everything that happened on those cliffs. “You implanted a bomb into my brain!” I scream at him, lunging for his shirt again.

  He effortlessly side steps my clumsy attempt. “I was also the one to successfully remove it. I have apologised, but if it wasn’t for me, you would be dead.”

  “Tell me why Rafe trusts a doctor who worked for the enemy.” I stumble as I stand, accidentally knocking Jonah’s kit onto the damp tiles. He tries to walk away, but I grab his arm, pulling it behind his back. “I said tell me!”

  “And I said it is none of your business. I will not rise to your childishness. Everyone here worships you, but from what I can see, you are nothing but a bully.”

  “And you’re nothing but a…”

  “A Norm? That is what you were going to say, is it not?”

  “If the boot fits.”

  “Theyda!” booms Rafe.

  I’ve never heard that tone from him, and I instantly feel the size of a Borrower. He fills the doorway, the look on his face a mix of anger and disappointment. Anger I can deal with, but the latter cuts me to the quick. Darcy rushes in, muscling between myself and Jonah, growling throatily at the doctor. Jonah straightens out his shirt and tie without looking back at me. Rafe stands aside to let him pass, muttering what I assume to be an apology.

  “In my office- now!” he barks at me, and then disappears.

  Rafe kicks Crow, Brick, Rio, and Vin out of the office. They scatter away from him with shocked faces.

  “Something has pissed him off,” says Vin, quietly. He’s about to greet me, but seeing that I’m heading for the office, he withdraws.

  “What did you do?” Crow whispers.

  I don’t reply. Rafe holds the door open whilst not looking at me. I flinch as it slams closed after me.

  “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean that. I was angry at Jonah for everything he did to me.” Seriously, how could I have said that? That makes me no better than Towley.

  “This is about more than name calling!” Rafe shouts, pacing from one end of the room to the other. “You threatened him to get information on me. Do you not think that any business I have with Jonah is exactly that- my damn business? If I wanted to include you, I would have.”

  “I don’t trust any man who worked for Towley, who implanted an EVO control device come bomb into my brain. You have him walking around here with access to the drugs, to the armouries, to radios, to computers. Am I supposed to just accept that on nothing more than your word?”

  “Yes.” He sighs loudly, flopping down into the chair. “Do you think that I would allow Jonah to roam around The Hive if he was a threat to you?”

  “That depends on what the big secret is,” I say, maintaining defiant eye contact.

  Rafe chews his lip, runs his hands over his head, and groans in defeat. One nil to Teddie. “Jonah Bell is a mole and has been aiding Shift for the past three months. Anders made the connection when he began his mission to infiltrate Towley’s top military squad. I told Jonah to do exactly as Towley asked. It was the best way to discover intel on the new technologies and experiments being created and used by the military and the government. He told me about the Scrambler and how Towley had scheduled him to operate on you.”

  He leaves a pregnant pause that makes my stomach sink further. I don’t like the feeling that’s creeping up my spine. Rafe steps in front of the door, stopping me from fleeing.

  “I told him to do as Towley asked, Kiddo. I wanted to keep you alive, even if that meant dealing with the Scrambler. Neither Jonah nor I knew about the bomb. It was one of a kind, new technology. They only worked on one prototype, and Towley had always intended it for you.”

  I push at my temples, scrunching my nose against the tension forming in my head. “You were doing what you thought was best,” I say, more to myself than him. “Still, you should have told me from the first.”

  Rafe’s mouth opens and closes. “I thought you’d be—”

  “A bitch about it. You saved my life. I won’t forget that easily, just don’t keep thing
s from me. I have… trust issues.” I tap at the scar on my scalp.

  “Sorry, I’m just used to my family being hard-headed and petulant.”

  “Oh, I can be both of those things, but I have perspective now.”

  Rafe pulls me to him and kisses my forehead. It’s the first time he has shown me that type of affection. He opens the door, and Jonah’s voice carries from outside.

  “She attacked me and called me a Norm.”

  I head out, not looking to speak to anyone. Darcy bounds at me, nuzzling at my legs as I walk. I would rather avoid a conversation, but I know as soon as Crow grabs my forearm that escaping is not an option.

  “Did you call him a Norm?” He whispers the last word quietly.

  Looking him straight in the eyes, I nod. “Yes, but not in those exact words.” I feel sick to my stomach.

  “If that is your way of thinking, then your own father was a ‘Norm’,” Jonah adds.

  “No, my Dad was Non-EVO, just like you’re Non-EVO. I’m sorry, Jonah. I should not have said that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have,” Crow snaps. “Cub, as soon as we start heading down that road, we’re no better than—”

  Jonah raises his hand to stop Crow. He chews his lip and nods to himself. “She didn’t mean it. We were arguing, and I put the word in her mouth. Apology accepted, Teddie. Next time, you might want to think before you speak, or at least have all the facts. Theyda Leason is somebody that people look up to, so at least act like you deserve it.”

  I can’t argue with that. “Noted,” I say, offering my hand.

  Jonah shakes it without a second thought, and then retrieves his hand sanitiser. “Can we have a word in private, please?”

  Although confused, Rafe graciously allows us the use of his office. Jonah paces the length of the room with his hands behind his back. He takes off his glasses and wipes them with a handkerchief, and then pushes them back on his nose before facing me.

  “I would like to offer you counsel,” he states, pulling out a chair for me like a gentleman.