Controllers (Book 1)

by Lynnie Purcell

  I don't know what winning means, but I know it's not healthy. The buildings ripple alarmingly, and the sky starts bleeding words. Obey. Submit. Sacrifice. Service. Letters start dropping away and bleeding into the words next to them. The bodies disappear. I'm alone, and the city is collapsing.

  A building to my right topples over. As it hits, black glass shatters. I fall to the ground as the shards fly past me. More buildings shatter. I have to get away. I don't know where I can run that's safe. The entire world is made up of glass that can kill me.

  I scramble back to my feet, leaving my weapons on the ground. They can't help me now. The need for such tools has passed. I run for my life. I dodge exploding buildings and crumbling sky. I jump over shards of glass as big as a person. The ground rumbles and the sky darkens. The flickering has gotten worse.

  My only thought is to get to an open space. Something tells me I will be safe there. Get somewhere the glass is less prevalent. My body aches from the fight, but I put on an extra burst of speed. I'm still in survival mode. I know I will suffer for the movement when my adrenaline fades.

  The world continues to collapse around me. I struggle to stay ahead of the shattering glass and exploding sky. Patches of the facility start appearing. The walls are so far away. I can't reach them. Seeing the facility again doesn't mean I'm safe.

  I run into a park. The buildings continue to explode, but I feel better. There's a way out now. I'm closer to safety. I pant as I watch the world crumble. A large patch of sky falls to the earth in front of me. I look up and see the metal that once held the glass. It frames the room. I also see a viewing station as big as the girls' dormitory against the far wall. A blue light reveals moving people behind the glass. They're scurrying around the room as they try to figure out what's going on.

  I wonder the same thing. Did I break the game? How did the data that's running around my head get downloaded into my brain? Is the data the cost of winning the game? It keeps pressing against my mind, telling me things I shouldn't know. The glass is biopolymer nano-composite, but it's not exactly like the glass that enables food to be delivered or pods to drive through walls. It's a giant computer. It can think and react. It drove the game rather than Willem or any of the scientists. They had no control over what happened once it started. They just entered my personal information into the computer and it did the rest. It does not know how to deal with a loss. It has never happened before. Somehow, losing has triggered a self-destruct.

  The sky starts to fall around me. I know to stay put. It's the right thing to do. I look up and see the black glass directly over my head start to fall. Wait. Wait. Wait.

  I jump out of the way at the last second and roll. Some of the glass embeds itself into my forearm, but the injuries are minor. I stand and retreat to where I had been standing. The glass crunches under my feet. I know nothing else will fall on me. My new brain of data is telling me as much.

  The rest of the glass falls in on itself. The vision of the city flickers and dies completely. I let out a long breath. I instantly know I've done something wrong. Winning is not part of the plan. It's put everyone I care about in danger. Max will pay for my mistake.

  The part of my mind that craves the anger tells me what I need to do. The rest of me agrees.

  I have to escape. I have to get to him.

  And I suddenly know how. The data has downloaded the blueprint of the facility into my mind. I know every hidden corridor and moving room, which I learn are called elevators. The way I'm supposed to go and how long it will take are etched out in front of me clearly. I can't go forward, though I crave to find the viewing room and Honey. There is a large gap separating me from the room. I will fall to my death. I have to go back the way I came.

  I turn around and head for the elevator. The glass crunches under my feet as I run. I want a weapon. I know they'll try to subdue me. I can't let them. The game has changed me. It has opened my mind and revealed truths. It's made me fiercely angry in a way I'm having difficultly controlling, but it's also made me coldly logical. It tells me they'll kill me for winning. Then they'll kill Max. They will fear he is like me.

  I jump over the last bit of glass and reach the small ledge that leads to the elevator. The door looks like it is part of the wall, but I know exactly where to put my hand. I reach out and touch the center. The fingerprint reader traces out my entire hand. It doesn't know what to make of me. I'm not in the system exactly, but I've somehow become part of the computer that runs the facility.

  I know what I must do. I pull away and touch the center of the outline twice. A screen pops up. It's an override function. I type in the code my brain prompts me to type and the elevator door opens. I step inside calmly and look at the numbers. I know what each level means. I know that if I push the top level I will end up in the area with the lifts. I also know it's not good enough. I think of Nathan and Sam. They're still inside. I don't know if they have been through the game yet, but I can't leave them. The others need to be saved as well. I can't leave them to rot while I escape. I have to give them a chance.

  I push a number and the elevator surges up. I try to figure out the change in me. All of the fear has faded. Technical details have replaced them. But I also feel my deeper impulses and morals sharply. I feel protective of my friends and of Max. The need to bring the building down so they can never retrain another human being is pounding in my chest. I am no longer bound by the system. I have transcended it.

  The realest thing is the anger. They've pissed off the wrong person. I'm finally willing to prove it to them. I am no longer afraid...of anything.

  The doors open, and two guards holding shock sticks are on the other side. The woman steps into the elevator and grabs my arm. I grab her neck and knee her in the stomach. She falls. The man lunges forward, the shock stick aimed at my heart. I deflect the stick with a roll of my wrist and then turn it so that he shocks himself. I hold it against his chest and he collapses. I take the stick from him and shock the woman as well. Her eyes close.

  I step out into the corridor. Doors line the hall. I feel the people behind them. My mind runs down the list of numbers that stand in place of our names. It tells me that not everyone can be saved. They will not all survive an escape attempt. I don't care. I know what I'm going to do to the building next. I'm going to burn it from the earth. I have to give them a fighting chance. No amount of inexplicable rage can make me like the people who have held me captive. I can't think of only myself.

  At the exact center of the hall, I turn to my right and reach out again. There is no clear reader on the wall, but I know it's there. A blue light pops up. I tap in the override code and see a new screen. It controls the doors on all levels in the facility. I can release every single person in the building with a single tap. I know it means releasing the dangerous people, the ones who want only to kill, the ones who feel anger first. I have no other option. It's release them all or let them die. It'll take too long to sort through them all, and I don't have a lot of time as it is.

  I tap the screen once and the doors pop open. As they do, an alarm rings through the facility. Someone has called the police for back up. They'll reach the facility soon. It takes them two minutes by lift, ten minutes by walking.

  I wonder if Ace will come to quiet the riot like he did before. I wonder if he will have to put me back in my cell. I picture shooting him in the game with a shudder. I can't do that out here. I'll have to find a way to avoid him.

  The hall fills with confused people. They question what's going on. Some of them have the empty look that tells me the brainwashing has worked. Others still have a spark of their past. They talk to their neighbors and worry that another riot is happening. I know only one thing will get them moving. They won't obey me. They'll obey the government. They've been taught to submit to the people in control, but they will run for their lives. The government hasn't taken their fear from them.

  I push several more buttons and the alarm changes tones. Honey's voice comes over the s
ystem. It's a recording.

  "The facility has been overrun. It will self-destruct in ten minutes to keep the rioters from escaping and harming our citizens. All personnel should evacuate immediately. Please follow your designated evacuation routes now."

  The message repeats. I wonder how close they came to self-destructing the building last time there was a riot. I shake my head. I can't think of that now. I have to get the others out. It's more important than hypothetical situations. Screams and sounds of panic echo around the corridor. People don't know what to do. But I know. I suddenly know far too much.

  I bring up a new screen and I see all of the exits that are blocked by walls. I release them with several taps. The doors slide back. I unlock only the doors that will get them to the upper level, where the pods and lifts are waiting. Then, when I am certain everyone I can possibly help has a way out, I lock the system down so Honey can't override my commands.

  "The stairs!" I yell to the crowd to get them moving. "Go up! Pods are waiting for you. Run!"

  They don't need to be told twice. They push and shove each other in their attempts to reach the stairwell. My new brain tells me that they will get to the lifts in plenty of time. It takes three minutes to climb the stairs.

  "Bree?!" I hear Nathan exclaim.

  I turn and see him staring at me. Sam is at his side. I must look strange to them, because they are staring at me as if they have never seen me before. I breathe a sigh of relief and feel some of my anger ebb away. They have not gone through the game yet. They are still themselves, although twisted by the brainwashing they have already sustained. I wonder if they'll attack me if I admit to an escape attempt. I can't be certain of them.

  "We need to go," I tell them.

  I grab Nathan's hand and pull him after the others. Sam follows us closely.

  "What's going on?" Nathan asks.

  "A riot," I reply cautiously.

  "You did this, didn't you?" Sam asks.

  I don't reply. I really don't want to have to fight them. I've faced enough killing of people I care about in the game. I can't hurt them now. It's impossible.

  "You are a rebel," Sam adds.

  I glance over my shoulder. I'm instantly confused by the expression on his face. It's not fear or a sudden urge to kill me. It's relief. He sees my look.

  "Aren't you?" he asks uncertainly.

  "No," I say.

  "Then why are you doing this?" Nathan asks.

  "Because they'll kill me if I don't. Because I'm tired of doing what I'm told. Because I want my brother back..." I say.

  Sam and Nathan exchange a serious look. "So you've not been brainwashed?" Nathan asks.

  I stop running to stare at him. I can't believe he knows the truth.

  "How long have you known?" I ask.

  "The first week," Nathan says.

  "How?"

  "We are rebels," Nathan replies.

  I can't believe it. Everyone was so busy looking at me that they weren't looking at Nathan and Sam. But there were rebels among us. And Nathan's expression tells me they weren't in the facility because they had been captured. They were there on purpose. I have no idea how they hid the truth from Willem.

  "It's been difficult to resist the brainwashing," Nathan says. "I don't think I could have made it past this last stage intact. I feel so different..."

  "Why are you here?" I ask slowly.

  "To infiltrate the city," Nathan says. "It's difficult to get people inside. Getting captured in the lower city was the only way we could manage it."

  "Because you want to start the war back up," I say.

  "The war never ended," Nathan says. "A Carson should know that better than anyone."

  I flinch as he says my name. I realize that the hall is almost empty. We're wasting time. I have to get to the lifts. I have to override the locks on the pods so people can escape. If I don't, a lot of people will die. I drop Nathan's hand and run for the stairs. I no longer want to guide him. He's betrayed and used me. He's a rebel. They aren't as bad as the government, but they're bad enough.

  People are running for their lives. I join the pack. Nathan and Sam are on my heels. They've decided that staying with me is healthier. They know that I know exactly what I'm doing.

  My mind reels from the truth. Nathan is a rebel. No one wonder he's always had his priorities straight. He didn't care about the games or being best. He cared about getting through with the training. I realize his reason for moving up to blue. Blue gets all the best jobs. Some of them are in government, in a minor capacity. He thought he could resist the training and work his way into the highest houses of government. His kiss was a manipulation. He thought me a rebel and was looking for an ally, or else he wanted to see if the brainwashing was working. Maybe it was so I could help Sam. Whatever his reason, there was not genuine emotion behind it. I feel dirty. He never liked me.

  The stairs open out to the top level. I push back the door and see the large room. Several of the lifts have already taken off. Panic reigns as people look for a way out. There are bodies lying motionless on the ground. Fights have broken out. The guards are trying to escape as well. Some of them are preventing us from getting on the pods. They're killing the rioters. Some of the rioters are completely mad. They're the ones nobody can help. One of the crazy ones turns to attack me. Before I can react, Nathan and Sam pull him down and kill him. Their moves are brutal and efficient. I look away as Nathan gives the killing blow.

  Focus. Keep moving. Find an escape.

  I run past the dead man purposefully. There is an override for the pods. It's in the center of the room, inside the guard's command center. I weave around several lifts and push through the people scurrying around the room. No one knows what to do. I am about to give them focus. I finally see the command center. The guards have formed a ring around it. They use their automatic weapons to shoot at anyone who gets too close. They know that if we get inside we can escape. They can't allow that to happen and risk facing the council's wrath. Their fear is very apparent, however. They want to leave. Time is running out. They don't want to be caught in the explosion.

  Benny and Honey are inside the structure. They're the reason the guards stay put. They have probably threatened them with death if they leave. It is a threat that will only work for a precious few more minutes.

  I can't get past the guards without violence. A thousand pokes and prods, a thousand shocks, a cracked rib, a black eye, an abused friend, a controlled mind. I think of all the reasons to attack. But I don't want to become a killer. I don't kill people like my parents did. No game can make me think otherwise. The bubbling anger tells me to attack. It urges me to stop thinking. I want to listen to it. The need is overwhelming.

  These people aren't innocent. They're armed, dangerous, and currently preventing the escape of hundreds of innocent people. They're the ones firing on unarmed people. If I don't do something, I will be a killer. I will be worse than a killer in that I will have done nothing to save hundreds of lives. I have to act.

  A guard runs past me. She's chasing down one of the rioters. She's eager to kill. I grab her by the back of the shirt and throw her into a lift. She stumbles and her eyes glaze as her head hits the metal. She tries to steady herself, but I slam her against the lift again and she falls. I take her rifle from her. It's government issue. The charge is half gone. Nathan and Sam appear in front of me. They're also holding weapons. They look confident. I can't believe I never realized how dangerous Nathan can look. My infatuation with him had blinded me to the truth. It's revolting how eager they are to fight. But I need their help to save the others.

  I point out the guards and they nod. I move so that I have cover and take aim.

  "Step away from the command center and we'll let you live," I say. I have to say something. I'm not a mercenary. I just want to live.

  The response is immediate. They open fire, their bullets pinging off the side of the lift.

  So much for hoping they would run away.

 
; I crouch down low, take a deep breath to steady my hand, and then squeeze the trigger before I can stop myself. Four of them fall. I duck back around the corner as they hone in on my location. Seven more of them are around the structure, plus three inside, not including Honey and Benny. But I'm closer to my goal.

  Gunfire erupts from around another lift. It's Nathan. His aim is not nearly as good, but two people fall. Sam starts firing next. The guards have the common sense to find cover as the fight gets more intense. Ace has taught them as much, though there's a reason these people are guarding the facility. The guards are not as skilled as the RFA. They do not have their training. They aren't supposed to need it.

  I peek around the corner again and see four guards left on the exterior. Honey has sealed the door to the control room. I'm not worried. I know how to override the lock. My new brain tells me so.

  I take careful aim and fire. Two people fall. They scream in pain. I didn't want to kill them with my shots. I just want to get out. But I wish I could make them be silent. The screams are terrifying. I'm actually shooting real people. It feels so surreal. I don't want to be here. I want to be back in the woods with Max. I want to be anywhere else. I know I don't have a choice. They took it from me when they stole my life.

  Nathan and Sam move forward to get better vantage points. They're closing in on the last two guards. I know they will hit their marks. I step around the corner and fire five more shots as a distraction. The two guards focus on me. Then I hear a succession of gunfire. The last two guards drop.

  I run forward. How much longer do we have until the RFA and city guards reach us? Will they come inside and risk getting blown up, or will they wait outside for us to come to them? Waiting is the smarter option. The city does not like to take risks with their soldiers. They are a precious commodity.

  I put my hand against the door as Nathan and Sam open fire on the glass side of the command center. I know their bullets won't penetrate it. It's the command center for a reason. I tap the handprint twice and a red light appears. Honey has overridden the master code. She's locked the entire structure down. I have to do it manually.

  I close my eyes and am greeted by a full technical rundown of the handprint readers and the locks. I wonder again how such a thing is possible. My brain isn't a computer. It shouldn't just know things I haven't learned. It has to have something to do with the text that surrounded my mind.

  I'll worry about it when a building isn't about to blow up.

  "What are you doing?" Nathan asks me as I search along the middle of the door.

  "I'm looking for the cover that keeps the wires hidden," I say.

  "How do you know how to do that?" he asks. "I thought you've never been in the city before."

  "I don't know," I reply honestly. "Can you stop talking? I'm trying to concentrate."

  "Sure," he says.

  He turns and stands behind me. He's watching my back for more guards. Occasionally he and Sam open fire as a guard runs past. I sense their glee. They're glad to be fighting back. The weeks of inaction have bothered them as much as it has bothered me. They take more pleasure in the violence than is necessary. The rebels have taught them well.

  I find a small bump in the door. It's barely noticeable. I take my rifle and hit the bump twice. The door rings with a solid sound. Benny snickers. He thinks I'm trying to get through the solid door by knocking. Honey hisses at him to be quiet. She knows the truth. She's worried. For the first time since meeting her, she's afraid of me.

  I like the feeling.

  A piece of metal flies away from the door as I hit it a third time and a small hole reveals itself to me. It's big enough for me to poke my pinky finger through. I use the finger to slowly pull back the metal. The cover falls away and reveals a network of wires. The space isn't very big, and the wires are very small, but I manage to hook my pinky finger under enough of the wires to matter. I yank hard and hear a hiss. The door is about to open. I take several steps back as the lock disengages and gesture at Nathan and Sam to find cover. They step behind a couple of metal boxes; I keep my place in front of the door.

  The door slides open. The three guards inside immediately open fire. I fire back. Nathan and Sam shoot as well. The guards fall. All that is left is Honey and Benny. My hand is on the trigger. I want to shoot. Then, they throw their weapons down and hold up their hands. Honey looks at me with wide eyes. She's seen the video of my parents murdering unarmed people. I look up and see a video camera. Is she so loyal to the government that she is willing to become a martyr for them? Or does she think the brainwashing will save her life?

  We have been taught to obey and submit. Nathan and Sam are at the periphery of my sight. They're having trouble pulling the trigger. No matter how much they have tried to resist, the messages have sunk in. They're not as free as they want me to think. Honey is the controller of the facility. We're supposed to owe her our allegiance. All leaders in the city are owed our allegiance.

  More data runs through my head. It runs down the things I am suppose to think and feel. It tells me everything I could possibly want to know about the program, the government, and Honey. I know that her husband was killed by rebels. Her animosity makes sense. She blames me for his death, though my parents had nothing to do with it.

  I won't be like my parents. I hate her with every fiber of my being, but I am not a murderer. I fight a fair fight. No amount of anger can change my mind. My finger itches to pull the trigger. It takes a lot of effort not to.

  I step into the room and gesture her out. She pushes Benny out of the room fearfully and I look down. I know what I have to do. I bring up the control system for the building and see the locks on the doors and gates. I open them all. I unlock the pods next and the doors on them open expectantly. There are hundreds of the pods along the wall. They will get the innocent people out. Honey's voice sounds over the intercom again. It tells me that I have three minutes to make my escape.

  I push a button for the microphone. "Get to the pods," I tell people. "They'll take you out. Hurry!"

  There is a great surge of movement as my fellow trainees run for the pods. Most of the rabid rioters have been put down. There are not very many guards left. The more violent people have killed each other. I see the dead-eyed man, though. He leads the others to the pods. I stare at him in shock. His eyes are no longer dead. Something has woken him up. He's no longer chained to the facility. He wants out, just like they do. He makes sure the pods are fully loaded before he climbs into the last one in the row.

  The pods start flying along the rails. They zoom past at top speed. They disappear down a long tunnel. I don't know what they will find on the other side. I hope it's freedom, or as much freedom as they can find in a city completely controlled by the government. But at least they're alive. It doesn't bring much comfort. I want to do more.

  Max is my focus. I have to get to him. He's the reason I have fought so hard to get where I am. I can't let him down. I can't leave without him.

  "Where are you going?" Nathan asks me as I turn toward the lifts.

  Pilots are few and far between. Only five lifts are gone from the long line.

  "To get my brother back," I say over my shoulder.

  "What do you want to do with them?" Nathan asks, pointing his rifle at Honey and Benny.

  "Put them in the lift with me," I say. "I might need them."

  Honey squeaks. She realizes what I mean. She knows I plan on trying to fly the lift. "You'll kill us all," she decides.

  "Maybe just half," I reply.

  I stop in front of the closest lift. It has bullet holes along the side, but none of them penetrated the metal. They are built to withstand much more. I look back at Nathan and Sam.

  "You two should get a pod before they're all gone."

  They share a look. "We're coming with you," Nathan says.

  "No," I say.

  I don't trust them. I don't want to help them bring war to the city. I just want to escape as peacefully as possible, bari
ng the destruction of the facility, of course. It is my one concession. I want the government to think long and hard about building another one. I want them to think of me when they look at the destruction.

  "Bree!" a new voice calls. I recognize the voice. It's Willem. I turn back to him coldly.

  "What are you doing, Bree?" he asks. He's nervous, and his face is pale. He thinks I'm out of control. He thinks I'm like the rioters. He wonders if all of his help has backfired and turned me into a monster.

  "I don't have time for this," I say. "I'm going. Get to the pods or don't. But I'm leaving now..."

  I open the door to the pilot's chair and sit down. Sam and Nathan pull Benny and Honey to the back after I lower the door for them. I hear them climb inside, and Sam straps Benny and Honey into the chairs. Willem doesn't climb in the back with the others. He opens the door opposite me and looks at me sternly. He wants to have a long conversation about my choices and the fact that I'm incapable of doing the smart thing. He knows it'll have to wait.

  "Do you know how to fly?" he asks me.

  "Sort of," I say. "Don't worry, if I mess up, the trip will be really short."

  "That's a comfort," he says. He reaches down and pulls a safety harness over his body. He looks like he's going to be sick. He's not a good flyer. He won't enjoy his experience with me.

  My new brain tells me what I need to do. I flick several switches and hear the engine whir to life. Honey's voice counts down our time left over the speakers. We're almost out of it. The pods are gone. Everyone who can escape has escaped. There's no one left in the building besides the dead. It's a relief to know my actions haven't gotten innocent people killed. I flick another switch and we start to roll forward. I grab the yoke and turn it so that we are in the aisle. I try to keep my hand as steady as possible. The anticipation and excitement erases the anger. I'm eager to fly. I know it's nothing like the simulation Ace put me through, but I'm willing to try. It's the only way.

  We reach the platform. It engages automatically. We rise into the sky. Sharp blue and warm yellow beckons me upwards. The sunlight bounces off the metal of the lift. It reflects back at me. It's telling me to come join it in the sky. For once in my life, I'm actually eager to obey.

  I take a deep breath as the platform stops moving and see that we are on top of the facility. The building is very tall. The RFA compound is in the distance, as well as the compound for the police. I hesitate. I don't know where my brother is. I don't know if he's in the adult retraining facility. I don't know if they've moved him.

  "Where is he?" I ask Willem.

  Willem knows who I mean. He knows my focus is singular. "In the adult facility..." He searches the horizon, his hands on his harness and his face a green color. "There." He points quickly before returning his hand to the harness.

  I know where the facility is. I know all the secrets of the city. I have the map in my brain. I take a deep breath. My new brain has nothing to do with what I am preparing to do. It can't help me fly the lift. I'm on my own. I put my hands on the yoke and feel the lift lurch forward. We're not high enough off the ground. I adjust our height with an uneven jerk and hear Honey whimper in the back. Willem has a similar reaction.

  Smooth out my flight. Remember the simulator. Steady hands. Calm breathing.

  I even us out and the lift stops hopping around like an injured rabbit. I smile. It's not so hard. The thought has barely left my mind when a complication presents itself to me.

  The RFA and police have responded to the distress call. They're keeping their distance to avoid the explosion. They haven't stopped any of the pods. They're more focused on the lifts. All five of the lifts from inside the facility are on the ground. One looks like it has been shot down. The others were taken to the ground voluntarily.

  Three lifts circle the sky in front of me. They are not passenger lifts. They are fighter lifts. And their weapons are trained on me.

  Chapter 29