Annihilation: A YA dystopian adventure (The Mind Breaker Series Book 3)

by Marina Epley

  “Elimination officers!” the brothers answer at the same time, with no hesitation.

  “Marian?” Kitty asks.

  I stop eating, now listening carefully. It may be my opportunity to learn something new about my sister. I know almost nothing about her.

  “Well, let me think,” Marian says, looking up at the ceiling. “I guess I could become just about anybody. My IQ score is much higher than average. So I could potentially become a doctor or lawyer. But that’s all nonsense of course.” She lets out a playful laugh. “I imagine I’ll wind up becoming an exotic dancer.”

  Kitty starts giggling. Victor holds up a thumb.

  “Why?” I ask.

  “Because I’m pretty enough,” my sister simply says. “And I like dancing.”

  “There are other kinds of dancing in the world,” I say.

  “You mean like ballet or something?” Marian rolls her eyes. “You must be kidding. I’m already too old to start learning that stuff. And nobody watches ballet dancers anyway.”

  “I watched ballet once when I was a kid,” Dave interjects unexpectedly. “Our mom enjoyed ballet and theater. We couldn’t really afford tickets, but she managed to take us to a show one time. It was quite interesting! Remember, Marcus?”

  “I sure do,” Marcus answers. “You fell asleep and was snoring through most of the performance. It’s so embarrassing to have such a pig for a brother.”

  “Shut up,” Dave groans.

  “You shut up,” Marcus grins.

  “Boys, boys,” Kitty scolds. “That’s all very nice, but let’s come back to the discussion. I’m still not sure what I wanna become. I can’t dance. I can’t sing or do art. And science bores me to death. I literally have no talents, except killing.” She pauses, thinking. “Oh, that’s it! I’ll become a hitman.”

  “Great,” I groan. “I’ll have a hitman and stripper in my family. What’s next?”

  “Don’t worry, Rex,” Kitty says. “You’ll become some kind of big boss in Elimination. Hey Chase, do you realize that my Rex could soon be your commander?”

  Chase doesn’t react, obviously exhausted with listening to all this nonsense.

  Kitty continues joking and giggling. Everybody has a delightful mood, enjoying the quiet peaceful evening. For the moment, it almost seems like there’s no war in the world. I can even pretend we’re just having a family dinner. I only regret that Holtzmann and Rebecca couldn’t join us. The crazy professor is still working with his subjects in the lab, and his cousin is busy helping refugees.

  Vogel enters the room, an alarmed expression on her face.

  “There’s been a severe fire in the city,” she informs us calmly. “A hospital filled with patients and medical workers has burned down. The few remaining survivors are said to be under hypnosis.”

  A deathly silence falls over the room.

  My throat tightens. I immediately recognize the pattern. Bulldog and his gang used to burn buildings with hypnotized victims still inside. This fire can’t be just an accident. Guardian’s breakers must already be in the city. So this terrible act of terror must signal the beginning of a new wave of attacks.

  Chapter 10

  I sit on a curb, being completely worn out. It’s dark outside, and the air smells of burnt human flesh. My hands and clothes are covered in the nauseating stench. My mind is restless, and I can’t stop from hearing the agonized cries of the few remaining survivors.

  It’s unbearable.

  Kitty stands a few feet away, covering her face and sobbing quietly. Jessie soothingly rubs her back, smoking her fourth cigarette in a row. I notice Jessie’s hands are shaking. I’ve never seen her affected in this way before. Victor sits on the concrete, searching his pockets. He’s already swallowed more than enough pills, but the drugs don’t seem to have enough effect tonight. Dave paces in circles around us, wearing a blank stare. He looks like one of the hypnotized victims, but I know he’s not under. This is just shock from the horrors we’ve all had to witness. His brother is still helping Elimination officers collect the bodies. We’ve all been helping with that for half the night.

  The terrorists have burned down a large hospital with a few hundred patients and medical personnel inside. The hypnotized victims were left completely defenseless and couldn’t run to safety. Only a handful of resistant people managed to escape the fire, some still receiving severe burns. The building finally collapsed, burying most of the victims under smoldering debris.

  This is Guardian’s doing, I think silently. He’s sent in terrorists to heighten distrust and aggression towards breakers amongst the city’s residents.

  I look again at the scorched ruins of the crumbled hospital. I wish Guardian and all his terrorists were dead. I envision locking them up inside a building and setting it on fire. I sincerely wish them to experience the same terror and pain they’ve caused these innocent victims tonight.

  A group of Elimination officers approach along with Chase. They stop several yards away, quietly speaking about something. Chase shakes his head negatively, but nobody seems to be listening to whatever he has to say.

  “Are you happy now, breaker?” one of the officers asks me.

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about, you terrorist!” he says, pointing his finger at me.

  I get to my feet, staring back at him. The other officers stay back, just watching.

  “What did you call me?” I ask.

  “You heard me,” the officer answers.

  “I think your preference to fight with words makes you a coward.”

  “Did you just call me a coward?!” he exclaims. “Do you think I’m scared of you?”

  He steps in closer. I remain motionless, feeling my blood begin to boil. I want to smash his face in, but realize I have to do my best to avoid conflicts with Elimination. I have to force myself to keep calm.

  Chase grabs the officer by his elbow, trying to stop him. The officer shoves him away. The entire squad moves in closer, backing him up. Jessie, Victor, Marcus and Dave approach me from behind. Kitty steps ahead, curling her hands into fists, but I pull her back.

  “Stay back,” I command.

  Jessie drags Kitty a few feet away. I understand that this could quickly turn into something really nasty. We have to do our best to avoid a gang fight.

  “Do you know how many breakers like you I’ve killed?” the officer continues.

  “Not this one,” I say.

  “You terrorist!”

  “Don’t try me.”

  He steps closer, getting into my face, and I push him away.

  “Get the hell away from here!” I shout.

  The soldier grabs my jacket, saying, “I know your breakers did this! You’re all terrorists.”

  I can take it no longer. I head-butt the officer. He staggers backwards, cussing me. His nose is bleeding.

  “You freak!” he spits. “I’ll rip your head off!”

  “Come get some more then!” I yell.

  We move in toward one another, but Chase manages to get between us. Dave grabs me from behind, dragging me backward. Marcus grabs hold of the aggressive officer.

  “Stop this!” Chase commands.

  “Sir, we have to cooperate!” Dave yells at me as I shove him away.

  “I’ll kill you!” the officer continues shouting.

  “Stand down,” Vogel says. “What the hell is going on here?”

  I don’t anticipate anybody following her orders under these circumstances, but the officers become still. They hesitantly glance over at their commander. I stop wrestling with Dave, looking over at her as well.

  Vogel approaches, frowning.

  “What’s going on here, soldier?” she repeats, glaring at my aggressor.

  “The breaker started it,” the officers answers. “He head-butted me.”

  “I don’t care who started what,” Vogel says. “Aren’t you supposed to be helping collect the bodies? What are yo
u thinking?”

  The officers become silent, staring into the ground.

  “I expect better from you,” Vogel says. “Now get back to it.”

  The officers hurriedly pick up their rifles, jogging back toward the debris. Vogel shifts her glare to me.

  “What was this all about, Rex?” she asks. “Why are you picking fights with my soldiers? I thought you’d come here to cooperate.”

  “He called me a terrorist and accused me of being responsible for all this,” I answer angrily.

  “He manipulated you. And you allowed him to, didn’t you?”

  I don’t say anything.

  “You had to know cooperation between Elimination and breakers wouldn’t come easily,” Vogel continues. “I believe you also realize that some insults and conflicts are unavoidable. So why did you allow this officer to provoke you into a fight?”

  I remain silent. I know if I open my mouth I’ll say something offhand.

  “You have to be smarter,” Vogel adds softly. “You need to set an example for others.”

  “Oliver’s breakers had nothing to do with this act of terror,” I finally blurt out.

  “I’m aware of that,” Vogel says. “All right, enough of this. Return to the facility and get some rest. You look exhausted.”

  I pick up my rifle, walking away and wondering why the heck I’m following Vogel’s orders.

  “Rex,” she calls. I stop, turning to face her. “That was a nice head-butt by the way,” she adds, smiling.

  “Thanks,” I say, smiling back.

  My team and I return to the base, passing by a large crowd of raging protestors. They begin to whistle and shout, calling us terrorists. Elimination officers hold the group back, forming a perimeter around us.

  “We’re trying to help them and they hate us for it,” Kitty sobs.

  I put my arm around her, pulling her closer. When we arrive to our room, she falls flat onto the bed, weeping bitterly.

  “I hate those terrorists,” Kitty gasps. “Why are they doing these terrible things? They didn’t even know those patients they killed!”

  I sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing her back. Kitty continues crying. I don’t know how to calm her.

  “Why burn those people?” Kitty demands. “What did they do to deserve such horrible deaths?”

  “I don’t know, Kitty,” I answer. “Terrorists aren’t human. We can’t understand them.”

  Kitty presses her face into the pillow. I lie down beside her, gently stroking her hair.

  “Everything will be all right,” I whisper softly, although I don’t fully believe it.

  Kitty finally calms down. We lie in silence awhile.

  “Do you think Vogel will make us leave now?” she asks.

  “No,” I answer. “She knows we didn’t burn the hospital.”

  “She’ll try to kill us in the future, won’t she?”

  “Probably.”

  “Are you scared of her?”

  I take a moment to think.

  “She’s just an Elimination officer,” I answer. “I’ve never been intimidated by them before. Now, let’s try to get some sleep. It’s very late.”

  We crawl under the blankets, and I pass out almost instantly. I continue smelling the reek of burnt human flesh in my sleep. I dream of walking through a dark maze of prison passageways, stepping over bodies. I finally come to a small cell with no windows. Emily sits on the floor, holding a little girl.

  “Please, take me away!” the girl pleads, reaching out her arms for me.

  I grab her hand, pulling her away. Emily grips Marian tighter. My sister screams, pleading for me not to leave her.

  “Let her go!” I shout at Emily.

  She draws a handgun, aiming at my face. I notice movement in the darkness. A dark frightening shadow slowly creeps down behind my mother. I make out a large long head and an open mouth filled with sharp teeth. I continue trying to free Marian. Emily’s grip is too strong, and I can’t overpower her. The ominous shadow rises behind my mother, making a low growling sound.

  “Watch out!” I yell.

  The next moment the gigantic reptile lunges toward me, biting off my head.

  I awaken, startled and confused. The nightmare felt disturbingly real. I wonder, what the heck was that? What was Vogel doing in my dreams?

  I begin fantasizing about killing her, just to calm myself down. I visualize myself walking through a prison passageway at night, carrying a large pillow. I enter Vogel’s room and approach her bed. I press the pillow into her face and hold it down until she stops moving. Then I suddenly realize where these thoughts are coming from.

  Being eight years old, I awoke one night to find Emily standing by my bedside. She was holding a pillow above my face. I was sure Emily was about to smother me, but something changed her mind.

  I decide to think of something more pleasant. I now envision Vogel and myself stand facing each other many yards apart, ready to draw guns. Just the way they did it in the Wild West. The image is soothing, but I’d probably have little chance to hit her first. My vision is too poor to aim well. The major would shoot me full of holes, unless I’d thought to place Jessie and her sniper rifle somewhere on a rooftop.

  I wonder if this is normal behavior, to constantly have thoughts about killing someone.

  I decide it’s all just a result of all the stress from the terrorist attack. I close my eyes, willing myself to fall asleep. I remain awake till sunrise in spite of my most vigorous efforts.

  ***

  Kitty and I often patrol the city during the night, walking through partially devastated neighborhoods. Several buildings were brought down during recent airstrikes. Shards of broken glass and empty bullet casings still litter the streets. The scenery appears oddly familiar and as I look around, I worry we’ll find human corpses hanging from the lampposts. Fortunately, there’s only a few old posters hanging, with the same old calls to capture and kill mind breakers. “Kill a breaker, help save the world,” one message reads.

  One early morning our squad winds up on the city boardwalk, gazing at the ocean. The autumn sky is growing lighter. Everything seems too peaceful and ordinary, as if the war completely spared this part of the city. I can even briefly imagine there was never a war in the world.

  We need to continue following our route, but can’t help from lingering on the boardwalk. None of us speak, just listening to the sound of the surf. I breathe in the moist salty air, daydreaming about a normal life. I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to take an evening stroll or watch the ocean. I no longer remember much else, but endless war. I glance at Kitty standing beside me. I’m not sure there’s a way back for me, but what about her? Would she be able to adapt to a civilian life after all this mess is over? Could she return to school and become an average teenaged girl?

  Kitty smiles broadly, fascinated by the ocean waves under the pale sunrise.

  “Look! There’s a beach down there!” she exclaims, pointing into the mist.

  I squint, looking in the direction she’s pointing. I can barely see a large stripe of white sand off in the distance.

  “We’ll go swim there next summer,” Kitty states. I’m not so sure we’ll still be alive by the next summer, but nod anyway. “Dave, will you come with us?” she asks.

  “May I?” Dave wonders, smiling. “I’ll bring a fishing pole. I always wanted to try fishing off a pier. May Marcus come as well?”

  “Sure,” Kitty says. “We should all have a big party right here on the beach after the war.”

  I get an uneasy feeling. I wonder how many of us will actually make it to the end of this war.

  ***

  A couple hours later Kitty and I return to the headquarters and run straight into an excited Holtzmann.

  “There you are!” the professor exclaims, grabbing our arms and pulling us forcefully toward his lab.

  “Holtzmann, we’ve just returned from a patrol,” I resist. “We haven’t slept the entire night. We can’t be t
oo useful for conducting experiments right now.”

  “Sleep deprivation can sometimes increase telepathic sensitivity,” Holtzmann counters, cutting me off.

  He pushes us inside a small windowless room with a bed.

  “I want you to concentrate and try to locate the terrorists,” the professor instructs, shutting the door closed behind him as he leaves.

  There’s no light in the room. I can’t see anything in the darkness. I hear Kitty take a few unsteady steps before bumping into something.

  “Ouch!” she cries out. “Well, I guess I found the bed. Come here!”

  “I can’t see anything,” I say, standing motionless. It must be close to what blindness is, one of my greatest fears.

  “Follow my voice,” Kitty directs.

  I take a few cautious steps forward and also bump into something. Kitty lets out a laugh, tightly gripping my jacket and pulling me onto the bed. I fall on top of her.

  “Rex my love,” she murmurs. “We’re all alone in this small dark room. Do you think we can find something more interesting to do than telepathy?”

  “Kitty!” I exclaim. “You should at least wait until we make it to our room.”

  “I was talking about telling scary stories, ghosts and zombies and such,” Kitty says innocently. “What did you think I was suggesting? You have such a dirty mind!”

  She begins howling and snapping her teeth, imitating monsters. I roll my eyes at her, but Kitty doesn’t catch that in the darkness.

  “C’mon, let’s do some work,” I say sternly.

  “Gosh, you’re so boring today,” Kitty sighs. “All right, let’s concentrate.”

  But we can’t concentrate. After walking all night, we both immediately fall asleep. An hour later Holtzmann comes to check our progress and becomes furious.

  “This is wholly unacceptable!” he exclaims, shaking his fists. “You must be locating the terrorists, not sleeping!”

  “I wasn’t sleeping,” Kitty mumbles, wiping drool from her mouth.

  “I sometimes see visions in my sleep,” I say defensively.

  The professor rages on for a good five minutes, before finally booting us out of his lab.