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

by Marina Epley

  “What are you doing in there?!” I exclaim. “Stop!”

  “Did you receive the transmission?” Holtzmann asks. I hear Kitty giggle. My mouth and throat are on fire. I can no longer take it.

  “Quit whatever it is you’re doing!” I demand, taking off the headset and running for the door.

  I find Kitty and Holtzmann in the dining room. I somehow knew they’d be there. Kitty is smiling, holding a half-eaten red chili pepper. Her eyes are watering and her face is an even brighter shade of red than the pepper. She laughs upon seeing me.

  “Stop eating that! You’re killing me!” I exclaim, grabbing a bottle of water. Washing out my mouth doesn’t help a bit. These are not my sensations, but Kitty’s.

  “Drink it for God’s sake!” I command, shoving the bottle of water into her hand.

  Other days Kitty and I have to play hide and seek, using telepathy to find one another. She has no problem locating me, but I often have to search the entire prison to locate her. The other exercises include guessing words and numbers. We also practice telekinesis, but still can’t move the objects whenever we wish to.

  Every day, Kitty and I receive our daily injections. The feeling of sickness increases a little each time, but nothing too outrageous happens yet. We also frequently feel light-headed and suffer regular headaches. Studying our blood work, Holtzmann advises us to take vitamins and go on daily walks.

  Kitty and I decide to walk to the Elimination training facility, to visit Jessie. She’s there coaching a fresh group of recruits, teaching marksmanship. Heading toward the exit, we run into Marian. Turning away, she shyly asks my permission to join our stroll.

  “Of course you can walk with us,” I say.

  Marian doesn’t answer, now purposely ignoring me. She’s been distant and cold since our last conversation, when she was hysterical. So I’m glad I can at least spend some time around her.

  Smiling and whispering, Kitty and my sister walk ahead together. I don’t interfere, following a few steps behind.

  We find Jessie at the shooting range and she soon sends her students on a short break. It’s cold outside, so we walk inside the gymnasium. Kitty and Marian momentarily leave us. There’s a small obstacle course, where officers usually practice storming techniques. A few metal poles support a weird-looking contraption, and my goofy sister heads straight toward them.

  “Time for me to start preparing for my future,” she announces, gripping a pole and trying to swing around it. I let her do whatever makes her happy.

  Jessie and I discuss Holtzmann’s project for a while.

  “I wish I could find a way to help you kill Guardian,” Jessie sighs.

  “I wish so too,” I admit, remembering our time hunting Wheeler together.

  “Would you like to know what I’ve been wondering about?” she asks. “The traitor. I wonder who could have informed Guardian about our plans.”

  “Vogel and Chase are checking backgrounds on all breakers recently arrived in the city,” I say. “But they haven’t come up with a list of suspects yet.”

  “I’m pretty sure, it was one of us that leaked the information,” Jessie says. “If it wasn’t Victor, I don’t know who else it could be.”

  “Alex! Watch what I can do!” Marian yells.

  I turn to the sound of her voice and see my crazy sister hanging upside down, gripping the pole by her arms and legs about 6 feet above the floor. I realize she’ll likely land on her head, should she slip.

  “Marian!” I shout. “Get off that thing before you break your neck!”

  “But I saw it done in the movies,” she answers.

  “We’re not in a movie,” I remind her. “Now get down. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  “Well this is interesting,” she says, pausing. “I don’t really know how to get down. I’m kind of stuck here.”

  Sighing, I go to rescue my sister from her predicament.

  “You see? Maybe this career choice is just not for you,” I say, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. “You’ll just have to pick another profession. Now let go of the pole.”

  “I’m afraid of falling,” she whimpers.

  “I’m holding you,” I assure her.

  Screaming, Marian finally releases the pole, kicking at the air and swinging her arms around in a wild panic. She somehow knocks me off balance. We both fall onto the floor, Marian landing on top of me. Upon seeing my angry face, she smiles guiltily and mutters, “Don’t kill me, all right? I’m sorry.”

  “Rex! Look how well I can climb!” Kitty exclaims.

  Expecting to observe something else outrageous, I glance over at her. Kitty’s swinging from a climbing rope, close to the top near the ceiling. And she’s holding the rope with only one hand. They’re going to give me a heart attack today, I think with exasperation.

  “Kitty! What are you doing up there?!” I yell, approaching the rope. “Get down right now!”

  I secretly hope she’s not stuck there, because I really have no desire to climb that rope. Marian stands beside me, watching Kitty with admiration.

  “I’m leaving now,” Jessie announces, walking back toward the range. “God help you, Rex.”

  I spend a good ten minutes persuading Kitty to come down.

  “You never believe in me,” she complains, finally descending. I decide to be really angry with her. But as soon as Kitty smiles, I have to give up on the act. I can never seem to remain angry at her for too long.

  Heading back toward headquarters, we run into Dave. He’s holding a bunch of flowers, looking like he’s just seen a ghost.

  “Is Jessie still at the range?” he asks in an unsteady voice.

  “I guess you finally decided to reveal your true feelings!” Kitty exclaims happily.

  Dave simply nods, wearing an expression as if he’s on death row.

  “Remember Dave, girls like confidence,” Kitty instructs.

  “I’m confident enough,” he mutters sheepishly.

  “Good luck,” I say, smiling. “You’ll really need it.”

  Dave thanks me, not picking up on the intended sarcasm, and heads toward the range.

  “If she rejects you, come see me!” my sister yells. “I’ll help soothe your feelings!”

  The officer doesn’t seem to hear. As soon as he disappears from sight, I burst out laughing.

  “How can you be so insensitive?” Kitty asks, frowning. “Love is a very serious thing! What if Jessie breaks his heart?”

  “I’d be more worried about his jaw,” I answer. “Jess might just kill him. It’s horrible. We already have too few soldiers, and we’re about to lose one more.”

  “You don’t know Jessie,” Kitty interrupts me. “At times, she can be very nice and sweet.”

  I realize that Kitty may be right. Besides Jessie being an excellent shooter, I know little else about her.

  ***

  The next morning, I awaken to find Kitty sitting on the edge of the bed, fully dressed and very angry.

  “Did you sleep well?” she asks through gritted teeth.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I answer. “Is anything wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. I’m very happy for you,” Kitty says spitefully. “I stayed awake the entire night because of nightmares. I saw dead bodies, your mother and long dark corridors. I was waking up every five minutes or so, until I finally gave up on sleeping.”

  “Wait a minute!” I exclaim. “You saw my dreams?”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call them dreams,” she answers. “It looked more like a horror movie. Gosh, what’s happening inside your head?” Kitty groans, rubbing at her eyes. “I’m so tired now!” she whimpers pitifully.

  This must be another side effect of Holtzmann’s drug, I realize.

  Arriving at the kitchen for breakfast, we run into the professor, Chase, Victor and Marcus.

  “Where are Jessie and Dave?” Kitty wonders out loud. “They must’ve overslept. I’ll wake Dave, and you go find Jessie,” she suggests.

>   I realize it should actually be the other way, but don’t argue. After walking through a long corridor, I approach Jessie’s room and knock on the door. A few moments later Dave opens up. We stare at each other in surprise.

  “Dave?!” I exclaim.

  “Rex!” he blurts out.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask stupidly, knowing precisely what he’s been doing even as I ask the question.

  “I don’t know, just visiting,” Dave answers, becoming embarrassed.

  “Rex, is that you?” I hear Jessie’s voice. “Come on in.”

  I brush past Dave, walking inside the room. Jessie is sitting on the bed, wrapped in a blanket and yawning. I gawk at her, still in a stupor from the shock of seeing them together. She waves a goodbye to Dave as he hurriedly leaves.

  “What?” Jessie asks.

  “Oh, nothing,” I answer.

  “He’s a really nice guy,” Jessie says defensively. “And he could be killed at any time. So I just decided to bring a bit of happiness into his life.”

  “Too much information,” I say, trying not to smile. “I just came to wake you for breakfast.”

  As I head toward the door, she says, “Rex, I’d be very thankful if you kept your mouth shut about all this.”

  It sounds more like a warning than a request.

  “Oh c’mon,” I say. “You know I don’t gossip.”

  I return to the dining room, thinking that I truly don’t know Jessie very well. Perhaps I only see her tough side.

  “I couldn’t find Dave anywhere,” Kitty says worriedly.

  I assure her that he’s all right and will be coming down for breakfast soon.

  Jessie and Dave arrive together a few minutes later, taking seats on different sides of the table. They pretend to ignore one another. While I don’t really understand such a conspiracy, I’m not one to judge.

  During breakfast, we speculate on who might have possibly informed Guardian about our mission. Chase begins telling about Vogel’s effort to identify any possible spies. A loud snoring suddenly interrupts his report. I turn to look at Kitty. She has fallen asleep and her face is almost in her plate of food. I nudge her gently, waking her back up.

  “I see somebody isn’t too interested in catching the terrorists,” Chase comments mockingly.

  “It’s all Rex’s fault,” Kitty mumbles angrily. “He kept me awake till sunrise.”

  The room becomes deathly silent for a moment, then everybody bursts out laughing. Victor gives me a thumbs up. Kitty’s eyes widen in panic, as she realizes exactly what she had just said.

  “It’s not what you think!” she exclaims. “His nightmares kept me awake! I was seeing his nightmares all night.”

  Only Holtzmann remains stone-cold, instantly understanding what Kitty’s referring to. He says that sharing dreams is a good sign. Our telepathic connection is obviously growing stronger.

  “What can we do about it?” I ask him. “I don’t want Kitty to suffer from my bad dreams.”

  Holtzmann repeats how it’s impossible to turn the telepathic connection off. I realize that this could become a problem, and unfortunately, I happen to be right.

  Kitty can’t sleep during the next several nights. She often wakes up crying and shivering. She soon becomes too frightened to even try to fall asleep.

  “Kitty, they’re just bad dreams,” I say softly. “They can’t hurt you.”

  “It feels so real,” she sobs. “How can you sleep, seeing such things every night?”

  “I don’t know,” I admit. “I guess I just got used to it.”

  I finally decide to stay awake, letting Kitty get some needed rest. I just can’t watch her suffer any longer. Kitty protests a little, but soon gives up and closes her eyes. I watch her for a few minutes, before grabbing a book from a stack on the floor and leaving.

  I sit in the corridor, trying to read, but it’s just too dark. My good eye quickly gets tired. I give up, shutting the book and walking along the lonely passageway. I step outside and wander around the building. A few dedicated protestors notice me, and begin calling me a terrorist. I wave at them, ignoring the insults.

  I return back inside the prison, wandering along the corridors in an attempt to pass time till morning. Around 3 AM, I somehow wind up in front of Vogel’s office. The light is still on, which means the major must be awake. I hesitate a few moments, wondering what the heck I’m doing here. I raise my hand and freeze, hesitating to knock. I realize it’s just not appropriate. Vogel is probably busy checking lists of recently arrived breakers in search of any possible terrorists. And if even she’s not busy, what would I say to her? How would I explain a sudden night visit?

  I realize I know well enough what I’m doing here. I simply want to see Vogel and have a chance to speak to her. Vogel’s image lures me, because I can’t stop wondering what it would be like to grow up in her family. I can’t help thinking what kind of life Marian and I would have had, if Vogel were Emily. And why couldn’t things have turned out that way?

  I decide I’m just too tired and thinking nonsense. I turn around and leave, giving up on the idea to see Vogel. It was a really ridiculous thought.

  I continue walking the corridors. I keep myself busy thinking about Guardian and his possible plans. His terrorists may be still concealing themselves within the city. Hopefully, Vogel and Chase will soon establish a list of suspects.

  I suddenly think how the last weeks have been too peaceful and quiet. It reminds me of the silence before a thunderstorm. Maybe Guardian and his breakers are preparing for another violent attack. Or maybe I’m just being too paranoid.

  ***

  Weakness, nausea and nightmares are not the only side effects of the drug Kitty and I have to cope with. Late one evening Kitty screams from the bathroom.

  “What happened?” I ask, knocking on the door. It’s locked.

  Kitty lets out another terrified shriek instead of a reply.

  “Are you hurt?” I ask. “Open the door!”

  “No! I don’t want you to see,” she mutters. I don’t know what possibly could have happened to her, but it must be something terrible. She sounds very upset.

  “Kitty! Open the damn door or I’ll break it down,” I demand.

  Sobbing, Kitty finally gives in, letting me in. Her face is wet from tears and she’s holding a long thick lock of hair in her fist.

  “What did you do?” I ask.

  “Nothing,” Kitty whimpers. “I was just brushing my hair and it started falling out.”

  I look Kitty over carefully. I realize that her hair seems very thin and I can almost see her scalp in a few places. I hadn’t noticed this before.

  Kitty is crying miserably.

  “C’mon,” I sigh. “It’s just hair.”

  “I’m growing bald!” she yells.

  Her emotional outburst causes a lamp bulb to explode overhead, sharp pieces of glass crashing against the floor.

  “I’m sorry,” Kitty sobs quietly.

  “Don’t move,” I order, realizing that she’s barefoot and may cut her feet.

  I quickly put on my boots and carry Kitty out of the bathroom. I place her on the bed and carefully run my fingers through my own hair. I stare at the small pile of dark hair left in my hand.

  “What do we do now, Rex?” Kitty asks.

  “Well,” I say. “I guess we’ll just have to shave our heads.”

  Kitty covers her mouth, looking at me in near panic.

  “I’m sure it will grow back after we stop using the drug,” I add.

  “It’s all right,” she says calmly. “I’m not some silly girl who cares so much about her hair.”

  The next day Kitty makes a whole production out of shaving our heads. She invites Marian, Marcus and Dave to witness our transformation. She makes Jessie responsible for performing the procedure. I go first, trying not to think about the time Dr. Carrel tried to implant electrodes into my skull. The haunting memory still makes me uncomfortable.

  “
You look like an inmate,” Kitty comments, after Jessie finishes.

  “Well, we are inside a prison, aren’t we?” I say.

  Kitty smiles uneasily as Jessie shaves her head. Afterward, Kitty looks at her reflection in the mirror, and her lips begin to quiver.

  “I’m ugly now,” she sobs.

  “It’s fine, Kitty,” I say, realizing that she’s about to break down. “You always look beautiful to me.”

  “But I want to look beautiful to everybody else too!” she exclaims.

  She starts crying bitterly. I attempt to calm her down. I assure her that losing hair isn’t the end of the world. I suggest that she wear a wig, if it bothers her so much. My words aren’t helping. Kitty only mumbles how I’m a guy and can’t possibly understand.

  It’s not me, but my sister who finally soothes her feelings. Marian hugs Kitty, smiling broadly and saying, “Well, you don’t look so girlish now. And so what? You look very tough. Just like a real warrior.”

  “Really?” Kitty asks, momentarily stopping her crying. “Rex, do I look tough?”

  “Very tough,” I hurriedly lie. Kitty actually looks very vulnerable and somewhat alien-like without her hair.

  She grins, studying her new reflection in the mirror.

  “I think I’m even beginning to like it,” she proclaims. I glance at Marian and silently mouth a thank you. My sister shrugs, offering me a cold smile. She soon leaves for her work at the refugee center. The others head toward the dining room.

  I can’t stop thinking about my sister. I can’t understand the rapid changes in her mood.

  A short time later an officer marches into the room.

  “There’s a large fire at the children’s hospital a few blocks from headquarters,” he reports. “Vogel and Chase are awaiting your team outside.”

  Chapter 20

  I instantly understand that the fire at the children’s hospital isn’t just some accident. I’m pretty sure Guardian’s terrorists are behind it. But a part of me still doesn’t want to accept this likelihood, because it’s too nasty and brutal. Why target sick children, for God’s sake?

  Upon arrival at the hospital, I watch as two Elimination officers carry a teenaged girl away from the building. She’s screaming non-stop, kicking and clawing at her rescuers. The girl is only about thirteen, but she fights so furiously that she nearly manages to knock the officers off balance. It takes a supreme effort to immobilize the girl and get her inside the truck.