by C. C. Bolick
FEAR
POWER
The Fear Chronicles Book 2
C.C. Bolick
FEAR POWER
Copyright © 2019 by C.C. Bolick
Dirt Road Books
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 978-1-946-08920-5
Cover Design by Fiona Jayde Media
Edited by EbookEditingPro
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
Books by C.C. Bolick:
Leftover Girl Series:
Leftover Girl
Secrets Return
Prison of Lies
Illusion of Truth
Fate of War
The Agency Series:
Run Don’t Think
Love Don’t Wait
Fight Don’t Fear
Heart of a Traitor
The Fear Chronicles:
Fear Justice
Fear Power
Fear Power
Rena Mason once feared never being able to explore her feelings for Travis. Now she fears not being able to save everyone she cares about. As her fear grows, so does her power. With Travis’s help, she fights to uncover what really happened to her mom, along with the secrets her dad still hides.
When a renegade agent puts Rena in the agency’s crosshairs, other agents question their ability to contain her. If she could just figure out how to fly without crashing to the ground, maybe she could control her powers.
With threats from Louis, Rena prepares to face the truth about her family. But not all threats come from the outside. As Rena will learn, she can’t trust everyone at the agency…
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Characters
Regina (Rena) Mason - Recent recruit to Earth Under Fire, has the power to start or stop a nuclear explosion, daughter of Agent Donald Mason who worked for the agency before retiring to raise her
Travis Payne - Agent with four powers: can teleport, see the future, cause an earthquake by slamming his hands together, and burn a person’s skin with his touch
Earth Under Fire - U.S. agency that started as a Department of Defense project and now has bases worldwide. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, it was created to monitor humans with powers and protect the masses from those ‘gifted’ people with hostile intentions. Also monitors alien activity and keeps the public blissfully unaware of threats from space.
Donald Mason - Rena’s dad and agent, left the agency for twelve years before returning to his job, has no powers
Alfie Mason - Rena’s eight-year-old brother
Rosanna Castillo - Rena’s mom, died three years ago in a car wreck, had nuclear powers like Rena, worked for the agency for a brief time before she disappeared eighteen years ago, only Donald Mason knew where she was
Louis Castillo - Rosanna’s husband at the time she disappeared eighteen years ago, is searching for Rosanna and determined to claim Rena as his daughter
Skip Greene – Agent with the ability to go into a ‘power-up’ mode where his brain acts like a computer allowing him to fight and react faster than normal humans, also has a photographic memory
Sylvia Greene - Director of the agency, Skip’s grandmother, has same power as Skip
Angel Lockhart (Greene) - Married to Skip, known as a vampire because of her power to control people, super-strength, ability to heal fast, and need to drink blood
Dr. Joel Greene - Skip’s father and psychologist for the agency, helps people with powers deal with their gifts
Jon Lockhart - Angel’s adopted dad, has power to erase memories and bring them back
Noah Payne - Travis’s father and Donald Mason’s old partner, disappeared twelve years ago
For Tazz
I’ll always appreciate your help talking through these stories
Thanks for everything you’ve taught me
I truly miss those days
Chapter One
“Don’t make me sign this order, Miss Mason.”
The woman in a black suit watched me from across the table. She folded her hands in front of her and waited for me to speak.
“Go ahead and sign,” I said.
Agent Dallas took off her sunglasses and placed them on the table, revealing dark, piercing eyes. As if those eyes might make me shake when the icy metal chair couldn’t. “You don’t fear what might happen to you and your brother when your father faces jail time?”
“Lying to the agency was his choice. I took care of my brother for almost three years while he drank away the world. If you think I fear being alone, think again.”
She exchanged a glance with the man to her right. Agent Nichols. Like her, this agent also wore a black suit. His badge hung from the collar of his jacket. Instead of looking at me, he opened a folder in front of him. He licked a finger and flipped through the pages. I doubted the answer to our problem was in that folder, but I waited patiently to find out.
After six weeks at this underground government agency, I welcomed patience like an old friend. It got me through the days of doctors poking around my DNA, not to mention tutors insisting I finish my senior year of high school while trying to figure out my power.
Or powers, as Travis put it. According to the file on my mother, I should be able to fly in addition to stopping nuclear bombs. Two powers? I still had trouble believing I had any. In six weeks, I hadn’t even left the base to attempt to fly. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever want to.
Within a week after my arrival, I accepted the fact I’d never go to college. My life would no longer be normal, but at least I escaped that tiny Florida town where my dad drank away his pain. In those last desperate weeks, I wondered if he would stop before killing himself. Now he was safe at this base, along with my brother Alfie.
Well, safe until the next terrorist tried to blow up the planet.
To the left of Agent Dallas sat Dr. Greene, the psychologist in charge of keeping those with special gifts from having a mental breakdown or seeking world domination. I’d learned the agency didn’t just fight threats from the outside. Real people with amazing powers were imprisoned on an isolation level I’d yet to visit. Some people with special abilities even called this agency their employer and worked as the first line of defense. The agency managed a long list of names ranking the most powerful people in the world. I was currently in the top ten.
Unlike the two agents, Dr. Greene wore a t-shirt with the name of a football team and light blue jeans. I wondered if he chose this outfit to put me at ease.
“The agency needs your power,” Dr. Greene said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be spending a perfectly good Saturday afternoon in this room when there’s a top ten match-up about to kick off.”
“Your presence is not required,” Agent Dallas said. “Perhaps this meeting would be easier for Miss Mason without you here.”
“I know my job,” he replied, his light-hearted tone dissolving. “You won’t lock Rena in an interrogation room without my presence unless Sylvia concurs. Last I heard, she wanted me here.”
I gave him a smile. Dr. Greene reminded me of the principal who’d looked after me back at the school in Florida. Coach Andrews was one of the few people I missed from that town. The smile faded as I thought of how Coach searched for Dad when he didn’t come
home after drinking. I owed him an apology for facing off with the gunman in his office after he ordered me to run. Even though I couldn’t feel fear—something he must have known—my regret for hurting him was like trying to swim in an ocean.
Agent Nichols shifted in his chair. “Can we get on with this? The two of you bickering in front of Miss Mason isn’t helping our case.”
“Nothing will help your case,” I said. “If you’re trying to make me feel fear, I can’t.”
Agent Dallas flipped through the folder beneath her hands. “What can you tell me about your power? I want details that aren’t in your file.”
“I’ve told the agency everything.” I sat up straight and rubbed the back of my neck.
“Is there a problem?” asked Agent Nichols.
“This chair feels like something I’d sit in at detention.” I glanced at the camera behind them. No doubt the dark lens recorded every word I said. “What else do you want to know?”
“Explain your power for us,” Agent Dallas said.
“I picture the neutrons in an atom and make them move. A neutron moving to another atom causes a chain reaction that can start a nuclear explosion. I use my power to slow the reaction and stop the neutrons from crashing into more atoms.”
“But you can also cause the reaction,” she said.
I hesitated. “Yes, but that isn’t—”
“Yes or no will suffice,” she said. “When is the last time you used this power?”
“When I disarmed five bombs made by Louis Castillo.” Saying the name turned my stomach. “Travis took me to the bombs and I stopped the nuclear reaction before the bombs could explode.”
“We’re all well aware of Agent Payne’s involvement since your arrival here. I’m sure he’s waiting for you in the hall.”
“He helped me find my power,” I said.
Dr. Greene’s voice rose. “Agent Payne’s mission was to find her power and his determination to complete that mission saved lives.”
A thick sigh was all she gave us. Agent Nichols closed his folder. “You’ll be eighteen next month. Have you thought about what you want out of life?”
“I used to think about it all the time.”
“Answer truthfully,” Dr. Greene said.
I nodded. “I wanted out of the town of Wynder. I planned to get a scholarship since my dad couldn’t afford college, preferably out of state.”
“What about your brother?” he asked.
“I didn’t think that far ahead,” I said. “I only thought about how I’d get out.”
Dr. Greene lifted his bottle of water. “Tell them what kind of scholarship.”
“Aerospace engineering. I want to work for the space program. Or wanted to, at least.”
“You think your dreams are no longer useful?” Agent Dallas asked.
“More like no longer possible,” I said. “What are my chances of a freshman year at college?”
The agent shrugged. “You never know what the future holds.” She pulled a picture from the folder and slid it across the table. “When is the last time you saw Rosanna?”
I lifted the picture of Mama, taken when she worked for the agency. She was a few years older than me, with the same honey blond hair, and she was smiling. That’s how I always wanted to remember her. “Almost three years ago.”
“Tell us about that day,” Agent Nichols said.
Was he serious? Not even Dr. Greene had pressed for details of that day. “The day our…” I wiped at the tears that welled in my eyes.
“If you need a moment—”
“No,” I said, thankful for the concern in Dr. Greene’s voice. “I’m fine. The night of the crash was the last time I saw her. A drunk driver hit our car and I woke up in the hospital with a broken hip. She died that night.”
Agent Dallas sneered at his concern. “How old were you?”
“I’d just turned fifteen.”
“Do you fear driving?” she asked. “Or what might happen if you ever get into another wreck?”
“There’s nothing I fear.” I placed the slick surface of the picture against my forehead. “Can I keep this picture? I don’t have one of her when she was my age. She looks happy.”
Everyone stared at me in silence. I glanced at the green walls, the color of snot, and wished for the interrogation to be over. They were doing their jobs, I knew. They needed to make me feel fear, otherwise what good was I to the agency? Only when I felt fear would my power work.
Agent Nichols sat back in his chair. “Did your mother tell you about her power? Did you ever see her use it?”
“She never told me anything.”
Agent Dallas stood and pushed her chair away. “How did you figure out how to use your power if your mother never told you?”
“Travis helped me.”
She leaned down and whispered in Dr. Greene’s ear.
I put the picture on the table. “What did she say?”
He cleared his throat. “You’ve formed a dependency on Travis. On that we agree.”
Agent Dallas walked to the door. “What’s your favorite card game, Miss Mason?”
“Dad taught me to play spades. It was the only game he played other than solitaire.”
She paused with the handle in her grip. “My favorite is poker. In that game, holding the worst hand doesn’t preclude a win. Skill in reading your adversary is the biggest factor.”
The door opened and in walked Angel, Travis’s sister. Her reddish-brown hair was tied at the back of her head, but a few curls fell around her pale face. Pain flickered in her eyes but disappeared when she turned to size up Agent Dallas. As usual, Angel wore a black suit with long sleeves and pants. She stood taller than both me and Agent Dallas.
Only a few months older than me, Angel had showed friendship when I needed to talk and offered hope for my future at this agency. Today her face was devoid of any feeling. Agent Dallas closed the door and pointed to her empty chair. As Angel took the seat, the senior agent leaned against the wall at my back, next to the mirrored glass that reminded me of a police show. Did Travis stand on the other side?
“I’m sorry,” Angel said.
I nodded and took a deep breath. I’d seen her powers in action twice so far, both times marveling at how she brought people to their knees without exchanging a blow. She possessed super-human strength and the ability to control her victims, but her healing ability amazed me most. Other agents talked about Angel almost dying with burns over a majority of her body. Within days, the burns had healed without leaving a scar.
My hands clenched into fists as I felt the first gentle wave of pressure ripple through my head. As her eyes bored into me, the pressure turned into a sharp knife, slicing its way through my thoughts until there was only one. I was no longer alone. Angel had gained access to my deepest feelings. Hopes, dreams, and maybe fears.
Her job was to poke around my head and figure out if I was lying about any of the questions the agents had asked. She’d been on the fence about this assignment but agreed after I convinced her I’d be fine. Even if I didn’t consider her a friend, I had no reason lie. She could do her job.
She might even find a hidden fear I didn’t know about.
For the last six weeks, I’d felt absolutely no fear. Zero. No bad dreams at night and no inclination to make blue sparkles shoot from my hands and turn into bombs. Maybe she could help access my fears.
Ironically, as Agent Dallas watched from behind, I didn’t want to show any fear. Some part of me felt determined to fight against their methods even when I knew finding my power was best for everyone. It didn’t matter that intelligence reports suggested Louis was weeks, maybe even days, away from another attack. I couldn’t stand to think of what might happen if he was successful, but I also couldn’t lower my guard around these agents. The agency had a history of locking people away for being a danger to the planet.
Calm. I needed to stay calm and stop over thinking their methods.
“I’ll ask thi
s again,” Agent Dallas said. “When did you last use your power?”
“When we diffused the bombs Louis planted,” I said. “Six weeks ago.”
“Why haven’t you used your power since?” Dr. Greene asked.
“Because I haven’t been able to.”
“But you’ve tried?” he asked.
“Sort of.”
Before Dr. Greene could ask another question, Agent Dallas held up a hand. “What do you mean by sort of, Miss Mason? Either you’ve tried to use your power or you haven’t.”
“I’ve tried to feel fear but I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?” She snapped a finger.
Angel closed her eyes. The knife scraping the inside of my brain intensified. Deeper, she must dig out every thought and examine the shadows of every crevice.
“Can’t,” I screamed. A jabbing pain began behind my eyes and shot to the back of my skull. I put my hands over my face.
“She’s not lying.” Angel shuttered as if slamming against a wall.
“This isn’t working,” Dr. Greene said.
The pain disappeared and Angel released a breath. “I’m sorry,” she said again.
“For what?” My voice shook like my insides. “You’re doing your job.”
Agent Nichols stood. “And therein lies the problem. I think everyone has been too accommodating, and Rena has no reason to fear us or anyone else at this base. Maybe if we removed her brother—”
“You won’t take Alfie,” I said. “Then I’d hate you. That’s not fear.”
Agent Dallas approached the table. She tossed her brown ponytail to the side as she walked. “When you stopped Castillo’s bombs, what did you fear?”
I squirmed in my chair. “Travis.”
“Travis?” Her eyes widened. “What did you fear about Travis?”
“That we’d never have the chance to be together.”
“What changed?” she asked.
