Flawed (Perfection)

by J. L. Spelbring

  Ellyssa whipped her hand to the side, glancing the cold metal of the rifle, but the contortion of Rein’s body made her stop. His scream echoed through the dark night.

  “I told you I did not need to read your mind. Your misplaced emotional bond is your Achilles’ heel.”

  Shrieking, Rein convulsed, like a high-voltage current ripped through his body. Then his cries of pain stopped. Rein’s body fell against the hold of the soldier, who stared at Aalexis with awe and worship. Rein’s face was still contorted with the throes of agony. Short pants burst from his lips in warm clouds.

  Aalexis hadn’t released her hold on Rein, just lessened the intensity. With her sister preoccupied, Ellyssa seized the opportunity to peek. Her mind reached and met the manipulation of Rein’s neuroreceptors dominating her sister’s concentration. Ellyssa tried to dig deeper, but her sister’s focus was too concrete.

  Aalexis knew. She tweaked the receptors, fresh flames ignited, and Rein’s screams followed. The soldier pressed the muzzle of the pistol firmly against Rein’s temple.

  Ellyssa’s hesitation slammed shut the window of opportunity. Desperation had interfered.

  Rein screamed again, his body thrashing within the grip of the sergeant.

  Unable to stand it, Ellyssa shut the door to her sister’s thoughts. “Enough, Aalexis.”

  Her sister apparently extinguished the fire, because Rein went limp, his head hanging.

  “I grow weary of this. You cannot win, Ellyssa,” Aalexis said, seemingly irritated. Another emotion that caught Ellyssa by surprise. Was her sister even aware? “Did you really think you could get away?”

  After shifting an unconscious Rein in his arm, the sergeant retrieved a flashlight from his pocket. Pointing it toward the tower, he flicked it on and off. The searchlight swung into the compound, reflecting a brilliant white against the snow. The sergeant pressed the muzzle of the gun back against Rein’s head.

  Ellyssa waited, wondering what her sister had planned. A minute passed, then two. Finally, the sound of crunching snow reached Ellyssa’s ears; afterward, people filed in. Males and females, thin frames struggling against the wind in their striped pyjamas, their blankets stripped from their backs, shivering. Amidst the captive group, Woody, Dyllon, Trista and Mathew appeared, hands behind their heads. Armed soldiers flanked the sides and followed behind, prodding the group like cattle.

  Quickly, Ellyssa glided into Woody’s mind and grasped the gist of what had happened. After Woody and the others had escaped with the prisoners, they had run into the camp’s soldiers. The trap had been the reason behind the absence of military personnel.

  Fault lay at Ellyssa’s feet, like an abyss ready to consume her. If she had taken the time to probe deeper instead of shuffling through quickly, she might have seen, might have been able to alter the outcome. Once again, she’d failed.

  Ellyssa searched for Loreley and Ann, but didn’t find them among the familiar and unfamiliar faces of the crowd. Maybe they had been lucky enough to get away.

  “I have waited weeks for this day,” Aalexis stated, waving her arm toward the prisoners. “You will put down your weapon and come with me. Or I will begin by taking out one inferior pestilence at a time. Let me demonstrate.” She nodded toward a soldier, who grabbed a female prisoner Ellyssa didn’t know from the group.

  “Please. No,” the female cried, struggling to break free.

  The soldier threw her to the ground, unholstered a pistol, and without a bit of hesitation, fired. Ichor painted the snow in crimson as the prisoner crumpled.

  Flames of fury licked within Ellyssa’s veins, but to no purpose. If it were only Aalexis and a few soldiers, the odds would have been in her favor as long as she was able to get the trigger-happy male before he shot Rein. But with everyone at risk and a whole platoon of soldiers, Ellyssa’s odds of success plummeted.

  Funny how her father had been right after all. Regardless of the strength Rein or her other family members had given Ellyssa, the bonds she’d formed and the emotions she felt had weakened her at a time when she needed to be the monster her father had created.

  Tasting defeat and incapable of being responsible for any more deaths, Ellyssa unstrapped the weapon and tossed it into the snow. It sank into the white depths. She raised her hands.

  A cocked smile lifted the corner of Aalexis’ mouth. “Weak.”

  Awake now, Rein’s green eyes locked on Ellyssa. He shook his head. But what choice did she have?

  Ellyssa stepped forward, her hands stretched in front. “Let them go, and I will come willingly. I will not fight.”

  “I will not let them go, and you will come anyway. You have lost, dear sister.”

  Mind reeling, trying to find a way out, Ellyssa took another step. Woody and Trista’s desperate eyes, and everyone else’s, followed her. Rein kept staring at her, willing her to stop, to think of something, that he would be ready. Comforted by his courage, Ellyssa’s mind slowed as she latched onto one thing.

  Aalexis would die.

  Ellyssa wouldn’t be able to take them all out, unfortunate people would be sacrificed—herself included, possibly even Rein—but Aalexis could not be allowed to live. The conclusion of her sister’s will would end in a world of annihilation.

  The monster unleashed. Her muscles hummed with satisfaction. Ellyssa glanced at Woody and Mathew. The others might not understand, but Mathew and Woody knew without reading her mind. She could see the acceptance of death in their faces. Facing forward, Ellyssa moved, taking one step and another, her foot kicking the rifle.

  But before Ellyssa could even burst into a sprint toward Aalexis’ death, all hell broke loose. Time slowed.

  All at once, repetitive fire sounded; red strobes flashed in the darkness; people screamed and ducked as confused military personnel dropped. Blood colored the white, and its warmth melted the snow. More gunfire, and now prisoners fell.

  From the side of the buildings, people dressed in white manifested like ghosts. People Ellyssa recognized. At the front of the pack, Dr. Ito charged and struck a soldier’s throat with his fingers, a perfectly executed knife-strike. As the soldier went to his knees, gagging and eyes bugging, Dr. Ito brought a rifle slung over his back around and opened fire. More soldiers dropped. Someone else finished the gagging soldier; the back of his head disappeared.

  Like a fiery angel, Ann dropped from the roof of the new building. She sighted the enemy in the tower and let off a burst of gunfire. Trista and Dyllon grabbed firearms from a dead soldier, as did some of the other prisoners. Woody and Mathew had disappeared, but Ellyssa didn’t have time to search for them.

  For less than a nanosecond, as everything unfurled into the future, Ellyssa stood stunned, her muscles seizing in the mayhem. She couldn’t believe Dr. Loki had risked The Pit.

  Smiling at the turn of events, even though Ellyssa’s deadly side was in full command, she turned back toward Aalexis. Her sister watched the chaos, her pale face even paler, anger struggling under the flawless surface. Her lackey had lowered his weapon a fraction, enough to give Ellyssa the upper hand.

  While her sister’s attention was captivated by the pandemonium, Ellyssa fell to her haunches and groped in the snow. The rifle remained elusively out of reach. Ellyssa swiped her hand in a bigger arc. Finally, her fingers wrapped around the freezing barrel of the rifle. In one swift motion, she yanked it free and stood, the butt already pulled tightly against the hollow of her shoulder.

  At the same time Ellyssa’s finger tightened against the trigger, Aalexis snapped out of her stupor. She pushed the soldier holding Rein out of danger as the report sounded and the butt kicked into Ellyssa’s shoulder. Light streamed through a hole in the door.

  Either by accident or purpose, the sergeant’s gun fired. Aalexis said something, her words lost in the commotion. A second later, Rein’s head drooped. The sergeant let him go.

  In slow motion, Rein traveled toward the floor, and Ellyssa’s defenses shattered. Her visual cortex refused to proces
s what her eyes were witnessing. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t move. A rift tore through Ellyssa’s heart, ragged edges sharp and biting as she watched Rein hit the floor.

  Even as glass shattered from the window next to Aalexis, and unseen people opened fire, Ellyssa stood transfixed. Her life no longer mattered. Nothing mattered. Her world had ceased to exist.

  The next thing Ellyssa comprehended was that she was on the ground, snow covering her face, and a rifle poking into her ribs. Someone held her down. Instinctively, she began to struggle.

  “Ellyssa!” Woody shouted.

  47

  Ellyssa sat on the bed. Alone. Her thoughts looped around on the image of Rein falling, like her mental processes were stuck on replay. Her eyes were dry now, but they still felt raw and hurt when she blinked. She imagined they were red, but she didn’t know; she hadn’t looked in a mirror recently.

  For the last couple of days, this had been her position. People had come and gone, Trista, Dyllon, Mathew, Woody, all in an effort to console her. How could they be so stupid? Her reason for living, for being, had been severed the moment Rein had died.

  An untouched tray of breakfast sat on the table next to the bed, the eggs cold and congealed. A brush she hadn’t used recently lay next to it. The small cave pearl, her reminder of the revenge she’d failed to extract, rested against the handle.

  She was aware enough to know that she couldn’t go on like this. Being aware didn’t change the hollow, dead feeling in her chest where her heart beat.

  After Woody had tackled her and in effect saved her from whoever had been firing from the office windows, Ellyssa still had the need to see her sister pay, to die. She’d pushed Woody off and rose to her feet. The porch was empty.

  What purpose would Rein’s dead body serve Aalexis?

  To torment me, had been the answer.

  Fury had unleashed within her with a vengeance, and Ellyssa moved with it, her feet pounding in the snow, passing dozens of dead bodies, most wearing black snowsuits. She’d burst onto the porch where blood tainted the snow and through the office door into a tomb. Woody skidded in after her. Three soldiers lay dead on the floor. Another moaned behind a desk. Ellyssa followed the moan and found a Corporal Kraus, according to his nametag. Blood streamed from his mouth.

  Ellyssa lifted the dying male by his collar. “Where is she?”

  “Storage room,” he’d managed. A blood bubble formed in between the corporal’s lips and popped. Corporal Kraus was no more.

  Ellyssa had moved quietly toward a door closest to the desk with Woody. She counted to three, then barged in. The room was empty. White sheets of paper rustled in the wind coming from another door leading outside.

  Even though she knew Aalexis was gone, Ellyssa had moved toward the back door anyway. Tire tracks that were quickly disappearing under the windy flurry cut across the snow. She’d followed the tracks, though she’d known it was too late. They led to the delivery gate and more dead guards.

  Aalexis was gone. Ellyssa shot out the tendrils of her mind, trying to latch onto Rein, to anything, but there was nothing. Just emptiness. Dead emptiness.

  Reliving the nightmare she’d lived through before.

  Ellyssa was pretty sure that was the exact time she’d lost whatever control she had. She couldn’t even remember walking back through the cold to The Pit.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Go away.”

  Ignoring her, Woody opened the door and came in with Mathew. At least they’d been able to save him and most of the prisoners. A total of eleven lost, ten males and the one female Aalexis had sacrificed. Dr. Loki had lost twenty of his people. They’d had a memorial Ellyssa didn’t attend.

  Right behind Mathew and Woody, an older male, over fifty, stepped inside. He had silver hair, meticulously parted to the right, blue eyes—of course—and thin lips. His movements were angled and sharp, and Ellyssa knew, without peeking that he was military. Her muscles involuntarily twitched with the prospect of snapping his neck. She stood, and blood rushed to her head, making it spin. She needed to eat. The thought of food nauseated her, so she plopped back down on the mattress instead.

  She really just didn’t care anymore.

  “Ellyssa,” said Mathew, coming toward her. He felt her forehead, then took her wrist between his fingers to feel her pulse. After a few seconds, he slid his hand down and wrapped his fingers around hers. His palm felt so warm compared to hers. “You have to stop this.”

  Mustering up the best incredulous look she could produce, Ellyssa shot it toward Mathew.

  Shaking his head, Mathew smiled. “I love you, my dear friend. You have lots of people who love you. What you are doing hurts us as much as it hurts you.”

  Ellyssa didn’t want to hear that. She just wanted to be left alone.

  Woody knelt at Ellyssa’s knees. Looking at her, sadness swimming in the grey of his eyes, he cupped her cheek, his warmth sinking into her cold flesh. Once again, Woody was there to try and pick up her fragmented pieces. But once in a while, the pieces were too broken and jagged to adhere. Closing her eyes, willing away the tears that threatened to spill out, Ellyssa swallowed the sob that was stuck in her throat.

  “Mathew’s right. Rein was my best friend, my brother. He wouldn’t want this.” Woody’s voice hitched, and he had to wait a moment before he could continue. “You can’t give up. It’s not over, Ellyssa.”

  “I know,” she whispered. “I just don’t know how.”

  “With our help,” Mathew said, pushing a straggly strand of hair behind her ear.

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” said the older male, who still stood by the door. He stepped into the room as he spoke. “I’m Comm…” He paused. “My name is Hans Baer. I was the Commandant of Amarufoss before your sister stripped me of my command.”

  Ellyssa figured he was military, but she hadn’t expected this. That’s what she got for not using her gift, but since Rein, she couldn’t. The dead emptiness she’d felt when she lost him was just too new, too raw. Part of her still wanted to tear Hans apart, though, just for being what he was. She ignored that part.

  “We don’t like him,” Woody said, referencing Hans.

  “I actually despise him,” Mathew added.

  Woody slowly loosened his grip. “He has something to tell you.”

  “You compromised The Pit by bringing him here.”

  “He has no idea where we are. We bagged him,” Woody said.

  “He isn’t leaving, either,” Mathew continued. “Before the thing with… Rein.” He paused as if expecting her to break down. When she didn’t, he patted her hand. “You said someone was in the room with the incinerator. I knew it was him. When it was all over, I saved him.” Mathew faced the former commander.

  Hans nodded. “It’s true.”

  “Anyway, when you came into the barracks to save us, I tried to tell you something. I’ve tried since we’ve come back, too, but the state you were in…you just weren’t listening. Besides, the Commandant—I mean Hans—knows more.”

  Mathew gave Hans a go ahead nod to start his story.

  With a hesitant step, Hans approached Ellyssa, and stopped at a respectable distance. “Your sister wasn’t alone,” he stated.

  Ellyssa narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Your brother, Xaver, is with her.”

  “Wh—Wh—” The easy word stuck on Ellyssa’s tongue. She glanced at Mathew, and he nodded.

  “I’ve seen him myself.”

  If her brother was still alive, that explained everything. Maybe shuffling through the soldiers had nothing to do with why she didn’t at least get a glimpse of the plan. Xaver had to have had those in the know shielded. And maybe he had shielded Rein from her, too.

  Which meant Rein might not be dead.

  He couldn’t be dead.

  Closing her eyes, Ellyssa took in a cleansing breath and grabbed hold of the dangling, frayed thread of hope. Her despair lightened a little, giving her a r
eason to continue.

  “Rein might be alive!” She popped up onto her feet, the elation smothering out the weakness. “We have to go save him.”

  As she whirled around the room, snatching the pearl and shoving it in the pocket of her backpack, grabbing clean clothes and cramming them inside too, she began to notice that no one else was moving. “Don’t just stand there. Either help me or get out.”

  Lifting from his knees, Woody caught Ellyssa’s hand. Doubt about Rein’s survival covered his expression. “Ellyssa, I saw him fall.”

  “I did, too,” Mathew uttered. He couldn’t even look at her. “The blood. There was so much.”

  Hans just stood silent. He didn’t know Rein.

  Silence spread across the room, threatening Ellyssa’s refreshed optimism. Rein had to be alive. If she failed to keep hold of that hope, the despondency would crash down again like a ton of bricks, squashing whatever remained of her. Ellyssa couldn’t let that happen, not if Rein still lived. Not if there was still a chance. “I don’t care what any of you think.”

  Sharing a worried look with Mathew, Woody said in a low, calming voice, “First, listen to what Hans has to say, then we will discuss…other possibilities.”

  Woody led her back over to the bed. Ellyssa let him, but all the while her brain whirled with plans. Obediently, she sat next to Mathew. He placed his hand on her knee.

  “Go ahead,” Ellyssa said as she leveled her eyes on Hans.

  The former commander broke into a tale of his first meeting with Aalexis and Xaver, to somebody named Colonel Fielder and some general and the greed for power the two males shared, to his removal from command, to his theories of what Aalexis had planned, and working with Mathew.

  Ellyssa heard the words of Hans’ story, but she wasn’t really listening. She was too wrapped up in the resentment toward her siblings, the fury, the loathing, all the things she’d always had been allowed to feel freely. The sensations fueled her as they unfurled, feeding her revenge, her will to live.