“Farren, you lost?” Amanda calls out in the distance.
Several minutes pass before I see the brush begin to shuffle. Deep panic overruns her voice now as she screams for me instead. Quickly her calls stop and the uncertainty of what lies out there begins to enter my body. I worry that more Harvesters might be out there, but that does not stop me from going after Amanda. Leaping out of the truck, I rush toward the roadside only to be brought to an uneasy stop. Farren’s solid frame lumbers toward me with Amanda draped over one of his shoulders and the Magnus weapon in his free hand pointing right at me. Shock sends ripples of energy down my back. How could I have failed to read this imposter? My instincts about people are never wrong or, at least, that is what I thought. I feel naive and foolish.
“I’m sorry, Kaylin, I have no choice,” he says, shaking his head. “I’m beyond overdue to bring someone in. The threats against my family have gotten worse.”
He looks disgusted by his actions, but I will not let him suck me into his lies again.
Hoping my push can be played off I plead, “What are you talking about; what have you done?”
“I’ve never seen anyone with the abilities that you have; the precision, the power. It’s remarkable,” he says, seeing right through my act. “I can’t go back without something. I just can’t.”
“I saved your life.” I struggle to find the right words. “How could you do this to us? What have you done to Amanda?”
He looks at her and stumbles to say, “No-no-no, she isn’t hurt. I’ve only sedated her.”
“I am not going to let you get away with this,” I say, my eyes well up with emotion. “You will suffer for playing us.”
I calm my nerves and begin to push my influence out toward Farren. Thoughts and feelings of panic enter the surrounding conscious fold. My mind reaches out to entangle his helpless consciousness. I will make him flee into the dark desert until his legs give out and his heart stops. The push reaches Farren, but I do not hear his thoughts, I don’t sense the connection happening; something is wrong. I take a step back to gather myself and find Farren inching closer. He looks at me and I sense that he knew it would not work. My faulty ability around him goes beyond not being able to sense his awareness. It’s useless on him.
“It’s called a Push Block implant,” he says, carefully resting Amanda in the bed of the truck. “Most official sector group personnel have them implanted now.”
“Of course, why wouldn’t these paranoid groups have a mad scientist on hand,” I say, rolling my eyes in frustration.
“I don’t know where it came from, but most of the sector groups in the region have implemented this precaution,” he says. “It has something to do with disrupting the magnetic field around the brain.”
With a subtle gesture, he asks for my hands. With a gun pointed at my head and lacking any special gifts, I reach out my arms in compliance. He confines them with some sort of plastic wrap that forces my hands together as unusable fists. Guided to the Harvester truck, I sit next to Amanda as Farren loads our packs and other salvaged supplies from the area. I manage to brush Amanda’s soft, blonde hair from her face with my forearm before a quick, sharp pressure pricks my arm. I look back to see Farren with a syringe in his hand and an ashamed look on his face.
“I’m sorry, I can’t have you unleash the world on me as we travel, just keeping us all safe.”
Warmth radiates from my arm and spreads throughout my body. I’m at ease for the first time in a long while. The cool bed of the truck counters the heat flowing from the effects of the sedative as I lay back. My eyes flutter and roll upward as the once-protective light from the moon slowly evaporates, leaving me lost in my own mind.
Thank you for reading this Influence series origin novella, Humanity’s Protectors, and the beginning to the Influence novel. Now, continue Kaylin’s story to learn how Influencers mold society and how corrupt sector groups fight to control their ability.
Read the full Influence novel today!
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www.davidrbernstein.com
Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to my beautiful wife for her support on this journey! I love you. Thanks to all my family for the support!
Credits:
Chase Night - Editor
Patti Geesey – Editor
Jenetta Penner – Marketing & Branding Support
AAYAA - Publishing & Marketing Support
Humanity's Protectors: An Influence Series Origin Novella Page 8
