Black-Eyed Kids: The Complete Series

by Miranda Hardy

  How? I ask, intrigued.

  For one, you need to bottle up what happened tonight and put that behind a mental wall. Imagine building a wall of protection inside of your head. Make it out of bricks, strong and solid. Keep your private thoughts and feeling behind this great wall.

  I finish off my soda. Ah. Great Wall of China, but in my head.

  Astid explains, We all have thoughts we’d rather keep to ourselves. For me, I’ve always had the desire to be human, and I never had a normal childhood. That is what’s behind my wall.

  Astid squints, and I feel her energy probing my brain. I’m too slow to try to shove her out and build my stupid wall. My wall is more of a baby gate. Shiitake!

  What’s this about little aliens living on a star? she asks me.

  They’re called Fartlings, hailing from the planet Fluffy Fart, I reply.

  I concentrate on constructing my own mental wall, imagining the bricks going all the way up to the clouds and stick that memory behind the wall.

  Good job. Astid closes her eyes, and I can feel her mental push, but she can’t get past my Great Wall of Marcus.

  I cross my arms, daring her to try to suck my thoughts again.

  Astid points to my chest. Always be you, Marcus. Continue to be the one who might not make much sense to others, but sees the world from a unique point of view.

  Being myself is the easiest thing for me. I think I can do that. I’m actually not stupid. I pretend to be sometimes. Other times, I just say whatever’s on my mind. Since I was the class stoner, I guess I played the part of the clueless loser.

  Maverick knows you’re not stupid. Astid reaches over and taps my forehead. Your mental wall is not just for keeping your secret from Maverick. It’s a skill you must master.

  I understand what she’s getting at. Because I’m a BEK now, too. I see.

  You’re unique, Astid tells me. Level 6 would want to study you since you seem to be so different from the rest of us. It’s important that you begin to not only accept your new abilities, but to hone them. You will need to.

  It sinks in now. My old life is long gone. In the last couple days, I’ve already killed twice. But I sure as hell don’t want to be kidnapped by Level 6 ever again. If I have to become a psychic ninja like Astid, then that’s what I’ll do.

  What if I feel like I can’t hide my thoughts behind my Great Wall of Marcus? I ask her.

  Astid replies, Just think of something mundane, like the weather. Or perhaps the lyrics of a song you like, or a television show you enjoy. Distract yourself.

  Distract myself? That’s easy. I love watching the weather forecast, so I conjure the image of a huge gray puffy cloud-man flying in the sky, raining down on us.

  You are exceedingly good at this, Astid remarks.

  The kitchen door swings open, and Maverick walks in. “What’s up, guys?”

  I look up at the ceiling, “I imagine the Marshmallow Man means to pour on us today.”

  “Marcus, man, there’s something wrong with you,” Maverick says and laughs.

  I point to my face. “No Shiitake, Dude! I have all black eyes, remember?”

  8

  MARCUS

  THE CAR HAS become a prison on wheels. Although we’ve been driving for only a couple of days, it feels like months. I roll the window down to let in the fresh air.

  Maverick says, “Marcus, roll that back up. It’s freezing outside.”

  I roll it back up. “Man, the air is as stale as a monkey’s butt in here.”

  How is a monkey’s butt stale exactly? Astid asks both of us with her thoughts.

  Mav laughs.

  “How much further to Atlanta?” I ask.

  “Few hours, I think,” Mav replies and then goes back to thinking about strategies and how to deal with the BEKs when we come across them.

  Astid had hinted about running into the BEKs a few days ago, too, but it’s all Mav keeps thinking about. The dude is obsessed. Mav is on a mission and won’t stop until he’s brought all of Level 6 down. He wants revenge. No, wait, he wants to help Astid. Hell, his thoughts are about as scattered as mine. The boy’s more confused than a weasel in a corn maze. Speaking of corn, I sure could use some right now.

  “You just ate an hour ago,” Mav says.

  “Stop reading my mind, monkey butt!” I turn over facing the window and watch the clouds race by us. “That still freaks me out, man.”

  It’s kinda hypnotic seeing the same thing over and over again…white puffy patches filling the sky. Reminds me of something that sits on the edge of my brain and I can’t seem to pull it out. Something about being back at that weird hospital with Mr. Lab Coat Monkey Butt.

  I close my eyes, forcing myself to remember…

  MY INSIDES FELT like they were on fire, and lava oozed through every inch of my veins. I opened my eyes and all I saw was static. A few seconds later, I caught a hint of light that seemed to grow brighter and bigger. The ringing in my ears was loud but turned into a low growl.

  “W…W…” My words couldn’t form since my tongue and lips felt swollen, and I felt like whatever nasty thing I ate was about to come up with a vengeance.

  Another loud growl and then a massive beating began.

  I was dying, oh god, I was dying. That same dumbass butcher of a doctor who had said that I would probably die if they increased the dosage of whatever crap they were sticking in my veins was right. I felt death coming, and it hurt like hell.

  The white static faded, giving way to that bright light. A white ceiling hovered high above me, and I blinked over and over to try to focus my eyes.

  There was the growl again. What the hell is that? Somebody bring a damn Rottweiler in here? It sounded like it was chained up or something and was really pissed off.

  I turned my head toward the growling and saw the monster, except it wasn’t a Rottweiler. My body flinched, but the restraints had me bound to the bed. It was the Frankenstein on steroids, and I was just a few feet away from him, trapped in a room, and no one else was around. The door was shut.

  The pain coursing through my body became worse the more I panicked. Frankendude was inside some kind of glass casket. It stopped growling and pounding and just stared at me, like he was studying me. Like he wanted to eat me for lunch. I prayed that the glass box could hold this creature. I got the feeling that he could totally Hulk-out and just smash his way out of there.

  His all-black eyes reminded me of the black-eyed kids, but he stood over 7 feet tall, and wasn’t very kid-like. As my brain came out of its fog, I could actually feel its rage and…hunger. Oh shiitake, he did want to eat me.

  This monster actually made Frankenstein look hot. His face looked like the scientists had literally taken someone else’s deformed face and plastered it on this big ass ape of a man all crooked-like. He had tracks on the edges of his face, like he had been pulling at his skin to get it to come off and they had to glue it back on. He had a huge red scar on the left side of his face that zigzagged to his chin. The monster’s right eye was way the hell up higher than his left one, as if someone had smashed his entire head with a sledgehammer after he was born.

  Fugly as hell.

  My stomach couldn’t take it anymore, and I turned my head and puked. A massive amount of liquid spewed from my swollen mouth and oozed to the floor, and then the heaving started. My stomach ran out of stuff to barf but kept breakdancing inside my body.

  That’s when the door opened, and two people entered. I was too weak to raise my head at all, so I couldn’t see them.

  “Crap! I’m not cleaning zat damn mess up, I swear it,” a guy with a big ass mustache said. He sounded foreign, too. “Disgusting!”

  “Well, I don’t know who will. Even the custodians won’t come into this room.” The other man sounded like an American, but he was younger. “Why the hell did they wheel him into this room anyway?”

  The foreigner said, “We’ll have to just move him.” This dude had to be German or something. “Just don’t step i
n zee vomit.”

  The two guys grabbed the bottom of my gurney and pulled me towards the open door. That’s when the shattering sound boomed through the room and glass blew everywhere.

  Both guys screamed bloody murder, and my stomach twisted into knots. I didn’t need to look, but I knew that Frankenhulk had gotten out of his glass cage. Worse than that, I could feel him already draining my energy. Even though he attacked the two lab coat goons, he was already sucking my soul.

  Frankenbeast had the German between his bear paws and lifted the poor dude up into the air. That gave the other man the chance to run out into the hall screeching like a dying cat.

  The monster pulled the German up higher and squeezed his neck so hard that blood oozed out of his nose and eyes. Waves of light poured out of the German’s face and floated into Frankendemon’s chest.

  I was next. The monster wailed and snapped the German’s head clean off. I was too scared to scream or cry. If there was a way for me to off myself right there and then, I would have done it. Frankendevil stared into my eyes, and I felt myself already getting weak.

  Footsteps came down from the hall. I hoped the goons would come armed with AK-47s, rocket launchers, and nuclear missiles, because I didn’t think this monster was going to go down so easily. The monster turned toward me and smiled, showing his brown, long teeth. It was reading my thoughts, the bastard!

  Frankenbeast took one step toward me and suddenly roared in pain. It convulsed as if he had shoved his giant finger into an electrical socket before crumpling to the floor.

  My head throbbed, and I felt myself passing out. The white static came back, blinding me. I could hear faraway voices inside the room before darkness swallowed me up.

  I JOLT up and get yanked back down by the seat belt.

  “Shiitake!” I yell and rub my eyes.

  Huh. The car had stopped and we were no longer cruising along the highway. I turn toward Mav and see him and Astid both looking at me as if I’m crazy.

  “Just a nightmare,” I mutter.

  Too late. They had seen everything. It’s hard to keep secrets from mind readers, and I know they had shared my flashback. They’re both too freaked out to say anything, and I can’t play dumb anymore.

  Now all three of us know that the black-eyed kids are the least of our worries at Level 6.

  THE END OF BOOK TWO

  DEATH RETURNS

  BLACK-EYED KIDS BOOK THREE

  “I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.” ~ Corazon Aquino

  PROLOGUE

  ASTID

  THE ONE-ROOM, windowless prison was the only home I’d ever known. Where’s Mother? Why haven’t they brought her back yet?

  Things had been strange earlier that day. Tension seemed to fill every inch and every corner of the building. Even the normally jovial Dr. B appeared bothered by something in the morning. I could have broken through his mental block to find out why he was so upset, but Dr. B was one of the few workers at Level 6 who treated us nicely.

  Mother had gone willingly, like always, even after sensing Dr. B’s dark thoughts. She made small talk by asking him about the outside world, knowing Kren and I always liked hearing about it.

  Dr. B described the spring weather that took place in the different areas of the country. He’d always apologized for not being eloquent enough to capture the beauty of Mother Nature, but we enjoyed his description of the blooming flowers and trees. It fascinated us. Living below ground provided no other distractions. The outside world sounded like such a contrast to our bland and mundane existence at the facility.

  I had vowed not only to see the world above, but I planned to pluck a purple flower and smell the scrumptious scent of a pine tree.

  Mother usually returned by our afternoon meals. Kren and I ate in silence as we waited for her. A few more hours passed, and we both failed to hide our anxiety. It was the heavy silence that filled our hearts with terror. Kren paced near the door while I sat on the bed, trying my best to keep calm. The camera in the corner of the room swiveled back and forth between the two of us, and it was preferable—in my mind, at least—not to give the soldiers a reason to shock and sedate us. They’d often storm into our room at the slightest show of irritation.

  Despite being terrified of what I might find, I reached out with my mind, going beyond our walls to see if I could glean anything from the people outside our locked chamber. I felt Kren do it too. A group of scientists stood in a circle just down the hall from us. We probed their minds, and it took only seconds to get the answer we dreaded to discover.

  Mother was dead.

  The emptiness hit both of us simultaneously. I franticly pushed my mind further to sense Mother, and hoped I had misinterpreted the scientists’ thoughts, but I found nothing. We had always been extra sensitive with one another, able to feel each other from wherever they took us within the cement and steel walls. Our family always had a strong connection, but it had broken…permanently.

  Tears flowed down my face, and a huge knot formed inside my stomach. Kren slid against the wall down to the cold floor and pulled his knees in, rocking back and forth. The very center of our lives had been yanked from us, and we had been powerless to stop it.

  I attempted to extend my mind outside again when the howls echoed all around us. The alarm blared, piercing our eardrums. Kren and I clapped our hands to our ears to block the retched sound.

  What is going on? I asked Kren with my mind.

  We both glanced at the camera and noticed it had been deactivated. The green light no longer blinked. Smoke entered our room from under the heavy steel, locked door. Our moment of sadness turned to fear.

  The wailing and incomprehensible warnings from the hallway speakers intensified. Panic filled the corridors and chambers outside our quarters, and it took several moments for one of us to take action.

  Kren rose and rushed to me. His arms wrapped around my trembling body, and he pulled me to the door. I couldn’t explain why, but I fought him. I refused to go. All of the chaos and fear from outside penetrated our walls, mingling with my own terror.

  The door clicked open as the automatic lock released its hold on the steel post. Without projecting any of my thoughts to my brother, I forced myself to make a difficult decision. If this was our one chance at freedom, we needed to take it.

  We would be powerless no more.

  Kren let go of me, grabbed my hand, and led me into the smoke-filled hallway.

  All of the doors around us were wide open. Other test subjects scattered. Many hesitated, while others didn’t think twice about sprinting through the smoke for a chance of escape.

  Kren’s urgent thoughts penetrated my mind. We need to run, Astid. Now! He pulled me toward the laboratories.

  Some of the others followed us. They were as frightened as we were. If we failed in our attempt, the soldiers would surely kill us. This was the point of no return; no going back now.

  Screams from scientists, soldiers, and other test subjects reverberated all around us as we made our way through the foggy maze. Kren led the way. He swatted an armed soldier aside, sending the man sailing into the air and slamming against the wall, clearing our path.

  At least ten more of our people trailed me; some struggled for air from the thick smoke. The one named Felix pulled Alyssa up from the floor after she stumbled. The closer we got to the labs, the more I desired to search for Mother. It was foolish since I knew she was dead.

  I held onto Kren’s shoulder and expanded my mind out in an effort to get a confirmation of the nightmarish reality. Somehow, I found Dr. B’s mind.

  He cried out in anguish. Intense and conflicting emotions filled his heartbroken conscience. Dr. B held strong feelings for Mother. He couldn’t save her, so he fulfilled a promise he had made to her before she died.

  Dr. B had vowed to save the rest of us.

  Move! Kren yelled mentally, snapping me back into the moment.

  Smoke wrapped around the guards, b
ut they were unaffected due to protection their masks provided. The soldiers formed a blockade at the other end of the corridor. They pointed their shock sticks straight at us as a warning.

  Kren broke from my grasp and charged toward the soldiers with a rage I had never seen or felt from him before. He slid right under them, out of reach of their electric batons. Kren tripped them up with outstretched arms. One by one, they tumbled to the floor.

  One soldier recovered and steadied himself quickly. He raised his weapon and attacked my brother, but Kren moved too fast. His strength increased with the adrenalin and grief coursing through his veins.

  Kren easily evaded the swing. He grasped the man’s head and snapped his neck without hesitation. Another pair of soldiers pulled themselves up from the floor, but Kren struck them both down with his fists, shattering their jaws.

  I was horrified.

  Let’s go! Kren motioned to me and the others to head for the exit door.

  The heavy door pushed open, and I ran up the spiral stairway. The others continued to pour up the stairs behind me. Kren waited until everyone in our group passed through the doorway before slamming the heavy door behind us and sprinting up the stairs.

  I almost entered the door leading to the next level, but stopped the moment wild barking and growling pierced the air. Since every door in the building was now open, all of the test subjects were free. That included the abomination known as The Dogs.

  The pack of vile creatures tore their way through the corridor below us, mutilating the soldiers in their path.

  Kren sprinted from the rear of the group and clutched my shoulders. The Dogs are right behind us. Keep going!

  I willed my legs to move. After taking a deep breath, I climbed the next set of stairs.