Elimination (The Mind Breaker Book 1) Read online

  Marina Epley

  The Mind Breaker

  ELIMINATION

  The First Book in THE MIND BREAKER Trilogy

  In accordance with U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the author at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Copyright by Marina Epley

  Cover design by West Coast Design

  Amazon Edition

  Table of Contents

  Part 1

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Part 2

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Part 3

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Book 2 Part 1

  Book 2 Chapter 1

  Book 2 Chapter 2

  Book 2 Chapter 3

  Back to Top

  Part 1

  Chapter 1

  I wake with senses on keen alert, picking up any noises coming from outside. I hear no sirens, no clatter of military boots against the sidewalk. Only a light rain tapping on the window pane.

  It’s all right, I tell myself. Elimination won’t come for us today. They still don’t realize we’re among the mind breakers they’re hunting.

  My clothing is too old and worn to keep me warm enough in the morning chill. Shivering, I walk to the kitchen and open the cupboards, looking for something to eat. Empty. Only a few stale crackers and yesterday’s teabag still in the cup. Today is only Wednesday and Friday is my payday. Two more days with neither food nor money. How in the heck are we gonna make it?

  Hoping for a miracle, I check out the jar where we keep our change. Several dirty coins fall out on the scratched table. It’s not enough to buy a real lunch or supper, but it might provide a small slice of pizza for Kitty and maybe a cup of coffee for myself.

  I place the kettle on the oven to warm before going to wake my little sister. Entering the bedroom, I see her dreaming peacefully. She is only fifteen and looks like an angel while sleeping. Her unruly reddish hair curls into tight locks, covering her tiny shoulders. Obviously, Kitty doesn’t suffer from the same bad dreams.

  I touch her arm gently.

  “Kitty,” I say. “Time to get ready.”

  Kitty complains and shakes off my hand.

  “Come on,” I say louder. “You’ll be late.”

  Finally, she opens her dark green eyes and props herself on an elbow, being groggy and angry.

  “Why do I need to bother with that stupid school?” she asks. “Those brainless teachers just make me sick.”

  I sit down on her bed, preparing mentally for a long and tiring conversation.

  “I know,” Kitty says, rolling her eyes. “Education is so important blah-blah-blah. It will help me get a good job in the future and more blah-blah.”

  “Exactly,” I say.

  “Do you really believe all that?”

  “I do. I may not always be around to take care of you. Remember what’s going on in the world these days.”

  “Oh, lordy!” she exclaims. “You’ve forgotten we’re breakers. We just need to stop hiding.”

  I frown, feeling uneasy. Our conversation has taken a dangerous turn.

  “Get rid of any such thoughts,” I say, “or we’ll both end up in prison or worse.”

  The smile fades from her lips.

  “I’m not scared of Elimination,” she states. “I can protect myself and you as well.”

  “Get up and get ready,” I answer. “Don’t make me drag you out of bed.”

  The kettle whistles in the kitchen. I hurry to make two cups of weak tea, using the teabag found earlier. Placing the crackers on a plate near Kitty’s cup, I take a sip of tea and can’t help from wincing. Tasteless and smelly, it’s much worse than I’d expected.

  Dressed in a dark blue school jacket and a short black skirt, Kitty comes into the kitchen and plops down on the chair. Her hair sticks out in all different crazy directions, making her look scruffy. With another sigh, she takes a gulp of her tea and coughs.

  “Oh my,” Kitty expels. “No sugar?”

  “Sorry,” I say.

  “Goodness,” Kitty groans. “Why do we always have to do without? We can take whatever we want. I’m sick of hiding and living like rats. Actually, rats may be better fed.”

  “Stop it, Kitty,” I say, raising my voice. “I told you to quit thinking that way.”

  “Whatever,” she mutters, realizing that arguing is pointless. “So what do we do?”

  I smile, pretending to be unconcerned.

  “Don’t worry,” I say. “I’ll ask Thompson at the bank for an advance.”

  “Maybe it would be easier to just rob your bank?” Kitty asks.

  I work as a bank clerk, wearing the only suit I have and helping customers, which includes quite a few disagreeable ones. This job pays even less than what I make occasionally building fences, but does provide some benefits which are hard to come by nowadays.

  Kitty is still waiting for an answer. Her lips stretch into a smile, but her eyes peer at me seriously.

  “Let’s just wait for my paycheck,” I answer, ignoring her glare.

  Kitty eats her crackers, thinking. She continues staring at me expectantly. What does she want? To risk everything and become a thief as so many others have? That’s not what I wish for Kitty. Remaining incognito and living a peaceful life is a much safer way to survive for breakers.

  I glimpse at the clock. It’s a quarter after six. We need to get going.

  “Finish your breakfast,” I say sternly and head to the living room to change.

  A howling wind bites coldly outside the building. At least it’s not raining anymore.

  I shiver, pressing my teeth together. I scan the street, checking for any sign of people wearing black uniforms. Elimination wears black, but thankfully I see none so far. Only wrapped in rags, several homeless men nearby are ripping into garbage bags. I glance at them in passing and quickly turn away. Less attention means less trouble.

  At the bus stop I hand over most of the coins to Kitty, saying to get something for lunch. She kisses me on the cheek and walks away, both hands filled with books. I watch her leaving although the school is only two blocks away. She’ll be fine.

  The bus arrives within a few minutes and I clamber inside, looking for a place to sit. There are several empty seats in the back. I pick the one furthest away from other passengers.

  A guy selling bus tickets walks toward me. Silently, I hand some coins to him. He counts, shakes his head no and asks for more.

  “Wait,” I argue. “It went up that much since yesterday?”

  “Dude, they raised it,” he answers. “Don’t you watch the news?”

  I don’t. We have no money for a TV. I give the guy a displeased look while counting out more coins. He takes them, tears off the ticket and wal
ks away. I know he has nothing to do with the increased price, but can’t help feeling angry.

  I stare out of the window, watching crumbling buildings and littered streets passing by. The trees grow chaotically and packs of rabid dogs roam freely, hunting for prey. Long before the Eruption, these same neighborhoods were booming and full of life. At least according to the historical books in the library. Having been born long after the volcanic and earthquake disasters, I never got a chance to witness all the prosperity myself.

  Our Coastal Republic is little more than the miserable remains of that once great country here before. It now consists only of a few half ruined cities close to the Atlantic Ocean. The Eruption really messed things up. Thick layers of deadly ash covered most of our former territories. Lethal gas stretched for thousands of miles, killing multitudes more. The sky darkened for years afterward, with ash blocking the sun and altering the climate of the entire planet. The lack of food, shortages of water and fertile land led to long and brutal wars.

  Now we’re in a deep crisis and on the very edge of extinction. Our Republic is the last known country that still exists in the world.

  Something catches my attention.

  I notice a huge red slogan, painted on the wall of a tall building. “Kill a breaker, help save the world!” Might be new, I didn’t see it yesterday. As the bus travels further into the city, more ugly slogans appear. They all have a common theme calling to fight, capture or kill the mind breakers.

  Looks like Kitty and I being targeted.

  The government apparently thinks we’re the most dangerous threat to our society. A misstep in the human evolution chain, or so scientists say. Most ordinary people both hate and fear us, believing we’re evil-doing freaks full of bad intentions. I can’t blame them, really. Who wouldn’t dread somebody with the capability to hypnotize with a glimpse or read all their memories?

  Too many silly myths and rumors surround us, exaggerating our skills and intent. My method of hypnosis has nothing to do with my eyes. I have no clue how I do it. And it’s hard, really exhausting. It hurts my head like crazy and turns my stomach nauseous. I’ve never been able to hypnotize more than one person or an animal at a time. Kitty and I only use it for self-defense in emergency situations when nothing else works. As for reading somebody’s mind, it’s total trash. I’ve no idea how to steal memories. Anyway, why would I do it? All I want for us is to have a simple life, earning enough money for food and necessities, and be safe. I didn’t ask to become a breaker. I have never killed or robbed anyone. Do we really deserve all the hatred and anger?

  Well, our government doesn’t give a damn whether you’re a good person or not if you’re a breaker. Being a mind breaker is illegal, period. The Council of the Fathers created Elimination consisting of people resistant to hypnosis. The only purpose of Elimination is to catch, imprison and torture the breakers. One mistake and we could easily wind up locked behind bars or dead. That is the harsh reality of being a mind breaker. This is the world we live in.

  It’s warm and clean inside the bank. Brand new ceiling lamps fill the space with colorless light. The floors are freshly mopped. Being here, I get a feeling of having landed in a parallel universe. There’s something unrealistic and odd about this place. Too sterile I guess.

  As I walk down the hallway, a tall young man wearing a holstered gun stops me.

  “Hey, you,” he says roughly. “Do you work here?”

  This must be our new security guard, who doesn’t know me yet. Wordlessly, I show him my name tag. It has my picture and says I’m Rex Hunter, a bank teller. I’ve been using this name for years, erasing the real one from my head. The picture seems too serious for a person of my age. I’ve just turned eighteen, but look more mature and could pass easily for an older guy. A fake ID I have says I’m over twenty one.

  The guard studies my name tag and finally nods. I pin it back to my shirt and walk into the large main office, heading to my desk.

  The other employees arrive, seeming ruffled after a long commute. Nobody talks a lot in the morning. While preparing my desk for the day, I notice my friends, Tim and Mandy. I wave to them, but no response follows. They are too busy, drinking coffee and checking documents. No big deal.

  At 8 am we open.

  Instead of loans for business, nowadays most people come to the bank to borrow money for food and paying bills. Being helpless and in despair, they often tell you heartbreaking stories and cry. They may threaten and curse you, upon hearing a refusal. The problem is that in most cases we have no choice but to refuse, following the unforgiving rules of the bank.

  By the time my lunch hour finally rolls around, I am dog tired and hungry. My empty stomach produces embarrassing growling noises. I count out the last coins in my pocket and get a cup of black coffee. As I enter the tiny dining room, I see Mandy and Tim eating sandwiches at the table.

  “Where’s your lunch, youngster?” Tim asks. He is a short arrogant guy, hardly older than me.

  “I’m not hungry,” I lie. “Ate a huge breakfast at home.”

  “I hate eating breakfast,” Mandy says. “Although my mom gets angry with me, if I don’t. She thinks it’s the most important meal of the day.”

  Mandy is a chubby plain girl, who lives with her parents and doesn’t have to suffer many hardships. Not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, she has a tendency for saying something really stupid at times. She seems all right, though. Kind of harmless and simple.

  “Did you see Lola Great’s show?” Tim asks.

  “I did!” Mandy blurts out proudly. Her eyes sparkle with excitement. “It was terrific!”

  I feel a chill creeping up my spine. They’ve just selected the worst topic possible. As part of her spectacularly sadistic show, Lola Great describes in detail the capture and processing of mind breakers. Man, they even orchestrate an execution complete with a dead body still convulsing from spasms. The show receives the highest rating in the network.

  Now tensed up, I take a big sip of hot coffee.

  “Are you all right?” Mandy asks. She’s noticed a change in my expression.

  I take a breath and force a smile, trying to relax.

  “God!” Tim says. “Those darn breakers are real freaks. The last one killed two families with little kids after stealing all their money.”

  I raise my eyebrows in pretended astonishment of his revelations.

  “I’m so scared of them!” Mandy says. “What if I meet one? He could do whatever he wants to me and I’d be totally helpless.”

  “You wish,” Tim says, laughing. “No, just don’t look into their eyes. Lola says they use their stare to manipulate people. If I ever meet one, I’m gonna poke out his eyes and smash in his head. Just keep punching the damn thing till he falls down and can’t use his evil tricks on me.”

  I stare right into his eyes and nod, faking agreement. It sucks to be me. I have to adapt and live a lie every day in order to keep my secret. No true friends. No real trust. Anybody could turn on me at the drop of a hat, calling Elimination. Except Kitty, of course. Being a breaker like me, she’s the only person I can believe in.

  “Maybe all that’s just for ratings and they aren’t all evil,” I suggest quietly.

  Both mouths drop in surprise.

  “Are you crazy?” Tim asks.

  “Well, think about it,” I say. “All breakers can’t be the same. Some must be bad and some good. Just like us, normal people.”

  Mandy blinks, looking confused. Tim shakes his head.

  “No way! They’re not normal at all,” he says. “Those stinking freaks can only kill and rob people. That’s their nature. They can’t resist all the temptations that their power brings. Just imagine if you can walk into a bank, take all the money and leave unnoticed. If you could ask a stranger to give away his wallet and erase your face from his memory.” He shakes his head again. “No way can they resist doing it. It’s too easy.”

  I shrug my shoulders, having no desire to debate.

/>   “Maybe you’re right,” I say.

  “Of course I’m right,” Tim blurts out. “Anyway, why the heck are you protecting them?” He narrows his eyes in suspicion. “Maybe you’re one of them, a freaking mind breaker?”

  For an instant, I feel like I’m losing control. One incautious word might ruin my entire life.

  “Oh, sure,” I roll my eyes. “I’m an evil mind breaker,” I say with exaggeration. “I’m gonna kill you guys and make off with all the cash. Right after I finish my coffee, which you surely would have paid for were I a breaker.”

  I smile slightly, then screw my face into a shocked frown. Tim and Mandy burst out laughing. Sometimes telling a half truth is the best way to hide.

  “There’s a new movie about mind breakers,” Mandy says. “The preview looked really cool. Breakers and normal people falling in love all over the place.” She suddenly gives me a strange look. “Do you wanna watch it with me?” she asks.

  Everything tightens inside me. Is she asking for a date? I didn’t see it coming. I can’t let people get really close. It’s too dangerous, too easy to reveal your secrets. People can get rewards, informing Elimination about hiding breakers.

  “Well,” I say to Mandy. “You probably won’t enjoy when the breakers start blowing up heads in that movie. No, sorry. I’m too busy anyway. Have to take care of my little sister.”

  Looking away, Mandy seems upset. I can’t help feeling a little guilty, although I shouldn’t. I’m just protecting my life.

  Our boss Mr. Thompson comes in grumbling that we’re a couple of minutes late for getting back to work.

  “Customers are waiting out there,” he says strictly. “Let’s get a move on.”

  I finish off my coffee quickly and hurry back to the desk. My head hurts. I’m tired with all this mumbling about evil mind breakers. Gosh, I hope my work day will end soon.

  And it does end earlier. Only not the way I wanted.

  The door slams open widely and three men dressed in military style clothes and black ski masks charge into the office with guns drawn.