Annihilation Read online

  Kitty’s voice quivers. She gasps, covering her face. I know she’s hurting. I can almost feel her pain. But I remain quiet. Nothing I might say would change Kitty’s mind.

  “If we don’t kill Guardian, he’ll be coming after us,” Kitty promises. “I can’t let him kill you, Rex. You always think you need to protect me. But in reality it’s me who needs to protect you, because it’s always you getting shot or captured. But I won’t let it happen to you again. And if needed, I’ll happily give my life for you. I’d die for you, Rex. I really mean that.”

  Her words stab through me like a sharp knife.

  “Don’t talk that way, Kitty!” I demand. “I don’t ever want to hear you speak about dying again.”

  Her lips tremble.

  “You’ve already died for me once,” she utters. “Someday, I might need to return that little favor.”

  I just look at her with exasperation.

  Kitty turns around and walks back inside the house, crying bitterly. My heart aches for her. I remain on the porch, thinking. I don’t want anybody to ever have to die for me again, especially Kitty. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to understand this simple fact.

  A few minutes later Chelsey walks outside and stands in front of me.

  “Rex, you need to agree to take part in the project,” she proclaims. “And you have to let Kitty become Holtzmann’s subject. She’s a very strong breaker.”

  I take a deep breath. It’s unbelievable. Now they’ve sent Chelsey to work on me.

  “I thought we agreed to quit playing these games, missy,” I remind her.

  “I’m not playing games,” she argues. “I hate Guardian, wish him dead and this is the only way to do it.”

  “Go back inside the house,” I command.

  Chelsey sighs, leaving me alone.

  Next comes Jessie. She sits down beside me, smoking a cigarette.

  “I won’t change my mind, Jess,” I growl.

  “I just came out to smoke,” she answers.

  “Kitty doesn’t understand what Guardian is capable of,” I continue. “I can’t let her confront him. He’s a monster.”

  “Can you just let me smoke in peace?” Jessie groans.

  I become silent.

  “Anyway, what do you think about all this mess, Jess?” I tiredly ask.

  “I’d like to gun down Guardian myself, but I’m not a strong enough breaker to get close enough,” Jessie sighs. “My bullets won’t hurt him. It’s a shame because he’s the one giving the orders to murder breakers and their relatives. Perhaps he didn’t pull the trigger of the gun that killed my parents, but their blood is on his hands anyway. I definitely want to see him dead.”

  I nod in understanding. Jessie looks away, gazing at the horizon.

  I think more on Kitty’s words. If she is right, Guardian will soon be coming after us. I suddenly remember his vicious promise. He told me he’d kill everybody I love or care about, should I ever disobey. I don’t doubt that a bit. So how can I stop him? What choice do I really have besides becoming a subject in Holtzmann’s crazy experiment?

  I sigh. No choice as usual.

  “Fine,” I say. “I’ll do it. But only because I believe it’s the only way to protect Kitty and the rest of you.”

  Jessie rolls her eyes at me.

  “I still don’t think you can even protect yourself,” she mumbles.

  I frown at her.

  I return to the kitchen and take a seat at the table in front of Kitty and Holtzmann. The professor looks at me expectantly, his left eye twitching. Kitty turns away, pretending to ignore me.

  “All right, I will agree to become the Beta subject in your project conditionally,” I say to the professor. “The moment I decide that it’s too dangerous, we’ll stop. I mean it, Holtzmann. One word and it ends.”

  “I believe we can agree to that,” Holtzmann answers, smiling.

  Kitty expels a sob and hurls herself toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck.

  “I knew you’d come around!” she exclaims. “I knew you’d agree at some point! I love you so much!”

  She plops down on my lap, kissing my face, becoming all sweet and loving again.

  “Enough, Kitty,” I say, trying to slow her down. She doesn’t care. And I can never seem to remain angry with her for too long.

  “We’ll become Holtzmann’s psycho team,” she says, laughing happily.

  “Psychic team,” the professor corrects.

  “Whatever,” Kitty answers.

  Jessie and Victor join our discussion. A major problem is that Oliver’s group no longer has any financial support. They now have only very limited amounts of ammo, food and transportation. Also, the so-called Army of Justice considerately outnumber Oliver’s recruits. Guardian will undoubtedly send his troops to attack the camp as soon as he realizes Oliver’s breakers are not joining his force. Not to mention, stealing the drug from the Death Camp will require an aircraft and a few dozen well-armed and well-trained soldiers. And on top of everything else, Kitty and I will need medical supervision during the administration of the drug, and Holtzmann will have to perform multiple tests requiring special equipment.

  “So what are you getting at?” I ask, becoming suspicious again. I feel like they’re withholding more information from me.

  Holtzmann hesitates for a few moments, then says, “As you are aware, Elimination soldiers are still holding a large city along the eastern seaboard. The information regarding these holdouts is only partially correct. As it happens, the number of Elimination officers are higher and their resources larger than Guardian wants his recruits to believe.”

  I understand what he’s about to suggest.

  “Please don’t tell me we’ll have to cooperate with Elimination again,” I say. “There has to be another way.”

  “There’s no other way,” he answers. “Oliver’s group and Elimination have a common enemy. We have to combine efforts in fighting Guardian’s forces. It is also an opportunity to develop trust between ordinary humans and breakers. We’ll have to go to war together and afterward quickly learn how to coexist in peace.”

  “Elimination will likely just kill us at the get go,” I state.

  “No, they won’t,” Dave disagrees. “You may have forgotten I’m an Elimination officer. I’ll do my best to explain to other officers the fact that not all breakers are their enemies. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

  He flashes a wide enthusiastic smile. I suddenly think about Chase, Marcus and other Elimination guards who were helping us. And Frank… I still can’t overcome my doubts.

  “Elimination believes me to be a terrorist,” I remind everybody.

  “They also believe you’re the leader of all mind breakers,” Holtzmann counters. “You do have some authority, Rex.”

  I hesitate. I remember Captain Wheeler slamming the butt of his rifle into my head. I remember being drowned in a barrel of mop water. I think about Dr. Carrel approaching me with a drill, determined to put holes in my skull with no anesthetic. Elimination has done plenty of horrible things to me. They even forced me to work for them, turning me against my own kind. I don’t know whether I can ever forgive that. But I also realize that we do have a common enemy now. And I know that not all Elimination officers are haters. Most of them are just brainwashed.

  Everybody looks at me, waiting for my answer.

  “All right,” I sigh. “We don’t seem to have much of a choice.”

  It doesn’t take long for me to start wondering whether I’m going to regret this decision. I have a strong hunch that nothing good will ever come out from cooperating with Elimination. I can only hope I’m wrong.

  ***

  We arrive at Oliver’s camp in the evening. There’s a few dozen excited recruits to greet us, and I spend a good half an hour shaking hands and answering questions about my time in the Death Camp. The young recruits perceive me as a battle tested hero. I don’t know what to do about that.

  An attractive girl in camo with long dark hair pushes through the crowd. She approaches me, smiling shyly and nervously fidgeting with her glasses.

  “Welcome back, Rex,” she softly says.

  “Happy to see you, Rebecca,” I answer, shaking her hand.

  Kitty lets out a small groan, which I pretend not to notice. I want to give Rebecca a big warm hug, but I’m afraid it would be too awkward. I’m still a little uncomfortable around her. I felt there was something between us back in the Elimination facility. But then everything was over before it ever really had a chance to begin. I don’t know what Rebecca thinks about my relationship with Kitty. And I still remember trying to kiss Rebecca before. It was embarrassing.

  Rebecca hovers around her cousin Holtzmann, worrying whether he took his medicine and when he last ate. The professor patiently answers all her questions, although I pick up on some small irritation in his voice.

  We leave Chelsey with Rebecca and head toward Oliver’s tent. The camp is currently located on the edge of a dense wooded area and provides shelter for over six hundred breakers along with their non-breaker relatives. I take a look around, noticing many young teens wearing camo and carrying guns. Things must have really gotten bad if Oliver has resorted to recruiting children as soldiers.

  We walk between numerous tents and finally locate Oliver. He’s a tall broad-shouldered guy with an intimidating appearance, but he is also one of the most decent and kind people I’ve ever met.

  We greet one another. After my short story about the Death Camp and Guardian, I explain Holtzmann’s project and the need for joining Elimination. Oliver remains silent for a long time, then says, “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  I secretly agree with Oliver, but remain quiet.

  “This is the only way to stop the war,” Holtzmann states. “Elimination isn’t our enemy. The organization was created strictly as a defense mechanism charged with protecting society from criminals who possess breaker abilities. Guardian has transformed Elimination into a mechanism for performing the mass genocide of breakers. I believe we can and will change that.”

  “What exactly are you planning to do?” Oliver asks. “Are you going to just march into an Elimination prison and offer your services? They’ll shoot you on sight.”

  “That’s a distinct possibility,” Holtzmann admits. “This is the primary reason we need a squad of your soldiers to provide support during negotiations.”

  Oliver seems astonished by the professor.

  “I won’t authorize a mission with those kind of risks,” he says. “I won’t needlessly send my soldiers to their deaths. Elimination has killed thousands of breakers. They’ve been hunting us for years. We can’t just forget everything that’s happened.”

  Holtzmann looks over at me, and I say uneasily, “Oliver, breakers and Elimination can’t continue to survive hating and killing each other. We all have to learn how to forgive and coexist.”

  My words sound unconvincing, even to me.

  “Do you really believe in all that crap?” Oliver asks, grinning.

  I really don’t. I’m not certain what to believe anymore. I no longer trust even my own judgement. I’ve been tricked and manipulated into terrible mistakes too many times before. But I do know that if there’s one single person in this world who knows how to stop the war, it’s Holtzmann. So I choose to believe in him.

  “Elimination has never been our true enemy,” I say. “Guardian controlled the former government and Elimination. He’s always been the enemy behind the curtain. And if we don’t assassinate him, he’ll come after us. Your group won’t be able to take on his army on your own. If we don’t cooperate with Elimination, we’ll all end up dead. Think about it carefully, Oliver.”

  “Why don’t we just let Guardian’s army and Elimination exterminate each other?” he asks.

  “Guardian won’t stop until all ordinary people are enslaved or dead,” I counter. “You always wanted to protect the innocent regardless of their being breakers or non-breakers. We now have a chance to save thousands of people from certain doom.”

  Oliver takes a minute to think over my words.

  “I’m not willing to help Elimination,” he says. “They’ll never accept breakers. They’ll always hunt and kill us.”

  “Professor Holtzmann, Rex and I all used to work for Elimination,” Dave proclaims. “We’ll speak to the officers and explain to them how breakers are allies, not enemies.”

  Oliver remains silent for a long moment, then asks me, “You used to work for Elimination?”

  I nod. That’s not something I’m proud of. Oliver offers no comment.

  “I still won’t approve this mission,” he finally repeats. “And I prohibit you and your team from so much as contacting Elimination. That’s a direct order. Our group has nothing to do with those murderers. We shouldn’t get involved in this war, but instead keep a low profile and mind our own business.”

  Holtzmann, Dave and I argue a bit more, but Oliver refuses to continue the discussion. We leave, walking through the camp in silence.

  “This situation is unacceptable,” the professor mutters. “We have to convince him to change his mind. We need approval for this mission.”

  “It’s useless, Holtzmann,” I say. “Oliver won’t agree to contact Elimination, and I can’t blame him.”

  Jessie and I exchange glances. I can bet we’re thinking about the same thing.

  “We’ll just have to ignore Oliver’s order,” I say. “We’ll take a truck and leave before sunrise.”

  “I never cared much for his orders anyway,” Jessie states, smiling.

  Chapter 6

  “I can’t recommend contacting Elimination without a reliable support group,” Holtzmann protests. “Otherwise, this could be too risky.”

  “I’ll take that risk,” I answer. “Elimination has been trying to kill me as long as I can remember anyway. So who else is in with Jess and I?”

  “I’m with you guys!” Dave exclaims, smiling excitedly. “I can’t wait to meet my brother. I’m sure he’s there defending the city. We can help you with any negotiations.”

  I suddenly think that his brother may be long gone by now. I don’t articulate the thought.

  “I’m in,” Victor says. “I’ve worked for Elimination before, and they provide better meds than I’m finding around this place. So why not try working for them again?”

  Victor is one of the best hypnotists and memory readers amongst known mind breakers. Elimination forced him to scan prisoner memories every single day. This led Victor to lose part of his own personality in other people’s memories, and created severe flashbacks. He now has to use drugs to block his afflictions. I’m certain Victor’s abilities will come in handy during our mission, although I still have trust issues concerning his tendency to switch sides.

  “What about you, professor?” I ask Holtzmann. “You may be better off remaining in camp. This mission will likely be a hard one.”

  “My participation is absolutely unavoidable,” Holtzmann answers, although his voice doesn’t sound too confident. “I’m still a respected scientist and possibly have a chance to influence Elimination.”

  “All right then,” I say. “We’ll pack some food and ammo, and borrow an SUV before sunrise. How long will it take to get there?”

  “One or two days,” Kitty answers, letting out a short laugh. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait to leave this camp!”

  “Wait a minute, Kitty,” I say. “You’re not going anywhere. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Of course,” she sighs. “Here he goes again.”

  Jessie clears up her throat and says, “Rex, Kitty is more than enough qualified for this type of mission.”

  “Elimination could just kill us on sight,” I snap. “Kitty is staying inside the camp. That’s a direct order.”

  Jessie grins. “Rex, I’m sure you’re aware that you’ve been away for four months now. You may not be aware of the fact that you’re no longer the leader of our team.”

  “Oh really?” I ask, becoming angry. “Who’s leading us then?”

  “That would be me,” Jessie answers. “And I authorize Kitty’s participation in this mission.”

  We stare at each other silently. Jessie easily takes my gaze.

  “Fine then!” I say. “If nobody cares about my opinion, then I’m out. You may do whatever you please.”

  I turn and leave, walking toward the edge of the camp.

  “Rex, wait!” I hear Kitty call after me.

  “Leave him alone,” Jessie commands.

  Kitty doesn’t follow. It’s good because I don’t want anybody’s company at the moment. I need to spend some time alone.

  I reach the edge of camp and walk a little further into the woods. I sit on the ground under a large tree, closing my eyes and resting. I wonder why I really became so irritated with the idea of Jessie being the leader of our team. I’ve never really cared about leadership. And Jessie is one of the few people I fully trust. She’s always been at my side, and helped Kitty and I during our darkest hours. So maybe all my anger is just a result of the strain over the last several days. Or to be more correct, the last several months.

  I take a deep breath of the cool autumn air. I sit motionless, just enjoying the silence. It seems unusual to hear no rifle fire or anguished cries. The evening is very peaceful and it brings back a soothing image of the life I had before. I can still remember myself being an average law abiding citizen, holding down an ordinary job and having modest hopes and dreams. It’s been almost a year since my life went off the rails and all the crazy stuff started to happen. I now wonder whether or not we’ll ever be able to return to a normal life. Maybe I’ve grown too accustomed to all the fighting and killing. Maybe it’s already too late for me to go back.

  “Are you all right?” somebody asks from behind.

  I turn to see Rebecca standing a few feet away.