The Harvested (The Permutation Archives Book 1) Read online

  “We have something special in store for you, darling,” he stated, the smile turning into a large blur of white teeth.

  I couldn’t make out anything more. As if I had the memory of a goldfish, things were going into my brain and coming straight out in a whoosh.

  What did they have planned for me? I was too scared to want to find out, but I knew that I would soon be meeting the master planner. King was a narcissist and I believed he was going to give away a small part of this plan before too long. My vision went completely black, and I fell to the floor—barely managing to cushion my head with my arm in time.

  The rough fibers scratched against my skin as I began to fade away. Within the darkness I reached out and rubbed my fingers on the threads, feeling each individual strand once more as the life I knew before slipped away.

  I felt what I could only assume was some form of opposition from my body, like a dam had sprung a leak. It rushed through me, and my body began to alternate between feeling as limp as a rag doll and stiffening as if it were trying to resist the weakness. I tried to pull myself to safety again, but it was useless.

  My arm fell lifelessly to the floor as I lay there, listening to my breath move in and out of my lungs. I was going to be unconscious within moments, and I would become entirely inadequate. They were just waiting for me to fall asleep before they moved me.

  Had they found something in my blood that caused them not to want to leave with me while I was still alert? There had to be. Why else would they be standing there watching me black out?

  My eyes slowly rolled back, but I forced them to continue to stay open and to look straight at the photo of my friends and me hanging on the wall. I was sure most of them had been kidnapped too for some odd reason. A silent, solitary tear rolled from my eye and across the bridge of my nose to land softly on the carpet under my cheek.

  Thoughts ran around in my mind about how doomed we all were as I began to drift into the drug-induced sleep.

  Chapter 6

  I opened my eyes, and everything was as blurry as if I was looking through filthy water. Blinking a few times didn’t help. The feeling of being in motion like I was on a long car ride was unsettling. I had to be in a car or plane of some sort. Turbulence caused the craft to jerk. My first instinct was to throw my hands out to the side to steady myself, but I couldn’t move. My brain was in a fog, and my body was rooted to the spot.

  I tried to look around but couldn’t do that either. Blinded by the lights, I could only make out vague shapes. I squeezed my eyes shut.

  I was sure it wasn’t in their plans for me to be awake already, but since I couldn’t move, I didn’t think it mattered much. Putting thoughts together was hard enough. Even keeping my eyes open was proving to be a struggle. I blinked a few more times, trying to get the burning remnants of sleep to leave.

  My throat was parched and scratchy. All I wanted was some water, but at the same time, I didn’t want them to know I was awake. Who knew what they’d do? I didn’t want more of the drug they had given me again. No way, no how. I wouldn’t be able to fight that, but I would try with everything I had even if I didn’t have much strength left. Weak and paralyzed even, I knew I would be no match for anyone.

  The needle that had pierced my flesh had been long and menacing as it had twinkled in the moonlight with sinister intent. A chill ran through me as an image of it flashed through my mind.

  Someone must have seen the movement and thought I was cold because I heard a man say something unintelligible before a blanket was placed over me. I wasn’t cold, but the blanket was still welcome.

  The fear and the anguish of a life lost to evil were trying to overrule my thoughts and actions as I lay there. The situation had become about survival, even though I was sure I wasn’t going to be meeting a grisly end just yet.

  My thoughts went to Julius. Where was he? Panic spread through me, causing my heart to hammer in my chest and beads of sweat to break out on my skin. I was more worried about him than myself, and I needed to know if he was alive. I forced my muscles to move, and the adrenaline of sheer panic helped enough that I could stand. No one seemed to notice, their backs turned to me.

  “Where is he?” I gasped, barely able to think about anything other than finding Julius. He had been a sitting duck at my apartment, and I blamed myself for how easily he had been taken. I had also made him sleep on my couch. How stupid was that of me, knowing what could happen? Of course, I hadn’t exactly been in the right state of mind at the time.

  “We need some more Paralisix over here!” the man sitting directly across from me yelled. It was the same man who had taken my blood for the test, had abducted me from my home, and who had said they had a special plan for me. “Damn it,” he grunted as he stood. “Now!”

  They should have tied me down, just in case, but it seemed they hadn’t expected me to wake before we arrived at our destination. I searched my memory for the name of the medication and remembered the discussion between my mother and me about it. The drug was a mixture of a narcotic and a powerful paralytic that had been engineered to only target the somatic part of the nervous system, but leave the automatic unaffected.

  The cabin was spacious, and I quickly deduced I was in an airplane, which caused my stomach to lurch. I was on a plane headed to God only knew where.

  Julius.

  I had to find him. Men in army uniforms, white lab coats, and white suits came toward me as I looked from one end of the plane to the other. I didn’t see him, but I did see rows upon rows of others asleep on hard metal surfaces just like I had been.

  Some were hooked up to IVs and some weren’t. It looked as if not everyone had responded as well to the Paralisix as I had and not everyone’s body could fight the drug like mine had.

  “Julius,” his name came out in a croak as I stalked down through the two long rows of tables, my voice scratchy and shaky. The first time had come out as a tiny squeak. “Julius!”

  He didn’t seem to be laying on any of the tables. Tears burned the edges of my eyes as I scanned each table, turning my head from side to side to catch a glimpse of everyone. He wasn’t there, and my body began to tremble. If he wasn’t there then where was he? Was he on another transport plane? Were we even being moved to the same place? I surely hoped so.

  I continued to yell his name as I skimmed each one, each time with more volume. I was barely paying attention to the flurry of feet and nervous glances around me as some moved to avoid me until more of the drug could be administered. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. I stopped at the very end of the cabin before I even realized it, and that was when I found him.

  Julius was laying on the last metal slab, dressed in a white t-shirt and scrub pants. He looked serene as I stared at him and a part of me didn’t want to wake him. I walked over to his bedside and chose to ignore the metallic footfalls coming toward me.

  Running my fingers over his forehead and along his hairline, I tried to contain a thankful sob, but failed miserably. He was safe, or as safe as the situation would allow him to be. There was no IV needle in his arm, which was a relief.

  His eyes slowly flitted open and I smiled, a gloved hand wrapping around my arm as I did so. I turned to see the same man that took me pointing a needle toward me and trying to insert it into my upper arm. Not again. Not if I could help it.

  I jammed the palm of my hand into the apex of his chest, causing all the air to push from his lungs in a whooshing sound. He stumbled and fell against one of the other tables, nearly falling to the ground. He caught himself and took another step to try again. As he moved toward me, everything seemed to be going in slow motion and adrenaline pumped through me as my heart beat violently against my ribs, the blood pumping away in my ears. Men dressed in black military garb and lab coats were running to his aid. Little did they know, I was prepared to defend Julius and myself from all of them. It didn’t matter what it took.

  I reached out with my hand, palm facing toward the man with the needle, and
pushed out with my mind. He froze in his tracks, confusion and pure fear causing his eyes to widen. The only way I knew to describe my gift to someone was by telling them that the energy was an invisible hand that could grab whatever I projected it toward. I raised my other hand into the air, forcing an invisible wall between the soldiers, doctors and me.

  “Don’t even try to come any closer, or I’ll kill him,” I cried out. A part of me felt that they had never guessed that I would be so resistant to the lasting effects of the Paralisix, but I was. Didn’t seem as if they thought to check our blood for that small gift if they knew it existed, but I was sure they would from now on. Especially since they were aware of it. That was bad luck for everyone else, but I didn't know if I would tolerate the second dose, and I wasn’t interested in finding out.

  “Mila, stop and think about what you are doing. No one is going to harm you,” one man in all black begged as he watched me in horror.

  The man standing across from me with the syringe firmly grasped in his hand was trying with all of his might to move. I found it pathetic, and anger surged through me once again. It was more a mixture of anger and panic that caused me to push him even harder. I was prepared to push him to the breaking point to free us. I was willing to do anything. Focusing on the molecules of his red blood cells, I built the energy within me to cause each atom to vibrate against each other violently like a pot of boiling water. I was going to simmer his blood as he stood in front of me, and there was nothing he could do but watch. Not even his entourage of military men and lab rats was good enough.

  I focused on his red blood cells, and even farther into the atoms, and I saw them begin to move within my mind, causing his blood to literally boil inside of his body. I heard the slight sizzle, and the heat from his pulsating cells radiated off him. He screamed, a whisper at first and growing in volume as I pushed the molecules even harder. I let go of his body, and the syringe fell from his hand as I watched him fall to his knees, smashing the glass vial underneath his knee. Blood and medication quickly soaked the white fabric of his pants. It was a strangely satisfying feeling to see it firsthand.

  A sharp jab in my neck that felt like a needle hitting home took my attention away from him. I had missed someone. They had to have been hiding in the back part of the plane and behind the wall holding medical equipment. I was in too much of a hurry to find Julius and plot an escape of some kind that I had completely missed checking the cabin where the captain controlled the craft. I felt the drugs running through my veins and the needle sliding from my skin, gliding with finality. As I began to feel its effects, I remembered how I had felt from the first dose of Paralisix, and I knew they had given it to me again—even stronger. From the feel of it, it seemed as if they doubled, maybe even tripled it.

  My knees almost buckled and my right hand gripped onto the table where Julius lay, trying to steady myself and keep from falling. The other hand fell to my side like so much dead weight, and the image of the man’s healthy red cells flew from my mind in an instant. I couldn’t focus on anything as black edges began to form in my vision. It felt as if my body was trying to adjust to the medication again, but it couldn’t. Not with the dosage they had given me. I slowly turned to look at the person behind me, just to see their face. I would memorize it for later, when I was able to function again.

  His bright green eyes were striking and reminded me a lot of my own, his strong features set in a stern gaze as he watched me succumb to the medication. He had a small amount of stubble that made him look rugged, yet distinguished, and he wore the military’s black get up. Why was I not surprised? A military man doing his duty by bringing in an escaped captive? Sure, why not?

  I felt myself sway, and then my legs gave out entirely. I was falling in the same pattern as I had with my last dose but much faster. The first time, I was able to walk into the living room before yielding to its effects. This time, I hadn’t even been able to take a single step—not that I had even tried. Both of my hands were on the ground, and all of my weight was being held up on shaking arms. The metal grate ground against my skin as I tried with all of my strength to hold myself up. I was attempting to fight the Paralisix, but I was failing. The man knelt in front of me and looked into my eyes, meeting them with a ferocity I had never seen.

  “Don’t fight it. Just let it take you,” he whispered.

  His voice was like velvet wrapping around me and taking me into the darkness of the drug-induced state I was slipping into. Its effect was almost hypnotic and must have had something to do with the drugs. No one’s voice had that smooth quality.

  “No,” I mumbled, shaking my head in protest. “No.” Drool seeped from between my lips and into the grate beneath me. My body tried so hard to adjust to the Paralisix, so I wouldn’t be so susceptible to its affects the next time—if there was a next time. My muscles tensed, their strength beginning to come back as a result of my body’s slowly returning strength. My cells were learning the chemistry of the drug and pushing back against it.

  He must have noticed because he looked at the man behind him and nodded, his lips slightly parted. He held his hand out to someone behind me, and they exchanged an object I couldn’t see. I moved to a sitting position, which was all I could do despite my building resistance. I was not going to lay down. I wouldn’t because that would mean defeat.

  He took one of my arms and found a vein at the bend of my elbow, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I could barely form a sentence, let alone force my limbs to move fast enough to avoid the needle that glared at me. I was surprised I was still sitting up for the thirty seconds I had been, but the battle within was too slow. Apparently, it took more time for my body to adjust to a narcotic than the paralytic itself. He slid the needle in and pushed down the plunger, injecting me with an amber liquid that burned on the way in.

  “This is a Paralisix booster. It’ll intensify the effect of the drug.” In a nutshell, my body wouldn’t be able to hone to it as easily anymore.

  The world swam around me and my vision started to blur. The muscles holding me up relaxed and I fell forward into his arms. He held me there as the drug took effect, moving my hair from my face and making calming, hushing sounds. He had apparently done such things before. Everything went completely dark as I heard him tell me not to fight it once again.

  Chapter 7

  I was dreaming. Nothing like this could be real, could it? It felt undeniably real, but it had a slight air of fantasy that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. The darkness of the forest reached out with tendril-like fingers to brush my flesh, causing goose bumps to form. My clothes clung to me and I was dressed in something I never could afford. Only those working within the confines of the government could possess such things.

  The dress was long and white and had a flowing train that dragged the ground behind me, bringing dead leaves and dirt with it. A lace overlay flowed down to my wrists and the neckline stopped just below my collarbone in an elegant swoop of cloth.

  Yes. I would never be able to afford anything like this in real life. This is indeed a dream.

  My hair curled around my face and fell past my shoulders, little wisps of wind causing it to brush my face. I felt calm as I walked, and a slight breeze made the heat a little less unbearable. I was at the edge of the forest with a lake in front of me. The moon shined down upon me, greeting the water with its subtle reflection. My feet had unknowingly taken me to the lake’s edge and my toes curled into the damp and loose earth on the shore.

  I knelt down and saw my image in the water, and it rippled slightly as I ran my fingers along the edge of my likeness. The light of the moon overhead made it possible to see my eyes, and they appeared to glow like emeralds. My power seemed to emanate within them, lighting up the darkness so I could see things for how they were and not how I wanted them to be. Having never seen them like that before, I wasn’t sure what to believe. Confusion took over, and an undercurrent of violence and death surrounded me that hadn’t been there befo
re. Adrenaline surged before I even knew what to be afraid of.

  Leaning away from the water, I searched the near perfect darkness that surrounded me. The moon only reflected enough light so I could see the outline of the trees and the still water before me, but not much else. What was I so afraid of? The fear was boiling within me. My blood was on the verge of scorching my veins with foreboding. It was rising in me like a tidal wave, and it would devastate everything in its path.

  I looked back toward the water, and it had turned into a black thickness, impenetrable and surging in the lakebed. It was now a lake of blood. Hot, dense, and black.

  I could barely make out a reflection that left me frozen in place. The man dressed in the white suit, with the government issued mannerisms and a nervous twitch was standing behind me, along with a few people dressed in lab coats, my mother, and Gaia. All of them dressed in stark white.

  The man reached out to me with a gloved hand as if he could somehow save me, but from what? I couldn’t move, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. He had taken my blood to condemn me and so many others. I was being taken to a place I had never been to experience things I had never experienced. There was something in store for me if I took that gloved hand, and not knowing what sent a chill up my spine, ricocheting back and forth with an intimidating severity.

  The blood rippled as I watched, and a fearful expression crossed my mother’s face, making me turn from the crimson pool and in her direction. She was scared, but of what?

  The wind came out of nowhere, whipping around my face and stinging my skin like tiny bees. My eyes had barely adjusted to the near perfect dark when I felt a hand grasp my wrist, causing blood to splatter all over me and turning my white gown a startling shade of black that only blood could bring. I cried out in surprise as rough and callused fingers closed around my arm, the grip painful and searing with warmth. It felt as if the fragile bones within were about to snap from the pressure.