The Pursuit (The Permutation Archives Book 2) Read online

  Those dark eyes of both men penetrated mine, but I showed no sympathy. I knew they were afraid and had felt that same fear for myself, knowing the result would be death.

  Without asking a single question, I pushed my power into both men, moving down to their most basic molecular level that held them together. Each atom popped into my mind’s eye in high definition, the fine details of them perfect amongst the clutter in my own head.

  “You don’t have to …” the new one choked out past my pressing hands, his eyes bulging just slightly with the pressure.

  The insistence that I didn’t have to do what was necessary to protect us caused rage to bubble deep within my heart, turning it black.

  “I don’t have to do this?” I asked, pushing more of my power into both of them, worming into the small hole remaining in the shifter’s face after he had begun to heal. “You don’t have any idea what I’ve had to do just to keep us alive so we can continue to run.” I pushed down to their atoms, putting as much pressure on them as possible as they rubbed against once another. “To stay alive.”

  I dropped my hand, the energy continuing to run through them as I used my green eyes to focus on them and what they were made of. The shifter could avoid my power as long as the plates underneath his skin moved, but the other had no such defense. I didn’t care whether he was human or one of us at this point. I just wanted him dead. Just like his boss.

  Their atoms came into crystal clear focus and began to move, running against one another like when I had been forced to end Cato’s life. I hadn’t wanted to end another life in such a way, but it seemed appropriate. Their veins began to turn black, dead blood flowing through them as the cells began to die their horrible, heated death. They screamed in agony once the atoms within them split wide open, taking their life in such an obscene fashion I heard of a few of my companions nearly vomit at the sight. I saw their lives end, the brown in their eyes now surrounded by dark purple and bloodshot whites, a pool of blood forming around them as they fell at my hands. When they collapsed into the green of the plants, I felt my power pull back into my body, like an elastic snap had taken a part of me back into myself. I was one again. Well, as whole as I could be.

  I fell to my knees, visibly shaking as all the energy left my body with their deaths. This had happened with Cato as well, but the tragedy of that incident had cost me so much more than vitality and peace of mind. So much more.

  Chapter

  FOUR

  The forest grew silent once the screams ended, looks of uncertainty passing from each person to land on me as the power ebbed away. Its home was a deep, dark corner within myself that I had no idea of its origin, or where it was even kept. I knew it was genetic, but where else did it live inside of me? I guess that was why they had taken different specialized tissue samples at the compound, but my mother and her forces rescued us before those results came to light. Well, for us anyways. I didn’t want to ask because it was better off not knowing. I just needed a better idea of how to control it once fury worked its way inside.

  Now there were nine of us left with only one running vehicle in the middle of nowhere and two of King’s mutant soldiers at our feet. Murdered by me. The rage was still there, ready to exact more vengeance, but the power had pulled itself back as if it knew its limits and was attempting not to stretch them too far. A thankful sigh left me as my eyes met Ryder’s who had moved toward me with Julius not too far behind. They had seen my power in action before and weren’t scared of it for that reason. The other began to remove supplies from the back of the wrecked Humvee, snickers and whispers floating through the air despite the death of their friend. A product of our society, that was for certain. That and a stiff military hand.

  “We all won’t fit into the one Humvee since it is a transport grade so some of us will have to walk it the rest of the way,” Ryder stated matter-of-factly, adjusting the holster on his hip even though there was nothing wrong with it.

  I could feel nervous energy rolling off of him, and I didn’t blame him.

  “Okay, so how do we decide who does what?” Julius asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

  “We’ll vote on it. I don’t know about anyone else, but I can stand to take a walk,” I answered. I was full of way too much tense energy to sit trapped inside with other people in such close quarters. I stepped over one of the bodies and approached the others, opening my mouth to speak. “So, we can only fit so many in the one Humvee, Mom. We need to take a vote and decide who gets to walk.”

  My mother watched me carefully as she removed a large supply bag and set it down on the ground at her feet. I could tell she was shocked at what she saw, not knowing just how far that power inside of me went until that moment. I shook my head and ignored the look on her face, the wide eyes, and lips set in a thin line enough of an indicator of how she felt.

  “I think I’ll be deciding that, daughter of mine. You don’t have any pull within our ranks so it wouldn’t be wise to push against me. You need to earn it, and your starting point was the moment you left the compound.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed, raising just one eyebrow. I know it was childish, but I couldn’t help the reaction to have to earn my mother’s trust again even though I hadn’t been the one to deceive her. “Then I volunteer to walk it the rest of the way.”

  “Mila,” Caius chastised with a slur as he stepped around my mother, evident loyalty having already formed between the two of them when they rode in the same vehicle together before the assault. “You don’t think you should rest? I may not have my abilities anymore, but I do remember how much they can take out of you.”

  “And what power did yo have? Just so we’re clear that you really have no idea,” I snapped, knowing it wasn’t fair to even ask.

  “I was telekinetic, too. But nothing like you. And now I have nothing. So, are you sure you don’t want to rest, and the good doctor can take a look at you? I’ll walk for a little while.” Caius volunteering himself only irritated me seeing as I didn’t feel the need to be looked after.

  I shook my head and ran my hand through my greasy hair that hadn’t been washed since my last night at the compound, and the sweat and humidity only made it worse. I rubbed my hands on my scrub pants in an attempt to wipe it away and said, “No, I don’t. I’ll rest when I’m dead. I just need to keep moving. Plus,” I pointed up at my bleeding right ear, “I know the differential on this and that eardrum is toast.”

  Caius nodded, apparently understanding this urge as well. I was confident he had experienced this before, but no one else that I knew of could do what I could. Caius, according to him, could move things, but not to this same degree. If I concentrated hard enough, I could split atoms, the basic building blocks of anything on the planet, and that was a terrifying power to have to be the one to yield. Much like I was letting off an atomic bomb inside of their veins. If I hadn’t actually wanted it, I could have let King take it back at the compound, but what kind of world would I have left my friends and family to? What world would I have left my kind to attempt to live in under the totalitarian rule of Emerson King and his master army full of those whose power he stole and gifted to our hunters or those who turned against those just like them? The uncertainty of it terrified me, causing me to shake not only with fear, but with anger. I swallowed it down and approached my mother, ready to take anything she would hand me to help defend us during out trek.

  “I know I have these cool powers and all, but is there any weapon you trust me to have since I’ll be walking out in the open?” I asked her, looking her directly in the eye without even flinching. And she did the same. She seemed genuinely surprised, taking in the girl she once knew who hated violence that had turned into the opposite with the snap of a finger.

  “Absolutely,” she said as she nodded, a look of abject sorrow crossing over her face as she reached into a weapons case on the ground next t
o her, taking out a bladed weapon as well as a handgun, both in a sheath or holster. “Gun or knife?” She held them up to me as she offered the choice.

  “Why not both?” I asked, raising one eyebrow in interest. Yes, I definitely wanted both.

  She smiled broadly and handed them both to me saying, “You’re definitely my daughter.”

  “Did you ever think otherwise?” I said as I winked at her, trying at least to be the same person she knew before all of this on some level. Or at least with the same sense of humor. I didn’t want this entire situation to change our relationship. I was determined for it not to. I took one step back as she returned the wink, taking a deep breath and returning to business.

  “Alright, I want Famke, Caius, and Doctor Aserov in the Humvee at least. That leaves Noah to drive and one spot left inside. I am leaving that up to you all as to who rides,” she stated.

  Ajax’s face pinched into a look of disquiet. “You don’t want the spot? You’re injured.”

  She shook her head, “No, I’ll walk the rest of the way with my daughter. All of you are welcome to discuss it, and then maybe we can bury Liam before we start moving again. I have a feeling it’ll be a little while before we are found by King’s men again so let’s rest and talk about it before we start again. We all need it to get our heads together.”

  Everyone surrounded my mother to further discuss who would be riding in the Humvee while I turned my attention to the new weapons in my hands. I slipped the holster around my hips and fastened it, remembering just how Ryder had put it around me the night he and Doctor Aserov told me about the Harvest and King’s plans. Heat crept into my face as I remembered the slight graze of my skin by his fingertips when he did so, my eyes turning to look at his back as he spoke heatedly with my mother and the others. With a blush I was happy no one could see, I looked down at the sheathed knife in my hand. It was cylindrical, which was something I had never seen before, and when I pulled the knife from within it, I let out a low whistle. I was sincerely impressed with the grade of weapon they were able to get.

  “Well, well, well,” I whispered to myself as I took in the appearance of the unique blade in my hand.

  I placed my finger on the tip of the blade, admiring its craftsmanship. It had three distinct edges, each beginning at the hilt and twisting up until they came to that singular point. The metal was a golden bronze that glinted beautifully like fire in the sunlight that filtered through the trees. I smirked as I turned the blade over and over, admiring the twisting metal as it met its black hilt at the bottom, knowing this was made to induce maximum damage when plunged into the forgiving flesh of another person. An enemy just waiting to be taken down with one swift move. I could see myself using this weapon on King, letting him see the monster he had awakened with his cruelty. I slid the blade into its sheath and saw that it had a strap on it that looked as if you could put it around your thigh, so I did that to the best of my ability and smiled down at what seemed like a job well done. It rested comfortably on the outside of my leg, and I could barely tell it was there at all.

  Now it was time to take a look at the gun, which I could tell was fully loaded as I removed it from the holster on my side. So much for being out of bullets. The weight was even and nicely distributed as I turned and aimed it at a nearby tree, but then I noticed something about it. An emblem on it that I had only seen in one other place, and it was even until that moment that I had even realized it existed as my memory finally working to help me instead of hinder me because of the trauma. Memories and flashes of a very simple crown-like symbol etched on weapons that were carried by King’s men came to mind, looking as if a crown of thorns was wrapping around it like he was calling himself our Savior. I hadn’t seen them at the compound on any walls or anything of that nature, just the weapons and I couldn’t even remember that until this very moment when it was glaring at me once more. Or were these memories my own? Had I actually seen this myself? I dropped the gun to my side and turned to see no one was paying attention to me, still talking animatedly and let my eyes wander to the holster on Ryder’s hip where his own gun called home. That symbol was etched into the grip just like the one in my hands and, as I turned to look at the two slaughtered soldiers not even ten feet away from what I stood, I saw the same thing etched into the one weapon each of them actually carried on their person. Panic set in, causing me to question the motives of those around me. Did I say something or act like I hadn’t noticed a thing?

  My eyes shot from one person to another, questioning each one of them in turn without actually speaking. Were they after me too for the same reason as King? Were they working in cahoots with him? If so, why would they? All intelligent questions as far as I was concerned, but I thought better of it, choosing to believe that my mother wouldn’t betray me and drag an unsuspecting Gaia into the entire thing. At least I had hoped she wouldn’t. Did Ryder know? I turned my gaze down to the ground in front of me and decided I wouldn’t utter a single word and see where that led me. Possibly not the best choice, but if confronted would she lie? And what role did Caius play? Was this some elaborate scheme that had been cooked up to keep me scared and confused and unsure of my place so I would run back to King when faced with betrayal at every turn? And where did Julius fall? If I could trust anyone it would be him, right? Was I truly alone in this or did I just believe that I was?

  I swallowed down my heart that was beating so hard and so fast that it threatened to leap up through my throat and out through my mouth to run screaming in the other direction through the forest. Maybe they wanted the same thing King had wanted. My power. But King had been willing to keep me along with it, but would they want the power without the hassle of the person that carried it? The person that would do whatever it took not to be taken advantage of ever again? Cato’s death had been enough, and I didn’t want to kill any more people that I was attached to in any sense. A lump formed in my throat that I couldn’t choke down, but I remained silent as I took it all in and my mind raced.

  A thought struck me then. Those memories of the symbol weren’t mine. I recognized the thought patterns of those memories instantly, and my mouth fell open like the wolf in those old cartoons from before the war that our teachers showed us in school. I had felt that thought pattern once before in the form of a vision of the past and future, melded together and forced into my brain to show me where I needed to go.

  “Cato?” I asked in a whisper more out into the universe than to anyone truly around me. My eyes welled up with tears as I held the gun in both palms, staring down at it in wonder and bewilderment. “Oh, Cato. What did you do?”

  Footsteps came from behind me and in my direction, so I rushed to put the gun back into the holster and make it seem as if I hadn’t been upset or crying over the new revelation, wondering if it was even wise to tell anyone about it. Or if it was just something my own brain cooked up to make sense of everything.

  “No one else wants to ride so looks like it’ll be Noah, the doctor, Caius, and Famke. The rest of us are a little too shaken up to sit,” Ryder’s deep velvet voice floated to me on the slight breeze.

  “Okay,” I replied, barely looking away from the ground in front of me. “I guess we’ll bury Liam, then? Or will I be doing that?” I asked.

  I was betting I would be since I had the power to move dirt without a shovel. He nodded, and I made quick work of it, not one person saying a word for their fallen friend, stoic and pensive faces all around. Even my own mother. After I completed the task I was back in front of that same tree, standing there watching as the leaves blew in the breeze that whipped my hair against my face and neck. It was a relief against the stifling humidity, to say the least.

  “Hey,” Ryder said from behind me, followed by Julius whom I had hardly spoken to since we had left the compound. I wasn’t sure if it was the shock of the previous events or what, but I would have to remedy that soon.

  I tur
ned to look at the both of them, my hand on the butt of the gun and his eyebrow arched elegantly as he smirked. They both took in my defensive stance, and Ryder took a step backward, Julius’s expression turning from one of concern to understanding in an instant.

  “You know, Mila, we’re all scared. You can talk to me about it,” Julius reassured as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of the scrub pants he was wearing. They were just as filthy as my own, stuck to his muscle-bound body with sweat.

  “Maybe I’ll take you up on that,” I said as I stared into his steel gray eyes and grinned, trying to show I wasn’t as scared as he thought I was. That was a lie. My fingers rubbed the rough texture on the gun’s grip out of nervousness.

  “Have you ever used one of those before?” Ryder seemed amused more than anything, causing me to blush at the fact that he called me on my ignorance of firearms.

  My mother was a scientist and had no need for them. Or at least, I had thought she hadn’t. It seemed I didn’t know my mother as well as I assumed I did. But that was alright. It appeared that was the same on both sides of our relationship.

  “Honestly?” I asked, trying to keep things light despite my growing suspicion and fear at what Cato may have done, but I had no one to speak to about what had happened that would be able to understand it and give me answers. Ryder nodded; hand on the butt of his own gun in the holster. I put my hands up into the air in mock surrender and admitted, “I’ve never even touched one before now. Don’t judge me.”