We Are All Strangers (7 page)

“There’s no way that they could have predicted that the ocean would impose a threat at a specific time tomorrow. How could you possibly predict Mother Nature?”

And he was right.

Before the Outbreak, when the weatherman for our local news channel had to report on the weather for the week, about 98% of the time, he had been wrong. It was hard to predict what to expect when, at any given moment, one tiny matter could alter everything.

Without another word, he moved towards the back shelf, a wooden crate within his grasp. He tossed cans of food inside of the crate, all the while mumbling to himself.

“Here,” he handed me an empty crate. “Gather all of the cereal, we’re going to need to need it.”

I tossed the cereal into the crate, growing more worried with each passing second. “What is going on, Dad?”

“Ana, we need to talk.” He lowered the crate onto the ground and took a seat on the wooden chair. “Before the Outbreak, I received messages that something terrible was headed our way.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “I received tons of anonymous packages: lab results, images of those affected, scans of government documents, each a warning of the looming Outbreak.”

“Someone was trying to tell me the truth, Ana, and I ignored it then, refusing to believe that the government could be behind something so vile. But now? After seeing how secretive Troum is, and how willing he is to murder innocent people, I no longer doubt that he had something to do with it. I am not sure what, but he has grown desperate and that is dangerous.”

S
ure enough, at 10 AM on the dot, the Hovercopters were ready and waiting near the entrance of the Sector. Guards lined the walkways, each dressed in their uniforms, their rifles slung across their chests. Their faces were so empty, lifeless.

Residents gathered at the front of the Sector, waiting for some sort of instruction, growing more nervous with each passing second while me and my father looked on from the back. We’d gathered our crates, positioning them near the opening in the wall. Thankfully, the Sector was swarming with residents, so it was easy to move about undetected.

Images began to flash on the tablets lining the Sector. Lines grew fuzzy on the screens as the signal struggled to come through. “Ladies and gentlemen,” Troum’s voice echoed through the Sector, effectively silencing the anxious residents.

His face filled the tablet screens, a smug smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. “As you are all aware, my scientists have found reason to believe that the ocean may impose a threat to our safety. As a safety precaution, I’ve decided to relocate each Sector. If you would please form one line, the guards will assist you with boarding a Hovercopter. And may you all remain safe.”

I had expected the residents to panic, to run for shelter. But they had done the exact opposite. They’d obeyed the guards without question, completely unaware of what they’d given up by boarding the Hovercopters.

If there was one thing I’d learned about Troum, it was that his promises held no weight.

We watched as the lines dwindled down. The last of the residents boarded the Hovercopters, leaving me and my father to stare on in disbelief. They’d fallen for it. Each and every one of them.

“Something isn’t right,” I whispered, plopping down on the dirt ground.

“No, it isn’t.” I could see the worry on my father’s face, the uncertainty. “I wonder how many of them just signed off on their deaths.”

It was something I’d wondered myself.

Who would survive?

Who would die?

“I thought that things were supposed to get better after the Outbreak?”

My father smirked. “They should’ve. But you have to remember dear, we were desperate during the Outbreak. We willingly handed over our freedom in search of protection. Our fears built the world as we know it today. Our fears gave Troum power.”

“What is it going to take to stop him?”

He reached for my hand and pulled himself up. “The answer is right here,” he said, his hand pressed against his chest. “The answer is inside of each and every one of us. In order to defeat him, to tear down everything we’ve come to know over the past decade, it is going to take strength.”

I glanced over at the tablets, at the words that were printed above her photo. Kill Order.

Deep down, even though I hadn’t known her, I knew she had it in her to change everything – to give us a new start.

Maybe it was ridiculous to place my hope in someone I hadn’t even met.

But really, what else could I do?

She had found the strength inside of herself to fight back against Troum out of love for her sister. She had nearly succeeded in doing what my mother had set out to do. She was an image of hope, of freedom, and I believed in her. She was selfless. She was brave. She was my reason for seeking out a new beginning, a second chance at the life I’d lost in the Outbreak.

“I wish I had her courage,” I sighed, pulling myself up.

My father placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze. “My dear, Ana. You are stronger than you realize. You love, you feel, you want. You haven’t lost yourself to this world, to Troum and his ways. You are a very strong young woman, much like your mother.”

Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes. There was something reassuring about his words, a source of comfort when it felt like everything around me was crumbling. “Thank you.”

He grinned. “No need to thank me, my dear.”

“Shall we get going?”

My father nodded. “To a new beginning.”

“A new beginning.”

And then the water came.

“T
here is no need to make this difficult, Parker.” Bentley Wilson, the head honcho of Covera Corporations, leaned against the steel table, a cultivated smirk etched upon his lips. His suit jacket was torn, and his chalk white hair was disarray, a result of my aversion to being captured.  “Either way, you will do as you are told.”

I’d spent my entire life living in fear, knowing that, at any given moment, Covera Corporations could come for me. They’d been after my Rare talent for years. To Covera Corporation, I was the ultimate weapon. My touch, just a single touch, could kill.

My mother did her best to protect me – we moved every couple of years, taking on new identities each time we did so. And it worked, until three days ago, when Bentley’s men broke down our front door.

With my hands cuffed behind my chair, I leaned forward and growled. “I’m glad you seem to think that. Keep lying to yourself, Bentley.” I tried snapping the chains binding my hands, but with each movement, the metal cuffs dug deeper into my skin. A burning sensation erupted beneath my flesh. I howled in pain, and Bentley laughed.

“Parker, dear, why must you continue to fight?” he reached forward and brushed a loose strand of my blonde locks behind my ear. “You were given a gift; all we ask is that you use it.”

A
gift
? Having to wear gloves to ensure you wouldn’t kill someone when you touched them was not a gift. Then again, if I were to able reach across the table and touch Bentley Wilson, I’d consider that to be a gift. At least I’d be able to rid the world of the jerk.

But then I would have to live with knowing that I had murdered someone, and I wasn’t sure that I could handle that. Even if it would be the right thing to do.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m growing tired of this conversation.” Bentley sat on the edge of the table, cupping his hands in his lap. “I’ll send the guards in to escort you back to your room, where I hope you’ll reconsider, dear. But if you don’t, we have other ways to deal with you.”

His voice, soft, yet powerful, sent a chill throughout my body. I wouldn’t reconsider, but I also knew that Bentley would keep his promise. Somehow or another, they would force me to comply, and that scared me.

Bentley took to his feet and adjusted his jacket. He walked over to the door and turned the knob. Before exiting, he turned to face me once more. “I’m so glad we found you, Parker.”

I glared at him as two guards entered the room. Once Bentley took off down the hall, the two men crouched beside my chair and released the handcuffs from my wrists. One of the guards pulled a pair of black leather gloves from his pant pocket and slipped them onto my hands.

The guards stood, their backs turned to me.
Now was my chance
. It was either fight and, hopefully, find a way out of here, or return to the cell until Bentley called upon me again. And I wasn’t about to do that.

I lifted the chair behind my back and swung it at one of the guards. The legs snapped as it made contact with his face, knocking him unconscious.

The other guard turned, stunned, and reached for his gun. I threw my leg up, kicking the gun out of his hand, and laughed. “Not gonna happen, buddy.” I threw a punch with my right hand, ignoring the throbbing pain coming from my wrist; my fist connected with his cheek, causing the guard to fall back onto the concrete floor.

Crouching beside him, I removed the keys from his belt loop and pressed my hand against his cheek. “Sorry about that.” I smirked. That was surely going to bruise. “You’ll be okay, bud.”

Slipping the keys inside of my pocket, I walked over toward the door, and slowly, moved into the hallway. The hallway was clear, given that the other Rares had been sent to their cells for the remainder of the night, and Bentley instructed his guards to stand position outside of the cells. I thought I’d be able to sneak out no problem, until I saw the cameras posted every few feet. “Crap.”

I had to move fast. It was only a matter of time until someone found me. With adrenaline coursing through my blood, I took off down the hall. I didn’t know where I was. I didn’t even know if I was headed in the right direction. I didn’t know a thing, except that I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t become a murderer.

I ran past a block of empty cells, cells that would surely be filled within the next few weeks once they located other Rares. I cringed at the thought. Covera Corporations used us as weapons against other Rares. They’d capture us, and use our talents to do as they pleased. And when a Rare wouldn’t comply, like me, they’d bring in another Rare to take care of the situation – to force me into submission.

Screams came from the other end of the hall. I forced myself to move faster, looking for any sign of an exit. I took my chance on a door at the end of the hall. Reaching for the keychain, I began trying each key, hoping to find one that would fit. On the fifth key, the knob turned, and I ducked inside, only then did I realize I’d stepped inside of the lobby.

“Where’d she go?” a man shouted from behind the door.

Ten feet away, on the other side of the glass doors, lay safety. I just had to make it out before Bentley’s men realized where I’d gone. I ran toward the glass doors, setting off motion detectors as I did so, but I didn’t care. I pushed the glass door open and took off into the night.

Covera Corporations was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by a blanket of trees. There were no streets. There were no businesses. There were no people. There was nothing.

I glanced over my shoulder, and saw that Bentley’s men were beginning to make their way inside of the lobby with their guns drawn. Taking a deep breath, I took off into the woods, not entirely sure of where I was going, but knowing that I had to try to get away.

My foot caught on a fallen branch, and I tumbled to the ground. I pulled off the leather gloves and pushed myself up, resting against a tree.

“They won’t allow you to escape,” a strange voice cut through the silence, “You are only making it worse for yourself.”

“I will not become a murderer,” I replied bitterly.

Up ahead, a young boy emerged from the shadows. He shoved his hands inside of his jean pockets. “It’s not so bad.” He smiled. “They take care of us, as long as we comply.” As he moved closer, I noticed that he was only a child – ten years old at the most.

“How long have you been with them?” I asked, but he didn’t answer. “Who are you?”

He crouched down in front of me and placed his hands on the sides of my face.  “I’m Gabriel.” His piercing blue eyes grew white as his skin touched mine. “I’m here to bring you back.”

His power burned beneath my skin as he tried to compel me to return to the facility. I fought back, doing my best to block his attempts, but he was beginning to overpower me. I shoved my hands against his chest; his body stiffened under my touch as his heart stopped pumping blood, forcing his body into rigor mortis.

I stared in disbelief at Gabriel’s body. I had done the exact thing that I told Bentley I wouldn’t do. I’d killed someone – a child, at that.

Twigs snapped a few feet away. Bentley’s men were beginning to make their way into the woods. I pulled my legs beneath my chin, wrapping my arms tightly around my calves, and rocked back and forth in silence.

“Split up!” a voice shouted.

Sensing they were drawing closer, I pulled myself up with the help of the tree, and fled deeper into the woods. The light from the moon seeped in between the trees, highlighting a narrow path that led out into an open field.

“Parker, Parker, Parker.” Bentley stepped out from beside a tree up ahead, flanked by two guards. “Where were you planning to go exactly, my dear?”