Why does everyone around me die?
I want to break free and kill them all, but manage to only liberate myself from one as the other has a firmer grip on me. I look down at his hand and see an electronic pulse enveloping my left bicep. He is not physically holding me, but the small square device he’s carrying is. The other Regulator stands up then proceeds to punch me in the face as he enables his holding device.
We stop in front of the door at the end. Dr. Hersher opens it and proceeds to turn on the lights as the rest of us step inside. The lighting in here is much brighter. A glass partition breaks up the room; two circular machines sit on one side, display screens on the other. Dr. Hersher and Vladim each take a seat on the chairs in front of the screens, while the Regulators escort me around the partition to the other side.
I’m stripped naked and placed onto a cold metal slab that sticks out from a machine that’s labeled NMR. Thick leather straps are fastened to both my ankles and wrists. I surreptitiously test their strength, but I can’t break through them.
The Regulators leave the room when the lights go off. The machine roars to life as I slide inside. I look at lights blinking above my head. The noise emanating from the device grows louder causing me to panic. I’m terrified I’ll be crushed any moment. My heart races, my breathing quickens, and my arm tingles.
I’m going to die!
The Quantum Stream begins to glow brighter the louder the machine gets. I try and wriggle my right hand out of the restraints, but only manage to move the restraint further up my arm.
Twisting my arm backwards causes me great pain. I place my right hand onto the smooth metal of the machine and try to push the Quantum Stream out of my palm, but it doesn’t work as I don’t have any real connection to the instrument.
My arm is growing hotter, the light is almost blinding.
I’m going to explode!
I try and move my hand along the wall to see if I can locate some kind of flaw to exploit. My wrist cracks and my hand goes limp, but with adrenaline pumping I don’t feel the pain. It begins to heal as the machine begins to wind down. The lights come back on in the room and I slide back out, unstrapped from the table, and handed a red robe. I tighten it around my waist as two Regulators lead me back around the partition.
“Trea, you’re perfectly healthy for an eighteen year old,” Dr. Hersher begins. “Your level of Quarum is higher than it should be, but that’s okay as it will improve your healing ability. As for the Quantum Stream you have in your right arm, it appears to have latched onto every cell in your body, as it should have. It’s probably only visible in your arm because of the accident you had with the Levin gun. This is most beneficial due to the design of the weapons Devlan has no doubt trained you on. With additional training and the proper device, I believe you should be able to manipulate and control the stream without any external prop needed.”
“How?” I ask, as ideas flood my mind.
“You will be able to control the energy…have it work however you wish. Influence electrical barriers with a single touch, for example.”
I smile inside, as they have just given me a way to escape.
Chapter 12
I’m taken back to Artemis’ place. The whole floor is completely deserted and I’m warned by Vladim that the code on the elevator has been changed, so I won’t be able to leave the top floor. Only he and Dr. Hersher know the code.
I go to my room, change out of the robe, and into blue shorts with a matching top. A fresh meal is sitting on the island in the kitchen for me, so I take the plate and go into the entertainment room to see what is on the displays.
“Tyreans, don’t miss the exciting event tomorrow as we demonstrate to all of Sirain that we have successfully rescued an Antaean.” The male announcer says on the screen directly in front of me. Flashes of me killing Munera run in a loop behind him. “Be there early as seats will fill up fast for this historic occasion.”
I roll my eyes as I take a bite of the salmon filet.
The announcement is made every fifteen minutes on all channels. I scroll through the menu of available shows to watch, but nothing catches my eye, so I stay on the one I’m currently watching. Other announcements are made periodically throughout the evening including one warning the Tyreans that the Laics have a Work Free Day approaching.
“Be mindful of your children and belongings as the Laics will be free to travel between the Boroughs. If I were you, I’d stay home so not to be caught up in their crooked ways.”
An hour later a bulletin comes across all three screens. The man perched in front of the camera is frazzled and slightly out of breath.
“We’ve just been notified that a Nuceiran has been apprehended this evening trying to sneak into Tyre by way of deception. The woman made it as far as the Superior Towers before finally being confronted by Regulators. She was killed on site clutching copies of the Nuceira treatise and photos of the Antaean known as Trea.”
The screen switches to display the photos of me, one inscribed with Death to the Abomination.
“I didn’t ask for this!” I scream, tears of frustration and pain falling.
I pick up the glass I had been drinking from and throw it, cracking the monitor glass.
“Regulators have stepped up security measures at the stadium as well as the
