The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse (34 page)

The general didn't look pleased. "I thought she was ready, Doctor?"

"Just a calibration issue, sir. Nothing to be concerned about."

The general shook his head. "See that it's fixed."

Vorboyov inclined his head. "Yes, sir. D485—follow me."

I turned away from the other men and followed on his heels. My heart was racing as I followed him. I couldn't keep this up for much longer. I had to get away. As we stepped into the stairwell leading under the mansion I followed him down, pausing just at the height where no-one in the surrounding area could see us. I pulled the pistol out of the back of my pants and pulled back on the slide. A bullet slid into place in the chamber with a satisfying click. The doctor froze.

"Sorry, Doc, but this is where I get off."

Doctor Vorboyov turned around, but instead of fear on his face he was smiling. "I thought something was going on. I had to get you out of there fast before the general realized anything was out of the ordinary. Can't have him shutting down this project now, can we?" He shook his head and raised an eyebrow. "So you threw it off did you. I would love to find out how." He took a step toward me.

"Not another inch." I lifted the gun to align with his head, and he stopped. "You're never touching me again."

The doctor smiled. "Never say never, child."

I felt my lip curl in disgust, and stepped forward to bring the butt of the gun down on his head. Before I had closed half the distance, he spoke up.

"D485—reset."

I felt my body lock up the moment he spoke. My eyes widened as my hands started to go slack on the gun. I pushed against my body to regain control, but then pain in my head came back with vengeance. I wanted to scream, but I held it in to avoid giving away to those around us what was going on.

The doctor took a step forward and put his hand over mine. My body shook as I fought whatever he had done to me. It felt like my heart was about to explode out of my chest. I gasped for air.

"You cannot fight it, child. It is in your programming."

I grit my teeth. No. This wasn't happening. Not now. Not when I was so close. I wasn't being turned into their tool again. I would rather die. I swallowed hard, looked up at him, and put and much effort as I could into making my hand twitch. He hadn't moved out of the line of fire. I fought as hard as I could, and in a second I felt something inside me snap.

My finger pulled back on the trigger.

FORTY-FIVE

I fell backwards onto the steps as my body came back under my control. A shower of red came down on top of me as the body of the doctor fell forward. Pieces of something fell onto my face, and I tried to push him off me. After I wriggled out from under him I turned to the side and vomited. I reached a hand to clear my mouth and found my hand covered in red. My body twitched and I threw myself away from the unrecognizable body lying on the floor. The only thing that gave him away was his lab coat. I shuddered, and turned to vomit again. When I stood back up I heard shouting.

I chanced a glance up and over the top of the stairs. People in black were running toward me from multiple directions. I whipped my head back down, and the moment I did the brick above me exploded. I swore. They were shooting to kill.

I turned and dashed toward the doorway, halting before opening the door. I looked back at the body of the doctor. I wanted to collapse. I killed him. I had killed him. I ended his life. I swallowed hard and shook my head. Now wasn't the time. I turned the handle and threw myself into the dark hallway.

I didn't wait for my eyes to adjust while I ran, trusting my instincts more than the multitudes of soldiers who were coming to take me out. I grit my teeth and threw myself around a corner I couldn't see and through a door I had never been in, but somehow knew it was there anyway. I didn't give a moments thought to how I knew these things—I just ran.

The plans of the building flew through my head, but it wasn't clear enough for me to be able to plan my route in advance. It was as if my body just knew which way to go. I broke through another door and into a wide hallway filled with boxes and military supplies. I only made it three steps before I heard the doors click open.

A series of men and women dressed in black files into the hallway. A quick count popped up in the corner of my vision. Twenty-one. I would have started to panic, but the moment I did a plan slotted into place in my head and I saw a path light up in front of me. This was what I had trained for.

I turned and smiled at the leader "All this of this for one little girl?"

He stared at me for a few moments before coming to a decision. "Fire!"

As they squeezed their fingers on the triggers, I reached inside my body and squeezed down hard on my pulse. The rush that left me felt like a welcome old friend, but I didn't have time to relish it. My body jumped into action mode and leapt forward almost without my will. Within a half a second I was bringing my gun down on the back of the head of the first motionless soldier, and kicking the one next to her in the head. I flipped over and around, tilting the guns of the next three before jumping forward.

I stepped up onto a box and flipped over one of the soldiers as the pulse rushed back into me. The first two soldiers collapsed right away, and the next three sprayed five of their friends with bullets. The others still standing halted their fire as their fellow soldiers started falling around them.

I didn't give them the chance to regroup.

Two more strikes in the back of the head dropped the next two men who were standing between me and the doorway. I sprinted forward and jumped forward planting my foot onto the chest of one of the men. He lifted his gun to aim at me but my other foot collided with his face. I used his falling body as a springboard and launched myself toward the next two soldiers in the line. They too fell with minimal effort.

I was in my element. All the training through the courses, and even my running through the streets as I grew up, had prepared me for this day. I took out the rest of them, jumping and leaping over boxes and trolleys as I did so. Some of them must have been hit in the crossfire from their friends, but I made it through exactly as I had planned until there was only one remaining.

I leapt forward off the back off a downed soldier and threw myself at the leader of the group. He fell backward into a roll, dropping his rifle, and came up brandishing a knife. He stepped forward and swiped at me but I managed to avoid the attack with a quick step backward. I watched as he stepped forward again and noticed his attacks followed the same rhythm each time. A small smile came across my lips.

Thanks, Sarah.

As he launched his next attack I feigned dodging to the right, but as he adjusted for my movement I pulled myself up and around behind him. I smashed my hands together on his temples from behind and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. The other two were just regaining their feet when I came down on them. One of the discarded rifles made a great club, and they were out cold before they knew what hit them.

I stood breathing hard and shaking. The last fight made sense, but before that I was running on pure instinct. There is no way I should have been able to do all of what I did. I had been fast before, but this was a whole other level that I didn't even know existed. I shivered and tried not to think about what they had done to me. It was working out for me so far.

I stripped down one of the small female soldiers as fast as I could and took her weapons. The clothes didn't fit right, and I didn't plan on using the weapons if I didn't have to, but it paid to be prepared and gave me some cover. I gave the soldiers filled with bullet holes lying on the floor a glance, but didn't have the time to process that I had been a part of taking more lives. I closed off my mind and moved on through the next doorway.

A few hallways later and I found myself entering the catacombs. For some reason they didn't seem as confusing as before and I found myself picking a direct path through them. I had to detour on a few occasions and men and women in black came rushing by. I felt relief wash over me when I realized there weren't any Pulsers among that unit. I might have been able to deal with regular soldiers, but I doubted that that would stand up against real trained Pulse soldiers. I shuddered at the thought of what they were capable of.

Ten minutes later and I was climbing up a stairwell. I wasn't sure where it would lead, but something told me it would be safe and I decided to trust it. When I reached the top I pressed my ear against the wall, but after a few minutes of no sound I pushed the door open. I found myself in one of the far storage sheds at the northwest of the compound.

A quick peek out the window showed the place in pandemonium. Guards in black were running all across the place in groups of three or four. I could see many of the students being herded into the large open area in the center of the training area. I had to move fast, or I would be the only moving target out there.

I cast my eyes across to the supply sheds near the barracks back over the other side of the clearing. I discarded it almost right away. There was no chance of me getting supplies from there. I turned back to rummage around in the storage shed I was in, hoping against hope for something that would aid me on my journey. There was nothing but junk. Bed frames, and bricks, and the like. I was fresh out of anything for the journey.

I would be in the forest for weeks before I was even close to civilization. I strained my memory for anything about a town nearby, but came up empty. Either I can't access that knowledge myself, or I never knew it to begin with. I sighed and opened the door to look out over the forest. It was a good thing summer was on its way — there is no way I would be able to survive a winter in there without anything to help me.

I waited until I had a window and pushed open the door. I must have been conspicuous as a solitary member, but I stuck to the same movement patterns with my rifle raised so that a casual glance wouldn't raise any suspicion. Within fifteen seconds I was into the forest and leaving the compound behind me.

I knew the surrounding area must have been crawling with guards, but for the first time since I had woken up I took a breath. As long as I was careful from here, I was free. Free to starve to death in the woods maybe, but free all the same.

I started marching.

When I heard noises behind me I had to stop and hide to allow guards to pass me by without alerting them. I wasn't aware I could hold my breath for as long as I did when they swept the area. I thanked the stars it wasn't snowing. There is no way I would have been able to cover my tracks. When they moved on I picked up my pace and made my way deeper into the forest.

Twenty minutes later and I found myself in a familiar clearing. I frowned as I looked at the pond. Had I gotten turned around? This is the last place I needed to be. They would know to look here.

So why was I walking out into the small clearing?

Every instinct told me to run, to get out of here while I still could, but the moment my eyes fell on the place where Sarah had fallen I knew why I had come. Tears sprung to my eyes as I walked forward and collapsed onto the spot where she had been killed.

I hadn't even gotten to say a real goodbye.

I wondered if she had been buried. Knowing the military and it's stance on waste, she would have been cremated. Although not after the doctor harvested whatever he needed for his 'experiments'. I shuddered at the thought.

"I'm sorry, Sarah."

Sorry I didn't get her away. Sorry I didn't foresee that Bradley would betray us. Sorry I wasn't more prepared.

Sorry I didn't save her.

I sighed and picked myself up onto my knees. I had to get out of here before anyone stumbled across this location. It would be that much harder to get away if I had to leave a trail of soldiers in my wake. I checked the clip on the magazine. One bullet. How ironic. It was time to move on.

"I knew you would come here."

I spun and fell onto my backside. My weapon was raised and aimed toward the man who had walked up behind me. He was thirty feet away from me. I had one bullet. I wanted to use it. I sighed and kept my eye down the sights that were aimed at his nose.

"Hi, Bradley."

FORTY-SIX

"Are you hurt?"

I scowled at him. "That's rich coming from you."

Bradley inclined his head. "Touche."

His arms were raised above his head, and I couldn't see any weapon on him, but I wasn't taking any chances. I stood and walked sideway around him, not taking the sights from his head, until I had completed a full circle. When I was sure he wasn't holding a weapon I let the sights fall, but I kept the weapon's stock up against my shoulder. I wasn't the best shot with a rifle, but from this distance it wouldn't take much.

"What are you doing here?"

Bradley gave me a small smile. "I really just wanted to see how you were. To make sure you were okay."

I felt rage flood through my body. "How can you even say that?"

Bradley sighed. "There isn't enough time to explain now. You should get out of here while you can."

I looked over his shoulder at the dense forest. I knew he was right. I knew I should have just left and never looked back. There was only one problem.

I had to know.

"Why?"

"Because someone might come along at any second."

I shook my head. "No. Why did you do it?"

A look of pain crossed across Bradley's face. That more than anything made me want to put a bullet through his head. He knew nothing of pain. He knew nothing.

"I…" Bradley signed and shook his head. "I felt like I had to." He looked up and into my eyes. "I'm sorry for what happened to you."

I took a step toward him and raised the gun again. I was shaking so hard that I wasn't sure whether I would be able to make the shot or not. It didn't matter. I could kill him without the gun. I knew it, and so did he. I took a few deep breaths to get myself under control. For his part Bradley just waited while I decided whether or not to kill him.

"How can you say that like you weren't a part of it?"