Eyera (The Eyera Series Book 1) Page 9

  “I can help, please. We don’t have to do this. I’m sorry I won’t let this happen ever again,” Father reasons.

  Both guards look at each other, and a crispy laugh leaves their lips.

  “How dare you come here and tell us what to do,” the guard says whipping out his taser and electricity crackles.

  “That child disobeyed the law, and he will be punished,” says the other guard.

  They stop hitting me, and I feel a slight sensation of relief.

  My father begs with his eyes; that is all anyone does these days, beg, beg, beg.

  My ears prickle at the sound of tyres crunching the ground, a low rumble 4x4 car drives in the middle of Elspeth Centre. A white square car with blacked out windows, the doors open and boots pound on the concrete, doors slammed shut, and the crowd chokes, the citizens hold their breath and their beady eyes pop out of their sockets, all of them gulping down and shake. Boots click gently with a hint of danger, they get closer steady but fierce; the sound makes my skin crawl. Parents put their children behind them, and most children cannot look, so they hide. I take a quick glance to find out who is putting this much terror into people. My eyes trail along the concrete and finally up the man, there he is … the fierce full man, the lieutenant. Lieutenant Larcival.

  CHAPTER nineteen

  The lieutenant is a living nightmare, looking at him in the wrong way will get you punished. His fine blonde hair stands out sharply, and cold hard blue eyes are like sharks. There is a scar slashed over his menacing lips; his chest heaves as he stands in his usual attire, silver uniform with one blue stripe on each arm. He is very tall and muscly, and fists are massive that he’s able to crush someone’s skull with one hand.

  The man’s existence alone is enough for people not to break laws.

  “Well, well, well, what have we got here?” His words are cold and coarse.

  Nervous shuffles come from the people, not one daring to say anything, no noise, not a cough or a sneeze or evening breathing is heard.

  “Huh, what is going on here?” his voice thunders echoing through the city.

  No one makes eye contact.

  “This boy, Lieutenant, he broke the law,” says the guard, voice shaking.

  Lieutenant Larcival predominates over to Hadrian and I, his eyes growing much darker than it already is and a hasty smirk beckons on his face.

  “This boy is the root of all this? Who gave you that shiner?” asks the lieutenant.

  “Th-the girl,” says the guard standing straight hand on his head.

  Lieutenant Larcival looks at me, his lips curling into a snarl.

  “This girl,” he says not impressed. Lieutenant Larcival walks over to my weapon holding it in the light.

  “She used this on you?” he asks. The guard dips his head. Lieutenant Larcival brings down my weapon and snaps it in half with his knee and throws it. A sickly, dark, laughter follows.

  “How sweet, protecting your brother, just a little girl,”

  I feel his icy breath smack me and I stare coldly matching his showing that I am not just any girl.

  “A girl with attitude, do you know what happens to girls with attitude?” he tuts.

  Lieutenant Larcival looks at my father, clearly making him uncomfortable.

  “Uhh hello, Mr Daxhl Shader, the girl with attitude belongs to you?” he says thickly.

  “Lieutenant Larcival, I’m sorry for what has happened today, please don’t take them, I will make sure he will follow the Director’s orders, both of them. This will never happen again.” my father cowers.

  I grip Hadrian whispering in his ear that he will be fine, whimper puffs from his chest and his bottom lip quivers, I caress his forehead with my sleeve wiping off the blood, his alluring earthen eyes laminate. Lieutenant Larcival looks at the other two guards, and an unsettling smile spreads on his face as he walks back to the car, he jumps on the side hanging onto a bar and smiles through his teeth.

  “You’re right Mr Shader, this will never happen again.”

  But before my father can smile in relief, the lieutenant speaks again.

  “Take him,” he orders crackling coldly.

  Lieutenant Larcival taps the roof twice, and the car revs up and takes off.

  My father’s fear comes alive.

  Both Eyera guards march pulling us apart, I latch onto Hadrian locking us tighter, cradling him not daring to let go. The guards unhook my grip and throw me across the floor making my chin scrape. Hadrian screams as they touch him, piercing through the city, my father runs but his face gets met with a club. I’m on my feet seeing red and lose control. Jumping on the guard taking him to the floor, the other guard punches me sending me to the floor again, but I’m on my feet like lighting, I’m not going down easy. I swing the guard around so we are face to face and I pull out his gun. It’s heavy and fits nicely in my palm; gold spirals surround the silver plated gun going around a backwards E and a forward C with two diagonal lines decorated on each side. It gives me mixed emotions, never in my life have I touched a gun, I’ve seen what these deadly weapons do. Voices in my head toy and I am torn on what I should and shouldn’t do.

  I can’t do this …

  The guard’s face widens, and he alerts the other guard, he turns round seeing the gun pointed and quickly reaches into his pocket pulling out his gun but before he can, I shoot … the gun shifts in my hand making my body jerk and a bullet soars across incising into the Eyera’s guard forehead, his body collapses onto the floor, the bang of the gun startles the crowd, and loud gasps erupt. The smell of smoke lingers out of the barrel and my hands quiver, and mouth opens letting out a small cry, shocked that I shot a man, that I killed someone.

  Everything around me fades out, and it’s one guard and me, he looks at his dead friend and looks back up. He quickly bends down picking up the fallen gun, and my finger automatically pulls the trigger, and a bullet speeds into his stomach, he grunts and forcefully falls on his knees; my name is being called loudly but it’s not enough to break me out of this transition. The guard touches his stomach blood covering his hands, he looks up glinting with mercy, and I pull the trigger aiming at his heart, he finally slumps down. Loud roars of shouting rings in my ears and so does the sound of the gun, the blackness that surrounds me lifts up and my eyes widen, and tears rush to the edge, seeing two dead bodies. I drop the weapon in shell shock that I killed them. I can’t wrap my head around that I took their lives, trepidation writhes in my body churning making me want to throw up, they both drown in their blood, red seeping through their grey uniforms. I look around seeing men and women covering their children, every single citizen’s jaw is dropped. They can’t comprehend on what just happened. My father screeches my name, but I cannot look at him, I am paralysed, too stunned to move. Tears run down my cheeks, and my chest tightens, my face feels paler than usual. I turn to Hadrian seeing him shuffling back from the bodies, his soft wet eyes are no longer there, no pain or sadness only terror immersing. Father runs to Hadrian, picking him up turning him from the bodies; he is the protector now. A loud alarm booms in Elspeth City and sounds of boots come pounding to me. Father looks at me, and he makes his eyes go big saying ‘run.’ I hesitate but manage to pull myself, I take off but I am closed off by Eyera guards lining up in military style, grey uniforms surrounding me, there is no way out. My chest is sore, and my heart beats so damn hard making it worst, I tackle my options but cannot find anything that can help me. I stumble backwards shaking my head in defeat. Eyera guards charge, I try to fend them off but fail, I physically cannot fight, not having that energy. They bend my arms back to the point of it snapping and hurl me down pinning their weight, so I’m unable to move, my ribs feel like they’ve been cracked. Pieces of bones snap in places I never thought existed. I shriek out in pain crying for my father, but he cannot do anything but watch helplessly. I can see it’s tearing him apart. A car appears, and doors are flung open, and Eyera guards drag me across Elspeth Centre and into the car. I hear Hadria
n crying to let me go, he wriggles from Father’s grip and Father chases him, Hadrian screams my name loud, our father’s cheeks stains with tears, the man who I thought could never cry and here he is, crying his eyes out, pleading. Father tries to get Hadrian, but Hadrian gets knocked down by the guards.

  “Dad … Dad!” I wail at the top of my lungs.

  I get cut off by a blunt object swinging at my temple causing my vision to blur. I fall to my knees from the force of the impact, but I fight back. I fidget out of their grip but not for long as they pull me back, and another painful hit is lashed on my body, and this time round I can’t fight back. They launch me into the car. I reach out for daylight, but it’s cut off short by doors slamming, darkness arose enclosing off any light that is forbidden, my body shuts down in defeat, and I hate that it betrayed me like that. I hear Hadrian screaming, crying over and over again, the last memory on repeat is Hadrian crying to let me go.

  CHAPTER twenty

  I’ve been afraid of Hadrian being taken by Eyera.

  I didn’t know that I’ll be the one that gets caught.

  I do anything for my brother. I wish I can go back in time to stop all of this from happening, stop Hadrian from leaving the house; maybe I could have taken him to Nisahles, maybe he wouldn’t be in this mess. No one wanted to help, they stared and hid away. Why didn’t I get there faster? If only I knew he was following. If only I were there to stop him from whatever he was about to do. If only I got there in time … maybe I could have prevented this. I hate it so much. I hate that I didn’t know.

  Questions bounce inside my skull, how can anyone hurt a person, especially a child? It’s psychotic. I’m so angry that they put their hands on him. I didn’t protect him enough.

  I’m hurt … I don’t want to move … too scared to say anything, afraid of what they can do to me, I’ve seen stuff they have done, but the Corporation is much worse, I have no clue what they will do, and I’m petrified to find out.

  A whisper echoes, repeating the same thing ‘you’ll be okay.’

  I open my eyes to have pitch black greet me, cold gust of wind brushes against my skin, a shiver crawls up my spine. I wrap my arms around my body rubbing my arms. I walk carefully across the tenebrous room using my senses, feeling the broad darkness on my fingertips. The voice speaks again much louder this time and I follow it, my only guidance through this darkness. A light appears, and with instinct I walk into it, a blinding light swallows me whole, it dies down within seconds and I feel soft fabric lacing through my fingers, the smell of sweet almond in the air, the sun peeping through the cracked window. My head tries to keep up; I am in my room but how? Everything seems strange. It’s exactly how I left it, but it doesn’t feel right. I look at the end of my bed seeing a figure staring back, I’ll let my eyes adjust trying to find out who it is, after a while I see who it is clearly, Hadrian.

  “It was you, you were calling me,” I say my brain finally piecing the puzzle.

  Hadrian’s smile washes off, and glumness takes over. I pull his hand into mine reassuring him that no one is going to hurt him ever.

  “I promise you it’ll be okay,” I mirror.

  “You’re leaving me, leaving us,” he says bluntly.

  Never. I will never leave him.

  “No-H—”

  “Acelyn it’s already happened,” he says sadly.

  “Please don’t wake up not yet, I don’t want you to leave not yet, stay.”

  I hug Hadrian tight, and he hugs back putting his head on my shoulders.

  “I can’t,” he says weakly.

  “Hadrian.”

  “I can’t — I can’t lose you,” he cries.

  “Please don’t wake up, I don’t want you to.”

  “I am sorry H,” I say feeling tears prickle.

  “Acelyn.”

  “Yeah,” I respond.

  “Promise me something,” he says.

  “Anything.”

  Hadrian looks at me deeply.

  “Don’t ever stop being you.”

  Is the last words I hear before I get pulled back to life.

  I wake up and panic as I remember where I am. I move slightly an unbearable pain shoots through me like electricity. I look at my wrists to see cuffs crushing my hands together. Purple and blue bruises blossom on my skin, dried blood stains on my clothes and my stomach sinks realising I’m heading to Eyera.

  I fiddle with the crystal clear cuffs trying to make them loose.

  “Is it too tight?” a gentle voice says which surprises me.

  I wasn’t expecting anyone in the car. I look up, and I see a young man in an Eyera guard uniform, my voice is too sore to speak, my throat is swollen from the screaming. I force a nod. I see him get up from his seat bending to my level, his light breathing puffs from his chest smoothly, he touches the cuffs slightly, making me wince.

  “They didn’t like you,” he says, while he adjusts the cuffs making them movable.

  I stroke my wrists and stretch my fingers out clicking and bringing them back close. I don’t say anything but observe carefully.

  “What you did for your brother was incredible, not many people would dare to do that,” he says.

  He is praising me for protecting my brother but I failed to do that, there is nothing to praise. I study him, he is not like the other guards there is something about him, it’s strange. He seems different. He seems nice? No. It’s a trick I reassure myself. He is an Eyera guard.

  “I’m Linxston,” he says with his inviting chestnut eyes.

  His teeth are perfect and gleaming white, his facial hair is sharp it goes from one earlobe to the other, if he shaves it’ll make him look ten years younger. He looks in his early twenties, his brown skins show off a fastidious complexion.

  He offers a warm smile and extends his hand out gesturing a handshake, but I refuse, he awkwardly brings it back running his hand through his small black curls.

  “Not your thing,” he notes.

  Linxston stops talking after that which I’m glad he does.

  I lean my head back, and my elbows rest on my knees, my throat is dry and sore; each swallow is sharp. I shift uncomfortably as the car goes over bumps jerking my body. I notice inside the car there is a small bench. I physically can’t drag my body to sit on it. Linxston keeps his eyes trained on me, smiling whenever I look at him. Guards in Elspeth never smile, is he new? Maybe he doesn’t know the rules and is still learning.

  I swallow hard feeling the sharp pain again, Linxston turns his body to the left grabbing something and puts it front of me.

  “You need to drink,” he says.

  The bottled water stays in his hand for a few minutes as I detect if anything’s wrong with it. I reluctantly take the bottled water, uncapping the lid, I bring the water to my parched lips drinking the cold liquid, water runs down my throat, and I can tell my body appreciates it. I keep drinking till every last drop is gone. Once I finish I let out quick breaths, Linxston smiles yet again pleased that I enjoyed it.

  “You’re welcome, Acelyn,” he says. I squint. I guess a lot of people know my name now.

  The way he says my name feels human, it is kind and gentle and rolled nicely off his tongue.

  Linxston takes his eyes off me quickly and looks above, he shifts in his seat nervously and looks at me for a split second and then looks down. I push myself onto my knees, feeling every ache in my entire body. I bring myself to my feet slouching down a bit, I look out of the small lined window, and I see a building in the distance. I quickly pull away falling onto my knees shifting to the far corner anxiety building up, this cannot be real. Linxston puts his hand on my shoulder, and I flinch as he towers above. I push him away, putting my cuffed hands to my forehead. I’ll be okay, I’ll be okay.

  The car slows down which makes my heart beat faster, faster than it’s ever been, every thump palpitates hard. Sickness rests in my stomach and hot sweat sticks. I can’t keep calm. I’m scared of Eyera. The car stops dead in its tracks. The do
ors slam shut and boots creep towards the back, my heart stops again, and my breath hitches.

  The doors fling open, and a harsh grey-white from the sky blinds me, two Eyera guards are visible they make their way to get me, but I move away. The male guard jumps inside the car and grabs my hair pulling me across. I get on my feet and bite his arm, he lets go and curses, I barge him out of the car, but he gets up quickly, he grabs my boots and yanks me down. He pulls me closer, my hands can’t find anything to hold onto. I break out of his grip and kick him in the nose and blood pours out, he curses loudly and doesn’t play games anymore. He holds my legs while the second guard drags me out, Linxston watches not doing anything to help. The male and female guards hurl me out of the car as I squirm ferociously. They clamp on my shoulders not making the same mistake, the female guard swings her club into my stomach knocking the wind out of me. I hunch onto my knees letting out a groggy sound, and they force me onto my feet and take me to the building with Linxston following behind.

  A large white building sits behind massive grey walls with wires on top, closing the rest of the land. There must be at least thirty floors. I look up at the building, never in a million years I’d thought I see this in person, it wasn’t what I was expecting, I pictured it black with lightning flashing over it, crows flying above squawking, bones of people scattered around but it’s the opposite. This is the place everyone is afraid of, the place that has haunted people’s nightmares for years, a place no one ever wants to go. And here I am, facing it. The guards push me forward up the road to dull grey doors, in steel letters says Eyera Corporation. The chunky doors clank open, and the lieutenant lies on the other side, an evil smile engraved on his face.

  “Welcome to Eyera.”

  CHAPTER twenty-one

  The words ring in my head. Welcome to Eyera. I don’t think my brain has fully accepted that I am here. My body, on the hand, is numb. Deep down I’m scared.