Delusional Read online

  I took a deep breath, and let the adrenaline take over my logic and fear. Suddenly, there was a break in the line of aircrafts, and we were both completely vulnerable to the gunfire. I held up my pistol, and blindly started to shoot into the chaos. I could feel the bullets whizzing by my body and hear explosions and the cries of death echoing in my ears. I was able to sneak one quick glance at the bedlam, and in just one second my eyes were inundated with a literal free-for-all of murder.

  I couldn’t even tell you how many bodies there were scattered in blood across the floor, but with every second it seemed more and more lives were swallowed by the jaws of death. Government soldiers and Retributioner soldiers both blended in my eyes, and suddenly everything became the enemy.

  The bullets whizzed by from all angles, and with every step I held my breath desperately hoping that it wouldn’t be my last. Several more bullets connected in various spots of the bullet proof suit, but all of them failed to penetrate through to my skin.

  I clenched my jaw and blocked out the searing pain in my legs. The far wall of the compound grew closer and closer ahead, and the ladder leading down into the depths of Area 51 became visible. Ethan sprinted forward just ahead of me, and I could see the pure look of vexation in his eyes as he fired bullets into the sea of soldiers behind us.

  “Shit!” Ethan screamed, and my eyes went wide at the sight of a row of soldiers appearing from behind one of the aircrafts with their guns blazing straight at us.

  I instinctively dove to the right, to escape the frenzied barrage of bullets, and took cover behind the wheel of another aircraft. Crap! My heart pounded against my chest at a scary pace, and my hands trembled as I tried to desperately reload my pistol.

  “Get up!” Ethan grabbed my arm and tossed me to the side. I practically fell to the floor with the intensity of his push, and I scrambled backward as the bullets began to whizz by my head. The sounds of the thousands of bullets, dozens of explosions, and desperate cries of agony, filled my ears and all festered into a cacophony of ear-piercing noises that made my body tingle on the outside, and my mind scream for help on the inside.

  Ethan raised his pistol and fired a bullet that connected directly with the head of a government soldier, and right in that moment the other soldier unclipped a grenade from his waistband and chucked it directly in our direction.

  Hell no! My body froze with shock, my eyes transfixed on the shiny, black piece of shrapnel flying through the air, and my mind panicked as it contemplated running in one of four directions, all of which resulted in the death of me indefinitely.

  “Natalie!” Ethan cried out, and he made a last second move to try and save us by tackling me, which caused both our bodies to tumble under the fighter jet and hit the floor with a bang.

  The explosion ensued almost in the same moment that my body collided with the floor, and the heat and light flooded my body before the deafening sound rung in my ears. Everything stopped for the slightest moment, as my whole body went numb to the world around me, and the pain in my ears soared to such heights that they felt like they were going to fall off.

  By fate, the exterior of the aircraft blocked the impact of most of the explosion, and there were only about four minute pieces of shrapnel stuck into my vest.

  “Damn!” Ethan yelled, but I could only make out the motions of his lips. Sweat matted his hair, and dripped across the floor, as he scrambled out from under the aircraft and onto his feet.

  I unlocked even more of the desperation and determination inside me and let the emotions will my body onward as I got up and followed Ethan. We both emerged from the opposite side of the aircraft that the bomb exploded on, and for a few seconds no bullets or grenades flew in our direction. My legs pounded against the cement below, and my lungs burned more and more with each step.

  As we rounded the corner past the last row of aircrafts, the ladder stood right in front of us. The endorphins pumping through my veins seemingly expelled a new round of oxygen to my muscles that gave them a burst of energy. A group of Retributioner soldiers scrambled down the ladder shaft at the other corner of the compound, and I fired two bullets at a Government soldier, who stood shooting down into the duct to try and stop them. I didn’t even flinch as the bullet connected with the soldier’s neck, causing him to fall over lifelessly with blood spewing out of him.

  “C’mon!” Ethan looked back at me with grave urgency and fired a succession of bullets into the line of soldiers that pursued us.

  A large gaping hole in the gray cement appeared, and the sign above it suddenly became legible. Area 51 Research Facility. The sign had an acute, ominous feel to it with its bold, black letters, and each rung on the brown ladder was rusted and decaying.

  “Go! Go!” Ethan suddenly stopped and pushed me forward towards the ladder as he stood with his pistol aimed at the row of soldiers trucking towards us. I looked back, for a split second, and I almost lunged forward to stop him, but my eyes narrowed on the rungs of the ladder, and my body instinctively jumped towards it.

  The roar of the dozens of bullets and distant sounds of explosions echoed faintly in my ear behind the sharp, incessant ringing emanating from behind my ear drums. I scrambled hastily down the ladder, skipping two rungs at a time as the cement chipped off the walls and rained down on my body.

  “C’mon!” I screamed. Ethan appeared in the light peeking through from the hole in the ladder, and he began to practically jump down towards me.

  “Faster!” He screamed, and I could see the terror in his eyes. “They’re coming!” The pounding of the footsteps of the soldiers practically shook the cement around us, and with the pieces of cement raining down on us it felt like the whole world was about to cave in.

  I managed to look down through the tears in my eyes, and my heart practically gave up at the sight of nothing but sheer blackness continuing into an abyss of nothingness for what seemed like forever. The air had a cold, heavy, and musty feel to it, and the particles of dust clogged my airways, and infested my lungs like parasites.

  My hands trembled with the flurry of emotions coursing through me, and the overwhelming amount of anxiety overriding everything else. I gulped as we descended further into the darkness that now enveloped us and closed my eyes in anticipation of dozens of bullets to start whizzing by.

  My nose cringed at the foul stench of the decaying matter, and my hands were covered with brown rust all over them and the dozens of cuts that lined them from the sharp metal of the ladders.

  “We’re almost there!” Ethan shouted, despite the darkness only getting thicker around us. I glanced at the map on my ICL and let the smooth motions of my body continue to carry me deeper and deeper into the pit of darkness. I could see the icon of my body on the compound approaching the depths of the research facility, and my eyes glowed at the sight of the Sensitive Data Storage Room appearing only a few dozen yards from where we were.

  A new surge of excitement, and hope coursed through my body. We’re gonna get our memories back! We’re gonna get our lives back!

  I looked up at the now faint ray of light piercing through the darkness and could see the outline of several guards appear in the opening of the ladder, with their guns aimed directly down the vertical shaft.

  “Crap!” Ethan screamed as the air from the flying bullets pounded against my skin. He frantically moved down the ladder until his body was practically on top of mine, and with every passing bullet I closed my eyes and waited for one to connect with me fatally.

  It was impossible to tell whether it was cement or bullets raining down on us and bouncing of my bullet proof suit like rocks. Either way, with each pellet that connected with my body, a sharp pain coursed through my nerves.

  “Ground is right below us!” Ethan hollered, and to my body’s complete and utter dismay, I stepped down onto the hard surface below. I sighed, letting the anxiety ebb out of me, and tried to brace my legs that shook from the weight of my body. I hastily pulled Ethan’s body off the ladder, and glanced one la
st time at the light, that looked millions of miles away, stream through the cold darkness that encased us.

  “Where do we go?” Another bullet connected with the edge of my shoulder, missing my head by mere inches. The sounds of the bullets, were nearly completely drowned out by the screaming in my ears, and the pounding of the rapid beat of my heart.

  “Shit!” Ethan screamed, and I could hear the anxiety and fear bubbling up in his voice. He moved his hands across the cement walls surrounding us, and I suddenly wondered whether this was all just a death trap.

  “Found it!” The shrill excitement in Ethan’s voice cut through the roar of the bullets and stifled the anger coursing through me. Almost instantly, light began to flood my eyes, and I squirmed towards it as the door slammed shut behind us, and with it the sounds of gunfire and the heavy darkness receded behind the gray, metal door for good.

  I exhaled, and looked down at my virtually unscathed body, besides the few pieces of shrapnel stuck to the exterior of the bullet proof vest. The bright, yellow, lights on the ceiling illuminated the familiar sea of gray that encompassed us. Just looking at the endless corridors, and dull, mindless gray walls, brought a sick feeling to my stomach, and made the visions reappear in my mind again.

  “Why is there no one down here?” I screamed. The still, ominously quite vibe to the air, brought forth a surge of anxiety to my brain, and I looked around as I instantly sensed that something was going wrong.

  “Don’t worry about it.” He glanced back, the fire in his eyes practically causing his pupils to melt. “Our destination is just up ahead.”

  I swallowed a worried thought that crept to my conscious from the back of my mind and let the adrenaline and excitement in my veins take over. Ethan suddenly stopped, and my eyes lit up at the sight of another gray, metal door, but unlike the hundreds of others in the compound, behind that door were the remnants of our old lives. Behind that door was the key to unlocking the happiness inside me.

  He pulled his gun out and blew the handle of the door off by firing three bullets at it, but the door refused to budge. It’s not like we have to worry about setting off any alarms. Quickly remembering the Universal Access Driver in my pocket, I handed it to him and he placed it against the chip still intact on the inside of the handle. The Universal Access Driver flashed a purple color and the door swung open automatically as if waving us to come inside. I glanced one last time at either end of the hallway to make sure no soldiers were headed towards us, and stepped into the Sensitive Data Storage Room, the one place that contained our memories.

  The moment my eyes processed the images in front of me, the reality of what was happening hit me and I began to break down The blackness covering the floor, ceiling, walls, and the storage units in the room itself shined magnificently . The blue, red, and green crystalline lights that beeped rhythmically on the exterior of the large storage units gleamed like rubies, diamonds, and sapphires to my eyes. Just yards in front of me was the computer that contained our memories, and probably the millions of lives that President Ash had stolen.

  “C’mon,” Ethan nudged me forward, the awe and excitement dripping from his voice. “We don’t wanna miss our ride out of here.”

  I willed my body forward through the rows of data storage units that towered above our heads. The sea of flashing lights seemed to stretch on forever. There was enough storage in the room to hold all the thoughts of the American people on it.

  My body shook with the surge of emotions coursing through me, that included relief, excitement, happiness, and pure euphoria. One large terminal became visible in front of us, and above a holograph projected displaying a locked symbol.

  Ethan turned towards me, the anticipation of the moment causing his body to tense up. Here it is. I exhaled, and mounted the gun in my waistband, while pulling out the Universal Access Driver.

  My eyes darted around the wide computer tower standing in front of us. My hand trembled as I plugged the driver into the port and watched with my heart racing as the big green letters appeared on the screen. Access Verified.

  “Yes!” The excitement escaped my throat in an ecstatic scream, and Ethan pumped his fist and began to type in both our names.

  “There it is! There it is!” His hands dashed around the holographic keyboard in front of him. My heart raced with excitement, as two files appeared on the holograph. One read: Data for Natalie Parker. And the other read: Data for Ethan Blaine.

  The adrenaline coursing through my veins reached a new high, as Ethan clicked on both the files. “How are you going to download them onto our brains?” I looked at Ethan, who stared up at the screen in a state of shock. His body was practically frozen, as the word Connecting appeared on the holograph and seconds later the computer recognized the presence of both our brains.

  “Like this.” He eyed me again with that familiar look of determination in his eyes, as his goal displayed itself in front of him. He clicked a button, and the words Download Initiating appeared on the screen.

  My body stood paralyzed with shock, and I glanced at him with wide eyes. “Ethan what is happening?”

  But before he could respond, the download finished and instantly billions upon billions of images flooded my brain. At first my brain was so overloaded with emotions that it could do nothing but try to block out the incoming tidal wave of information being slung at it. On one side, the existing information in my brain laid, while on the other the ginormous pile of thoughts and emotions inundated my mind. My brain didn’t know what to believe. Now that the truth about everything was presented so plainly in front of it, it didn’t know anything to do but to instinctively reject the tidings.

  But slowly, my brain conformed to the truth’s warmth, and it gradually let the emotions and images envelope it. Every neuron in my body began to pulse with pain, as they struggled to process the amount of information thrown at it. Electricity scattered from the billions of synapses all connecting in my brain causing my body to shake. A whole lifetime worth of joy, heartbreak, fear, terror, and love instantly flooded my neurons. All at once the whirlwind of truth was thrown at me, and it sent my body whipping around madly, as I got caught up in its storm.

  My mind hurt with every image of the soft black, hair of my mother, the sweet-high pitched voice of my brother, and the blue diamond-like eyes of Hunter, as they flooded my brain. The memories, the sacred memories of my past life, played out in my mind in a hazy flash of images that eventually turned into one mad cacophony of sounds and blur of thoughts. Phoenix, Camp Camel, Scottsdale, and all their beauty transformed into other worlds in front of my eyes, and I suddenly felt myself being carried away into them. The beautiful truth of my life appeared in front of me magnificently and I found myself diving into its warmth. Feelings of love, empathy, and passion coursed over me and the images of my family, and the soft touch of Hunter suddenly felt real. Memories of laughing around campfires, holding hands and singing with Dulce, and messing around with Ethan became clear in my mind.

  Then finally, the comfort, and security Hunter brought me washed over my mind, and I could faintly feel the touch of his lips against mine. I could practically see his blue eyes glowing in front of me, before he disappeared in a gust of wind, that brought a new round of pain down upon me.

  I continued to let the images whirl around me, and dash through my mind, as it all began to culminate into something bigger. I could finally start to feel my brain processing each image and piecing it together into a glorious video that represented the manifestation of my memories—in essence my whole life.

  Finally, after, what felt like a whole lifetime the process seemed over, but a new solidarity clamped down on my mind. I could suddenly start to feel myself lose grip on reality, and lose control of my body, as another worldly force began to take over.

  My mind began to process information, but not at its own will. Suddenly a new wall, that separated the emotions inside me, appeared, and my body felt a new sense of urgency. On the other side of this new wall
, I could hear my conscious screaming not to do it, and I could feel my body pulling back.

  But I had lost all control.

  I opened my eyes, and pulled out my gun, suddenly focusing on the enemy in front of me. I desperately tried to pull back. I clawed at my insides with all my might to try to refrain myself from doing it, but the power was just too strong.

  I raised the pistol in my hand and listened to the click of the bullet sliding into the chamber. Then without a second thought, without any control at all, I found my finger pressing down on the trigger, and in one sharp bang that bullet exited the chamber of the pistol.

  I watched with wide eyes, my body regretting my action, my entire mind hating me for what I had just done. But there was no erasing it. The metal bullet connected in an explosion of blood directly into the temple of Ethan’s forehead, and I watched in horror, as Ethan’s eyes rolled back, and his body collapsed lifelessly to the floor.

  I could feel a scream of terror emanating from deep inside my core, but it was instantly suppressed. The new wall in my mind blocked out every single ounce of emotion and left my body rigid with tension. Without looking back, and without feeling any remorse, I stepped over Ethan’s body that was sprawled in a pool of blood on the floor and exited the room with my mission suddenly becoming clear in my mind.

  My legs bounded forward into the gray halls of Area 51, and I held the pistol up in my hand. One thought, and one thought only leaked past the wall in my brain.

  You know where to go next.

  My family.

  Chapter 25

  The halls leading through the depths of Area 51, were eerily quiet. Besides the sounds of bullets and screams faintly in the distance, and the loud echo of my feet pounding against the gray, waxed floors, there was nothing but silence.

  My legs burned from running, my feet ached from the pounding of the metal, and my lungs and heart felt numb, but somehow, I persisted on. My eyes narrowed on the map on my ICL, and onto my next target, the Psychiatric Wards, where my family would be.