Delusional Page 31

  A weak, hoarse cough sputtered out of my throat, and a vile taste entered my mouth. The wave of emotions had already crashed down upon me, and with its departure it left a slimy residue blanketing my insides. It was a thick parasitic residue, that festered inside me, and all at once it took over.

  I could still feel the fear and the anger pounding against the impenetrable wall in my mind, but these emotions were overridden by the overwhelming desire to kill. Despite the chaos, I had never felt a feeling so calm and warm. My mind surrendered to the sole energy that seemed to so swiftly take me over, and I gave up my body to the mercy of its wrath. My thoughts didn’t even feel like mine anymore. They effortlessly flowed out of me and were simultaneously executed by my body, all the meanwhile, my inner conscious stayed locked away behind the mountain of emotions in me. Everything felt like it was short circuiting. I tried to think, but somehow it seemed that the synapses in my brain got rewired. I tried to turn the switch on and let my own thoughts start to ebb out of me, but it was useless. I couldn’t let myself consciously move without the fiery fist of the ungodly power clamping down on me.

  My body made a right down the hallway, and the sign for the Psychiatric Testing Wards loomed ominously above my head. I looked down at the gun clenched so tightly in my hand and watched the tension and determination in my muscles as I dashed forward. Beads of sweat dribbled down the sides of my face and began to collect in the fabric of the bullet proof vest. A couple hundred yards down the hallway, a row of guards became visible, and behind them a group of Retributioner soldiers, dressed in all blue, began to fire at them.

  One by one each Government soldier fell to the floor lifelessly, and I couldn’t even force myself to do as much but bat an eye. My ears hurt once again with the sounds of gunfire and the sharp screams, of death overcoming yet another person. However, none of this fazed me. The wall in my mind effortlessly kept out all the emotions and let the incandescent flame of determination emanate throughout my body.

  One thought echoed in my mind, and one sole purpose coursed through my veins. Find your family and kill them. Find your family and turn them to Ash.

  My legs ceased to burn as I made a sharp right turn into Psychiatric Ward D.

  Dozens of cells whizzed by on either side of me, each containing a family of precious lives and memories, that were ripped away from them. The air was thick and absolutely putrid. The scent of rotting flesh, and decaying matter, festered in the air and crawled up through my nostrils into my brain. Despite my vison focused forward, out of the corners of my eyes I glimpsed at the rows of people, all chained to the walls, behind the jagged metal bars. Some groaned passively, while others started to scream madly as I dashed by. Their clothes hung in loose rags off their bodies, revealing behind the cracked foundation the sickly pale, bony interior of their bodies. The wild, crazed expressions across their faces glued themselves to my memory, and the shrills of agony echoed horribly in my ears.

  Despite everything building up inside me, I sprinted forward emotionlessly towards my family. The wall in my brain clouded my vision, blocked out my thoughts, and stifled my screams, until there was nothing left of me. I was empty of emotion, and empty of life; the monster had already sucked it all out of me and taken over.

  My legs suddenly stopped, and the sharp, click of a bullet being loaded into the pistol chamber sounded. Parker was inscribed into the metal on the cell, and I exhaled as the cold, thick metal bars separating me from my family loomed above. The hot tension in the air seemed to slowly constrict around my neck, and my arm shook as the gun cocked back, and a bullet penetrated through the metal lock, blowing it off the door.

  The jagged metal bars slammed back against the gray concrete wall, and just feet in front of me stood my family. There was a singular spark of pure joy that exploded inside me, but it soon fizzed out behind the powerful hand grasping my mind. After all the years, after all the pain, after all the tears I finally made it. I could sense something in me snap, as my legs grew weak and my eyes connected with the airy, brown eyes of my brother. I tried to connect the image of the soft, young, beautiful face of my brother singed into my memory with the rough, unshaven face of a young man towering above me. I felt the slightest pinch of pain stab at my heart at the sight of the hardened, hollow look in Matthew’s eyes, as I tried to imagine the glow of my once young, innocent brother’s hazel eyes.

  My legs stepped forward purposefully into the cell, and my arm innately aimed the pistol directly at my brother’s head. I could feel an inner force inside me desperately scream to stop. For the first time, I felt a slight hesitation in my movements, as my eyes stared at my brother, and at his pale, dirty skin, emaciated and deteriorating body, and his long wavy, overgrown brown hair. Pain, regret, anger, and madness roared inside me, but the wave of determination overcame everything else. My eyes met my once little brother, who now towered above me one last time, and a surge of horror flooded me at the sight of the emotionless, zombie-like expression across his face.

  My finger then clamped down on the trigger, and I watched, unmoving, as Matthew’s head erupted into an explosion of blood. The echo of the bullet reverberated in my ears, as Matthew’s body suddenly went limp and fell to the floor. His eyes rolled back into his head, and all the life instantly left him, as his body hung loosely in the air, suspended by the metal shackles around his wrists and ankles.

  The overload of emotions that threatened to overtake me, were instantly equalized by the energy inside me. I felt my body succumbing to its will, and letting the power take over me, in fear of what would happen if I protested. It felt like my conscious and will were effectively backed into a corner and now I could feel the power slowly starting to absorb the other side of me and eat my conscious-self alive.

  My eyes instantly shifted over to my next two targets, as the blood poured out of Matthew’s head and onto the gray floors around. In front of me, both my mom and grandma hung from the chains extending out from the walls, and deep inside me I felt a crushing disappointment at the sight of my dad, who was the only one I truly needed, not being there.

  I focused the sights of my gun directly at the forehead of my grandma, whose skin looked wrinkly and saggy, and her body appeared to be almost non-existent, besides the thin, pale skin holding her mess of bones together. Her eyes looked devoid of energy, happiness, and life. Something inside me, even though my brain had the irresistible urge to kill her, expected my grandma to smile, or to at least recognize my presence. But as I pressed the trigger once again, and yet another bullet connected with another one of my loved ones, she didn’t do as much but flinch. Her frail white hair became splattered in blood, as she dangled lifelessly by the chains, and just like that another life was lost mercilessly at my hands.

  I inhaled a breath of the air that reeked of rotting flesh and watched as the blood rained from her head and onto the stains of human excrement on the floor. My eyes then hovered over the long, soft, black hair of my mother, that now had gray streaks running through it, and stared into the normally warm, amber eyes of my mother, that glanced back at me like I was a stranger. I aimed the pistol at the soft, radiant skin on her forehead, but instead of immediately firing, I felt a strong pull inside me.

  The anger, pain, and madness were starting to win out, and I could feel my body grow stiff, as it fought with the power struggling to take over me—as it fought with what he was telling me to do. You have to kill her! My hands trembled, and fear and horror rumbled inside me, as I realized that I was going to die. The sheer determination coursed through my veins, and screamed inside me, as the one thought echoed in my mind. Kill her. Kill her. Kill her. My conscious wrangled with the power inside me, as I desperately tried to suppress its will, but it was no use.

  My entire body tensed up, and I let my mind go completely blank as I prepared myself to die. I felt my finger press down on the trigger, and I winced as I prepared to have the barrel of the gun turn towards me and deliver one last bullet that would end my story.
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br />   But then something happened.

  I felt the gun suddenly drop from my hands, and I opened my eyes, as it skidded across the floor. Then, two hands forcefully grabbed onto my shoulders and turned me around, and my eyes went wide with shock at the sight of him.

  His soft, sweeping brown hair was pushed to the side, and his blue eyes glowed. Despite, his body practically caving in on itself due to the lack of nutrition, I could still see the broadness to his shoulders and strength to his muscles. The light perfectly illuminated the edge in his jawline, and the softness of his face. His skin looked pale, and empty, but the wonderment, and joy visible in his smile caused a warm feeling to emanate throughout my body.

  It was Hunter.

  Before I could even react, I felt him grab onto me, and pull me towards him. He leaned in and our lips smoothly connected, as the adrenaline coursed wildly through my veins. His hands danced across my body, as I stood frozen with shock, my lips only pulsing slightly with his movements. I felt my every muscle start to shake wildly, as I suddenly became overwhelmed with emotion.

  Is this real? I loosened my body up, and let my energy flow back into him, as I let his warmth encase me. I blocked out all the emotions and immersed myself into the moment. I savored the sweet taste of his lips and tendered my every touch with his body as the whole world seemed to whirl around us.

  He pulled away slowly, but still held his hands on my waist. He smiled, and stared at me for the longest time, happiness emanating from the core of his crystal blue eyes.

  “Natalie, my love,” Hunter wrapped his arms around me, and suddenly, tears began to stream down his face. “I missed you more than life itself.”

  The softness of his words echoed in my mind, as an intense war of emotions between anger, despair, happiness, and excitement ensued inside me. I wrapped my arms, around him, and tried desperately to utter just a few words. I tried with all my might to just express one of the millions of emotions I was feeling in that present moment.

  But it was too late.

  The entire room began to vibrate, as a deafening explosion rung in our ears. I managed to look up at the wide, nervous eyes of Hunter, as we both tried to contemplate what to do, but it was useless. The roar of the explosion only grew louder, as a wall of debris and dust charged forward at us. Amidst the chaos, I grabbed onto Hunter for dear life, and let the tumultuous winds and debris bat up against us.

  One moment there was a flash of light, and then the haze of the dust overcame us. I inhaled the thick, dark dust and tried desperately to endure the surge of debris, but it was impossible. The thickness of the debris soon enveloped us, and the sounds of chaos, and incessant pain everywhere in my body suddenly caused everything to go numb. Another surge of dust knocked me onto the cement floor below, as I began to drown in a tidal wave of matter.

  A blinding pain seared through my body, as an ear-splitting screech emanated from my throat.

  Then everything went black

  Don’t Miss Out on the Next Book in the Control Freakz Series…

  Ready to move on to Triggered, the next installment in the Control Freakz Series?

  Click HERE to begin reading today.

  Here’s a preview of Triggered:

  One technology that can kill everyone in existence. One country on the brink of permanent collapse. One girl that can save everything.

  After being rescued from the rubble, Natalie is welcomed into a new world of horrors, where she is reunited with a humanoid version of Hunter and barred by Danielle from seeing her mom.

  But President Ash has a plan of his own, specifically one for not only ending the civil war in America but reducing everything to dust.

  A new program called Maga X has been in testing for years, resulting in the deaths of thousands.

  When President Ash decides to release this new program upon the population of America, he won’t just be mind controlling them, he will be vaporizing them from the face of the earth.

  However, Natalie, Hunter, and her mom have a plan, one that involves ending the life of one man to save the lives of hundreds of millions.

  And this time it’s not just about saving themselves, it’s about saving everything before it all turns to nothing.

  Click HERE to download your copy of Triggered today.

  GET THE CONSPIRACY CHRONICLES STARTER LIBRARY FOR FREE

  Books are the best, but I always strive to give my readers more than just great stories. My favorite part about being an author is being able to stay in touch with my readers and build long lasting relationships. My mailing list is the primary way I keep my readers up to date on new releases, special offers, and share exclusive insight on the future technologies and events that inspire my books.

  And if you sign up for the mailing list I’ll send you the Conspiracy Chronicles Starter Library , for free, which includes:

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  A copy of the Deadwave Official Game Guide, which contains a deleted, spoiler-free scene from the novel Breakdown (Conspiracy Chronicles Book 1). This is also exclusive to my mailing list—you won’t find this on online retailers or bookstores anywhere in the world.

  You can get the Conspiracy Chronicles Starter Library, for free, by signing up at: https://mevansinked.com

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  About the Author

  Michael Evans is the author of the Control Freakz Series and the Conspiracy Chronicles. He is the Main Coordinator for the Young Eager Writers Association, which seeks to help young writers build sustainable careers as storytellers through their network of clubs, their annual conference, and their podcast called the Young Eager Writers Show.

  He recently graduated high school and is currently taking a gap year from his studies in Charleston, South Carolina, but is originally from Long Island, New York. Some of his hobbies include hiking, running, urban exploring, going to the beach, watching and taking artsy pictures of sunsets (it’s honestly a very enlightening activity to partake in), and walking his ginormous, fluffy goldendoodle underneath the stars.

  To find out more about him or his work, you are welcome to visit here: www.mevansinked.com. If you ever have any questions for him or just want to chat, feel free to contact him at mevansinked@gmail.com or follow him on @mevansinked on Facebook or @mevansinked on Instagram. Receiving messages from readers is always one of the best parts of this author’s day and he is always happy to respond to you personally.

  ALSO BY MICHAEL EVANS

  Have you read them all?

  Conspiracy Chronicles: A Near Future Science Fiction Thriller Series Conspiracy Chronicles is a young adu
lt dystopian thriller series that readers of James Dashner’s Maze Runner and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games will love. This series follows Sam, the son of a wealthy tech entrepreneur, as he tries to prevent a world-altering technology from falling into the hands of a secret brotherhood hell-bent on world domination. The Conspiracy Chronicles are set ten years before the Control Freakz Series and in the exact same universe. These books shed light on some of the events that led to the world falling apart in Control Freakz and share a different side to some of the characters you have grown to know and love in the Control Freakz Series.

  Start reading Breakdown (Conspiracy Chronicles Book 1) by downloading it HERE.

  Check out the rest of the Conspiracy Chronicles by clicking HERE.

  World Gone Mad: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Series World Gone Mad is a post apocalyptic thriller series that readers of Jack Hunt, Hugh Howey, T.L. Payne, and Matthew Mather will love. The main protagonist of the story is Hunter Lee and it follows him in his journey to survive in an apocalyptic world in which the global order has fallen and the electrical grid has been destroyed. Oh and the entire reason the world is a total disaster in the first place is because Hunter created the apocalypse himself by releasing a technology too powerful for humanity to handle. If you liked Control Freakz, I have no doubt you will love World Gone Mad. Not only is it set in the same world and featuring some of the same characters as the Conspiracy Chronicles and Control Freakz, but Mad World (Book 1) will be my thirteenth published novel. So it’s safe to say that the story will be even better than this boxset that you just read.

  To Pre-Order your copy of Mad World (World Gone Mad Series Book 1) click HERE.