Blinding Light (BLS Book 1)

Mila

…

…

…

Nolan

My footsteps echo down the hall as I approach the room where Evren and Raven are held.

At first, it was just Evren. We knew we could manipulate the sister to make her on our side. Raven was also too little to know what was going on.

We modified her memory, changed her little by little. We were successful until phase one began. Somehow the information of the Project leaked itself to her. No doubt it was Evren’s doing. He must’ve somehow broken the telepathic block that we created and communicated to her. Now, Raven’s not on our side but plotting against us with her brother.

The siblings want to steal Mila and run away from this whole Project. We promised a start over life for them but they simply couldn’t understand. They’re just way too old-fashioned. I entered the room where both of them are held now. Evren’s put up quite the fight these past ten years. Recently, he’s lost that ability.

“You…” he growls at me when I enter.

Nevermind.

I can still see the fight in his eyes—bright green and golden. The room is dimmed, so it seemed like they were glowing. The room was barely lit by torches for light—we wanted to give him a better setting, closer to what he was used to.

“Yes. What about me?” I snicker as I inch closer to his disfigured body.

His hands are hanging above his head in chains. His legs still touch the floor, and his worn-out pants are filthy and scratched. There are scars on his chest and back—needle punctures and scratches from trying to calm him down these past twelve years.

He tries to move towards me but he winces, and lets out a grunt.

His shoulders were torn out of their sockets just days ago. It was because he overheard what we were planning on what do with Mila—resulting in his rage. He pulled at the chains until his shoulders popped out of its socket.

The newest needle mark resulted in a slash down his back. We couldn’t restrain him so we just distracted him before jabbing the needle into his shoulder blade. It was the spot to make the most effect. But as he jerked at the last second, it resulted in the big slash from his right shoulder blade down his back. I was surprised that he didn’t break the needle.

“I don’t want to harm you,” I say calmly and he laughs.

“Of course you don’t. The past decade has been nothing of the sort.” He lifts his head to meet my gaze, pupils glowing with dark fury and hatred.

“Well, today I don’t.”

“Oh really? I’ve heard that before.”

I stalk towards him until I’m just an inch away from his face. I hold up his face with my fingers, clutching his bloody jaw in my hand.

“Heed my words Evren. Do not make yourself weaker than you already are.”

“Va au diable (go to hell),” he spat. His face is ruddy and worn. We try to keep him clean but he refuses to cooperate. His face is now permanently stained with dried blood.

“I’ll probably end up there anyways,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But I’d like to prolong my stay on this Earth.” I pick up a surgery knife on the ground. I feel the blade—sharp.

“Now, to prolong my stay. We need your sister. We don’t plan to harm her, but to achieve our survival, we will if that’s necessary.” His eyes narrow at the threat, but I know he’s physically too weak to do anything.

“We will rewind her time, it’ll be like we never existed in her life. How is that a bad deal?” I ask him. For the first time, he looks at me as if he’s considering the deal.

“Well?”

“If you want my trust, release Raven,” he says.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. You see, she has somehow snuck her way into the lab or something of the sort.”

His cold stare can burn a hole right through my body. I have always feared him, his abilities. He’s gotten much stronger these past years. And if the telepathic barrier were to break, we will all be doomed.

“I’m afraid I need your help this time,” I say, trying to keep my self-control in check. He chuckles, and a second later, it turns into a maniac kind of laughter that echoes around the room.

“Me…? Help you?” His body heaves up and down. He breathes out before tilting his head, “As I said before, salaud, va au diable (go to hell).”

I’ve long gotten used to his constant string of curses at me, “I knew it would come to this.”

He doesn’t know that there’s a hidden room in this room and his sister has been with him this whole time. The room is hidden in a way that Evren won’t see and won’t try to break in—or break anyone out.

The black door hisses open towards the inside. Mila sits on the ground, hugging her knees to her chest.

No, not Mila. Raven.

Her long brown hair is identical to Mila’s except for the waves—giving her hair more curls than the host. She screams when the door opens and runs at me. I take a step back before she stops abruptly just before the force shied. Inches away—her eyes glowing slightly green, I can sense her ability of Precognition—her powerful yet faint aura. The power is not weak itself but the constant time jumps make it hard to sense and detect.

“You…” she grits her teeth, the same way Evren did.

There’s a screen next to the invisible door. The green screen lights up with commands that I can set up manually to control this room.

But out of curiosity, I wanted to explore her mind.

She’s supposed to be memory wiped but somehow, she keeps getting them back. Perhaps it’s because of her Precognition.

I frown and quickly think of something else to distract her ability. She must’ve predicted what I was going to do because she started cursing and yelling at me.

I don’t listen to her and walk over to the screen. Her eyes widen before she looks around the room. The walls, the ceiling, inspecting every corner. However, the sleep serum was transfused into gas, which was now in the air of her room. With the force shield, it won’t be able to reach me. I watch her as she panics and struggles to stay awake. I disperse the gas in the room, sucking it clean off before I deactivate the force shield. I pick up her body that is now limp on the ground, sleeping soundlessly.

I carry her bridal style before shutting the door with a voice command. Her head is limp on my shoulders. I set her down in front of Evren, and his eyes widen.

“I knew it would come to this,” I sigh. In reality, all I use are modifications of the mind, tricks, call it that.

“Should we do this the easy or the hard way?”

He doesn’t answer. His gaze never leaves Raven’s limp body at his feet.

“What did you do to her?”

“I guess the hard way it is.” I reach into my pocket and take out the surgery knife, bringing it dangerously close to one of her fingers. I look up at Evren. When I don’t see the fear in his eyes, I press the knife into her skin. Deep red blood oozes out of the wound but she doesn’t stir.

“W-wait,” and there it is. I look up at him again, and this time the panic is not just in his eyes. It’s radiating off his whole body.

He could care less about what we do to him, just as long as it’s not his sister. Little did he know that Raven has not gone through any harm at all. The blood is also just a trick on the eye by using my abilities, burning my embers into a deep shade of red rather than orange.

“Well?” I ask him.

“Fine, I’ll help you,” he spat. This was better than being non-cooperative completely.

“Good.”

I step over the sister’s body. She’ll be sleeping for a good two hours of the amount of gas I released into the room where she was held.

“Now, I need to know if you have been communicating with the host.”

“Her name…is Mila,” he growls. His voice is low and dangerous—it makes my anxiety spike a little, but I push it back down.

“We are only referring to her as the host so there are no mutual feelings. We are to dispose of her after she has done her job—”

“Dispose of? She is not an item.”

“Let me finish,” I say, growing impatient. “We are to dispose of her memories after we are finished, by rewinding.

“We are very close in the APT. I need to know what your role is in all this,” I sigh and frown.

I’ve never admitted this to anyone, but I’m scared as hell. I don’t want to die. Yet this man in front of me seemed to be ever willing to. I don’t know what it was like in the 18th century, but it was sure as hell cruel. The people I’ve brought here are so headstrong and not afraid of anything, bold and reckless—only scared when their families are hurt. And even then, it’s more rage than fear.

I sigh again before ruffling my long hair. “Please, Evren. Isn’t ten years of torture enough? Hasn’t everyone suffered enough? Can’t we just get through this?” I ask, now desperate. I’m sure he heard the desperation in my voice because he looks at me with pity that ignites a few sparks of anger. But I blow them out before they unleash into an uncontrollable forest fire.

He seemed to consider the fact that my words are sincere. And they are. But his face turns cold. “I will not admit my role. I will never help your cruel people in this disgusting experiment,” he scowls at me.

“You people are disgusting creatures, and you don’t deserve to be on this Earth. You disobey the direct rule of Mother Nature, rewinding your time. Why don’t you just rewind it all and start over? Therefore, bringing none of us into this.”

“I see that this conversation is now pointless,” I say sternly, cutting him off. If he thinks that we haven’t tried that, then he’s stupider than I thought.

***

Present time...

I’ve just settled down on my bed before a knock sounds at my door.

Damn.

“Yeah?” I yell out.

“Mr. Quinn, a note for you.” I groan before pushing myself up and opening the door.

“Thanks,” I reply when he hands me the note:

Meet. Scheduled for 15:00 hours. Continue to phase two.

~Dad.

Fifteen hundred hours? That’s in an hour. Guess I won’t be getting any sleep.

I force myself to sit down in my rolling chair. I spin in a circle before stopping myself in front of my desk—messy, white, disgusting desk. There are food crumbs everywhere, and I hate cleaning, so I just leave it—there are no ants to come and get it anyways.

Brushing my fingers over the smooth surface of my laptop, and I pop it open. I open it to the data results of the previous week. I didn’t know that there was such a significant boost that we were starting phase two so early. I’m excited but also overwhelmed.

What if it doesn’t work? What if I analyzed this wrong? Or I guess Silas, analyzed it wrong. He was the one who did most of the work anyway. Only one way to find out.

...

ONE HOUR LATER...

“We ready?” My dad asks.

“Yeah,” Indra says, playing with the corners of her shirt—very odd for her state of being.

“You alright, Indra?” He asks, and she nods. Asher bursts into the room, looking all angry.

“Wait, mom, why didn’t you let me know that the procedure is today?!”

“Come on Asher, if it’s today, then it’s today. Don’t make such a big deal out of it.” Indra puts a hand on his shoulder. He grumbles but doesn’t say anything.

“You ready, son? This is the big change we’re going for.” My dad narrows his eyes at me. I hope he doesn’t sense my uncertainty as I nod.

“Yes, father.”

“Good.”

“Are the siblings guarded?” Indra asks Asher.

“Yeah.”

“Good, we don’t want any interruptions. Ready Kaine?”

“Ready,” he says as Sira comes in.

“What’s happening? Why are we beginning phase two early?”

“We are running out of time, Sira,” Indra answers.

“Did you check all the risks?”

“Are you questioning Indra’s judgment?”

“Calm yourself, Kaine,” Indra says, warningly. “We don’t want to destroy the host’s body during the process. She’s only being cautious, aren’t you, Sira?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for questioning.”

“Nonsense, no need to apologize. Are we ready to get started?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Sira heads over to the computer. She pushes her glasses up and types furiously into the computer.

“How does this work?” I ask.

“Hmm. If the algorithm works correctly, the host should wake up. We would need to place her into a simulation room,” Sira replies, never taking her eyes off the monitor.

“We analyzed that the ultimate trigger is pain. But not to herself, but her loved ones. It’ll only be a simulation, but it should activate her powers,” she continues.

“We must waste no time, there are exactly twenty-four hours after its activation before we have to rewind twelve years.”

“How are we going to let her believe us?” I ask.

“Well, we don’t technically need her to believe us. All she has to do is to activate her powers and heal us.” Sira answers before she suddenly stops typing and looks up, “Are you sure she’s ready?” She asks.

“We do not have any more time. The days left are approximately 768 hours, barely more than a month. We have enough analysis after all these years. It’s time,” Indra finishes with a stern look on her face. Sira nods and clicks something on the computer. Her bed lights up in the already bright room. Then, a deposit hole opens in the ground, lowering her sleeping self into the simulation room.

“We should be able to preserve everything from here.”

“Wake her up, now.”

Want more chapters quicker? This book is available on amazon! Just click on the SUPPORT ME button on my profile!

Like ❃ Comment ❃ Share

Thanks, with lots of smiles

☆•Yiona•☆