Trained To Kill

chapter 30: into darkness. the final chapter.

The key is to never let our hearts stop beating.

We are hardwired to make it hard to kill us, to make it harder than usual for our hearts to completely stopped since they are so pumped with blood and steroids.  When we are "killed", they slow down. But when the heart is damaged, it speeds up. And then it quits. That is how the mutations that the monsters called "Control" are defeated. It's so simple. So easy.

The person who was shot outside was Karma. I know that without a doubt. Only, since I can't see through walls, I can't tell where. Seeing as how Hayden is actually competition, I can't focus long enough on the thud of Karma's muscle pumping long enough to be able to tell the severity of her condition. I know that Hayden's goal was to throw me off of my game, to distract me or to devastate me. 

But she has only released a monster.

I grab onto her shoulders with all my might and yank her to the side. She flies back and lands on top of the dresser, crushing it. Oops. I reach for my gun but in less than a second she's at me again, punching me in the face and aiming at me with the knife. Although I can dodge her, I don't have a weapon to attack with. I take my chance and bash our heads together, breaking her nose as well as mine. She stumbles for just a second before slashing at me with the knife in rapid motions, successfully slicing my arm. I growl at the pain and kick at her feet, now trying to get that damn knife from her hands. I grab a hold of her wrist and back her into the wall, knocking off a few things that were hanging.

We wrestle like this, back and forth, creating a small tornado in the room. The fire I see in her eyes lets me know that there is only one reason she is fighting me so hard- she has been promised the safety of her brother for my head on a platter. I know she has. I recognize it in myself with the way I used to have to kill to keep Karma alive.

There's something about she and I that makes us crazy about the people we have been conditioned to protect. I think it may be a side-effect of the drug, but no matter what we'll stop at nothing to keep the people we care about alive. I like to say it's the only good quality I have left.

"Stop it Hayden!" I say when I finally have the upper hand, pinning her to the wall by both hands and no knife in sight. The room has been ripped apart. My outburst catches her off guard and she stops and waits, trying to catch her breath. "I know you're doing this for Jaden."

When I mention her brother's name, her eyes soften and she tries to fight me again. But I've hit her pressure point. She's too new, she hasn't learned how to block it yet. She can't move. 

"I know that they said if you killed me, you'd get your brother back in one piece. Am I wrong?" I say, our noses almost touching, both of us panting. She doesn't answer. "You can't trust them, Hayden. They'll never stop. I would be surprised if Jaden isn't already dead, or maybe even worse. Why not join us and take them down instead of trying to fight a battle you won't win?" 

I feel her muscles relax and her hands go limp. Her eyes begin to burn as she bites down on her lower lip. I reach into my back pocket and in a flash, before she can react, I take my gun and shoot her in the head. 

It splatters all over my face. I stand over her body and shoot her again, in the heart. Again. Then again. Then again.

She killed Karma. She crossed the line of no return.

I know Karma is dead because while I was talking to Hayden, I could hear her heart beating a mile a minute in my ear. I run outside and sure enough, Karma is lying on the ground, sprawled out, with blood leaking from her chest where a small hole has punctured her. She looks at me with wide eyes as I kneel down and grab her hand. Tears flow from her eyes as she tries to speak, but when she does she coughs and blood comes out. The tears gather faster. She squeezes my hand in hers and looks at me with a knowing, glazed, laziness. Behind the glaze, there's panic. That breaks me.