The Steam | ✔️

Chapter Ten

Mackenzie

"All SIU agents report to control center immediately. All SIU agents report to control center immediately."

At the sound of the announcement, I automatically abandon the metal trey of food and head straight for the control center. It's time. For as long as I can remember, I have been training for this day. The day the Leaders finally put an end to all of the illegal rebel nonsense that has been happening for too long. The day we finally regain control of our city. The day that every last one of those vile criminals is killed.

"Commander Marks, you'll lead wave one. Commander Tucker, wave two. Commander Collins, wave three. Agents numbers 1 through 11, wave one. Agents 12 through 23, wave two. The rest of you, wave three." Chillwit barks.

We are marched through the underground passageways and out to the back garage doors.

"Wave one, now!" Marks sprints off through the woods, the other Leaders silently following behind him.

Everyone is suited up in full SIU armor, complete with motion sensing headgear and lie detectors, and we have all been trained how to move through the forest without making a sound, This isn't some old-fashion battle like they had in the Ancient Times. This is a full-blown sneak attack.

The Hypnos, who are criminals that have been hypnotized to follow attack with the Leaders, are with wave one. The first wave's main job is rounding up the grimy rebels and sufficiently scare them, just in time for my wave to come in and kill them all. Wave three cleans up all the bodies and rounds up any stragglers that have escaped. The attack has been planned out in a way that provides little room for error, and the addition of wave three ensures that life will continue in the city and the citizens won't have a clue that there was ever a rebellion.

...

"Tucker, now!" Even before the sentence leaves Chillwit's mouth, I'm off, following the path through the already trampled brush. According to the plan, once we reach the camp, wave one will have most of the Rebels gathered in the center, ready for our guns. Upon arriving, though, I realize that it isn't the case.

Bullets are flying, but not from the Leaders. They rain down from above, and the agents from wave one are frantically attempting to avoid them. Bodies litter the ground, and none of them are Rebels. I duck behind a tree, trying to make sense of the situation. Above, above, above. How could the Rebels get above? My gaze lands on the well-concealed object in front of me. A small, wooden handhold, painted to look exactly like the tree bark.

My eyes graze up the trunk, where I can make out more of the little knobs. I scale the tree in mere seconds, thanks to my Leader super-speed. I pull myself up onto a wood platform, which leads to a long rope bridge that again, only takes me seconds to cross. The end of the bridge gives way to a whole network of forts, ladders, and more bridges, all at varying heights.

Without hesitation, I shoot all of the Rebels in my path, some falling over guardrails and down into the chaos far below. Kill, kill, kill. The only thing running through my brain. Kill him, kill her, kill them all. I poke my head into a small hut, searching for people. A woman is sitting in the corner, trying to console a wailing baby with a hushed melody. Bang, bang! The crying and singing simultaneously stop.

A few more Leaders have made their way up the trees, but the Rebels are now shooting back. Where they got guns, I have no idea. Chillwit promised that they were unarmed. Chillwit was supposed to know everything about the camp. I am so distracted trying to make sense of everything that I don't register the person behind me until I hear the click of the trigger, and I quickly duck and shoot blindly behind me. The bullet grazes my helmet, tearing a huge gash in the metal that Chillwit had promised was bulletproof.

I throw the useless object over my shoulder and continue on, hearing a loud thump as it hits the lifeless body behind me. Now with my face completely unguarded, I stick to the sides of the forts, shooting the two Rebels that cross my path.

I come to the last fort before a long, open rope bridge, and I cautiously step inside. There's a young man facing the back wall, and he turns around right as my finger is about to pull the trigger.

"Mackenzie?" He asks. Something about his face makes me hesitate, and the guy, who seems to be about my age, takes advantage of my delay and rushes forward. The bone-crushing hug makes me drop my gun, which clatters to the floor.

"Who are you and why are you touching me?" I ask in a forceful tone, twisting out of his iron grasp.

"Kenz, please remember. Zoe said that once a person goes full Machine, there's no turning back. but you have to remember, Mackenzie!"

The name, Zoe. Something rings a bell. There aren't any leaders named Zoe, and we don't go by first names there anyway.

"Remember, Mack? After your mom disappeared, and then your little sister, we decided to find them? Remember, we tried to run away together? But you got caught, the Leaders took you, they turned you into one of them. You took these pills that made you forget. They took away all your memories and emotions. Your mother is here, Kenz. She's actually like the head Rebel. Do you remember her? Your mom? Zoe? She always wanted to make a difference, and now she is. Come on Mackenzie, you've got to remember. I know you can. The sunflower garden that we would play in as kids, with your little sister. Remember Bridget, your sister? She's here now too."

I lean down and grab my gun off the floor, and giving the guy a cold stare, aim right at his head.

"Mackenzie, please, remember me? Logan Cannon? Your lifelong neighbor, best friend, and boyfriend?" The look on my face said it all, and he sighed in defeat. "Go ahead Kenz, shoot me. I don't think I could live any longer knowing that you're like this, that my Mackenzie is gone. I need you. These past few months have been torture, watching you slowly fade away. Now you're gone, and if only I wouldn't have gotten away, maybe I could have stopped this. I love you, Mackenzie Tucker. I can't live without you. So kill me, I don't care. If you're gone, then I don't want to stay around."

Logan closes his eyes, anticipating the shot. But instead, I do something that I would never have imagined. For the second time, I let my weapon fall. Something slips out of my eye and creates a burning track down my cheek. A tear. More and more of them fall, and I remember.

I remember summer days and blue skies. I remember dancing in the sunflowers and gazing at the stars. I remember his lips on mine and the smell of a sweet spring night and plans of making the society different. I remember crying into his arms when Bridget disappeared and the day we started dating. I remember the happy times and the sad times. I remember him.

"Logan Cannon, I love you too."

He opens his eyes and lifts me up, spinning me around in circles.

"I knew it, Kenz. I knew you could do it."

And then everything stops around us. The gunshots dissolve into the background, and it's just my lips on his. The way it should be.

...

Happy New Year, everyone! I know, I know, it's been like a bazillion years since I last updated. Good news, though! Updates should be coming out a lot more frequently now. There will only be a couple more chapters after this and then the epilogue. It's hard to believe that The Steam has been a work in progress for nearly two years now! Thanks for being so supportive!