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Invidia TWENTY-THREE
"Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is just say no," Cameron's mom had said the same words to him that Madison just had. "What if I can't?" Cameron asked. He was fourteen at the time, and he'd had an old friend confide in him. "What if I don't have a choice?"Christy put her hand on Cameron's hair, gently stroking it. "You always have a choice."Now, Cameron had realized that wasn't always true. He'd been into life or death situations, and sometimes, he had to live when he would've gladly chosen death. That's such a sad thought for a seventeen year old, Cameron thought with a bitter taste in his mouth."What exactly am I saying no to?" Cameron dragged himself back to the present. He'd gotten too caught up in the memory that he'd already forgotten."If you're going to try and bust out or not," Madison said.He glanced down at his arm. They'd taken most of the gauze off. The regular nurse that checks on him informed him that it was healing well, but he'd need to continue
Invidia TWENTY-FOUR
Cameron really wished he had shoes. His feet were sore from sneaking through the hospital on his tip toes. Not to mention the cold tile floor was freezing. However, he was very grateful that the gown the nurses put on him was not one that his butt hung out of. "Officer 147, do you copy?" The officer approximately fifty yards ahead had their HoloComm's talking system turned on, the ones made specifically for automatic talking. "I copy," 147 responded quietly. The man kept his voice down, trying to force silence amongst the crowd around him, successfully."What is your location?" The other voice asked."I am on the west wing, about 30 yards from the desk. I'm keeping an eye on the civilians.""Good. Do you see anything unusual?" At that question, Cameron ducked into the nearest room. He could not risk getting caught. If he were caught trying to escape, they would never let him get away again.The room he ducked into was a patient's room. In the bed was a girl about his age, maybe a li
Invidia TWENTY-FIVE
He finally found the ending hallway. There was a man at the desk in front, wearing purple. He was speaking to someone on his earpiece, clearly upset. "No, I don't know where he is. If I did, don't you think I would've told you?" A moment of silence. "No, I would. I don't want to lose my job over some regular damn kid, but definitely not Hendrickson's." They know I'm gone. I knew I wouldn't get so lucky. With an ever-growing lump in his throat, he melded into the commotion of the hallway. He glanced at the doors, and with a moment of luck, he found it.PI--right there on the door. It was the sign that Madison told him to look for, but of course, there was a guard directly in front of the door. I need a distraction. He snuck into the room next to him, giving no more than a quick glance to the old woman laying in the bed. He pulled out his HoloComm and sent Madison their code word for when he needed help: MONSTER. It seemed fitting, since this entire operation was run by a monster. Withi
Invidia TWENTY-SIX
The inside was as advanced in security measures as the President's manor. It had eye scanners before each new room to be entered, as well as passcodes and thumbprint scanners for each window and door in the house. Cameron just didn't have the luxury of all these doors being opened for him like he did in the manor."This is freaking epic," Justin said. "Have you not seen this yet?" Cameron asked him."No, and it's awesome," Justin sounded like a kid again, but this was his element, after all: software technology."Shane hooked us up with this safe house. I can't go into any more detail than that," Madison said. "Rooms are back that hallway," she pointed to their right. "Bathrooms are scattered throughout. Kitchen is down the other hallway. Make yourselves at home."Justin immediately launched himself onto the cream leather couch and picked up the controller for Galactic Omega. "Come on, Cam. We haven't played this in forever.""Maybe later," he was lost in thought. Shane hooked us up
Invidia TWENTY-SEVEN
"Justin, what the hell!" Cameron ran over to pull the boys apart. Justin raged in a way he'd never seen before. "Mads, help!" He called to her. He didn't have the strength to pull them apart on his own. She grabbed Justin under his stomach and pulled him over."Stop!" She cried at them. Shane's blood was coating all four of them. The metallic tangy smell doused the room, and it was only a matter of time before the fork came out of his shoulder. Before he knew what was happening, Cameron felt his face jerked sideways with the force of a punch. That was a punch, you moron, he thought to himself. The bruise was already creeping up on his jawline. He didn't know who punched him, but he got angry now too--just angry in a different way. He couldn't find himself to forgive whoever punched him for a long time because everyone in this room knew he was hit on a regular basis. With all the furiousness of a boy who'd spent the last three years being beaten and abused, with all the strength that
Invidia TWENTY-EIGHT
"I started working with Frank months ago, before we got close, to try and get a man on the inside. It was the first time I came over to work on a project, and I found him in a room. He had a blueprint spread out across his HoloComm--""Why were you wandering around my house?" Cameron asked. His arms were folded, and he was getting hostile with her in a way he didn't like."I was looking for the restroom. I couldn't remember which way you said it was, so I just figured I'd find it. But anyway, I found Frank instead. He begged me not to tell anyone, especially Hendrickson, so I told him I'd never do that, especially since I wouldn't even know what it was I wasn't telling. I stepped into the room after he invited me in, and I shut the door," Madison was in full flashback mode, and Cameron could picture the scene in his mind."'Do you know of Keegan Enterprises?' he asked me, like it's not the biggest name out there besides Hendrickson's. I said 'yeah, of course. Why?' He's a sweet man. '
Invidia THREE
When Cameron woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring “Highway to Hell,” he always found it ironic how relatable that song really was to his life. He always felt like he was on the highway to hell, and no one would be able to redeem him. Brushing his hair out of his face, he groaned and dragged himself out of bed. Hey, how is everything going? He shot to Justin. Carly and Justin never left his mind. Hey, you up? He saw he had a text—not from Justin, but from Madison. Hmm, he thought to himself. That’s weird. He typed back; I am now. Sorry. I had a late night last night. She responded Yeah me too. Are you able to talk on the phone before school? Cameron didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he said he’d talk for a few minutes. Pulling her up on videochat, he saw where she looked like she’d just woken up too. “Hey,” he said while yawning. “Hi,” she said awkwardly. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he said, “Sooo, did you need something?” “Uh,” she said, then threw her
Invidia TWENTY-NINE
"My father's journal started getting strange," Cameron interjected. "He was eager to start this new job at Keegan Enterprises. He just mentioned that some of the workers looked dead inside, and honestly, what job doesn't have some people like that? But he mentioned it was everyone. They all looked like they'd lost their will to live. He started to get suspicious and nosy when he knew he shouldn't have. He started prying, and then all of a sudden, his entries got shorter. He got paranoid, convinced someone was following him and watching both him and my mom. I don't know what to believe.""No one expects you to have all the answers, Cameron," Justin patted his shoulder. "That's too much to ask of you. As for me, I'd say he probably wasn't wrong about everyone looking dead inside. A job like that is sure to be killing people, both inside and out.""But why'd he get so paranoid all of a sudden? I don't get it.""I'm sure people would actually be keeping an eye on him if he were straying w
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- Invidia
FIFTY-ONE
Her world was blurry, and she was finding it difficult to stay conscious. The harder she fought, the harder it became. She was going to have to let it happen. With as deep of an inhale as she could, she swallowed her breath and let herself fall into it.*****Everything was wavy; the beach, the sand, the clouds. Even the way Madison's hair whipped in the wind. Everything was also distorted, wrong, like she didn't belong there.Someone was out in front of her. They were tall, slender, and dark complected. As far as Madison could tell, the person had a kind face. They reached out a hand towards her, beckoning her to come closer. She took a step, but it was slow. The air was heavy, like she was standing on the moon. Everything was in slow motion, and she couldn't tell how far away the person was. Each step she took, the person always seemed the same distance away, but they weren't moving."Come, child," the person said. It sounded like a woman's voice, but it was nearly impossible to tel
- Invidia
FIFTY
“Whythe hell are you doing this?” Cameron mumbled. The gag dried out his mouth and made his tongue feel sandy, which made moving it to get the gag out all that more difficult. “You know why,” his stepfather answered, bent over the table Cameron was strapped to. The restraints sliced into his skin and bent his wrists at unnatural angles. “You’ve deceived me. You’ve lied. You’ve done everything in your power to overthrow me.” “Whatpower?” He finally spit the gag out. “You’re the freaking president. Ihaveno power. I d
- Invidia
FORTY-NINE
Justin forgot where they even were. He knew they were in the Keegan building, but between the ceiling falling, walking through a holographic wall, and having a mission of death assigned to them, he couldn't remember where in the building they were. The lack of labeling and entirely white walls all over the place didn't help ground him either. It was an endless maze, and the only way he knew to get out of it was to wait for himself to stop being able to breathe.Great,he thought. "Do you have any idea where we are?" He asked Carly, who shook her head no.They had just turned a corner and finally saw something different.Stairs. Justin ran to them and although they were white like the rest of the building, at least he might have foreseen something changing in the near future. He never thought he'd be so happy to see stairs."Up or down?" He asked Carly, beaming."Justin, we're at the bottom. The only way we can go is up."
- Invidia
FORTY-EIGHT
"Kill my father? No way." Cameron said. "Not happening." "Cameron, it's the only way," Dr. Jackson defended. "Besides, that's the only thing now that would truly free him, wouldn't it?" "No!" Cameron argued. "Cam," Madison put a hand on his shoulder, "can you imagine what your father is like now? After being in captivity by the one man who has beaten you foryears? He's been jailed by the man forfifteen years.We have to set him free, in the most humane way possible." "But that doesn't mean we have to fucking murder him!" "Cameron, I know this must be hard to understand, and that's okay, but I need you to listen to me. Even if we do somehow free your father from the government's hands, don't you think he would still be plagued by those 15 years? Think a decade and a half of post-traumatic stress disorder, on top of the amount he already had in response to the oxygen shortage. Wouldn't you want to be truly set
- Invidia
FORTY-SEVEN
Rock, plaster, and dust covered everything in a thick layer of ick. Justin coughed and spit on the floor, and Carly snapped at him for being gross.During the ceiling falling, and their chests becoming engulfed in choking clouds of dust, neither of them noticed the giant man that fell with the ceiling. The man was gargantuan, with a hooked nose and a scruffy beard, no hair on his head, and his breath was the scent of spoiled milk. He landed softly on the ground, noiselessly, and stalked away down the corridor. The only thing he left behind were footprints settled on the sooty ground."God, what was up with that?" Justin finally finished coughing."I don't know, but look," Carly pointed to the footprints of what had to have been at least a size 14 foot."Geez, who is that? Bigfoot?" Justin followed them, walking carefully so his own footprints did not disturb them.It didn't take long for them to catch up with the beast. He was large, but what he made up for in size, he lacked in speed
- Invidia
FORTY-SIX
"Gross, Cameron," Madison jumped back."If you really believe that, does that mean you hate our government?" Cameron asked after wiping his mouth."I don't really feel comfortable answering that, considering who I'm speaking to," Dr. Jackson spoke carefully.Cameron stared, "Do you really think I'm a fan of my stepfather?" He chuckled. "The man beats me. I want to see him in the ground."Dr. Jackson's eyes widened. "Yes, I despise everything about them.""Good," Cameron's face sparkled. A new potential ally amongst all the other enemies in this wretched, fucked up world was exactly what they needed. "We may need your help.""How so?" Dr. Jackson asked hesitantly."I need you to befriend my stepfather," even Madison's head turned when Cameron said that."Why?" Dr. Jackson was infinitely more suspicious than he already was."Because we think he's up to something he shouldn't be, and we have reasonable evidence or whatever it is you say we need in class for a theory, but I can't tell you
- Invidia
FORTY-FIVE
"Wait, wait, wait." Madison said. "Hold on. How does he steal all of their oxygen? And how does he know that what he's doing works?""I don't know, but I have an idea who might." Cameron said."Who would that be?""My professor at San Vanjay's, the one who was writing about biomolecular physics.""And how do we know we can trust him?" Madison asked.Cameron gulped, "We don't, but what other choice do we have?"*****"How exactly did they wipe themselves out?" Carly asked the little girl."They made themselves known too quickly.""In what way?"Adalia gave a smile, "Have you ever heard of the Beginning?"Justin worked hard to keep his face as straight as possible. "I think I might have heard it somewhere. Why?""They were the ones who put me here, gave me a chance at becoming a part of the Project."Carly piped up this time, "And was that your choice, to leave?"She smiled sadly at the ground, "Not at first, no. I did not want to leave my mother and my father, but they understood. The
- Invidia
FORTY-FOUR
"What the hell makes you say that?" Madison asked."God, that's so like him," he muttered to himself. He walked over to a man. The man was strapped to a table with tubes attached to his chest. He also had a mask over his face, one that looked like an older mask, the kind they used to put over asthmatic patients when they needed help breathing."Cameron," Madison yanked his arm. "Look at me." He turned around slowly. "Why do you say that he's stealing their oxygen?"He gestured at the man's feet. "Do you see that giant metal tank? I can tell that the masks on their face are collecting it. Those tanks used to give oxygen, so what makes you think they can't take it as well?""Except for the fact those people aren't breathing out oxygen. They're breathing out carbon dioxide.""They're not though. I think he's stealing it from their lungs.""How?""Do you see these tubes here?" He pointed to the tubes suctioned onto the man's chest. "I think those are filtering out the stuff Hendrickson do
- Invidia
FORTY-THREE
"Madison! Please come back with me. They don't need Carly and Justin, which means we do." Cameron pointed out the obvious. "Clearly, them being here would mess up the project, otherwise they wouldn't have even bothered. Would they? They'd have just killed them and gotten it over with."Madison turned around, eyes wider than he'd ever seen them. "They're needed for something else.""Is there something bigger than Project Invidia?" Cameron pinched his nose. "Damn," he muttered."There has to be, otherwise like you said, they'd have just killed them off already.""Shit, you're right. We need to find them." Cameron started backtracking."Cam, we fell through the floor. How exactly do you expect us to find them?" Madison put her hands on her hips."Good point. Madison van Buren," he put his hands on her shoulders, steadying them both at the same time, "you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I want you to know that. I want you to know if it weren't for you, I probably woul
