The Spare

The Promotion - Part 2

Max looked from the knives up at Colin—and saw the same combination of horror and terror he felt reflected in his eyes. He wanted to scream, to shout, but he was unable to speak. Silenced by the neural connection Bliss was using to control him. He saw Colin press his tracker again, forcing his neural-lace to fight the fear.

"Am I to understand that you want us to... kill for the job?" he asked, in a strangely academic voice.

"If you choose to."

Max glanced at Bliss, fighting to speak. "Yes dear, what do you want to say?" she asked, and the grip on Max's mind eased ever so slightly.

"How is it a choice if you're the one controlling us?"

Helix laughed again. "Always searching for clarity, aren't you Max? It works like this: we're going to compel you, and if you want the job badly enough, you'll let us. If you don't—well, then, I suspect you'll try and fight us. If you can. Understand?"

Max and Colin stared at one another, disbelieving. Is this really how it all would end? Or is this how it would begin?

"May the best man win," announced Helix.

And, just like that, Max and Colin reached out in unison to grasp the knives in front of them, without thought or decision. They lunged forward over the table—

NO! Max's mind screamed. A searing pain ripped through his head and splintered down to his arm, halting the knife in mid-air...

...where it met Colin's blade, side-by-side.

Max looked up at Colin, straining painfully with the effort. He wasn't sure whether he was more shocked that his colleague had managed to stop the blade, or that he'd even wanted to. Head throbbing, Max fought to keep his mind and body in check, sweat pouring down his face. Helix squealed in delight beside the two frozen men.

"Amazing! We have two morally sound Spares." She reached out to both of them, to their trembling arms holding the knives... and wearing the chem trackers. "Now, let's see if those cocktails do the trick."

She brushed her fingers against the buttons of their trackers, releasing their rewards. Max fought hard against the drugs, turning his blade ever so slightly in Helix's direction. But her gaze was focused on Colin, whose face slackened as the chemicals did their work. With a jolt of panic, Max realized Colin's mind was relaxing—which meant he didn't have much time.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind, than Colin lurched forward with a primal yell. Max gasped in surprise, as the knife sank into his left side and glanced off his ribcage. The clumsy stab knocked both Colin and Max off of their feet, sending them crashing over the coffee table. Colin landed on top of Max, limp and confused, like a broken doll. Pushing him aside, Max stood over his colleague, pulsing with a sudden surge of adrenaline and anger.

Bliss cried out in delight, "You can do it, Max!"

Max picked up the knife again, his mind flooded with a single, silent command: kill. Raising the weapon high over his head, he was interrupted by another command. This one spoken aloud by his other boss... by Helix.

"Kill him!"

The two words broke something in Max. All at once, his connection to the chem tracker faltered, and the rage that had been building in his mind and heart broke through the chemical fog, like water bursting through a dam that had been holding it back. Only the dam had been Bliss's neural-lace... and suddenly... it had no power over him.

Free from her control, Max wasted no time. Knife in hand, he turned and lashed out in two swift movements—

—To the right, slashing Bliss's throat—

—And to left, stabbing Helix directly in the heart.

All was quiet for a moment, as Max's mind began to clear. Bliss collapsed first, with a gurgling sound of protest. Helix's face went white with shock as she watched the dark red stain spread across her chest, before she, too, fell to the ground. And, just like that, it was over. The connection was severed, and their neural-laces went dark.

"What have you done?" Colin managed to breathe, as the inevitable cascade failure followed...

... and he and Max lost consciousness beside them.

***

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you're enjoying The Spare! If so, please leave a vote or comment below. I would love to hear from you. This week I'm wondering: What fate do you think is in store for Max now?

And please stay tuned—new chapters will be posted on SUNDAY.