INTEGATES (Original Story)

CHAPTER 20 - REVENGE

Coldness. Numbness. My heart stopped beating. Not permanently, nor a whole minute. Just for a few seconds.

I wasn't dead. Not entirely, at least. There was only a long reverberating sound in my ear as I dropped on the floor with my knees. My eyes slowly opened but my vision remained blurry. Everything was spinning. It would've registered longer in my head who the person in front of me was, if it wasn't for the yellow ash color that stood out.

There were people running around like they were panicking. Sparks from electric wires were turning visible which created the slight smoke in the room. It made me feel nauseous. Yet I couldn't comprehend what just happened since my hearing was still recovering.

Before my vision cleared, there were tiny hands that lightly held my shoulders and helped me stand. I knew it was my son. No doubt. My heart had already memorized that gentle touch. It was something that could heal every kind of pain and revive every broken soul.

He slowly guided me, more or less dragged, out the room. My head hung low, still throbbing from neuralgia. The moment we crossed the doorway that was once existed, I forced myself to look back and see what I was missing. The room was emptier. Suddenly, there were only two people inside. A woman and a man, who were fighting toe-to-toe. My sight adjusted on the last second before I turned my head back. It was Riley going against Frey. Their bodies were already patched with blood stains. As much as I wanted to call the blonde and help, my attention was caught by another tug of the hand holding my own.

"Come on, Mom." Those were the last slightly unclear words he said before I regained my hearing. "We need to hide."

It was only then that I realized we got out of the NCIO utility room. We were back in the dining area where the new Integates settle to eat, except now, nothing was in order. The tables were half destroyed. We hid at one as gun shots echoed everywhere, along with shattering glasses. I held Arkin as close as possible.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Mama's aim was the main switch, and she finally got to turn it off." He answered, yet continued immediately because I was painting a completely confused expression. "Xyryl's deactivated now. They're trying to kill everyone."

"You mean they have controls over their minds now?"

The kid cautiously nodded. "But they won't even remember a thing. Aunt Kaiylan said that the others were affected too much that the damage is already permanent."

My heart ached a little once again when I heard the Intellectual Head's name.

"What did she mean by permanent?"

He wasn't able to answer right away because there was a sudden huge explosion. The ground shook a bit. Bits of metal scattered on the floor. When those resided, we both took a peek at our right. Yet I immediately pulled Arkin back and cover his eyes from the traumatic scenes. There were people physically fighting, all covered in blood. Some were using knives to stab or slit each other's throats. The others were fighting with pistols. I recognized them. They were the people I previously trained with. They were the other trainees.

Maybe it was what Kaiylan meant. Their minds were too damaged that they have actually lost it. They were no longer aware of anything. It was like a system overload. Everyone was about to self-destruct.

"Mom, they're going to kill Uncle Rodrick too." My son shakily informed, which pulled my attention back.

"Do you have any idea where they are?"

He shook his head first before talking. "But Aunt Kaiylan told me about this secret room where the emergency button is. Maybe they will try to turn Xyryl back on."