Invincible Heart: The John Baker Chronicles: A Permutation Archives Division (The Permutation Archives Book 1) Read online

  Invincible Heart

  A Permutation Archives Division

  Bryan Tann

  Kindra Sowder

  Contents

  Invincible Heart

  CHBB Publishing

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  To Be Continued

  Acknowledgments

  About Bryan Tann

  Follow Bryan Tann

  Also by Bryan Tann

  About Kindra Sowder

  Also by Kindra Sowder

  Thank You For Reading

  Invincible Heart

  The John Baker Chronicles

  Book 1

  * * *

  A Permutation Archives Division

  * * *

  Bryan Tann & Kindra Sowder

  Published by CHBB Publishing

  Novi, Michigan 48374

  This Book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, duplicated, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior written consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  * * *

  Invincible Heart

  Copyright © 2017 Bryan Tann and Kindra Sowder

  * * *

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  * * *

  Cover Artist: Rue Volley

  * * *

  Edited by: Elizabeth A. Lance

  EAL Editing Services

  * * *

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

  There are so many people that I can dedicate this work to.

  Kindra Sowder – For allowing a no name author to spin off of your amazing series. I will never be able to put into words how grateful I am to you.

  TJ and Kris Weeks – For getting me back into the game.

  To my CHBB family – Thank you to all of you for your patience, kindness, and showing me the ropes. Thank you for making my dreams come true.

  There are so many of you that have done so much for me and I do not have enough space to thank you all. So thank you all so much for everything that every last one of you have done for me. Friends that have transcended the word “friend” and have become family…I love you all.

  My babies…I love you.

  * * *

  And finally….2626

  1

  As soon as the light hit his eyes, keeping them shut felt like a better solution. The stab of pain in his brain from the soft fluorescent lights threatened to send his eyes out of their sockets. His lids hugged his dry, sensitive eyes in a protective embrace that did nothing to take the ice pick feeling away.

  He could not feel his body. He knew it was there; two arms with hands at the wrist, with eight fingers and two thumbs a piece. Two legs with two feet at the ankles, with ten toes. He knew they were there, but there was no control of them. He could not move them, and he was unable to risk the pain to his eyes and head again to inquire as to why he could not. So he laid still. The knowledge that he was on his back was evident; he was so uncomfortable lying flat on his back and the irritation of it made him long to at least roll to his side.

  He was too heavy, he could not move. His brain couldn’t muster its own strength to give orders, let alone make his worthless appendages follow its commands. The idea to scream in frustration began to fight its way through the haze of weakness with a surprising strength that burned out as fast as it came, but settled in his consciousness like a splinter in his mind.

  After a few moments, he noticed a small amount of strength returning. Still unwilling to risk his eyesight for a second time, he tried to flex his hands and feet and felt himself restrained at his wrists and ankles. The restraints, despite the soft padding that engulfed him, brought him agony. They would not allow him to roll onto his side, or onto his stomach. He just wanted to go back to sleep, but he couldn’t while on his back, and the four monsters kept him from getting off his back.

  You bastards. Whoever the fuck you are!

  A metal on metal sliding sound brought another wave of pain to his already aching head and a heavy door opened somewhere in the room, he wasn’t able to figure out where.

  “I think he’s awake.” A man’s voice.

  “I think you’re right.” A woman now.

  “Give him the shot.” The man was giving orders.

  “Dr. Tee! Dr. Newton said a full dosage should be once every twenty four…” the woman protested.

  “I know what Dr. Newton said.” Dr. Tee did not sound happy. “But we cannot let him wake up. Give him a full dosage. Now.”

  “If I give him a full dosage, he could develop an immunity!”

  “Nonsense. I specifically developed the serum to ensure that nothing like that travesty back east will happen again. He will not gain an immunity in any way, shape, or form.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Nurse Denton you can either give him the shot, or I will. I want him to remain docile and that is final. I will inform Dr. Newton of this and take full responsibility. Now do it!”

  With the raised voice came more pain between his ears. The sound of the door opening and closing again followed the hurried footsteps.

  “What an asshole,” the woman, now identified as Nurse Denton, said in a low voice. “I’m sorry, Sergeant.”

  A pinch, and then the spreading of…numb came. His head became heavier, as did his limbs. The exhaustion hit like a tidal wave, and the idea of being on his back no longer was a concern.

  Good. Sleep is coming. I’m so fucking tired.

  His throat was on fire when consciousness returned. The agony of thirst would not allow weakness to keep him in its embrace. Sight would have to wait, movement was his first need. His hands closed to weak fists, reopened, and then closed again. The fists this time a little bit stronger than before, and each time after that the fists had more power.

  Flexing his toes along with his hands brought sweat to his brow, causing the pain in his throat to worsen. As the pain in his throat grew, his body’s strength returned. With his body’s strength, his mind began to sharpen as well.

  Wh…what’s my name? Who am I? Sh…she called me Sergeant. I’m…I’m an e
nlisted man? Am…where…I…

  Thoughts were rushing through his mind too fast for him to catch and make sense of, and the frustration made his fists close even stronger. His fingernails began to dig into the palms of his hands and a grunt of agony, and a hoarse cry escaped him.

  The sound of the door came again, more clearly than it was before.

  “Sergeant?” a woman’s voice. The same one?

  “Water? Please?”

  “Of course, Sergeant.”

  The instant he felt the straw against his lips, he claimed the plastic and sucked hungrily. The ice cold liquid was a gift from heaven as he took down each and every drop. With each gulp, more strength returned and each gulp was more intense than the last.

  As he suckled like a starving newborn to its mother’s breast, he felt the prick against his skin and the liquid sleep coarse through his veins. So cold. So very cold.

  “N…” his protest was in vain as the clouds came back, swallowing his mind as he swallowed the water. He was weak again.

  “There now. Everything is all better now,” said the mystery woman. “Now you just get some rest, and Dr. Newton will be in to see you tomorrow. That’s a good boy now.”

  With each step that the woman took to the door, the cold made it harder for him to know where she was until the door was shut behind her.

  Sleep was coming. The darkness in his mind was a threat to swallow him whole again. The memories of the last time the woman and her companion had visited him, they said the name; Dr. Newton. Dr. Newton was the reason he was here. The memory as to why he was here still would not come to him. The only thing that he could think of was that he didn’t like this; being in this bed, being put to sleep all the time. What was the serum that was always being used on him?

  “No.” The word was weak. Tired. But the decision made the dark cloud lighten ever so slightly. Curling his fists into balls, his heart began to beat a little bit heavier.

  “No.”

  His voice now stronger, he felt the cold in his body being replaced with a fire that he could not describe. His muscles began to bulge, his hands and feet pulling more forcefully against their restraints. When his eyes were finally introduced to the bare, white room, it was blurry. After blinking, the bare white was more vibrant, as though he could see for the first time.

  “Let…me…go!” Sweat began to bead from his forehead, his hands in tight fists pulling as hard as he could against the leather straps that held the strength of steel. His rage against the restraints, the fire and focus that with such strength claimed him began to fade, slow at first. The intense ferocity of the liquid cold, the bringer of sleep, strengthened its hold on him. His strength left him as quickly as it came to him. His eyelids were too heavy to keep open.

  And then the blackness came again.

  “According to the security footage, it seems my course of action was just. Our Invincible Heart Project almost got free of the restraints.” Dr. Tee added sugar to his coffee, an arrogant smile across his face.

  Dr. Newton, looking at the charts in front of him barely raised his gaze to his colleague as his head moved from side to side.

  “My dear Nobu, perhaps in the short term your actions were just. However, I fear, that your actions may have lasting ramifications.” The older doctor removed his spherical glasses from his weather beaten brow and rubbed them gently with his handkerchief. His salt-and-peppered hair, cut close due to early balding, was tight and well kept. The thick mustache, also salt-and-pepper colored, covered the cleft pallet scar over his lip to his right nostril. The mustache, far thicker than the beard counterpart, was obviously cut that way to hide the deformity. His white lab coat hung near his desk in the simple office with two desks; one for himself and for Dr. Tee. Each man had their credentials decorated upon their respective walls in the office. The younger man, in his early forties despite his youthful Japanese appearance, could not help but sneer at the sixty plus year old in front of him.

  “If I had not injected him with my serum, he could have gotten free.” Dr. Tee raised his coffee cup to his lips. “What would have happened then?”

  “I am not disputing you, Nobu, please do not take my viewpoint as a criticism.”

  “Then what are you trying to say, David?”

  “I am saying, Nobu, that our friend’s condition is unique and we must handle it with care. The protocols that I have in place should be followed. This is our first successful subject in the last ten attempts since the…fiasco. Yes you may have prevented an attempted escape last night by using your serum, which is a brilliant formula by the way, but what if there is a chance…”

  “He will not build an immunity to it.” Dr. Tee’s annoyance at the point was now evident. “It is impossible! Mila was a fluke, it will not happen again.”

  “If there were a chance,” the older doctor replied unfazed by the sudden outburst. “Then that could be catastrophic to what we are attempting. Do not worry, you will have your chance to study him further.”

  “It is important for us to understand how come he is not dead now. Every other subject has died except for him,” Tee growled.

  “You are right, Nobu. And before we start hacking away at him, we need to get various samples of his blood. Samples while he is effected by your serum, and samples when he is not. And the best way to get samples of his blood without your serum is to gain his trust.

  “All he will know right now is that he has been kept sedated. He will not know how or why. If we are going to do that, then we must be subtle.”

  “David…”

  “Nobu.” The elder doctor’s voice had a harder edge to it than it had before. He was through trying to get through to the younger man with rational thinking. “I am the lead on this project and I believe this is the best course of action to take. I understand that this is not the matter that you would like to take, but I believe it be the most prudent. The sedations will be every twenty four hours on the hour and not an hour before. We will do this slowly. When we get what we need, then you will be able to cut him open like a pig and do all of the things you would like to do. Hopefully then we will be able to replicate.”

  “Fine, David. For now.” Dr. Tee could not hide the anger he was feeling. “However if you are wrong about this, you will accept all of the blame alone. I have gone on record in my reports that I do not agree with this course of action.”

  “I know that you have, Nobu. I read your reports if you recall. I just ask you, with great respect, that you just continue to trust my judgement. We will have the answers soon enough.”

  Dr. Tee took another sip of his coffee mug with a nod.

  “Thank you. Were we able to get anymore of the EKG readouts before he was neutralized?” Dr. Newton frowned at the documents in front of him, their incompletion brought an irritation that he was able to suppress. A smile then spread across his lips as he turned the pages.

  “Off the charts.” Dr. Newton could not help but chuckle. “He was going into full rest, and then his body had a sudden surge. Our hypothesis appears to be correct; the experiment and his body chemistry are acting in a symbiotic type manner. We won’t be able to tell to what extent, or why, until we get his blood work without your serum in his system.”

  “How do you suggest we keep him under control?” Dr. Tee grumbled.

  “We will send Nurse Denton to interview him, get an assessment of his mental state and go from there. And if for some reason he is able to become a problem, we will simply give him an additional dose of the serum to keep him under control.”

  Thinking for a moment, taking a final sip of his coffee, Dr. Tee set his mug down.

  “I think that is acceptable. We will keep him restrained of course.”

  “Oh of course, Nobu, I have not lose complete sense of my faculties despite what you may think.” Dr. Newton’s calm, grandfatherly chuckle was like music in the air. “And if he proves too difficult to handle then we will take…other measures.”

  “And either way, we will
find out if we can replicate the effects of the experiment.”

  “I suppose so. However if we can find a way without…”

  “My God, David, let us not go around and around on this. This subject is nothing more than that; a subject. The moment that he signed on the dotted line for this experiment he became property; property of the Government. That is all that this subject is or will ever be.”

  “I must say, Nobu, of all of my students you do the best at separating yourself from your subjects.”

  “Thank you, David.” Dr. Tee stood from his desk and after pulling on his white lab coat exited the office.

  “It wasn’t a compliment, Nobu. Sadly enough.”

  Reaching forward, Dr. Newton pressed a button on his console.

  “Marissa, send Nurse Denton into my office. Tell her that I have an assignment for her.”

  2

  “John?” the voice was that of a woman. That much he could tell, the familiar voice of the nurse. Nurse…Denton. “John? Can you hear me?”

  Wasn’t I…what was I yesterday? John? Is that my name? God, my throat hurts so bad!

  “W…water.” His throat was raw again.

  When he felt the plastic touch his lips, again he suckled hungrily. Not as feverish as he had…however long ago it was, but he needed the water. Craved it more than anything, until his stomach became full and water sloshed around in emptiness.

  “Where am I?” The three words felt like a mouthful. It was more than he’d said for as long as he could remember. He could not remember anything prior to the first time he’d awakened and the cold feeling came.

  “You do not remember?”

  The question would have brought a fury to him, if he weren’t so exhausted, so hungry. “No.” the desire to retort with anger would have to wait.