Existence by James Frey

Author:James Frey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-04-29T04:00:00+00:00

CAHOKIAN

SARAH

For as long as she lives, Sarah Alopay will never forget the sound of her brother’s screams.

They are muffled by the steel walls that close him in, but she can still hear them. Sarah stands on the other side of a six-inch steel-reinforced door, her palms pressed against the cold metal, tears streaking down her face. Samuel Orozco, her brother’s pain trainer, sits rigidly in a folding chair beside her, eyes fixed on his stopwatch.

Samuel does not approve of 14-year-old Sarah’s presence here, but she insisted, and her parents agreed, and so Samuel had no choice but to allow it.

So much of Tate’s training is a mystery to her.

She knows about Endgame, knows that her big brother is the Player, the fate of their Cahokian line resting on his shoulders. She knows that he goes off to mysterious places for days or weeks on end, returning with bruises and scars—and, no matter what, a tacky souvenir for his little sister. She knows Tate is strong and brave, and proud to serve his people, no matter what it takes.

She knows he has no fear of pain.

So Sarah fears for him.

When he disappears on his training missions, she lies awake at night, praying that he will return safe and whole. So when she learned of this mission—a journey no farther than the reinforced shed in their Omaha backyard, a journey deep into the self, to a dark, tranquil meditative corner of the mind that pain cannot touch—she wanted to be there with him, as close as she could get.

“It’s just a few hundred bee stings,” Tate said cheerfully, before Samuel locked him in with the angry hive. He tweaked her nose. “How bad can it be?”

Sarah knows that Tate has been taught to withstand pain. She’s seen him carve a blade across his skin without flinching; she’s seen him walk across hot coals and press an iron brand to his own flesh, searing a Cahokian bird sign into his bicep. All of that without a whimper.

So she is not expecting the screams.

“It’s normal,” Samuel murmurs, finally acknowledging her presence. “To be expected.”

Samuel is one of 10 trainers who serve her brother, turning him into the best Player he can be. Samuel is neither the strongest nor the strangest, but he is by far the most terrifying. His eyes never quite focus, and his face is unnaturally still. He’s a master of inner retreat, of ignoring pain, but Sarah suspects there’s a part of him in constant agony. All that pain must go somewhere. Maybe that’s why he seems to so delight in inflicting pain on her brother.

He looks at her like he wants to experiment on her, like he’s curious to see how much she can withstand, and this frightens her most of all.

Which is why she can’t find the nerve to argue with him.

Why she doesn’t say, No, stop, please.

Something’s gone wrong.

Let my brother out.

Seconds pass. Minutes pass. Tate screams and screams. And when the buzzer finally sounds and the door

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.