The Damaged: A Novella

By K. A. Quinn

Experimentation to cure violent tendencies goes horribly wrong.

 

Gabriel Pullman is more than a little put out about being psychic, especially given that it keeps getting people around him killed. He was a victim of a revolutionary new medical procedure: an aggressive, preventative treatment of mental illness. Those who received the unexpected side effects of sensory hyperstimulation and even telepathic abilities call themselves the Damaged. The military recruits Gabriel to negotiate with the leader of the Damaged rebels, who are out for revenge against the society that has mistreated them, but he must also fight a dark personality within himself. Novella.

~

Gabriel jolted, willed himself flat and uninteresting as a piece of paper, held onto the imagery with all his might. Sheer professional curiosity would get him through this. He'd done his homework. Time to impress the professor.

~

Most surprisingly, there was a sudden absence of pain he hadn't known was there, pain that he'd carried, diffused through his entire body for years. It was gone. The world around him hadn't changed. Gabriel had.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K. A. Quinn
• Release date: Aug 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201865290

Book preview

K. A. Quinn

The Damaged

Copyright © 2022 by K. A. Quinn

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

First edition

Cover art by 412 Designs from Pixabay

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Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Thank you

Chapter One

Amazing new progress has been made in the battle against mental illness. Researchers have been electromagnetically stimulating regions of the cerebral cortex associated with violent impulses and lack of empathy and finding startling results. Could this be the end of crime, or is it just another mental health fad?

The latest in the tally of suicides today… Some twenty-five children and teens in our viewing area have committed suicide after a list of treated children was leaked to the public and published in local news blogs. Also, schoolyard violence is on the rise. Are these treatments causing more harm than help? Some people say the treatments are nothing more than genetic profiling. Senator Marcos is here with Doctor Emerson of Harvard….

Doctor, you claim that surgically altering the brains of these… non-neurotypicals will eliminate violent tendencies in children before they ever start. Your research in prison populations was phenomenally successful, resulting in many early releases. How do you respond to the latest accusations that the broadened testing is too general and that the treatments are, I quote, overkill?

A protest by a group called the Damaged turned violent today as picketers stormed a group of neurologists as they left U of C Friday night. The Damaged claimed that the new mental health treatments cost them their jobs, along with some young lives, referring to the string of suicides of preteen and teen children who had been referred to outside counseling by their schools. In particular, they cited the death of young Jason Anderson, who was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. His father, unable to pay for the treatments, turned a shotgun on his son and then himself. His suicide note detailed his deep shame along with how he had lost his job when his son’s diagnosis became public.

Three more are injured or dead after attacks allegedly performed by the Damaged. Among the victims are Doctor Samuel Emerson, formerly of Harvard. He is currently in intensive care, and it is unknown whether he will recover—

Twenty years later

Sitting at his desk in the dark, Gabriel Pullman clicked on the news and weather, even though he couldn’t even remember the last time that he went outside. A news report began speaking, the voice tinny, harsh, and loud though his cheap built-in speaker, blocking out the gentle shh of the fan running in the corner of the room.

Revolutionary new treatment for the Damaged. We all remember the controversial electromagnetic treatments twenty years ago that led to sweeping healthcare reform.

Gabriel snorted. Some reform that had turned out to be.

An exciting new development comes from the research of Doctor Rowan—

Gabriel turned off the sound, rubbed his head, mussing his dark hair. Every time he thought that people were finally forgetting the whole issue, it would be back in the news, and the freak show would start all over again.

The doorbell rang, and although Gabriel had muffled it by taping half a roll of soft foam over the speaker, it was still too loud. He should really just get rid of the thing. He didn’t have any friends to drop by. But he knew this time he had to answer the door.

Not you again, Gabriel Pullman greeted General Dietz.

General Dietz, an older man in military fatigues, glanced around the room, looking at the soundproofed curtains and thick foam panels that Gabriel had put up to preserve his sanity. Yes, the room looked odd. He knew that. You didn’t already know I was coming?

You could have given me some warning, Gabriel said.

You had your cell service shut off. He went inside and took a seat on the couch without being invited.

Gabriel rubbed his forehead, already tired from the effort of conversation. You’re recalling me, aren’t you? I thought I was a civilian, a volunteer expert—

You’ve got classified knowledge, and we need you again.

Gabriel knew he wasn’t going to win the argument, but he had to try. I’ve done enough. I’m not going through this again.

Mr. Pullman, the world isn’t perfect. You’re going to have to get used to that.

Gabriel groaned and sat down as far away as he could. A spring in the old couch poked him in the leg, doing nothing to help his mood. With all due respect, sir, you’ve never had your neurons rearranged. You have no idea what I went through.

The general continued on as if he