“Now, that’s better. You must have heard already that the Red Witch was killed by a human girl a couple of days ago.”
“Yes. I got wind of it.”
“Did you also hear the rumors that said girl had purified the witch’s crystals?”
“Yes. Where are you going with this?”
“I want you to find the girl and get close to her.”
I peer closer at the holo-screen, trying in vain to read my employer’s expression. Unfortunately, the holo-screen makes that an impossible task.
“Why?”
She arches a dark eyebrow while her lips curl upward. “Because, if she can indeed purify tainted crystals, that will change everything.”
DOROTHY
We are positively lost. At first, I tried to head to the outskirts of the forest, hoping that if I found the yellow road, we could follow along under the coverage of trees. But my sense of direction was completely bogus, and I ended up taking us deeper into the forest.
The light breaking through the canopy of trees has changed. It’s more orange than yellow, which means the sun is setting. Spending the night in the middle of unfamiliar territory is not what I had in mind. Despite my annoyance with Reo for abandoning us, I wish he were here. Not because of the navigation system saved in his robotic system or the deadly weapon in his bionic arm. I miss the guy, which should be enough to land me in a psych ward.
The rustling sound of leaves, followed by a hissing, makes Kevvan jump next to me. He moves closer, rubbing his arm with mine.
“What’s the matter?”
“I don’t know. Don’t you get the feeling we’re being followed?” His gaze skates around, jittery enough to clue me in that he’s truly spooked.
“Why are you acting like that? You’re a hellioncat. You’re probably the most dangerous being in the forest right now.” I smile tentatively at him, hoping my words can clear the fear I see in his eyes.
He lets out a shaky breath as he shudders. “It’s getting dark. I don’t like the dark.”
Toto, who is sniffing the ground a little ahead of us, lets out a bark before leaping over a small boulder and taking off to the left.
Shit.
“Toto!” I run after the dog, wondering what got his attention. Maybe he caught Reo’s scent.
Kevvan and Darius follow close behind me, but Reo is not what Toto was running after. The forest breaks away into a vast field of poppy flowers. On the other side of the field, a beautiful glass manor gleams under the orange setting sun.
“What’s this place?” I take a step forward, mesmerized by the beauty.
“Beats me.” Kevvan joins me in the field. His chest expands as he takes a deep breath. “I’ve never smelled such an exquisite scent before.”
I also inhale deeply the sweet fragrance of the poppy flowers. My whole body becomes as light as air. I feel like dancing and singing. Propelled by a strange impulse, I whirl on the balls of my feet, opening my arms wide as a giggle escapes my lips. From the corner of my eye, I catch Kevvan diving into a bed of flowers, disappearing from view as he sinks among the buds.
Laughter to my right makes me spin around. Darius is on his knees, picking flowers and arranging them into a bouquet. He glances up and smiles at me, making my heart soar. Like a silly girl, I skip in his direction, stopping short of colliding with him. He gets up, standing so close to me that I must tilt my neck to maintain eye contact.
“I made this for you.” He hands me the flowers, which I bring to my nose.
“Thank you. I have never been given flowers before.”
His eyebrows twitch together. “Is it not a custom to present flowers to girls one likes where you come from?”
My cheeks must be the same color of these poppy flowers if the heat spreading through them is any indication. “Ah, yes, it is.”
Darius reaches for my hair, letting his fingers glide through the strands that have come loose from my ponytail. “Then all the guys from your home planet must be blind.”
Boldness like I’ve never known takes over me. Placing a hand on Darius’s chest, I rise onto the tips of my toes and kiss his cheek. He sucks in a breath, but before I can move away, he angles his face and brushes his lips against mine. I’m startled for a moment and ease off. A flash of hurt crosses his eyes, which causes guilt to immediately flood my chest. He opens his mouth to say something, but I cut him off, sealing my lips with his again.
Darius’s arms wrap around my back as his tongue tentatively probes the seam of my lips, as if he’s afraid I’m going to retract again. My pulse quickens to the point that all I can hear is pounding in my ears. I allow the sweet invasion, not knowing what to do, but I trust Darius’s exploration. Our tongues mingle, and at first, I fear I’m doing this kissing thing all wrong. But as my body begins to tingle and the feeling of euphoria spreads to my limbs, I forget this is my first kiss and that we’re lost in a field of flowers.
Not far from us, the distinct sound of someone snoring reminds me we’re not alone. But try as I might, I can’t bring myself to end the kiss. When Darius and I drop to our knees and then lie down next to each other with our mouths still fused together, I don’t find our behavior alarming at all. And when my entire body goes numb and my eyelids become so extremely heavy that I couldn’t open my eyes if I wanted to, I push the warning sign that something is wrong to the back of my mind. The last thought that crosses my head is that falling asleep in a field of flowers is not bad at all.
20
Reo
Seething, I cut through the forest with the fury of a thousand men. I knew that snake of a woman wouldn’t relinquish her power over me so easily.
When my evacuation pod had landed on this planet, I had been lucky to land on a field of tall, soft grass. Despite the pod’s parachute, the impact transformed the small vessel into a mess of mangled metal. If I hadn’t already been part-robot, I wouldn’t have survived.
My employer found me. I’d landed on her property. She nursed me back to health, and in my weakened condition, I was naive enough to believe she had saved my life out of the kindness of her heart. I should have known better.
Quickly, I found out she had plans for me. Oz was a planet divided by war, and my cyborg abilities were something she was quick to exploit. Having lost everything, including my freedom, I accepted her offer of employment without a second thought. At least I’d had a false sense that I was in control.
Knowing how my employer operates, she must have similar plans for Dorothy. Use the girl’s abilities to gain leverage on the war. I accepted my new mission without disclosing that I had already met with her. My soul might be corrupted beyond repair, but that doesn’t mean my conscience has departed. Sometimes, I wish it had been erased when the Game Masters turned me into a killing machine.
I follow the tracking device I planted on Dorothy’s clothing before I parted ways with her. I had every intention to rejoin the group once I took care of my shady business. What I didn’t expect was for them to veer so off course. I didn’t stop to consider that none of them would be able to navigate this forest on their own. The odd thing is that they haven’t moved since I began my journey back to them. When I pull up a view of the map, a field of poppy flowers fills the small screen in front of my bionic eye. I immediately recognize their kind.
“Son of a bitch.”
I break into a run, hoping I’m not too late. Bad things seem to follow Dorothy everywhere she goes. It’s the only justification I can come up with to explain how they wound up in a clearing filled with poisonous flowers.
A low beep alerts me that the tracking device has changed position. I bring the grid map to the front of the screen once more. Dorothy is moving again. This doesn’t make any sense unless she’s been taken.
Fuck me.
I run as fast as my legs can carry me, jumping over rocks and exposed tree trunks without slowing down. Night has already fallen by the time I reach the poppy field. The scarlet flowers are now purple under the glow of the
crescent moon. I switch to night vision, and with ease, I’m able to locate the path of flattened blossoms created by something being dragged over them. I was right. Dorothy and the others had been knocked unconscious by the flowers and then captured.
It doesn’t take long for my system to register the high toxic levels in the air. A warning shows up on my screen, which I remedy by allowing the computer embedded in my brain to block my airways. I must use the reservoir of oxygen my improved body has. It will last me twenty minutes.
Dorothy’s dot stops moving on the grid map. She’s now somewhere inside the great glass building at the end of the field of flowers. Its domed rooftop is framed by two round towers, making it resemble a forgotten temple. I try to bring up any information about the place stored in my system and come up empty.
I practically fly across the deadly meadow. My cold heart is suddenly beating with a sense of urgency and also fear.
You’d better not be dead, girl.
It’s been so long since I cared about the fate of another human being that I feel ill-equipped to deal with the sentiment.
Once I break out of the field, I stumble upon another problem: more poppy flowers. But this time, they’re set up in a geometric garden. Squares, triangles, and circles of colorful buds create strange designs that surround the glass building in a maze-like arrangement. How am I going to find a way in before I run out of oxygen?
I search the ground, which is covered by short grass, and unfortunately, does not show any signs of disturbance. I switch to infrared vision and find nothing as well.
Where are you, Dorothy?
I’m about to just choose a random direction and hope I don’t end up lost when I catch something red on the ground, peeking out from under a bush. It’s a small piece of cloth. Upon closer inspection, I recognize the fabric from Dorothy’s pilot cape. It was ripped by small teeth.
Toto. Of course. The little bugger wouldn’t have been affected by the flowers. Whoever took Dorothy didn’t bother to restrict the small dog.
I search for another piece of fabric, and sure enough, I find one a few paces ahead. A rare smile tugs at my lips as I follow the breadcrumb trail Toto was smart enough to leave behind. Whoever designed that robot was a genius.
The strange garden is indeed a maze, as I had feared. If it wasn’t for the trail of torn fabric, I would have never found the way to the entrance of the glass building. Now that I’ve made the trip once, the directions are recorded in my brain.
Double doors of wrought iron and stained glass mark the front of the building. Despite being made solely of glass and metal, I can’t see anything inside. I once again switch to infrared vision before I venture in. Immediately, I find Dorothy, Scrawny, and Furry Paws right in the center of the building. But there are no other signs of life anywhere. Who the hell took them?
I open and shut my bionic hand, wishing I had my weapon at my disposal. The crystals Dorothy carries were only able to recharge it once, and it didn’t last long. I now regret giving back Dorothy’s blaster.
Pushing one of the doors open, I strain my hearing to the max, trying to pick up any noise that might alert me of an enemy approaching. As soon as I step foot inside, the echoes of Toto’s barking reach me. It’s not coming from where Dorothy and the others are. I hesitate for a second, becoming torn for the first time in years. My brain wants to find Toto, knowing I will most likely find the kidnapper with him. But a forgotten part of me—my heart—wants to make sure Dorothy is okay.
For fuck’s sake. This is getting ridiculous. Get your shit together, Reo.
Before I can make up my mind, my ears detect a low whirring sound. It’s coming my way. Toto barks again, closer now. Quickly, I hide behind an iron column.
“I’m so glad I found you, little fellow. Life has gotten so lonely. My flowers, for all I love them, can’t talk back,” a creature speaks, but its voice doesn’t sound like it belongs to a living thing. It’s robotic.
Toto barks again, farther than before, so I dare a peek. The sight I catch brings bile to my mouth. No wonder I couldn’t locate its trace using my infrared vision. The thing whizzing by with Toto in his hands is a cyborg. But not one like me. Its metal body is a patchwork of shoddy assembly. Both robotic arms have exposed cables and circuitry. Instead of legs, he has tracks. That’s the whirring sound I heard. He’s a cyborg made in Oz. But his poor workmanship is not what is making me ill. It’s the organic part of the cyborg’s composition that drove a knife through my guts. The human who had his body parts replaced by metal is dead, and now, the rotten flesh is attached to the robotic pieces in a gruesome manner.
That could be my destiny.
No. It won’t be. Not if I finish the mission and recover my self-destruct ability.
I follow the monstrosity on light feet, hoping it won’t hear my movements. The creature doesn’t slow its progress or look back. Toto doesn’t notice me lurking after them either. Or maybe he has but knows to keep his mouth shut.
The zombie cyborg leads me to an atrium where he hung Dorothy and the others on crosses made out of thorn and yellow roses. What’s with this creature and flowers? At least they aren’t poppies. As a matter of fact, there aren’t any in this chamber. The air is clear of toxins.
A quick scan of their bodies tells me they’re still alive. As if I need extra proof, Kevvan coughs, followed by a soft moan from Dorothy. Scrawny covertly moves his head toward me. He’s awake, and he’s aware of my presence. Good.
The disgusting creature sets Toto on the floor first before he grabs a long, serrated knife from a table nearby.
“It’s dinnertime.” He approaches Dorothy.
Ah, hell. He’s a fucking cannibal. I’ve seen enough. It’s time to end this party.
I snatch the first object that crosses my path—a large pot with a twisty tree that weighs enough to inflict some damage. The creature whirls around but not fast enough to avoid getting slammed by the ceramic missile I hurl his way. He’s sent back, falling in a jumble of limbs and tree roots, the wheels in his tracks whirling nonstop.
Knowing how sturdy even the shittiest cyborgs can be, I search for a tool to disable the creature completely. Inspecting the ghastly tools he has laid out on the table, I find nothing I can use to tear him apart.
“Dorothy’s blaster,” Scrawny says in a raspy voice. “She still has it.”
“Leave my meal alone. You can’t have her. She’s mine.” The creature whizzes from the floor, still trying to become vertical again.
Ignoring the monster, I aim for Dorothy.
“Reo, watch out!” Scrawny’s warning comes too late.
Suddenly, wire bands coil around my legs, tripping me. I fall to my knees, twisting my torso as I do so. The zombie cyborg has managed to get back onto his tracks, and the coils squeezing my legs into a merciless vise have sprouted from his abdomen.
“You’re not stealing my dinner,” the macabre cyborg says, displaying the rotten ligaments that are keeping his metal jaw together.
Using the sharp blade hidden in one of my metal fingers, I cut through the thick wires but not before the creature is upon me. With his gangly arms, he swats me as I’m getting up, sending me flying against a column.
The back of my head hits the hard surface with a loud bang, momentarily jarring my thoughts. My system enters survival mode, tingeing my vision red. Reo is gone. The Mortal Samurai comes forth. I push myself off the floor with a power leap, landing on the back of the foul-smelling creature. He screeches as I shove the blade inside his metal skull, rotating savagely as I go.
He begins to spin out of control, twisting his arms in a manic dance as he tries to dislodge me from his back. Meanwhile, Toto barks from somewhere in the room.
The zombie cyborg manages to finally grab ahold of my human arm, using his enhanced strength to attempt to crush my bones. The pain only pushes my ire to the limit, eliciting only one thought from my hardwired brain. Killing is all that matters. My system diverts all its power source to my arm, we
aponizing it once more. The familiar vibration of the laser igniting it is the only warning I give the creature before the deadly blast leaves the palm of my bionic hand, frying his circuitry and rotten flesh instead of disintegrating it completely. Because I’m attached to it, the electric current also goes through my body before I’m able to dislodge myself from the aberration.
I land on my back, shaking, as my system tries to minimize the damage from the blast. A loud warning blares in my ears at the same time coded text fills my screen, too fast for me to read it. The strong, metallic taste of blood fills my mouth, and then there’s total blackout.
21
Darius
I can’t believe my eyes when Reo electrocutes the monstrous cyborg without a care in the world. Didn’t he know he would also be impacted by the blast? His entire body convulses as sparks erupt from the creature’s body with loud pops. Reo finally manages to disengage, dropping in a heap not too far from the fallen enemy.
Kevvan’s coughing increases until he wakes up with a start, his breathing suddenly coming out in quick bursts. He looks left and right in a fidgety manner. A grunt escapes his mouth when he attempts to free himself from his bindings.
“Psst, Kevvan, over here,” I call his attention to me.
He whips his face toward mine in a jerky movement, his feline eyes glowing almost neon yellow in the gloom. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. My memories are a little hazy. We must have passed out and then been taken captive.” I fight with the cords wrapped around my wrists, hating that I’m bound to a structure above the ground, as if I were indeed a scarecrow.
“The last thing I remember is leaping into a bed of soft petals.” Kevvan switches his attention to Dorothy, who still has to wake up. “Is she okay?”
The rise and fall of her chest tells me she’s alive. If she’s okay is another story. I focus on her medical bracelet. Even though she pretended her condition wasn’t a big deal, I read the lie as easily as if she had confessed out loud. My chest feels tight. I wouldn’t want anything ill to befall her, but my angst goes further than concern for a friend.
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