Dash

by Kelsey Nicole Price

  Dr. Shaw’s words pinged around in my brain. She overwhelmed my thoughts. The revelations settling into my chest like stones, heavy and deep. What I was feeling was nothing close to what Dash must be feeling. I didn’t know how my blueberry would process this information. I reached for his hand and held on tight. At the touch of my hand, his eyes were on mine, wide and wild. Dash’s expression reminded me of a boat tossed within dark, deep waves; my hand the only thing keeping him from going under.

  “I think we need some time alone to talk about everything you shared with us, right, Dash?”

  Dash nodded mutely, his fingers tightening their hold to the point of being uncomfortable. Any tighter and he would hurt me. That alone told me he wasn’t thinking straight but hanging on for dear life.

  Dr. Shaw released Dax’s hand and squared her shoulders. “I understand. We can talk about the dream-sharing later when you’ve both had time to take in what you have learned. Only when you are ready. Whatever you choose to believe about me, know that I will always be here for you, for both of you. You are free to hate me if you wish. Reaper does.”

  Reaper’s eyes shot up meeting Dr. Shaw’s bright green ones. His mouth opened and then slammed closed. He clenched his jaw, the sound of metal grinding together reached my ears. I reached out and patted his knee. The touch took him by surprise but also brought him down a notch. A look of semi-relief passed over his features before he nodded once in acknowledgment. I took it as a thank you. I think I was now what Reaper would call a friend. Well, maybe.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  *Dash*

  Iris kept her hand in mine while we walked back to our room. Rage and hope were waging a bitter battle in my head. I had to pick one.

  Either I followed Reaper’s lead and hated Dr. Shaw for what she did to us, or I put my faith in hope, hope that she really did care for us. Hope that she truly didn’t know what The Global Allegiance did to us.

  Once we reached our room, Iris tugged me toward the bed. I followed her and crawled into it. I laid so my body nested against hers atop the covers.

  Iris moved toward me, closing the mere inches separating us and wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me close. Her head tucked itself under my chin to rest on my chest and tossed one leg over mine, creating as many points of contact between us as possible.

  Sighing, my breath caused Iris’s hair to twitch, tickling my chin. A giggle bubbled up threatening to break free. A cyborg with a fucking case of the giggles. A cyborg who currently didn’t know up from down even with superior processors.

  Without Iris, I might be losing my shit.

  The only time I hadn’t felt out of sorts was when I saw Iris. I was correct when I said my heart knew. It was smarter than the technology that created me. I was faster and stronger, but I had never known love. I would trade all my upgrades and my eternal lifespan for the woman in my arms.

  Iris shifted slightly. “How are you doing, Blueberry?” her voice a mere whisper of sound.

  Burying my noise in her hair, I inhaled. The sweet scent calmed me even further. “I should probably feel worse than I do, but I can’t since I have you.”

  Iris nudged me to the right, I got the message and rolled onto my back bringing her with me; her body landed atop mine. Her thighs caught my hips, straddling me.

  Despite the emotional turmoil raging inside my head, my cock sprung to life.

  “Well, I know what’s still working.” Iris wiggled her eyebrows.

  I shrugged. Before Iris, I had been ashamed of my body’s reaction and hated the way my cock grew hard even when I loathed the person about to fuck me. Now, I reveled in the reaction. My cock and brain utterly enchanted by the person we had the pleasure of delving into.

  Iris playfully nudged my ribs with her knees. “Can you turn him down a little while? I have this important conversation with your other brain for a moment.”

  “I’m a cyborg, not a saint.” I lifted my hips rocking into her. “But I can promise I will focus on everything you say, committing it to memory. I will not allow my little brain to take complete control.”

  “Oh, he’s not little. I have first-hand knowledge of that fact, Blueberry. I better say this quick because soon, I’m going to be naked and unable to form words.” With one hand, she cupped my cheek, the other she rested over my heart. “I can’t imagine the choice you’re faced with. Hate Dr. Shaw for bringing you into this world and condemning you to a life of pain, or put faith in believing her words and forge her. The one memory I shared with you was brutal. You have thousands or maybe millions more just like it. I love you with everything in me, and I want to find every single person who hurt you and shove a Beanie Baby up their asses, but I can’t wish that you never existed. Dr. Shaw brought you to life. She made you so I could love you. I can’t wish away your life. Not one single second of it.” Tears spilled down Iris’s cheeks, her breath caught in her throat ending the flow of words.

  In a cyborg second, I had my answer. I would live it all again if it led me to her.

  Catching her off guard I rolled us putting her body under my own. Lowering my mouth, I kissed her cheeks, tasting the tears, and stole them from her skin with my eager lips. My heart recalibrated to match hers.

  My eyes met her bright and shiny ones. “I wouldn’t change a moment Iris. I can’t hate the woman that gave me life. She gave me life so that one day I could spend my forever with you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  *Iris*

  The next morning, I again found myself sitting with Dash in Dr. Shaw’s office.

  Dax hovered, pacing back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes kept meeting mine, prompting him to bust out into a grin. Every grin tossed my way caused Dash to growl low; his fingers gripped mine as he pressed his body tighter against me.

  After the third grin Dax flashed, I guess I wasn’t close enough for Dash because his strong hands lifted me up and deposited me on his lap so fast I squeaked.

  Dash glared at Dax. “Stop smiling at her.”

  Dax stopped in his tracks, swinging his head to Dash. “Isn’t it customary to smile at those you consider friends?”

  “One time, you smile at them one time. Not three times like some green fool,” Dash bit out through clenched teeth.

  Dax’s shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.”

  I elbowed Dash in his metal ribs. “Usually once is good, Dax, but don’t listen to Blueberry. You’re not a fool, you’re just learning. I have no doubt you will figure it all out.”

  Dax’s lips turned up at the corners, ready to flash me another grin before he caught himself and offered a nod instead.

  Dr. Shaw walked in and every eye in the room turned in her direction.

  She gave all of us a smile. “I’m sorry I’m late. Overnight, there was a development in the location of the original medical cyborg. Now that Dash is home, he is the last one we need to find.”

  I couldn’t help it. I had to ask. “What color is he?” I had grand visions of yellow and orange cyborgs. I’ll be honest...if there were orange cyborgs, they got the short end of the stick.

  “The medical cyborgs are red.” Dr. Shaw answered.

  I blew out a breath. “Thank God. Red is cool.”

  Dr. Shaw’s eyes narrowed. “What color did you think they’d be?”

  “White. Yellow. Really, I was just hoping they weren’t orange. That would just be cruel. Wait are there orange cyborgs?” I had no fucking idea. Maybe I had just insulted orange cyborgs everywhere.

  “No. There are no orange cyborgs. Yellow—yes.” Dr. Shaw answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

  I slapped my knee. “Holy shit! Are you serious? I haven’t seen any.”

  “They were some of the early test models. Yellow wasn’t a popular color. Acer is around here somewhere, but he is even worse than Dax when it comes to social interaction. He probably locked himself in his room the moment he heard you were coming.”

  “He is also afraid of what people will t
hink of him. He wasn’t quite—finished.” Dax supplied.

  “Not finished? What do you mean?” I couldn’t help my curiosity. The question popped out of my mouth like a sucker tugged by the stick.

  Dax stopped pacing and turned his body to face me. “Acer looks more machine than human. It can be visually jarring to most. I am one of the few that don’t mind, but he still hides from me. Dr. Shaw is really the only one he will talk to.”

  My heart went out to the lonely cyborg. It was hard enough to be different, but unlike Dax, Acer stood out even more. He was an outcast even among the cyborgs.

  I looked at Dr. Shaw. “Well, Dr. Shaw, please tell him that I would love to meet him if he ever feels up to it. I know I’m human, but I know what it’s like to feel like an outsider who will never fit in no matter what you do. That you look wrong, say the wrong things, or you aren’t what the world tells you is acceptable. According to the world, and my mother, I should have a husband and a couple of kids by now. I should work at a respectable job instead of digging through “trash” every night. But here I am, madly in love with a blue cyborg who understands my love for the past and never treats me differently because I am human. He should hate me, but instead, he loves me. You don’t need the entire world to accept you. The ones that matter always will.”

  Dash hugged me closer, placing a kiss on my temple. I was the luckiest girl in the world.

  “I wish everyone saw the world like you do Iris. I promise I’ll tell Acer what you said. I truly hope he will want to meet you. I think it would do him good. Are you ready to talk about why we are here?”

  “As in why Dash and I are getting cozy together in dreams and memories?” That kind of crazy shit you just had to say. No beating around the bush when you’re spending time in your blue cyborgs head.

  Dr. Shaw smiled. “You get right to the point, don’t you?”

  I shrugged. “My mouth opens, words pop out. If you ask my mother, I was apparently born with the condition.”

  Reaper looked between Dax and me. “Is it possible you are related to Dax? He suffers from the same affliction.”

  Dax huffed. “It would never be possible. I am a cyborg. She is a human. There is no...”

  “Boys play nice.” Dr. Shaw ordered.

  Dax nodded. Reaper glared but shut up.

  Dr. Shaw tapped her fingers on her desk. “Where were we? Ah yes, the dream-sharing. As far as everybody knows, cyborgs don’t dream, but that’s not completely true. I built a subprogram allowing dreams, but it would not activate until meeting someone they trusted with the deepest parts of themselves. When the machine relaxes and sees beyond their code and programming, they would evolve and start dreaming.”

  “That explains what is happening to Dash but not what’s happening to me. I mean I’m human. I don’t run on coding and programs.”

  Dr. Shaw raised an eyebrow. “Are you so sure?”

  “Well, I’m no scientist but...”

  “How exactly does the brain work? Do we not have programmed responses every day without even knowing they occur? Breathing? Blinking? Coughing? Even patients who have no brain activity cough. It’s an automated response. Your brain implements a series of electronic synapsis that makes your body respond in certain ways. Everyone assumes that cyborg brains are just some type of upgraded computer. It’s true that they can take and process information far faster than human brains, but I did not use a computer as a basis for its design. I used a human brain. Our brains are far more powerful than we know. Once you expand your thinking, the impossible seems possible. Despite the metal in their bodies, to me, they are the next step in human evolution. By falling in love with Dash, you became someone who could see beyond what you thought possible. Dash’s brain made a connection to yours, boosting it, allowing you to dream with him and experience his memories. You have evolved, Iris. Your brain has developed a brand-new set of synapses.”

  I shook my head. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be. I turned to stare at Dash, my eyes wide as saucers, while my mouth did the most unattractive fast gulping. I must have looked like a fish out of water.

  Let’s just say for a moment that Dr. Shaw wasn’t certifiably crazy. What would this mean? Was I somehow now part cyborg? Was Dash’s brain going to keep changing mine?

  “So, I’m becoming a cyborg?” my voice shook.

  Dr. Shaw laughed. “No, my dear. You are still very much human. You can’t turn cyborg. Think of it like this. You are you just slightly upgraded.”

  Pain flashed across Dash’s features. “Is it really so bad to be more like me?”

  I grabbed his cheeks. “Of course not! I’m just a little in shock, Blueberry. Yesterday I didn’t think any of this was possible. All of this seems like it’s out of one of those science fiction movies humans used to make years ago. I am just trying to wrap my head around it, okay? I think you are amazing, Dash. I would never hate becoming more like you.” Planting a kiss on his lips, I let my hands drop and pulled back so I could see him better.

  “Besides, upgrades sound pretty cool. Trust me, nobody ever allowed me to sit at the cool table. Now I think I’d own that fucker.”

  “Where can I find one like her?” Dax wondered out loud.

  Dash looked over my shoulder. “You can’t. Iris is one of a kind.”

  Dr. Shaw reached out patting my arm. “That she is Dash. That she is.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  *Dash*

  While we walked to our small suite, Iris and I didn’t say anything, both trying to absorb Dr. Shaw’s explanation.

  I turned my gaze to the woman by my side. I found, no matter how many times I saw her, I felt amazed by her beauty.

  My previous owners had enough money to alter their looks and be anything they wanted to be. They were more artificial than I was. Fake smiles plastered over perfect white teeth. Every wrinkle erased by lasers, lips plumped by synthetic fillers, bodies sculpted by A.I. controlled hands. They had deposited human knowledge in my circuits, and I knew that humans had obsessed over staying young for hundreds of years. By the time technology advanced to create me, I had extended life and youth far longer than any other generation but only if you could afford it.

  Staring at Iris, I knew real beauty. The lines of her life etched exquisitely on her face. Tiny laugh lines surrounded her lips, a crease appeared whenever she thought hard, wrinkles dotted her forehead when something caught her by surprise.

  I had mapped each line, cataloging her beauty deep in my processors. From this day forward, I would be by her side to see each new one as it appeared.

  So caught up in watching Iris, I didn’t notice Reaper waiting outside our door.

  Iris flashed him a wide grin, the corners of his mouth slightly twitched before he took a hard swallow. His whole body was stiff; his arms locked behind his back. He had his feet planted firmly on the floor. Something had switched Reaper into full military mode.

  The smile faded from Iris’s features when she sensed the change. A tiny flicker of fear darted across her eyes.

  Was this the Reaper who had pulled her from the truck? He was scary as fuck. For a split-second I couldn’t imagine my Iris facing off against him. Then I remembered how fierce my little human was.

  What had changed? Reaper and Iris seemed to get along. The gray cyborg allowed Iris to do things I didn’t think he would let anyone else get away with. Iris had even patted his leg and Reaper had let it happen. I would never volunteer to comfort Reaper. Iris was the only one he let show him concern or care.

  I looked closer and realized it wasn’t rage that had him locked into military mode. Worry and fear mixed on his gray face. He hadn’t looked at me, not once; his gaze firmly fixed on Iris.

  “What’s wrong Great White?” The nickname caused Reaper’s brow to crease as he cleared his throat.

  Reaper’s shoulders slumped slightly. No human would have noticed it. As a cyborg, I detected the very slight change.

  Reaper swallowed. “The Global Allegiance h
as taken your friend, Aria. They demand you turn yourself in to face trial for harboring a cyborg. If you do not surrender, they will execute Aria in your place.”

  Iris’s knees gave out, her body hit the cold concrete like crumpled paper. Reaper dropped down, his metal knees impacting with the floor causing it to vibrate. Every trace of hardness wiped away as he gripped her shoulders tight.

  “I refuse to hand you over. I also refuse to let Aria suffer in your place. Do you hear me, Iris? I will fix this.”

  I fell to the floor and gathered Iris up into my arms. In the middle of some cold hallway, a small human had two cyborgs on their knees, not by command but with love and friendship.

  They had built Reaper to fight and wage war against enemies. Those enemies had come for Iris and Aria.

  Reaper and I would stop them.

  *Iris*

  I was on my ass. The cool stone leaching the warmth from my skin. My ass numbed while a set of arms held me around the waist and another set rested on my shoulders. Sickening waves of guilt washed over me, and my stomach roiled in waves as my heart stuttered in my chest.

  This was all my fault. I hung my head, no longer able to look at Reaper; grateful I couldn’t see Dash’s face. Tears fell freely, tiny splashes hit the concrete in rapid strikes creating a pattern on the floor. I closed my eyes against it. Every wet spot screaming a truth I didn’t want to accept. I couldn’t bear the thought of those monsters having my friend. Were they hurting her? Was she terrified, and alone, and hating me with every breath she took?

  Did she wonder how many breaths she had left?

  I shuddered, pure pain assaulted my body; my muscles trembled in the wake. I would have curled up into a ball on the floor if Reaper and Dash had not held me in place. Gratitude welled up, slipping past the hurt and guilt and offering some sense of relief.

  Reaper’s words echoed in my head. His voice so sure and confident. An unmoving fortress of strength no matter what he was facing. What he agreed to face for me. To rescue my friend, to keep me safe. I had two choices. I could stay on this floor in a mess of guilt and pain, or I could get up and do whatever the fuck it took to get my best friend free.