Bile rose at the thought, and I doubled over forcing it back down. If I threw up now, there was a good chance I would choke to death on my own vomit. They had damaged my swollen throat so badly that I probably couldn’t even take down a sip of water.
When I started fighting, it wasn’t to be heroic. I didn’t think about just surviving until Reaper came for us.
Every cell in my body needed to get to Dash, I clawed at the glass like a wild animal pushed past the point of thought or reason. I didn’t feel the strike as red sprayed the glass. My brain identified it as my blood but then there was nothing.
Darkness finally took me under until I woke up here.
Woke up with the knowledge that I had failed. Dash. Aria. Reaper. The other cyborgs. I had failed them all.
This time, when the darkness came I let it take me. I hoped that maybe, in the darkness, I would find Dash there.
It was the only place we had left.
Chapter Thirty-Five
*Iris*
A metallic smell teased my nose, reminding me of the scent that coats your hands after holding a handful of coins. Money was a thing of the past, replaced on earth years prior, but I found piles of it every now and again in my hunts for treasure. The coins, so worn down you could no longer make out the images stamped on them, but still the smell remained. I had loved their scent; the way it lingered on my skin, and the sharp bite of metal filling my nose.
This scent was stronger and more familiar like I should know it on contact. The backbite of pain clouded my memory. Even here, I hurt.
I shivered as fingers brushed my skin. They were cool against my heated skin. I turned into the touch and sighed.
“Dash,” I whispered. My throat no longer on fire though a sting remained. My eyelids fluttered trying to find the strength to open. Finally, they popped open revealing a set of bright blue eyes. Memories rushed back. I had found him in the darkness—in the dreams we shared.
Dash’s fingers caressed my check. “Iris.”
I wasted no time, flinging myself at him with such force his body rocked back slightly. His arms circled my waist as I buried my head into his neck, drinking in more of his wonderful, warm metallic scent.
My lips following my nose as I showered his neck with kisses. His skin trembled under my lips as I worked my way down to find his chest once again whole. My fingertips ran over every inch making sure he really was back in one piece.
I wiggled in his hold. “I need to see you.” His arms relaxed, allowing me to slide down his frame. Once my feet hit something solid I looked at every bit of blue skin. A brand-new scar ran down the length of his chest, starting just under his neck and ending right above his hips.
I sucked in a breath. The edges of the scar blurred. It was as though they had melted his skin back together.
I couldn’t stop it. I bent over and vomited the only thing left in my stomach—acid. It burned as I heaved, my body emptied every bitter drop.
I wiped my mouth and turned back to Dash, a look of horror written across his features.
“I am even more repulsive.” Dash backed away from me dropping his eyes to the ground.
Rushing to him for the second time, I grabbed his cheeks and forced him to look at me.
“No Blueberry no. You’re still perfect. You have always been perfect. I just can’t...What they did to you...I can’t,” I trailed off. There are no words for when someone cracks open and then melts your love back together. The pain he must have felt. My stomach gave another heave.
“I wasn’t the only one damaged.” His fingers ghosted over my face, tenderly tracing every bit of swollen and bruised tissue.
I hadn’t felt it when I had been showering him with kisses, pure relief at the feeling of him overrode my pain. It kicked back in full force and I whimpered softly.
Dash moved to drop his fingers from my face but I reached up and gripped them, holding them to my cheeks carefully. “Don’t stop. I’m okay. It doesn’t hurt that much,” I lied, but I needed his hands on me more than I cared about the pain. I didn’t know how long we would be able to stay here.
Dreams shouldn’t hurt.
This was no dream.
We were connecting in the here and now. That big beautiful brain of his found a way to me.
In the pits of hell, our bond had gotten even stronger.
Gently, he held my cheeks, his thumb brushing over my puffy lips.
“This isn’t a dream. You really did find me.”
Dash nodded. “It took me a few attempts. Your brain had blocked out everything to handle your pain and try to heal the damage they did to your body.”
Swallowing, my throat flared with flames but not as hot as before. My salvia slid down much easier letting me know the swelling had eased. “I feel a little better. How many days have I been dead to the world?” I tried a smile; my lips and cheeks throbbed with the effort.
Dash’s eyes fell, no longer able to look at me. His shoulders slumped as he ran a hand over his bald head.
That couldn’t be good. If I had been out for days...I froze. My heartbeat pounded wildly beneath my chest as a new wave of pain threatened to take me to my knees. I dug my heels into whatever rested under my feet and locked my knees against their sudden urge to buckle.
“How long?” I whispered.
“Seven days.”
That was more than enough time. “Did she...did you have to...” I couldn’t finish.
“Does it matter?” Dash whispered, his voice breaking slightly.
I had my answer. Blood rushed past my ears, my fingers clenched into fists. “I will kill her. I will shove her fucking practical pair of pumps up her ass and bash her perfect white teeth into her skull.”
My rage turned into sorrow the instant I saw Dash’s face. I pulled him to me, one arm snaked around his waist as the other gripped his neck. I pulled his face down until my lips found his ear.
“I love you. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing. You are mine forever, Blueberry.” I placed a kiss on his ear. “Now I need you to use that powerful brain of yours and figure out a way to wake me up. I don’t care if you must shock the shit out of me. We have a crazy bitch to kill and then we are finding Aria and getting the fuck out this hell.”
Cold drops splashed onto my shoulder, soaking my skin causing me to shiver. Dash was crying; tears spilled from his navy eyes to slide down his beautiful blue cheeks.
My cyborg was crying. My fingers found his face, brushing away the chilly wetness, a bitter scent filling my nostrils. Dread settled into my veins, heavy and thick. Paralyzed; rooted to the spot by the sight of Dash’s tears.
“Whatever happens we will face it together. Wake me up.”
Dash shook his head no.
“Is it because you don’t think you can do it? Don’t worry I have faith. You are the smartest cyborg I’ve ever met. Well except for Dax but he’s a freak. Don’t tell him I said that. I mean it as a positive thing.”
It was Dash’s turn to pull me to him. His arms caged me to him, his heartbeat stuttering an erratic beat beneath my ear.
“I can’t. I’m so sorry. This was the only way to find you. I couldn’t let you go. I’m so sorry.”
“Blueberry you’re scaring me.” I trembled, as more cool drops hit my skin.
“I can’t wake you because you won’t wake up regardless of what we’ve tried. We are not where you think we are. We are at cyborg headquarters. Reaper rescued us on day three. The place they kept us was only a small lab. A hidden side-project The Global Allegiance was running without anyone’s knowledge. They funded Dr. Rosenfield’s research in hopes of creating new cyborgs; ones born and trained from birth to obey every command. They hoped this process would ensure success. Children are much easier to control than full-grown vat cyborgs. If discovered, The Global Allegiance would deny everything. Reaper and the others quickly overpowered the guards, but in the fighting, Dr. Rosenfield escaped. By the time we found you, an infection had set in. Your organs started shutting down. Dax a
nd Dr. Shaw have tried everything. Your body is being kept alive by machines.”
My mouth opened but nothing came out. This felt too real. Maybe this wasn’t a dream. Maybe it was a nightmare instead.
I refused to believe it. “It’s not true. I’m not ready to go. Please, Dash, tell me you’re lying,” I pleaded.
At my core, I knew my cyborg would never lie to me. I just couldn’t believe what he told me.
I didn’t want to believe it.
This was not how it should end.
Chapter Thirty-Six
*Reaper*
“We are going to lose them both!” I slammed my hands down on Dr. Shaw’s desk; the force of the blow left twin dents in the metal. Dr. Shaw didn’t react to my outburst, just stared at me calmly with a sympathetic expression on her face.
“This is what Dash wanted, Reaper. I know it’s hard, but we must respect his wishes.” She offered a weak smile.
I wanted to punch something. Where the fuck was Dax? Like on cue, the green cyborg waltzed into the office.
“Reaper may I have a word with you in private?” Dax shuffled his feet. A nervous habit of his that only kicked in when he was terribly uncomfortable and trying to hide it. It happened a lot around me. I couldn’t help that I didn’t like him.
I didn’t like anybody.
False, my mind whispered. You like Dash and Iris, my mind taunted.
I hated when my processors were right. That blue cyborg and the woman he loved had wormed they way into my cold metallic heart. Now they would take part of it with them when they went. The mental link Dash had created with Iris was only temporary, a band-aid slapped on a death sentence. Once Iris’s system shut down completely, Dash would follow, a blip on the radar before going dark.
I stared at their lifeless bodies side-by-side on the table. Dash’s large hand engulfed Iris’s small one as his processors struggled to keep them both alive.
You failed... You asked her to trust you. You promised her you wouldn’t fail. Liar, my circuits hissed.
Their lifeless bodies rested side-by-side on the table; a glaring reminder of my failure.
I couldn’t stand here and watch them die.
“Reaper, a word?” Dax asked again, pulling me from my dark thoughts.
“Fine! Make it quick.” I stomped out of the office with Dax hot on my heels. I stomped even faster forcing the green cyborg to struggle to keep up. I was a bastard. Good thing I enjoyed it.
I flung open the door to my quarters. The room was a mess. Broken furniture littered the floor and a series of holes decorated the walls.
Dax gulped behind me.
I narrowed my eyes. “Is there a problem?”
Dax swallowed. “No.” He gingerly stepped into my room, and a brief look of panic flashed across his face.
I shrugged. “At least it’s not your face.”
Dax’s lips drew tight as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you ever not an asshole?”
I couldn’t help it, I smiled. Maybe this cyborg had some badass in him after all. “Nope, but you know that. Now, what did you want to talk to me about? Make it quick.”
Dax shuffled his feet again. And there goes the badass. “I think I have a way to save Iris and Dash.” Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a bottle of silver liquid.
I stepped closer getting a better look. “What is that?”
Dax straightened his shoulders, grinning like the green fool he was. “Nano cells mixed with biomechanical technology. One shot of this should be enough to save Iris.”
My jaw dropped. “How?”
Dax got that glow in his eyes when he talked about science things. “This would upgrade her body and mind to as close as one can get to a cyborg for a human. The Nano cells would continually refresh her tissue and blood, the biomechanics would repair and upgrade her organs. She would cease aging and her body would heal from most damage. That is, if it works.”
I snatched the vial from Dax’s hands, holding it up to the light. The silver liquid swirled within the glass. “If it works? So, you want me to inject Iris with this shit and you don’t know if it will work?” I crowded Dax; his feet scrambled backward until his back hit the wall with a thud.
“Have I had a human to test it on before Iris? She is the first human allowed at headquarters. I had planned to ask her if she wanted to try it after I explained the risks but she’s dying as we speak. We don’t have time to waste, and frankly at this point, what harm could it do? If it works she lives. If it doesn’t she still dies.”
Dax’s voice cracked as he stared at the vial. I could tell the green cyborg was pinning all his hopes on it working. He didn’t want to lose Iris any more than I did. That boy had a serious crush. We all did. Iris had become the first human to treat us like we mattered. Cyborg after cyborg had gone to visit her, hold her hand, and asked her to please get better. Even Acer had gone, taking her hand briefly before storming out. He hadn’t come out of his room since.
Sometimes being the leader sucked. I had never asked for this but I wouldn’t turn away from my responsibility. Iris was one of us. If there was a chance to save her, I would take it. I would just pray Dash would forgive me if I failed yet again.
“If this gives us a chance to save her, we are going to take it. Get it ready.”
Dax nodded before he turned and hurried from the room.
Swinging my fist, I hit the wall, punching through steel and concrete, splitting open the gray flesh on my knuckles. Shiny metal gleamed. I flexed my fingers and caused the skin to spilt even wider.
Please let this work, I silently prayed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
*Dash*
Iris trembled in my arms, the gray fog of nothingness swirled around us as giant sobs racked her body. I hadn’t yet had the courage to tell her the rest of it.
There had only been one way to reach her. Linking my mind to hers allowed me to find her, touch her, and spend these precious few moments together before her body gave out and she faded from this world.
Once she faded, I would too. My processors would shut down for the final time. Not that I cared. Life without Iris would be meaningless.
Telling her had been the single worst moment of my existence.
“You came to say goodbye,” her voice choked with tears but she pulled away from my chest so she could smile at me.
I shook my head. “I’m not leaving you. Where you go, I will follow.”
Her eyes widened, realization drawing on her features. Suddenly, her hands shot up to my chest and she gave a shove to push me away. “You need to go. Don’t stay here, Dash. Don’t let my death be yours, too.” More tears sprung free as she struggled within my grasp.
I tightened my hold, kissing the top of her head. “You gave me the gift of choice when all I had known before was a life filled with obedience. This is my choice, Iris. There is no life without you. I am choosing to follow you. I will always follow you.”
Her fists broke free to pound against my chest with soft strikes. Even in her fury, she was careful to not hurt me.
“I don’t regret a minute, my beautiful Iris.”
Her fists dropped, her body giving one final shiver. Warm fingers cupped my jaw, and she gazed at me with the same expression she had when she told me she loved me for the first time.
“Me neither. Not one fucking second, Dash. I guess we’re Romeo and Julieting it huh?” she sighed. “Tell me we at least saved Aria?”
The corners of my mouth lifted. “Aria is safe at headquarters. That part of the mission was a success.”
A wave of relief washed over Iris’s face. “Thank God. I don’t think I could have...if she hadn’t been...” Another round of tears sprung up, filling her eyes as she trailed off.
“I know, but she is safe and under Reaper’s very watchful eye. When not glued to your side, he has checked on her. I think he might have developed a crush.”
Iris’s eyebrows rose. “Reaper? As in my grim, gray, scary-ass Reaper. Th
at Reaper? I’m sad I’m going to miss those fireworks.”
“Me too,” I replied with a sigh of my own. I pulled her back into my arms, her arms circled my waist in return. “Close your eyes.”
Pain, then acceptance flashed in her eyes. “Is it time?”
I nuzzled her cheek before whispering, “Not yet. We have a little more time. I want to spend it somewhere better than this. Now close your eyes.”
Iris didn’t hesitate, her eyes fell closed with complete trust written across her delicate features.
The room around us shifted, and a warm salty breeze drifted by as waves lapped against the imaginary shore I had crafted.
Iris’s nose twitched, her face broke into a grin. Her eyes popped open to take in the familiar view.
“This is much better. You sure know how to show a girl a fun time.” Her chocolate eyes took in the white sands beach and the rolling bright blue waves. “How much time?”
“Enough. “My voice cracked.
“Ever went skinny dipping, Blueberry?”
My eyes widened.
She laughed. “I’ll take that as a no. Cyborgs must be waterproof. Drop those pants and let's go for a swim.”
“Cyborgs are good to a depth of 2,000 feet,” I informed her.
Clutching her side, she doubled over, laughter shaking her frame. “Ow laughing hurts! Damn you for being hilarious. If you can create the beach from our first dream-share can’t you make it so I don’t look and feel like I got hit by a truck?”
Shame filled me. “I’m sorry. I needed you to know that you weren’t dreaming. I should have done it right after I told you. Forgive me, Iris,” I lit up a wire in my head sending the signal to her brain that she was whole and no longer in pain.
Absolute relief appeared on her face as her fingers slipped up to feel her now back-to-normal features. “Forgiven, Blueberry, now get naked.”
I smiled. “I can do one better.” Sending another signal, our clothes simply vanishing into thin air.
Iris grabbed my hand. “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Let’s go!”
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