by T. J. Quinn
“Jarcor, the first cyborg able to escape from human’s control was captured the first time he tried to escape,” he explained. “He knew the probabilities of being captured were high, but he had been doing some secondary programming to his chips and circuitry the humans weren’t able to detect. That programming would give him access to all the codes and passwords he would need to access the main control system.”
“Oh… he sounds like a man with resolve,” she muttered.
“He was determined to escape no matter what. Jarcor was one of the first cyborgs created, and he wasn’t born like most of us. He was a trained soldier, and his superiors convinced him to volunteer to be turned into a cyborg. He had been in a battle somewhere in the globe, and the bones in both his legs were destroyed,” Rafaroy added, in a stern tone. “They convinced him to have all his bones replaced by the same kind of skeleton you saw in me. He didn’t need to think too hard about it. It was that or become an invalid.”
“Oh... the recovery must have been terrible,” she muttered, shuddering at the thought of so much pain.
“Yes, it was, as well as all the changes and upgrades they did on him. At first, he agreed with everything until he realized they had stopped treating him like a man. He had become a war machine for them with no rights whatsoever,” he continued. “Unlike most of us, the humans were never able to fully convert him into a cyborg. Therefore they never had full control of him.”
“That made things worse for him,” she stated. “Made him more aware of what was really happening around him.”
“Exactly. Jarcor’s first escape was a well-planned move. He knew he would be captured since he had no way of deactivating the trackers implanted on him.”
“Then why escape?”
“He wanted them to capture him and access his control system once they got them back. He needed the codes they would use to add more programming into his chips so that he could copy them.”
“He took quite a risk,” she said, cuddling closer to him.
“Yes, it was, but he had been through enough, and he wanted freedom at any cost. I heard he was heavily tortured when they got them back. Humans weren’t pleased with his escape and made it quite clear. But he was able to get the codes he needed, and when he escaped the second time, they had no way of ever finding him again.” Rafaroy’s voice oozed with pride and admiration for the other man. “Before he left, though, he transmitted all the codes to all of us, inspiring us to fight for our own freedom.”
“He sounds like an amazing man.”
“He is. After he was able to escape, several others escaped as well, and after they took hold of an abandoned Taucet vessel, they left the planet and set up a colony in a nearby planet they called Arcadia.”
“Will you go join them?” she asked, suddenly realizing she was about to lose him forever. The thought felt like a vicious punch to her stomach, and she gasped.
“Yes, if I’m able to contact them. I’ll need a ride,” he replied, with a scowl.
The sun was starting to color the sky, and she jumped up, suddenly feeling restless.
“Morning is here. Since we’re up, we should leave, don’t you think?” she suggested, walking to the cave’s entrance, shuddering a bit at the cold breeze.
“Yes, of course. I’ll get us some fish for breakfast, and we can leave as soon as we eat,” he said, getting up, with a slight frown.
He could feel her a million miles away from him as if she had put distance between them and locked herself up behind thick walls. Unable to figure out what might have triggered that response, he headed to the river to get their breakfast.
“Thank you, I’ll go wash,” she replied, and without looking at him, she walked towards the river.
Sighing, Rafaroy walked straight to the river, and a few minutes later he had captured two more fishes. Elena was still at the river, playing with the water absently, so he decided not to bother her, while the fishes cooked on the mild fire still burning.
She returned when the food was ready, and they ate in silence.
“Are you alright?” he dared to ask her.
She nodded. “Yes, of course. Just a bit tired, I guess. I’ve had a hellish week,” she said, with a sad smile.
“That’s an understatement.”
CHAPTER NINE
They left right after he erased all traces of their stay at the cave. Fortunately, it wasn’t snowing, nor raining and the closer they got to Elena’s hometown, the weather was a bit milder. That night they had rabbit again, and she didn’t even protest.
According to his calculations, they should arrive at the small town the following day before dark.
“We’ll have to be careful when approaching the city. We have no idea what we’ll find when we get there,” he warned her.
“Those freed during the attacks to the colonies should be back living in the city.” She said, with a hopeful tone.
He shook his head. “You’re all wearing tracker devices, any Taucet will be able to follow easily. The nipple rings won’t come off without cutting open the nipple, but the code bar on your neck is impossible to delete,” he pointed out.
“What do you mean?” she asked, with a deep frown.
“Soldiers won’t let them go back to their normal lives. That would be the same as telling the Taucets they can go get them again,” he explained.
“Where are they keeping them, then?” she asked, though she knew she wouldn’t like the answer.
“In what the call protection camps. They’re a bit better than concentration camps, but just a tiny bit. People live in houses, gathered with their family, if possible, but they are not allowed to leave the camp, and they have to live by the camp’s rules.”
She was shocked. “They are prisoners,” she shouted her rage.
“Yes, you can call them that, though the soldiers in charge will never agree with you. They insist they are protecting them from future attacks.”
“There must be other ways. I can’t believe it. They’ve only traded one prison for another.” She had suspected some foul play, that was the main reason she had decided to escape on her own, but she had never thought the militaries would go this far. “I’m glad I didn’t wait for their help. They would have put me in one of those camps.”
“Yes, most surely. And you have to consider the possibility your sister was taken there,” he pointed out, in a soft tone.
She shook her head. “I refuse to believe that. Alanna is smarter than that. She knew I didn’t trust the soldiers, that I suspected them.”
“But she’s only a child. She must have been terrified. Seeing the soldiers returning to rescue the kids might have encouraged her to join them.”
“I refuse to think about that possibility. I need to find her safe and sound.” There was desperation in her tone, and he pulled her into his arms.
They had set camp in a clearing in the middle of the woods. Rafaroy had prepared a shelter for them with some tree branches and a nice fire burned in front of them. There wasn’t snow around them, that made things a lot easier.
“I’ll help you find her, I promise,” he whispered in her ear.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Rafaroy. If she’s in one of those camps you won’t be able to rescue her,” she replied, tilting her head back to look at him straight in the eyes. “Nor would I ever let you. They would capture you.”
“It wouldn’t be that easy to capture me, woman,” he grumbled.
She rubbed her face against his chest, trying to clear her thoughts. “Let’s not think about that possibility.”
He hugged her tighter and kissed the top of her head. Nothing had ever felt so good, like having her cuddled up in his arms. It made his heart warm and at peace, something he had never experienced in his whole life.
He traced her face with one finger and pulled her chin up, making her face him. “Let’s not think, period,” he suggested, in a hoarse tone, before he claimed her lips in a passionate kiss, sliding his tongue deep int
o her soft mouth.
She moaned and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her, eager to do what he had just suggested: stop thinking and throw herself, head first into the universe of pleasure and bliss he always created for her.
Pulling her even closer to him, he had her straddle him, while he pulled her clothes off her body, burying his face between her big, round breasts, kissing and kneading them. After a few minutes, he picked the rings and started playing with them, pulling and rolling them between his fingers, sensitizing her hard nipples even more.
She let out loud moans and tilted her head back, giving him more access to her chest. Feeling his mouth on her breasts was so arousing her hips moved on their own will, trying to get as close as possible to his hard cock. She could feel it pulsating underneath her, and it only made her more eager to have him.
Cupping his face, she kissed him, a deep, passionate kiss, stealing their breaths away, before she slid down from his legs, taking his clothes with her. She wanted to taste him, to take him in her mouth and give him all the pleasure he always gave her.
At first, he seemed surprised with her intentions, but when she kneeled between his legs and took his hard cock with both her hands and started to stroke him, he closed his eyes for a few seconds.
“You don’t have to do that,” he mumbled, but his tone lacked conviction.
She leaned her head down and poked the tiny hole of his head with her tongue, relishing his bittersweet taste. “I want to,” she assured him, before she sucked him, moaning with pleasure in the process. His grunt echoed through the woods, and she smiled pleased, as she took his cock as deep as possible inside her mouth.
Sucking and swirling her tongue around his cock to give him as much pleasure as possible, loving the small gushes of precum he poured into her mouth. As with everything about him, the tickling feeling filled her mouth and enhanced the pleasure she felt taking him in her mouth.
Incredibly, it seemed to relax her enough to take his big cock deeper into her mouth, and she didn’t hesitate in doing so. She wanted him to come for her, she wanted him to enjoy it as much as possible.
“Elena… you’ll make me come…” he warned her, in a hoarse tone, his eyes closed and in his face the expression of rapture she had been looking for.
She sucked him harder and took him deeper. “What’s stopping you?” she asked, stopping for a second before continuing with her delicious task.
He groaned and grunted, burying his fingers in her dark curls, taking control out of her hands. Now, he was the one thrusting, taking all she had offered him, and going deeper and faster inside her, with every thrust.
She let him, turning herself into the recipient of his pleasure and in a matter of moments, he was coming hard inside her, pouring all his essence down her throat, growling his pleasure for all the woods to know.
She sucked him until she took the last drop out of him and only then, did she pull back from him.
“You’re an amazing woman,” he mumbled, leaning towards her and capturing her mouth in a voracious kiss, a kiss that talked about the passion they felt for each other.
When his lips finally released her, he was hard again, but this time, he was the one in charge and pulling her closer to him, he made her turn her back on him and get on her fours.
He knelt behind her and, he pushed her legs open with his knees and with his hands firmly grasping her hips he took her from behind. With a single thrust, he went all the way in her, ripping a loud moan from her lips.
Her walls clenched furiously around him as he started to thrust in and out of her, taking her at a mind-blowing speed, down the path to paradise.
They came together, amongst moans and grunts, whimpers and growls until they collapsed on the soft ground of leaves underneath them.
After the waves subsided, he pulled her into his arms, hugging her closer to him, as they fell asleep.
The following day was as dark as their thoughts. They had no idea what they would find when they reached the small town. Rafaroy was worried about Elena and her high hopes of finding her little sister still there waiting for her. He knew the chances were very small, especially if they had sent cyborgs to check the city, but he didn’t dare to say anything to her.
Instead, he turned up all his senses, to prevent being caught by surprise. At midafternoon, he started to perceive the presence of a lot of people in her town. More than he would have expected for a town that had been raided by the Taucets.
“There are too many people in town,” he warned her when he confirmed his suspicions. Her wide smile worried him.
“See, you were wrong. The soldiers allowed people to return home…” she started saying, walking faster, but he held her back.
“Elena… these aren’t your neighbors. I can sense at least two cyborgs in the area. The place is full of soldiers,” he warned her.
“You can’t know that for sure.” She refused to believe him.
“At least, let’s approach the city carefully. Like you, many others might have escaped the colony before the soldiers were able to prevent it. This stinks, and I don’t want you to walk right into a trap,” he said, trying to get some sense into her stubborn head.
“But…”
“Being careful won’t do us any arm. If I’m right and you enter the city wearing those clothes, the soldiers will know immediately you’re a fugitive,” he pointed out. “Isn't there a place outside of town where we could find some clothes for you to change into?”
She stopped to think for a minute. “The furthest house is Savannah’s. She was the first to disappear, remember I told you about her?”
“Cyborgs don’t forget,” he replied with an amused look.
She punched his chest, demanding more seriousness. “We might find something there if the place hasn’t been wiped out.”
“Takes us there,” he ordered her, and though she gave him a harsh look, showing her disapproval, she headed towards her friend’s house.
“If you can sense the cyborgs, then they can sense you too, right?” she realized, all of a sudden, stopping in her tracks.
“Right. But no cyborg would turn me in. They all dream of escaping,” he assured her.
“Can’t the soldiers force them to reveal the truth?” she asked, furrowing her brows.
“No, the program that allows us to communicate with each other was developed by Jarcor, and the soldiers aren’t aware of it. It also prevents humans from accessing information on other cyborgs from us,” he replied.
“Oh, that’s a relief.” She guided him quickly towards Savannah’s house, and a few minutes later, they were entering the small house. It was just as when she had come to check on her friend.
“No one has been here since I last came,” she pointed out.
“Good. Why don’t you take a bath and put on some clean clothes? I’ll get us something to eat while you do that,” he suggested, and she nodded.
There was still energy in the house, so she was able to take a long shower with hot water. She was eager to go check on her sister, but before she needed to check things downtown, to avoid unpleasant surprises. It didn’t make her very happy, but she didn’t have another viable alternative.
She was putting on some jeans and a t-shirt when he came in.
“Look for a turtleneck sweater. The last thing you want is for the soldiers to see your code bar,” he advised her, standing behind her.
“I had forgotten about that.” She tilted her head to look at the tattoo on her neck. She frowned. “Is it me, or the tattoo is fading?” she asked him.
Rafaroy stepped closer and looked into the tattoo. “It’s not you. It’s really fading.”
“How is that possible?” she asked, puzzled. “Isn't it supposed to be unalterable?”
“Yes… and yet it’s clear yours is fading.”
“Well, perhaps I’m just lucky.” But the frown on his forehead said something else. “Did you find food? I would like to go to town while there’s stil
l daylight.”
She looked on her friend’s closet and pulled the sweater she needed.
“Yes, I came here to tell you the food is ready. Your friend has a lot of food.”
She smiled, feeling a bit sad. She had hoped to find Savannah at the colony, but since she had been imprisoned in a cell, she hadn't been able to confirm her presence there.
She ate as fast as she could, while she planned her visit.
“Don’t give anyone your real name and try to return as soon as you get all the information you can get,” he warned her. “Don’t trust anyone, and don’t get caught.”
“Believe me, that’s the last thing I want.”
“Good. Can you tell me what your rendezvous point with your sister was? I would like to go check.”
Startled, she looked at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It could scare her away…”
“I won’t approach her, I just want to see if she’s there,” he assured her.
She still doubted, but finally accepted. Picking a piece of paper, she drew him a map on how to get to the old gold mine, where she had told her sister to wait for her.
The place was a bit far from the town, and only a few people knew about it. It had been abandoned centuries ago, but the place was still firm enough to provide them a place to hide.
“Very well, I’ll go there while you’re in town.”
Following an impulse, she leaned across the table and cupping his face, she kissed him. “Thank you, for being here with me.”
He seemed surprised by her outburst, but she didn’t wait around to hear him. Getting up, she walked out of the house and headed downtown.
CHAPTER TEN
All the way there, she was praying to find familiar faces, but the streets seemed empty. With her heart racing in her chest, she approached her café, not sure of what she was going to find.
To her surprise, the place was open, and there were a few people inside. It infuriated her, but she managed to calm herself. She couldn’t take any risks.
