The Service Model groaned. He hurts worse than me. His frame took a direct hit. Being a Military Model, my frame is larger and more durable, able to withstand blows another model could not. I dug my elbow into the tender flesh of his neck. I leaned down next to his ear, pressing in deeper until he started to struggle beneath me. White-hot rage rolled through me, mixing with the thrill of the hunt. He threatened what was mine. He went after my cyborg. The urge to terminate his existence coiled around my processors. One thrust and I could snap his neck.
“What do you want with my cyborg?” I spit the words through clenched teeth. I battled everything within me to keep from taking out the threat, even if that threat was another cyborg. Theo’s life mattered more than this Service Model’s. Turning on a fellow cyborg is unspeakable. Turning on what is mine is a death sentence.
“Reaper?” A familiar voice called. I twisted my head to see Theo staring at me, his eyes wide and full of fear. He glanced down at the Service Model and then back at me, his blue eyes pleading. I realized he’s afraid, not for himself, but for the Service Model.
“You don’t have to hurt him.” Theo placed a hand on my shoulder, his face dropping down to meet mine. Kindness. Mercy. Concern. They flash across his features revealing a miniature version of his human mother rather than a Military Model. He is far beyond his programming. He showed me that I can go beyond mine.
I pulled back slightly, the urge to terminate the Service Model lessening. “Here’s what I know. You were a vegetable up until today. Then suddenly, you decide to wake up and the first thing you do is chase my cyborg like a fu-” I look at Theo who raises his eyebrows, waiting. “a freaking bloodhound. You got one chance to explain to me why.”
“Because I programmed him to. That’s why.” A female voice answered.
“She’s here.” The Service Model whispered.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Reaper
A human female stepped from behind a tree. The female’s face is the face of nightmares. Theo and Aria’s, Iris and Dash’s. The need for vengeance sang in my circuits. She walked right into the lion’s den. Now was my chance to repay her for all the pain and destruction she caused.
Dr. Rosenfield only smiled. No fear showed on her face. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A red dot appeared on Theo’s forehead. A set of heavily armed males stepped from behind the trees. One had his plasma rifle directly trained on Theo. Fully mature cyborgs wouldn’t survive a shot to the head. Theo is smaller. He had no chance. The need for vengeance died as the need to protect Theo took over.
“I will do whatever you want. Don’t hurt my cyborg.”
“Your cyborg?” A short bark of laughter disturbed the stillness of the forest. “It is my cyborg. Not yours. I created it. It was never yours or that bitch who thought she could steal it from me!”
Theo’s face twisted, hatred burned in his eyes. I shook my head. “Let it go. The time will come for vengeance, but that time is not now.” I whispered it so low the words are undetectable to human hearing.
“Very slowly, I need you to tap the button on my collar.” Theo’s hand still rested on my shoulder and I held my breath as he moved his finger over slightly to tap the communication tab. My processors sang with relief.
“Don’t say anything,” I said loudly before Viper can speak. I prayed my ruse would work. If we got lucky, they will think I am talking to Theo instead of Viper. “We need to do what the doctor wants. We don’t have a choice.” Come on Viper. Pay attention. I’m am trusting the Technology Model with Theo’s life.
“I didn’t think Military Models could be so intelligent. Did you get a program upgrade? One where you use that CPU in your head for more than just blindly killing whatever we tell you to?” The males around Dr. Rosenfield laughed. “Get on your knees, you dumb brute. One wrong move, and it gets a bullet to the head.” She thrusted a finger at Theo.
“Let me go, Theo.” I said, offering him a smile. “It will be okay. I promise.” I added in a whisper.
“How cute! The Military Model named it!” The forest exploded in laughter.
My jaw tightened. I will kill them all.
Theo took his hand off my shoulder and I slid slowly off the blue Service Model’s back until I knelt in the dirt.
“Terminate it.” She nodded in my direction. Panic shot through my system. I won’t be able to protect Theo if I am dead. I am outnumbered and out-gunned. Theo might be valuable property to her, but that’s all he is—property. She wouldn’t hesitate to follow through on her threat. I fight, Theo dies.
“Wait! I am the leader of the cyborg rebellion. Think about it. Kill me and that’s the end. Take me with you and think of the information you can gather.”
The doctor snorted. “What information? You mean the information about the whereabouts of your precious headquarters? The one that’s right under my feet?” She slithered like a snake up to me, grabbing me hard by the chin. I resisted the desire to pull free. “The moment you “rescued” my two failed experiments I knew where your precious headquarters were.”
A sick feeling cycled through my circuits. Finding those cyborgs hadn’t been simply by chance. They were bait and we took it—right to the cyborg rebellion headquarters. Right to Aria and Theo. My mistake could cost me everything I love.
A hand slid down my back, feeling the scarred skin, her nails dug in deep. “You think I care about outdated, past their prime, cyborgs? You’re nothing but expired models, as worthless as a last year’s tech.” Her hand grabbed the back on my neck, jerking my head back. “Then again, it might be fun to take you apart. Yes, I think I’ll keep you alive. Pull you apart piece by piece and mount your head on my wall. The leader of the failed cyborg rebellion, nothing more than a trophy for my collection. When I have the time, I might even come back and add that Service Model and his bitch to my collection as well.” She released my neck with a cruel laugh.
“Initiate protocol seven two six.” I said under my breath, knowing Viper would catch it and follow my orders. I turned to Theo and smiled. Somehow, I will get us through this. He returned my smile and pride swelled beneath my chest. Theo trusts me. I will not fail him. The only head that will be mounted on a wall will be the female threatening what I hold dear.
“Deactivate them both and secure them for transport.”
“What about the other one?” A male asks, pointing to the blue Service Model on the ground.
“It did its job. Put it out of its misery.”
The male put the plasma rifle against the unmoving Service Model’s head.
His blue eyes sought mine. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
I watched helplessly as the human male pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed through the Service Model’s skull, spraying bits of circuits and wires from the back of his head.
Theo’s scream of horror burned a black mark onto my processors. Two males grabbed him, and one pressed the deactivation button. Theo went limp in their hold, his eyes going dark.
Internally, I howled in grief. Outwardly, I watched as a male approached me, his hand snaking around my back to take me offline.
“Nighty, night,” Dr. Rosenfield said as she grinned with glee.
“Protect Theo. We will come for you.” That’s the last thing I heard as everything went black.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Aria
Caia and Iris crowd the exam table.
“I didn’t expect to reunite with you like this.” Caia said softly.
“Trust me, this wasn’t my plan either.” I gave her arm a pat. Some kind of wrap was squeezing my ribs, but Dax swore it was healing instead of destroying my intact ones. My ribcage would disagree. I drew a shallow breath, cursing. Thank goodness Theo isn’t here.
Theo. My eyes swam with tears. Reaper still hadn’t returned. Every instinct inside me screamed with the need to look for my son. I would crawl through the halls of headquarters if I had to. I’m being held hostage by two determined cyborgs, two stubborn best
friends, and one annoying doctor. Dax had informed me the healing process would go much faster if I simply stayed still. I couldn’t follow his directions. Not while my Theo was out there, afraid to come back because he thought his accident was unforgivable.
I leaned against the table, trying to push myself up. “I think I’m fixed,” I stated while plastering on my best smile.
A red and green hand gently pushed me back down. “You are a bad liar.” Axios crossed his arms over his chest. His blue eyes seemed to be scolding me like a naughty child.
“You can’t keep me here! Theo needs me!” Frustration burned through me along with a heavy dose of fear. I wouldn’t be okay until I had Theo back in my arms. A little voice in my head told me something was wrong. Reaper and Theo should have returned by now.
A panicked Viper entered the medical lab and I felt my insides clench. My still-healing rib voiced it’s protest as my chest drew tight.
I hadn’t spent much time with the Technology Model. He wasn’t shy about telling anyone who would listen that he thought humans were dirty. A bunch of germ-toting beings, spreading it wherever they touched. Cyborgs were immune to disease. I had to wonder where he got his fear of contamination. It didn’t seem like a pleasant topic to bring up in normal conversation, so I kept my musings to myself.
His violet eyes darted my way before landing on Dr. Shaw. He swallowed hard. “Protocol seven two six has been initiated in compliance with Reaper’s vocal command.”
Dr. Shaw’s clutched the corner of the exam table, her face drained of color. “Threat status?” She asked, a tremor in her voice.
“Wait! What’s going on? Where is Reaper?” My heartbeat picked up under the binding wrapped around my chest. I could feel it pound against the cotton-like material. “Where is my son?” I choked back a sob. I looked back and forth between Dr. Shaw and Viper, pleading with my eyes for them to tell me what was happening.
Viper’s eyes sought mine, pity in their amethyst depths but he refused to talk. I pinned Dax to the floor with my gaze.
“Dax, what is protocol seven two six?” I begged. Desperately asking the cyborg who had become one of my best friends over the weeks. I trusted him to tell me.
Dax’s shoulders dipped, sympathy welled in his green eyes. “It’s the shit’s hit the fan protocol. It’s only to be used in extreme circumstances.” Dax captured my hand, holding it gently. “For instance, if Reaper was captured, and the whereabouts of our headquarters had been discovered.”
My breath caught in my chest. “Has he been taken?” I directed my question to Viper, my voice sharp, demanding this time he answer me.
“Yes, along with Theo.” Viper’s head dropped as gasps of horror filled the lab.
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep the scream wanting to erupt trapped within my the confines of my throat. I gripped Dax’s hand tighter as every horrific scenario of what could be happening danced like marionettes in my brain.
“Who? Who took them?” I managed to ask.
“The doctor. Dr. Rosenfield.”
“Oh God! No! Reaper promised me I was safe! That Theo was safe!” I swung my gaze to Dax. “You promised me, too! All of you promised me!” I sucked in gulps of air, fully aware I had started to hyperventilate. The room began to close in around me, the edges of my vision turned black. Rage and terror rolled into one as I struggled to stay conscious. I hadn’t had an attack in weeks.
Now panic threatened to overwhelm me, tried to drag me beneath its violent grip. I fought back, refusing to sink under its brutal current. Dissolving into terror or hysterics wouldn’t get my son or the cyborg I had fallen in love with back. I ordered my fractured brain to hold itself together.
I dropped Dax’s hand and pushed myself upright, ignoring the tug of pain in my rib cage. The pain in my heart overrode anything my body could create. “How? Tell me how that bitch got her hands on my cyborgs.”
“Reaper contacted me to help in his search for Theo. I caught Theo fleeing the medical lab on my security monitor. The other Service Model was chasing him.” More gasps filled the space. Dr. Shaw cursed and rushed off to check the back room where the Service Model had been kept.
Dax’s brow furrowed. “It’s impossible. He wasn’t functional.”
Dr. Shaw re-emerged, a look of shock on her face. “He’s gone.”
Realization struck. Finding those cyborgs hadn’t been an accident. The doctor had wanted us to find them. The whole time I believed Theo and I were safe had been a lie. The wolves were already among us.
“She set a trap.” Ice flooded my veins.
Viper shifted on his feet. “Yes. I have her confirmation recorded. Reaper found a way to switch on communications but when he began talking I knew it wasn’t to me. He wanted us to hear what was happening. I recorded the confrontation just in case we needed to extract more information.”
“Play it.” I ordered.
Viper hesitated. “I don’t think...you shouldn’t listen to it.”
I shrugged off Iris’s hold and hopped off the table. I advanced on Viper. “That is my son and my cyborg. I need to hear it.”
“Fine.” Viper pulled out a tiny device and pushed play.
Reaper’s voice filled the room and for a moment it felt like he was here with me. Then the voice of my nightmares took over. The hateful things she said made my skin crawl. I forced myself to listen. Then she said two words that sent a jolt of pure terror through my heart.
‘Terminate him.’ Then I heard Reaper’s voice begging her to wait.
My cyborg had been two seconds away from death. Only her sick need to hurt him first had spared his life. The clock was ticking. Every second she got would be used to hurt Reaper and Theo. My knees gave out. I slid to the floor, landing in a heap of useless limbs. Caia and Iris followed me to floor. Their arms tried to comfort me as it felt like my heart had ceased inside my chest.
Viper hit the stop button. “Trust me. It’s best if I stop it here.”
Caia looked at Viper. “What could be worse than what we just heard?” She hadn’t been witness to the aftermath. She hadn’t seen what we looked like after the doctor was done with us. The smile she always wore had been twisted into a mask of horror and disbelief. Her eyes were glossy with unshed tears.
I remained silent. Numbness inched its way through my body. Inside all I heard were screams. Reaper’s. Theo’s. I was lost to all the ways my mind could imagine how the doctor could be torturing them. Even a second spent in her clutches left me terrified.
“The doctor ordered one of her males to terminate the Service Model. Reaper and Theo were made to witness the termination.” Viper’s words were spoken so softly I wondered if I had heard them at all.
Caia clutched me tighter. “Oh, God.” Tears began flowing freely down her cheeks. Iris had gone pale on the other side of me. Dax, Axios, And Dr. Shaw remained speechless.
“Shit has definitely hit the fan.” I muttered as I pushed the numbness away, letting rage take its place. No more. This ended now. Being the female of a Military Model had taught me more in these few, short weeks than all of my years among humans. Being the mother of one had made me dangerous. Time to teach the doctor she fucked with the wrong girl.
The old Aria was gone. The broken one had been pieced back together by what the world viewed as simply machines without thoughts or feelings. This one was determined to fight back.
Chapter Forty
Reaper
I came back online, chained to a wall. Pretty sure that told me all I needed to know about what was in store for me if the good doctor hadn’t felt the need to tell me before hand. Tugging hard, I tested the cuffs. The doctor knew her stuff. Hanging from my wrists and wrapped around my ankles was cyborg-grade metal.
During my time before freedom, I had endured a time or two within the same restraints. The humans enjoyed having me at their mercy. I won their wars and protected their freedom and they rewarded me by chaining me and beating me until my wires were left exposed
.
A small whimper pulled me from my dark thoughts. Theo sat huddled against the far wall. I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed he hadn’t been put in chains as well. Fluid-filled eyes met mine, but he stayed silent. Then, with a sniffle, he crawled over to me, sitting next to my boot. “I want my mom.”
Four words. That’s all it took to break me. “I want her, too.” They were the only words I could get past the malfunction of my heart. It had simply stopped within my chest. Once it restarted, the beats were out of sync, the rhythm all wrong. Cyborgs shouldn’t suffer from a broken heart, but here I was, the pain so overwhelming, my processors struggled to handle it. My artificial heart beat out of time, feeling as if it were being torn apart.
Theo stood and threw himself into my frame, wrapping his arms around my waist, hugging me tight. I froze within the chains. Theo had never hugged me. He would give them freely to others but not me. It could be fear or desperation, still it felt good to be chosen if only for the moment.
Theo tilted his chin to look at me. The sadness in face had been replaced with determination. “Mom will come for us. We are her cyborgs. She will come. Until then, we take care of each other. I am not scared with you here with me.” He smiled. In the midst of hell, dragged back to the place of his nightmares and against almost unbeatable odds, he still smiled. “You don’t have to be scared, either. I am with you.” He gave me one more hug before letting go.
My chest filled with emotions I couldn’t classify. My heart slammed back into it’s normal beat as I stared down at Theo in awe. I didn’t have a father. I didn’t know if this is how one felt. But, if feeling like a father meant you got blindsided by a tiny creature who filled your every wire with pride and love, then I was one.
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