Reaper

by Kelsey Nicole Price

  “Next step will be to figure out where Theo and Reaper are being held.”

  Dax stepped forward. “I can help with that. Reaper was fitted with a tracker before he went on his last mission. The doctor is smart but not as smart as me. She won’t find it or detect it.” He beamed proudly.

  “Dax, find where they are. Dr. Shaw, examine Axios. The rest of us, let’s round up Dash, Brone, Acer, and Hester and fill them in on what’s going on.”

  Iris smiled. “I’ll get Dash,”

  “I’ve got Hester,” Caia said.

  “Acer and Brone are mine,” Viper declared.

  “We will meet back here in an hour.” I straightened my shoulders, drawing on my new-found power. “Then we go to war.”

  *Reaper*

  My processors flickered, darkness edged along my visual sensors as I struggled to stay online. The doctor had kept her promise. My frame lay in pieces. I caught glimpses of my legs dangling off the table. The table across the room. The boots that never came off still remained attached to my feet, their black, shiny soles taunting me.

  The ability to scream had been silenced halfway through her torture session. The wires supporting my vocal cords ripped from my throat. When she took my hands, she explained she would leave my eyes untouched. She wanted me to watch.

  I had short circuited twice by the time she took the second hand. Each time she had jabbed a reviver into my neck to bring me back to endure more of her version of play time.

  The sound of footsteps sent a fresh wave of panic rolling through my dying systems. How much of me was even left for her to torture further? Not much by my calculations. At this point, I was a head attached to a torso and my torso had been carved into like it had been a Thanksgiving Day turkey. My head was the only thing to remain intact. I ventured that she was back to remedy that. Would she cut out my tongue? Or crack open my skull like a watermelon?

  If I had enough processor strength to care, I would think of more creative things she could do to me. At the moment, all I could think about about was the pain and how I wanted it to end.

  A gray face hovered in the corner of my vision. Theo. I used every bit of power I had left to turn my head. Fluid leaked from Theo’s eyes as he stared at me. His bottom lip quivered slightly.

  He reached his hand out slowly, his fingers stopping midair. “You’re supposed to take it.” His voice broke, his hand shaking as he held it out to me, waiting.

  I ordered my arm to lift, offering what I had left for him to hold. Nothing more than a metallic stump, but I managed to lift it a few inches before it crashed back down on the table. A rush of agony jolted through my circuits. I hissed, the sound coming out in a spray of fluid. I ordered my arm back up but this time I couldn’t get it to move. My power supply had run dry. Empty fumes circled through my brain, but I struggled against the blackness.

  “Take it.” He gave the order like a true Military Model, despite the desperation and fear in his eyes.

  He was brave, and I was broken.

  His face the last thing I saw before my processors finally went dark.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Aria

  My heart pounded hard inside my chest. My fingers wrapped around the handle of Reaper’s blade, tucked inside my pocket. Black boots rested on my feet. They were the exact type Reaper always wore.

  The truck ate up the blacktop, taking us closer and closer to Theo and Reaper and into the fight of my life. The most violence ever inflicted by me until now was the time I slapped an ex-boyfriend across the cheek after I learned he had been cheating on me. Military Model, I was not. Pissed-off girlfriend and mother? Definitely.

  Good thing I wasn’t alone. Iris and Caia were smooshed against either side of me and a whole team of cyborgs sat around me ready to follow me into Hell. They were willing to die for me. For Theo. For Reaper. I took in the different colored faces, pride and love bloomed beneath my chest.

  Didn’t the leader give some type of epic speech before marching into battle? I cleared my throat.

  “Okay,” I leaned against the seat, running a shaky hand over my forehead. The enormity of what we were facing settled in my bones, a wave of warmth engulfed my skin. “I am probably going to fuck this up. Most of you can guess that my life before this wasn’t kicking ass. A few of you objected to the humans participating in this mission,” I shot a glare at Acer. All I could see was a set of gold eyes flashing from beneath his hood. He shrugged then turned his head, ignoring me. “Anyways, I guess I wanted to tell you how lucky I am to count you as my friends. More than friends. Family. Each and every one of you is family.” I met all their eyes, one by one. “I came to headquarters a broken girl with a cyborg child I had no clue how to raise. You welcomed me despite everything. I didn’t deserve it. I didn’t know how much I needed it. How much I needed all of you.” Tears sprung to my eyes and I blinked them back. “So, all of you need to stay in one piece, okay? Theo and Reaper need you. So do I.” I swiped at the tears. Some badass I was.

  “Theo and Reaper need you too.” Axios said. “We all do.” Every cyborg nodded-except for Acer, he simply grumbled something that sounded like, “Speak for yourself.” Oh well. Couldn’t win them all. At least he was here. That meant that somewhere inside the yellow bastard, he cared. Or wanted to kill shit. Probably the latter, now that I think about it.

  Iris and Caia each took a hand. “We got this.”

  Closing my eyes, I pictured the way Theo would guard his pancakes, the way he smiled when I sang to him. I pictured Reaper storming down the hallway to take on Brone; the desire in his eyes when I kissed him senseless.

  We got this. We had no choice. I needed my cyborgs more than I needed air to breathe. I couldn’t lose them. I couldn’t lose any of them. The truck came to a stop.

  “We are coming Theo and Reaper. Just hold on.” I murmured.

  *Theo*

  The doctor wanted to show me what she had done. Show me how she had broken the leader of the cyborg rebellion. Opening the door, she shoved me inside, slamming it shut and locking me inside with what was left of my friend. The cyborg who my mom made goo-goo eyes at. The cyborg who told me I was the bravest cyborg he had ever known.

  The tightness I had felt returned with a vengeance. Reaper had given himself up to save me. He could have fought back. He chose not to. For me.

  I thought about all the horrible things I had said to him. All the times I had kicked him. Regret filled my frame. Before I had wished to be green. Now pride filled my small frame. I was proud to be gray. Proud to resemble the fiercest cyborg I had ever met.

  I put my mouth up to his ear. “If I could pick my dad, I want him to be you.” His eyes flickered briefly.

  The tightness grew even tighter. I wanted to put him back together and introduce him to pancakes. I wanted him to teach me how to be a Military Model. I wanted him to wake up so he could sit beside me and watch entertainment files together even if he ruined them. I didn’t care. I wanted him back. I wasn’t afraid when he was with me.

  “I’m sorry I wanted to be green. If you wake up, I’ll be the best Military Model ever, I promise. Don’t leave me, Reaper.” I cupped his cheeks. “Please, don’t leave me.” I laid my head beside his, ordering the pain from my circuits. Reaper needed me now. “Don’t worry I’ll keep you safe. It’s my turn, now.”

  I raised my head, positioning myself in front of Reaper. Let the doctor come. I wasn’t hers. I belonged to Aria...and to Reaper. My friends were also the most badass cyborgs in the galaxy. They were coming. All I had to do was protect Reaper and hold on.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Aria

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “No, buts, Caia, you are staying in the truck.”

  “Bu-”

  “You will listen to her.” Hester ordered. The female cyborg stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed at Caia.

  Caia flung a finger at her. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. You lost that right when you walked away.” Ca
ia’s hazel eyes blazed as she stared down the female cyborg. Shit. There was a story there. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time.

  “I’m coming, Aria.” Caia could be the sweetest person in the world, but she could also be the most stubborn. There was no way in hell she would hide in the truck while Iris and I risked our lives. The three of us has been best friends for more years than I could count. No matter what, we always had each other’s back.

  I grasped her shoulders, tugging her to face me. “Fine, but you will stay in the back and not engage unless you have no choice.” I went to reach in my pocket to get a knife but Hester beat me to it.

  Hester handed Caia a blade. “Here. Don’t worry about killing them, just hurt them enough to neutralize the threat. Aim for the eyes, throat, balls if they have ‘em. A few direct hits to those should do it.”

  Caia turned the blade over in her hand. The handle color matched Hester. She’d given Caia a personal blade of hers. Some of the fury vanished from Caia’s eyes.

  “Thanks,” Caia said.

  Hester nodded then went to join the cyborgs. Brone, Viper and Acer led the pack. Then Dash, Axios, Dax, and Hester made up the second line. Iris, Dr. Shaw, Caia and I brought up the rear.

  “I will clear a path.” Brone declared. “The rest of you will follow. Kill anything trying to kill you, got it?”

  “Lead the way, Brone. We’re right behind you.” The Tank Class moved, and we followed. The building ahead of us looked abandoned, but Reaper’s tracker was pinging like mad. He had to be in there.

  Suddenly, a tall shadow stepped from the trees. A Medical Model stood there with his hands up. I sucked in a breath.

  “Please don’t kill me,” He said softly.

  Acer lifted his plasma rifle, aiming it around Brone to target the red cyborg. “Why the fuck not?” Acer‘s metal finger glinted off the trigger.

  “I am here to help.” His ruby eyes searched and then landed on me. “Theo told me how much you love him. How his mother is, to use his term, a badass. He also said you would bring friends.” His eyes roamed over the other cyborgs and few humans. “He was right.”

  My knees threatened to buckle. “My son...is he?”

  “He’s alive. The doctor did some of her tests but nothing that caused permeant damage”. The Medical Model dropped his eyes, “The Military Model was not so lucky.”

  My heart lurched. I stumbled forward, clutching my chest. “Reaper. Oh God.” I couldn’t lose it now. “How many?” I dug my nails into my shirt until I reached flesh. I wanted to claw my heart out. I wanted to kill, maim, and destroy. I marched over to the red cyborg, hauling him by his neck. “How many do I need to kill?”

  “Aria,” a voice said from behind me. I ignored it.

  I shook him. “Numbers Medical Model. Give me numbers.”

  “Not many. The doctor has fallen out of favor with the Global Allegiance. They don’t believe she can do what she claims. They think her project to create child cyborgs isn’t working. The one successful attempt was Theo. Then she lost him, and her lab was burned to the ground, destroying valuable research. She had to beg them to allow her to try one more time. They sent her to this building with only five guards and me.”

  “I know you helped me, but that doesn’t mean I trust you. What if this is a trap? What if you are out here to lure us into an ambush?” I applied a little more pressure to his neck.

  “No trap.” He shook his head frantically. “There is...a chip on the back of my neck.” He wheezed. “Look!” I tugged his head forward. The cyborg complied with no resistance, dipping his head even lower so I see a shiny square attached to the base of his neck.

  “It’s linked to my processors. One click, and boom, a bomb goes off inside my head. My processors would be splashed everywhere.” I set him back down and he looked at me, fluid appearing in the corners of his eyes. “She controls the remote. Wears it around her neck like a goddamn piece of jewelry. I’m risking my life to help you. If she knew I was out here, I’d already be dead.”

  I tipped my chin up so I could really look at him. “Why?”

  “I can’t keep watching her tear cyborgs apart for entertainment. I can’t watch more females and children die because she refuses to stop her sick experiments. She’s gone mad. Long ago she used to be a good doctor. I worked with her. Then, they changed her into a monster. Whatever they gave her made her stronger and faster but killed off her humanity. The ability to care, or show compassion. The ability to love.” Fluid streamed down his cheeks. “Once upon a time, she used to love me.”

  I stumbled back. I had assumed Dr. Rosenfield had been born a monster. Born a type of person that enjoyed hurting others and then profited from their pain. That wasn’t the truth. The Global Allegiance had turned her into this. What they used sounded similar to Dax’s formula but with major side effects. Horrible side effects. I touched the Medical Model’s cheek. “Did you love her in return?”

  He gave a curt nod.

  Fuck.

  “But no longer. The female I loved is dead. The one in her place would blow the head off my frame for simply saying something she didn’t like. I am done. Let her kill me. I’d be happy to die at her hands if my last act is helping put an end to her once and for all.”

  I patted his cheek, earning me a small smile. “What is your name?”

  His ruby eyes grew glossy once again. “No one’s asked for my name in a very long time.” He drew in a sharp breath. “I am Rust.”

  “Well, Rust welcome to the team. Our plan is for everybody to go home in one piece and that includes you. To do that, we need to remove that thing on your neck. Good thing I brought a few people who are more brilliant than I am and should be able to figure it out.”

  “If you’re a cyborg, I know you heard all of that.” I turned around, letting out a tiny sigh of relief. “New plan. Dax and Dr. Shaw will help Rust. Then, we go in guns blazing. The doctor is down a cyborg and five guards are like...”

  “An appetizer,” Viper chimed in.

  I grinned. “Exactly.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Theo

  A sound of shouting from the hallway had me frantically looking for some type of weapon. Something to defend Reaper with. I needed to keep his processors safe. If there was no damage to his core CPU, Dax could fix him. At least I think it’s possible. It didn’t matter. I refused to give up.

  Something shiny caught my attention. Bending down, I found some sort of saw. It was coated in dark fluid. Reaper’s dark fluid. My stomach got fluttery and my hands started to shake but I ordered my hands to stop. I put my finger on the button and waited.

  The shouting got louder and something slammed against the door, shaking it on its hinges. My fingers paled, my hold on the saw gripped even tighter.

  “Stop running you stupid human, just let me kill you,” A familiar voice roared from the hallway followed by a scream. Brone!

  Whipping around, I faced Reaper. “Do you hear that? Like the humans would say, the cavalry has arrived! I told you they would come for us.” I gave all the pieces of Reaper scattered around a once over. “Mom is going to be so pissed! She definitely liked you being in one piece.”

  “Pissed isn’t the word I’d use, sweets.”

  “Mom?” I swung around, still clutching the saw.

  I watched her eyes as they locked on Reaper and filled with tears.

  “I was going to protect him, Mom,” I whispered. I didn’t know what else to say. That awful tightness had returned. “We can fix hi...”

  “Isn’t this cute? The whole family reunited!” A loud clap sounded behind me.

  My mom put out her hand and gestured for me to get closer. “Theo,” she pleaded.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You move, the Military Model dies.”

  Turning around, I found the doctor standing over Reaper’s head holding a hammer. Cyborgs skulls were reinforced. I slowly took a step back.

  Crack! The hammer slammed into the exam table, going
right through the metal, creating a giant hole right next to Reaper’s head. “As you can see, my swings aren’t average. The next hole I create will be through his skull.”

  My mom dropped her arm. “What do you want?”

  “What’s mine!” The doctor screamed pointing at me. “It was mine first! You thought you could take it away. Pollute it with thoughts of it being more than wires and programming.” She slammed the hammer down again, barley missing Reaper. “It’s not a child! It’s a fucking machine. My machine. You can’t have it.” She twisted to look at me. “Come here.”

  I looked back at my mom. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and she shook her head. “Don’t, baby. Come to me.” Everything in me wanted to run to my mom’s arms, but then Reaper would die.

  “It will be okay, mom. Trust me.” I took a step towards the doctor then another.

  “No, stop. Please,” my mom pleaded. Tears leaked from my eyes, I had to. I couldn’t let Reaper die. I turned to face her. “I love you.” I took another step. “You were the best mommy a cyborg could ask for.”

  I had one chance. I rushed her, pulling back my foot, I kicked her as hard as I could. She screeched, dropping the hammer, she reached for me, but I dodged her hands. I landed another kick and there was a snap. I jumped back watching as her leg gave out causing her to crash to the ground with a curse.

  “You can’t hurt me!” She screamed, her eyes wide. “I made you! It’s not possible!” She clawed the floor, dragging herself towards me, hatred burning in her eyes. I backed up some more until I bumped into something solid. A hand landed on my shoulder. I looked down thinking it would be my mom’s but what I saw was a set of metal fingers.

  “Little shit put a dent in my metal frame. He fuc-freaking kicks like a badass.” Acer said above me. I twisted around, taking in the sight of Acer and then let a grin break out on my face when a whole stream of cyborgs entered the room. Dax, Viper, Hester, Axios, and Dash accompanied by Iris rushed through the door. Dr. Shaw appeared next, along with a human I didn’t know. The red cyborg entered last before Brone stepped up, blocking the doorway.