Moving back to Nara, I clutched the injector in my good hand. “Let go of her neck, Chaos.”
He glanced from me to the vial, a wrinkle appearing between his eyes. The tiny crease told me that he was about to argue.
“She will die,” I roared, yanking his hand free, not caring about his feelings. I refused to let Nara die because her cyborg felt like being stubborn. Soon, all three of them would realize that I would always do what was best for her. She was to be mine. Her health and her happiness would always come first.
Her eyelids fluttered, green eyes meeting mine. “What…is…that?” She gasped as she fought to stay with us…with me.
“This is going to hurt. I’m sorry.”
“Brone…what is that…I don’t know.” Confusion filled her eyes and my heart lurched inside my chest. I didn’t want to do this.
She should have had a choice.
But we were out of time. I could only hope she would forgive me.
Quick as lightning, I had the injector pressed to her neck and I hit the plunger, releasing the contents of the vial directly into her bloodstream.
Her body shot off the ground, eyes rolling back, her wail piercing the hallway. The sound shattered my resolve, plunging deep inside my chest and aiming right for my heart.
“Nara!” I drag her to me, holding her close to my frame.
Shouts of alarm ring out around me as hands dig into my shoulders, but I ignored it all. My visual system was completely consumed with the image of a limp and non-breathing Nara in my arms.
She was supposed to live. This was supposed to save her. Instead…My processors couldn’t finish the thought. “Nara?” I croaked, the remnants of her scream playing on loop in my head as my heartbeat mocked me with its beat.
“Take mine.” I slammed a fist against my chest, my functioning fingers digging into synthetic skin to the hardened metal frame underneath. I grimaced, my lips thinning to keep in the painful sound threatening to escape. “I don’t need it. I had hoped it would have been yours anyway.”
“Brone, stop!” Dax shouted before he started to count down. “Five…four…three…two…one.”
On one, Nara’s body arched up as she sucked in a deep breath, her eyes snapping open to meet mine. Her gaze narrowed, her body stiffening in my arms.
“Oh, god…you…you injected that stuff into me!” She put her hands on my chest and gave me a shove. I stayed put. She opened her mouth then snapped it shut, a look of shock rolling across her face. Lifting her left arm she inspected it, moving it back and forth like she had just discovered her hand for the first time. “This…this isn’t possible. My arm. This arm.” She waved it frantically in front of my face.
Does she think I could not see it? “My visual systems have been damaged but not that badly. I can see your arm just fine, female. You don’t need to wave it at me.”
Her eyes narrowed further. “My arm was broken. Care to explain how it’s now perfectly fine?”
“It’s better thanfine,” Dax huffed. “Your arm is now better than it ever was. Stronger. More durable.” He sighed. “Humans are so breakable. As soon as she showed up, I knew I had to be prepared. Based on the previous situations with the five other females, I calculated that the chance she would end up being damaged was highly likely.”
Nara’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “Damaged?”
“You’re not helping, Dax,” I hissed.
“Did you know he was carrying it?” Nara poked a finger into my chest. “Were you just waiting for me to get ‘damaged’ so you could pump me full of whatever the hell that was?”
I shook my head frantically. “No.”
“I trusted you. I trusted the rebellion. But this is what you have been doing? Injecting human females with this stuff? So you could do what? Make us like you?” Tears welled up, her eyes filling up to the brim, but she refused to let them fall. “What am I?”
She looked away, swallowing hard. “Let me up.” The anger and fear had been replaced by something worse…defeat. She was smart enough to know that what had been done to her was permanent. There was no going back.
Had I been selfish? Should have I let her die?My gut clenched, my circuits rebelling at the mere thought.No.I knew that even if Nara never wanted me as her male, saving her had been the right choice.
“Nara, I-”
She put up her hand. “No. Not another word out of you, Tank Class. Trust me, I am sure I will want to discuss this further but right now, I just want to get me and my cyborgs the hell out of here.” She looked over my frame to her three cyborgs and reached out her hand.
Pain sliced through me. Hanging my head, I backed away from her and allowed Core to take my place at her side.