Her Cyborg

by Nellie C. Lind

  Shade turned his head to the one-way window. He was unable to see anything through it but his own reflection, but he knew Phoebe stood in the room that was on the other side of that window. Faye and Diane were with her. Jade along with her cyborg soldiers were there too. The soldiers were not just for her protection, but for his as well. If the cyborg tried anything, they would be inside the room within seconds, but Shade doubted anything would happen. The cyborg was drugged judging by his saggy sitting position and the swaying with his head. He didn't look dangerous like you'd expect a Fighter to be. Instead, he looked sick and dirty. The cyborg's long, blond hair looked like it hadn't seen a comb in months. His handsome face and dirty clothes needed to be washed. His eyes shone with a hint of aluminum and whispered of a story filled with hate, despair, and love. Love that had been lost and turned into rage and doubt. He didn't trust anyone.

  The cyborg placed his elbows on the tables and gave them a glare. “And who might you be? You don't look like one of the soldiers.”

  “We are not,” Shade answered. “We are here to talk to you.”

  The cyborg snorted. “More brainwashing? Go ahead. You won't succeed.”

  Wind took a step forward. “What do you mean more brainwashing?”

  He waved his arms. “That is all they ever seem to do here. Talk, talk, talk. Over and over again, they try to convince me to bind myself to a woman. They even brought in a cutie, but you know what I told them?” He grinned. “I told them to get lost. I will never bind myself to a woman again.”

  Wind and Shade exchanged gazes.

  “Why not?” Wind asked.

  “Because true freedom is beyond the bond, but I guess neither of you will ever experience that. As long as you stay bound to your bound ones, you will never know what I'm talking about.”

  “You almost died when your bound one died.” Wind's gaze narrowed.

  The cyborg leaned against the chair and exhaled. “Yeah, but that was just almost. I'm still here and I can do whatever I want now. No bound one to hold me down. I couldn't be happier.”

  Wind leaned his hands against the table. “That is not what I see. I see a broken cyborg, filled with rage and longing. You long for nothing more but to be bound again. It's written all over your face because you remember how good it felt to have someone in your arms every night. To be with someone who loves you so deeply and purely that you can't feel anything but bliss each and every day of your life.”

  The cyborg growled and showed his teeth. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”

  “Apparently I have. Your facial expression proves I am right.”

  The cyborg lunged up from the chair, making Wind take a few steps back, but his weak body and the chains that held him forced him to sit down again. He breathed fast, and for a second, it looked like he would faint.

  “These damn drugs,” he muttered. “They force me to take them to keep me weak.”

  “It's for your own and other's safety, and you know it,” Shade said. “No one is hurting you.”

  “No, they are not. They are just trying to force me into binding myself to a woman I know nothing about. She was cute, don't get me wrong, but I felt nothing when I saw her. She didn't stir up anything within me.”

  “She will once you are bound to her.”

  The cyborg laughed. “And that is why I will never bind myself to anyone ever again. Don't you see how fake the bond is? You aren't given a choice. From the second you open your eyes, you are in love with the woman who created you, but that doesn't bother you, you poor blind idiots. You just accept it and are happy with it.” His smile died and turned into an angry glare. “Do you really think that you would have fallen in love with your bound ones if you had been given the choice? I doubt it.”

  “The bond is the only way for cyborgs to live,” Shade said, feeling the anger growing within him. This cyborg had obviously lost it. How he could dislike the bond this much was beyond Shade. “The doctors had no choice but to bind us to humans. The first cyborgs died because they didn't have the bond.”

  The cyborg's grin turned dark. “That is what they want you to believe, you fool. Don't you see the bond is their way to control us?”

  Shade winced. Disbelief filled him. “What do you mean?”

  “Look at us. We are superior to the humans. We are stronger, faster, smarter ...” his grin widened, “and we are better looking. Do you really believe the humans would let us roam around the streets without some kind of control over us? The bond is an excellent way to control us. They fill us with all those goody-good emotions like love for someone and call it 'the only way'. They make us feel good so that we can never abandon the bond, why would we when we have everything we ever wanted served on a golden plate?” The cyborg stared at them both for several long seconds. “The humans have realized that pain and fear isn't the right way for total control. Love is and you two are head over heels in love with your bound ones whether you want to be or not. You just accept it.”

  Silence filled the room. Wind and Shade looked at each other. Shade saw in Wind's eyes what he himself felt. The cyborg was obviously filled with disbelief to such level that it had affected his mental state. He turned everything good around and created a messed up version of something beautiful.

  “I feel sorry for you,” Shade said.

  The door to the interrogation room flung open, making both Shade and Wind start with surprise. In came an irritated Faye. She glared at the cyborg and stopped in front of the table.

  Phoebe came running into the room. “Faye, what are you doing?” She grabbed her friend's arm to try to pull her out of the room. “We said we would stay in the other room.”

  “I don't give a damn,” Faye said without taking her eyes off of the cyborg. “Listen here, Mister. I have no idea what the Fighters have made you believe but you are wrong. The bond is the most beautiful thing there can be between a cyborg and a human. My friend is happy because of Shade. I haven't seen her smile the way she does now since he came into her life.”

  The cyborg lifted an eyebrow and ogled Faye from the bottom up. “Well, well. What do we have here? You are even better looking than the cutie they brought in to me. Want to sit on my lap?” He clapped on his knees a few times with a wide grin.

  Faye looked taken aback. “You sure are full of yourself.”

  He shrugged. “Maybe, but I am also free to do whatever I want. I don't have to put someone else before me all the time.”

  Jade and a cyborg entered the room. She sent Shade and Wind an apologetic look. “I'm sorry. She just took off. I couldn't stop her.”

  The cyborg laughed again. “What an audience I have today. I kind of like it but you can forget that I will bind myself to anyone. Though I wouldn't mind having this enchanting little lady for a few hours on my own. What do you say, sweetheart? Are you up for a round?”

  Shade watched Faye. He noticed her cheeks turn pink as he remembered what Phoebe had said about Faye. She was lonely and there was a spark of desire within her eyes, temptation lingered in the air.

  “How about you tell me your name first and I'll think about it?” Faye told the cyborg.

  “I will tell you if you tell me yours first,” the cyborg answered.

  “Faye.”

  “Nice to meet you ... Faye.” He gave her a look filled with wicked promises.

  “Your name?”

  “Silver.” He turned to Jade. “Can Faye and I get a room now?”

  Jade sighed. “Enough with the jokes. Faye, you aren't even supposed to be in here, remember? Only Shade and Wind were supposed to come in here, but convincing Silver to bind himself to a woman is obviously not going to work. There is no need for anyone to stay here anymore.”

  “What will you do with him?” Faye asked.

  “He will be transferred to a place where cyborgs like him live. He will get a good life there, and he will stay as long as he refuses to bind himself to someone.”

  They all left the room. Jade closed the doo
r behind them. She turned to Shade. “Do you understand now what I meant? I know he managed to affect you with his words.”

  “The only way he managed to affect me was by surprising me with how he thinks. I feel sorry for him.”

  Jade took a deep breath. “Good.”

  Shade grabbed Phoebe's hand and pulled her toward him. When he felt her hand on his bare arm, he felt a pleasant chill go through his body. He loved this, feeling her touch and the warmth of her body against his. He would never grow tired of this. He couldn't understand why Silver didn't want this. It was beyond him.

  Chapter 15

  Phoebe put down the last t-shirt in her bag before she closed it. She straightened her back and smiled to herself. “There, all packed.”

  She turned around to see Shade standing by the window. He watched the outside world with a serious gaze even if not much was going on. It was the same thing every day. People and cars passing by as they headed in different directions. He had stood there many times the last few days. Leaving MedAct was becoming more and more real for him, and today, that day had finally arrived.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  Shade didn't look at her. “He was right, you know.”

  “Who?”

  “Silver.”

  She gulped. “What do you mean?”

  “About the bond.”

  A cold chill went through her. “What?”

  “I understand his point of view, and to him, what he said about the bond, is true. He wasn't lying. He really believes that the bond is a curse.”

  Phoebe stood as if frozen. She had many times regretted letting Shade talk to the Fighter. Shade had changed after that. He had been thinking a lot, about what, she hadn't been able to tell because he didn't want to tell her. But now, she realized this might have been it.

  “And what do you think?” she asked.

  Shade grinned. “Don't look so worried, Phoebe. Just because Silver believes the bond is a curse, it doesn't mean that I do.”

  Phoebe nodded and relaxed. She decided to trust him. “Have you thought about it? What it would be like to be without the bond?”

  “I have evaluated it. Silver believes I won't understand, and that is true. I only have my side of the story. I don't know what it's like to be without the bond, but looking at Silver, I doubt it's a nice life. Even if he would never admit it to himself, Silver is miserable. Deep down, I think he wants to be bounded again. He wants the safety the bond gave him, but he is stubborn and believes he will lose his freedom.” Shade snorted and turned to Phoebe. “Being bound to you is freedom. What he has is not freedom. He has misery. He has pain. He allows his pain to rule him. He is unstable because of it, and that is also what makes him dangerous.”

  Phoebe smiled but felt sadness in her heart. Shade grabbed her hands.

  “Deep down,” he went on, “I think the other Fighters are just like him. They are lonely.”

  She wrinkled her forehead. “How can you know for sure?”

  “I can't be sure, but I suspect. I have gone through the information about them on the Internet, and a lot of it points to that one thing. They are lonely, and they know it, but they refuse to let go of their freedom. They were lucky to survive when their bonds broke and being bound to another woman means risking the loss of her as well. Do you see their dilemma?”

  “They choose to suffer, to be lonely instead of bonding themselves to someone again.”

  “That is what I believe, but to be sure, I would need to talk to Silver again.”

  “I doubt Jade will let you.” She placed her hand on his arm. “Let it go, Shade. Please. Don't let them get in the way of our happiness.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Why would the Fighters get in the way of our happiness?” He grinned. “I love you, Phoebe, but your logic is sometimes confusing.”

  She blushed when she realized that she had obsessed about it again. Her mind went in a direction that his didn't. He was just curious. He was a newborn who learned fast but he still had a lot to learn about the world, and the Fighters were a fascinating subject because they had once been in his situation. They had been bonded to someone they had loved dearly.

  “Their leader, Nightmare, is an interesting cyborg. He was the first to lose his bound one about forty years ago. When it happened, the entire world went into shock. It had been unheard of and no doctor expected a cyborg to react the way he did. One day, he had been a loving and caring cyborg and had turned into a mad killing machine the next day. People are afraid of Nightmare and I don't blame them. He has no remorse.”

  Phoebe swallowed. She had heard the stories about Nightmare, but what was true and what was false, she didn't know, but she knew one thing. The Internet was filled with crap.

  “Don't judge him based on what is written on the Internet,” she said.

  “I don't. I am just informing you of what is being said about him. It doesn't mean I believe it, but I do believe some truth lies within it. He has been filmed many times breaking into places and hurting innocent people. That, he cannot lie about.”

  There was a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” Phoebe said and the door opened.

  Jade entered. She smiled as she approached them. She had her hair put up in a ponytail and she had a doctor's coat on. In her hands, she held a notebook and a pen. She came alone. No big and bad-looking cyborgs were with her this time. They hadn't been with her for the past week. Maybe she felt it was safe to come alone now that Shade was stable.

  “I see you have packed,” she said.

  “Yes, we are ready to go home,” Phoebe said with excitement.

  Jade turned to Shade. “How are you doing?”

  Shade's face showed no emotions. His eyes were cold and his voice hard when he answered: “I'm fine.”

  Jade sighed and wrote something down in her notebook. “Don't worry, Shade. You will get rid of me soon, but you will have to come back here from time to time during the next two years.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I don't want to get rid of you. You are my doctor and I need you, but you need to learn how to handle newborn cyborgs. You did nothing to gain my trust. From the start, you showed me I can't trust you.”

  “I'm sorry about that, but you are the first one who I have not been able to become friends with.”

  “Or I am the first one who tells you what you did wrong.”

  “Think what you want. I came to make a last check up on you before I follow you down to the reception area to sign you out.”

  “Nothing has changed since yesterday.”

  “Good, but this is protocol.”

  “Fine.” Shade removed his t-shirt. “Get on with it.”

  Phoebe watched Shade as Jade examined him. It amazed her how far he had come since he had awakened. The first time Jade tried to examine him, he hadn't allowed her to touch him, but now, he allowed it even if he didn't like it. He didn't want Jade to touch him, but he understood that the doctor's touch didn't mean he was unfaithful. It had taken a while to explain that to him. She knew he had understood it from the start. He was a cyborg after all, but he had just refused to accept it. He had been afraid of her leaving him if he touched another woman, but after watching her interact with other people, he had finally relaxed. His need to defend her was still there, though. A new person had to go through him first before they could approach her. She didn't mind, as long as he didn't take it any further.

  Jade placed the device against Shade's chest. It blinked to life and a few minutes later it was over. She pulled it away and looked at it. “It looks like everything is still fine, and you have developed like you should. I believe you are ready to go home. I will sign you out.” She smiled.

  Phoebe could barely contain her excitement. She longed to bring him home, to show him where they would live. She knew Shade looked forward to it too, but he didn't show Jade that.

  “How will you get home?” Jade asked. “Do you want me to order a cab?”

  Phoebe shook her he
ad. “That is not necessary. Wind and Faye will pick us up.”

  Jade nodded. “That is a good idea. When will they be here?”

  Phoebe looked at the watch that hung on the wall. “They should be by the reception area within twenty minutes.”

  “Great.” She wrote something down again before she looked up. “It has been an interesting month, and I look forward to hearing how things turn out for you two within a few months.” She smiled again.

  “Thank you,” Phoebe said and Shade nodded.

  Jade left the room and Phoebe turned to Shade. Happiness shone within her whole being. She felt like a child about to go out on an adventure. She looked forward to her life with Shade, no matter what it would bring.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  His facial expression softened and he caressed her cheek. There was so much love in his beautiful and shining eyes.

  “Oh, yes,” he answered.

  Chapter 16

  The doors to the elevator opened. Shade felt the nervousness rise as he took his first step out of it. He found himself at the reception area of MedAct together with Jade and Phoebe, and just a few feet beyond it was the entrance to the building. That entrance would also take him, for the first time, to the outside world. He knew he still had a lot to learn, but doctor Jade Silva believed him to be ready enough to handle the outside world. His possessiveness was finally under control and he understood how humans interacted. The basics were there. The rest, he would learn by just living and spending time with Phoebe and her friends and family.

  He looked to his right and saw Phoebe stand by his side. She gave him a comforting smile and grabbed his hand. They were finally able to start living a life without someone constantly watching over them. Although, he would have to come back to MedAct from time to time for checkups in the following two years. He understood why and it wasn't something he would argue about. As long as Phoebe was by his side, he was happy.

  “This is it,” Jade said as they approached the reception.

  He had watched the reception many times from the bridge that was just above their heads. He had watched the humans while Phoebe had explained things to him. He had asked questions and he had learned, but standing here was a completely different experience. Everything felt bigger and he found himself among humans he didn't know. They walked by him, heading in different directions. Some headed for the elevators, others for the entrance. Some entered the building, some went for the escalators. Some even looked him in the eyes before they went on with their business.