Shark Bite (Cyborg Shifters Book 3)

by Naomi Lucas

They bobbed back upward and she coughed, sucking in the fresh morning air. Rylie checked her weapon and cranked a new set of bullets. She had no idea where her sister or Netto were; all she knew was that they had to survive. The retort of the cannon stabbed her eardrums and her ammo reserve depleted rapidly under her trigger-happy finger.

  Within minutes, she had killed their supply. The watership rocked beneath her. Rylie looked out at the beast that remained far too close and prayed that Janet was all right.

  The ship jerked and with that, she unbuckled herself, only to stumble back onto the bow. Her body slammed into the floor, rolling, before it she hit the wall of the cabin. Her vision sparked before she regained sight. Rylie swept her hands beneath her and shoved herself. Not hurt. I’m okay.

  Grappling her way to the stairwell, she descended to the back of the ship. Her father was strapped within the helm seat and she crawled toward him, gripping the railways. Water and wind rushed over her skin.

  Rylie yelled until Da turned around. She raised her arm and he clasped it pulling her the rest of the way. She settled in the co-captain's seat, barely managing to buckle herself in before they dipped again below the waves.

  “We need to stop!” she screamed.

  “We’ll be crushed if we do.”.

  “Janet was thrown overboard. Circle back.” He looked at her, eyes wide, with his face sunken and strained. The ship groaned to a halt as she and her da shared a look. The behemoth roared in the distance.

  They both turned toward the leviathan. Adrenaline soared through her and she shielded her eyes from the spray of water as the waves roiled below.

  Rylie licked her lips and scanned the ocean, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the Cyborgs or Janet, but all she saw was an endless sea of serpents.

  “What’re we going to do?” Her hair whipped around her head.

  “We get your sister.” He unbuckled and leapt from his seat. “Man the ship!” She bit down on her tongue and she swapped places to take hold of the controls. The ship spun around and she swiveled back. Rylie didn’t dare blink while maneuvering through the waves. She swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat.

  Da reappeared with several gun cases in hand. She didn’t glance over, knowing he held the Cyborgs’ weapons. The clicks of guns being readied sounded beside her. One of them landed on her lap and she gripped it while keeping one hand on the controls.

  “Now!” Da roared and she stopped the ship. Rylie ducked down and followed him to the side. Their backs hit the side railing at the same time. Water hammered down on them from above and when it cleared, more water quickly replaced it. She pressed her feet to the ground and used the weight of her soles to keep herself in place. A broken piece of glass skidded by her feet.

  Rylie bent over and felt around her new gun for the trigger, blinded by the salt in her eyes. She had never used such a weapon before but found her bearings, and with her fingers curled around the grip she spun around and took aim. Da fired beside her.

  Her fear overshadowed the raw excitement flowing through her as she stared at the monster. It was larger close up. She sputtered in fear but snapped her mouth shut. Her hands slipped on the grip and shot off her weapon.

  She flew back across the ship until her back smashed against the opposite side. It didn’t stop her from aiming and firing again, bracing against the recoil.

  This time she saw it as whatever pulsed out of her gun hit its target and lit up the sky with a fiery blast. When she shielded her eyes this time, it wasn't to protect them from the water but to protect them from the light. The leviathan roared and she dropped the weapon.

  Someone bumped into her and she turned her head expecting to see her da, but gasped when she realized it was Janet settled against her side. Rylie threw her arms around her.

  Zeph hunched over them and helped them to the helm. There were spots in her eyes as she tugged Janet along. She took hold of the buckle and belted herself in as the ship tilted onto its side.

  Rylie screamed for Da but was only answered with more gunfire. Zeph threw a blanket over her sister who shook violently. She didn't know where the Cyborg had found a scrap of cloth that wasn't soaked, but she reached over and took her sister's arm and was happy that he had.

  “Don't move.” Zeph tucked the blanket ends around Janet before he turned to face her. “Get us out of here.”

  Rylie nodded and faced the console, powering it on. Zeph didn't wait to watch and he left before she could ask him where Netto was. The ship coursed with power right as the beast came upon them. A wave rose as the boat dipped forward, splashing them with water.

  No, that's not water.

  She wanted to vomit. The ocean was red with blood, and what serpents weren't lost in the waves feasted on the dead.

  She jerked the ship to its side but not before the limb struck them straight down the middle. They were pushed below the water in the next breath and she screamed as the ship popped back up.

  Rylie looked back only to immediately evade another thrash, and saw the entire chunk of railing on either side of the boat had been crushed and destroyed. Her sister curled up into a ball next to her, and she prayed that Zeph had made sure her da was all right.

  The watership sputtered but managed to pick up speed. Rylie found herself shaking uncontrollably, hoping that she could get her family away. She could hear the clattering of her sister's teeth.

  Another flash of light erupted in the sky, followed by an ear-piercing screech. She rode the waves out of the periphery of the creature and lost all concept time as her focus took over.

  Soon, she was far enough away from the breach that the waves no longer crashed into the watership, but simply lapped at its sides.

  The sound of laughter made her stop the boat. She turned around to see Zeph, stark naked except for the gun in his hand. Wounds covered his skin. Da was sitting on a half-crushed seat next to him, but neither one of them were looking at her. What had once towered like a tall building over them was now bowed down and gushing blood.

  Rylie stood up and went to her da, staring not at the dying behemoth that continued to seize and shake, but at the things that gathered around it. Horrible creatures from the ocean deep that broke the black water and ate the dead and dying.

  “Netto’s still out there.” Rylie barely managed to get the words out. She had to believe that he was okay. That he hadn’t died going after her sister.

  “Of course he is!” Zeph continued to laugh and holler, but his excitement abruptly ended and he turned toward her.

  Half of his face had been torn off.

  She gaped as pink water gushed down his frame and joined the waves, taking in the metal plating underneath his skin. Seeing it was harder than merely knowing it existed, that the Cyborgs didn't have human bones, but metal. Man-made metal.

  Rylie swallowed.

  “Take care of your sister and drive the boat back the way we came. Drive until you can no longer see any of this in the distance,” Zeph said, waving his hand.

  “What about Netto?”

  He turned away from her and began to shift.

  “I want my trophy,” Zeph said just as he dove back into the ocean.

  She ran to the rail and leaned over, crying out Zeph's name, but he was already lost within the dark water. Rylie didn't know how long she stood there staring at the seafoam. All she could remember was being transfixed until a cold hand touched her shoulder and Da pulled her away from the side.

  “Time to go,” he said, his voice cracking as he stared into the distance. She turned to see what he was looking at long enough for more giants appear out of the early morning mist.

  Rylie took a step back. Bigger things arose from the water. And not all of them were on the other side of the signal. She pushed back her fear and followed Zeph's orders.

  Rylie left the Cyborgs behind.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It had taken him hours because of his partner’s insatiable need to show off. Hours without Rylie within his vici
nity. Netto groaned, seeing the watership appear in the distance, unmoving in the ocean, half destroyed from the damage it incurred.

  For the last part of the day, he had followed the ship's signal with a four-ton trophy dragging behind him. He would admit that he was tired. Netto would even admit it in front of another Cyborg.

  Using the remainder of his energy stores, he shot forward toward rest, toward Rylie. He needed to see her and make sure she was all right, his veins burned with it.

  As he drew closer, the smell of exhaust replaced the sweet ocean brine that coated his face. It stuck to him. Claimed him.

  The Croc flashed beneath him, chasing off any would-be predators looking for an easy meal.

  He could still taste the fleshy, fishy innards of the creature that had risen from the depths. But it did not have claws, nor did it have the teeth to match the markings that were ingrained in his head. The leviathan had little in the way of bone and cartilage. It didn't have spikes or even the scales fishes had.

  It had come from somewhere lower than the ocean's abyss. Netto didn't know where, but he knew that he had somehow woken it up from amongst the deep sea trenches.

  Its head dragged behind him, sinking whenever he slowed down.

  If Zeph hadn't assured him that Rylie was safe, Netto would've been happy to leave the trophy behind. He didn’t care for trophies and wondered how Zeph even planned on bringing the damned thing home. Maybe he was trying to build himself a monument on Kepler. Netto would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t convinced he’d pass out doing it.

  Netto owned very little and had never wanted for much. He was never sure when he would have to leave, and he found that over time, the fewer things that one had, the easier it was to move on. Everything he owned could fit in a single bag. Whatever was left remained in a small lockbox below the floor of the quarters he rented out in Ghost City.

  His fingers dug into the skin of the beast. There was no rope to be had, so he pulled it by the strips of meat dangling from its body.

  Zeph insisted on bringing it back because it meant something to his honor. Netto scoffed and spit out the brine filling his mouth. He wanted the day to be over. He would die a happy man if only he could make sure that Rylie was safe before nightfall covered the sky.

  He stopped at the edge of the boat and pulled himself up, looking around for the girl, but was greeted by Montihan, his face bruised and his arm in a sling.

  Their host sat on a half-crushed seat under a tarp awning large enough to block out the sun. The man didn't even blink when he and Zeph appeared out of nowhere.

  “Where's Rylie?” he asked, locating a shielded net which he handed to Zeph. Netto didn't watch as his partner secured the limb to the ship without complaint.

  “Down below with Janet.” Montihan rose from his seat and kicked shards of glass off the side of the boat. Netto wondered how the ship was still afloat. His host caught on. “I’ve had this ship since I moved to Kepler. Not many like her in the universe. There's no need for them on most of the planets out there when there's no seas, no oceans.” He shrugged. “There's no need for boats. The glass shielding I added myself years later, and equipped her to dive below the waterline. At least it was good for something.”

  “And Janet?” Zeph asked as he finished with the head and caught one of the pairs of pants that Montihan tossed to each of them.

  “If Rylie can get her warm, she'll be okay. She hasn't stopped shaking since you saved her from the ocean. Thank you for that.”

  Zeph nodded and strode past them, going below deck without another word. Netto sat down and ran his hands over his face.

  He looked up to see Montihan watching him.

  “So is it done? Never got a chance to ask you if everything's been fixed.”

  “Yes. If I had known what would happen...” Netto looked around at the damage. He closed his eyes and willed away the tension in his head. “I'm sorry about your ship.”

  “Yeah, well, everything that matters is okay.”

  “It's been fixed and was still fixed by the time we left. If it will stay that way through the night, tomorrow morning, a week from now,” Netto said as he leaned back, “I don't know. Nothing should've gotten close enough to begin with.”

  “It answers one question. We know how those men died,” Montihan said.

  “Yes.”

  “I don't suppose this has anything to do with crops?”

  “No idea. Only time will tell.” They sat in silence for awhile with nothing but a slight breeze to fill their ears. Netto stared at the passageway that led into the ship, unsure if he should go check on Rylie.

  He peered down at himself and unclenched his hands. He looked no better than his partner. The only difference between them was that he still had most of his face intact. His deepest wounds had only begun to heal.

  “It'll be hours before nightfall, best get cleaned up. I’ll get us on route back to the homestead.”

  “No,” he said.

  “No?”

  Netto scanned the horizon. “I need to make sure that there won't be any more breaches.” He ran his tongue over his sharp teeth and released a small amount of blood. It did little to comfort him. “If we get farther away, I'll lose my connection to the modules.”

  “And you can’t use the satellites?”

  “The channels are convoluted and if there are any more of those... things... It's best that Zeph and I do our job.”

  Montihan walked back to the bridge and plopped down before the controls. The man grumbled and turned on the ship. The undamaged lights flickered on.

  “Promise me one thing.”

  “No.” Netto was done making promises.

  He continued regardless, “My girls make it back to land alive.”

  Netto's jaw ticked but he didn't say anything. He got up and walked into the ship, deciding he wasn't going to wait to see Rylie. He had so much to say to her, the words tasted like rotten meat in his mouth. He needed to get them out, needed to be near her, breathe her in and erase the monsters in his head. The need to apologize and make sure she was okay became his only thought. The mission and the serpents vanished.

  He had hurt her, intentionally, lying to push her away. And now that he almost lost her, he regretted the words for ever leaving his mouth.

  Before his feet hit the lower deck, Rylie came into view, hunched under a blanket and sitting alone in the interior lounge. The cases of his and Zeph's equipment were scattered everywhere. The kitchenette on the other end was blanketed in debris and the floor below his feet was soaked.

  “I wouldn’t go down that hallway if I were you,” Rylie murmured, her voice hoarse. His mind and body flushed with relief. She’s okay. She’s in front of me.

  “Why?” he whispered back, feeling he had to match his pitch with hers.

  “Zeph’s with Janet, crawled right into her bunk before I had a chance to climb out,” she said. “He’ll be able to warm her better than I could. I think she was actually happy to see him.”

  He looked down the pathway that led to the quarters before he turned toward the only thing he cared about, and sat beside Rylie.

  He had tried to push her out of his thoughts, pretended she meant nothing to him, that he didn’t actually want her. Netto hoped putting distance between them would break their connection, but it worsened. He couldn’t imagine losing her now.

  Images of the morning, the freezing water, the tentacles, and the guns filled his head. Rylie’s slight form was amongst it all. Netto clenched his fists.

  He stared at her, knowing he was strained with worry, she gazed at him with little more than tired relief in her eyes. Netto wondered why he didn’t scare her.

  “I'm happy to see you,” she said.

  “I’m sorry,” Netto rushed out.

  Rylie shifted under her blanket and turned her body toward him. He stiffened under her perusal.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again. His metal heart lightened and he took a step toward her.

 
A small smile twitched the side of her lips and it took his breath away.

  “I was worried...”

  “Don’t.” He hooked a finger beneath her chin, guiding her eyes up to meet his. “I lied.”

  She searched his gaze.

  Netto continued when she didn’t respond. “I like your smell, your taste. You smell like home...you taste like the ocean.” He ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to find the words he needed to tell her.

  “I didn't think I would see you again. I didn't want to leave you behind.” Rylie swallowed, looking away to roam her gaze over the wounds on his chest. They had begun to heal but were still raw and red.

  “Why?” he asked, wanting her to elaborate. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and fill her with his heat.

  “Because I would miss you. Because if you didn't return, I think that would've made me...I don’t know. I kept thinking of the last things we said to each other. I don't know why because they were horrible, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about them.”

  Netto lifted his arm and hooked it around her back, silently, softly nudging her toward him, hoping that he could do for her as Zeph was doing for Janet. He still didn’t trust himself. He couldn’t go further with her, but he could at least mend the hurt he had caused her.

  It didn't take much. Rylie was tired and receptive to his intentions. She shuffled into his side and curled up against him; their size difference made it awkward so he lifted her onto his lap.

  This was worth everything to him, having her cocooned in his embrace, curled up against him willingly, where he could protect her the best and warm her up the fastest. Rylie melded into his frame.

  Netto felt a flare of possessiveness course through him. He would never give her up; he would never let another man hold her like this. His fingers drifted from her head and over her back, petting her.

  “This is nice,” she said.

  “Yes.”

  “I'm really glad you came back,” she whispered softly.

  “Me too.”

  It wasn't long before she fell asleep; it wasn't long before everything felt right in the world.