***
Blythe sleeps in my arms for what’s left of the night. After her reaction to Jenica’s abortion, I don’t want her to be alone. Even though she won’t say it out loud, I know she doesn’t want to be. She sneaks out of my room at sunrise, promising to meet me downstairs for breakfast. I let her go reluctantly, wishing we could spend the rest of the day in solitude, much like we did back at the Rejects’ hideout. It just feels right and everything outside of the moment when I turn to find her still next to me feels wrong.
Reluctantly, I let her go and then prepare to meet her downstairs to pretend in front of everyone that nothing has happened between us. When I get to the dining hall, the cleanup from breakfast is happening and there are only scraps leftover. I content myself with black coffee and some kind of pastry, scarfing it down as I go from the dining hall, to the second floor where the common gathering area is. I find Blythe already there along with Dax, Yasmine, Jenica, Laura, and Sayer, eyes glued to the news. Jenica shows no sign of her trauma the night before. She is her old self again: tight ponytail, tailored black clothes, stoic expression.
Dax sidles up beside me. “Looks like you made a splash in D.C.,” he says, nudging me with his elbow.
He’s laughing but a cold stone of dread just dropped into my gut as video footage of our escape from the Rejects’ hideout flashes across the screen and a news anchor rambles on about dangerous, Bionic terrorists staging an attack on our nation’s finest. They show the annihilator being used to incinerate the MPs, no doubt causing anger and shock throughout the nation, reminding everyone just how ‘dangerous’ the Bionics are. Naturally, there is no footage of the MPs mutilating Olivia or shooting at us first.
Then, my face is on screen again, and I know my secret is no more.
“Along with the most recognizable faces of the terrorist organization known as the Resistance, was this young man. His appearance on the wrong side of the fight against the Bionics may come as a shock to those who recognize him. He has been identified as Gage Drummond, who you may know as the son of President John Drummond. When contacted, the White House issued no statement and the president remains silent on the matter for now, but a source close to the family reveals that Drummond’s son went missing months ago after repeatedly challenging his father on the issue of the Bionics. Close family friends reveal that Gage had become militant in his beliefs, bordering on extremism in his arguments, despite not having a Bionic prosthetic himself. He was said to have become violent in recent months before disappearing. He has now resurfaced and it would seem from this footage that he has chosen to align himself with terrorists against the very man—his father no less—who has worked so tirelessly to set our nation right after the horrific bombings of 4006. What does this mean for President Drummond—especially so close to reelection? Our political analysts will be debating the matter right here on Channel Twelve. Tune in at ten o’clock pm Eastern. This is Channel Twelve News, Angela Kerney reporting.”
Someone mutes the volume and several pairs of eyes are boring into me. My mouth is dry as I turn to face them, their expressions fixed in various degrees of shock, sadness, and anger. Blythe’s eyes burn the hottest of all, like hot coals, as her mouth twists in disdain. And my worst fear since she and I first kissed is staring me in the face. The truth has come out before I had a chance to tell her, and now she cannot trust me anymore. Nausea churns in my gut as Jenica appears in my line of vision, her arms crossed over her chest.
“The Professor said he recognized you,” she accuses, as everyone else watches me silently. “Now we know why.”
“I…” I trail off, grasping for words. Really, what is there to say? I didn’t reveal the truth from the beginning because I wanted them to accept Agata. Then, I figured if I could perform well on the first mission to Stonehead, they would trust me and believe that I truly wanted to be here to fight on the side of good. Then, everything went to shit and my window of opportunity passed me by. Now I’m going to pay for it and I’m not sure I’m ready to face the consequences. “I never meant to keep it from you this long,” I finally say and it sounds pathetic, even to my ears.
“Dax, take him to lockup.”
Dax does a double take as if even he doesn’t believe his ears. “What?”
Jenica shoots him a glare that could melt titanium. “I said take him to lockup. He can’t be trusted. We need to keep him there until a decision can be made about what to do with him.”
Dax stares back and forth from Jenica to me and back again before accepting a pair of the ionized handcuffs. He walks up to me, his face a mask of confusion and hurt. Damn, I actually feel sorry for lying to him now, too. Despite the Blythe situation, he and I seemed to be forming some sort of odd friendship. Men who fight together tend to find some sort of common ground, and Dax and I had finally found ours.
“Don’t fight me,” he warns as he advances on me. “Make this easy, okay?”
I can tell he doesn’t want to do this anymore than I want to fight him. I turn and place my hands behind my back, surrendering without hesitation. As Dax cuffs me, my eyes meet Blythe’s and see tears in her eye, though she’s holding them in check. Anger is at the forefront as she seethes, glaring as if trying to burn a hole through me. When Dax guides me past her, I stop, bringing him up short and staring down in her gorgeous, chocolate eyes.
“Blythe.” In that single word is a plea, a prayer. In that one word, I’m begging her to see me for who I really am and not just my name or who my father is. Willing her to see what’s right in front of her—to see that I am who she thinks I am. The only thing that’s changed is my name.
For a moment, she falters and looks as if she is softening. Then, as quickly as that vulnerability appeared, it is gone and anger appears once again. Before I can say anything else, her bionic hand comes up, swifter than a snake, and whips me across the face.
Everything goes dark.
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About the Author
Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. With seven Fantasy and Science Fiction titles under her belt, Alicia strives to write multicultural characters and stories that touch the heart.
The mother of three and wife to a soldier, she loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.
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More by Alicia Michaels
The Lost Kingdom of Fallada Series
Beyond the Iron Gate (Prequel)
Daughter of the Red Dawn (Book 1)
Child of the Sacred Earth (Book 2)
Rise of the Tide (Book 3)
The Bionics Series
The Bionics (Book 1)
The Resistance (Book 2)
Sharing Spaces Series
V-Card (Book 1)
Brat (Book 2)
Coming Soon
Thin (Sharing Spaces Book 3)
The Lost Kingdom of Fallada Book 4 (Currently Untitled)
The Revolution (The Bionics Series Book 3)
If you enjoyed The Bionics, check out book #2 in this series—The Resistance!
March 10, 2015
All it takes is a spark…
>
Blythe Sol never would have thought she would become the face of the Restoration Resistance. Yet, that is just what has happened now that the battle lines have been drawn. With the movement sweeping the United States, the stakes are higher than ever as President Drummond continues to prove his dedication to the destruction of the Bionics and all who stand with them.
The flame has been ignited…
As anger and frustration among the American people reaches the boiling point, citizens begin to fight back, many showing their support for the Bionics… despite the personal costs to themselves. As protests turn violent, and people who once cowered in silence begin to fight back, the government continues its practices that fly in the face of the very principles the nation was founded upon.
The time has come to revolt …
Despite the many losses it has sustained, the Resistance stands strong, leading America into revolution and onward toward change. With an unlikely, ragtag family of misfits at its forefront, the Resistance stands, while a girl who lost everything continues to fight for a future that was once impossible, but may now be within her reach.
The Bionics Page 51