“I can’t believe it.” Anger lingered in Faye’s voice. “Shade never mentioned any poison.”
“That’s because I tried to replace the bond with another signal. His bond had no reason to transform into the poison since his bound one was still alive,” Nightmare said.
Faye frowned. “Shade said the reason you Fighters survive is because a small part of the bond remains inside you.”
“It does, but only because it failed to kill us, but as you see on Wind, my signal blocks it successfully. Only the need for a bound one remains, and don’t worry. I’ve scratched the plan I used on Shade.”
Celise didn’t say anything. She sat still in Wind’s arms, sorrow filling her heart. Hearing Wind say the bond was a poison was like throwing a huge rock straight in her face.
Everything she knew, everything she’d learned was fake.
MedAct had lost her trust.
Faye thumped down on the bed again, disbelief in her eyes. “I can’t believe it.”
“I can examine you,” Blaze told Wind, “but I guess it’s not necessary. Your old bond is locked away, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “Yes, I can’t even sense it anymore. My new bond to Celise has completely taken over.”
“How about your feelings for your first bound one?” Nightmare asked. “Are they still there?”
Celise tensed.
“Strangely enough, they are,” Wind said. “I expected them to disappear, but at the same time, Jade did tell us my feelings for Diane would remain.”
Nightmare nodded to himself, as if to confirm what Wind had said. “That’s because the feelings are the only thing that is real. The bond forces them upon us, but once they are there, they become real. The bond was never designed to delete the emotions. Why should it, when you were supposed to die anyway?”
Celise breathed a sigh of relief and was able to smile.
Wind’s arms tightened around her again, and he kissed her cheek. Maybe he understood what she was thinking, and wanted to comfort her. Her emotions were, without a doubt, real.
She’d always loved him, and always would.
“You all still love your late bound ones?” she asked.
Blaze nodded. “One way or another, yes, and trust me, it’s not easy to live with, especially when our bonds scream inside us to find a new bound one. Some of us terminate themselves because it becomes too much.”
“Sure, we could find a new bound one, and get peace of mind, but human life is so fragile,” Nightmare said, “and I refuse to allow a woman have such power over me ever again.” His voice was cold and harsh.
Celise looked at her hands. Yesterday, this conversation would’ve been surreal. Being in this place was surreal enough, but today, she believed every single word.
Before Nightmare, Faye, and Blaze had come back, she’d examined Wind using the cyborg medic’s equipment, and the truth had been thrown in her face. Everything Wind said was true.
She no longer saw any reason to distrust Blaze and Nightmare.
Celise wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything.
Whatever MedAct was up to, she’d find out.
She couldn’t trust Jade anymore. She was the head of MedAct, after all. She probably knew all of this.
Celise met Nightmare’s dark glare. “I assume you don’t know how to remove the bond yet.”
“I thought I did when I tried it on Shade. I never believed it would almost kill him.”
“Tell me about it.”
The leader studied her. Then he smiled. “You believe us.”
Celise took a deep breath. “Yes. I saw the facts in Wind’s programming before you all came back. They speak a clear language.”
Nightmare grinned. “Good.”
Anticipation shone in Blaze’s eyes. “I look forward to working with you, Celise.”
She gave him a smile. “Me too.”
Nightmare seemed to have gained new energy. “Tell me, Celise. Have you heard of Alexander Fleming?”
She frowned but nodded. “Of course. He was the CEO of MedAct before Jade Silva. He walked out of his office one day about fifteen years ago, and was never seen again.”
”Exactly.” The leader went to his desk. He looked through a drawer and pulled something out before approaching her.
Wind hauled her closer but didn’t say anything.
“Here,” Nightmare said and handed her a small portable hard disk. “Take it. I have plenty more. Everything you need to know is stored there.”
“Like what?” Faye asked.
He sat down. “Alexander Fleming and I weren’t friends, but we spoke a few times. He took over Carolyn William’s work after she’d died. He was just a kid when it happened, but for some reason, she left everything to him in her will. How he was related to her, I don’t know. As an adult, he took over MedAct.” Nightmare took a deep breath. “Alexander never expected to find what he found.”
“What?” Celise asked.
Nightmare nodded toward the small disk. “He discovered that the bond is fake. Just like everybody else, he’d been told cyborgs can’t exist without the bond, but when he saw that wasn’t true; he started working in the dark. He didn’t trust the members of the board who ran MedAct with him. He created an algorithm that’s supposed to eliminate the bond for good, without damaging the cyborg, but he disappeared before he was able to finish it. He gave it to me, and I’ve been trying to finish it ever since.” He sighed. “I was sure I had it right when I tested it on Shade, but I chose to ignore an important detail Alexander told me.” He met Celise’s gaze. “Take a look at it. You’re one of MedAct’s students, after all.”
She swallowed and flipped the disk in her hands. It felt like she was holding the world’s most cherished treasure. “I will.”
He smiled. Determination shone in his eyes, and for the first time since she’d met him, she saw hope.
“Do you know why there aren’t any female cyborgs?” Blaze asked.
Celise winced, hadn’t expected the question. “What I learned was that the female cyborgs required another type of programming, and Carolyn just wasn’t able to make it work.” She watched Blaze and Nightmare, who studied her in return. Then she sighed. “I guess that’s a lie, too?”
The medic nodded. “We don’t know if there has ever been any female cyborgs, but what we do know is that Alexander discovered a connection between the bond and the female cyborg programming.”
Her heart stuttered. “What kind of connection?”
“We have no idea.”
“That’s what I chose to ignore when I tested my signal on Shade. We just couldn’t find it, and thought Alexander could’ve been wrong,” Nightmare said.
She blinked, stunned by the news. “The program for a female cyborg, is it in here as well?” She raised the disk with shaky hands.
He nodded. “Yes.”
Silence filled the room for what felt like an eternity.
“Have you tried—?” Wind finally asked.
“No,” Blaze answered. “We don’t have the equipment to create a cyborg, but believe me, if we did, I’d be working on it right now. If the answer to saving all cyborgs from the bond lies in the female cyborg programming, then I want to be the one who discovers it.”
Celise took a deep breath, overwhelmed by everything that had happened this day. “How much does Jade know?”
“We suspect she knows enough,” Blaze answered.
She stood. “I guess that means we have a lot to do. Take me to them.”
Nightmare frowned. “Take you to who?”
“The Fighters. I want to meet them.”
CHAPTER 29
Celise held Wind’s hand as the five of them walked down the hallways leading toward the big gathering room they’d passed to reach Blaze’s medical room.
Celise had never imagined she’d find herself in this situation, but what was important was that Wind had survived.
Her examination had shown that he was all right. There weren�
�t any traces left of the poison that’d been meant to kill him. She was grateful for that.
As they approached the gathering room, her nerves rose. She really didn’t like being in the center of attention, but today, she had no other choice. If she was ever going to understand what was going on, she had to be able to communicate with the Fighters.
Celise had heard so many different stories about them over the years, mostly how dangerous and untrustworthy they were, but after listening to Faye’s experiences, her thoughts had started to change. But one thing she did know for sure. The Fighters were damaged, one way or another. The poison had probably gotten the chance to spread long enough in some of them to create severe damage.
Silence filled the vast room as they entered, and at least twenty pairs of eyes turned toward them.
“Hello, boys!” Faye called out to the Fighters. “Have you missed me?”
They answered with smiles and grins, but no one spoke. Their focus was on Celise.
She glanced around. This time, she got a better look at the Fighters. Last time, she’d been under pressure to save Wind. She was under pressure this time as well, but it was different now. These Fighters knew she was a doctor working for MedAct, and MedAct wasn’t a positive thing in their vocabulary.
Tension shot high inside her. Hopefully, none of the Fighters would try to hurt her.
She moved closer slowly, with Wind glued to her side. Her tension was mirrored in him.
The Fighters were spread out all over the room. Some sat, others stood. Their advent had interrupted gameplay, and the TV was on.
She couldn’t tell what was wrong with these Fighters, or if there even was anything wrong with them. But judging by their tired eyes, they all seemed worn out. Their bonds probably screamed on daily bases inside them to go after a new bound one.
From the corner of her eye, Celise noticed a Fighter sitting by a table. He hadn’t looked up when they’d entered the room. Instead, he leaned over it with his hands under his head. His body shook. A book lay open in front of him. Maybe he’d tried to read, but the pain he seemed to be in, had probably made it impossible.
Instinct pulled at her, and she approached the Fighter.
Wind followed, and so did everybody else. A crowd gathered around her with Blaze, Faye, and Nightmare in the front.
Her cyborg placed himself just next to her, just in case the Fighter tried anything.
“How many of you are there?” Celise asked Nightmare.
“Around fifty.”
“I only see about twenty in here. Where are the others?”
“Locked up.”
Celise froze and shot her gaze to the leader’s. “Why?”
“Because they are too damaged.”
She scanned the room for a specific face, but he wasn’t there. “Silver?”
“He’s one of them,” Nightmare said. “The need to bond with Faye is taking over. If I hadn’t locked him up, he’d be running around up there, trying to find her.”
Faye crossed her arms over her chest and snorted, turning her back to Nightmare.
Celise focused on the Fighter at the table. There was nothing she could do for Silver right now. The only one who could help him was Faye, and she didn’t seem interested.
“Hello?” she said to the Fighter. “My name is Celise, but you probably know who I am, don’t you?”
He nodded as he looked up.
She was taken aback when she looked into his shiny eyes. She’d never seen such big eyes before. They were mesmerizing, and they made her feel like he stared right into her soul, but there was also so much discomfort and exhaustion written all over his face.
Something told her he wouldn’t last much longer. He’d probably been in this state since he’d lost his bound one. The poison must’ve made quite a number on him.
“Nightmare told us who you are,” the Fighter said with a low voice.
Celise swallowed and shifted her weight to her other leg. “Is it all right if I examine you?”
A gasp went through the room, and tension rose.
The Fighter’s gaze landed on Blaze.
“Let her,” the medic told him. “She knows more about cyborgs than I do. It’s her specialty.”
“Very well.” He looked at her. “Go ahead, but I don’t know what you can do for me. My time is coming to an end.”
She placed her bag on the table and pulled out her scanner as the Fighter took off his shirt. She glimpsed at Wind, almost expecting him to protest, considering what’d happened when she’d examined Shade, but her cyborg didn’t move.
Instead, he gave her a nod.
Celise took a deep breath and pushed a few buttons. “What’s your name?”
“Sense.”
She smiled at him. “Nice to meet you, Sense.”
He didn’t answer, but he gave her a weak smile.
“Have you examined him?” she asked Blaze.
“Yes, but my knowledge of the cyborg anatomy is limited. I noticed it’s similar to a human’s, but there are differences, too. Unfortunately, not many Fighters let me take a better look at them, so I stand mostly without answers.”
Celise watched the scan. A silent minute passed by. She tried to ignore all the eyes on her, but focusing on Sense alone wasn’t easy. Her hands shook, and her breathing was ragged. Finally, the device finished, and it was as she’d thought. She turned to Sense, looking into his beautiful eyes.
Compared to many other of the Fighters, he seemed rather thin. Maybe he hadn’t been able to eat well because of the pain. His dark brown hair needed a brush, and he also seemed to need some sleep.
“The poison from your bond has affected your nervous system. I assumed it took a while before Nightmare could help you?”
Sense nodded slowly. “The bond wasn’t able to kill me, but it caused severe damage. I can barely walk without hurting all over. At my worst days, it spreads to my head, causing huge migraines. Last time, it took two weeks for me to recover from the attack.”
Celise licked her lips. “I can help you, but you must be willing to go through it.”
Interest awakened in his eyes. “Anything.”
She nodded and dug out an electric needleless syringe, along with a bottle filled with transparent liquid. She placed the syringe on the glass bottle, and it filled without her needing to open it. The advantage with these syringes was that everything remained sterile, and she could use it even if she hadn’t washed her hands. “This is a painkiller for cyborgs. Humans can’t use it. It has no effect on us since our bodies function a little bit differently. If I inject you with this, the pain will go away, but you’ll need a new dose every week.”
Relief and hope filled his eyes. “Do it.”
Celise hesitated. “There’s a catch.”
“What catch?” His face tensed again.
“For it to work, I have to inject it directly into your nervous system, and that’ll hurt if you’re conscious.”
“Oh.” Sense didn’t seem so sure anymore.
“You’ll only be out for a few minutes, and when you wake, the pain will be gone.”
He went quiet, and all she could do was wait.
None of the other Fighters moved, but when she looked around, many seemed intrigued. She met the gazes of some of them, and they watched with anticipation. Even Wind and Faye seemed interested, but she had a hard time reading Nightmare. He looked angry, but also as if he wanted to know more.
Sense finally sighed. “Fine. Shall I go to the infirmary?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Just sit here, and relax.” Celise placed herself behind the Fighter and grabbed his neck.
He tensed under her touch.
She knew this move inside out. All doctors at MedAct trained it over and over again until it sat in the bone marrow. “This won’t hurt,” she assured as she pressed her hand against his spine, then her thumb and pinky simultaneously felt for the right places. When she found them, she pressed a little bit harder.
Sense’s body went instantly slack, and he exhaled.
Celise slowly rested his head and arms on the table.
Shock seemed to go through every cyborg in the room. They stared at her with wide eyes and dropped jaws.
Blaze approached her. “How did you do that?”
She blinked and tensed when some of the Fighters took a step back. Had she done the right thing? “Cyborgs have a nerve in their necks that humans don’t. MedAct made us study it over and over again until we knew exactly how to affect it. With the right touch, we can take you out for a few minutes.” She met the medic’s gaze. “It’s your weak point.”
“Fuck,” Nightmare mumbled. The rage in his eyes was unmistakable. “I guess you have a lot to teach us, Celise.”
She frowned. “I thought you knew about this.”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve never seen it in use. Besides, until Blaze came along, I never had a medic on my team.”
Celise only nodded, but worry followed. “This bottle is all I have. It’ll last for three more injections, but then I’ll be out, and I won’t be able to help Sense anymore. Jade will become suspicious if I start asking for meds too often.” She winced as the room filled with grinning Fighters.
“Don’t worry,” Blaze said. “We’ll make sure you have the supplies you’ll need. I already have plenty in the medical room, but if there’s something else, just let me know, and some of us will get it for you.”
She frowned, didn’t really like the sound of that. “How exactly?”
“Well—”
“I changed my mind. I don’t want to know.”
Blaze only chuckled. “As you wish, but I think you already know what I was about to say.”
“Yeah, I probably do.” Celise raised the syringe toward Sense’s neck. She felt for the right place with her other hand, and when she found it, she gently injected the liquid.
The Fighters’ gazes were fixed on Sense, waiting for him to wake up.
This was probably the most exciting thing they’d experienced in ages.
After a few minutes, Sense groaned as he lifted his head from the table.
Everyone in the room took a step closer.
Sense rubbed his neck and frowned. “My neck feels numb.”
Loved Cyborg (Bound by Her Book 2) Page 16