Her shoulders slumped. How much dignity can a tortured prisoner have, anyway?
Aielle spent most of the afternoon looking at the door in anticipation. Nothing else matters but that today my torture will finally come to an end. Dignity or not. She waited for her cell door to open, but it didn’t. Time seemed to drag on, the neverending twilight of her cell wearing on her. She wanted to sleep, but such solace wouldn’t come. Instead, she simply pictured what it would feel like to finally come to the end of her suffering.
Where are they? Have they forgotten about me?
Just before nightfall, her door creaked open on its hinges. Two guards stood before her.
She searched their eyes, hoping to find the soft gray ones of the guard who had been so kind to her. Two dark sets of almost black eyes stared mercilessly back. Her head dipped slightly, the simple gesture all she would allow to betray her deep sense of disappointment.
It was ridiculous to hope for something so small. So pointless.
The guards came forward, and she realized by their movements they were both Cyborgs. She didn’t fight it as they dragged her to her feet.
“Why are you executing me now?” she croaked. “Did you get through the Renwyn shields?”
Neither of them answered. She tried to hold her head high, despite the fact the guards carried her by the elbows more than she walked. She felt no shame in going to her death this way, in not betraying her people to the enemy.
Although I failed my mission, I can assume my people are still safe behind their shields. And I am only one person. I could never sacrifice their safety for something as small as my life.
As they walked through the tunnels, they passed more cells than she could count. Sometimes she heard weeping and cursing from the prisoners, male and female, but what struck her the most was the silence. The shuffling sound of footsteps on the cell floors and muted clanking of chains were overshadowed by the silence of the hopeless people within them.
They finally emerged from the prison to take a tunnel traveling upward. Her heart lurched. I might see the sky one last time.
The tunnel emerged aboveground at the bottom of a large arena that must once have been a place for sporting events. The area in the center was covered with dirt, and the steps carved from pure stone around the outside were half-filled with desperate beings — mountain people, Cyborgs, and Ardaks, most whose lives were probably no better than her own.
But then she noticed that the only men she saw were Cyborgs. Did the Ardaks turn every male from the mountain kingdom into a Cyborg? she wondered. But there are so few of them!
Aielle looked up at the sky, her eyes desperately seeking the spots of blue amid the gray clouds. But instead, everything was shrouded with a red glow. Their shield.
She felt a deep sadness for the slaves she saw surrounding her, waiting to cheer for her death. The mountain people — women, children, and Cyborgs — were only shadows of what used to be a free and proud race, before they were taken over by the Ardaks.
But now, their clothing dirty and torn, their faces weathered and bruised, they looked desperate for a moment of happiness. A moment to escape their own torturous lives. Those that were Cyborgs probably had no feelings either way.
She looked down at her hands. If they knew how I failed them, how the crystal was in these two hands until I lost it, they would be cheering even more loudly for my death.
The Cyborgs led her to the far end of the arena, where the Ardak general sat on a large granite dais. It looks like an evil throne. She saw a tiny sliver of red crystal on a staff in his hand. So small, but he could still kill with it.
As they approached him, she couldn’t help but raise her eyes to take one last look at the reddish gray sky above.
Soon I will escape this place with its evil red shield. I will fly even above those clouds, touching the sun. See the beloved face of my mother, who will welcome me home.
Then she stood before the general, dirty and bedraggled in the face of his terrifying majesty. He had all the strength and power typical of an Ardak, but was somehow more evil. He stood over seven feet tall, his black and gray striped fur heavily marred by scarring. Muscles bulging, fangs moist, his yellow slitted eyes pierced her angrily. His fingers were long, their claws pointed as he steepled them in front of his chest.
He roared, the sound filling the arena, its terrible power sending shivers down her spine. It lasted for long seconds, shaking her eardrums, vibrating her very bones. Then he took a deep breath, and spoke. “The time has come to send a message to your father, Aielle, daughter of Ardair.”
She couldn’t hide her shock. Not only did he know who she was, but he spoke the words in the old language of her people, rather than the common tongue shared by all. That language was secret. Known only among the elders. How does he know it?
Before she could respond, he waved the crystal staff in front of him.
“Unfortunately, my dear, since you won’t tell me what I need, that message is your head.” The words were smooth and at the end he gave a hearty, roaring laugh that Aielle knew she would never forget as long as she lived. Then he whispered into the crystal, and suddenly the ground opened beneath her. She fell through the opening as a cheer rose up from the crowd.
Aielle landed hard on her backside, scrambling up from the rock beneath her as quickly as she could. It appeared as though she was in an underground maze. She couldn’t see very far, but some of the rocks glowed dimly, giving a twilight feeling to the tunnel.
Suddenly, an enormous roar seemed to shake the very walls of the maze.
She began to stumble in the opposite direction of the roar, her legs shaking, looking for a means of escape. But the walls and ceiling seemed to be made of solid rock, too smooth to climb, nowhere to hide.
She heard the beast grow closer. It roared a second time.
Suddenly, an enormous, strong hand grabbed her arm.
She turned and looked up into gray eyes.
His gray eyes.
In a complete, perfect, beautiful face.
He picked her up, and with one enormous lunge pushed her through a hole in the side of the tunnel. It was a second passage, with the same glowing rocks at intermittent intervals.
She stumbled in the second tunnel, catching herself, and turned around just in time to see him raise his arm in front of his face as the enormous brown-and-black beast leaped onto him. What is it? It’s not an Ardak.
Its strong, powerful jaws clamped around his forearm, its spiked teeth tearing at the tissue until she could hear the scrape of metal. Does the beast have metal teeth? A shiver ran through her. Not just Cyborg men, but Cyborg beasts, as well?
The man tried to fight it, but the sword he'd pulled out from between his shoulder blades simply bounced off the jagged metal spines on the beast's back and shoulders. He grunted, every muscle in his body standing out as he slid backward from the momentum of the monster’s leap.
What can I do? That beast will kill him!
Its growl sent shivers down her spine.
She tried to stand, but her legs crumbled beneath her. If only I could help!
Man and beast slid together, locked in combat. At the last moment, the enormous man turned sideways, using his leverage to slam the beast into the wall. As he turned his head, she saw a tiny red light at the base of his skull and gaped in disbelief.
He’s a Cyborg!
No. It can’t be!
Her steel-eyed guard wasn’t just a slave, but he’d been turned into one of those beasts who had tortured her! She’d thought he was still human, just a prisoner like herself!
But a Cyborg?
One of the brutal half men, half metal monsters!
Why is he helping me?
Her first instinct was to run. She looked around helplessly, realizing she didn’t know where to go. And even if she did, she wouldn’t make it far in her current state. Can I trust him?
As Cyborg and beast disappeared from view, she found herself creeping forward
until she could see them. They had parted for a moment, sizing each other up.
The beast came at him again, and the muscles bulged in his arms and torso as he threw it backward once more. The muscles flexed in his thighs as he followed it with two powerful strides and delivered a massive blow to its jaw, stunning it before it could rise.
The Cyborg leaped through the hole toward her, taking a body from the shadows and throwing it back inside for the monster. Moments later, a triumphant howl went up from the other side of the boulder, and dimly they could hear the answering sounds of cheering from above.
She heard the sounds of wet chewing and flinched.
That could have been me.
The Cyborg seemed to understand her thoughts. As he walked around her, his warm fingers squeezed hers for a moment.
The gesture was so human that she didn’t know what to think.
His fingers lingered for a moment, and a spark of magic shot through her. My magic? It’s not gone!
Then she stifled a cry as her mangled fingers belatedly protested the squeeze.
He brought her hand up so that he could see it, and his eyes grew hard. Then he looked over the rest of her, his startlingly handsome face grave.
What is really beneath his skin?
Is he metal — or man?
She cringed when she realized that his eyes must be taking in her bloody, filthy appearance. And I’m wearing nothing but his old, dirty shirt. Not even shoes.
She looked at the arm that the beast had bitten and saw the metal beneath his flesh. She wondered if the injury had hurt him as it would a normal arm.
"Can you run?" he asked quickly, striding down the tunnel, looking back at her.
"I’ll try." She staggered a few steps after him.
He stopped and shook his head. "Never mind. We need to get out of here before that poor beast gets the wrong head to the king.” He didn’t wait, but bent down and lifted her over his shoulder with an easy strength that was almost frightening. “I apologize, this ride may not be comfortable.”
He’s not only gorgeous — he’s incredibly strong.
And he’s saving me.
She couldn’t believe it.
Then logic took over.
You can’t trust him, Aielle. No matter what he looks like. That chip in his neck makes him a slave.
Why does he want me?
The Cyborg took off with long, loping strides down the path, going farther into the mountain.
Aielle could feel her skin tearing in a hundred places with every step. She grabbed on to him reflexively to stop the jostling, and almost screamed when her torn fingers got caught in his shirt. Finally, she decided just to relax as much as possible.
They headed into the blackness and she could see nothing but his back in the intermittent lights that lit the narrow path. He ran from one tunnel to the next, through caverns, and the path arced upward, then downward again.
“Shouldn’t we try to get to the surface?” she asked when he finally slowed.
“No.” His voice was firm. “The surface is too open, and we wouldn’t be able to get through the shield. If we can go through the mountain to the other side, we’ll be past the shield and have a better chance of getting you home.”
Home.
She hadn’t dared to think of it in so long, had resigned herself to a lonely, painful death far from everyone she loved. Can he really take me to Renwyn? Her eyes closed and she imagined her home. The sweet fruit of the trees, the wind in her hair.
Then she opened them again. Forget stealing the Ardak’s crystals. If he takes me home and I get to our crystal, we have a chance at defeating the Ardaks. Even if my father wants to preserve it, we need to use its power to get these monsters off our planet.
But then a terrible, sinister thought crept into the back of her mind. Is this why the Cyborg wants to take me home? Maybe this was the general’s plan all along.
Her heart hardened. I will never let this Cyborg through the shields into Renwyn. Even if he’s not a spy, that chip makes him a danger to all of us. If he’s really on our side, he will understand.
The Cyborg stopped suddenly.
She peered into the blackness behind them, but saw nothing. There was someone else there, though.
She could feel them. Hear their breathing.
Cyborgs.
“Tordan?” Solon questioned, peering at him through the dark tunnel. “What are you doing?”
Shit. Why do we have automatic night vision and heat scanners? There was no way for him to hide.
Tordan faced the three Cyborgs, keeping his stance casual. He hadn’t known Solon well before the invasion. But after they had become Cyborgs, they had spoken occasionally if they had the same job duties. He didn’t know the second Cyborg at all; he was smaller, so perhaps he had been from another realm before the invasion. But the third was Roian.
He stared directly at the Cyborg who had been his only friend since they had awakened. Roian didn’t meet his gaze.
Tordan really didn't want to fight them. We’re all victims of the Ardaks. Our minds and thoughts controlled by the chips, our bodies helpless to do anything but obey their commands.
“Keep working. Keep moving. Never slow. Never stop.”
How can they think over the voices?
They can’t. They’re not supposed to.
But I can. Maybe I can help them wake up. He eyed them skeptically. Probably not.
So he tuned in to the voices, trying to maintain the stiff formality of the Cyborgs. “Orders from the king himself, Solon,” Tordan lied. “Let us pass.”
And that’s when the voices started buzzing louder, and a stream of orders came in through the chip. “Missing prisoner. Lock down the base. No one enters, no one leaves.”
Shit.
“You heard the orders, Tordan,” Solon said without emotion. “Turn around.”
“My orders came directly from the general. This is not the prisoner they are looking for. He wanted her removed before the lockdown began. You know I cannot go against my orders.” He sized up their surroundings out of the corner of his eye, hoping that they would simply let him pass.
The walkway they were on was very narrow, carved into the side of a steep cavern wall. The inside of the mountain was filled with hollow caves and caverns, but there wasn’t one to help him now.
He could get rid of one of the Cyborgs right away over the side of the path, but unfortunately, whoever it was probably wouldn’t die from the fall.
It takes a lot to kill a Cyborg.
“Neither can we. We must call base to be certain,” the second Cyborg stated without inflection.
They cannot do that. Or everyone will know where we are.
“Of course,” Tordan replied casually as he turned and set down the female in his arms, pressing her against the stone side of the path.
She gripped the stone as hard as she could, her eyes unseeing in the near darkness.
As the second Cyborg touched his finger to his forehead, Tordan sprang forward, using his powerful forward momentum to kick the smaller Cyborg off the edge of the path, into the abyss below.
The Cyborg briefly cried out in surprise, but then was strangely silent. They all waited for long moments, but never heard him hit the ground.
How far down is the bottom of the canyon? He swallowed. Better not to find out firsthand.
He stared down the other two. It was clear that they didn’t know what to do.
Solon broke the silence. “How is this possible? Order Number Four: Killing is forbidden unless given a direct order or defending the king.”
“Because the chip does not control me.” He caught his friend’s gaze and held it. “The Ardaks lied to us. We can break the chip’s control. I did. You can, too.”
Roian looked confused for a moment, and Tordan realized he was trying to fight the chip.
“I can hear the commands, but I don’t have to obey.” Tordan repeated. He heard the commands coming over his chip, but they
didn’t affect him.
“How—?” Solon began, but his words were instantly cut off.
Both Cyborgs’ faces went blank, and their eyes began to glow red.
Hard override.
Even worse, this time Tordan couldn’t hear the commands.
Did they turn off my chip? Why can I no longer hear the commands? He didn’t have time to answer that now.
I wish I didn’t have to do this, but I must. Sorry, my friends.
He kicked, aiming for Solon’s ribs.
But the other Cyborg was ready — he grabbed Tordan’s leg and pulled him forward, then tried to push him over the side of the narrow path into the abyss.
Tordan threw himself forward, head-butting the man into the wall of rock. Solon’s head flew back and they heard a sickening crack before he sank down, landing in a heap on the path. To Tordan’s relief, the other Cyborg didn’t move.
Tordan’s eyes were hard as he turned to his best friend. “Roian, stop this,” he commanded. “Fight the chip.”
His friend hesitated, pain darkening his face for a moment before it went blank once more. “You have broken the laws of the Ardak Empire. Prepare to be nullified.”
“Nullified? That’s new,” Tordan commented. “Usually they try to keep us alive.”
There was no recognition in his friend’s eyes. Roian struck out, and Tordan blocked him just in time. They exchanged several heavy blows, Tordan using his cybernetic arm and Roian using a cybernetic leg to land blows much harder than any human could.
Then he heard footsteps behind him. More Cyborgs.
He’s not as good a fighter as I am.
“I don’t want to kill you, Roian — Ronnie.” Why did I call him that? Tordan didn’t recognize his voice. It was higher, almost a plea. “Please let us go.”
At hearing the name, Roian stopped, his face creased with pain. “Go…now…” he said through gritted teeth. Blood started to drip from his nose.
If he isn’t injured, if it doesn’t appear that he fought me, they will take his life.
“I can’t do that yet.” He body slammed Roian into the cliff face, knocking him unconscious. “Don’t get up. Please don’t get up.”
Tordan 1.0: Episode 1: Cyborg Warriors Page 3