A look of horror passed over his gray face. “The mass termination was over thirty years ago.”
My jaw fell. My spine stiffened as I stumbled back a step, Acer’s hands caught me, preventing me from falling. “Over thirty years?” I twisted in his grip. “Sunshine?” Those beautiful gold eyes flashed with sympathy. It was true. I had lost over thirty years of my life. In what felt like the blink of an eye, those years were simply gone. Coldness struck my core, spreading like ice through my veins.
I hadn’t had much.
But it was my life.
Mine, and it had been stolen from me like a cheap piece of jewelry.
“I should leave. I didn’t mean to upset you.” The Military Model’s voice seemed far away. I felt arms scoop me up, and I shivered.
“Take care of her, Acer,” his voice echoed from somewhere above me. I heard the door shut. The Military Model left leaving me with the only cyborg who could protect me from the monsters now free to roam inside my head.
*Acer*
Once again, Marley was in my arms. I should just never put her down. Every time I did, things went to hell. I carried her to the couch and sank into it, settling her across my lap. Her head burrowed into my chest as sobs caused her small frame to shake.
“Tell me how to help you,” I croaked, her tears causing something in my chest to ache.
“Do you happen to have a time-machine hiding somewhere?” She lifted her head off my chest and peered at me. Her green eyes were rimmed in red still she tried offering me a smile.
“I can order Dax to make one. If he refuses, I will threaten his freedom and his frame until he agrees.”
She laughed then looked at my face. She stopped laughing. “You’re serious.”
“Of course. I told that Science Model that he was on-call for whatever you or I needed. If you want a time machine, I will make him create one for you. I’ll be sure to tell him that if he fails, he will die by my hand. Just say the word.”
Her eyes went wide as she shook her head. “I appreciate that, Sunshine. I really do, but I know Dax. He is a good cyborg. I would like him to stay in one piece, please.”
I cocked my head. “Even at the cost of a time machine?”
“Yes. As much as I might want to go back, I don’t think I would even if I could. It hurts to know I lost so many years of my life, but I’m here now.” She ran her fingers along my neck, they brushed over the place where my skin stopped, continuing to caress the metal. My frame shook slightly. My unfinished places were more sensitive, the circuits and wires right at the surface, the artificial nerves much easier to stimulate. It had given me one more reason to cover them up, but this...this...felt incredible. Wherever Marley touched, me I ached, my processors feeling a sense of peace I had never known. That, and a heavy dose of lust.
Sex was never supposed to be meant for me. I was an experimental prototype. One that had been a color no one wanted and whose machine had been on display for everyone to see. No one wanted to touch me, let alone fuck me.
Who would want to fuck something whose very face caused nightmares?
Marley’s fingers wrapped around the back of my neck. Her eyes peered up at me like I was the best thing she had ever seen. “I’m with you. I wouldn’t trade that for anything, Sunshine.”
This was why I could never let her go.
No one looked at me the way Marley did.
Like I was special.
Wanted.
Loved.
My fucked-up processors craved it beyond reason. Beyond my own sanity. Over the years, there had been times I felt my belief that Marley was still alive was nothing more than a delusion of my failing CPU. A figment of my degraded circuits. Still, I hadn’t been able to give up. She is more than my female. She is the only reason for my existence.
She pulled my forehead down to rest against hers. “I’m sorry I cried all over your hoodie.”
“My hoodie will survive, I assure you. I’m more worried about you.”
“Don’t, Sunshine. I might be a mess, but I’m alive. I’m free.” She captured my cheeks and sealed her lips to mine.
My circuits spun from the point of contact, her kiss lighting up my wires. Her thumbs brushed along my sensitive uncovered cheeks and then her lips followed, showering my face with kiss after kiss. My frame locked to the couch, every nerve on fire, combusting under the gentle pressure of her lips.
She released my face and sought the hoodie zipper, twisting it between her thumb and forefinger before giving it a tug, exposing my chest to her gaze.
I watched as her eyes flared with heat while she stared at the unveiled metal and flesh of my chest. “I dreamed of this. Of you.” Her fingers traced the pattern of the stark, yellow flesh against the silver. “They were always watching. I was sure one day they would find out how I really felt. Every day it got harder to resist the urge to confess. To tell you that you were all I thought about.” She drew in a sharp breath. “I would dream about how to free you. I wanted to be in a place where ‘us’ wasn’t wrong.” Her palm landed on my chest, right over my heart. “You always felt right.” She peered up at me, her green eyes filled with warmth. “You feel right.”
I swallowed as I tried to lubricate my suddenly dry mouth. Marley’s words and touch were a combination I couldn’t fight. Why had I even tried? My processors no longer knew the reason.
“I injured myself on purpose, so I could see you,” I confessed softly. “You were the only one who never viewed me with disgust. Yours was the only touch given with kindness.” I placed my hand overs hers and traced each delicate finger with my own. “I couldn’t stop my processors from wondering what you might feel like if I had been allowed to touch you in return.”
I took her hand in mine and turned it over to gain access to her wrist. Her skin so pale, it was almost translucent. I could see each vein spread out like a map under her skin. I stroked her wrist with the tip of my finger marveling at how soft it felt.
Curiosity got the better of me. I leaned down, placing my mouth directly over her pulse point, surprised when it began to beat faster under my lips. I moved down to nuzzle the tender flesh of her palm, and she gasped in surprise. A beautiful blush spread across her cheeks. She tried ducking her head into my chest, but I captured it between my hands, tilting her head up, needing her to see me.
“If cyborgs could have dreamed, I would have only ever dreamed of you.”
Chapter Eight
*Marley*
Acer’s cool, metal fingers gently rested on either side of my face; his words slid into my battered soul like a balm. His lips against my wrist felt like a brand. A mark of possession I never wanted to be without. I longed to capture this moment, hide it somewhere safe and replay it whenever I felt lost. This wouldn’t be our last moment. According to the Military Model, Acer and I now had forever to spend creating more. Still, this one felt special. Maybe because it felt like my cyborg finally let me in—even if just a little.
My cyborg experienced years of nothing but pain and misery. He had been considered worthless, nothing but a mistake. The Global Allegiance never treated any cyborgs like sentient beings, preferring to think they were nothing but circuits and wires that merely mimicked humanity but lacking any of their own.
They were so wrong.
The look in Acer’s eyes, the tender way he held my face, proved he was so much more than simply wires and circuits.
I turned my face, my heated lips meeting his cool palm, loving the way he didn’t pull away. He pushed his hand closer into my kiss. I met his golden gaze. “They were the ones who were wrong, Sunshine.” I trailed my fingers over his chest until I found what I looked for. The steady beat of his mechanical heart thumped against my palm. The same heart that once stopped due to a vigorous round of torture by The Global Allegiance. My fast thinking and my sheer determination not to lose him restarted it. They left him with only minor damage to the heart itself. Damage I fixed when I upgraded his systems in secret.
His
hand found mine. “My MechTech,” he said softly, “You always took too many risks.”
“It was worth it.” I tapped a finger against his chest. “This would have been toast if it wasn’t for me.” My finger matched the rhythm of his heart. “And what’s a cyborg without his heart?”
His eyes flickered. “A dead one.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Some moments cyborgs were so human, then they would say something like that, something so literal it was like their machine side refused denial. “True. Not quite what I meant, but I can’t disagree with fact. Your processors wouldn’t like it.”
A deep laugh echoed. Had my antisocial, yellow cyborg just laughed? My jaw dropped. “You should do that more often.”
He shrugged. “Never had a reason to.”
“You do now.” I snuggled against his chest with a sigh. “A lot of our past isn’t worth remembering. The best moments were the ones I spent with you.” I yawned. He must have felt the movement against his chest.
He stood, taking me with him. “Come on, you need rest. There shouldn’t be any more Military Models barging in to disturb you this time. I believe the beating you gave him will have Reaper rethinking another attempt.”
I looped my arms around his neck. “I really do like Military Models, but the jury’s still out on that one.”
I felt a rumble in his chest as another laugh broke free. “Why? Not charmed by his personality and one, metal hand?”
This time it was my turn to laugh. “I prefer two metal hands, thank you very much.”
He smiled. “That’s one preference I know I can meet.”
His legs ate up the small hallway until we were back in bedroom. I unhooked my arms and slid down his frame, not missing his tiny inhalation of breath as the front of our bodies brushed against each other. I might have missed it before I changed, but now I felt like I could hear a pin drop. My blows to the Military Model also seemed to truly inflict pain. I hadn’t thought about my fragile human hands when I had launched myself at Reaper. My only thought had been stopping him from hurting Acer.
Striking a cyborg with mere human hands caused damage. From busting open the skin to broken bones. The metal frame beneath their skin created the same effect as hitting a brick wall. I watched a few MechTechs make that mistake. They sometimes became so angry at a cyborg they decided to throw a punch. They ended up cradling their broken hand and crying, whining about how bad it hurt.
Sometimes, I got to work on a Technology Model who went by the numbers 578 453 that would sneak me the recorded file of the incident. The file allowed me to watch the MechTech throw their punch, and its aftermath on repeat. I inwardly rejoiced as one of the cruel MechTech’s got a taste of their own medicine. The Global Allegiance didn’t tolerate stupidity and by the next morning, they removed those MechTechs from the facility. I guess if you were dumb enough to punch a cyborg, you were too dumb for your job.
The thought struck that I now appeared dumb enough to punch a cyborg. Good thing whatever had been in Dax’s magic shot prevented me from not only getting injured but had boosted my beat-down power. I smiled.
Acer caught my waist. “Why are you smiling?”
I tipped my head back, so I could see his face better. “Just must remember to thank Dax for my cool, new beat-down ability. I promise to use my powers for good.”
He lifted me and placed me on the bed. I crawled under the covers, releasing another yawn. For a moment, I thought Acer would leave but the feeling of his weight settling on the bed told me otherwise.
I rolled over and gazed at the cyborg I never thought I’d see again.
“Sleep. I’m not going anywhere,” he assured me. I let my eyes drift closed, and for the first time in forever, I fell asleep with happiness instead of dread.
*Acer*
The sound of footsteps echoed in the hall. They were coming for me again. Another round of tests for the prototype cyborg who didn’t rank high enough to allow clothes.
The door opened and two MechTech’s waltzed through the doorway carrying a high-voltage machine. Oh goody, it appeared we were going to play the ‘hook the cyborg up like a dead car battery and shock the fuck out of him’ game. One of my favorites.
They hit a switch that caused chains to snake around my frame, securing me to the wall. I used to fight them. Now, it didn’t seem to matter anymore. I would never get free. There was no hope for a cyborg like me. I would die here, most likely after they took their experiments a bit too far.
They hooked the machine to my chest. I gritted my teeth, hating their touch almost more than the experiment itself. There was only one person I liked touching me. A female MechTech who smiled at me like I was more than a worthless freak of science.
Marley. Her name circled through my processors on repeat. I wondered if they’d allow me to see her after this, if she’d come to fix me after they finished.
A jolt of pure electricity slammed into my chest, the force causing my frame to shoot away from the wall. The current coursed through my wires like lightning, burning my circuits and setting my processors on fire. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, the current stopped and my body went limp within the chains.
“Again.” The MechTech barked. “Crank up the amperage.”
“I don’t think it can take much more,” the other countered.
“I don’t care what you think it can take. Do it. Unless you would like me to inform someone of your disobedience.”
The MechTech shook his head. “Cranking the amperage in three, two, one...”
My frame seized as higher amps slammed into my chest. They burned me alive from the inside out. The pain tore through my circuits, the exposed wires in my arms started smoking as my heart began to fall out of rhythm. It stuttered like an engine turning over, trying desperately to catch. My vocal cords froze, my mouth locked into a silent scream.
“Turn it off!” A voice screamed as a frantic pounding echoed on the glass. “Now!”
Even through the pain, I knew that voice. It was her. The machine shut off with a click and I collapsed against the wall. Smoke spiraled upward from my wrists and out through my nose. My heart still struggled; my overloaded processors tried to keep it online, but I knew it was no use. My internal diagnostics flashed warnings, my CPU flagged as darkness threatened my visual systems.
“Get out!”
I forced my eyes open and turned to see a flash of honey-colored hair. My MechTech. She came for me.
“We have orders to test how much it can take. You have no right to interfere.”
“Your orders weren’t to kill it. That’s what you were doing. Get out, and I’ll see if I can fix the damage you have done.”
The male MechTech advanced, grabbing her by the arms. She let out a wince of pain. “You don’t get to tell me what to do,” he hissed.
“No, but I do,” a voice said from above me. “MechTech Marley is correct. You received authorization to test its tolerance but not to terminate subject 763 893. Vacate the room and allow her to try and salvage your mistake. You both will report directly to my office for reprimand.” The voice cut off and the two male technicians paled. Reprimands equaled a death sentence. They stumbled out the door as Marley raced to my side.
She tore the connector pads off my body and placed her hand right over my failing heart. Her eyes went wide. “Oh no.” Her face paled like the other MechTech’s had. “Stay with me, 763 893.”
“Cannot follow that order,” I pushed the words through my still-stiff vocal cords. “I am sorry.”
Her eyes grew watery and bright. The hand on my chest gave a gentle caress. A kind touch instead of cruel. I felt a sharp bite of pain that wasn’t my own. My MechTech hurt for me. She would miss me. Might even grieve for me.
At least I’ll die knowing one person cared about my existence. My heart gave one last twitch and then stopped.
My world went black...
My frame jolted with a start. The memory ended as the feeling of Marley t
ossing next to me captured my attention. Her whole body twisted in the sheets, her forehead covered in sweat.
“No! I can fix you,” she mumbled, her hands moving frantically like she was working on something. Not a something, a someone. Me. She had shared my memory. I didn’t have time to dwell on how. I couldn’t stand watching her lost in the darkness of my memories. I grasped her hands and tried to stop them from moving.
She struggled in my grip, trying to pry her hands free. “He needs me,” she cried.
“I do need you. Wake up,” I put force behind my words hoping it broke through. I kissed her fingers, and she relaxed in my hold. “You fixed me.” I repeated, again softly.
Her eyelids fluttered then opened. She blinked; her eyes darted around the room until they settled on my face. Tears swam in her eyes, a few escaping to wander down her cheeks.
I lifted her hands to my lips and offered another kiss before letting them go. “You fixed me,”
Her body lurched suddenly then pressed against my frame, her head turned so her ear was right over my heartbeat. It gave a stutter. She pulled back away, fear in her eyes.
“Not dying.” I assured her as I cupped her cheek and drew her back against me. The moment her head returned to my chest, my heart stuttered again then picked up speed. “I think that’s because of you.” Awe rang through my voice.
She pulled away and drew her knees to her chest. “I don’t think that’s a good thing. Maybe your heart truly understands,” Her voice was barely a whisper, “Understands what I couldn’t.”
My processors struggled to keep up. Whatever my heart might be understanding my processors sure wasn’t. “What does my heart understand, my beautiful MechTech?”
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