It’s time to end everything for good.
“Give me that.” She rolls her eyes. At first, I don’t take their command seriously. There’s not much anyone can do to pry the most lethal weapon in the world from the hands of another person. But then she does something that might just set a record for the most disturbing thing I have ever witnessed. The ends of her fingers—one of the only human-looking parts of her body—shoot forward.
I have no time to react.
Before I can even utter a simple command to create a force field, the long, bony fingers fly through the air. The mechanical fingers alone have enough power to pry the cube right from me, their rigid edges easily able to grip the cube. A second later, the fingers have already found their way back to the hands of Anika as if a magical spell was cast.
She smiles, revealing her gold-plated teeth and purple, pointed tongue that is chillingly reptilian in nature. I expect her to place her hand on top of the cube and command it to send me into an endless spiral of torture. Instead, she laughs at my frightened expression as the thought hits me for the millionth time that my life is an utter shit show.
“You must not be used to cyborgs like me.”
“No—” My voice drifts away as I examine Anika’s body. I feel rude for staring, but I can’t help it. I’ve never seen anyone that looks remotely like her. Yet this is exactly what Justin told me when he texted me. He said that Anika had a bunch of bionics and is really wealthy.
This must be her airplane.
She isn’t a humanoid or some sort of killer robot. She was telling the truth when she said that she is part of the resistance. We are here to destroy the Syndicate.
“I see you’re staring.” She giggles. Normally I find it extremely cute when girls giggle, but there is a mechanical way in which her voice erupts from her throat that makes me wary.
“My bad.” I blink awkwardly and glance out the window before locking eyes with her again. Now that I see the red orbs, I don’t know if I can ever look away. She has taken body modifications to a whole new extreme. I’ve seen plenty of people with neon-colored contact lens—in fact, frequenting almost any bar on a Friday night will lead to seeing at least one person with red eyes.
But she has practically changed every part about herself. Her arms and legs are unrecognizable as human, her face the only part of her that hasn’t been modified.
“Don’t worry, I’m used to it by now,” she says, leaning against the doorway. Her body is so wide that I am unable to see past her into the main part of the aircraft, but from the rate at which the clouds whiz by, I can tell we are moving fast.
“No offense, but why the hell did you do any of this to yourself?” I say, disregarding all social norms. Nowadays, saying one wrong word and even asking a question in an incorrect tone can get someone into a load of trouble, whether that be losing their friend or job. Bots constantly police Hive Mind and the other large social media apps, combing for any comments that are in the least bit derogatory to the social agenda of those in power.
If I had asked her that question during my time working for Chimera, I likely would have received endless backlash, that one question a permanent taint to Chimera’s brand. But at this point, none of that matters. The entire world hates me and thinks I am some sort of evil killer who carries genocide and destruction with me wherever I go.
I have nothing to lose.
“People like you always have so many questions. I can feel it in their judging eyes.” She plays with the cube in her hands, my heart racing in my chest as I picture her deciding to kill me with a nailed bat and go on with her life as a cyborg.
The resistance doesn’t need me to destroy Maga X. They have the cube; they could simply kill me. At that thought, my first instinct is to rip the cube from Anika’s hands and kill her. But when I think back to Justin’s seemingly honest, trusting nature, I let my guard down.
Maybe these people aren’t hell-bent on gaining as much power and money as possible. Maybe these are actually good people.
“I bet if you ever walked through a grocery store and decided to grab a bunch of bananas like you just grabbed the cube, that would freak people out.
“Ha ha.” She chuckles. I can’t tell if she is actually amused or whether she is laughing sarcastically. “There have been too many times to count when I have played games with people with my bionics. When I wear my sleeves that cover my legs and stomach, I can actually get by looking like a human.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah, most of my cyborg abilities are actually impossible to see. Like the infrared scanner in my eyes or the microchip in my brain that allows me to speak any language fluently at the drop of a dime. But I do have to admit that the flying fingers may be my favorite thing. They make it so easy to scare people with the magnetic field I have around me. I can move these fingers just with the power of my thoughts alone.”
“Holy shit, that’s cool.”
“That’s just the start, I could go on listing my abilities for hours, but I wouldn’t want to bore you. Most people become cyborgs because they want to overcome physical or mental disabilities, and increasingly more people are doing it for aesthetic purposes. The thing is most people who say they are cyborgs really aren’t. They are just humans with body modifications. To be a true cyborg, the fundamental nature of your being has to change. You have to become a new species with new powers.” Anika pauses and studies me, a hot sensation welling up on my face as her laser-like eyes scan me. “You know how things are, you have the cube, and I have my bionics. At the end of the day, we both have a responsibility. We are both targets. Everyone wishes they could have what we do, but they can’t.”
She hands the cube back to me as she brushes her mechanical fingers through her thick, blue strands of hair.
“Thanks,” I say, somewhat surprised that she is giving me the cube back. As the reality sets in that my life isn’t in danger and that Anika isn’t trying to kill me, my racing heart slows down.
But when we lock eyes in the silence that follows my words, a series of chills course down my spine. I can’t tell if it’s the cold from the frigid room or if it’s her stoic expression that makes me feel as if she is hiding something from me.
“This is yours.” She sits down on the bed next to me, the pliable metal her legs are made out of looking absurd as she sits down. “I would never take this cube from you. I already have all the powers I could want in the world. That’s why I ended up this way. It was the only way to defeat my own enemy. I had to sacrifice my legs, my eyes, my brain, all of my humanity in order to save myself and my family. And that’s why I wanted to help you.”
“What enemy are you talking about?” I glance out the door that leads to the main area of the aircraft, on high alert for any predators.
“An enemy much worse than even the Syndicate.” Anika sighs, air expelling from her nostrils in a way that humanizes her. “A cult that did things so horrific that every government in the world worked to silence the disaster so that mass panic didn’t ensue in the public. I was one of the few that made it out alive.”
“For some reason that story doesn’t even surprise me. Of course something terrible like that cult existed.”
“It’s much worse than you could imagine…” Her voice trails off as she closes her eyes. Just from looking at her, I know that the horrors she has witnessed must be unimaginable. “It was the Tech Creed. Led by one of the evilest men in history. For my own sanity I tell myself that they don’t exist anymore, that the cult has been forever relegated to the shadows. But part of me knows that somewhere on this Earth there is a little girl who has to grow up in a culture bound to destroy them just like I did. That’s why I’m here today. That’s why I’m doing this. I know just how bad the Syndicate is and would rather die than let another child go through everything I had to endure. It’s why I gave up my own humanity—so I can save the last of us before there is nothing left.”
“You are beautiful.” The words spill out o
f me, my mouth unable to help but verbalize what I am thinking. After hearing only a sliver of her story, I start to understand why she has chosen to become a cyborg, but somehow that only makes her more human in my mind.
Even with her gold-plated teeth and red orbs in her eye sockets, there is still something distinctly human to her that attracts me.
“What makes you say that?” Anika’s red eyes beam, her ears perking up as if she has never heard those words before.
“Because if there were more people like you, this world would be a way better place. Most people go to hell and back and instead of breaking the cycle, they just drag another person down with them. But you’re different. You’re better than that, and that’s awesome.”
“From everything I’ve heard about you, I’d say the same thing.” Anika smiles. “It’s the only reason you’d end up here, after all. We are both fighting for the same thing. We don’t want anyone to have to endure all the shit we have been through, even if it means losing our own lives.”
“Yeah.” I sigh as the weight of her words hit me. It’s easier to let my mind get lost in the competition and drown in my ambition so that I don’t have to think about what I’m playing for. When I do, the pressure causes my muscles to tighten and anxiety-ridden thoughts to spin through my head. “If we don’t do it, maybe no one else will.”
“That’s the point. That’s actually why I wanted you to get as much sleep as possible. We only have one shot at this. And I don’t wanna blow it.”
“Are we headed to Moosehorn?” I question, my mind thinking back to all the things that Justin told me. I’m not shaking, yet I feel like I am. The edges of my vision are blurry as an itching sensation swathes my veins.
I eagerly await her next sentence, the milliseconds that pass between the time I ask the question and when she responds feeling like years. The reality that I’m alive and safe is one I am finally starting to believe.
The reality that I may have a shot at destroying the Syndicate’s plan to dominate the world and retrieve everyone that they have stolen from me is something I find unfathomable.
When Anika finally opens her mouth, the deep words emanating off her lips, a heavy fog coats my mind that makes processing her words nearly impossible.
“We are about an hour away from arriving outside the compound. Soon, Maga X will cease to exist.” Anika smiles, the hairs on my arms standing up as a surge of electricity shoots through me.
“You have to promise me that you’re not lying,” I press, the anxiety driving my mind to a place of profound darkness. “You have to promise me that this is really happening. That you are not working with the Syndicate and that when I turn around, you won’t try and stab a knife through my back.”
“I promise.” She places her hand on my thigh, the sensation of her cold, metal fingers on my skin sending chills down my spine. “You are safe here. You are one with the resistance now. And soon the world will view you as its hero instead of thinking that you are the one man who has set out to destroy it.”
“Why should I trust you?” I snap, the excitement fading as I come back to my senses. It’s too easy for me to get caught up in the euphoria of hugging my mom and causing a tidal wave of pain on the Syndicate that I forget the story of my life.
Good things like this don’t happen in my life.
For all I know, Anika could be telling the truth. We may be an hour away from Moosehorn, but instead of shutting Maga X down, the Syndicate will just make me their next victim.
“Justin told me you asked him the same question.” She lifts her cold hand off my thigh. “I used to think the same way as you. I thought I was alone. I thought that everyone in the world was out to get me. And I thought that every corner I turned down, there was someone waiting to kill me.”
“And can you fucking blame me?” I stand up, clutching the cube in my hands. There is a sick voice echoing inside my head—a devilish whisper—commanding me to take the cube and use it to kill her.
“No, I don’t blame you. But I think you need to open up your mind to the fact that not every single person in this world wants to kill you.”
“Really?” I tilt my head at her statement, something inside me snapping at the calm inflection to her voice. It’s funny how in the moments that we are together with someone else—in the moments that we finally feel the warmth of a human—I feel the most alone.
No one will ever understand me. No one will know the hell that I’ve been through and the endless war that I have fought. No one will understand the paranoia, the terror, and the never-ending pain.
Maybe that’s a good thing.
But it still doesn’t change the fact that I’m angry. Fucking furious that when life decided to throw all the shit in the fan straight at my face, that it left me in the dark.
“You have no idea what I’ve been through.” I stare down at the white tiled floor, all of the pent-up anger inside me beginning to roar out. “You have no idea the hell they have put me through. The endless fight that has torn my life apart.”
“You are acting like I haven’t been in your same exact shoes.” She has a coldness to her tone that briefly freezes my rage. “Do you think I’m just doing this for fun? I’m risking my life. Once we enter the airspace around Moosehorn, anything could happen. And once we step outside of this aircraft and attempt to raid the compound, we could die in seconds. We are minutes away from shutting down the most dangerous program in human history. I don’t have to be doing this. I could be sipping margaritas on a tropical island, but I know the alternative if we don’t try. And I know the same feeling of pain and loneliness you are experiencing right now, and I am doing this so that no one ever has to feel that again.”
“All of that sounds great.” I sigh, one side of me desperately wanting to believe her, but the wall of terror in my mind keeps me from trusting her.
I can never trust another person.
I can never allow myself to let down my guard.
The moment I do may be my last moment alive.
“You still haven’t given me a reason to trust you.” My arms are crossed around the Chimera Cube, its exterior glowing underneath my touch.
“You are being ridiculous.” The red contacts on her eyes light up, two blazes of fire covering her pupils. “If you don’t wanna do this, I can drop you off right here, and you can go on your merry way. But you will lose your chance to break your loved ones out of the Maga X experiment and you will still be tracked by governments and people all over the world.”
“This doesn’t even feel real.” I close my eyes, not surprised at all if when I open them if Anika has faded into nothingness and I am standing alone in a prison cell. “They were dead. I saw their bodies. I saw them! It seems like this is nothing more than a sick joke from the Syndicate to try and get me to fall into their trap.”
Anika opens her mouth to speak but instead steps closer to me. “Toss away your fears. Burn them in a fire. The doubt won’t get you anywhere. But this will.” She motions outward with her hands, a holograph projecting out from her chest at her command. I immediately recognize the map on the holograph as a detailed overview of the Moosehorn research facility. It is millions of square feet in size, with dozens of floors and hundreds of long hallways leading throughout the structure.
When I see the map and am able to put my hand against the holograph that projects out of Anika, a rush of excitement courses through me. Whether it’s out of sheer desperation or just blind hope, I find myself wanting to believe that my mom is alive in there rather than the alternative.
As much as I fear the Syndicate, I fear not trying more.
“How far are we away again?” I ask, still studying the map. It would take hours to memorize the nuances of the structure, but in just a few seconds I am able to discern where the major exits of the compound are, and the likely location of the subjects of the experiment.
“We will be there in a few minutes.” Anika glances out the window, the blue sky blocked out by the wispy
cloud that we are traveling through. “We are landing right on top of the compound. Once we leave this aircraft, they will explode it immediately, but I don’t care about that. All that matters is shutting down Maga X, and with the force field we shouldn’t have to worry about anyone stopping us. But there is always the chance that the military units stationed there have anti-force field missiles, which in that case we will find out very quickly when we are lying dead on the pavement.”
I nod, exhaling a round of hot, anxiety-filled air from my nostrils. There is a distinct sparkle to her eyes that makes me trust her. Whether it is from the bright red contact lens or her excitement, as the aircraft continues to decrease in altitude, I finally find myself trusting her.
The Syndicate has tried to play some weird mind tricks on me in the past, but this isn’t one of them. If they were here to take me to Moosehorn and imprison me there for the rest of my life, they’d have my body chained to the bed and my brain hooked up to a simulation of endless pain.
They wouldn’t even let me know about the Maga X experiment or allude to the fact that every single person they have ripped from this world is still alive in the depths of this facility. They’d rather torture me until the universe collapses in on itself.
This is not the Syndicate of Truth.
For once, something has gone right in my life.
“That sounds like a plan.” I place my palm on top of the Chimera Cube, the thoughts flying through my mind at a million miles per hour as I envision all the deadly weapons I’ll have to create. If I thought that the United States military was difficult to take down the first time, now it will be nearly impossible.
The hive mind that governs all the artificial intelligence capabilities of the military has endless amounts of data on me, and with us invading the United States mainland, it will be much easier for the military to re-up on supplies and command endless waves of their killer drones to attack us.
This will be the single greatest challenge of my life.
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