Chapter Twenty-Two

The interruption in their hike had adversely affected the schedule. Wrath refused to slow down and trudged doggedly through the sand. He was acutely aware of the dim orange glow beginning to penetrate the darkness at his back. The other cyborgs could see the beginnings of the sunrise as well but didn’t say anything.

He had failed them. He couldn’t even get the group to the next shelter on time. Wrath felt like he was losing Green Squad. By the way they were carrying themselves, he wasn’t even sure if they still acknowledged his authority.

As they started hiking through small canyons cut by ancient floodwaters, they began to slow down. The trail’s elevation began to change drastically. It was hard for the bound humans to move.

“Should we cut them loose?” Weapon asked as they prepared to head down into the third and final arroyo. He stood with his hand around the rope tying Rachel’s wrists together. Wire waited next to him with Clayton in tow. He peered down the steep, rocky cliff. It was only twenty feet down, but it was a considerable obstacle for the prisoners.

It disgusted Wrath to see one of his best soldiers go soft, but he knew why Weapon wanted to do it. If the humans were untied, they could climb in and out of the canyon without assistance. The cyborgs would be free to take care of themselves as well as have total access to their weapons. Even if the humans managed to escape, they wouldn’t get far. Cyborg Sector would catch up with the group soon. The cyborgs would need their weapons to defend themselves.

Wrath wasn’t willing to give the humans any leeway. “No.” He noted the aggravation in Weapon’s scarred face but ignored it. Everyone would have to deal with the minor inconvenience. They descended into the arroyo. The incoming rays of sunlight were easier to ignore when the canyon walls protected them. The faint hints of dawn faded into the background as darkness covered them once again. Wrath deactivated his night vision every now and again just to enjoy the solitude. He ignored the sounds of the other cyborgs behind them as they navigated their way down the trail carrying the humans over their shoulders.

The farther they progressed along the trail, the harder it became for Wrath to control his vision. A different kind of darkness lurked at the corners of his field of vision and threatened to overwhelm him. He didn’t want to see any new images but knew he was on the verge of losing himself. His footsteps faltered, and merely putting one foot in front of the other became a struggle. Soon it took all of his strength to keep moving forward.

A shudder of dread shot down Wrath’s spine when he heard the whine of the helicopter in the distance. It was still far away, but they all knew Cyborg Sector was coming. The tunnels no longer protected them. Even though Green Squad had reached the mountains, they were still vulnerable. Slick, flat rock rose in front of them.

Wrath racked his brain, wondering if there was still a way out. If they fought, they would be vastly outnumbered. Was there anything they could do? Anywhere to go where they could evade the eyes of the government? They just wanted to live in peace without being dismantled by scientists.

Without warning, an explosive pain shot through his skull. When Wrath recovered, he discovered that his night vision was malfunctioning. He tried deactivating his implants, but darkness was all he could see. His systems had betrayed him again at the worst possible time. Wrath fell to his knees and pounded his fists against his head, hoping he could force his electronics to start working again. He heard the sounds of movement around him and wanted to see what his men were doing, but his vision wasn’t coming back.

The helicopter would arrive at their position at any moment. Wrath could only imagine a bright spotlight trying to pierce the darkness inside his head, but he would hear its whirling blades and feel air currents buffeting his body. Wrath couldn’t move as he knelt and waited for the inevitable. The cold sand under his hands and knees felt like it was anchoring him to the desert. Without his eyesight, he couldn’t command the cyborgs or attack his enemies. Green Squad was on its own.

Wrath came to a conclusion quickly. “Everybody has to go!” he screamed above the din. “Leave the prisoners, and leave me! Get out of here while you still can.”

Someone replied to him, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. “If you’re still here talking to me, that means you are disobeying a direct order. I won’t be responsible for your death or whatever else the humans have in store for you. Start moving!”

He waited, impotently running handfuls of sand through his fingers. If they didn’t want to abandon him, it meant he had been a good leader. But if they obeyed him and saved themselves, it would mean he had been a great one. He had an unusual feeling in his heart — hope. Wrath wanted to hear the movement of boots as they made their way down the mountain range to their destination. If they weren’t weighed down by the slow progress of a blind cyborg and the burden of human prisoners, they might make it to cover before the helicopter arrived. Instead of boots, he heard a countermanding order from a voice he heard every day in his head.

“You have to surrender!” Rachel had a plan and screamed again at the other cyborgs. “Deactivate your plasma guns, raise your hands and give yourselves up! It’s the only chance we have to save Wrath!”

Wrath knew Green Squad was going to listen to Rachel. The sounds from the world came intermittently into his processing unit. They were interrupted by flashes of other scenes and visions in his mind. Through the confusion, he heard Weapon take up Rachel’s cause, ordering the other cyborgs to listen to the human. Wrath wanted to scream. He felt like beating his head against the rock. He was willing to do anything to bring himself out of his nightmare and command his soldiers again.

He heard the dull whir of helicopter blades as the chopper arrived overhead. Someone inside began calling out directions to the soldiers, but the instructions sounded garbled to him. Wrath wouldn’t want to obey even if he could understand what they were saying. The sound of new voices descended on him like crashing waves.

Wrath couldn’t move or defend himself as the sounds of movement and shouting surrounded him. He felt strange hands on him, heard Rachel’s gentle voice in his ear, and knew someone was lifting him into the helicopter on a stretcher.