Chapter Thirteen

Thunder hadn’t known it was possible for a machine to lie to itself before. He had never done such a thing previously and had always kept himself firmly rooted in reality. He took in facts, processed them, and responded with actions that were logical and rational. There had never been a reason before for him to consider emotions or desires.

Melissa was something that he needed. The rest of the cyborgs, particularly Savage, might not understand, but they hadn’t been with a human. It wasn’t all about the sex, but there was something else happening. She had lit a fire inside him with a single touch. Thunder didn’t know if he could ever put it out.

Now he had to fight to keep her. The cyborgs would see that he was working to get out of the building and away from Purity Force, but they wouldn’t understand that he was also battling for freedom to love the human woman. Thunder wondered if anyone else would ever know how badly they wanted to be together.

He doubted it. He knew how it would look and what everyone would think. The humans would imagine that Thunder had raped Melissa and turned her into a slave, and they would believe she wanted to get away from the evil cyborg. The cyborgs, on the other hand, would think he had gone soft and didn’t deserve to be one of them anymore.

Even though they would probably be separated, there was always a slim possibility that their relationship could be the tipping point for human and cyborg relations. Melissa had been with him and seemed to understand him like nobody else could. If she got the chance, she could tell Purity Force and other humans that cyborgs could be more than killing machines. She could become an ambassador between the two races, helping them learn about each other instead of fight. Thunder could stand at her side and do his part. He would have the honor of seeing her work, and the benefit of fucking her at night.

What was this human doing to his mind?

Thunder tipped his head down and kissed Melissa’s soft skin, inhaling as his lips met the velvety flesh of her breast. She smelled like flowers, sunshine, and sweat. He wanted to bury himself inside her and remain there.

“Stop doing that unless you’re ready to go again.” Melissa clasped her arms behind his neck, making her breasts envelop his face. He felt himself growing hard.

“I think I could.”

Melissa tipped her head back so that her chest elevated and her breasts pressed harder against him. “You haven’t had enough of me yet?”

Were all human women like this? “There’s no such thing as too much.” Thunder reached down with one hand to cup the cheek of her ass. Thunder began to imagine the other things he wanted to do with her, trying something new every time. As long as they touched each other, he would be content.

A crash over their heads cut off his thoughts. At first, Thunder wanted to ignore the noise. The old cyborgs had not known the new ones for very long. He expected a certain amount of jostling and fighting for dominance until each had found their appropriate place.

The crashing continued for a few minutes. Thunder knew this was more than a disagreement between the soldiers. He reluctantly lifted himself off the human and immediately missed the warmth and softness of her body. The cyborg headed for the door, ready to defend his territory.

“Thunder!” Melissa couldn’t help screaming. She was sitting up on the bed, looking at him with such fear in her eyes that he knew he had no choice but to protect her. He wouldn’t let her down.

“What is it?” He needed to get upstairs and do whatever was necessary to fight for his love.

Melissa shook her head. From his angle, it looked like her hair was caressing her skin and reminded him that he could no longer touch her. “Do you think you need some pants?” She started laughing.

The soldier scooped up his clothes and put them on quickly. It wouldn’t have made a difference to him to go into battle naked. Cyborgs didn’t care about modesty, and some enemies could be intimidated by nudity. But once he emerged from the building, he would be on the run with Melissa. Someone was bound to notice a large, naked cyborg sprinting down the street with a woman.

After he had put on his boots, he stopped for a moment to plant a final kiss on Melissa’s lips. Her body seemed to call out to him and draw him in like a magnet. He forced himself to pull away and looked into her eyes. “Make sure you stay hidden. Keep away from the fighting and take care of yourself. After I go help them, I’m coming back for you.”

The human woman nodded, her eyes wide. He could feel her staring at his back as he climbed the stairs. When he reached the holding cell, Thunder found chaos in front of him. Purity Force had used a battering ram to break through the side of the building. They were on the floor above the cyborgs and in the middle of breaking through the ceiling. Plasma gun discharge filled the room, and all Thunder could hear was their boom and squeal as they recharged. The cyborgs didn’t have the opportunity to do anything they had planned.

Several members of Purity Force had made their way through the hole in the ceiling. They looked out of place in their crisp, white uniforms. The cyborgs outnumbered Purity Force, and their crisply ironed trousers looked out of place in the dim light and dirt. Even though the humans looked weak when compared to the cyborgs, they fought to bring the enemy under control, using heavy assault rifles braced against their shoulders.

Savage grabbed a human from behind and pulled him back, bringing up his knee and breaking the man’s neck on impact. The body fell limp and lifeless to the floor. Savage’s eyes met Thunder’s. He bared his teeth in a wicked grin. “You’ve decided to join us!” he cried over the din. Another human attacked the red-headed cyborg, but Savage swung his arm and dispatched him with ease. He hadn’t even bothered to take out his plasma gun yet. “I have a question for you, brother. Whose side are you fighting on?”

Thunder decided it would be better for him not to answer. He suspected Savage would not want to hear him say, “My own.” But for the time being, he needed the cyborgs to get him out of this hellhole and to freedom.

He began charging his plasma gun. The thin howl triggered something inside him that he had ignored during his time downstairs with Melissa. It was similar to the feelings she created - hunger and lust that could not be overlooked or set aside. Even if he could overcome it, he didn’t want to. He relished the sensation, enhanced now by the fact that he had something precious to fight for. Thunder was no longer simply part of the cyborg collective, fighting according to predetermined mission directives or the instructions of his commanding officer. Today meant something more. He felt the fire Melissa had started being to spread everywhere in his body.

With a scream that could have opened the gates to hell, Thunder charged into the mass of bodies. He had to make his way around the hole in the ceiling, where Purity Force was still dropping into the room.

The humans had created a makeshift blockade as they fought against the cyborgs. Their weapons were comparable, scoring more hits on the cyborgs as their numbers increased in the room. However, Purity Force did not have weapons embedded into their bodies. They handled their guns awkwardly, and it took precious seconds to get their bearings and fire off a shot after they hit the floor.

Thunder knew he could take advantage of his enemy’s weakness. He watched the humans as they entered, striking them aside as they came from above. He slammed some against walls before their feet touched the ground. The few members of Purity Force who managed to get their weapons charged lost any advantage of surprise.

As Thunder made his way through the bodies, he couldn’t get his mind off Melissa. Was she staying in the storage room as he had ordered? How would he come back and retrieve her once he cleared a path out of the building? With a sense of horror, the soldier realized any of the other cyborgs could have entered her room once he left. Someone could be fucking her right now. She would be helpless to stop him.

And what would happen to her if Purity Force found her first? Thunder knew human men carried the same kind of lust with them that lived in Thunder’s soul. Would one of them pin her down and rape her, or torture her asking questions as a punishment for fucking a cyborg? It seemed unlikely that any abuse would occur right beneath the holding cell, but if they extracted her and took her to a dark site, anything could happen.

Thunder had to get out of there, and he wasn’t going to be able to do it alone. Abandoning his original idea of heading up the stairs, he went to stand at Savage’s side. The two men fought shoulder-to-shoulder against their foe, obliterating Purity Force soldiers as quickly as they appeared. The cyborgs recently released from the stasis chambers didn’t have the same kind of stamina as Thunder’s squad. To perform at their peak, they need calibration and readjustment exercises. They put up their best efforts, but they weren’t as much of a match for the humans as Thunder had hoped.

Just when it seemed like Purity Force was on the verge of surrender, what remained of the ceiling caved in above them. Thunder fell on his knees as a beam came down and landed on his shoulder, forcing him to support its weight or be crushed by it. The end of the beam hit the concrete floor with a clang. Thunder held his breath and hoped it wouldn’t continue through and destroy what little shelter Melissa had below them. A chunk of concrete came flying out of the floor and sailed across the room, shattering against the bulletproof plastic shell of a stasis chamber, but the beam stopped, and the ground remained intact. A massive load of broken concrete had followed the beam, and the impact threw Thunder flat on his back.

Cyborgs and humans alike were crushed under the heavy debris of concrete and rebar. Dust rose up and clogged their lungs. Thunder gagged, waving his hand in front of his face to clear the air, but his attempts were ineffective. With a rush of adrenaline, he realized that the collapse had given him the perfect opportunity to retrieve Melissa and get out of there.

Figures slowly emerged as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The detritus from the collapse hindered Thunder’s vision and the electricity no longer worked. The shell of the building above allowed only a few rays of light to come through ventilation shafts and penetrate the darkness. It barely revealed the bodies groping through the murk.

Thunder had to make his way out of here and find an exit to get Melissa clear of the building. If anyone asked where he went, he would have to figure out an explanation later. Shoving the steel beam aside and brushing away crumbled bits of building material, the cyborg stood. The tangle of men underneath the original hole in the ceiling was barely moving. A few were starting to pull themselves upright and look around. He didn’t want to wait for them to identify him or ask what he was doing.

Thunder dashed across the room, leaping over debris and keeping his focus on the door leading to the stairs. He would be through in a moment. A shout sounded behind him, but he didn’t turn around. Instead, he dashed through the door and closed it behind him. He planned to secure the exit route first before getting Melissa. Anyone who didn’t get in his way could follow them, as long as they stayed at a safe distance.

As he reached the midpoint on the stairway, a door to the outside opened. The brilliant light blinded him, and he threw his hand up to protect his eyes as he staggered back. Thunder blinked, and when his eyes focused again, he saw multiple targeting lasers on his chest. The red dots danced around but remained aimed at his body. The cyborg looked up to see enough members of Purity Force to fill the top of the stairwell.

There would be no escape for him or Melissa.