CHAPTER 28
Blaze’s medical room was filled with a deafening silence. The air felt thick, and everyone seemed to be waiting for a bomb to go off.
The two Fighters, Nightmare, and Blaze, leaned against the wall near the double doors with tense expressions.
Their gazes were set on Wind, and Celise didn’t blame them. If any of them dared to come any closer, he’d attack. He’d do anything to defend her.
He sat behind her on the bed with an arm around her.
Faye sat on one of the beds, watching with anticipation.
“So ... what have you been doing these past four hours?” Celise asked to ease the tension.
Faye lit up. “I’ve spend some time with the Fighters we saw in the gathering room.”
Celise winced, surprise washing over her. “You did? What was that like?”
“I must admit, I expected the worst at first, but it turns out they are a bunch of teddy bears.”
Nightmare frowned. “Teddy bears?”
“Well, you left me there and walked away, so don’t tell me they weren’t when you didn’t see. They were unsure at first, but once I showed them how to relax, they couldn’t get enough of me.” Her eyes sparkled. “Every single one wanted me to sit on their lap or hug me. They even fed me, and couldn’t stop talking. It was really sweet.”
The leader put his palm to his forehead and sighed. “Unbelievable.”
Blaze only chuckled.
Celise’s jaw dropped as she stared at her. “You initiated a bond with Silver. Nightmare told them you’re his bound one, so they figured they could touch you. They knew they wouldn’t become bound to you.”
Faye scratched her head and wrinkled her nose. “Well, yeah ... I kind of figured that one out when one of them asked if I’d sleep with him. He told me his bond screams desperately for a woman, and that he misses sex, but he refuses to bind himself again.”
Blaze only laughed louder.
“I hope you didn’t agree,” Celise said, almost unable to hold back a giggle herself.
Wind seemed to be relaxing as well. He chuckled beside her.
Faye looked taken aback. “Of course not! Who do you take me for?”
She shrugged. “Just asking.”
Nightmare moved away from the wall, frustration lingered in his shining eyes. “Can we talk about what matters now?” The cheerful mood in the room was put to death. He turned his gaze to Wind and Celise. “I guess the bonding went well?”
“Yes,” Celise said. Heat traveled to her cheeks when Faye grinned. They all knew what she and Wind had done these past few hours.
He was bound to her now.
Her greatest dream had come true.
“I assume you know what happened to me,” Wind said with a cold voice.
“What do you think happened to you?” Nightmare asked.
Her cyborg went silent for a while. “When I saw Diane was dead, my bond to her instantly went crazy. I assumed I was going to die. I’ve never felt a pain like that. I panicked and fled, but sometime during my escape, the bond started to behave differently. I expected it to just stop functioning and kill me, but it was just as strong as always.” Wind took a deep breath, his arms tightened around Celise’s waist. “Seconds before I lost consciousness, I realized the bond is only a disguise.”
Faye winced. “What are you talking about?”
“The bond is a hidden poison, programmed to be released into a cyborg’s system the moment the bound one dies. Up until then, the bond makes sure we stay with our bound one through love.”
She flew up on her feet. “What? Are you serious?”
Wind sighed. “The bond was always real to me. I believed the Fighters who thought the bond was a lie, were crazy, but now, when I experienced the truth myself, I know better.”
“I can’t believe it.” Anger lingered in Faye’s voice. “Shade never mentioned any poison.”
“That’s because I tried to replace the bond with another signal. His bond had no reason to transform into the poison since his bound one was still alive,” Nightmare said.
Faye frowned. “Shade said the reason you Fighters survive is because a small part of the bond remains inside you.”
“It does, but only because it failed to kill us, but as you see on Wind, my signal blocks it successfully. Only the need for a bound one remains, and don’t worry. I’ve scratched the plan I used on Shade.”
Celise didn’t say anything. She sat still in Wind’s arms, sorrow filling her heart. Hearing Wind say the bond was a poison was like throwing a huge rock straight in her face.
Everything she knew, everything she’d learned was fake.
MedAct had lost her trust.
Faye thumped down on the bed again, disbelief in her eyes. “I can’t believe it.”
“I can examine you,” Blaze told Wind, “but I guess it’s not necessary. Your old bond is locked away, isn’t it?”
He nodded. “Yes, I can’t even sense it anymore. My new bond to Celise has completely taken over.”
“How about your feelings for your first bound one?” Nightmare asked. “Are they still there?”
Celise tensed.
“Strangely enough, they are,” Wind said. “I expected them to disappear, but at the same time, Jade did tell us my feelings for Diane would remain.”
Nightmare nodded to himself, as if to confirm what Wind had said. “That’s because the feelings are the only thing that is real. The bond forces them upon us, but once they are there, they become real. The bond was never designed to delete the emotions. Why should it, when you were supposed to die anyway?”
Celise breathed a sigh of relief and was able to smile.
Wind’s arms tightened around her again, and he kissed her cheek. Maybe he understood what she was thinking, and wanted to comfort her. Her emotions were, without a doubt, real.
She’d always loved him, and always would.
“You all still love your late bound ones?” she asked.
Blaze nodded. “One way or another, yes, and trust me, it’s not easy to live with, especially when our bonds scream inside us to find a new bound one. Some of us terminate themselves because it becomes too much.”
“Sure, we could find a new bound one, and get peace of mind, but human life is so fragile,” Nightmare said, “and I refuse to allow a woman have such power over me ever again.” His voice was cold and harsh.
Celise looked at her hands. Yesterday, this conversation would’ve been surreal. Being in this place was surreal enough, but today, she believed every single word.
Before Nightmare, Faye, and Blaze had come back, she’d examined Wind using the cyborg medic’s equipment, and the truth had been thrown in her face. Everything Wind said was true.
She no longer saw any reason to distrust Blaze and Nightmare.
Celise wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything.
Whatever MedAct was up to, she’d find out.
She couldn’t trust Jade anymore. She was the head of MedAct, after all. She probably knew all of this.
Celise met Nightmare’s dark glare. “I assume you don’t know how to remove the bond yet.”
“I thought I did when I tried it on Shade. I never believed it would almost kill him.”
“Tell me about it.”
The leader studied her. Then he smiled. “You believe us.”
Celise took a deep breath. “Yes. I saw the facts in Wind’s programming before you all came back. They speak a clear language.”
Nightmare grinned. “Good.”
Anticipation shone in Blaze’s eyes. “I look forward to working with you, Celise.”
She gave him a smile. “Me too.”
Nightmare seemed to have gained new energy. “Tell me, Celise. Have you heard of Alexander Fleming?”
She frowned but nodded. “Of course. He was the CEO of MedAct before Jade Silva. He walked out of his office one day about fifteen years ago, and was never seen again.”
”Exactly.” The leader went to his desk. He looked through a drawer and pulled something out before approaching her.
Wind hauled her closer but didn’t say anything.
“Here,” Nightmare said and handed her a small portable hard disk. “Take it. I have plenty more. Everything you need to know is stored there.”
“Like what?” Faye asked.
He sat down. “Alexander Fleming and I weren’t friends, but we spoke a few times. He took over Carolyn William’s work after she’d died. He was just a kid when it happened, but for some reason, she left everything to him in her will. How he was related to her, I don’t know. As an adult, he took over MedAct.” Nightmare took a deep breath. “Alexander never expected to find what he found.”
“What?” Celise asked.
Nightmare nodded toward the small disk. “He discovered that the bond is fake. Just like everybody else, he’d been told cyborgs can’t exist without the bond, but when he saw that wasn’t true; he started working in the dark. He didn’t trust the members of the board who ran MedAct with him. He created an algorithm that’s supposed to eliminate the bond for good, without damaging the cyborg, but he disappeared before he was able to finish it. He gave it to me, and I’ve been trying to finish it ever since.” He sighed. “I was sure I had it right when I tested it on Shade, but I chose to ignore an important detail Alexander told me.” He met Celise’s gaze. “Take a look at it. You’re one of MedAct’s students, after all.”
She swallowed and flipped the disk in her hands. It felt like she was holding the world’s most cherished treasure. “I will.”
He smiled. Determination shone in his eyes, and for the first time since she’d met him, she saw hope.
“Do you know why there aren’t any female cyborgs?” Blaze asked.
Celise winced, hadn’t expected the question. “What I learned was that the female cyborgs required another type of programming, and Carolyn just wasn’t able to make it work.” She watched Blaze and Nightmare, who studied her in return. Then she sighed. “I guess that’s a lie, too?”
The medic nodded. “We don’t know if there has ever been any female cyborgs, but what we do know is that Alexander discovered a connection between the bond and the female cyborg programming.”
Her heart stuttered. “What kind of connection?”
“We have no idea.”
“That’s what I chose to ignore when I tested my signal on Shade. We just couldn’t find it, and thought Alexander could’ve been wrong,” Nightmare said.
She blinked, stunned by the news. “The program for a female cyborg, is it in here as well?” She raised the disk with shaky hands.
He nodded. “Yes.”
Silence filled the room for what felt like an eternity.
“Have you tried—?” Wind finally asked.
“No,” Blaze answered. “We don’t have the equipment to create a cyborg, but believe me, if we did, I’d be working on it right now. If the answer to saving all cyborgs from the bond lies in the female cyborg programming, then I want to be the one who discovers it.”
Celise took a deep breath, overwhelmed by everything that had happened this day. “How much does Jade know?”
“We suspect she knows enough,” Blaze answered.
She stood. “I guess that means we have a lot to do. Take me to them.”
Nightmare frowned. “Take you to who?”
“The Fighters. I want to meet them.”