CHAPTER 29
Celise held Wind’s hand as the five of them walked down the hallways leading toward the big gathering room they’d passed to reach Blaze’s medical room.
Celise had never imagined she’d find herself in this situation, but what was important was that Wind had survived.
Her examination had shown that he was all right. There weren’t any traces left of the poison that’d been meant to kill him. She was grateful for that.
As they approached the gathering room, her nerves rose. She really didn’t like being in the center of attention, but today, she had no other choice. If she was ever going to understand what was going on, she had to be able to communicate with the Fighters.
Celise had heard so many different stories about them over the years, mostly how dangerous and untrustworthy they were, but after listening to Faye's experiences, her thoughts had started to change. But one thing she did know for sure. The Fighters were damaged, one way or another. The poison had probably gotten the chance to spread long enough in some of them to create severe damage.
Silence filled the vast room as they entered, and at least twenty pairs of eyes turned toward them.
“Hello, boys!” Faye called out to the Fighters. “Have you missed me?”
They answered with smiles and grins, but no one spoke. Their focus was on Celise.
She glanced around. This time, she got a better look at the Fighters. Last time, she’d been under pressure to save Wind. She was under pressure this time as well, but it was different now. These Fighters knew she was a doctor working for MedAct, and MedAct wasn’t a positive thing in their vocabulary.
Tension shot high inside her. Hopefully, none of the Fighters would try to hurt her.
She moved closer slowly, with Wind glued to her side. Her tension was mirrored in him.
The Fighters were spread out all over the room. Some sat, others stood. Their advent had interrupted gameplay, and the TV was on.
She couldn’t tell what was wrong with these Fighters, or if there even was anything wrong with them. But judging by their tired eyes, they all seemed worn out. Their bonds probably screamed on daily bases inside them to go after a new bound one.
From the corner of her eye, Celise noticed a Fighter sitting by a table. He hadn’t looked up when they’d entered the room. Instead, he leaned over it with his hands under his head. His body shook. A book lay open in front of him. Maybe he’d tried to read, but the pain he seemed to be in, had probably made it impossible.
Instinct pulled at her, and she approached the Fighter.
Wind followed, and so did everybody else. A crowd gathered around her with Blaze, Faye, and Nightmare in the front.
Her cyborg placed himself just next to her, just in case the Fighter tried anything.
“How many of you are there?” Celise asked Nightmare.
“Around fifty.”
“I only see about twenty in here. Where are the others?”
“Locked up.”
Celise froze and shot her gaze to the leader’s. “Why?”
“Because they are too damaged.”
She scanned the room for a specific face, but he wasn’t there. “Silver?”
“He’s one of them,” Nightmare said. “The need to bond with Faye is taking over. If I hadn’t locked him up, he’d be running around up there, trying to find her.”
Faye crossed her arms over her chest and snorted, turning her back to Nightmare.
Celise focused on the Fighter at the table. There was nothing she could do for Silver right now. The only one who could help him was Faye, and she didn’t seem interested.
“Hello?” she said to the Fighter. “My name is Celise, but you probably know who I am, don’t you?”
He nodded as he looked up.
She was taken aback when she looked into his shiny eyes. She’d never seen such big eyes before. They were mesmerizing, and they made her feel like he stared right into her soul, but there was also so much discomfort and exhaustion written all over his face.
Something told her he wouldn’t last much longer. He’d probably been in this state since he’d lost his bound one. The poison must’ve made quite a number on him.
“Nightmare told us who you are,” the Fighter said with a low voice.
Celise swallowed and shifted her weight to her other leg. “Is it all right if I examine you?”
A gasp went through the room, and tension rose.
The Fighter’s gaze landed on Blaze.
“Let her,” the medic told him. “She knows more about cyborgs than I do. It’s her specialty.”
“Very well.” He looked at her. “Go ahead, but I don’t know what you can do for me. My time is coming to an end.”
She placed her bag on the table and pulled out her scanner as the Fighter took off his shirt. She glimpsed at Wind, almost expecting him to protest, considering what’d happened when she’d examined Shade, but her cyborg didn’t move.
Instead, he gave her a nod.
Celise took a deep breath and pushed a few buttons. “What’s your name?”
“Sense.”
She smiled at him. “Nice to meet you, Sense.”
He didn’t answer, but he gave her a weak smile.
“Have you examined him?” she asked Blaze.
“Yes, but my knowledge of the cyborg anatomy is limited. I noticed it’s similar to a human’s, but there are differences, too. Unfortunately, not many Fighters let me take a better look at them, so I stand mostly without answers.”
Celise watched the scan. A silent minute passed by. She tried to ignore all the eyes on her, but focusing on Sense alone wasn’t easy. Her hands shook, and her breathing was ragged. Finally, the device finished, and it was as she’d thought. She turned to Sense, looking into his beautiful eyes.
Compared to many other of the Fighters, he seemed rather thin. Maybe he hadn’t been able to eat well because of the pain. His dark brown hair needed a brush, and he also seemed to need some sleep.
“The poison from your bond has affected your nervous system. I assumed it took a while before Nightmare could help you?”
Sense nodded slowly. “The bond wasn’t able to kill me, but it caused severe damage. I can barely walk without hurting all over. At my worst days, it spreads to my head, causing huge migraines. Last time, it took two weeks for me to recover from the attack.”
Celise licked her lips. “I can help you, but you must be willing to go through it.”
Interest awakened in his eyes. “Anything.”
She nodded and dug out an electric needleless syringe, along with a bottle filled with transparent liquid. She placed the syringe on the glass bottle, and it filled without her needing to open it. The advantage with these syringes was that everything remained sterile, and she could use it even if she hadn’t washed her hands. “This is a painkiller for cyborgs. Humans can’t use it. It has no effect on us since our bodies function a little bit differently. If I inject you with this, the pain will go away, but you’ll need a new dose every week.”
Relief and hope filled his eyes. “Do it.”
Celise hesitated. “There’s a catch.”
“What catch?” His face tensed again.
“For it to work, I have to inject it directly into your nervous system, and that’ll hurt if you’re conscious.”
“Oh.” Sense didn’t seem so sure anymore.
“You’ll only be out for a few minutes, and when you wake, the pain will be gone.”
He went quiet, and all she could do was wait.
None of the other Fighters moved, but when she looked around, many seemed intrigued. She met the gazes of some of them, and they watched with anticipation. Even Wind and Faye seemed interested, but she had a hard time reading Nightmare. He looked angry, but also as if he wanted to know more.
Sense finally sighed. “Fine. Shall I go to the infirmary?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Just sit here, and relax.” Celise placed herself behind the Fighter and grabbed his neck.
He tensed under her touch.
She knew this move inside out. All doctors at MedAct trained it over and over again until it sat in the bone marrow. “This won’t hurt,” she assured as she pressed her hand against his spine, then her thumb and pinky simultaneously felt for the right places. When she found them, she pressed a little bit harder.
Sense’s body went instantly slack, and he exhaled.
Celise slowly rested his head and arms on the table.
Shock seemed to go through every cyborg in the room. They stared at her with wide eyes and dropped jaws.
Blaze approached her. “How did you do that?”
She blinked and tensed when some of the Fighters took a step back. Had she done the right thing? “Cyborgs have a nerve in their necks that humans don’t. MedAct made us study it over and over again until we knew exactly how to affect it. With the right touch, we can take you out for a few minutes.” She met the medic’s gaze. “It’s your weak point.”
“Fuck,” Nightmare mumbled. The rage in his eyes was unmistakable. “I guess you have a lot to teach us, Celise.”
She frowned. “I thought you knew about this.”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve never seen it in use. Besides, until Blaze came along, I never had a medic on my team.”
Celise only nodded, but worry followed. “This bottle is all I have. It’ll last for tree more injections, but then I’ll be out, and I won’t be able to help Sense anymore. Jade will become suspicious if I start asking for meds too often.” She winced as the room filled with grinning Fighters.
“Don’t worry,” Blaze said. “We’ll make sure you have the supplies you’ll need. I already have plenty in the medical room, but if there’s something else, just let me know, and some of us will get it for you.”
She frowned, didn’t really like the sound of that. “How exactly?”
“Well—”
“I changed my mind. I don’t want to know.”
Blaze only chuckled. “As you wish, but I think you already know what I was about to say.”
“Yeah, I probably do.” Celise raised the syringe toward Sense’s neck. She felt for the right place with her other hand, and when she found it, she gently injected the liquid.
The Fighters’ gazes were fixed on Sense, waiting for him to wake up.
This was probably the most exciting thing they’d experienced in ages.
After a few minutes, Sense groaned as he lifted his head from the table.
Everyone in the room took a step closer.
Sense rubbed his neck and frowned. “My neck feels numb.”
“That’s just a side effect. It’ll pass in a few minutes. How do you feel otherwise?”
The expectation in the room rose as the Fighter tested his body. He stood, and she moved back, surprised by how tall he was.
He stretched his limbs and rolled his head before he met her gaze and grinned. “The pain is almost gone. I can still feel it deep down, but the edge of it is gone.”
Celise smiled. “Give it a few hours. Before nightfall, you should be pain-free.”
His grin softened as gratitude filled his eyes. “Thank you, Celise. You’ve given me my life back. My bond still screams for a new bound one, but I can live with that now that the hurting is gone.”
Joy filled her, and a feeling of satisfaction followed. Helping cyborgs was what she lived for, it was her passion, and she’d just saved a cyborg who’d likely put a bullet through his head in the near future if she hadn’t.
Cheers broke out in the room, making her jump. Fighters applauded and yelled praise.
Heat traveled to her cheeks, and she grasped for Wind.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. She didn’t miss the pinch of pride she saw there.
Even Faye seemed thrilled.
Their fate had caught up with them, and it was time to change it.