Chapter Two

Dispatching them was a seamless process, and she and MX had gotten quite good at the routine. They alternated pulsing and shooting, until all four synthetics had been dispatched. At that point, they dragged them somewhere out of the cleared area through which they had been walking, hiding the bodies behind boulders. Other synthetics would soon discover them, but they hoped to be out of the area before that happened.

As she was standing up from having crouched to cover one of the bodies as best she could with some rocks, she realized they had displaced another set of stones, revealing the opening to a cave. There was too much interference from the surface to allow her to get a good reading of what was inside, but she could see enough from looking in to know that they would have room to stand up once they passed the first couple of feet of the entrance. “We should check this out.”

He didn’t argue, and she wasn’t certain whether to be relieved or disappointed. His lack of argument meant they could get exploring that much quicker, but also left her with unshed frustration. Remembering her epiphany, she decided perhaps that was for the best. Letting her outrage flow might unintentionally reveal something she didn’t want him to know.

She slithered in first before he could object or try to block the path. More than once, they had argued over who would go first, and he was still no more likely to yield to her than he had been in the beginning. She was simply trying to do her part as well, and not hide behind the cyborg for protection.

She didn’t miss his little huff of irritation as she passed by him, realizing just how close they were as she wiggled into the cave entrance. He was right behind her, and she could sense his presence even before she felt his hand rest lightly on her hip for a moment as he righted his position. She tried not to let it bother her and continued forward, crouched over until she could finally stand up a couple of feet later.

He stood up directly behind her, and for a long moment, her back pressed against his front. She took a quick step forward before she could analyze whether or not he had any sort of reaction to her proximity. Through the lens of her new perspective, and accepting her attraction to him, she could freely admit to herself she certainly had a reaction to being that close to him. Her heart was racing, and her palms suddenly felt damp. She tried to wipe them discreetly on the side of her pants, though it was difficult with both of her weapons, which she had extracted before entering the cave.

Sensors detected more when they were inside the cave, but still had only limited range of information. It had been like that with every network of caves they had explored thus far, and she was kind of getting used to going in blind, though she certainly didn’t enjoy the prospect. At least MX provided illumination in the form of a headlamp, and it provided enough bluish light to illuminate the path before them without spreading so far that it would give any synthetics in the area warning of their approach. She hoped.

She turned her head to glance at MX so he could hear her whisper as well. “Is your sensor detecting any synthetics?”

“Not so far. I only see the blue dot for myself.”

She wanted to be reassured by that, but knew she couldn’t take it completely at face value. The sensors didn’t work well with the thick walls of the cave, or at least they hadn’t in other instances. More than once, they had rounded a corner and been confronted with a couple of synthetics, though she hadn’t been able to figure out why they were using the tunnels underground when synthetics were practically impervious to all of the conditions that might manifest themselves aboveground. The blowing wind and occasional dust storms didn’t seem to faze synthetics at all.

They moved deeper into the interior, and she was painfully conscious of every time her body collided with his. When he rubbed against her for the fourth or fifth time, she stopped walking and spun to face him. “Can you please keep some distance between us?”

His scowl was visible from the light on his head, and it was bright enough to irritate her eyes, but not so bright as to keep her from seeing him roll his eyes.

“How should I do that? I’m trying to stay close enough that you can benefit from my light, since you’re too stubborn to wear one of your own.”

She bared her teeth at him. “I’m not being stubborn. If I don’t wear the hat, the dust gets in my eyes.”

He smirked down at her. “I think it has more to do with protecting your hair. Humans are silly about their vanities.”

“I hate this. I just want it all to be over.” If Leith hadn’t placed her in charge of finding a new home for the enclave, or finding a solution with the cyborgs, she would’ve struck out on her own. Unfortunately, Leith had agreed to work with the cyborgs, which meant she had agreed when she had accepted the assignment.

He frowned. “What’s with your bad mood today? Normally, you’re easy to get along with.”

She gritted her teeth and spoke through them. “I usually manage to suppress my irritation with you. I’m just not as successful today.”

He shook his head. “What have I done to frustrate you?”

She snorted. “You’ve been yourself. That’s all you have to do. It’s clear you think you’re superior to humans, and this whole assignment is beneath you.”

His eyes narrowed, and she cursed herself for noticing how thick his dark eyelashes were as they framed his cool blue eyes.

“It’s true that cyborgs are superior to humans in many ways, but that doesn’t mean this assignment is beneath me.”

She shook her head. “And that right there is exactly why you’re annoying to work with. You don’t even try to hide your disdain.”

He scowled. “I’m not disdainful. I’m simply agreeing with you that cyborgs are physically and emotionally superior to humans.”

Heather let out a harsh laugh that had little amusement. “How are you emotionally superior? It’s my understanding you are the same as you were in that regard before your conversion. The process might make you physically perfect, but your perfect body can’t offset your acerbic personality.”

“Cyborgs still feel emotions, but with our past mostly erased during the conversion from human to cyborg, we aren’t as burdened by memories as humans. We’re better able to control ourselves.”

“Or maybe you were just a cold fish before, and you’re still a cold fish.” She waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. This entire conversation is just stupid. We need to get on with this.” Without waiting for a reply from him, she spun on her toes and continued walking forward.

Her pace was faster than it had been, and perhaps less cautious than she should be. That was probably why it took her a moment to realize the ground was shifting underneath her. She let out a small cry of alarm and reached out for anything to hold onto, but found only smooth walls from the cave. She slid down slowly at first, until the rock under her feet completely gave way, and she found herself falling at a much faster pace.

The fall abruptly ended with a crash against the ground, and she cried out as pain radiated outward from her hip, where she had landed, and throughout her body to exacerbate the already painful jar of landing so hard.