Chapter Seventeen
The crashing of waves on the shore was a sound soothing for humans. For Thunder, it made his muscles grow tense. He and a small group of cyborgs had reached their rendezvous point a day ago, and he hadn’t calmed down from the escape yet.
They were on an island free from humans, but it had too many sea birds which consistently squawked. The area had once served as a military compound. Thunder didn’t bother asking how the cyborgs acquired it. Thick concrete walls created a solid defense curtain with several smaller buildings nestled inside of it. Some of these structures had crumbled over time. Anything that didn’t fit inside was put into one of many tents erected inside the wall.
It had been easy to occupy his mind by focusing on tactical strategy as they fled from Purity Force. Now that there was nothing for him to do but sit around and wait, he found that his mind kept drifting to Melissa.
Thunder walked around the exterior of the compound. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Each soldier had specific duties to perform, but he had already finished everything assigned to him. There was nothing left for him but wait and worry.
“Don’t tell me you’re still feeling remorse about the human.” Savage’s tone sounded mocking as Thunder passed by his tent. It was the largest of the canvas structures and stood at the center of the cyborg sanctuary. The leader and the group he had escaped with had arrived last night in a stolen helicopter.
“I wouldn’t have to grieve if you had listened to me.”
Savage raised an eyebrow. “I hope you aren’t implying this was my fault. You were the one who decided taking a pet would be a good idea.”
The blonde cyborg shut his mouth and didn’t argue. Savage had a point, but there was no way for Thunder to have known everything would go to shit. “Even so, you could have let me evacuate her as soon as the fighting started.”
“I didn’t realize you wanted to go on a honeymoon together. I should have given you more privacy. The problem was that we needed you and your plasma gun more than the girl.”
“What you don’t realize is how well everything could have turned out. Melissa was a human who voluntarily chose to align with us. Unlike the other Liberators, she was prepared to do something about it. She could have spoken with Purity Force. We might have had a chance at life without having to fight for it.” Thunder’s voice was getting louder. He was prepared to shout if he thought it would make someone listen to him.
Savage tilted his head like a dog hearing a whistle. “Why would we want to do that? What point is there to life without combat? Have you forgotten, soldier, that fighting is what we do? Have you become so weak that you prefer words to action?” He tipped his head back and chuckled, the peals of laughter coming all the way from his flat abdomen. “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”
“I’m going to kill you today.” Thunder launched himself at Savage, finally fed up with everything. He knew how to fight, but he was tired of combat. He should have grabbed Melissa when he had walked into her cell and left with her immediately. He could have saved himself a lot of time.
Savage wasn’t prepared Thunder’s sudden assault. The commander had fallen into the sand. The blonde cyborg felt like he was watching from a distance as his fists slammed into Savage’s face. Blood spurted from the redhead’s lips, and Thunder hungered for more.
Hands clamped around Thunder’s arms and dragged him away, pushing him down and pinning him to the ground. Savage loomed over Thunder’s body, blood dripping down his chin as he scowled at the wayward soldier. “I hope you enjoyed it. That’s the last time you’re going to touch me. Do you really think you can march in here and do whatever you want? It doesn’t work that way, cyborg. I’m in charge here, and I’m not going to let you change anything. I don’t care if you’ll throw a fit if you don’t get your toy. I should have killed her as soon as I saw her.”
Thunder fought against the cyborgs restraining him, but he couldn’t break free. Four were holding him down, one on each of his limbs. “No!” he screamed. He realized that he had been hoping that Melissa was still alive somewhere. He hadn’t seen her body for himself, and he couldn’t bear to think he had let her down.
“Yes,” Savage hissed. “I saw her die, Thunder. I saw her eyes roll up in her head as her blood spilled onto the floor. You’ll have to get over it. You can’t fuck her if she’s dead.” Savage wasn’t above using any advantage and hit the other cyborg in the face while he couldn’t fight back.
Thunder heard one of his bones crack. He took the injury in stride, allowing the pain to remind him of what a fool he had been. More blows followed, pummeling him until he was barely holding onto consciousness. He felt boots kick the sides of his body. Thunder didn’t bother fighting against them. He deserved the punishment, both for loving Melissa and for allowing his feelings to get in the way of his mission.
“I guess that’s enough.” Savage finally stopped hitting him. “I think he’s learned a lesson.”
The cyborgs, who had been such heavy weights on his arms and legs, stood up. Thunder rolled over and spat blood onto the ground, coughing painfully.
“You’ll have a guard until it’s time to leave.” Thunder didn’t bother to look at Savage. The sight might make him angry again. “If I get any more trouble from you, I’ll kill you in a heartbeat. No one cyborg is worth this much trouble.” The sound of Savage’s boots as he walked off reverberated through the sand.
The same hands that had held Thunder down now picked him up and carried him across the compound. Blinding sunlight turned to cool shade as they threw him into one of the buildings near the wall. A door slammed shut behind him.
Thunder let the darkness around the edges of his vision take over. There was no point in fighting now. Savage was right - Melissa was dead. He shouldn’t have required a beating to remember it.