Chapter Five

As promised, a rental van waited at the front of the Student Center parking lot. Jake stood outside the driver’s door, texting rapidly on his phone. He looked up and smiled as Melissa approached.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting for a long time.” Melissa looked embarrassed. “I had a few phone calls to make before I left.” She wasn’t about to tell him about the conversation with her mother.

“Believe it or not, you’re the first one.” Jake stuck his thumb over his shoulder at the van. “Pick any seat you want. I hope more people are going to show up.”

Melissa walked around to the other side of the van and threw her backpack into the passenger seat. “Good. I call shotgun.”

Jake grinned. “Only if you promise to navigate for me. I’ve got everything programmed into the GPS, but it’s still nice to have someone who can help find rest stops or gas stations on the way.”

“I can do that.” Sitting up front with Jake meant she would have lots of time to talk with him. “I can even pull a few shifts of driving if you need a break.”

Jake raised his dark eyebrows. “Are you sure you know how to drive a beast like this?”

Melissa eyed the van carefully. It was large, far bigger than a minivan, but she knew she could handle it. “It won’t be a problem. I grew up on a farm. I’ve driven plenty of trucks and tractors before.”

His smile showed his appreciation. “I knew you would be the perfect person to bring along with me. I think those guys are part of our group.” Jake pointed to several students making their way across the quad with heavy backpacks strapped to their shoulders.

“How many people are coming with us?” Melissa hadn’t thought to ask before, but they were guaranteed to fail if only a handful of people joined them. Maybe it would have been better for Jake to wait for a few meetings before proposing the trip. The extra time would let him figure out who had truly committed themselves.

It was too late to say anything about it now. They would have to take what they could get and hope it was enough.

Jake shrugged. “I would love to tell you that everyone from the meeting will be here, but not everyone thinks like us. The van holds fifteen people. I think we’ll come close to filling it. I’ve had a few people text me this morning and say that they couldn’t make it. They’re afraid.”

“I guess so. Good thing we’re fearless.” Melissa wanted to be a chicken, too, but she had already promised herself that she would go through with it. She had promised Jake, too. He said that he needed someone to help him navigate. She couldn’t bail out now.

Over the next few minutes, ten more people joined them. They introduced themselves but only exchanged first names. At exactly eight o’clock, Jake told the party to get into the van. He climbed in the driver’s seat and turned around to address the group before they left.

“I appreciate everyone being here. It shows me how committed you are to the cause. It takes a lot of courage to go from saying you believe in something to getting off your butt and taking action.”

Several cheers rose up from the back of the van.

Jake continued. “I also want to say that I can’t promise this will be a fun or safe thing. What we’re doing is breaking the law, and we don’t know what we’re up against. The mercenaries are par of Purity Force because they have the types of skills that let them take down a cyborg. If there’s anyone who has changed their mind, this is your chance to go back home. Once the van leaves campus, we aren’t going to turn around.”

He waited in silence as he watched the group, waiting for someone to get up out of their seat and leave. His gray eyes were steely as he challenged them to stay. Jake didn’t look at Melissa, which she took as a sign of his trust. He didn’t invite her to get out of the van because he didn’t want her to leave. He needed her.

When everyone decided to stay, Jake nodded firmly. “All right. I guess we’re on our way.” He started up the van and drove it into the street.

Melissa enjoyed the warm sunshine streaming through the front windows as they made their way out of town. Sitting in the front with Jake made her feel important. He was the leader of their group and had selected her to help him. If everything went according to plan, they would come back to campus in a few days as national heroes. Some wouldn’t be pleased with their actions, but it was a small price to pay for starting a revolution.

“Have you read any of the posts on the Cyborg Freedom blog?” Jake asked a few hours later. He had been talking nonstop about the cause since they had left the Student Center, and he hadn’t gotten tired yet. He leaned over the steering wheel like it could help get them there faster.

The gentle swaying of the vehicle was making Melissa sleepy. She had thought the caffeine from a large soda she had picked up at a gas station would keep her awake, but it wasn’t helping. She blinked to keep her eyes from rolling up into her head. “I don’t think I’ve looked at that one yet.”

Jake shook his head. “You’ve got to check them out. It’s written by someone who used to work for Cyborg Sector. He won’t give his real name, of course. Someone from the government would track him down and shoot him if they knew who he was. He talks about all the horrible experiments they used to perform on cyborgs when they were first developing them.”

“Really? Sounds grisly.” Melissa wasn’t sure she wanted to know more. The cyborgs were once human, after all.

“It is.” Jake nodded his head. “That’s why people need to know about it. The first biochips didn’t work well. The initial cyborgs had a host of problems that never got fixed. Cyborg Sector just kept making more. They said it was all for science and that the cyborgs didn’t know any better, but the guy who writes the blog doesn’t seem as sure. He argues that they are sentient beings and deserve the same rights as people.”

“That makes sense to me,” Melissa murmured. She was starting to feel queasy from the fast food they had picked up for lunch. Inwardly, she kicked herself for not doing more research before the trip. Melissa could have made a better impression on Jake if she had spent a few minutes studying the Liberation movement.

Searching her mind for anything relevant to say, Melissa turned sideways in her seat. “Jake, how many cyborgs have you met? In person, I mean. I know you were talking about one who was your neighbor, but I was wondering if there were any others.”

Jake cast a furtive glance over his shoulder. The students in the row of seats behind them were asleep. He leaned over to Melissa while keeping his eyes on the road. “To tell you the truth, my neighbor wasn’t a cyborg. He was human. He was a little strange, but he never got dragged off to the cyborg incinerators or anything. He just went to a nursing home.”

Melissa put a hand against her mouth. She didn’t want Jake to see her jaw drop open. “You made up everything? Your heartbreaking story was a fairy tale?”

Jake shrugged. “You’ve got to do something to get people interested in taking action. They are going to pay more attention if the cause relates to their lives. I’m sure nobody would listen to me if I stood up there and said the cyborgs were humans, too. People want something they can dig their claws into, something they can believe in.”

“I guess you have a point.” Melissa stared out the front windshield, uncertain about what to say next. Jake was either a genius or a con man. Maybe he was a little of both. “Does that mean you’ve never met a cyborg in real life?”

“Nope. But I’m ready to introduce myself. I’ve done a lot of research on them. I think I’ll be able to let the cyborgs know we’re on their side. We can fight next to them until they’re out of their holding cell. It’s going to be incredible.” Jake looked like he was dreaming as he guided the van down the highway. “What about you? Have you ever known any cyborgs?”

Melissa shook her head. She had grown up hearing about them in the news, but that was about it. Aside from her parents repeatedly saying that cyborgs were dangerous, they hadn’t been a threat to their rural town. Her home was far away from any metropolitan centers. Cyborgs tended to stay in more populated areas. “No. I can’t say that I have.”

Jake smiled. “I guess it will be a learning experience for both of us.” He reached between the seats and patted her hand where it rested on her leg.

The touch didn’t make Melissa feel any better. She had believed Jake’s experience with cyborgs made their group more qualified to go on a quest for justice. But if he had never even spoken with one before, how did he know he wanted to save them? Maybe they didn’t to be rescued by a group of humans.

As usual, she kept any reservations to herself. It was too late to start losing confidence.

As the sun dropped below the horizon, Jake steered the van off the highway and down an exit ramp. He wound around through several side streets before he finally pulled over. “We’ll stay here tonight.”

Melissa squinted in the dimming light, looking for a hotel. She had imagined inviting him into her room for a romantic night. It would be even more exciting if she knew they were on a dangerous mission, like two spies pausing long enough to make love before they risked their lives. But there were no buildings nearby, just trees and grass. “There’s nothing here.”

“We don’t need anything. We can sleep in the car.” Jake gestured at the vehicle around them. “I didn’t think we’d want to spend extra money on a hotel room. The van is comfortable enough if we lean the seats back.”

A question came out of the rear. “Isn’t it early to settle down for the night?”

Jake shook his head. “We need to get started first thing in the morning, so we should get some sleep. I’ll see you guys when we wake up.” He pulled the lever to recline his seat and lay a sweatshirt over his face.

Disappointed, Melissa unbuckled her safety belt, adjusted her seat, and rolled over on her side as much as she could. So much for a hot and steamy night in a hotel room. She shifted her weight to try and get comfortable as she waited impatiently for morning to come.