“No more. She’ll be useless if we kill her,” he says.
The soldier to his side looks angered he never got his turn on me. “But sir, she refuses to comply.”
“Of course she refuses,” the officer says. “She’s cyborg scum, programmed by Gerard himself. I never expected her to obey our orders, and neither did the chain of command.”
I suck in a quick breath. It’s suddenly freezing in this room. “If you knew I wouldn’t follow orders, why demand it in the first place?” I ask.
“I thought it possible you came installed with a voice of reason. Turns out I was wrong,” he says.
And then he bends his radio comms device toward his mealy mouth. He barks into the radio. “How far are they?”
A voice rings back. “Scientists just fled. Servers are overloading as we speak. Find the girl?”
Who’s he calling girl?
He nods. “Got her with me now.”
“Good,” the voice says. “Keep her there. Elon doesn’t know it, but he’s leading him right to your squad. Sit tight.”
The officer glares at me, and I immediately feel like I’m going to be sick. My stomach lurches, and I vomit across his boots.
The officer’s mouth twists with anger, nostrils widening with disgust. He presses the radio button once more. “Keep his family near. If they act up, shoot their blue heads off.”
Kalxor’s family… I can hardly believe my ears.
He wanted to be with them again so bad. All the memories he thought were fake, he got to return to. But a cruel twist of fate has taken them away again.
My father must have taken him to them before showing him the way out. It’s not fair.
“No,” I scream. “If you hurt any of them...”
“You’ll what?” he asks.
I freeze and bend my head, panting, feeling so fucking hopeless. He’s right – there’s nothing I can do.
He flicks a glob of puke off his boots, and it lands onto my chin. “That’s what I thought,” he grunts.
I can’t help but think this is the end. Can’t help but reflect on the enjoyable times I had exploring that weird world with Kalxor.
I was scared. There were demons I hadn’t yet faced.
I fell in love…
But now, all of that means nothing. Again.
I can’t catch a break.
Everything speeds up as another row of ground troops storm through the building, voices barking like it’s world war fucking three. Well, to me, it is. To me, my love is under attack. And if I get my way, this entire enterprise is going down.
I see Kalxor, my handsome alien cyborg beast, the alpha who completes my heart. We have been forced apart, separated by the hands of the Federation.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think this was possible, but here I am, dealing with the reality.
When I react, they kick me down. Kalxor roars, muscles solidifying, scales ruffling out in fear.
Elon is behind him, face full of despair. He didn’t want this to happen. The torn parchment Kalxor found in the basement of that cabin makes all the sense in the world now.
He never wanted the project to continue because he knew what the Federation bastards would do. They do what they always do. They take. They hurt. And they twist the narrative until they look like heroes.