“Yeah?”
“Can we...can we just leave?” Norah buried her head into the crook of his neck. “I don’t want to be on this planet anymore.”
“You and me both, babe. You sure?” He eyed her wounds. There were many, far too many but they were shallow. He was more concerned for her emotional health because even with the chocolate shades of her face, he could see the pallid look she was trying to hide and the deep weariness under her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
He walked past the medbay and went straight for the bridge. She didn’t want to be here any more than he did. In that, they agreed.
Chapter Fifteen:
***
Norah slumped into the copilot’s chair where Stryker had placed her. If anyone saw them in the state they were in, they’d think the worst.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of the Cyborg’s naked body, honed and perfect under the bright lights of the ship even with the damage his frame had sustained.
Her gaze kept drifting to the wounds he sported, watching his skin weave itself back together. It was slight and slow but not slow enough to be imperceptible.
He strapped her into the seat and kneeled before her. She lifted her hands and caressed the reddened skin of his scalp. It hurt her to see him damaged. He was damaged because of her. Her throat closed up with guilt.
“Stryker,” she whispered. “I’m really, really sorry. I can’t stand seeing you hurt.” Norah bit back her tears. The emotions in her head were as frenetic as the storm right outside the bridge’s windows.
He looked down at himself. “This? Trust me, I’ve been in far worse shape than this. Even a bolt of lightning can’t take down a Cyborg, at least not for long.” Her lips felt heavy, but she managed to smile.
“You’ll have to tell me about it sometime. I bet you have the best stories.” Norah nearly moaned as he cupped her legs and pulled off her boots, then her socks.Wet socks are the worst.
“Sure, but some of them are horror stories.” He stood up and walked out of her sight. She twisted to watch him as he located a suit and tugged it on. It was too small for his frame and she got to continue watching his muscles ripple. “I’ve been around a long time,” he said as he popped open a medkit from the bridge’s emergency unit.
He handed her serum and without thought poured half the tube in her hand and slathered it over every inch of exposed skin.He’s been around since the war…
Norah mulled over the dates. “How long?” She had been born after the war.
“Eighty-eight years. If I were human, I’d be an old man.” She glanced at him as he sat in the pilot’s chair. The chair that used to be Dr. Ludland’s.
Norah perused the space, suddenly overcome with melancholy. None of her friends remained. However, she hadn’t seen any other corpses but Robert’s. In fact, as she looked at all the empty seats that used to hold her comrades, she had seen no trace of them...nothing at all.
It was like they had all vanished.
Norah wiped her eyes.
Body suits.The horror of it chilled her to the bone.
Stryker continued beside her, “Kind of weird to think about but all of the first generation Cyborgs are now getting up there.” Her eyes were drawn to the window and the streaks of light tearing from the clouds. And as she continued to stare out at the forest before them, her fear grew.
Each bolt lit up the area before them for a second before it went dark again. Each flash could reveal something she might not want to see. She heard the clicks as the Cyborg tested out the controls.
Norah looked away from the window. “You don’t look a day over thirty.”
“And I never will.” The ship hummed to life. She wiggled her toes and closed her eyes. The lights flickered overhead.
“That must be nice,” she murmured. “Guess that means we’re not compatible, I will continue to age.” When Stryker didn’t answer she opened her eyes to him staring at her. Her heart screamed in her chest. She gave him another smile. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” she amended and glanced out the window then looked away. “Can we go now?” She was beginning to feel incredibly uncomfortable.
“There are ways, babe.”
The exterior lights of the ship illuminated the entire airfield.
“Expensive ways,” she mumbled.
