When the man started to pull back, Stefan traced his finger down the thick scar. "I'm so sorry you went through this alone. It must have hurt so much."
Sawyer's eyes widened. "I actually didn't feel a thing. I don't know if they gave me something to kill the pain or if it was a byproduct of whatever it was they gave me to keep me from moving, but it didn't hurt."
Wait.
What?
Stefan frowned, confused and a little apprehensive. "They needed to keep you still?"
For what?
"Wh-when I went down in that firefight in Colorado Springs, I expected them to suck me dry, but they didn't." Sawyer swallowed hard. "They took me somewhere, I don't know where, and they experimented on me. I think they were trying to figure us out."
"What did they do to you?"
"Most of it is stuff you can't see. I'm faster, stronger, a bit bigger. I can see farther, and I can see in the dark as if it's full daylight out. I can hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear."
Stefan was almost afraid to ask, but he needed to know all of it. "And what about what I can see?" Was there more than just the scar on his cheek?
"That stuff you don't want to see."
"Show me," Stefan encouraged.
Sawyer's jaw clenched again before he reached over and slowly pulled his glove off. Stefan's breath caught when he saw the first glint of metal. "What did they do to you?"
"My arm was crushed," Sawyer whispered. "I'm not sure if they were trying to save my life or make me a mech, but…" He shrugged. "It doesn't hurt, and it's stronger than shit. I can crush a rock."
Stefan's gaze flickered to Sawyer's face. He could see how intently the man was watching him and knew this was a make-or-break moment for them. He was horrified over what was done to Sawyer, but if he showed the slightest sign he was disgusted by Sawyer's arm, the man would leave, and Stefan knew it.
"It doesn't hurt?" Stefan asked as he dropped his gaze back down to Sawyer's arm.
"No."
Stefan hesitated for a moment then reached out to stroke his finger over the cold metal. "Can you feel anything?"
"No. There's no feeling, at least, not the way you're thinking. There are sensors in there that tell me if I'm touching something. If it's hot or cold, good or bad, stuff like that."
Stefan's gaze flickered up again. "And you're sure it doesn't hurt?" He felt silly asking the question again, but he had to be sure.
"No, it doesn't hurt."
Stefan didn't know what to make of the artificial limb. He was glad Sawyer still had an arm, so that was something. The fact that the mechs had replaced his arm with a mechanical one bothered him. Not because it was an artificial arm, but because the mechs had done it.
The question was why? What reason could they have for giving a human an artificial arm when they were basically wiping out the human race? That's the part that didn't make sense to Stefan.
Stefan very carefully pulled the glove back up over Sawyer's arm. When he was done, he looked at him again. "This doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything, Stefan. Why can't you see that?" The corded muscles on Sawyer's throat strained when he raised his arm. "When the others see this, they'll kill me just as quickly as they kill mechs. Or worse, they'll put me in some lab somewhere and try to figure out what makes me tick."
Stefan's heart lurched. He knew Sawyer was right. The sacrifice of one man to save thousands? There were people out there who wouldn't even think twice about that decision.
"Then we simply won't tell them." Stefan gestured to the others. "I won't say anything to anyone, and I know they won't either."
"Someone will find out, Stefan. That's why is better if I'm on my own."
"Then take me with you." Stefan clutched Sawyer's wrist, refusing to let go when the man pulled away. "You have one choice here. Either stay with me or take me with you."
"Stefan—"
