"Well, your choices were me or the mechs, and believe me, I'm the better choice."
Ralph shook his head. "I just can't get over what you told us about the invasion. It sounds like something out of a bad B-rated science fiction movie."
Sawyer chuckled. "I suppose it kind of is."
Ralph frowned. "Never did like science fiction."
Sawyer wasn't a fan anymore either. He'd more than had his fill of aliens and robots and things from outer space. He'd settle for a really good comedy right about now. Hell, he'd settle for a Mr. Clean commercial.
"Get some rest."
Sawyer went to the hidey hole he'd created under the floorboards of the barn and pulled out clothes for the three of them. He set them down next to the trio then went outside to have a look around. He wanted to make sure they hadn't been followed. A couple of patrols around the barn reassured him that, for now, they were safe.
He walked back inside the barn and found a place to sit down. He didn't need as much rest as the others. For one, he hadn't just been pulled from the deep freeze. And two, whatever the mechs had done to him gave him the ability to go longer without sleep.
Over the last two years, he'd discovered a lot of things that the mechs had done to him. He suspected he wasn't done with those discoveries either. Along with his enhanced hearing and eyesight, he was also faster, stronger, and basically able to leap tall buildings.
There were only two visible signs that anything had been done to him. One was the long scar down the right side of his face, going from the edge of his hairline down to the corner of his mouth. It was ugly and just one more reason he didn't want Stefan to see him. He wasn't the handsome man Stefan had fallen in love with, not anymore.
Sawyer's gaze dropped to the long black glove he wore on his right arm. That was the other visible sign that something had been done to him. He never took his glove off. He couldn't stand to see the robotic arm they'd used to replace his real arm. Granted, his arm had been crushed and he probably would have died from the injury, but having a robotic arm was almost as bad.
He was pretty sure it was made of titanium or something. There was no way the mechs would give up iron to give him an arm. Sawyer had no idea how it worked, but it performed just like a real arm, except that it was mechanical.
Sawyer closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the barn wall. He wasn't sleeping exactly. He'd hear anyone coming too close. But it never hurt to get in a little rest whenever he could. He might not be totally human anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't have human needs.
If he could stop thinking about Stefan, he might actually get some rest. He just didn't think it was possible. He pretty much thought of the man every single day, several times. He missed Stefan so much he ached.
They had been so good together. Despite the horrors of the world they had found themselves in, Sawyer had still proposed. He'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with the man.
That wouldn't happen now.
Sawyer was destined to spend the rest of his life alone. He just wasn't sure how long that life would be. Sawyer knew the mechs were already looking for him. He was the one who got away, and he refused to be experimented on again. Sooner or later, they'd catch him. Sawyer wouldn't go easily. He'd fight until they killed him, and he'd take as many of those fuckers with him when he went.
He opened his eyes and glanced around. They'd only been resting for a couple of hours, but that would have to do. It was time to get on the road again. This next leg of the journey would go a bit quicker.
Sawyer went over and woke each of the trio, one at a time. He held out the clothes to them. "Get dressed. It's time to go." He walked to the entrance to the barn to give them some privacy and waited for them to join him. Once they did, he smiled. Now came the fun part. "Have any of you ever ridden in a rickshaw?"
Chapter Three
"I know what I saw," Stefan insisted. "It was Sawyer."
"It was quite a ways away, Stefan," Roark said. "How can you be sure?"
"I'm sure." He knew the others thought it was wishful thinking on his part, and there might be some truth to that, but he knew what he'd seen. There was no mistaking Sawyer, even from this distance. The man had a way about him that made him discernible from anyone else on the planet. "I'm telling you, Commander. It was Sawyer."
To say he was stunned to find the man alive was an understatement. His entire world had been rocked since the moment he'd spotted Sawyer staring back at him through the scope on his rifle.
He was also hurt. His chest actually ached so much that he found himself rubbing at it. If Sawyer was alive, why hadn't he come home? Why hadn't he at least let Stefan know he was alive? Why let Stefan continue to think he was dead? What had happened to him? What changed?
Stefan had so many questions he didn't know which one to address first. What he did know was that Sawyer was alive and he wouldn't stop looking for the man until he had some of those answers.
Roark stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Where exactly did you see him?"
Stefan pointed to the tower. "He was right where I was while you all were inside the building."
"Okay, I want two-man teams. Sam and Foster, you search the basement levels. Dahl and Stefan, check the tower. Butler, you're with me and Frankie. We're going to check the street level then work our way up to the tower. If you see anything that points to someone else being in the area, come and get me. If you see a mech, do not engage. I don't want them to know we're still in the area if we can help it."
Stefan took off with Dahl, heading for the building with the tower. He wasn't sure if there was going to be any sign of Sawyer, but that didn't mean he hadn't seen the man, because he had. He just needed to figure out where Sawyer had gone from here. He wouldn't stop looking for the man until he found him.
