Part III
Rune
The quiet of the Core is unsettling. The stillness of air and the dimness of the small enclosure add to the disconcerting sensations coursing through me. I’m still not accustomed to all these strange new human sensitivities. Everything I come in contact with is too hot, or too cold, too rough, or too soft. Touch, sound, smell, sight, taste; all of them are waging a war inside me, wreaking havoc over my skin and tongue, across my sight, and vibrating deep inside me. It’s overwhelming every cell in my body.
Especially when I’m near the female.
Kate.
My body floods with remorse, thinking of her wrath when she found out what my original plans were. The part I’ve played in her life getting turned inside out. Can you hate and want at the same time? Is it wrong to desire her rage, lust for her fury?
These human emotions confuse me. Frustrate me.
I don’t know how Kate deals with them all.
The small blinking sensors on the three Caelum that remain with me still flash red. They must have been very close to death to be taking this long to heal.
For generations, my men have been trapped here, far out of reach from where the sun could warm our skin. They must know I was only doing what seemed right for our people. I was trying to be a great leader.
I never meant for anyone to get hurt.
Especially not Kate’s people.
Kate.
My mind keeps roaming back to her, wondering what her fury would feel like if she ever had the chance to unleash it on me.
If we ever meet again.
Behind me the hidden door slides open, followed by the low hum of spinning gears. I know it’s Jex, I don’t bother to turn and greet him. Only my trusted Sentinels know of the passageways in the ship’s walls. And he’s the only one left alive.
“General.”
I don’t know how much time has passed since I ordered him to return the female back to her home. It certainly feels like mere minutes.
Yet a lifetime ago.
Kate.
My fists tighten. I would kill to have her stay with me, to want me. The very thought of never seeing her again…it leaves me feeling hollow inside. I sigh, resigning myself to having to purge my mind of her. There will be an upload for that, I’m sure.
“Jex, what news do you have?” I haven’t put my faceplate armor on. Wearing it makes it hard to tell who is a puppet and who is the puppeteer. I’m exhausted from being both.
“W-we were separated, sir, the female and I.” His voice sounds weak and small, unlike anything I’ve ever heard Jex utter.
I spin on him, and my heart pulses wildly in the back of my throat. “Separated?” I repeat the word as if it would change his answer.
Jex leans heavily on the wall. His armor is blackened and cracked; gears hang off on the ends of long spiraling springs. Then I see blood, thick and red and pouring down his armor.
He falls forward and I lunge for him, slamming his body into the uploading dock. “Jex? Jex! Sentinel?”
The uploading dock flashes bright red, just like for the other Caelum who were hurt before him. Close to death.
“General,” he mumbles hoarsely. “The female…she went with Pious.”
Shewentwith Pious? That can’t happen. This can’t be how it ends.
If he hurts Kate, if he uses her the way he wants, she’s going to beg me to kill her.
