Just then, NOVA’s voice blared through the speakers of The Cave, and more blood drained from my already pale face.
‘Violation of zero-tolerance bullying policy detected. Several incidents of the use of the term ‘Murphquake’ have been detected in the Cortex.’
“Fuck!” I barked, suddenly not giving a shit about the guns trained on me.
Milo needed me.
Without stopping to think, I jerked back into the elevator and ducked left.
There was an explosion of gunfire, and I hugged the wall next to the sliding doors to avoid the spray of bullets that exploded into the back wall.
With shaking hands, I slammed the ‘close’ button repeatedly before covering my ears against the deafening gunshots.
Slowly…so fucking slowly,the doors began to reach for each other.
Come on, come on!
I could do nothing but stare as I pressed further into the corner. My body was literally vibrating with anticipation as I willed the doors to close fucking faster.
They were mereinchesapart when another voice rolled through the speakers.
“TECHA online. NOVA terminated.”
The doors stopped, and so did the frantic pounding of my heart.
NOVA…terminated?
No… No, no, no, no!
The doors to the elevator rattled, and for a moment, it felt like the earth stopped spinning. This was a nightmare. This wasn’t happening…
But itwas.
The black steel doors groaned, then began to open back up as the new AI took over the operating system I’d built with my father. I stared in horror as one of the armed men stepped calmly into the elevator.
He looked down at me. I couldn’t see his eyes. Only my reflection stared back at me from his goggles.
“No…”I whispered, but he didn’t listen. He reached out with a gloved hand and peeled me off the wall, shoving the barrel of his gun in between my shoulder blades and forcing me out of the wrecked elevator.
Dr. Grey tutted his tongue as his man corralled me toward the surgical chair. He flicked a syringe filled with some mysterious, clear liquid to distill any bubbles as I approached.
“We’ll need to work on your ability to follow orders, Mr. Reynolds,” he chided me, and I shook my head, pushing back away from the chair, only to have the other man grab my wrists and force me forward.
“Don’t worry. By the time we’re done with you, you’ll be a model soldier. It’ll just take a little bit of time.”
“Get the fuck off me!” I shouted, now fully fighting both men. I kicked and screamed and thrashed in a desperate attempt to get away.
My body was in full fight-or-flight mode, but nothing I did helped.
They easily manhandled me into the chair, and before I knew it, I was belted down and helpless.
Dr. Grey chuckled softly as I continued to thrash and buck against the restraints.
“Now, we just need to wait for your lover to get here with the manipulator. Then we can get to work.” Grey smiled. Melanie came up to stand next to him, and I snarled at her as she reached out to lazily toy with the chilli pepper Milo had given me.
“Here, let me hold onto this for you. Trust me. Any…remindersof your little boyfriend will only be… counterproductive,” she cooed sweetly, and I could do nothing but yank desperately against my restraints as she slipped the lanyard off my neck. I felt the loss of the small enamel keychain as if they’d removed an entire limb.
The memory of the day Milo had given me that silly pepper swam across my mind. It was the first day we’d spent together as something…more.
