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The third cyborg charged into the room. He slammed into Ernie with his foot, smashing him against the wall.

“Ernie!” Heather could only watch as the cyborg grabbed Ernie from the floor.

Ernie made a strange clicking noise, his stun gun still firing as the cyborg held him.

“Put him down,” Heather screamed.

The cyborg ignored her as he ripped off Ernie’s limbs.

“No!” The word gasped out of Heather. She reached toward Ernie as the cyborg tossed his lifeless body to the ground.

Then she was running, ducking around the cyborg, and slamming her hand against its back, looking for the disable button. Her finger lifted the panel concealing the button just as the cyborg turned. She made contact as its solid hand slammed into her chest.

Heather’s head slammed into the floor. She saw stars, but they were soon replaced by the impassive face of the cyborg.

It reached down and yanked her off the ground by the front of her jumpsuit.

Heather slammed her foot against its leg, only succeeding in bending her toes back. “Holy mother of stars.” She tried to grab her toes, but the cyborg lifted her from her feet and slung her over its shoulder.

Raising her head, she saw Loka grappling with the other two cyborgs. One had him in a head lock; the other was squashed under Loka’s foot as he pinned it to the ground.

Loka kept stamping on the cyborg, his foot making imprints on the tough metal surface.

“Put me down.” Heather was moving, the cyborg heading back out into the corridor.

“Humans have to be protected.”

“From you! I need to be protected from you. I’m not going to the holding cells.”

The cyborg kept walking.

Heather looked around for someone to help, but an unnatural quiet filled the corridor. The cyborgs must be rounding everyone up, human and alien.

She grabbed the cyborg’s back to keep herself steady. Stretching her arm down, she realized she could reach the disable button. She flicked the panel up with her nail. The cyborg stopped walking.

Heather punched the button several times.

Nothing happened. Then the cyborg fell forward, crushing Heather beneath it.

“Ouch! Hulking great piece of tin crap.” Heather dragged herself out from underneath the cyborg’s torso, losing her boots as she did so.

She tried to roll the cyborg off her boots, but it remained flat on its face.

Abandoning her boots, Heather ran back to her quarters. She sped through the doorway, almost not wanting to look for fear of what might have happened.

Both cyborgs were down. Loka was bleeding from a deep wound on his head, but he was alive.

He turned as he heard Heather and scooped her into his arms.

“When I saw the cyborg taking you,” he puffed into her hair, “I thought I’d lost you.”

“I got the disable button. I left my cyborg face down in the corridor.” Heather gripped Loka like she never wanted to let go of him. “You did a good job without me.”

Loka pulled back and brushed her sweat dampened hair from her face. For a second, she thought he was going to kiss her again. His gaze ran over her face, searching for something.

She cleared her throat and took a step back. Now was not the time to get dewy-eyed over Loka.

Her gaze settled on Ernie, or what was left of him. A strangled cry came out as Heather ran over and grabbed his parts. There was no sign of life in his sensor.