Protected by the HERO (25 page)

When she was feeling calm again, she closed her eyes and focused on returning to sleep. She turned and twisted on the wooden floor but could not go back to sleep anymore. It wasn't as if she was not used to lying down on hard surfaces. She'd slept in far worse conditions before. Perhaps it was just everything that had happened that was bothering her. Or maybe it was what awaited her in the future.

"Ugh," she muttered, finally sitting up and rubbing her eyes. As her vision adjusted, she saw a fresh set of clothes that had been left for her. She changed quickly into the gray hiking pants and loose black shirt. She smoothed her blonde chin-length locks with her fingers and went to the door. When she tried to push it open, she was not surprised to find that it was locked.

She didn't want to cause any commotion so she didn't dare try to break the door down. She looked around for something to pick the lock with, but she could not find anything. Next, she attempted to peel off the wooden panels that had been used to board up the window. To her joy and relief, it worked. Her efforts were paying off and she could already smell freedom nearing.

Fresh air blasted from the early dawn atmosphere, giving Micah a chill. She climbed out the window soundlessly and was surprised to discover that there was no one around. She followed the nearest trail to the dense clusters of trees. The moon above her gave enough illumination so she didn't have any problem finding her way and watching out for potential dangers.

All of a sudden, a series of gun shots sounded, piercing the quiet night. It was followed by, what sounded like a female, letting out a bloodcurdling scream, filling Micah with unexpected terror. She shuffled faster along the trail, but the next screams of fright and pain made her pause and reconsider.

The sounds were coming from her left, so she turned to that direction. She could hear whimpering sounds growing louder. She was getting closer.

Under one of the tall trees, she found the cyborg crouched down beside his sister. Shelley's arm was bleeding profusely. "It's going to be okay," he whispered to her, as he took off the top of his uniform and threw it aside. He was wearing an undershirt which he quickly ripped off and wrapped around the open wound tightly.

A few feet behind them lay a lifeless body on top of dried leaves. He was wearing the same cyborg police uniform, one of the men who had been introduced to her.
Why is he dead?
Her mind was racing.

Her eyes went back to the head cyborg who had captured her. Taking care of his sister, he appeared to be a totally different person. It was his gentle, caring side showing. It made him so much more human than most people living in the new cities. It was genuine compassion, not the effect of some special drug.

Something drew him to her. The scene unfolding in front of her made her want to help instead of run away. So she decided to stay.

As she approached them, the cyborg whipped around, laser weapon in hand. Micah immediately put her hands up in the air. When he recognized her, he put down his gun. "What are you doing out here?" he asked gruffly. "Planning to escape? You're free to go now."

"What happened?" Micah asked, as she crouched down beside him. "Is she alright?"

"Shelley's going to be okay," he answered. "Philip's an ass, that traitor. He suddenly turned  on us. The government probably paid him off to rat us out. I suspect Vince is in on it too. I have to find him."

"Okay, go," Micah said. "I'll stay with Shelley."

He hesitated before taking off.

Shelley was beginning to recover from the shock of what had occurred. She was still very much in pain, but she reached out and squeezed Micah's hand. Giving a little smile, she whispered, "Thanks. And I'm sorry for shooting you."

"Oh, no worries," Micah said. "It was painful, but at least it was just a temporary sleeping drug and not a real bullet."

"We never had plans of killing you," Shelley said. "Actually, my brother Drake had been searching for you for quite some time because we knew that you had a lot of valuable information that can help us with our own mission."

"Drake," Micah repeated the name, thinking of the good-looking cyborg who affected her so much. "So what's your mission exactly?"

"He'd always suspected that the New Government was using the cyborgs, not for peace and order but to keep people at bay so nobody would find out what they were really up to," Shelley explained, in between her heavy breathing. She paused for a while to rest before continuing. "Yes, we know they're up to no good. We just don't have an idea yet what it is they want to accomplish."

"But why are you training to become part of them?"

"I've always wanted to be a cyborg too, just so I could keep avoiding taking those happy pills," Shelley confided. "All our relatives and friends have become like… dolls… We can't even recognize them anymore apart from their faces and physical features."

"I know what you mean," Micah said, thinking of her good friend Elise. "That's why we've got to expose them while it's still early."

"But we need proof," Shelley countered. "And so many people will never believe us. Besides, as soon as we go out in the open, we're as good as dead already."

Micah had been coming up with a plan for months now. She didn't want to share it just yet so she kept quiet. But she could sense Shelley's honesty and desperation. She knew that this girl was telling the truth and that just maybe, she and Drake could help out in her mission.

*****

Drake could not track Vince down anymore. Even the others had gone, afraid to become fugitives or to be considered rebels. He'd already hidden Philip's body and was positive that he had not been able to communicate anything to their headquarters. Nevertheless, he was certain that some of their bosses were already looking for him.

As Shelley was healing, they decided it was best to lay low in the woods. During this time, Micah got to spend a lot of time with Drake. They talked a lot and eventually found out that they had plenty in common.

"Our parents got into an unfortunate accident a few years back," Drake had told her one afternoon while they were hunting in the forest for their food. "But now I'm not so sure if it was really an accident. My dad was involved with the New Government's secret project- the development of the happy pills."

"Oh," was all Micah could say. She listened as he went on to tell her the story of how the cyborg police had made him stronger and braver as a person. Helping protect people gave him fulfillment and somehow seemed to bury the pain of loss further down.

"Must be tough," Micah remarked. "But from what I know, cyborgs are also injected with drugs. These are supposed to keep you loyal followers, right?"

"They integrated special devices into my body so that I could be stronger and faster. I got the abilities, but the brainwashing drugs they injected seemed to have been impeded by these devices. Later on, I noticed that my colleagues were becoming different than they were before. I was the only one who wasn't following blindly. There were commands I didn't agree with, so they gave me more of the drug. My body wasn't responding accordingly, but I didn't want it to seem obvious. They did tests on me and knew I was different. They kept eyes on me. And so I pretended to eventually change. I copied the others and after a while, they dropped their guard on me. That was when I began to do a bit of research."

Micah nodded thoughtfully, now fully understanding where he was coming from and why he was also determined to find out what was going on. At that moment, she knew she could really trust him and work with him closely. Somehow, that thought filled her with a warm feeling that she had never experienced before.

She found herself sharing more, talking about growing up in a community of rebels and about how she went on to become Renegade Leader of the group. She talked about the great pain of losing so many of her loved ones in various ways, and the immense agony of being a failure because most of her team members had been seized or killed. As she recalled all the bitter memories, pain gripped her heart and she realized she wasn't as hard-hearted as she thought she'd become.

"I want to bring them down," she revealed. "Really, really make them eat dirt." Her quiet words made him look at her in awe.

"I understand," he finally said, after a minute of silence.

They had come upon a cliff from which they could see the sun setting in the distance. In silence, they watched the sunset side by side, relishing the beauty of the sky bursting with swirling hues of pinks, oranges, and purples.

It had been so long since Micah felt relaxed. The natural exquisiteness of the sunset and the forest setting made her feel renewed. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of the cool breeze on her skin. She didn't even realize that she had stepped forward a little too much. Suddenly, her eyes flew open as she lost her balance and almost tripped toward the open precipice. Strong arms caught her just in time, wrapping around her slender body and bringing her close to his body.

The world seemed to pause for a moment as Micah caught her breath and tried to calm her racing heart.

"Are you okay?" she heard him whisper on top of her head.

She nodded, still wide-eyed from nearly falling. "Thanks," she murmured softly.

He held her close, awakening all her senses and heating up her body. She could feel the beating heart beneath his chest, thumping in rhythm with the wind and the rustle of leaves. And as their surroundings darkened, she felt him tip her chin up gently. She gazed up into his passionate brown eyes which were fixed on her.

Without a word, he leaned forward and dampened her lips with his in a sweet kiss that made her blood rush. She lifted her hands to his neck, which drove him to kiss her again- this time with more force and greater passion. She returned it fervently, losing herself in the pleasurable act.

Their kiss deepened, their tongues eventually finding one another and intertwining in an erotic dance that filled their bodies with intense heat and aching. As they devoured and caressed each other, Micah felt Drake leading her back to the shadows of the trees.

They stepped into pitch blackness where the moonlight could not reach them. Drake pressed her against a tree trunk with his arms resting on either side of her face. His lips moistened her neck while his tongue swirled circles on the surface of her skin. She felt the heat mounting inside her body, spreading to all her extremities and making her burn to be touched and fondled.

His hand groped under her shirt, crawling under her sports bra and cupping her breast. His thumb rubbed against her nipple, making it taut. She let out a soft moan and felt the warmth pooling between her legs.

BOOM!

The sudden sound of an explosion made them jump apart, immediately alert.

"What was that?" Micah asked breathlessly.

"Come on," Drake said, taking off instantly. Micah ran after him, following his lead as they both shot across the deep areas of the forest back to the cabin where Shelley was resting.

When they got there, they were shocked to find the cabin in flames. "Shelley!" Drake yelled, racing toward the fire.

Micah grabbed him with all her might, trying to stop him from going in. He struggled with her and eventually came free. She couldn't do anything but watch him go into the burning lodge. He was a cyborg with extraordinary strength and speed, after all.

After five minutes, he still had not come out. The black smoke rose to the sky in enormous billows, mixing with the sizzling orange blazes all around the cabin. Micah stood there, trying to look beyond. "Drake! Drake!" she screamed.

Finally, after a while, she saw him come out coughing, his clothes seared and charred. He staggered to where she was standing and dropped to his knees. "She's… not… there…" he said, in between heavy panting.

At that exact moment, his fireproof police communication device let out a ping. He took it out of his pocket and read the message. It had been a while since he'd last heard from anyone in the police force.

Micah watched his face fill with alarm. He looked up at her and said in a slightly trembling voice, "The General got her."

*****

The chief of the cyborg police force was called the General, known to be ruthless. Even the members of the force and other government officials were frightened of him. Nevertheless, Drake had wanted to rush into their headquarters to save his sister. But Micah had stopped him. "We'll all just end up dead," she told him. "We need a good plan first."

"But they might kill her before we get there!" Drake protested.

"No," Micah said firmly, shaking her head. "They won't do that because I'm the one they want. This is their way of luring us into their trap."

"You're right," Drake agreed, taking a deep breath. "In the meantime, we'll just have to hope and pray that they are not hurting her."

They stomped through the woods throughout the night, very exhausted, looking for some sort of shelter. Finally, they came to an abandoned vehicle. It was an old-fashioned, beat-up van that had been left in the forest a long time ago.

"We have to save our energy as we plan for our next step," Micah said. "We can't just act without thinking."

A ping came again and Drake's device flashed with a green light. This time, it was a message from one of his friends on the police force. He was informing him that Shelley was okay for the moment and that the General was awaiting his return.