Page 23 of Viper


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“What is?” Reaching out his hand, it hovered above my shoulder but doesn’t make contact. He knew my fear about being touched.

“If you were any other cyborg, I think I’d have to hug you. Talk to me Viper. How can I help?”

“You can’t.” I swung my head back towards the lab, wishing for the courage to race back to Oz’s side. “The female…It doesn’t…Dax isn’t sure she’ll make it.”

“Oh, Viper,” Brone said sadly.

“I’m so sorry.” His gray brow furrowed. “Why aren’t you with her? If she were mine, I would tear down anything in my path that kept me from her side.”

I gave another longing glance towards the lab. “That’s just it, Brone.” The pressure in my chest continued to rise until I felt like my manufactured heart might shatter. “She’s not mine.”

Oz

She doesn’t seem dangerous,” an unfamiliar voice said.

My eyes opened slowly, revealing a gray face hovering above me. I blinked, finding a set of blue eyes instead of purple staring at me intently.

“Theo! I told you, you can’t just climb up on any exam table, especially when there is a person on it.”

His head shot up as his cheeks darkened. “Sorry, Dax.” He dropped his eyes back to mine. He lifted a lock of my hair, studying it. “But she has pink hair! No human I’ve ever seen has pink hair. I like it.” He smiled. “And look how small she is! I’m not even a full-grown Military Model yet but even I am sure I could eliminate her as a threat.” His eyes lit up as he realized mine were open. He tilted his head to the side, meeting my gaze. “You’re awake!” His brow furrowed. “Why do you have pink hair? Does it help in battle? Based on the size of your frame, I can logically assume that you need all the help you can get.”

I blinked again, trying to clear the fog from my brain. I had no clue how I had gotten here. The last thing I remembered was being in the bathroom with Poe. What had we been talking about? The memory was fuzzy, swirling like smoke in my head, and I was unable to capture it.

Instead, I concentrated on the cyborg currently staring at me with curiosity burning in his bright blue eyes. His frame was compressed, a miniature version of the leader of the cyborg rebellion, but in my opinion far less grumpy.

“Based on your size, I could logically assume the same thing,” I croaked, his eyes narrowing at my words. “But something I’ve learned is that you should never judge a book by its cover.” I smiled at him. “And I bet you are one fierce cyborg in battle, no matter what your size is.”

His grin widened. “Yep. I like you.”

“Theo! Get down and leave Oz alone,” Dax ordered.

He sighed, sliding off the table, his feet landing on the floor with a hard thud. “She didn’t mind.” He looked at me, his eyes pleading with mine. “Right?”

“It’s fine, Dax.” My voice came out stronger, sounding less like a sick frog. “I’ve woken up to worse, trust me. You, my little Military Model, were a pleasant surprise.”

He puffed out his chest, preening. “See. I am apleasant surprise.”

Dax sighed. “That may be the case, but next time ask first, okay?”

“Fine,” the little cyborg huffed. Something told me that if I ended up here again, his face would be the first one I would see. First, I had to find out why I had ended up here this time. I went to ask but a familiar voice interrupted me.

“You’re awake! Thank goodness.”

I shot up, ignoring the wave of dizziness at my sudden movement. I had to see him. “Axios!” I cried as his mismatched arms gathered me close and I choked back a sob. God, I had missed this cyborg so much.

“Missed you,” I whispered into his gray chest as he hugged me tighter to his frame.

“Not as much as I missed you,” he declared, pulling back to look into my eyes. “When Viper brought you in…I thought.” His frame gave a shudder. “It was bad, Oz. Bad enough I feared we would lose you.”

“Lose me?” I shook my head. “The last thing I remember is talking to Poe.” A flash of me ordering Poe to get out popped into my mind. Why would I tell her to get out? And where was Viper?

The events in my head grew sharper. Viper had been the one to bring me here. I scanned the lab, searching for his familiar scowling face. “Where is Viper?” But I already knew the answer. Gone. “He left me, didn’t he?”

Axios nodded.

Fuck, that hurt. I guess the friend thing was no longer on the table.

Dax let out a little growl of frustration. “Tell her the truth, Axios. I know you are angry at him, but you are making it seem like he just walked away without caring what happened.”

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