It took only two days of frightened wandering before I caught the eye of a monster in a man's form. I don't remember his face. It's shrouded in my dreams, wild-eyed and bestial. Giggles escaped his lips as he trailed me, perverted whispers of what he'd do when he caught me. He took his time, stalking me through alleyways and darkened streets where the light was scarce and people were just shadows, eyes blinded by holovisors. They walked by without a glance as if I was invisible, something beyond or beneath their notice.
The monster lurched toward me, gibbering profane threats. I curled into a ball and wrapped my arms around my head, surrendering to the imminent torment. But a sickening gurgle was the only thing I heard as warm liquid spattered on me like summer rain. I summoned enough courage to peer through my fingers, terrified by the accompanying silence that somehow was worse than the maniacal sputtering.
The monster stood at an odd angle, staring at a curved blade protruding from its chest. Blood streamed from the wound, pooling on the ground. There was a whirring sound, and his body jerked as another blade impaled him from behind. Something like a bubbling scream exploded from the monster's throat.
Two more blades pierced him as if his flesh was ripe fruit. He flailed as he was yanked backward, mewling and scrabbling at the ground. When his assailant stepped from the shadows, I saw the blades were fingers connected by segmented links to the massive gauntlet on the woman's hand. She was slim, dressed in black and red combat armor, a snug hood covering her face. Only her fierce grin was visible, the crimson smile of someone enjoying her work.
The gauntlet retracted the finger blades, yanking them from the monster's body in a spray of blood droplets. The beast screamed, begging for his life, but his pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. Without ceremony or hesitation, the woman pointed a small handgun at his head and pulled the trigger. The blast seemed too loud for such a small weapon, and the damage was equally devastating. What remained of the monster flopped to the ground, forgotten by the woman as she approached.
"Stand up, girl," she commanded.
I hesitantly obeyed, almost as frightened of the stern woman as I was of the monster. She was only four inches over five feet, but at that moment, she towered over me like a giant. Her hood shadowed her face, but I saw brown skin and dark, penetrating eyes. Fresh blood still painted her weapon, steaming in the frigid air.
"What is your name, little girl?"
"G-Gemma," I manage to stammer.
She gave me an accessing stare as if summing up my potential in a single moment. Finally, she nodded.
"Gemma. My name is Dabria. You're free to go. Run, hide, try to survive. And you're free to come with me and never be afraid of anyone again. The choice is yours."
I looked down at the monster, surprised to see he was only a man. A soft, overweight pile of dead flesh leaking rivers of blood that spread around him like dark wings. He was dead, but I was very much alive. And I knew at that moment that I never wanted to feel helpless again. I wanted to be strong. Fearless. Like Dabria.
I looked up at her. Her eyes gleamed, waiting for my response like a vampire on an invitation to enter.
"I want to come with you."
"Then come."
She turned and strode away, black coat fluttering behind her. I took one last look at the dead man and followed her. For the rest of my life, I followed.
The stratum between dreams and reality splinters with a buzzing sound. Someone at the door. I claw my way out the bed, hungover from the two hours of sleep that crashed over me like a tidal wave.
"Who's there?"
"It's Zen. Open up."
I manage to pull some clothes on without tripping on my face. "Yeah, come on."
The door unlocks at my command. I'm still groggy, so it takes a moment to realize it's not Zen at all. Kage glides in like a ghost, eyes glinting red to match the thin slash of a smile on his face.
"Your feed disrupted last night," he says, still speaking in Zen's voice. "I need to know everything that occurred when you entered the Spider's Den."
I involuntarily edge backward until my back presses against the wall. "I talked to Nox about finding Specter. He said he'd be able to do it and will get back with me when he has something."
Kage tilts his head and studies me, eyes whirring and clicking in his bloodless face. His voice alters back to his own, velvety soft and menacing. "That's one sentence. I need to know everything. Word for word. Exactly as it was spoken."
I manage to meet his unnerving stare without flinching. "Come on, Kage. I told you all that you need to know."
He sighs, lifting his hand. His forefinger touches his thumb, lightly rubbing one against the other.
The simple action causes a jolt of agony to explode in my head. I shriek, pain flashing so intensely that I nearly go blind. I end up on the floor without memory of falling: drenched in flop sweat, chest heaving, vision blurred, the coppery tang of blood thick in my mouth from biting my tongue. Snot drips from my nose, and I feel the wetness of urine at the same time that the scent stings my nostrils. I'm in too much pain to be embarrassed by peeing in my pants like an invalid. My skull throbs as if it's been repeatedly smashed into a brick wall.
Kage kneels, moving more like a serpent than a man as he gazes at me without emotion. I'm more frightened by the apathy than the act itself. Causing me endless pain is nothing to him. I'm not sure if there's any humanity left at all inside his cybernetic shell.
"You seem to forget yourself, Scyther. You forget your place in this arrangement. What are you?"
I spit a glob of blood into the carpet, managing to push myself to a sitting position. It's nearly impossible to concentrate with pain exploding in my head. "P-property. I'm property."
"Excellent. And who do you belong to?"
"Cyber Corp."
"Very good. And who is your handler?"
"You are."
He nods, reaching out to cup my chin. "And when I tell you to do something, how do you respond?"
"Obey without question."
"Good girl." His cold, metallic fingers brush against my face, sliding to the back of my neck. A light touch and the pain vanishes. I nearly sag in relief, but the tiny act of holding myself erect is the only defiance I have left.
Kage smiles as if he understands. "The Ministers knew you'd be a problem. Rebelliousness is deeply entrenched in your personality. You were bred to rebel. That's why Cyber Corp gave you to me. I was once like you, a long time ago. I remember when I had a minder attached to my skull, just like you."
His smile widens as the horror dawns on my face. "Yes, Enigma. I didn't volunteer to become this way. I was broken and reformed, given an opportunity to serve instead of indulging in my former selfish and wasteful lifestyle. And I will break you as well. You will fight at first, because that is your nature, as it was mine. But in time you will succumb and be reborn as I was. You will be grateful to serve and earn a place in our productive society as a Sentry of Cyber Corp."
I look into his artificial eyes and know I don't have a choice. Not from the ease of his control over me, but because as I look at his inhuman face, I know I'm staring into my future. And the worst part is that there's nothing I can do to stop it.
He picks up a towel from a chair nearby and uses it to dab the blood on my lips. "Now, let me explain what's going to happen. I'm going to hurt you. Then you're going to tell me everything. Every word from the moment the transmission was lost in the Spider's Den. And in return, I won't believe you. Not the first time. Perhaps not the second time. So, I will hurt you again. And again, until you convince me that you've told me everything."