Page 33 of Her Cyborg Commander
“Do you think Jens knows those traps are meant for him?” she sent to Edge.
“I’m sure he’s doing his best to convince himself you were trying to protect yourself from the local wildlife. That male’s brain is broken.”
The group moved on, but their progress was much slower. One of them was pushed to the front by the others, who hung several meters back as their chosen sacrifice prodded the sand with the butt of his rifle before taking each step.
If she’d used the same trap again, the tactic might have worked, but River knew better than to repeat the same trick twice in a row.
The bounding mine she’d buried in the passage was set deep enough to avoid the soldier’s simplistic detection methods. Multiple pressure sensors spanned the gap with only a narrow path left clear. As the first soldier stepped into the trap, she caught herself wincing in anticipation of what came next.
Three. Two. One… the mine activated, propelling the explosive payload out of the sand. It rose about a meter before detonating, hurling metal shrapnel in every direction.
All four soldiers dropped to the ground, flailing and screaming as they clutched at their shredded armor and torn flesh.
Edge was on his feet and running a split-second after the detonation. His job was to finish off any survivors. They weren’t taking prisoners today, and they couldn’t leave witnesses.
River was on the move too, launching herself off the ledge and into the air. She hit the ground with enough force to driveher to one knee, but it didn’t slow her down. Nothing would, not when she was so close to ridding herself of Jens forever.
She covered the distance in seconds, ignoring the four males on the ground as Edge moved between them, his blaster firing every few seconds as he put them out of their misery.
She found Jens curled into a fetal position not far behind the others. He’d fared better than they had but not by much. Distance and the armor the others wore had reduced the amount of shrapnel that struck him, but his ship-suit had offered no protection.
Blood soaked the sand as he pawed weakly at his stomach. She leaned in and confirmed her first impression. Yeah, that was definitely his stomach, along with several loops of intestines and what was probably part of his liver. She waited to feel something. Satisfaction, maybe, or a sense of relief, but all she felt was tired.
It wasn’t what she’d expected, but it was enough.
Jens raised his head to stare at her with eyes glazed over with pain and shock. “Petal? Is that you?”
She didn’t answer. She had nothing left to say to this waste of oxygen.
“My pet, I knew you’d come. You must help me.” He reached for her with a gore-soaked hand.
Apparently she had something to say after all. “No.”
“But, Petal. I came all this way for you. You’re my shining gem. My…” He coughed, the action pushing another loop of intestine into view.
“I’m not your anything. I never was.” She glanced skyward, noting the position of the sun. It would set soon, marking the end of her time on this planet.
That thought triggered another, an idea forming as the sky began to glow in a glorious vista of colors.
She walked around Jens’ feet, picking up the one that looked the least injured. “What are you doing?” he asked.
She tightened her grip on his ankle and started walking, dragging him behind her.
“Petal!” he screamed, her name twisting into something incoherent as pain stole what was left of his mind.
It only took a few minutes to reach the point where the rocks that protected her camp gave way to open sand. She dragged him a few meters farther from the safety of the rocks before dropping his foot.
“Petal…” he croaked, his eyes already dimming as death closed in.
“My name is not Petal.” She told him, her voice so cold and flat she hardly recognized it. She leaned close, ignoring the stench of death that clung to him. She wanted him to see her face as she spoke the last words he’d ever hear. “My name is River!”
She straightened, turned, and hurried back toward the rocks, leaving him sprawled across the sand. The sky was truly beautiful now, a dazzling display of colors no mortal artist could ever hope to duplicate.
The first scream came about less than a minute later, followed by another and another. If there were words in the sounds, she couldn’t make them out.
Edge met her part way back to camp. The moment he saw her, he broke into a run, barely slowing as he reached her and pulled her into his arms. “Are you alright?” he asked, running his hands over body as if checking her for injuries.
“He didn’t hurt me,” she said. “He won’t hurt anyone ever again.”
