Consciousness. The slow creep of feeling returned to my body. The fog of sleep clung to the edge of my mind, refusing to clear. I opened my eyes. I squinted my right eye against the sudden flood of bright light. With a whir and a click, my left eye corrected for the light levels, enabling me to receive a clear view of the room from at least one eye.  

I sat up and looked down at my synthetic limbs. No longer frightened by their sight, as I once was, I ran my hand down my right leg. I marveled at how real the skin felt, knowing what lay beneath. Bolts protruded from my legs on both sides where I could attach my equipment, if necessary. An involuntary twitch surged down through my legs. The metal moved without creating a sound. The electrical impulses from my brain caused the skin to ripple and surge as the machinery beneath responded to my thoughts.  

I looked over at my right arm. I knew it was synthetic to the shoulder. The artificial flesh was so perfectly created that one would think it was real without the small metal bolt protruding from my forearm. I resisted the urge to run my left hand down my arm to feel the alien flesh that looked so real. My right hand turned over, the fingers curling and uncurling. The machinery moved in silence. Efficient.  

Then, I noticed movement. I looked around at my surroundings. I was lying on a bed of blankets in a dull, bleak room, which contained only the bed I was still sitting on. Laying on the ground next to the bed were three metal plates and two weapons. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and started collecting my belongings.  

"Nick, they're moving," the voice said through the door. I nodded to myself as I snatched up my stuff with a greater sense of urgency. Then I stepped up to the door and, with a gentle push, eased it open. My commanding officer was standing in front of me.  

Sargent James Sadura stood a full six and a half feet tall. Codenamed Rhino for his brute strength. Sadura's entire upper body was cybernetic. As I had seen him do, his arms were powerful enough to lift and throw cars. In his full uniform, he was an impressive figure.  

Sadura wore a gray-green helmet. A pair of cyber glasses were attached to his face, covering his eyes. The rest of his face looked human enough. Sadura's neck was entirely metal. Interlocking plates gave the impression of plate armor but moved without a sound as he turned his head back and forth. He had on a grey-green shirt that was tight-fitting. The shirt revealed Sadura's large cybernetic form underneath. Over the shirt he wore a vest of metal clips. The vest was dark grey. Sadura's arms were both cybernetic, like my right arm. The only difference was that his were twice the size of mine. Protruding from both of his forearms were bolts, also identical to mine. Attached to both bolts were guns. They were cocked parallel to his arms but away from his hands. On his legs, Sadura wore pants of an identical color to his shirt. On his feet were sizeable black leather boots.   

"I’m ready to go, sarg," I said, stepping into the hall next to him. We were dressed in the same garb, but we were entirely different.   

We walked down the hall side by side. No words were passed between us. None were needed. We were both alive and had survived outrageous situations. The war was almost over.  

There was a door at the end of the hall. We both stopped. With slow, steady pressure, I opened the door just a crack, achieving a silent result. The sun shone brightly in the narrow street. At first, I did not sense any movement. The street was devoid of life. Then I sensed it, them. They were in the building across the way. Rhino and I stepped out of the building. They did not know we had found them yet. I closed my right eye, and my left switched modes, displaying heat signatures. I reached over and started tapping on Rhino's arm. In Morse code, I described their exact location. The two of us moved towards the wall, our steps slow, sure, and silent. We crouched beneath the window. Rhino opened his vest and pulled out a small rectangular object. A ring protruded from each of the four sides. I grabbed two of the rings, and he grabbed the other two. We both pulled simultaneously, and the rings slid out with a soft, barely audible click. I started backing away from the wall as Rhino stood. He cocked his arm back and threw it through the window.   

Instantly, I was on my feet and running towards the door I had just come out of. The sound of Rhino attempting to keep up with me was barely audible above the dull roar of the wind in my ears—something he could not do. Not bothering to open the wooden door, I threw my right shoulder into it, causing it to explode with the high-speed impact. The door slowed my pace only a hair as I sped down the hallway. Then I heard Rhino enter the building. He missed the door. Then the bomb went off. I dove for the ground as the explosion ripped through the building. As I dove, my foot caught on something. My body swung downward, hitting the floorboards. They shattered underneath me, and my momentum carried me downward. A single thought passed through my mind: basement? Then I hit the floor. As fast as I could, I rolled over and looked up. A second explosion filled the air. I rolled back over and covered my head as the floorboards above me were vaporized with the power of the blast.  

For about a minute, wood pieces and dust rained down on me. That one minute felt like an eternity. Something large landed next to me. Grey seeped into the edges of my vision, blotting out the world around me. Memories became reality.  

***  

My arms were folded on my desk, underneath my head, as if I existed in that grey space between reality and dreamland. Someone was droning on at the head of the classroom. He said something about our history, but I was too tired and excited to pay attention. It occurred to me that it was something important I would regret later not knowing, but I did not care at that moment.  

I was too tired because I had not slept the night before because of the exciting news I had received the day before. I had been picked! Among the thousands of eligible seniors, they had picked me. Last night, after getting home from school, I found a letter from the government addressed to me. It started that I was one of the lucky fifty seniors that would be transformed, Cybernetically. I was instructed to, after graduation, go to an airplane and fly off to Nevada for training. The date was already set for my "transformation" four years from now. Another month, I would be in Nevada training. No one had refused the invitation. I did not intend to be the first. Only college-bound seniors were eligible.  

I lifted my head and rested my chin on my forearms. Life was good and about to get better.  

***  

I turned over. It was no longer raining dust. Above me was the clear, open sky. I could see nothing left of the building from my vantage point. I slowly turned my head from side to side to survey the damage. I was lying in a basement. It was filled with dust and large pieces of wood. Somewhere over to my right was a large pile of dust with a piece of wood leaning against it. Something seemed remarkably familiar about it.   

I rolled over onto my hands and knees and crawled towards the pile. As I got closer, I saw the sun glint off a piece of metal. At that moment, I recognized it. Rhino! As I got closer, I could see the very subtle movements of his shallow breaths. Then I was next to him. He looked up at me and frowned. I looked around and found one of his hands and he started tapping on the back of mine.   

"They are still alive," he tapped, and I grimaced in response. "They are looking for us."  

In my hurry to find Rhino, I had forgotten about them. Now, they could be anywhere. I turned my head to the left and looked in the general direction of the center of the debris. Something else was moving. I could hear the soft hiss of a seeker.  

Over the rim of the basement came the seeker. Seekers are small missiles that can be programmed to accomplish various tasks. These included motion, heat, metal, or even other seekers. This one was set to movement from the color patterns playing across it. It was almost silent as it moved into the now-open basement. There was nothing we could do. Well, nearly nothing. Throwing something would be our doom. It would go to the source. Our only choice was to hold our breath until it went away. As a result, we both froze. The seeker floated down into the basement. There was no way to tell where it had come from. The slow but steady movement inched towards us. We held our breath as it moved past us towards the pit. Rhino twitched his finger, visibly frustrated. He never had any patience. The seeker stopped and turned back towards us.   

With the speed of thought, Rhino brought up his left arm. At the same time, the gun swiveled into the palm of his hand. The seeker burst forward faster than I thought possible. But faster still was Rhino. He fired one shot directly at it. The small device exploded halfway between us and the wall in a flash of bright energy. In a snap, both Rhino and I were on our feet moving towards the other side of the basement. Where there had once been stairs were only the destroyed remains.   

On our way to the wall, I spotted an area that seemed darker than the rest. We moved towards it. A tunnel! A shot rang out. Something exploded next to my feet.  

"They found us," Rhino cursed to himself. I bolted for the tunnel. Effortlessly passing Rhino, I sped into the darkness. Three more shots rang out. Rhino came bursting into the darkness. His left arm hung at his side, limp and unmoving.   

"They are using neutralizing bolts," he explained as he pushed past me. I reached into my vest and pulled out a small, flat disc. Tossing it to the mouth of the tunnel, I turned to follow Rhino. Then I heard the hiss of a seeker behind me. A sharp explosion sounded behind me. That barrier would not hold for much longer. I did not wait to see who followed it.  

Ahead of me, I could hear Rhino lumbering down the passage. The tunnel veered sharply to the left and down. Easily catching up with Rhino, we both turned right at the intersection that followed. The passage's walls were smooth, and it seemed to be heading into some kind of sewer system we had not seen before.  

"I wonder where this goes?" I asked under my breath. Rhino shrugged his shoulders and continued down the passage.  

"Go back, send a seeker, and block off the entire last intersection," Rhino said as we trudged along. I nodded and turned on my heel. After tossing down two more discs blocking the other two branches of the intersection, I opened my vest and pulled my shirt up. I tapped once lightly on my chest where my bottom rib should have been. The skin slid to the left and revealed a metal panel. Then that too opened. Inside were three small rows of seekers. I touched the tips of two of them. Without a sound, they floated forward and out. The metal door closed, and the skin slid back into place.  

"Movement," I said, pointing back towards the ruined basement we had come from. The two seekers took off in a flash of energy. I pulled my shirt back down and refastened my vest. Then I stepped into the passage leading towards Rhino. I tossed another disc over my shoulder as I sped down the passage. I found him just a little farther than I had left him.  

Sadura sat on the ground with a small metal rod about the size of a pencil in his right hand. He held it poised over a black mark on his left arm. Then, his left hand twitched. A second later, Sadura put the rod away. He then stood up and flexed his left arm. Then he motioned for me to follow, and we trudged down the passage together. An explosion rocked through the tunnels. Rhino stepped up the pace.  

"That sounded like one of the fields," he said as he stopped, "Step ahead; I am going to collapse the tunnel."  

I quickened my step and moved past him. The ceiling of the tunnel was right above Sadura's head. Rhino reached up and put his fist against it. Then he drew his arms down and plunged them into the ceiling. His arms disappeared into the rock up to his elbows. Then he jumped back and yanked down with both arms. The ceiling came crashing into the ground. Dirt and rock followed, sealing the passageway. Rhino turned back towards me and started to run past me. I moved over against the side, allowing him to pass me. Then I followed him.  

We jogged at a leisurely pace for an hour, not slowing down. Together, we went through many intersections and turns. Then suddenly, Rhino disappeared in front of me. The tunnel continued before me, and I could see quite clearly ahead. He was gone. I had come to an abrupt stop when he vanished. Now, I turned and looked around the tunnel for him. I did not see him. Then I took a step forward.  

The ground vanished beneath my feet, and I fell. The darkness below quickly enveloped me. I had no way of judging how far down the bottom was. It would not do to fall and break my legs. With my right hand, I reached up underneath the back of my shirt and pressed a button in the center of my back. The whir of moving metal filled my body. I glanced down at my legs, marveling at the transformation before my eyes.  

The metal frame of my legs was compacting. The skin of my feet had spread out, and small flames were sprouting from the bottoms of my feet. My descent slowed, and I hit bottom. As quickly as it had started, my legs started to return to their original shape. With a light step and a smile, I stepped away from the spot where I had landed.  

Suddenly, I heard the whir and click of something metal moving into place. Then I fell backward; my legs knocked from underneath me. As I fell to the ground, I saw a small hole punched into the wall. That would have been my head, I thought as I came crashing to the ground.  

***  

The clear blue sky over my head whispered of winter. I sat up, brushing the grass off my back. The police had come to my house, just like every other in town, collecting firearms. It had happened. They had managed to create a "smart bullet." These bullets avoided human tissue. Wars could now go to a new level. In any case, I had been in the way as they walked up to my front door. Being fifteen and naïve, I did not have the good sense to move fast enough. So, they pushed me out of the way. I slipped on the grass and fell to my back.  

Now, they were coming out. The only weapons they carried were metal sticks with electromagnetic energy. Those were for people stupid enough to try and stop them. I was not that stupid. Every gun in the country was being collected, and nobody was going to stand in their way. Not me, not anybody.  

One of the police officers said, "Have a nice day," as he walked down the street to the next house.  

***  

I lay on the ground, not making a sound. Rhino was near me; I could sense him. He reached out and started tapping on my outstretched hand. He explained that there was some primitive defense system. My left eye clicked into heat mode. I lifted my head off the ground and quickly scanned the room. On the far wall, some sort of primitive gun was mounted.  

One of Rhino's guns clicked into his hand. With his other hand, he switched the settings. Then he fired at the weapon. The blast hit dead on. The gun was vaporized, a hiss of steam rising from where it had once been.  

"Let's go," he said, pulling himself to his feet.  

"Why couldn’t you have done that before I got down, Sarg?" I said, feeling a bit annoyed and sore.  

"I wanted to see whether or not you would notice the defense system," he replied as he walked over to where the gun had been mounted. Rhino then stopped off to the right through an opening. I followed him. He stopped just inside the doorway. Stepping up behind him, I realized why.  

The chamber was full of primitive weapons. Stacked with careless abandon in shoulder-high stacks were old "dead shell" weapons. These guns could kill humans, unlike my own. Rhino stepped in in a state of awe. At random, it seemed, he picked up one of the weapons.   

"My dad had one of these," he said, looking at the weapon with a fond smile. Before the collection, it was a good old Magnum .45. It could easily take off your head if it still worked."  

Rhino put the gun back, straightened up, and looked over at me as I stared from the doorway, "We must have stumbled into an old weapon cache. Although, by the defensive trap, which is quite crude, by the way. I do not think this is a military cache. I think someone stashed this stuff when they heard about the collection."  

"Shouldn’t we report this back," I questioned.  

"If there were a base to report back to, we would," he stated. This remark stung me. There was no base to report back to. I already knew this, but it still hurt to think about it. Our "birthplace" no longer existed. There was no home base. No headquarters. No echelons of command to report to. All gone.  

"What are we going to do then, sarg?" I asked.  

"We destroy these weapons so that they don’t fall into the hands of the general public. The recycling protocols call for us to deliver these to the government, but that would be too dangerous. Scout around; I want to know if there is another way out."  

I turned around and jogged into the chamber we had started in. Spotting another exit, I sped into the next chamber. Standing there was a man. He was holding a gun from the chamber Rhino was still in. It leveled at my head. I blinked twice, trying to wrap my head around the situation. Not one I was familiar with.  

"Don't even think of moving," he said, "I know how to use this."  

I stood there contemplating what to do. It would be impossible to shoot him; my bullets would not pierce his flesh. However, I could disarm him. In the blink of an eye, I raised my arm and fired at him. The gun disintegrated in his hands. It was his turn to blink in stupid disbelief. Then he started cursing.  

"You're one of them, aren't you?" he said, anger rising in his voice. You are one of those cyborgs, aren't you? You are one of those guys who stole my job!"  

Then it hit me. He was a member of the old military from before the first cyborgs came out. When the first fifty cyborgs were released and introduced to the world, all the military personnel were booted and given permanent leave. Some of the former soldiers did not appreciate this. The man in front of me was a member of that unfortunate number. He pulled a knife from his belt and launched himself at me.  

With an easy step, I moved to the side and plucked the knife from his hand. A well-placed fist found my face. My head rocked back. I took a quick step back and steadied myself. My vision swam for a second as he rushed at me. Dropping to one knee, I shoved him with my right arm. He flew across the room and smashed into the wall. Sliding down the few remaining feet, he settled in a little pile. I went over and checked him. He would live but would not wake for a while. Just as well.  

I stood and looked around the room. There was a doorway leading out. In the blink of an eye, I was in the doorway leading into the next chamber, a hall. As I edged down the hall, looking for more signs of opposition, I noticed a door on my left. Farther down the hall was a staircase leading up. That was the exit we were looking for. I jogged back to the door. From the side, I used one hand to ease it open. The chamber was empty. Leaving the door open, I ran back to Sadura.  

I gave him the brief version of what happened with the ex-military man, leaving out nothing. Sadura cursed as he walked into the room where the man lay. He was still slumped in the same position I had left him in.  

"This man does not deserve to live," Sadura said in utter disgust, "I want you to carry him out of here, now. You will be back on the double."  

"Roger that, sergeant." I hefted the man easily over my shoulder and carried him up the steps leading into a dark alley. I laid him on the ground next to the entrance and zipped back to Sadura. Rhino was back in the room with the weapons. He was holding another rectangular bomb. We pulled the pins, and he put it in the weapons pile.   

As soon as the bomb hit the ground, we were running. Rhino was in front. He could not move as fast as I could, but you would be surprised by how fast he could run. The staircase seemed twice as long as it had seemed not minutes before. We were still clear with ease by the time of the first explosion.  

The staircase opened into a dark alley. A large metal fence was at our backs, and the slum was on the other side of the fence. The ex-soldier lay slumped against the fence. I grabbed him as we continued down the alley.   

The first explosion sent a spout of dirt out of the tunnel. The second was much louder and more prominent. Rhino and I were at the end of the alley by this time, and we threw ourselves to the right, around the corner. The explosion sent a horizontal rain of dirt down the alley. Luckily, the street was evident as the dirt just kept going. It was here that we left the man.  

"We have to keep moving," Rhino said as we climbed to our feet. We started down the street away from the explosion. They would be on to us soon, and we did not have much time. The few people who were on the street saw us and moved clear of our path of travel.  

We ran down the street for an hour before we heard our tails. At first, there was nothing, but then a shot echoed through the quiet streets. Rhino went to the right into an alley while I sprinted across the street to another. They had enough time to fire one more shot before I arrived. The bullet smacked the wall over my head.  

Less than a second later, I could hear Rhino shooting back. I jogged to the back of the alley and looked around. A fire escape came down the side of the building to my left. The first rung was twenty feet up, and the platform was another ten feet above that.   

I crouched down low to the ground, flexed the muscles in my legs, and leaped. The platform creaked ominously as I landed on it. Then I started climbing the fire escape. On the second platform, I stopped and looked over at Rhino. My timing could not have been better; a seeker was rounding the corner. Before I even thought about it, I fired. The seeker exploded in a flash of white-hot energy. I stumbled back a step and stopped. The guardrail was pressed firmly against my back.  

From what I could see, Rhino was stuck. For every shot he fired, one came back at him. Stalemate. Then, I resumed my climbing. When I reached the last flight to the top, I slowed down. Reaching down inside my jacket, I pulled another disc. Then I reached up, set it on the edge of the root, and activated it. Peeking over the edge, I looked around.   

Across the street, two blocks down, I saw them. One was on the roof, and the other must have been on the ground, but I could not see him just yet. He had not seen me yet. I could tell what parts of him were cybernetic: one arm, his right, and one leg, also his right. He was dressed as I was.   

I leveled my weapon at him and fired three shots. The first two stopped right in front of his face. He had a shield up, just like mine. The first shot jarred the shield; the second disrupted it. Without the shield in its way, the third continued forward and hit his right shoulder. He screamed as it exploded, blowing his right arm off. The cyborg fell to the roof, clutching his shoulder where his arm used to be. A red, oily substance spilled forth. Then, he was gone from view.  

I dropped down to the top platform, knowing the battle was over. Already, I could hear no more shooting. Looking over at Sadura, I saw him give me a thumbs up. I had done my job; we had won this battle. They would retreat and try to put his arm back into working condition. The war was not over. We would meet again.  

I climbed down the fire escape and crossed the street. Sadura told me that we would camp for the night and give chase in the morning. We did not need bedding. I sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall. I would sleep until it was my turn to guard. Sleep came with ease. With it came the dream—unbidden, unwanted.  

***  

I was standing in the practice yard. For the first time, I raised my arm and fired the gun that was now attached to me. The sounds of the shots being fired filled the yard. Standing on my left were my "brothers." Drill Sergeant Pereb stood to my right, watching us fire. Then he raised a hand, and we all stopped. He started to talk with us when red lights began to flash. In an instant, Pereb was through the door behind him. We followed.  

The door led onto a cement walkway. We knew what the alarm meant, even though we had never seen it before: intruders. Someone was attacking our compound. This was completely unheard of. A few weeks ago, members of the cyborg elite army had gone rogue. They had revolted against the government's restraints. No one had taken them seriously when they threatened to attack government installations. Now, it was happening.  

The first building they attacked was the "nursery," which was also where we were "reborn." The alarm went off when they entered the compound. Led by the sergeant, we arrived just in time to see the "nursery" explode into a huge ball of flames.  

Coming around the side of the enormous fire was a group of figures jogging towards us. One of the figures raised his arm and pointed at us. Before I thought about it, I moved. I heard the bullet whistle in my ear. I looked back at the group after I was behind a building across the yard. Two guys were already down. The sergeant was on his way over.  

I stepped away from the building and dropped to one knee. As soon as I was in position, I started firing. The first enemy I saw had a cybernetic leg and arm. He raised his arm to fire. By the time his arm came up, it was blasted off. After he fell, I rolled back behind the building. I stood up and sprinted around the corner, aiming to get behind them. I stopped as I rounded the corner.   

On the other side was a group of cyborgs. A tall cyborg led them with a cybernetic upper body. He stopped me and asked about the situation. I told him what I had seen, and we jogged around the corner to attack the defectors. What we saw when we turned the corner would forever stain the minds of those who saw it. The group of defectors were standing over the dying "fresh recruits" pulling their limbs off and stealing their cybernetic appendages. Then Pereb came launching out from behind the other corner, out of ammunition but determined to stop them. In one synchronized motion, all the defectors raised their guns and fired at him.   

***  

I awoke with a start, as I did every time I got to rest. It was my turn for guard duty. Rhino leaned against the wall and was fast asleep. I stood and looked around. Nothing had changed.  

Guard duty went by without consequence. Nothing happened. A few citizens wandered the streets in the early morning hours, conducting whatever business they had. Few noticed us, but those that did moved a little bit faster. Our weapons were "safe," but people still shunned us. We were no longer "human" to them. Sadura woke just before sunrise. Then we were on our way.  

We jogged down the street to where they had been during our little battle. We found a pool of half-dried red oily substance. It was blood, but not the type you might think of. It was more a combination of oil and natural blood. It was how our parts worked with the rest of our bodies. There was a trail left in the direction they had gone. We followed.  

As daylight bathed the city, people began to go to work. They came out of their homes and buildings and walked along the streets. Recognizing us, they gave us a wide berth. The trail continued down the street for ten or eleven blocks, then hooked to the right, crossing a street. Then, it went down that street for a couple of blocks. Then it went into a large building. Cautiously, we peered in and followed.  

The ceiling towered over our heads. To our right were rows of steel benches with padded seats. Over to our left was a counter. Two men stood behind it. In front of us was a large staircase going down. One of the men behind the counter looked up at us. Then, without a sound, he pointed to the stairs. Rhino nodded, and we walked in that direction, weapons ready.  

The steps were crisp and clean, and the trail stood out. Steel handrails ran down the center of the staircase and along the side. The steps were not steep, and we descended with haste.  

At the bottom was a large platform. At the far edge, the trail ended. About six feet down was stone ground. Another five feet out was a single rail. The trail led right over the edge. We dropped down and continued to follow. The trail led along next to the rail. Then, it hooked over to the left. Another five feet, we found a large pool of "blood." No trail of blood led away. The pool had only been sitting there for half an hour at the most; it was still warm. They would be close.  

Rhino looked at the ground, an intense probing look on his face. Then he started down the passageway. We walked for a while down the passage. Suddenly, Rhino came to a half. Then, standing low to the ground, he looked up in front of him. Both of his weapons sprang into his hands. Mine did the same. Then, I saw a small metal disc in the center of the passage. Rhino aimed and fired. The disc disappeared, leaving only a thin trail of smoke floating upwards. We started forward again.   

Another ten feet, we stopped. A tunnel branched off to the right. I clicked over into heat-vision and looked down at the tunnel. It was a dead end after about six feet. I looked back down at the main tunnel. Somewhere ahead, I saw the bright flare of heat. I grabbed Rhino around the waist and shoved towards the dead end with all the force I could muster out of my legs. We crashed into the ground with a solid slam. Rhino did not question my action as we watched a volley of bullets fly through the space we had just occupied.   

"Thanks, Cheetah," he said as he sprang to his feet. Rhino reached around the corner with one arm and fired a few shots. It was impossible to tell whether any of his shots hit their mark. The enemy's firing rate did not slow down. Rhino was almost hit. He ducked back and looked around.  

"Dead end," I said as he turned to me.  

"I want you to fire back at them while I try to get us out."  

I walked over to the opening. The bullets were flying in like a wall of rain. They would have to reload soon, so I waited. Then it came: space. I dropped to one knee and took sight of the first heat signature I saw. Firing five times in as many seconds, I returned to the dead end. As I looked at Rhino, I heard an explosion and a curse. I sneaked a peak around the corner.  

In the myriads of colors my heat vision showed me, I saw one of them lying on the ground holding his leg. Tapping on my gun, I took sight and fired another volley of shots. Ducking back into the dead end, I heard a scream drowned out by a resounding explosion. The enemy was now one less.  

In the meantime, I could see Rhino digging at the wall. Hearing the explosion, he turned and looked at me.  

"Let's get out of here," Rhino said, moving towards the opening of the dead end. "Cheetah, I want you to cover me as I go back. Then you can follow."  

"Roger that, Seargent."  

I leaned my arm around the corner and fired a few shots; then, I stuck my head out to see where to place the next couple of shots. I knew where our enemy was hiding, so I aimed in that general direction. The bullets sunk into the ground around where I suspected he was, doing no harm. As soon as I saw his head stick out, I increased the ferocity of my firing. I did not hit him as he ducked back in. Then I heard Rhino doing his best to charge down the hall without making any noise. He had about a minute before I had to reload. It was plenty of time.  

When I ran out of bullets, I rolled back into the dead end and waited. The first thirty seconds were easy. Then I stood and made ready to run. A minute later, the break came. I sprinted. Zooming down the tunnel, I saw where Rhino's tracks led—closer, closer, closer. Then I heard it. A shot was fired behind me. That was faster than expected. I tried to push myself faster.  

Something was wrong. My legs were slowing down. All feeling has disappeared from my legs. I sank to my knees and fell on my side. Fear raced through my mind. I heard something next to me moving towards me. A feeling of weightlessness filled my being. Looking up, I gazed into the face of a woman. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I could see bullets whizzing around her, avoiding her living tissue. She shielded my body with hers. As my eyes closed, I knew I had been saved.  

My eyes fluttered open. I was on my back. James Sadura looked down into my face and smiled. It was odd to see on the face of a man who had been my commanding officer for so long. Something I had rarely, if ever, seen him do. It did not fit quite right. I wanted to move away from him but realized that my body still did not quite feel right. Movement might not be the best idea at this point.  

"You gave me quite a scare there, Nick," he said in a low, solemn tone. "You're lucky you had some help. I probably would have lost you without her."  

The woman stepped into view. She had soft, black hair that hung over one side of her face and hazel eyes with the faintest traces of orange around the pupils. They twinkled with mischief. She wore a black jacket and dark pants that hugged her slender figure. Her clothes were clean. In one hand, she held a small pencil-like object. She was repairing me. I looked past her to get an idea of our location. We were still underground. The woman looked over at Rhino.  

"I need you to turn him over so I can finish the repairs," she said in a calm, cool voice. James reached down and turned me over onto my back. Little twitches passed through my core as she repaired whatever damage had been done. The feeling started to come back into my legs.  

"Did we get them, sir?"  

"As soon as you started to fall, I stepped out and started firing. At the same time, Nedrah here shielded your body with hers. I saw her but did not pay any attention. The enemy was so dead set on killing you that he did not see me until I had fired close to forty bullets at him. I did not miss it. The parts we are using for your back are what we could scavenge from him."  

I looked over to my right. Sure enough, his body lay there, entirely riddled with holes. There was not very much left there. However, the war was over. Now, what would we do? Ever since my "rebirth," I had been bred to fight. Now, the fight was over.   

"Rhino, sir."  

"Don't call me sir anymore, Nick. We are civilians now."  

"But sir... I mean, James", I stuttered with confusion, "We fought against the rebels... destroyed them. Now, we join them?"  

"Nick, the people who would have commanded us are dead. We would be the last two in our country. I do not think that they will want that. They will want to make more. Their only problem will be that the original creators are also dead. They would have to pick and pull us apart to create new cyborgs. We would be their guinea pigs. Nick, I don’t want that fate, do you?"  

I shook my head. Now I understood. We had fought a war and won, only to become lab rats and slaves of the side we won for. James Sadura reached down and turned me over onto my back. I sat up and flexed my body. Everything worked.  

"It is over," James said as he helped me. "Now we must disappear as our enemies would have liked to do..."