CHAPTER 16

ARTEMIS

T he interior of the ship reemerged around me as I let go of my connection to the web, but my mind was far from clear.

After Bromm had dissipated I’d started convincing myself that it was all in my head. I didn’t know what the consequences of the latest experiments would be, but the only real explanation for what had occurred was an extremely vivid hallucination. It had to have been. There was no way in any realm of existence that Bromm would have held onto his feelings for me after so long apart and all the lies and deceit between us, let alone allow his feelings to grow as strongly as he claimed.

It was just my mind conjuring my deepest desires as a coping mechanism. That was all.

But then I’d thought about it a bit more and realised that I owed it to myself to chase that dream. If by some miracle it was real, I wanted to be sure. I needed to know for certain in case I was giving up everything I’d ever wanted and the man I’d fallen in love with, because if it turned out to be true…

So I’d continued to dig deeper into The Program’s uploaded files to find where they were keeping the children. And sure enough, Bromm was correct. They were on Nova Station, just like he’d said. I’d even succeeded in finding the exact location of their experimental facilities. Luckily for me, collecting Reece and Addy would be easy enough as they were on the way to the kids.

But even after confirming Bromm’s claims I was stuck in a vicious cycle of doubting my doubts, then doubting those doubts, then starting all over again.

Forcing the chaos in my head to stop, I chose to believe that what happened was real, that Bromm loved me and was waiting to hear from me when I arrived at Nova Station. I’d find out one way or the other when I contacted him. If he gave me a rendezvous point then I’d know once and for all, and I could deal with the fallout then. For now, the hope that he truly did love me, no masks or disguises between us, kept my spirits high and helped push me through the last little adjustments that needed fixing on the ship.

By the end of the day, it was as ready as it was going to get, and all I needed to do was start it up and fly.

Tomorrow, though. Tonight would be the last night I got to spend with Libby, and I was going to make the most of it before I was forced to leave her again.

I would also have to tell her I might be coming back with more than just the kids…

I quickly pocketed the working holo-tab I’d discovered in the cockpit before I could forget, then I leapt down from the ship’s hangar. The door rose to seal shut behind me as soon as my feet cleared the platform. The forest was quiet around me. I was alone, and the darkening sky produced a sort of limbo between nature’s daytime and nighttime activity. Another time I might have found the silence eery and proceeded back to the cave with caution, but I enjoyed the quiet. It gave me time with my thoughts without the business of all the other women pushing down on me.

It was a pleasant walk back.

The hustle and bustle of the dinner time rush greeted me when I arrived back. Francesca handed me a bowl of stew and a smaller bowl of steaming hot tea, the small leaves and colourful blooms still floating around in the liquid.

I thanked her and went in search of Libby.

I found her in our little side-cave, hiding away from the world as she worked on sewing together some of the hides that had finally dried. She looked up when I entered, her smile warm but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

‘When?’ was all she asked. She didn’t need to elaborate for understanding to pass between us.

‘Tomorrow morning.’

Without another word, she finished tying off the stitch she was working on so she could place her project to the side and focus her full attention on me. I took that as my time to finish my meal, placing the bowls in the sort-of table in the centre of the room.

‘What supplies do you need?’ she asked.

‘Nothing. I found enough Nutri-Bars already stocked.’

‘Water?’

‘Clear. The filtration system still works fine.’

‘Clothes?’

‘There are jumpsuits on board. Enough that you lot should probably take some. They’re temperature regulated.’

‘…Me?’ she finally asked, her voice small and warbly from the tears she was trying to hide from me.

Immediately, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, dragging us both onto my little makeshift mattress. Burying my nose in her hair I breathed in her scent, committing it to memory. It went unspoken, but there was always the risk that I would be unsuccessful and wouldn’t return. Neither of us wanted to speak the possibility into existence, however, so we simply clung to one another with a desperation neither of us could deny.

‘You’re going to hold down the fort while I’m gone,’ I told her, stroking my fingers through her hair and gently prying free the knots they snagged on. ‘You’re going to keep these women in line, make sure this place stays running, and prepare for our return.’

‘Why can’t I come with you?’ she sniffed. ‘I’m not so far along in my pregnancy that I can’t be useful. Let me come with you.’

I sighed, my breath ruffling her hair as it left my lips in a shaky puff. ‘You know why, Libs. Bal needs someone safe to go to if I don’t make it back. And neither one of us is risking losing that sweet baby in your belly. I need you safe.’

Her body shook as a great sob tore from her chest. ‘Damn you. Damn you. Damn you.’

I broke down with her, my guilt over leaving her the first time overwhelming. ‘I’m so sorry, L. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me,’ I begged.

She pulled back, her eyes red and swollen, her nose running, but there was a determined strength in her gaze that had my own tears drying up.

‘I told you to leave before, A. I don’t regret it. I wanted you to have freedom, even if I couldn’t. I don’t forgive you because there’s nothing to forgive.’

My face crumpled with the effort of trying to hold back the emotion. I didn’t want to saddle her with my guilt. I’d done enough. She was just trying to show me kindness where it wasn’t deserved.

‘No,’ she snapped. ‘I can see those wheels turning in your pretty little head, bitch. I’m serious. I’m glad to have you back, but I wanted you to leave. I’m the one who’s sorry. I never should have forced you to leave me behind. I should have fought harder to get out with you. I’m the reason we were separated, and I’m sorry , A. I’m sorry.’

‘I should’ve stayed behind. I never should have left you. We’re stronger together, L. We were always stronger together.’

‘Let me come with you,’ she begged one more time. ‘I don’t want you to have to be alone again…’ she trailed off, her voice breaking at the end as more tears spilled over her splotchy cheeks.

My answering smile was grim. ‘I can’t risk you or the baby like that, Libs. Please don’t ask me to.’

She shrugged, wiping at her eyes. ‘Worth a try.’

I pulled the holo-tab from my pocket and handed it over to her. Her eyes lit up at the sight before searching mine curiously.

‘We can stay in touch with this. I set an alarm on the ship to automatically connect to this holo-tab every twenty-four hours. We’ll talk every day so we’ll still be with each other even if it’s not in person. I don’t want to spend a single moment with you not within reach.’

Her lip wobbled as she attempted to compose herself enough to speak. ‘Never again, A. I can’t lose you again.’

I pulled her flush against me, holding her tight. ‘Never again.’

‘Thank you,’ she whispered against my neck, her breath hot and muggy against my skin. It was a sensation I hated from when the scientists and guards leant close to whisper nasty things to me, and I held back the urge to shudder. Right now we both needed me to be a comfort, not a reminder of the things we’d been through.

‘Do you really forgive me?’ I asked, my voice tiny and barely discernible despite the quiet.

‘Artemis, if you need to hear me say it then yes, I forgive you. As long as we both promise never to leave one another like that again.’

‘I promise.’

‘Me, too.’

‘Then it’s settled.’ I raised my fist between us, my little finger poking up in an offering. She took it, twining her little finger with mine.

‘We should probably get some sleep. I want you well-rested for your journey,’ she told me, pulling me down onto the hastily made bed and snuggling up against me. She was shorter than me by quite a bit, so her head rested comfortably in the crook of my neck.

I fell asleep within moments, feeling safer than ever with my best friend by my side.

???

I felt a single, smooth, bony finger stroke across my jaw and along my neck before slowly dipping lower toward my cleavage. I shuddered at the way it traced the swell of my breasts. The way he paused at both my nipples and gave them his undivided attention. The way my nipples perked up at the stimulation against my wishes, betraying me. Then when one finger became his whole hand, which became two, and they cupped my breasts. When he squeezed so tightly I thought they might pop.

On and on his ministrations went, alternating between gentle and harsh. I tried to picture Bromm’s face in my mind and the way his touch felt compared to his, except the present moment drowned out any memory I had of the man I had fallen in love with so quickly. So easily.

Instead of passion-filled pleasure, I felt trapped and repulsed. I needed to move, to get away, especially when those hands dipped even lower towards that area between my legs that I had let no one touch. Most of the women under The Program’s thumb had been sexually assaulted by either the scientists or the guards – sometimes both – and I was no exception. The biggest difference was that I had somehow managed to avoid my innocence being forcefully taken.

Until now.

I used to imagine T would be my first. My choice. But I knew without a doubt that there was no getting out of it this time. I could barely move, and even if I could escape I was still restrained to this damn metal slab. The coolness of it penetrated deep through my skin, and I felt it through every inch of my naked body.

I had stopped feeling shame at my nudity a long time ago, but I felt it more than ever right then. I wanted to hide, to cover myself up, to prevent this sick man from viewing what didn’t belong to him, from touching what was never meant to be his.

But that wasn’t true, was it? I did belong to him. I belonged to all of them. I was never free and never would be. Everything about me was owned by them. They could do whatever they wanted to me and there was nothing I nor anyone else could do to stop them.

???

It was the screaming that snapped me out of my stupor. The shrill sound of multiple women shrieking echoed back to me within the stone chamber of the space I shared with Libby, but those weren’t Libby’s screams.

A quick glance around showed that she wasn’t even here – where was she? Instead, I found Dave Junior crouched before me, growling at whatever was going on.

The sound of two babies joined in the ruckus, confirmation that Driselle had finally given birth, but I doubted the birth was the cause if the women were screaming, too.

The answer was quickly provided by the two women who came storming into my private offshoot of the cave, looking as if they were preparing to attack. But attack who? What was happening?

A second glance towards the women showed they were advancing on me, the threat in their intent clear. Even Junior took a step back, sensing the danger and searching for the comfort of my presence. Confused but cautious, my body snapped into a defensive position without any conscious thought. All I knew was that these women wanted to hurt me and I couldn’t let that happen.

Suddenly, Libby’s voice cut through the tense atmosphere, her tone high with panic. ‘Wait! Stop! Don’t hurt her! She didn’t mean it!’

She pushed through the congregation of bodies to stand protectively in front of me and that triggered my own instincts to protect her. When someone snapped their teeth at her, the act one of pure aggression, I shot into action, pushing her behind me and growling right back. The sound that tore from my chest was low with an almost mechanical quality compared to the other woman’s gravelly, animalistic tone.

Everyone stepped back, a couple even stumbling in their efforts to get away from me. Even Junior scampered away, though he quickly changed course to hide behind me. The fear and shock in their wide-eyed expressions made me pause.

Libby tried to get around me to address the others again, but I held out an arm to stop her. When she kept trying I caged her in by backing her up against the curved stone wall of our room. Realising she wasn’t getting past me she decided to shout over my shoulder instead.

‘Guys, you need to back down! She’s just trying to protect me now, but she didn’t mean anyone any harm, I swear!’

My head tilted to the side at her words. I was still ignorant to what had caused all of this in the first place and it was past time I got to the bottom of it.

‘What’s going on? Why are they here?’ I directed my questions to Libby, not wanting to interact with the women who were threatening us. My voice maintained that same mechanical quality as before, and I wondered if that was something I needed to be concerned about.

‘You were screaming in your sleep,’ she began. ‘Christine and Grace got here before I could stop them. You reacted the same way you usually do and tossed them on their asses. They got hurt and the others stepped in. Artemis, your skin…’

I examined my arm and, sure enough, my skin was encased in that metallic substance again. I also noticed the area surrounding me was lit up by a blue glow that seemed to be emanating from inside me, too.

Understanding dawned and I knew I would need to do some damage control to earn these women’s trust back. What little I’d had, anyway. I relaxed my stance and watched with fascination as the metal receded and, for a lack of a better description, melted back into my skin. Then I raised my hands, palms out, in the universal sign of surrender.

‘I’m sorry,’ I told them. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. But you can’t wake me up because, well , this happens. It’s a defence mechanism I developed a long time ago to stop the guards from trying anything while I was sleeping. I thought you all knew…’

‘It’s our fault!’ The blonde I recognised as Christine stepped forward. Blood was dripping from a head wound I couldn’t see under her hair and she was cradling her right arm that was bent at an odd angle. She was joined by her brunette friend – who must have been Grace – in equally bad shape, though she was favouring her left foot. Both were dripping blood all over the floor, tiny puddles forming at their feet, but I couldn’t see exactly where they were injured.

Guilt swarmed me and I took a step forward before I could stop myself. I didn’t know what I intended to do. I wasn’t particularly knowledgeable with medical needs, but I felt the urge to try and fix the damage I’d caused, nonetheless.

At my movement the others tensed, but Grace and Christine stood tall and confident and showed no fear.

‘We know you have nightmares and react defensively when your sleep is disturbed. We just heard you screaming and wanted to help. We didn’t think. It was our fault. Please don’t be mad at Artemis,’ the brunette pleaded. I needed to make more of an effort to get to know these women on a personal level, especially after I’d injured them when they were only trying to show kindness and compassion.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked them, concern filling my voice which I was pleased to discover no longer sounded so robotic.

Christine smiled at me kindly. ‘We’re fast healers. It’ll be like nothing happened in a couple of days.’

I blinked at them, confused. ‘It takes that long for you to heal?’

They blinked back, a little stunned, but grim smiles stretched across their faces. ‘Well, we don’t heal quite as fast as you, but we’re not that far behind.’

I shared a look with Libby that confirmed the lack of understanding for both of us.

‘Don’t the nanites heal you within a few hours?’ she asked them.

It was their turn to share a look of befuddlement. ‘Nanites?’

My jaw dropped to my chest. I thought the scientists had implanted the nanites in all of their subjects. That’s what my research showed.

‘You don’t have nanites?’ I asked, needing to check my information was correct.

They shook their heads, slow and wary. That wasn’t good news. All the files I’d downloaded throughout the solars spent inside The Program claimed that each and every one of their subjects had nanites. Either these women were lying or they were unaware of the implantation. Or they really were telling the truth and the information I had gathered thus far on the topic was incomplete. If that was the case, we were in even deeper shit than I thought.

‘They only focused on your DNA?’ I asked, unable to stop the insensitive question from leaving my lips.

‘Of course…’

Libby and I shared a look filled with unease.

‘What did they do to you?’ the bleeding brunette asked. ‘You’re like… a robot or something.’

A chuckle trickled out of me at her surprisingly apt description. ‘Kind of,’ I admitted. ‘Libby and I started jokingly using the term cyborgs and it kinda stuck. They implanted cybernetic enhancements inside us. Nanites, chips, that sort of thing.’

‘By the stars…’ said the blonde, her words breathy with shock. ‘So that stuff that was on your skin…?’

I didn’t see any reason to hide what I was. It was clear now that some truths needed to be revealed and boundaries put in place.

‘It’s some sort of metallic substance, yes, but I don’t know what type. It seems to only appear when I’m being threatened. I don’t know much else. It’s new.’

‘It’s what got us out of the facility. If it weren’t for Artemis and her enhancements we would still be stuck there,’ Libby cut in.

Her comment seemed to provide enough reason for them all to relax. A few even decided they no longer needed to be a part of this conversation and left. I hoped they weren’t only here for the fight. Anyone who wanted to break up the tentative peace of our little community could cause irreversible harm to what we were trying to build here.

Obviously staying here probably wasn’t in the cards for us. The Program would find us eventually since we were still too close to their facility for them not to search here. Sure, we could stay hidden for a little while but I was under no illusion that we were completely safe here. Honestly, nowhere was safe from The Program.

The only thing I did know was that if we were going to continue to dodge them and thrive then we would need to work together. There could be no weak links. I chose to believe that everyone here was aware of that fact, which was why no one tried to prevent those two pairs from leaving that first day of freedom. I could only beseech fate that they wouldn’t get caught and rat us out.

Something told me we wouldn’t be so lucky.