A sudden stop. A sickening crunch. Ear-splitting screams.

Flashing lights. A wailing siren.

Lights rushing over me. A steady beeping. Beeping stops. One long, held out note.

***

My head was full of cotton. My limbs felt so heavy. It was so hard to open my eyes. I wanted to curl up and go back to sleep. I tried to tuck my legs up against my chest but my feet didn't move.

I pried my eyes open. Above me was a bright light, like at the dentist. I looked down at my legs and my heart hiccuped. Past the knee length medical gown, my ankles were held down with metal bands. I tried to move my arms but they were held down too.

I began to panic. My body jerked up and down. I lifted up my arms and yanked them over and over again. With a snap, the band on my left-hand burst. I gasped and pulled on my other arm. It also came out far too easily.

I could sit up now. I leaned forward and fiddled with the bands at my feet. They were locked down tightly and wouldn't budge. I kicked out and the bands creaked. I jammed my fingers under the smooth metal and pulled. After a moment, the first loop flew off. Then the second. I was out.

My bare feet hit the linoleum and I slid off the hard bed I was on. As I walked to the door, something struck me as off. I stepped forward, then back. Instead of the usual soft, clammy sound of my feet on the floor, there was a clicking noise. And I couldn't feel the temperature of the floor. As I began to think about it, words began to appear on vision.

ROOM TEMPERATURE: 69 Degrees Fahrenheit.

I gasped and fell against the bed. The railing of it dug into my back but I didn't feel it. Instead:

PAIN. Please discontinue activity causing PAIN.

"No!" I swatted in the air like I could get the words to go away. I stepped away from the bed and ran my fingers through my hair. It was slicked back and still down. I couldn't feel the texture. More words appeared:

Remembering TEXTURE.

There was a jolt through my arms like they're being electrocuted. Suddenly I could feel my hair. I dropped my hands and ran to the door. I rattled the handle. It was locked. "Let me out!" I screamed. I hit the door. When the sound of metal on metal echoed through the room, I knew what was off with my feet. I looked at my shaking hands in terror.

My arms were in plates covered with a soft, flesh-colored rubber as if to camouflage whatever horror lay beneath. I peeled it back. My eyes locked on the metal. I turned my hand over slowly. On my fingertips were little, white round circles. One for each finger.

I began to hyperventilate. Between gasps, I tore at the plates on my arms. One was pried clean off, revealing a mass of circuit boards and wires. I dropped the plate and rammed my shoulder into the door. The hinges groaned. Another message appeared on my eyes, but I ignored it. I hit it again and the frame cracked. Once more and the door flew open. I peered down the hall. It was sterile like the room. I ran.

Identical doors zoomed past me. One opened just ahead of me. An older man stepped out, white lab coat on his shoulders. He yelled as I ran past. "Stop!"

Not for the world. My feet echoed through the hall. A green exit sign glowed like a beacon. I pushed open the heavy door with ease and emerged into a dark parking lot. A single street lamp glowed in the distance.

Before I could run farther, however, a sharp pain cut through my head. I gripped my head and fell to my knees. My fingers dug into my scalp. I didn't even know I was screaming. There was a snap and the pain dissipated. I lost control of my body and I fell forward onto my face. The door behind me opened. The man I had seen in the hall came out. He walked around me and crouched so I could see him better.

"Not so fast, missy," he chuckled. "Where would you run too?" He clicked a button the remote he was holding, and I regained control of my jaw and tongue. "Home!" I cried.

He laughed again. "This is your home now. What are you talking about?" Realization dawned on his face. "I forgot to delete you... that's what I was going to do. Okay, let's go. Follow me."

He stood up and my body followed, though I didn't control it. We walked back into the building, back into that horrid room. He laughed when he saw the broken bands. "Huh. I thought they would hold this time."

"This time?" I said. The man nodded as he logged into a computer. "There have been others here. Did you think you were special or something?"

I glared at him.

"Now," he said, turning around. He had a long cord in his wrinkled hands. "Come here." My feet moved towards him on their own accord. "No," I said through gritted teeth. I dug my heals. The man looked at me in surprise. "How are you..."

I stopped completely. There seemed to be a crack in my head and I was free from whatever witchcraft he was holding me with. I stumbled forward then reached out to attack this man. He jumped out of the way.

"Now, hold on," he said, sounding panicked. "Let me explain."

"Leave me alone!" I cried. My metal fist caught his pudgy stomach. He gasped and bent over.

"Ben! Come here!"

I stopped my next punch. "Who's Ben?" I demanded. The door behind us swung open. A young man about my age came in. I sucked in a breath when I saw his face. It was put in pieces like my arms and legs. His eyes were dark but, in the irises, dots flashed and blinked. He held up his hand and slapped my face. I collapsed.

PAIN. Please discontinue activity causing PAIN.

I growled and launched at him. He took a calm step to the side as I tumbled to the ground. He bent down and picked me up, pinning my arms behind me.

The man in the lab coat stood up. "Thank you, Ben." I felt the man behind me nod.

"Let's start from the beginning," the older man said. "I am Dr. Quigley. This is Ben, my first successful experiment."

"How did I get here?" I asked.

"You were in a car crash. You coded in the hospital and were pronounced dead. So I took you, brought you back, and gave you new purpose!" He gave a wide smile. "Isn't it amazing?"

"I want to see my family," I said. Dr. Quigley frowned. "Well, your family believes you to be dead. I think we should leave it that way. Now," He picked up the cord again. "Ben, bring her here." Ben dragged me to the computer.

"It seems you have broken my clicker somehow so I'm afraid you will have to be held down."

I threw my body away from the doctor but Ben held me tightly.

CONSTRICTION. Please relieve pressure causing CONSTRICTION.

I blinked away the message. Ben loosened his grip. "Wait," I said to him. "Can you see the message?" Ben nodded silently.

Dr. Quigley looked at us curiously. "Oh, the message from your Retina display? Yes, he can read yours. You can read his too once you've gotten used to your own."

I looked down at my legs. "What did you do to me?" I whimpered.

"You were brought to the hospital pieces. No way I could save your limbs. So I replaced them. Your skull was fractured so I fix that. And your back. By the way, those aren't your real eyes. Just minicomputers.

"You won't age now. You'll live forever unless severely damaged. Obviously, you've figured out you have superhuman strength now."

I turned my head to look at Ben's face. "What do I look like?" I asked slowly.

Dr. Quigley stood up and reached into a cupboard. He pulled out a handheld mirror and held it in front of me.

I didn't want to see the reflection but I couldn't help myself.

It still looked mostly like me, same thin chin and wide eyes. While my face wasn't as sectioned off as Ben's, it still had divots where my skin/metal met.

My dirty blond hair was gelled back like an autopsied body. A scar on my cheek from stitches when I was four was gone. I looked away. This wasn't me.

"Gorgeous now, aren't you?" Dr. Quigley said. He set the mirror on the counter. "Why did you do this to me?" I asked.

"Well, I can't tell you that," he answered. "I'm afraid it would make you less... willing."

I tried to break away from Ben. "I'm not willing at all! Just let me go. What did I do to deserve this?"

Dr. Quigley got close to my face. "You have done absolutely nothing to deserve this. You're not even worthy. You never did anything extraordinary in your small life so consider this a blessing. Do you want to be dead?"

"I'd rather be dead than this," I spat.

He growled. "Turn her around." Ben roughly turned me to face him. His face was blank, without emotion. "Help me," I whispered. He didn't move. Suddenly a message floated across my vision.

"It will be okay. I'm sorry."

My eyes widened. Dr. Quigley touched the back of my neck and I jumped.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

His fingers pressed the base of my hair. "I am accessing your control panel," he answered like it was the simplest thing in the world. "How else am I going to plug the cord in?"

"No, please!" I shook my head violently. "What are you doing?!"

"Please hold still. I'm deleting your memories. You would never be complacent if you remembered your old life." He lifted up my hair and pull something. The back of my head lifted, making it feel exposed.

I felt the plug slide easily into a hole. Ben held my head still. I began to cry.

"Please stop! I never wanted this!" There was a feeling missing: tears rolling down my cheeks. He must have taken my tears.

There was a weird sensation of forgetting like I could see my memories being stolen away. I tried remembering my parent's names, but my mind only hit a wall of darkness.

"I am Brea Gregory," I began to say. "I am 18 years old. My siblings are... I have... two siblings. I graduated from Ridge High School."

"I am Brea Gregory," I began to chant as Dr. Quigley laughed. "I have two... family? No. I graduated from..."

Memories began to slip from me. It was like trying to hold water in cupped hands. I closed my eyes and tried to remember what my name was.

***

Why were my eyes closed? I opened them and looked around me. An older man was standing at a computer.

"That should be it," he said. "Ben, wind up the cord."

Ben? I turned around. A young man with a metal face reached behind my head and pulled out a cord, then closed my head.

I must be a robot, like him.

"Hello... Eve," the old man said. "I am Dr. Quigley. You are mine. Your real name is Soldier 17B2D. And what is your job?"

Job? I don't believe I have one. "Sir," I answered. "You have yet to give me one."

Dr. Quigley nodded. "Very good. Your job is to track down another cyborg belonging to a Dr. Juarez. This would be Soldier 23A1C, common name is Jack."

"And what do I do with Solder 23A1C?" I asked.

"Destroy him."

Ben took me to my charging port. I was to come back here when I was low on energy to charge. My battery should last three days.

Ben showed me how to use it. I nodded. He looked around then got close to me. "What do you remember?" he asked suddenly. I took a step back. "I don't compute," I replied, confused.

His face fell. "Never mind. Just do your job."

I nodded. "It is what I exist for."

***

My night vision kicked in as I waited for Solder 23A1C. According to his pattern, he would come out to perform his rounds. He must have been Dr. Juarez's only cyborg because he guarded the lab every night. Ben and I took turns.

The door opened and my body tensed. A man walked out, dressed in dark clothes identical to mine. My eyes scanned his face. I looked at his neck and zoomed in. Dark lettering read, 23A1C. Unconsciously, I rubbed my own numbers on my neck. Funny how we were named by a number. In my studies of people over the past week, they only had common names, not numbers.

Something twitched in my mind, like a memory. But I shook it away. I now had a perfect memory. There was nothing I could forget,

Jack looked around him then walked around the building. I stood up and quietly ran to where he went. I peered around the corner but he had disappeared. I walked forward cautiously.

Someone put their arm around my neck.

CONSTRICTION. Please relieve pressure causing CONSTRICTION.

I growled then fell into a crouch. In nearly the same motion, I wrapped my right leg around his and yanked it forward. He fell and I slipped away.

"How did you know I was here?" I demanded. Jack jumped to his feet. "It's clear you were only activated a week ago. You are terrible at hiding."

I didn't react, only looked at him above my raised fists. He smiled, his eyes glowing green in the darkness. "It's a shame," he said. "My master said that Quigley had created a strong warrior. I was actually nervous, but I see all you are is a little girl with skills you don't know how to use."

I lunged forward, my fist hitting him squarely on the cheek. I saw his pain message. He blinked and shook his head. "And so it begins," he muttered.

He stepped forward and threw a punch. I dodged then, kicked out at his side. It missed. He jumped at me, pushing me to the ground. My head hit the asphalt with a loud thud.

PAIN.

I gasped. His hands held my arms down. I was stuck. He let go of my arms and I covered my face. He punched my wrists and they slammed into my nose.

I lurched up with my hips. He lost balance and fell forward, hands on either side of my head. I wrapped my leg around his again and rolled out.

I stood up, ready to keep fighting. Jack scrambled to his feet then... turned and ran. I raised my eyebrows and followed him. He ran fast, faster than me. He disappeared into a park. No, no, no.

I stopped by the fountain. I looked around me. I zoomed in and out on my surroundings. I felt foolish. I knew he was watching me. I walked around the fountain. Where had he gone?

My repaired heart thudded. I was failing! Dr. Quigley would be so disappointed in me.

With a shout, Jack appeared out of nowhere and pushed me into the fountain. Water enveloped my head. A bar appeared in my vision to show how much air I had left. It lowered a little.

I yelled, bubbles coming from my mouth. Jack lifted me out of the water and I took a deep breath. He slammed me back in. My head cracked against the concrete.

PAIN.

These words glowed brighter and bigger, signifying more pain.

He kept me under longer this time. My eyes began to flash red.

Please seek air now.

I clawed at the space above me. My fingers scraped against Jack's face but he turned his head out of reach.

He finally pulled me out. He grinned menacingly at my dripping face. The light from my retina display cast an ominous hue on him.

"Had enough?" he asked.

I flipped my head back and hit him in the jaw. He groaned. I jumped into the fountain to scurry away. I pulled myself out and looked at Jack. He spit out something white into the grass.

His hands twitched and I saw a shock in his wrist. The one covered in water.

"When we're you activated?" I asked, curious.

He glared at me. His hand shocked again. A smile appeared on my lips. "You're not waterproof," I said.

The quick flick of his eyes to the water gave me the answer. I laughed. "I have an advantage of being on my activated a week ago. I'm waterproof."

I dove at him. He didn't react in time and I caught him. With my arms around his chest, I pushed him into the water. His scream echoed through the park.

There was a bright bolt of electricity from Jack's body. He was still.

I backed away from his body. I had won. I laughed into the night air.

Temperature: 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

It was over for now. Now I could tell Dr. Quigley I had succeeded!

There was a splash behind me. I whirled around and saw Jack's hands grab my head. He ripped open my control panel.

"Stop!" I screamed. I kicked at his knees. One bent the opposite direction but it didn't faze him. I could read his pain message.

He yanked out a panel and some wires from my head. My retina display died. I was blind.

"Please, no!"

He punched my head. I could feel it dent in. I skidded across the grass.

I couldn't feel the smooth, dewy grass at my fingers.

I got up on my hands and knees. Jack's foot came down on the control panel. My face was crushed into the dirt.

Something snapped and I lost the control of my limbs. I laid there in a pile waiting for the next blow to come.

It never did. Instead, I heard footsteps. Not Jack's.

"I believe I have won," came a voice.

"I'm afraid you did." Dr. Quigley.

"I thought I would win this time. She seemed strong," he said sadly. "Oh, well. Always next time. And these..." There was a rustling of cloth and paper. "Are your winnings."

"Why thank you very much," replied what could only be Dr. Juarez. "23A1C, take Dr. Quigley's failure here back to his lab for him. It's the least we could do."

"Thank you," Quigley said. "You can actually just put her in the pit for incineration. I won't be needing her anymore."

Jack's arms slipped around me and I was lifted off the ground. My hands hanged behind me but Jack folded them into my chest, metal creaking.

After a few minutes of the gentle swaying, my systems began to shut down.

AUDIO shutting down.

RESPIRATORY shutting down.

Cutting power from BATTERY.

***

There was a soft, internal, click and my battery started back up.

My lungs began to expand and shrink again.

Audio came back and I could hear the rumbling of machines.

My retina display turned back on.

Systems returning to full capacity.

I blinked. A dim room came into focus. I searched my memory for if I had been here before but to no avail. There were shelves, some tools, wire and a charging port. As my eyes scanned the room, my brain searched the internet for any ideas to what this was. I got back

Janitorial Closet.

I was sitting on a low table, back propped up by a wall. I scooted off of it and grabbed the door handle. As soon as I grabbed, it began to wiggle from the outside. I jumped back and raised my balled hands. The door opened, revealing Ben.

His eyes widened as he saw me. "Hey, it's okay," he said quietly. I lowered my fists. He walked in slowly, keeping a bionic eye on me. He closed the door behind him.

"How did I get here?" I asked suspiciously. Ben raised an eyebrow. "Remember Jack?"

I casted my gaze to the floor in shame. I failed Dr. Quigley. Wait. He gave me up for dead!

"Who is Dr. Quigley?" I asked. Ben sighed and sat on the table. "Just your average mad scientist. He and Dr. Juarez make bets on whose soldier will find each other and win the fight. It's disgusting really."

"And if we lose a fight?"

"You get thrown away."

"Why am I here then?"

"I saved you. I could tell you were still alive kind of when they threw you in to be burned. It's my job to burn the bodies so I was able to hide you away."

"But why?"

He sighed. "I wanted to see if I could fix you, as an experiment. And," he added sheepishly. "I kind of wanted someone to just talk to. It's been a while since I had a friend."

"How long have you been... like this?" I said. He scratched his head. "Well, I was activated about two years ago. After the fire."

"Fire?"

"Yeah, I died."

I stepped back. "You were human?"

Ben looked up at me. "Yeah, so we're you." Realization of something dawned on him. "The memory wipe," he said. "It actually worked on you?"

"Memory wipe? I have no information of such an event."

"Well, because you wouldn't remember. It was a memory wipe."

"And it didn't work on you?"

"I was the first one," he answered simply. "Dr. Quigley hadn't perfected the whole memory thing yet. It erased everything initially but it all came back a few hours later. I never told him."

I squinted at him, trying to read his face. "Why didn't you ever leave here to find your family?"

"I found out later that my parents and brother died in the fire too. And now that I look like this," he waved a hand at his body. "I didn't think I would be fully accepted into society. People, they would think we were dangerous. And they're right."

I began to pace the cramped room. "But we were people? Like the people I would see on the streets?"

"Just like them."

"Who were you?" I asked.

"A 16-year-old boy named Evan Trainer. I was taken to the hospital where my heart stopped. Quigley took me and turned me into this."

"I'm sorry. About your family. And that you died."

"Don't be. The same thing happened to you."

"I wonder who I was."

Ben perked up. "Maybe we could find out. All of the information about you is on the computer. We just have to plug you in and download all of your memories back."

I nodded fervently. "I would like that." My brow furrowed. "I don't belong to Quigley anymore."

"You never did."

***

We crept down the dark hallways. I followed Ben as he led us to the room I had become activated in. Adrenaline surged through my body. I wanted to run. Still, we carefully and slowly sneaked.

Ben placed his hand on the door and looked at me. "Excited?" he asked. I thought a moment. My brain searched the symptoms of excitement. "Yes," I finally said. Ben turned the handle and opened the door. He would go in first to see if the doctor was in there. He poked his head in then looked back at me. "It's clear." With a dumb grin on my face, I followed him in.

The bright lights were on and they were a stark contrast from the hallway. My retina display adjusted for the light. As I scanned the room, I jumped. There was someone strapped onto the metal bench. I went to lunge at the person but Ben held me back. "Whoa," he said. "She's unconscious and she will be for..." He pulled a screen around to face him. "5 more hours."

I cautiously approached the sleeping girl. She had already been converted into a cyborg, metal covering her body. She seemed much younger than Ben and me.

"Does he only take young people?" I asked. Ben nodded. "Their bodies take to the updates better. Adults, not so much."

I touched her cold face. Ben watched me then cleared his throat. "We need to see if you can get your memory back."

I nodded and walked to the computer. "What do we do now?" Ben opened a cupboard and pulled out a tightly wound, black cord. He found an end and plugged it into the computer. He pressed a key and the screen lit up. It asked for a password. Ben typed in a few numbers and it turned to a generic background.

"We're in."

I took the other end of the cord. "And this goes in my control panel?"

"Yep. Can you get it in?"

I swept my hair onto my left shoulder and felt under my hair. There was a small indentation and I pressed it. A hatch opened up. I felt around with my fingers. They met a square hole, big enough for the cord. The end slipped easily in.

Ben clicked on the files to search for my memories. He clicked a folder and dozens upon dozens of files filled the screen. Ben's jaw dropped. "I didn't realize there was this many," he said in awe.

"These are all the people Dr. Quigley has collected over time?" I asked. Ben nodded. He scrolled through a few. "Your name is Brea Gregory right?"

I shook my head. "I only know my common name as Eve." He clicked the file titled Brea Gregory- Eve. "This should be it then." A bar appeared on the screen and showed how much was downloaded. Another bar glowed on my retina display depicting the same bar. The words Downloading Data were hovering over it.

I jumped up onto the counter and crossed my legs. "How long will it take?" Ben shrugged. "I think a while. He deleted your whole life."

I straightened suddenly as a bit of information fell into place. "My name is Brea Eliza Gregory," I said, smiling widely. Already I was remembering things!

"How long was dead for?"

"Quigley might keep you on life support for up to a month before converting you. After he fixes everything, he'll keep you unconscious for as long as he wants. Then when Dr. Juarez is ready, Quigley pulls you out, charges you and makes any adjustments and releases you to fight."

"Did it take you a while to fix me?"

"Not incredibly long. Only about two weeks."

My eyes widened. Ben laughed. "I downloaded your blueprints so I knew how to repair your damage."

"Thank you for that," I said quietly. "Once I get my memory back, we can escape and go home!" Ben blinked and I quickly said, "And find any family or friends we might have. Or you can come with me."

"Brea," I smiled at the use of my name. Ben took a deep breath. "I don't think we can go back."

I scoffed. "Why not? People will be so excited to see us."

He grabbed the mirror on the counter and held it in front of my face. "This is what we look like," he said, almost angrily. "I don't think people will want to see us." I stared at my scuffed and haphazardly welded face. It wasn't as neat as when Quigley had done it. I looked down at my arms. They would be cold and rough. I had a cord coming out of-of my head! And Ben was in even worse shape. He was right. I pushed the mirror away.

"I guess to them we're dead too," I realized. "Maybe we should just stay dead."

Ben looked at the floor. "I'm not saying we can't leave. Just that we shouldn't go back to our old lives."

I gripped the cord and yanked it out of my skull. Ben grabbed it. "What are you doing?!"

"If we can't go back to our old lives then I don't want my old memories," I said, wanting to cry. Ben took my hands. "Are you sure? They can be something to hold on to." I shook my head then reached back and snapped shut my panel. "Let's just leave."

"That's not going to happen." Ben and I whirled towards the door. Quigley's frame filled the doorway. Ben and I backed away. Quigley's eyes narrowed. "Ben, what's she doing here? I told you to throw her away."

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Ben said meekly.

"Countdown to five seconds and we'll attack him."

A clock appeared in my eyes and the countdown began. Ben took my arm and went to lead me out the room. As we got closer to Quigley, the numbers hit zero. Ben let go of me and I rammed my shoulder into Quigley. He gasped as the air left him and fell against the door frame. Ben stopped short and collapsed. I saw in Quigley's clenched hands a black remote, identical to the one he used to control me. Ben gripped his head yelled.

"Stop it!" I growled to Quigley. He released to button. Ben stumbled to his feet panting. Quigley stood up, straightened his coat and cleared his throat. "Obviously," he said calmly. "I can't control you, my darling Eve but-"

"My name is Brea."

"But I can easily control Ben. So don't do anything stupid or I'll kill him."

"Just let us go," I said.

"And let all my work and money fly from my hands? No. You two said it yourselves. You can't go back. So come with me. I'll make you powerful beyond your wildest dreams! You won't have to fight the other creations. Just be my equals."

Ben and I looked at each other.

"Your call."

I took a deep breath. "You know what Dr. Quigley? No."

Ben sent a proud glance to me. "Yes, you can hurt me. But Brea can hurt you too."

Dr. Quigley sighed. "I thought you were going to say that." He clicked his remote. Ben braced himself for whatever horror would be inflicted on him. But nothing happened.

"I'm worried that you two if you escape, you will tell the authorities and, well, I can't have that now can I? But I'm afraid my time of experimenting is over. So, let's have one last final battle."

The girl strapped to the table suddenly sat up, wrenching the bands on her wrists off. Her eyes turned from the neon green to a deep red. Ben and I couldn't even react when she lunged at us, sharp elbows plowing into my neck.

PAIN.

Ben rolled away but I got the full brunt of it. Blow upon blow came down on me as I slid into a corner. I was stuck. I held up my forearms to protect me.

With a roar, Ben picked up the small girl and threw her to the other side of the room.

Quigley whistled. "Maybe I should have had you, boy, fighting. Not these other useless robots."

The girl didn't move. Ben held a hand full of wires in his hands that hadn't been properly put back into the girl's head.

Quigley clapped his hands. "Bravo, bravo! But that wasn't much of a finale. I have about 20 people here. Half of which I can control. I wonder if ten will be your limit."

I grabbed Quigley's throat. "Just stop." He giggled. "Let's make it more exciting," he gurgled. He pressed a combination of buttons on that little black remote. The lights in the building turned red.

"You have 2 minutes to get out of here before the place goes up in an explosion. Good luck." Quigley pulled out a needle and stabbed himself in the leg. His eyes rolled back into his head and slumped into a pile. I was still gripping his neck. In disgust, I threw him on top of the girl.

"We've got to go now," I said firmly. "Will this place actually explode?"

"Yes. I was the one who installed the explosives. They will do their job. We'll need to hurry."

I looked out into the hallway. "This may be hard," I said regretfully. The 10 cyborgs were coming out of their rooms. Their eyes glowed scarlet.

"Is there another way out?" I asked, hoping for the best.

"Nope. They're in front of the only exit."

"Perfect."

Some wandered like zombies, stumbling and slow. They still hadn't been fully converted.

I grabbed Ben's hand and ran through the doorway. I lowered my head and pushed down the first two people. Ben hit the next ones. As I rammed into the next ones, I was caught by a tall boy. He grabbed my hair and shoved me against the wall.

PAIN.

I dropped to my feet and pushed away from the wall, sliding past the boy. He turned around and picked me up. My legs dangling, I kicked his chest. There came out of his mouth with a whoosh and he dropped me. I reached back and, taking a leaf out of Ben and Jack's books, opened the control panel and punched my hand in. It cracked. The boy collapsed.

"30 seconds," came a cool voice from the ceiling. I looked at Ben in panic. There were still other cyborgs coming towards us. "Let's run," he said. I shook my head. "They'll follow us and be loose."

"Not if we time it right."

I suddenly understood. I gave a thumbs up and faced the exit door. Another cyborg gripped my arm, but I twisted it out of the way. "Now!" Ben yelled. We both made a mad dash to the door, pushing our way through the bionic kids. One of them kicked out and hit my shin, causing the metal plate to fly off. Ben steadied me.

"5, 4, 3..."

We shoved open the doors and ran as far as we could. I looked back and saw the others tripping over themselves to get out the door.

There was a ball of flame and heat. Ben and I were blasted forward. I caught myself with my left hand and it bent inwards. There was a snap and I fell on my face.

PAIN.

I covered my head with my hands as fire flew above me. Something shot over my head and landed with a heavy thud. There was a final explosion before the world went eerily quiet.

I stood up slowly, my retina display giving me a diagnosis of my injuries.

Connection lost to left hand. Audio in right ear lost. Exposed wiring.

Ben was still on the ground, Fire had burned through his clothes and the faux flesh on his back. I pulled him up. "Are you okay?" I asked.

He blinked and looked at me. One of his eyes wasn't glowing. "As good as I could be after running out of an exploding building. You?"

"Fine. Do you think anyone survived?" I looked around us. I found the thing that had flown over us: a burnt-out body. I turned away from it. "Never mind. I think we're the only ones."

I bit my lip. "I feel bad. Killing all the people." Ben sighed. "Remember, they were already dead. In a way, we might have made it so no else gets converted."

"What about Dr. Juarez and his cyborgs?"

Ben smiled. "Let's go blow his lab up too."