Page 12 of A Cyborg for the Alien Mercenary

“Well, Elena,” Dr. Lewis said as he came to stand in front of her. His voice carried that forced cheerfulness most doctors had around her. The one that set her teeth on edge. “I’m happy to report that all your tests have come back normal. Better than normal, actually.”

She flicked a glance at the chart in his hands. Even upside down, she could read the results clearly. Her heart rate, blood pressure, reflexes… they were all far above what would be considered typical for a woman of her size and build.

“That’s… good, right?” she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

Dr. Lewis nodded, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Oh, absolutely. Your physical condition really is excellent. Quite remarkable, really, considering the accident.”

The accident. Right. Her mind raced. She was a high-speed interplanetary racer. Wasn’t she? Which would explain hersuperior physical condition and the fact that she knew what all those readings meant. Wouldn’t it? She’d have had to monitor her own reactions during high-stress maneuvers.

But even as the thought crossed her mind, it felt odd. Like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

“Now…” Dr. Lewis pulled a chair from the side of the room across to her, the legs scraping along the highly polished floor. He sat down in front of her, looking directly into her eyes She resisted the urge to flinch and gave him a blank face to look at. “Let’s talk about your memory. Shall we? Have you had any recollections since our last appointment? Any flashes of your life before the accident?”

She shook her head and stuck to the story she’d been repeating since she woke up with the sense that everything was wrong. Nothing at all about the odd code she’d scrawled in her journal or her daydream nightmare of the battlefield. “No, nothing. There’s nothing… a complete blank before I woke up in the hospital.”

Dr. Lewis nodded, making a note on his tablet. “Ah, yes, that was about a week ago. Wasn’t it?”

Eight days, twelve hours, fourteen minutes, and three seconds, a new voice spoke right in her ear, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

What the hell was that?

She managed to keep still, her hands gripping the armrests lightly as she fought to keep her face neutral and resist the urge to twist around in her seat looking for the speaker.

But just her, Dr. Lewis, and the two nurses who had been assisting with the tests were in the room. The voice had been behind her, though. No… wait, not behind her. Had it been in her head?

One of the nurses, a burly man with close-cropped hair, shifted his weight, and her attention snapped to him.

Incapacitate the first guard,the voice said again, and her eyes widened. Itwasin her head.Throw the chair to disrupt the doctor. Ensure the doctor’s path is blocked, avoiding any interference. Use the confusion to close the distance to the first nurse.

In an instant, a series of visual instructions flowed through her mind, and she saw herself carrying out the actions the voice described. She moved across the room, throwing the chair at Dr. Lewis, who instinctively shielded himself as she dove toward the nurse.

Apply three kilograms of pressure to one of the carotid arteries for ten seconds to incapacitate, the voice instructed.Next, target the second nurse. Utilize a swift upward strike to the nasal bridge to render unconscious.

The scenes were so clear, almost muscle memory. Sweat rolled down her back as she remained sitting, not moving a muscle.

Okay, she was going mad. Absolutely stark-raving mad. How would she know how to do all that?

“Elena?” The doctor’s voice cut through her thoughts. “Are you alright? You seem distracted.”

She blinked and forced herself to focus on the doctor. “Sorry, I… I’m just tired, I guess.”

He nodded sympathetically. “Of course, these tests can be quite draining. Let’s continue, shall we… get them done as quickly as possible so you can go home. Okay?”

She smiled and nodded, only half listening as he continued his questions.

Who are you?she demanded.

The door lock can be disabled with two point three kilograms of focused pressure applied to the upper left quadrant,it informed her instead of answering her question. In fact, she wasn’t sure it registered it.The security camera in theupper right corner of the room has a blind spot directly beneath it.

Her head spun as she answered Dr. Lewis’s questions on autopilot.

I’m not doing that. Who are you?she asked again.Why are you showing me all this?

Finally, the doctor stood up. “Okay, I think that’s all for today, Elena. You can go ahead and wait outside while I have a quick word with your mother.”

She nodded, relief flowing through her as she stood and walked out of the room, avoiding eye contact with the nurses as she went. The one who had caught her attention before watched her all the way. Did he know something? Did he suspect she was going mad?

She managed a tight smile as Aman—her mother—passed her in the doorway and went to sit down in the waiting room facing the doctor’s office. Through the window, she watched as her mother and the doctor spoke.

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