Page 10 of Human Reclaimed
“Yet someone has them. Someone is using your genius against us.” I leaned closer, the space between us charged with tension. “That’s why we brought you here. We need you to help us build defenses that can counter your own strategies. We need to protect our future generations. Our very survival.”
I watched emotions chase across her face—disbelief, confusion, perhaps a flicker of sympathy.
“You’re asking me to help you.” Her voice was quiet. “After kidnapping me.”
“Yes.” I held her gaze. “I know it’s not the best scenario for you. But our children’s lives are at stake.”
She stood abruptly, moving to the windows. Beyond the glass, our colony was spread out through the jungle clearing—a small city of hope with its blend of technology and natural elements. The few small children in the colony played near the central plaza while adults went about their daily business. From this vantage point, it looked like any peaceful small city on Earth.
“This is…” Talia shook her head, her back still to me. “This is insane. Free-thinking cyborgs. Cyborg babies. Hidden colonies.” She turned, her expression unreadable. “And you expect me to just accept all this and help you here on… Planet Alpha?”
I stood up, my height advantage putting us close to each other in the confined space. Something electric passed between us as our eyes locked.
“I’m hoping you will,” I said softly. “Not because I forced you. But because it’s the right thing to do.”
She didn’t respond, her face a mask of confusion as she processed everything I’d revealed. The concept of free, independent cyborgs building peaceful lives and creating families seemed to have shaken her worldview to its core.
FIVE
TALIA
I stood with my back to the windows in the medical recovery room, acutely aware of Rune’s presence before me. Too close. Too everything. The morning sunlight from the jungle outside warmed my back while the air between us seemed to vibrate with something unidentifiable and dangerous.
His piercing blue eyes locked with mine, and for a heartbeat, I forgot I was supposed to be furious. Forgot I’d been kidnapped. Forgot everything but the strange pull between us.
I couldn’t respond to his request for my help at that moment. My worldview was fragmenting before my eyes—free-thinking cyborgs, hybrid babies, and peaceful colonies with humans and cyborgs coexisting. None of this aligned with what I’d been taught during the war, and what I’d believed in the two years since my honorable discharge. Cyborgs were weapons, not people with dreams and families and communities.
The silence stretched between us, filled with an electricity that made my skin prickle. He stood close enough that I could see the small scar above his left eyebrow, the faint freckles across his nose, and the slight crease between his brows. So human. Too human.
Suddenly, Rune stepped back, breaking whatever spell had momentarily caught us. I exhaled slowly, only then realizing I’d been holding my breath. Relief washed over me—mixed with something that felt absurdly like disappointment.
“If you agree to help us,” he said, his voice steadier now with distance between us, “I can offer you conditional freedom. More access to the settlement. Less… confinement.”
My mind instantly began calculating. Freedom meant opportunity. Opportunity meant escape.
“I’ll help you,” I said quickly, forcing sincerity into my voice. “I don’t condone how you kidnapped me, but if innocent lives are at risk—especially children—I can’t turn my back on that.”
The hint of a smile touched his lips, and my chest tightened. Damn it, what was wrong with me? Stockholm syndrome setting in at record speed?
“That’s excellent news.” Rune moved toward a small closet I hadn’t noticed before, opening it to reveal a pair of socks and combat boots. “These should be your size.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You just happened to have my exact size boots waiting?”
“We did research before bringing you here,” he admitted without apology. “Thorough research.”
“That’s not creepy at all,” I muttered, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull on the socks.
The boots were indeed a perfect fit, which was both impressive and unsettling. I laced them up, my mind racing with potential escape scenarios. First, I needed to learn the layout of this place. Understand their security protocols. Find communication equipment.
“Ready?” Rune asked, his hand hovering near the small of my back but not quite touching as he guided me toward the door.
My heart hammered as we stepped into the corridor. This was it—my first glimpse of freedom since waking up on this alien world. The curved hallway of the medical bay lit up as we walked, the lighting warm and responsive.
“Your colony is… not what I expected,” I admitted as we passed through the main doors.
The humid jungle air hit me like a wall—thick, fragrant, and alive in a way Earth’s atmosphere hadn’t felt in decades. The settlement sprawled out ahead of us, buildings of metal and local materials nestled among towering trees. Stone pathways wound between structures that seemed to honor rather than conquer the natural environment.
Most shocking were the people. Cyborgs and humans—no, colonists, I corrected myself—moved freely, conversing, working, and living. Some even laughed. And there, near what I assumed to be the central plaza, the two small children still played next to their parents.
