Page 12 of Human Reform
A soft knock preceded the door being opened, interrupting my planning.Olivia stepped in, her green eyes watching me with that same gentle assessment I’d noticed earlier.
“Mind if I talk to you for a few minutes?”she asked.
I shrugged, keeping my expression neutral.“Sure.Not like I have anywhere else to be.”
She smiled, pulling up a chair.“How’s the shoulder feeling?”
“I’ve had worse hiking injuries,” I said, rotating it slightly.“Look, I appreciate the clothes and the ice pack, but I really just want to go home.”
“I understand that feeling better than you might think.”Olivia crossed her legs, settling in.“Did you know I’m not originally from here, either?”
My eyebrows rose.“Let me guess—another kidnapping victim?”
“Got it in one.”Her smile turned wry.“About a year and a half ago, I was an obstetrician in Boston.Then one night after work, I was grabbed in my driveway.Next thing I knew, I was here.”
“Wait, seriously?”I leaned forward, my full attention captured.“They kidnapped you, too?”
“Aeon—my husband now—brought me here to Planet Alpha against my will.They needed a doctor who specialized in high-risk births for their pregnant cyborg women.”
I blinked rapidly, trying to process this revelation.“Your husband?The one who kidnapped you?”
“Life takes unexpected turns.”Her smile softened.“I tried escaping the first chance I got.I was furious and terrified.But then I started seeing this place for what it really was—not some cyborg military compound but a community of beings trying to build a peaceful life.”
Her words stirred the guilt that had been festering inside me all morning.These were the same beings whose free will I’d helped deliberately strip away during the war.
“And now?”I asked, my voice smaller than I intended.
“Now I’m happily married to Aeon, and we have a one-month-old daughter named Maya.”The pride in her voice was unmistakable.“I can’t imagine my life any other way.”
I twisted the small chain bracelet on my wrist—the only thing I had left of my family.“I’m happy for you, but that’s not… I can’t just…”
“When Aeon and I first met, there was this… connection,” she continued, watching me carefully.“Something I couldn’t explain.Something that terrified me even further.”
My mind flashed to Daxon’s face—to the jolt of awareness when his skin touched mine and to the way his ice-blue eyes seemed to see through every defense I’d built.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.
Olivia’s smile told me she wasn’t fooled.“Daxon is different from the others.More intense, more… contained.But there’s more to him than what you’ve seen.Maybe you should give him a chance to show you the real him.It might surprise you.”
Before I could formulate a response that wouldn’t reveal too much, the door slid open again, and there he stood—all six-foot-five of him filling the doorframe with broad shoulders and a presence that seemed to dim everything else in the room.
Daxon’s eyes locked on mine immediately, intense and searching.“Dr.Bridges.”His deep voice sent an involuntary shiver through me.“I’d like to show you our colony, if you’re amenable.”
Olivia stood, giving me a meaningful look.“I should get back to my patients.Think about what I said, Alora.”
As she slipped past Daxon, he stepped into the room slightly, leaving the door ajar, and suddenly the air felt thinner.
“A tour?”I asked, fighting to keep my voice steady.“Is that standard procedure for all your prisoners?”
One corner of his mouth twitched.“You’re not a prisoner.You’re a guest with… limited departure options.”
“That’s the definition of a prisoner,” I pointed out but found myself standing anyway, drawn toward him like a moth to a flame.
“After you,” Daxon said, extending his arm toward the doorway, his eyes never leaving mine.
Daxon stepped out of the recovery room after me, his presence like a magnetic field I couldn’t escape.His large hand settled on my lower back, a gentle pressure that sent shivers up my spine as he guided me down the curved corridor.The lighting adjusted to our movement, warm and responsive instead of the harsh fluorescents I’d grown accustomed to in Earth’s facilities.
When we stepped through the medical bay’s front doors, my senses went into overdrive.The air hit me first—thick with humidity that instantly beaded on my skin, carrying fragrances I couldn’t name.Sweet and earthy, like jasmine mixed with something richer.The twin suns blazed overhead, casting everything in a golden-violet glow that made the metal and composite buildings shimmer against the backdrop of lush jungle foliage.
