Girl Cyborg: A Dystopian Action Adventure Thriller

You Can't Go Back

Bess was running away, fleeing from the bounty hunter in a car she stole from a civilian. What was she doing? Stealing a car was wrong. So was running.

She braked and the steering wheel started to turn in her hands, as if the decision to return wasn't a choice but a part of her. No matter how vulnerable Bess's injuries made her, or whatever the bounty hunter did to her, she wasn't going to let him hurt Lance and Kathy.

The electrical poles and grazing goats flew by a little slower on the way back. Now that the adrenaline had burned off, it felt like she hadn't slept at all. The sun rose higher and she started to sweat and shiver in her seat. Bess needed a plan. The Academy was coming but she didn't know the ETA. The bounty hunter was already there, and she didn't have weapons or backup. The best she could do was to lead him away from Lance and Kathy.

The motel came into view just as an Academy SUV appeared in her rear window.

At last! She slowed and pulled over.

A loud hailer hurt her ears. "Get out of the car. Stand with your head on the trunk, hands behind your back where we can see them. Legs spread."

Bess got out and followed orders. A couple of cyber security officers, semiautomatics unholstered, swaggered up on either side of the vehicle. She didn't need to look behind to know what they were. She'd grown up with guys like these, and she didn't like the way they shoved her onto the trunk, laughing and joking as they zip-tied her hands behind her back. They walked her to the driver's side of the 6-door SUV, driven by a well-scrubbed man wearing a prefect armband.

She spoke through the open window. "They captured me. I called the Academy as soon as I could get away."

He narrowed his eyes at her, mouth shut.

"I need a medic. They removed the signal when they captured me."

He thumb-gestured to the cybers to put her in the back of the SUV.

"Thanks for rescuing me," she said before they could slam the door in her face.

She tried the handle. Locked in. The prefect smirked at her in the rear-view mirror.

"I was kidnapped." The mesh and glass barrier caging her in didn't quite meet the roof. They could still hear her.

No answer.

Bess's vision fluttered dark, like she was going to pass out. She let her head fall back against the side of the SUV and took a deep breath. Could they be under orders not to speak to her? She was in trouble, but at least at the Academy she would see Cherry again.

She forced a smile and sat up to the barrier. "So, what's happening at the Academy? I've been out of the loop since they captured me."

Her attempt at conversation went ignored.

"Am I in trouble?"

The prefect didn't take his eyes off the road. "Of course not. We give all AWOL grads a hero's welcome."

"I didn't run away. If you want to catch a real criminal, there's a bounty hunter at the hotel, looking for me. He could hurt civilians. Why don't we go back and pick him up?"

Bess used her superior hearing to assess the prefect's reaction. His breathing remained steady and she didn't notice any increase in body temperature or pulse.

Bess's heartbeat, on the other hand, thundered in her ears. She was having trouble staying calm. She was caged up like an animal, despite being the one who contacted them. "What's with the silent treatment?"