Meanwhile

Jet watched in silence as the snow resumed. Her room at the backside of the mansion had been in eerie silence since last night. Late afternoon light cast strange shadows about the room. She lay in her bed with the covers up to her neck. The cold had established a foothold and was unrelenting. The mansion was offered no distractions. Jet was left to her thoughts. She wondered where Nigel was and why he was taking so long to find her.

I hope he is not in trouble

An echo of a door closing gave Jet hope. She did not like being alone . . . not in this mansion, too many places where an intruder could hide. After her recent experiences, she wasn’t taking any chances. Moments later, an outline of a young girl stood in the doorway.

“How was the trip, April?”

The figure in the doorway didn’t respond, but with an outstretched arm pointed to the window. Moments later it shattered inward. She pulled the blankets over her head. Shards of glass penetrated her hands as she protected herself from the hazard. Her hands were slick. A quick glance revealed that they were covered in blood. A metal scraping noise emitted from outside. She snuck a glance. A telescopic metal rod with a red glowing tip stretched into her room.

“Jet, I’m afraid,” April said.

“Ne still and quiet, we don’t want to attract its attention.”

Jet thought of the recent dream she had of the misshapen robot thing in LA.

Another metal arm emerged from the window. This one seemed to be having trouble locating items in the room. It bumped into the wall and her wheelchair. The arm with the red eye came to the blind one’s rescue. They shuttered then moved on to untouched areas of the room.

“You were supposed to keep her sedated,” a female voice said.

Moments later, a female cybernetic being slid through the window.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I know her. It’s Nozomi!

“What happened to you?” Jet said.

The cyborg gave Jet a wicked grin.

“I was down and out for a time, but I’ve been upgraded.”

The cyborg looked nothing like the Nozomi she knew. That Nozomi looked human and had an impressive figure. This Nozomi appeared to be thrown together from spare parts and scrap. A metal arm with a mangled claw flung itself toward Jet’s head. She ducked just in time. It seemed to get stuck in the wall. Plaster and white dust covered Jet as she fell out of her bed and onto the ground. Another arm with a syringe tried poking her. Jet pushed the nearest item she had available. Before she knew it, the metal arm was pinned behind the bed.

“Get away from her,” a girlish voice called out.

April!

“What out she’s dangerous,” Jet said.

“I will not let her hurt you again,” April said.

The younger cyborg leaped into the air and removed something from her back. It was too large to be a knife, but more of a short sword. April plunged the blade toward Nozomi. A metal hand batted at the blade. But April had a death grip on it. April swung again and chopped another metal appendage in half. The Nozomi thing let out a screech so loud Jet’s ears rang.

“April, take cover,” a male voice that sounded like Hans said.

The young cyborg pressed a button on her belt and an armor enveloped her. A gray looking material covered April’s body. To Jet, it looked like she was being wrapped like a mummy. A moment later, Nozomi exploded. Her metallic arms flew in every direction. Jet took cover under the bed. Black fluid oozed out of a stump that was on Nozomi’s head. It looked like a car’s reservoir of oil spilled on the floor all at once. Jet glimpsed Gretta on the other side of the room. She was bleeding, but held a shotgun in her hands and trembling. The Nozomi-thing got up and rammed into a wall. Every window in the room shattered. Nozomi turned to face Gretta, who was reloading. She appeared to be looking in every direction at once. Gretta pointed the shotgun at Nozomi.

“Be gone, creature,” Gretta said.

The older woman erupted into flames and dropped the shotgun. Nozomi pounced and started slashing at Gretta’s face with her clawed hands. When the older woman stopped moving, Nozomi scurried to Jet, blood dripping from its claws.

“You’re next!”

“No!” April cried.

Nozomi pounced on Jet and slashed a bare hand.

Gretta pulled the trigger again. The shotgun bucked in her hands, but her aim was true. Nozomi’s skin peeled off her face like a cloth in the wind. A shiny metal skull reflected in the dim light.

“Echo-four-four-four must return to base at once,” a robotic voice said.

“Do not let it get away,” Gretta said.

April pounced on the escaping robotic carapace. Nozomi’s arms flailed and snapped at April, who unsuccessfully tried to dodge the cyborg’s attack. The young cyborg’s face was cut in several places from the attack. Nozomi pushed April off, picked up her decapitated head, then scurried through the opening and into the fading light.