The Cyber Chronicles Book III - The Core by T C Southwell

even a
real man, just a clone created from someone else's DNA, grown in a
machine and modified for use as a weapon. He ran his fingers along
the control unit, hating it. The crystals' red glow lighted his
hand, indicating its malfunction. It was part of him. He was a
malfunctioning cyborg, and there was not a damn thing he could do
about it.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    A week later,
the trio reached the scrubland bordering the desert, where the heat
became almost unbearable. The donkeys were turned out to graze
while Tassin sewed more water bags from the skins of the animals
Sabre killed for food. He hunted more often, and, using a laser,
brought back far more than they could eat. He cut excess into
strips and dried it, using salt Dena had brought in her bundle of
belongings. The mutant child proved to be an eager and able helper,
collected fodder and even cleaned the animal carcasses, something
Tassin still could not bring herself to do.
    Dena
constantly reminded Sabre of Tassin's queenly status, much to
Tassin's amusement and his chagrin. Whenever he asked Tassin to do
something, Dena would leap to her defence. The girl also developed
a huge crush on him, which he seemed to find amusing, and
embarrassing at times. He removed Tassin's stitches with brisk
efficiency, avoiding her eyes. The fate that awaited him at the end
of the journey did not affect his good nature, yet his calm
acceptance of it irritated her. When she suggested ways in which it
could be avoided, he merely gazed at her with sad eyes until she
looked away.
    Anticipation
mounted as supplies filled the cart. Tassin wished they could dump
the weapons, but without them there was no point in returning to
Arlin. Then the day arrived when Sabre decided the cart could carry
no more. Dena danced with glee when he announced that they would
start the journey that evening. Tassin remembered the last, almost
disastrous trip across the burning sands and through the Death Zone
with a shiver. Sabre smiled at her, and she returned it weakly,
then laughed when Dena grabbed him and forced him to join her wild
dance. Tassin marvelled at how strange it was for a warrior like
him to allow a crippled girl to bully him. Yet it only served to
remind her of his gentle nature, so at odds with his lethal
skills.
    Tassin giggled
when he pretended to trip and rolled in the sand. Dena pounced on
him, laughing, and he joined in her game with wholehearted
enjoyment. Leaping to his feet, he swept up the girl and hurled her
high with consummate ease. Tassin gasped and Dena yelped, but he
caught her easily, cushioned her fall and hurled her high again.
Dena shrieked with delight and yelled for more when he stopped,
tugging at his arm.
     
     
    When Sabre got
Dena to calm down, they tried to sleep, but he only succeeding in
dozing for the rest of the day. Late in the afternoon, he went in
search of the donkeys while Tassin and Dena struck camp. As the sun
sank in a welter of crimson and gold clouds, they headed into the
desert on foot, since Sabre was sure the cart would collapse if any
more weight was put on it. When Dena grew tired, her lame leg
troubling her, he put her on a donkey. This delighted her, keeping
her awake and happy for the rest of the night.
    During the
day, the donkeys ate fodder while the trio took refuge in the
cart's shade, or the tents. There was no room in the cart for
firewood, so they ate the dried meat raw.
    At night,
Tassin walked beside Sabre, able to keep up with him now. Her hair
hung down her back in a long plait and her skin had acquired a
healthy glow. She had changed a lot in the time he had known her,
he reflected. She pulled her weight now when there was work to do,
and she no longer tried to boss anyone around. His heart grew
heavier as the journey's end drew nearer. She would return to her
noble society, where her ego would, in all likelihood, bloat to
unbearable proportions again. It was better that he slipped quietly
from her life when the time came. Being