Protection

Humanity was over. At the hands of their own invention, worldly fleshes and limbs were exchanged with bionic components instead. From a weak mortal creature into an seemingly perfect demigod.

 Humans had successfully eluded death in a sense. All because of a mad desire to preserve themselves longer.

Tonight was a lone and dreary night. My breath fogged up without my consent, the exhale of air I blew out took the form of an amorphous mist, the only company that I have in the pitch black silence. I tightened my grasp on my navy parka, feeling an odd sense of foreboding as I took in more of my surroundings. A grim sight to behold.

It was 40XX. Nobody knew the value of those last letters, not ever since the cataclysmic series of events that resulted in only a quarter of the original population surviving. Nobody knew what had transpired, or caused it.

Everything around me was in ruins, the frigid winter air only added to the forlorn atmosphere. The once humble settlement  nestled comfortably on the heart of the rainforest area of the country was reduced to chunks of jagged materials mixing messily with rubbles and dust. The bustling humans that used to frolic around here were now silenced for an eternity, either wedged in-between the debris or just laying motionlessly out in the open. Wait, that wasn't right. Dysfunctional cyborgs, I corrected myself.

I approached one of them carefully. Their once flawless robotic skin had melted, revealing the complicated contraption of intertwined electrical networks, buzzing weakly even after deactivation. Funny how ancient historical textbooks used to tell us of a time when humans waged numerous wars for years on end just because they disliked a particular color of the skin. In the end, they were all the same. Weak and fragile, yet so very destructive. A species that had no business to exist on earth.

It made my insides churn and tremble as I picked up a charred scrap of metal that was lodged deeply on the crackling and fizzling wires of the body. Shrapnel, my mind helpfully supplied. It was crimson in color but appeared darker in the low lighting. My suspicion was confirmed. Somebody had carefully planned and orchestrated the mass destruction on the poor unsuspecting settlement.
The wind let out a lone howl, greeneries around me rustled briskly.
 This was the only lead I found tonight on determining who or what caused the massacre that took place in the area just the day before. I flicked my wrist and flames erupted from the tips of my fingers in thin strips. I could now read the inscription that I had suspected was there, confirming my suspicions. 

A rough scrawl across the metal read "Deus autem non est tibi".
I growled, knowing for certain that the culprit was the same one behind other similar cases. I stored the evidence on my rucksack carefully, preparing to upload my findings to the headquarters located in the Malero.

 Malero had been my home since forever. It was the safest and most advanced shelter in the country for cyborgs to live in and for breeding humans, controlled by a centralized and government that ensured structure and tranquillity could coexist in a post-apocalyptic era. Hence, I took it upon myself to investigate outside the border, so that nothing would endanger my only home. Especially, when so many precious memories took place there. I'd do anything to protect my home.

Just as I was about to complete the transfer of data, something unexpected happened.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a whip-like crack echoed to life and something whizzed past my ear sharply.

 I fell onto my stomach and rolled over for cover to the nearest tree I could spot. My left hand shifted and twisted. It eventually morphed into an elegant nuclear gun except, the model was reminiscent of a traditional double-barreled one.
All of my senses had bumped into overdrive at this point, the ambush was the only thing that I could focus on.

"I know you're there Lana! You can quit hiding!" a voice shouted. More shots were heard this time, narrowly missing my arm from my hideout.

I took a cursory glance at the source of the noise. 3 cyborgs. Different models but all of them were heavily armed. The first trickle of fear made a chill race through my entire system, scenarios sifted through my mind in an incomprehensible blur.

 I had to accomplish my objectives, no matter what.

I shut my eyes and concentrated on activating my night vision, it felt like pinpricks of ice were invading my head, eventually pooling on a point behind my eyes. Even after leaving my old mortal body behind, it still felt foreign every time I activated my newfound abilities. There was always a potpourri of exhilaration and trepidation present each time. It was uncomfortable.

Focusing, I threw myself and aimed at him. A rush of energy surged through me as I fired a counter-attack. He dodged it hastily however, and took shelter behind a broken vehicle. A bloodcurdling scream pierced through the noise. Apparently I had accidentally hit his friend. Just as I was about to prepare another shot, something arched through the air and rolled to me, my eyes widened.

 I didn't have enough time to react as the tiny bomb fizzled and exploded, sending me flying and tumbling crassly through the grass leaving a messy trail in my wake. Recovering, I huffed and panted, examining the damages. 

Hmph. I smiled, the home-made bomb crafted by the outcasts proved to not be as lethal as the ones made in Malero. Even though my skin had melted, the hyper-enhanced titanium that composed my arm was barely scathed. I swiftly ran deeper into the forest, my attackers falling not too short behind. They kept on firing but not a single bullet managed to land on me.

 "LANA!!! STOP RIGHT THERE!!!" the male voice bellowed, firing even more shots. One lucky bullet ricocheted off the ground and buried itself on my shoulder, making me hiss indignantly.

Right. Edmund. The boy I befriended during my time in the breeding camp. Leader of a rogue group composed of rebel cyborgs who fled at some point from the city. My only friend.

We were both 5 years old when we began to know each other. We'd spend hours tucked away in a quiet corner of the lounge room in the breeding centre, blankets over both of our shoulders, voices hushed. He'd always gossip about a lot of stuff.

He found out that engineering a cyborg with a human conscience was impossible without having an actual human being first. So the only method to bypass that was to breed humans first via the tube baby method and then raise them until a certain age before killing them. Well, after transferring their consciousness that is. Usually accomplished through an extensive brain scanning process which was apparently excruciating. 
Although, select children would be spared and allowed to live longer. Perhaps to harvest the necessary organs for the next batch?

Calm and observant Edmund. A novelty amongst us.

He was very young, but there was already a solemnity present in his clear blue eyes. An mature intelligence that was rarely associated with our age group. I always tried to cheer him up every time his expression twisted somberly. His unresponsiveness was unsettling.

The closer I became with him, fears began to sprout. As our conversion date grew closer, my disposition deteriorated into an antsy mess. I was troubled with intrusive thoughts that always involved him rebelling and trespassing out of the borders, a blatant gesture of dissatisfaction. He never failed to gently reassure me that my fears we unfounded. That he'd always be there. All of them turned to be lies.

My home was gone.

I arrived into a clearing, the moon had revealed itself as the grey clouds began to disperse, casting a tender glow over the scenery. The three of them caught up with me shortly, guns trained at my vital spots. Fools.

"You were the one who planned the siege weren't you Lana? H-How could you...? They wanted nothing more than to live without being oppressed!" he cried out, blue eyes searing with rage. His knuckles were white and trembling.

I grinned. It was the truth. I was the one who had tracked down their base camp and wiped out the entire population gruesomely. It was unfortunate that Edmund wasn't present during the massacre, I mulled. I had wanted him to see the carnage.

"Oppressed? Please. We were all living a happy life inside the borders until you ragtag bunch decided to go out of the framework and posed a threat to all of us." I scoffed.

"THEY WERE SLAUGHTERING HUMANS!!! US!!! HOW COULD YOU BE SO IGNORANT?!" He finally bellowed, tears falling down his face desperately. His two friends remained silent through the ordeal.

"Are you so angry because I killed off your wife yesterday?" I smiled and he let out a roar, charging recklessly ahead. His weapon lay forgotten on the grass.

I was tackled to the ground as his blows rained down on my face. I was convinced a lot of components were broken after a few moments of relentless punches. I let out a gleeful cackle.

I looped my hands around his shoulders and cooed, "You'll soon meet your wife." 

The grin never left my face as I activated my self-detonation program, the last thing I remembered was his horror-stricken face. Shallow and pallid. 

I'd do anything to protect my home after all.