Twisted Metal Heart - Eve Langlais Page 0,29
testing. The Incubaii Domes took their breeding programs seriously.
When they finished the poking and prodding, she was locked in a room, a bare cube with only a foam mattress on the floor. Not even a chair to sit on. The highlight of her day was the gruel and beverage shake that was shoved through a slot in the door.
A prisoner who could only look forward to pain, she lived, but over the next few days, she continued to refuse the earl’s demands and suffered as a consequence. At times she wished she were dead.
Seven
I should be dead. The fact he was alive boggled Titan’s fuzzy mind.
You’re welcome.
That alien voice still spoke to him, and for a moment, he didn’t hate it, not when it had saved his life. Because of his bionics, he’d killed the spidus.
Great. Now what?
Riella and the queen had left. The metal ruins reminded him that Alfred had never actually existed and he was alone. Not just alone but paralyzed and all too aware of the open garage door that gaped onto a tunnel that he suspected held more than one predator.
It seemed hopeless.
You are full of drama. We aren’t dying.
His metal arm managed to drag him inside the transport before anything else came along. Even slammed the lever that shut the door.
Only then did he sleep. By the time he woke, he could twitch his fingers and toes. The bio ones at any rate.
The metal ones cooperated, too. Even better, they remained quiet as he pushed to a sitting position.
He glanced around the inside of the vehicle with all its supplies. He could go home and figure out his next step because, while he wanted vengeance, he wasn’t stupid enough to attack the capital city without a plan.
First, though, he should bring everything he could. Except he couldn’t enter the citadel. The door wouldn’t open no matter how much he pounded and cursed. It made his head pulse with pain and his skin flushed.
Since he couldn’t get inside, he scrounged everything he could find in the garage and stowed it in the tank. Once he’d raided all the cupboards and managed to stop grimacing every time his bionic leg dragged through gore, he glanced around the garage to see if there was anything left to snare.
A flash of light caught his eye. He located the robotic head tucked under a cabinet bolted to the wall. The metal skull looked nothing like Alfred, and yet he knew it used to belong to the robot man. He held it up and shook his head.
“How did I ever think you were real?”
“I can’t explain the level of your stupidity either.”
The retort from the skull made Titan utter a sharp scream, followed by the reflex to toss the talking metal head.
It hit the ground and rolled. It didn’t shut up, though.
“That wasn’t very nice or pleasant.”
“Fuck pleasant.” Titan stomped over to the metal skull and glared down. “You’re a robot.”
“How observant of you.”
“You made me think you were alive.”
“You assumed. You also never asked.”
Both true, but that only made him scowl harder. “How did you manage to look so human?”
“Holograms are easy. Had you ever touched me you would have noticed right away. And why does it matter if I am a robot or not?”
“I guess it doesn’t except for the fact there’s no excuse for your bad attitude.”
Alfred made a noise. It might have been laughter. Could robots grasp humor? “I am exactly as she intended.”
She, meaning Riella. “The queen said Riella gave you her father’s face.”
“She did.”
“Why?”
“You’d have to ask her. My conjectures would be based on my programming, not fact.”
Titan rubbed at his pounding head. His fingertips came away wet with sweat. “Her dad is dead.”
“Executed by the queen.”
“That Emerald bitch is good at killing fathers,” Titan muttered.
He swayed on his feet, and his vision blurred. His stomach also revolted, and his mess joined that of the splattered spidus bodies. He spat out the sour taste left behind and felt his body wracked with shivers.
“What’s wrong with me?” he croaked.
“If I were to guess, you’re having a bad reaction to the spidus venom.”
“Meaning?”
“How would I know?”
“Because you act as if you know everything,” Titan grumbled. He took a step forward and staggered, his metal leg dead to him again. His alien voice silent.
“You might want to get into Burton and seal the door before you pass out. Be sure to set the autopilot.”
“The what?”
If a robot head could sigh, this one did. “Take me with you. I