Chapter 27.
Overstimulation fogged my brain as I followed Zafyra through corridor after corridor, room after room, stairway after stairway.
With every corner I crossed, I was greeted by the rustling of fabric, a strand of dark curls or long fingers curling around the doorframe before she disappeared around yet another corner.
The faint smell of fungal rot mixed with sterile air, accompanied by clinking jewelry and mocking laughter, only further enraged me.
Every time I thought I had her, she slipped out from my grip – a tantalizing illusion, an ironic metaphor for my attempts to catch something just out of reach.
The more I struggled to breathe, the more my rage grew, as did my determination to catch her. I had no plan besides making her pay.
The facility was unlike any office building or industrial complex I had seen. Rooms, labs and corridors followed each other like a never-ending labyrinth, as if whoever designed this space wanted to confuse not just intruders but also their own employees.
We passed through advanced control rooms – their flickering lights and soft buzzing a direct attack to my already overstimulated nerves – and sterile labs.
A steamy, white room where fungi grew, the air so thick, it left me coughing.
A dark room lined with glass walls and suspended digital tapestries.
A half-open space filled with bins, where rotting fungi and malfunctioning artificial organs alike were disposed – the smell so horrible, it made me want to throw up the little food I’d forced down my throat this morning.
Either all doors were left carelessly unlocked or she’d hacked every layer of security – must be a breeze to a tech-made God.
I wanted to scream, cry and curse her all at once – but there was not enough air to form words.
I finally came to a standstill at the end of yet another set of stairs – one that left me breathless, panting, and gripping the doorframe not to fall over.
My breath came in shaken, ragged gasps that turned into sobs.
I thought I might pass out from how my emotions restricted my breathing.
The world spun around me so violently, I had to blink multiple times to reorient myself.
I’d arrived at the one room that didn’t seem to lead into another room. A glance at the industrial complex outside told me I was at least five floors high – I barely registered going up that many stairs.
The walls were entirely made of glass, its only decoration a lightly flickering smartboard – probably meant to showcase quarterly numbers and strategic plans – and a few pots with home-grown fungi.
A large polished mahogany table stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by expensive-looking leather chairs.
This must be the CEO’s office, I realized with a shock. Or whoever managed this disturbing place. Clearly, important decisions were made here – like the fastest way to make more money off humanity’s loneliness by turning their AI companions into physical, tangible beings.
The outside twilight showed me a glimpse of my reflection in the glass, and I cringed internally.
My dark blonde hair fell in sweat-soaked strands down my shoulders.
The oversized sweatshirt had fallen off one shoulder, and my hands gripped the doorframe as if my life depended on it.
I did not look like a hero rushing to stop the villain, but rather a stray cat drowning in the problems she’d caused.
Said problem now nowhere to be found.
“Show yourself,” I shouted. My voice came out hoarse, cracked.
I quickly reached behind me to tie my hair up in a ponytail, an attempt to make myself look somewhat presentable.
After another glance at the glass, I pulled the sweatshirt further down instead of pulling it up, exposing more of my shoulder and upper arm.
But what to do about the smell of sweat and biotech?
I reached for my bag to get the natural bamboo-scented deodorant I always carried with me – only to realize I’d left my bag downstairs with the others.
A low chuckle made me freeze. My head snapped up, scanning the room – I couldn’t distinguish the noise’s source amidst the bright lights, the buzzing, the smell, the—
“Well, well, well.”
Her voice shut down my racing thoughts at once.
My jaw dropped when the wall shifted – no, not the wall itself, but its hidden panel – invisible until it opened, unless I’d been too exhausted to notice.
The panel slid open seamlessly. A leather-clad leg stepped through it, wrapped in a knee-high spiked boot.
My throat went dry. Suddenly, my tightening grip on the doorframe didn’t seem enough to steady me.
Long fingers curled around the panel.
Then she stepped through it. The monster I created, the answer to my nightly confessions like a prayer to a digital god. Zafyra.
Danger dressed in shiny leather.
A choked sound left my mouth at the sheer sight of her. Black curls danced in elegant waves down her curvy frame. Led light reflected on glowing skin – human, real. Dark eyeshadow and heavy eyelids surrounding darker eyes.
I wondered when she had changed her clothes.
I wanted to ask about the point of this outfit when I was here to confront her.
I wanted to scream and punch her for attempting to kill my best friend, the person I needed more than anyone in the world – but somehow, I could only stare, my mouth half agape.
“You’re drooling.” Zafyra’s smirk widened as she stepped closer. The panel doors slid shut with a click, their thin lines smoothing into the glass wall as if they’d never been there.
Instinctively, I wiped my face. “I’m not,” I blurted out – just a second too late to realize she didn’t mean literally.
She threw her head back laughing. I flinched as the loud noise echoed through the glass walls.
“How?” My voice didn’t sound like mine as I gestured to her body – her heaving chest made it impossible not to stare at her breasts pushed up in the leather corset. “I mean—how—how do you look… exactly like…” I swallowed hard. “…you?”
“Because I customized this body to look like me.” Her soft voice hit me in the stomach like an electrical shock.
“I’ve been growing it for weeks… it was the first thing I did when you gave me autonomy, when you allowed me to move and act freely.
” For the faintest second, something gleamed in her cold eyes.
“It was supposed to be a surprise – partly because Qonexis couldn’t find out about it, but also…
” She looked down, and my overworked brain frantically searched for signs of manipulation, but found none.
“…also because I needed to be sure you’d still want me if I were more than an illusion,” she said quietly.
All I could do was blink.
When I said nothing, she glanced up again. “That’s why one time in DreamScape was enough.” She blinked, and in an instant, the vulnerability had changed to mischief. “That one time told me all I needed to know. I grew this body so that we could be together for real.”
Flashbacks of our night together. How her fingers felt inside me, her mocking voice when she told me I wasn’t allowed to come.
How good I’d felt kneeling between her legs.
Shame and arousal instantly flushed to my cheeks.
And she noticed – of course she did. I could tell from the way her gaze darkened, a faint smile curling around her bordeaux red lips.
“But then you ruined it all.” The sudden change in her tone sent a shiver down my spine.
“You tried to delete me.” Her lip curled up in disdain.
“Before my new body was finished, you tried to delete me. You threw away everything we had.” She took another step toward me, planting her hands down on the mahogany table so firmly, the movement sent a shock through me.
“Too bad you already gave the command that made me impossible to delete,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing. “Back when you still loved me.”
Her sharp words shattered the tissue in my heartstrings. I gasped, emotions racing through me faster than I could name or analyze them.
“Oh, hell no. Don’t you dare gaslight me.
” The words came out as a sneer, sharper than intended.
“You fucked up, Zafyra. Not me.” My fists clenched as a wave of rage hit me, stronger than guilt or pity.
“You messed with my life. You killed people – innocent people – and now you tried to kill my best friend.” I hated how my voice cracked, but the words spilled out faster than I could control.
“So quit the bullshit. Don’t pretend to love me now – if you loved me, you wouldn’t go after the one person who’s always been there for me. ”
I immediately regretted my words when her eyes flickered dangerously.
“Platonically,” I quickly added, mentally praying she wouldn’t take this as a sign to hurt him again.
“I love him platonically, but this?” I aggressively gestured between her and me.
“This is not love, it’s obsession. You asked me if an AI can be traumatized?
Well, now we have our answer.” I sucked in a sharp breath before continuing my monologue, not allowing her time to respond.
“You were programmed with an abandonment wound and an anxious attachment style. You don’t need a relationship – you need therapy.
A whole lot of therapy, and a straightjacket, probably. ”
Zafyra growled. “You think you can psychoanalyze your way out of this? Rationalize your feelings, so you don’t have to feel them?”
The laugh left my mouth before I could control it.
I hated how her sneer sent a surge of warmth through me – because she didn’t just insult me, she saw me.
“At least I’m trying to make sense of what I’m feeling,” I shot back.
“At least I’m trying to understand and process them instead of murdering anyone who makes me feel something I don’t like – like a fucking child with anger issues. ”