But it never came.

  I held my breath.

  I could hear my heartbeat but nothing else.

  I held my breath.

  I could feel the cold metal floor against my back and nothing else.

  I held my breath and waited for my death to come but it never did.

  Opening my eyes slowly I saw nothing but metal.

  I opened them up fully and saw the machine’s blade inches from my heart; it had been stopped by another blade blackish-grey in colour. I took in a deep gulp of air and traced the knife that had saved my life all the way up a slender muscular arm; above that was a face that took my breath away.

  A dark stain of hair covered one eye, while full ruby lips set in a firm and determined line spoke of the person’s displeasure.

  Poppy had saved my life and the fire in her eyes spoke of her anger.

  For a moment I thought the anger was directed at me, but her stare was directed straight ahead at the machine that had tried to kill me. The machine stared at this new threat and slowly took a step back as it tried to re-evaluate how dangerous this new threat was.

  I shuffled back as Poppy stepped in front of me, and I got up to my feet.

  Poppy spun the knives in her hand lazily around and around while she and the machine circled each other.

  “Poppy, you need to be careful, you can’t fight—”

  Poppy held up her hand stopping me mid-flow and smiled back at me. “It’s OK, Quinton, I’ve got this. This is what I was born to do.”

  My heart stopped at that moment.

  It was stupid to think this woman who I had barely known a handful of days could have this effect on me, but I’m ashamed to say it did. I felt nothing but a warm rush through my body as I returned the smile she gave me, without even trying.

  She was beautiful and I was—I shook my head and concentrated on the fight at hand.

  They were still both circling each other like two big cats. Poppy threw her knives between each hand, catching them and feinting towards the machine to gauge its reaction. It moved back out of range and mimicked her movements, stabbing high then going low.

  Poppy’s face showed no hint of emotion. It was warm, almost peaceful.

  They circled once more then met in the middle amongst a clash of blades that sent sparks in the air. They parted ways and came at each other again, dancing just out of range, ducking, slicing, trying to find a spot that would cause just the right amount of damage.

  As Poppy attacked and defended I watched not knowing how she could win. She was only flesh and blood while the machine she was fighting had none of the concerns she did. It didn’t tire. It didn’t lose concentration. It had been assigned one mission and it was going to complete it to the best of its ability.

  Poppy dropped into the splits as the machine swung for her head and she sliced the wires attached to its knee joint, forcing it to leap backwards. It stumbled backwards unsteadily and she leapt forward pushing her advantage, but it was a mistake as the thing faked left and sliced her across the shoulder.

  I moved forward as I saw red seep through her top but she held out her arm, once again stopping me in my tracks.

  “Didn’t I tell you I’ve got this?” she said, smiling my way.

  I lifted my hands up in an apology and backed up as the pair continued their fight.

  The robot moved back and forth but its movements weren’t as slick as they had once been. Blackish fluid squirted from the knee joint Poppy had hacked at and now it stumbled as it tried to place weight on the injured leg.

  Poppy leapt back as it lunged towards her once again but she kicked out the damaged leg, forcing the machine onto one leg. It swiped at her with its bladed arms but she knocked them to the side scoring a hit across the thing’s face, damaging one of its eyes. The light behind the damaged orb blinked on and off before it went completely out.

  The robot stared her way with one good eye remaining.

  My heart was in my mouth as I watched the bloodied area on Poppy’s shoulder spread out and grow. I wasn’t a doctor, but I sure as hell knew that wasn’t a good sign. The sooner this ended the better it would be.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  With a burst of speed, the robot was on the attack again, this time slashing high and low as it looked for an opening to secure a killing strike. Sparks flew as Poppy defended against the barrage of limbs that came her way. She back-flipped away from an uppercut that sliced a strand of her hair, and landed in a crouch before she leapt forward once again.

  Her blades scored marks against the torso of the machine, but they weren’t deep enough to cause any real damage.

  She leapt out of the way as a blade came her way and embedded itself into the wall behind her. Her blade flashed forward, and she sliced through some of the wires on the robot’s arm. Fluid squirted into the air and landed by my feet where it hissed and sizzled.

  I stepped back as metallic fumes hit the back of my throat.

  I looked up and marvelled as the battle still raged.

  The robot had now one damaged leg and one damaged arm, but it didn’t feel pain. It would just keep on going until she was destroyed for good.

  I gritted my teeth and lifted my shotgun as I saw the heavy breaths Poppy was taking. Somehow she was winning the fight but it was coming at a cost. Her face was covered in sweat, her brow furrowed in concentration. I could see the telltale signs of fatigue starting to take its toll.

  Her movements weren’t as crisp. Her strikes failed to have the same pop.

  Shotgun on shoulder I tried to get a good aim, but it was impossible to do so without hitting Poppy. The Peacemaker wasn’t a surgical weapon where I could fire it and know what I would hit for sure. It relied on maximum damage spread over a certain area.

  I wanted to help. I wanted to save her but I didn’t see how I could.

  The robot went in for one more strike with its good arm but Poppy defended against it, catching it with both her blades. A roundhouse kick came towards her midsection, which she defended, but a blade shot out from the foot of the machine stabbing her in her side.

  I cried out in surprise but she simply grunted in pain and held onto the foot before driving the point of one of her blades deep underneath the robot’s chin.

  The robot shook and sparked as she gritted her teeth and drove the blade deeper and deeper till the hilt of the weapon was the only thing that could be seen. They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity then the light behind the machine’s one remaining eye slowly dimmed and finally died completely.

  Poppy pulled her weapon out and staggered backwards as the machine collapsed to the floor.

  I rushed towards her and caught her as she fell and slowly lowered her to the floor. The suit she wore was a mass of red and I couldn’t take my eyes off it.

  No one could surely live with so much blood outside of their body.

  I went to undo her suit but she grabbed my hand and slowly shook her head; I stroked the side of her face brushing her hair out of her eyes.

  “I need to see what the damage is,” I said.

  “Are you a doctor?”

  “No,” I replied, puzzled.

  “Then you can’t help me. You may do more damage than good.”

  Sadness crossed my face as I felt hopelessness wash over me. Here was someone I cared about and once again one I couldn’t do anything for.

  I was more of a burden than a help.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered.

  “Whatever for?”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you when it counted the most, I’m sorry I got you involved in all of this, I’m sorry—”

  She began to laugh softly like a chime, then as the laughter grew and grew she allowed her head to fall back as if she couldn’t contain the torrent that poured from her soul.

  I watched her in confusion, allowing her to finish.

  “You are the only person in existence who would apologise for being kidnapped against their will. I hate to burst your bubble but this has nothing to do with you; you were just the person on the ship who had possession of what we wanted. It could have been anyone else in the universe.”

  I tried to hide the hurt feelings that crossed my face but failed.

  “That doesn’t mean,” she said, stroking my face, “I am not grateful it was you on board that ship. I am. I am happy it was you we kidnapped and not some other idiot. I am happy I didn’t kill—”

  I leaned in and kissed her for everything I was worth, melting against the softness of her lips.

  I pulled away and looked down at her. “You had me at kidnapped,” I laughed before I leaned in and kissed her for what felt like a few seconds, but probably was longer.

  A light cough sounded behind us but we ignored it.

  It got louder as the minutes ticked past until the unmistakable sound of an angry Irishman erupted behind us. “Will you two assholes get a move on! We ain’t got all day for you two lovebirds to be humping on the floor. That dickhead boss of Quinton’s has launched an escape pod towards the location where we are going to meet The Lady.

  “José has fought off that knob-cheese Arun as best as he can, but he’s saying some of Arun’s forces have made it onto the planet. He’s on the planet now and needs some backup so we’d best be moving.”

  I pulled away from Poppy and looked deep into her eyes before kissing her lightly on the lips.

  “How do we get to José’s location?” I asked, turning towards Willis.

  He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, both his pistols still in his hands.

  “Wow, thanks for the help.”

  “Look, I don’t make the plans; I just fuck up our enemies.”

  I rolled my eyes and helped Poppy to her feet. She gently pushed me away. She twisted and turned with something of a slight grimace on her face.

  “I don’t think the blade did any real damage,” she said, feeling her side. “I think it’s only a flesh wound.”

  I looked at her skeptically but kept my reservations to myself. This wasn’t the time to let my feelings be known, and I could hardly come across as the overly protective boyfriend inasmuch as she had just saved my ass, while I sat by the sidelines and watched. I knew she was strong but there was only so much punishment one human body could take.

  “OK, if we need to get down to the planet I guess we borrow this ship and haul ass down there. I don’t think my former boss will mind as he has just fired me without giving me my severance pay. So I think we’ll call this even.”

  They both looked at me with expressions I couldn’t decipher.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” Poppy began. “It’s just—”

  “We are just surprised a wet-behind-the-ears whelp like yourself came up with such an illegal and not to mention amazing plan. I’ve gotta give you some points for style.”

  “Well, technically, it’s not illegal as I am still a Xcorp employee for the next thirty days even though I have been fired. As per my contract in the event of termination by either parties, there needs to be a cooling-off period of thirty days, which—”

  “You know what! I take back those fucking points I gave you,” Willis said, walking away. “Come on, José needs our help. Less talking, more walking.”