The room was spinning faster now, and her stomach would not settle as daggers of pain wracked her body. After so many days with the drug in her system her body could not handle more than a few without.

The drug was designed to be used every few days, just as they had done, first Raider and than Baron Praxis. Dosing her every third day as the last of the effects began to wane, as the sickness started.

For 18 months every third day she would be shocked, strapped down and injected. The first 24 hours she would be left alone as she tripped out on the dosage, except when Raider was even madder than normal, when he would fly into a rage and hurt her first. The trip could be only pain if you were hurt during the injection.

The 2nd day would be hellish, torture from Raider, and dark Eco treatments from the Baron, and the third she would spend training, push ups leg exercises until what she believed would have been around sundown when the sickness would hit.

She felt the needle enter her skin and she tried to pull away though the withdrawal made her too weak. It was near instant, the second the liquid entered her blood the shakes stopped, the pain stopped, it was relief, she could almost giggle from the relief.

It was then she felt Tess's smaller hands on her, then she realized that Torn stood away, his hands shaking as he stared at the empty vial. Light-stream, the same drug that he had been using after Dead town, the same substance that he had only just been able to kick and now she was being injected with it.

Not only that, she could see it.

He was afraid to touch her Even as he walked back over his hands never touched her skin. Now that she was no longer in danger of the withdrawal killing her as it had been for the last two days the matter of the damage down to her leg now had to be addressed.

"Breath torn"

"Alexi"

He used the full name. Never a good sign, his hands were shaking, and his eyes kept flickering to the needle.

"Tess" she looked up and saw his face, and the needle and vial went back into their containers on her hip. Away from him, out of his reach.

"However bad it is it could still be worse. Just get it over with"

Being on the table was hard now that she was okay. It was to much like the prison like that goddamn table from hell. She could feel a slight trip no where near what it had been, Tess had given her a lower dose, a much lower dose, she recalled them saying that she would need to be weaned off of the drug.

"You couldn't just leave the kid and run could you"

"Raider to take him what i had to"

"I'm gonna kill him for sending you on a mission. Who sends a 16 year old"

"He didn't send me. I went on my own."

Torn's eyes had traveled to the flesh on her right leg once the drugs were hidden away, and did not waver from it. Two minutes of silence followed her words before he swore.

"Jak" his communicator was in his hand in a heartbeat. "I need you to get a message to Sig. I need him over here pronto and i need the short stack here too. Hell know what i mean"

"Didn't realize we were your messengers" that orange rat thing apparently decided to answer and there was a smack followed by that man's voice stating they will do it

It hurt. The first binding of the metal to flesh made her scream. They put a gag in her mouth after that when the cybernetics went into her thigh and calf. She had been put under for the hip joint replacement but not for the rest, no they needed to make sure that the flesh and metal joined that the flesh did not lose feeling and that she could move the metal robotics after.

It was only by a miracle that Zander was able to use the old precursor metal in such a way. More advanced than any of havens best cybernetics once the metal joints where latched on it would react like a regular knee. Stronger even.

Half her lower leg was now metal bond to flesh three quarters of her foot the same. The toes made of metal bent as the flesh did. There was but weight and pressure. The joint inside her hip where bone had once been was much the same as it had been. The surrounding nerves not damaged the flesh not damaged.

It took everything to not lose control during the procedure she had drained all the Eco from herself before each one just sure despite how bad the dreams that night would be. Without Eco she was empty hollow like she had been in the prison after treatments. It brought back memories of raider of the baron.

But she could not risk killing her brother or Sig if she lost control and transformed into that thing, it only happened once, when she was alone but she could not control it, the anger that came with it, the desire to burn everything down just to get to those that did this to her.

It had only taken two weeks for the flesh to heal enough, part of the "gifts" of the dark eco, and now she could move, it was like there was no difference as long as she didn't look she could almost forget.

Except….,

The wounds inside her head remained and her control of her sage gifts was rough, the raw power tended to overwhelm, the dark eco demanding her to change to give in. Her power was also far greater, well beyond what it had been. It took a fair amount of control to master the newfound power, even more to rein in the dark eco.

She was too broken to be any good in the middle of this fight, too broken to go back and search for Torn would not utter a word about the child though she knew that he had to know something all he would say was that the Shadow kept him safe. Too broken to manage, and Alexi knew that, and so did Torn. And if she missed a dose of that drug now, with her body still needing it, she would be even more useless than she already was.

It did not stop her from the screaming match she was currently having with him as he leaned against his desk nearly out of breathe from the constant back and forth. How long was he going to hold using that respirator she knew his lungs were damaged from what happened within the dead zone. How many years head passed 4 or 5. What was it...she wasn't sure anymore her their care seemed like it was forever but it been 18 months. Gone in at 16 out at 17 and a half it she had aged .

And looking at Torn she was the who aged in that .time.

The dark circles under his eyes .were darker than ever.

"You can't stay here Lex. Its to dangerous."

She yelled back at him in Providin and he stumbled over a reply almost breathless door burst open

The blonde boy stood there, Torn's right hand man and his eyes flickered first to the piece on her leg and then to Torn's face.

"Jak, course this would be the day that you get here on time. The package " he pointed out the item .on the other side of the desk before the coughing hit racking his body. He out waited to long and Lexi rounded the table lifting the respirator over his mouth as she hit the control

Oxygen rushed into with each breath and torn closed his eyes for a second just breathing before pulling the mask away.

"Damn it Lex. Here i am giving an order and you start mothering me"

"Someone .make don't kill yourself"

"I already have Ashelin doing that i don't need you to do it too"

"Your "

"It' done. Sigs contacted him."

She swore hitting the table a small purple spark dancing over her fist just for the blink of an eye. "Damn it Torn"

A creak in the floor that the blonde man hadn't left. Had still been rounding the table to grab what he needed. Lexi picked it up passing the package to him which he took with a nod fleeing to the door though stopping at the threshold. He turned opening his . and stopped.

The girl leaning on the table had most of herself covered in again but Jak knew that it was the same girl from that and what he heard was that she was unable to fight so torn wanted safe. Somewhere she could rebuild her strength.

But he knew that look, he knew how she felt towards the baron had the same desire to see coursing through his own body. he tell her torn was right when he knew.

So he saying a word tying the package to the hover bike before climbing on. He needed the eco at Krews so that the underground would get maybe he could even see if Krew had any jobs to complete. Torn could the girl whoever she was, she was precious to him, he had never seen him be so nice when so angry before.

Torn won. It only took another week in that bunker to prove him right. It her Trish when she tried to wake her from the nightmare only the pure fear in Trish's eyes as she called. Her an eco freak and ended their arrangement.

It was like them not seeing each other was the last proof, she had no feeling towards the girl beyond desire. It was the absolute fear. She needed somewhere harder with harder people somewhere where if she pulled a gun on someone that got to close no one would scream

"Lex" Sigs voice brought her back to the present as they jerked to a halt. They were right outside the city doors now. The wastelands had still not taken a toll on the gates of Spargus well kept as they were.

It was a miracle that Torn had not changed his mind and wanted her under his gaze once she agreed. He never trusted when she agreed to anything. But she supposed that after the haunted looks they shared that dark night he understood. It was more than Trish and her fear. The city was a prison itself right now she needed a purpose outside of the failed attempt. Something that would not be a constant reminder of raider and his betrayal. Besides Torn said the kid was far out of reach. She knew that he knew far more than he said and she resented the silence in fact she had barely spoken to him since his refusal to tell her more despite his plea of ignorance.

Lexi was surprised to see Damas stood there waiting. Sig was silent as she climbed out and he took off. Leaving her alone with the king. The man she had failed though he had given no mission.

"I am sorry my king. Raider betrayed us, i got the boy away from him but i do not know his location now"

"He lives"

"Yes"

"And you. live"

"I'm here in front of you is that not clear enough"

"I meant truly live" could he see the damage that was in her soul could he see the monster that was beneath her skin. It proved a question to hard to answer and Lexi's silence was all he needed to hear before gently gripping the armor on her shoulder guiding her into the desert city.

So the "Uncle" who was the ruler of another city was Damas, wondering what backstory that is. Youll have to keep reading