Liesl was awoken by a gentle shudder of the earth, and hissed at the sun beginning to shine through her curtains. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the sun, it was like her mind switched on and forbid her from going back to sleep until it set later in the day.
She was fed up of these strange little earthquakes that had recently began to frequent the town, especially the ones in the morning. It was probably just some kind of build of magma or something under the surface of the town, but still. Natural or not, it needed to hurry up and sort itself out so she could get back to sleeping in. Sleeping was one of the only things to do in the desolate place, after all.
As she lay there thinking, she remembered Newton. Oh yeah. I wonder what he's doing right now?
Getting to her feet, she headed to the spare bedroom that she had offered him a place to stay in.
Without knocking, she nudged open the door and was treated to an impressive view.
Really, she shouldn't judge in what state other people chose to sleep, but his magnificent form immediately caught her eye and filled her with both awe and judgement.
It was…
It was…
The strangest sleeping position she had ever seen in her life!What was he doing? Trying to break his neck? Trying to do a handstand in his sleep? Why and how did his legs get over the head-rest of the bed?!
Her mischievous nature got the better of her.
She filled her lungs with air.
"BOO!"
"AUGH!" He twisted and rolled out of his awkward position in surprise and then smacked face first onto the floor.
Liesl chortled to herself, before realising that scaring an already injured guest had probably not been the best idea. "Ah- are you okay?" She leant over the help him to his feet.
"I've seen… better days… ough…"
She fixed him up a drink; tea this time, as a sort of wordless apology.
"So, is there anywhere I can buy machine parts from in this town?" Newton asked her over tea and toast.
Liesl searched back through her memory banks. She wasn't exactly an inventor herself. The only shops she knew were the casino, the pub, a music store and the grocery store. Anywhere else was kind of shrouded in a mysterious mist of 'never been there'.
"Um… maybe? Probably. I have a feeling that there is a probability of like 30% that there is."
Newton looked at her skeptically, and she blanched.
"I do! But only kind of! If you lived around here, you'd know it's best not to wander too far." She leant on her fist sulkily.
Aha, now he looked a little scared. "What do you mean?"
"You haven't figured it out? You've landed in one of the shadiest towns in the Imagisphere!" She gestured wildly, surprised and also endeared by that naivety. It had been so long that she had spoken to anyone outside of Heatmore.
Seeing the look on his face, she added, "But it's alright, just stick with me. I know my way around and where to avoid. And if anyone messes with you, I'll knock 'em out!"
"A-ah, okay." He still looked troubled, but didn't dismiss the idea of venturing out entirely. "I'll have a proper look at my airship after breakfast, and I'll put together a list of the parts I need. That is… if I can even fix it."
Confusion swamped over her. He had seemed so confident- okay maybe not confident, like he kind of knew what he was doing- a moment ago. "If?"
"My Papa built it. I made some refinements, but… as for how it works inside and out I… I'm not even close to being on his level." He looked so disheartened for a moment that Liesl felt the urge to reach over and take his hand.
"It'll be fine. You were smart enough to fly it, even if you did end up crashing it this time." She settled for a pat on his arm. "Besides, you've got me to help!"
"You- you would help me? Really?" He blinked at her, wide eyed.
"Of course! What else are friends for?"
"Friends…" He seemed deep in thought, then smiled at her, cheerfulness rejuvenated. "Alright then! We'll start preparations this afternoon!"
It turned out that Liesl didn't even know the difference between a spanner and a wrench.
"I never said I could help with that stuff!" She protested when he complained. "I can lift stuff for you! That's… that's about it." She looked embarrassed. "I'm not… not smart like that.My father likes to refer to it as 'not being suitable to be unsupervised, are you crazy, Liesl.'"
Newton sighed, but smiled on the inside. She may not be an engineer, but… She's willing to help me.
"Well… it's a start, dear chum! If you would be good enough to escort me down town, I have a list of parts I need to pick up. …Hopefully we'll find a place that sells them…"
"We will!" Liesl nodded confidently, then took him by the wrist and began to march off.
Newton yelped, and stumbled into a run in order to avoid being yanked over; gosh she was strong! His heart skipped a beat when she looked back round at him, looking… surprised?It suited her. But didn't she know her grip was pure iron- ow ow ow!
"Ee! A little- uh, a little looser if you wouldn't mind." He gasped, finally managing to keep up with her purposeful strides.
She giggled to herself. "Sorry." Her grip loosened, until she seemed to be reassured of his ability to walk on his own, and her fingers unclasped his wrist.
For the first time, Newton took in just how barren and lifeless the landscape was. Orange-y, cracked ground sprawled for miles. There was no sign of any near by villages on the horizon, just more sloping hills, cliffs, rocks, a volcano… …OH MY GOODNESS THERE WAS A VOLCANO RIGHT BY THE TOWN.
"Uhh Lieesl?" His voice cracked, but his nerves wouldn't let him be embarrassed right now. Not when there was a 10,000FEET VOLCANO RIGHT BESIDE THE PLACE HE WAS CURRENTLY STAYING IN.
A small sound that sounded like it might be amused laughter came from her general direction. "It's fine. It's been inactive for like… forever. Nothing's been happening up there, trust me."
They reached the top of a dusty hill, and Liesl swept her arms about in front of them. "That's the town."
Newton goggled. It was like… an old western town. Every now and then, there was a weird flash of modern technology, but for the most part, it seemed stuck in 'ye old cowboy land'.In any case, he understood what his new friend meant now; this place looked rough. The kind of place that looked like if you crossed a person's path twice they'd put a bullet in your skull, and your stuffing on their wall.
He quickly hid behind her, mind racing a hundred miles an hour. Was it really safe enough to just walk down there?
Liesl didn't laugh this time, but hit her fist against her palm a couple of times. "We're going in! It's fine. Just act natural!"
And so, they strolled down the hill until the dried ground slowly trailed into a paved road and they met the city.
Looking 'natural' wasn't exactly the easiest advice to follow; especially when you were scared out of your mind. Besides, how could he blend in when he had no idea of how people usually acted in this town?? He didn't fit into his own place, let alone here! Newton clung to the brown ribbon around Liesl's dress as she marched through town like she owned the place, and judging by the annoyed looks she was getting, she definitely didn't. They passed rows and rows of run-down houses- they were all so battered it was impossible to tell the difference between occupied or abandoned property, like seriously, how did these people keep warm or secure?
A massive building suddenly came into view, a gem amongst the rubble. It was modern, flashy, it's lights blared and energetic music pumped out of its glass doors that were constantly swinging open and closed as stitch folk passed through them.
"What's… that?" Newton tugged on Liesl's dress, causing her to look, and then groan.
"The casino." She frowned, quickly lowering her gaze back down to the ground. "Avoid it. It may look flashy, but the guys who run it are a couple of punks you don't want to mess with."
Despite her warnings, Newton couldn't help but let his gaze linger on the building a little longer. From behind the glass a slim figure appeared, a black and red jester hat sewn onto his paper thin body. Their eyes met, and the strange man gave him a sleezy wink that sent a cold shiver down his spine. Then he was gone.
"Hey, I told you not to awk!" Liesl urged him. "C'mon, there'll probably be a place like what you're looking for down here."
He gulped, still feeling the aftermath of that look. There was something off about it, and he found he didn't want to dwell on it. "C-coming!"
