A small rubber sparkplug rolls under a table.
"Starlight, starbright," A little girl murmurs, hands clasped tightly together and eyes squeezed shut to avoid looking at the room around her.
"Mikeala, go get that for Daddy, please." A little girl with bouncy black curls, wearing denim overalls nearly skips over to the work table.
"Okay Daddy!" She says, getting to her knees and reaching under the table.
"F-first star I see tonight," she whimpers, sniffling back snot as tears fall down her already red face. She can hear the engine outside. She shakes so hard with fear and holding back her tears it's almost like the house is moving.
She picks it up and scoots out from under the table, carrying the sparkplug back to her father, who's half buried in the car engine he's working on and muttering the whole while.
"Here you go!" She holds it out, grinning a gape-tooth smile as her father lifts his head up and uses a grease-blackened hand to pick up the part.
"Thank you baby. Why don't you sit on the stool?" Mikaela rushes to wheel a tall stool over to where her father is working.
"Wish I may, and wish I might" She tightens her grip on her hands as she feels the house truly tremble, hears the metal monster outside pulling on the roof.
She scrambles up the rungs until she's seated on the stool. Her father makes sure to steady it, so she doesn't fall off. "Ready?" She nods, already looking at the engine with wide, fascinated eyes. Mr. Banes smiles at his daughter, and points to the car battery. "What's this?"
"Have this wish I wish tonight…" She swallows, and holds back as sob as plaster and roofing fall down and she can feel wind blowing. She chokes, hot tears running faster as the metal creature lets out a triumphant sound.
"The battery, daddy!" She says it as though he's being rather silly. And perhaps he is, because he smiles at her and points to the coolant tank.
"Oh? And what's this, huh?" It's a favorite game of theirs. He teaches her this way, and suppresses any guilt he has about dragging her into his life style as he watches her blue eyes light up with every right answer.
"I wish-" The hand snatches her up, cutting off her words with her oxygen. She gasps for air, uselessly as the hand crushes her with barely any effort.
"The femme is terminated."
"Return to the Present."
"Acknowledged."