3:50am
The circus is awakening.
The first show starts at 7:00, and the kids take advantage of the early morning to see if any food could be found around the town, re-charge the robots or even steal the belongings from the other children who slept in a little too late. Poor Zig, who was the hardest worker, doesn't even have his lucky button left.
Arrow was always up first, wanting to be known as the Night Radar. When the others finally come slumbering out, he'll go to all the prettiest girls and boast about how he was up all night, defending the grounds. They didn't believe a word of it, but Arrow unfortunately had looks on his side, with his dashing blue eyes and red mo-hawk, and the girls giggle and flick their hair, eating up every word.
The circus rooms are set out in different tents and train carriages. Or, if any of the children have been bad, they get the pleasure of sleeping in a small animal cage. Hamegg would threaten to throw them in with the robots, and at his top rage he probably would of, but by night he would simply lock them in a barred enclosure. It wasn't the worst sleeping condition, but the embarrassment would take a while to shake off. They have called it the Monkey Cage.
The working robots all shutdown on the longest carriage, where nothing but a wooden table and long benches lay. The animal robots have different carts depending on their size. For the children, they are put into numbered groups, and then sleep in the carriage that matches their number.
Widget slept in carriage 9 with four other girls.
She lay awake, not wanting to get up yet, and glanced around the tight room. Two bunk beds filled it, with no openings for air or light. For that, a small candle was lit above the door. Widget looked to the bunk across from her, to a girl sleeping on the bottom like her.
She was a fifteen year old, with the only education in the circus. She ran away from her demanding family, not wanting to grow up to be a science teacher, or a ballerina. No, she loved music and street dance. Her name was Shadow. No-one knew her real name, but they bet it was something very preppy or old fashion, the way she goes on about her 'horrible' life. Some of the boys call her 'Shadow-lina'.
Her jet black hair was extremely short and spiffy. It didn't matter if it was brushed or kept, it always looked the same. She stretched her thin arm over her street design pillow, groaning a bit. Her pajamas were the same as her day cloths usually, and tonight she wore a tiny gray tank top with ripped shorts.
She looked to the other girl above Shadow.
This one was the only girl in the room that was her own age, being ten. Her name was Chloe, and she had dirty blonde hair and emerald eyes. She was picked up by the circus after two older kids named Rex and Iron found her in a box when they went to scavenge around a takeout joint back in Scapegrace Valley. She could remember her parents very well, for an abandoned kid, saying they would always fight and her dad would always threaten her. She had hated it there, so when she was introduced to the circus she worked like crazy to stay, sometimes doing a better job than people five years older than her.
Above her was Cathy, not making a sound. Widget rolled over and looked to the rotting metal of her bunk. Cathy didn't tell anyone her past. She keeps saying she can't remember, but some kids have spotted her late at night gazing at some old photos. But it's mostly a mystery. Everyone says that Cathy is the closest thing to a daughter to Hamegg because they accessed him of trusting her so much, but Widget knew it was only because she was the eldest, being twenty. Rumor has it she's a criminal. Rumor has it she was the first child Hamegg ever took under his wing. But Cathy was just Cathy to Widget, however she wanted herself to be.
"We should be getting up."
Widget smiled. The girl was like magic.
"Yeah," she agreed, sitting up. She heard rustling from above and saw a pink toe drop down to the ladder. As Cathy made her way down, Widget climbed to her feet and snatched up a watermelon jumper, chucking to over her head. Finally the tired teen touched down, still dressed in the pink stripes and blue jeans.
"Okay," she said, ruffling her red hair into shape. She smiled at Widget. "Let's go."
They pushed the door open, stepping outside the carriage to the still city. The train was parked on a track that ran straight past it to the left, where old rusty food shops and cafés stand. The big top was set in a paddock in-between two take-out joints, with the main road only a few streets away. The sky was musky with fumes of the city.
"Should we go wake Chloe and Shadow?" Widget asked softly.
"Would they do the same for you?" Cathy mumbled, scanning the grounds.
"Well, not exactly…"
"What is exactly, love?" she asked, turning to look at her. Widget's shoulders slugged.
"No."
"Exactly."
They jumped across to one stand, where tiny electronic animals were sold. Very cheap, they wouldn't last a day in the hands of a small child. The spiky yellow grass prickled their heels as the skipped over near the Big Top, skidding to a stop.
"Where is Arrow?" Widget asked.
"I don't know. If he's not up before us, he'll never hear the end of it."
RUSTLE.
The sound of chains moving fill their ears.
Their heads darted around the area, searching for where the noise might be.
"What was that?" Widget asked.
"Shhh…"
RUSTLE.
"Over here, quick!"
They darted around the different stalls until they came to the cotton candy booth.
"Help!" a cry let out on the other side. Widget knew that voice anywhere.
Arrow.
"Over there!" she quickly leapt over to come face to face with Arrow…in the Monkey Cage.
He wrapped his hands around the bars and leaned forward. When he got a glimpse of who it was, he groaned.
"Great…Widget."
Widget just burst out laughing.
"You're in the Monkey Cage?" Just the thought of it made her crack up.
"What's going on?" Cathy asked, walking over.
"Cathy! Thank God!" Arrow cried.
Cathy took one look at Arrow…and almost collapsed on Widget, laughing with her.
"You are so busted!" she choked out, tears streaming down her face. Arrow crossed his arms stubbornly.
"You guys are just retards." He insulted. But not even the ultimate pay out could look cool inside a cage. "I was just too cool, so Hamegg had to contain my awesomeness," he boasted.
"Trapped in a cage, and still got your big head, 'ay Arrow?" Cathy smiled, reaching through the bars and ruffling his hair.
"What on Earth did you do?!" Widget laughed.
"I was hungry!" is all Arrow responded with. Cathy looked to the cage, and then to the candy floss machine. It didn't take a genius.
"Oh God, Arrow. Don't you have enough stolen sweets from the children?"
"Yeah but nothing as good as fresh candy floss! Now help me outta here!"
"No way!" Widget scoffed, her laughter finally dying down. "In my opinion, you should have gotten chucked in with the robots!"
"That's enough Widget. I'm sorry Arrow, Hamegg only has the keys."
"Well, go get them! He trusts you!"
"He's fast asleep."
"Even better." Cathy took an offended step back.
"You want me to steal Hamegg's keys? I'll end up in the Monkey Cage with you!"
"Nice try, Arrow, but you've been a bad boy!" Widget said, crossing her arms.
"Whatever," he mumbled.
Suddenly some yelling and running could be heard, heading towards them. Racing into the spot light came Sludge, Speck and Pepper.
Arrow would die if Pepper saw him. She was one of the most gorgeous looking girls in the circus, with a curvaceous body and tanned skin, sky blue eyes and glossy brown hair that curled to her waist. As she ran, it swayed behind her, brushing against her short pink dress.
Speck was one of the older boys, being seventeen, and had chocolate brown hair that matched his eyes. His skin was tanned to almost black, but his light brown freckles stood out, causing a funny collision of shades. Because of this, everyone called him Speck, though his real name was Hector. He was glad to change it.
They all halted to a stop in front of the cage, Pepper already cupping her hand over her mouth with laughter.
"What the hell did you do?" Speck asked, shaking his head. Sludge walked over to Widget and poked his tongue out. Arrow returned it.
"Oh my god, where's my camera?" Pepper squeaked.
"Don't you dare!"
"How's it going, darlin'?" Speck asked, stepping closer to Cathy.
Did I mention he has a major crush on her?
"Lookin' good."
…and isn't afraid to show it?
"Oh please…" Cathy mumbled. "You're too young for me, kiddo."
"HELOOOOOO?" Arrow waved his arms around the cage. "GET ME OUTTA HERE!"
"Any news on Cora?" Sludge asked.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing…" Widget said glumly, lowering her head. Speck ruffled Sludge's hair.
"Hey, cheer up Lil Badger."
No-one was sure where that nickname came from but Speck has called Sludge that since forever. Sludge was pretty sure Speck doesn't even know his real name. They think it was when they were talking about all the animals that were extinct, and when they explained the disruption of a badger to Speck, he found some resemblance to Sludge.
Don't ask.
"No point warring, there probably basking in the sun on a nice junk mound!"
"Hello? Is anybody listening?" Arrow was ignored once more.
"Oh please, that girl wouldn't survive one day on her own," Pepper snubbed.
Cora didn't get along with most of the other girls, beside Cathy and a few others. Pepper had always been jealous of Cora's boy-like strength and agility, and how she was constantly praised by one boy named Reno, whom she had an obvious crush on. But Reno wasn't looking for a girlfriend. He was in love with the science of robotic technology, and spends more time with machines than people.
"Yeah," Cathy laughed, "And you could last a week!"
The sarcasm burned in her ears.
"I could so!"
"You couldn't last one night in that Monkey Cage!"
"EXACTLY! Get me out of here!" Finally everyone looked to Arrow.
"It's a punishment, man. Now shut it." Speck turned to Cathy again. "Found some good junk mounds you and me could scavenge, ay lovey?"
A perfect example of circus boys flirting.
"Oh, you flatter me so." Cathy dead panned.
"Leave the girl alone, would you?" Sludge said. Speck turned around with his 'serious face' on.
"Oh, you wanna go?" he threatened. Cathy pushed through the middle of the two.
"Alright ladies, enough."
"I wanna see Cora and Zane again!" Widget suddenly cried out. Cathy looked to her, and kneeled down in front of her drooping head. She put her soft palms on the side of her face and lifted it.
"Sweetie, look at me."
With a sigh Widget looked to Cathy.
"They might not be dead. I hate to say it, but Speck is probably right. Cora and Zane can survive anything." Widget's eyes lightened.
"Anything?" Cathy smiled.
"Well, come on. What could they possibly get themselves into?"
The night had gotten thin, the sky turning a shade of deep blue. The stars were gone, and a light breeze picked up clouds of dust and ash, throwing it around the town. Most people were fast asleep. But not Cora…
"How do we get ourselves into these messes?" Cora asked, entering the lounge room. Nancy let out a laugh.
"I remember when I was seventeen. Ahhh, good times…" Cora tightened her grip on the stretcher.
"Yeah… bloody brilliant…"
They stepped over to the couch and placed the stretcher down. Nancy and Cora slowly lifted the robot with many grunts and groans, and almost chucked him onto the soft pillows. The robot didn't seem to mind getting tossed about like a doll, and remained occupied by admiring its surroundings. Nancy wiped her forehead and examined him with Cora. The teenager saw that all of the robot's cloths had been burnt off. Luckily he was made with a custom Speedo, black and green. Lillyian shuffled on the spot, fidgeting her hands and letting out noises that resembled a seagull. Cora twisted around.
"You okay?"
"Yeah!"
Her tone said one thing, but her expression said another.
Cora leaned over to the robot. He was looking around the room, but now his eyes locked on hers. As she looked closer, she noticed the blue was weakening in his eyes, and they were slowly turning back to the hazel brown. She hoped it meant that he was repairing, or getting his functions together.
"He's getting better," Cora informed. Nancy looked over. The robot looked at Nancy.
"Yes, he does seem to be interacting more."
The robot boy's ear flickered as Cora breathed on him. Lillyian giggled, but her laughter died down as the boy then looked to her.
"Well, I'll see if I can fix up some scars, and those wires that are exposed."
"But how will you do that? This town has no technology, right? Ha, unless you were planning on making the microwave doing the job." Cora muttered. Nancy stood up straight.
"Well, when Damion and Lennox came here, all their past tools were far too expensive to throw out, and you don't get many passersby around here, so it's extremely hard to make a sale. So they still have a shed FULL of the junk."
With an understanding nod from Cora, Nancy walked over to the door. She had a kind of proudness in her step, and every minute with her Cora picked up all the city like behavior. She couldn't imagine a place where the properness was a simple requirement.
"Wait here." The door closed and they heard the robot let out a hum of confusion. The teen spun around to Lillyian.
"Okay, spill. Something's up." Lillyian looked to the ground, and mumbled a bit.
"The robot, I know he's different, but he's malfunctioned. And this town has a bad past of malfunctioned robots…"
A pale hand placed on her shoulder. Lillyian looked up to Cora.
"I won't let anything hurt you, don't worry."
KNOCK.
The two raced over to the door and pulled it open as Nancy stumbled in carrying a huge box full of tools. No wonder she couldn't open it on her own. She walked over and dumped the box next to the couch. She looked up.
"Alright girls! Let's get fixing!"
For the next hour the two helped Nancy to repair the robot, passing over screwdrivers and other tools they couldn't name. Nancy was a brilliant mechanic, no doubt she was educated in the subject. Cora was happy to think that Reno was almost just as good. The whole hour felt like just another day with him back at the circus, and Cora got quite bored. The robot seemed to agree, as it had fallen asleep half way through.
Finally Nancy had done all she could. The scars were sealed, and the wires on the shoulder were clicked back into place. There was a big debate on where the robot should stay. Nancy wanted Cora to bunk with Lillyian so that the robot could stay in the lounge room. But Lillyian wanted the robot to go in her room.
"I don't care," Cora had muttered, and the robot was placed into small bed by the youngsters. Cora fell asleep shortly afterwards, shivering. Nancy tucked Lillyian in, after having a laugh when she placed one of her blankets over the robot and tucked him in first.
"Good night."
Those were the only words spoken for the next two hours
"My arm hurts…"
Lillyian awoke with a grin. The robot's voice wasn't broke or cracked and sounded as healthy as her own. She leaned her head over and looked to him. He was looking to the roof, his eyes back to the normal brown color. The night was getting lighter, the light casting shadows to dance across the walls, and she could hear birds start to chirp.
"You're awake!" she leapt down from the bed, tossing the quilts onto the floor. She kneeled down next to him. He looked to her. Only one thing was written on his face- confusion, complete and utter.
"I'm dead..." he mumbled. Lillyian laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"No!" she told him. The robot let her hug him. He was too mixed in his own thoughts to push her off.
"But the house…it fell…no-one came…" a moment of silence past. The robot leaned close to Lillian's ears. "Are you dead?" he whispered.
More laughter erupted from the small girl, letting go of him and sitting up. "NO!" she laughed.
"I…the house…" the girl placed a finger on his lips.
"Shhh, your alive! My dad made a BIG mistake, the house did fall, but you survived, and
we found you!"
"We?"
"Yeah, me and Cora."
Suddenly the robot's mind clicked, and the information raced through. So, I was in the house when it fell. Damion technically killed me…and then Cora and Lillyian found me…and now I'm in a house…
He tried to sit up, but he couldn't. His left arm didn't hurt anymore, but it didn't exactly feel better either…he looked down to it.
But it wasn't there.
He let out a cry and jolted away, not that he could from his own shoulder. "My arm! It's gone!" Lillyian placed hand on his shoulder.
"I know, it fell off." The robot gulped.
"Fell off?"
"Don't worry, we'll find it in the morning." The robot just looked at her strangely. A lost limb was a lot to take in.
"S-so you can fix it?"
"Yeah, Nancy will fix it!" she comforted. The robot frowned.
"Who's Nancy?" he asked.
"She let all of us stay in her house, and she's the one that mended you." She answered in a cheery voice. The robot shuffled his shoulder a bit. Lillyian sighed and put her hands on her hips, imitating Abigail when she had done something wrong. "Do you want me to help you up?"
The robot stopped struggling and looked to her.
"Maybe…" he said meekly. Lillyian smiled and pushed his back up, helping him into a sitting position.
"Thank you," he praised. Lillyian smiled.
"You're a very polite robot." The boy cocked his head.
"I thought this town hated robots."
"No, not all of them. Mostly it's just my family…"
A moment passed.
"And you don't hate robots?"
"Well, some of them give me the creeps. But not you! You're different. Nice. You're my friend." The robot didn't have a friend yet, and it felt good to have someone on his side.
"Thank you."
Lillyian grinned at him. For a few silent minuets, Lillyian examined the robot while the robot examined the room. Soon, she let out a sigh and stood, picking up her quilts and rearranging them on her bed. With a squeaky grunt she climbed into the covers and laid down, looking to the window. The robot watched her before doing the same, resting on his back once more. More moments past without words, until Lillyian asked a question that hadn't occurred to the robot before.
"Do you have a name?"
He winced his head to her.
"Umm, robot?" Lillyian let out a laugh.
"No silly! A proper name," she said, turning her head for her eyes to meet his. He hummed in thought.
"Well, Zane and Cora did try and give me a name, but none of those 'human names' suited me that much…"
Lillyian's gaze returned to the window, looking to the sky. After a while, a word the robot had never heard before sounded from the bed.
"Atom."
"…What?"
"Your name. Could it be Atom?"
"Where did you get that name from?" Lillyian sighed dreamily.
"If you look outside at night, you can only see one really bright star. I sing to it sometimes, and gave it a name. Atom."
"…And?"
"Do you want it?"
"Want what?"
"The name, silly."
"No, it's yours." Lillyian looked to him.
"It's the star's. But I gave it to it, and I can take it away. So, Atom?"
"Atom…" the robot played the name on his lips. He liked the sound of it. It seemed to suit him, original and unique. "It's perfect. Thank you." Atom said with a grin.
"You're welcome, Atom."
Lillyian rolled over, with a yawn and got comfortable. Atom smiled.
"Say it again…"
Lillyian laughed. "You're welcome, Atom."
"Thank you, Lillyian."
…
"You're welcome, Atom."
Atom laughed and continued the game. "Thank you, Lillyian."
"You're welcome, Atom."
"Thank you, Lillyian."
It went on until their complements were just whispers, and Lillyian stopped all together. Atom smiled and closed his eyes, thinking that Lillyian must have drifted off. But that theory was shattered when he heard something he didn't see coming.
"Atom…can you be my new brother?"
He wasn't sure if he had heard her right. But just in case…
"Sure."
Lillyian grinned and snuggled down. Atom smiled as well, and let his head fall to the side as he powered down.
Only when it was early morning did Cora cease to shiver. Her nerves loosened gleefully as the warmth heated up the Surface. Outside the villagers were starting to rise and get to work, and Lennox was proudly digging in his veggie patch while Scooter decided to have a precious sleep in.
The same smells from Abigail's house filled Cora's nose as her eyes slowly opened. She groaned a bit and stretched her arms, noticing the bruising felt much better. But she noticed something strange. She was on a mattress, not the couch. Her eye sight adjusted and she saw a bed towering next to her, with a face looking over the side.
Scruffy blue hair, frowning grey eyes.
She felt her heart clog in a surprised gasp. "Zane?"
"What are you doing here?" they both asked each other. Cora jolted up and glanced around. Sure enough, she was in the guest room on a spare mattress.
"How did I get here?"
"I dunno. Maybe Nancy carried you in here. I wouldn't blame her- I could hear your teeth chattering from in here!" Cora stood, dusted her singlet and straightened out her shorts.
"Hey, you can't talk Mr Snore Ville," she snapped, walking over to the end of the bed. Zane looked surprised.
"What?"
"Oh please! You snore like one of Autumn's tractors!" Zane took a moment to think for a moment, frowning. Cora shook her head.
Though a lovable guy, he's certainly not the brightest, she thought to herself, smiling at the dumb-founded face.
Suddenly her ears pricked up to a sound coming from the kitchen. It sounded like a woman, letting out shrill noises. She couldn't work out if it was laughter or crying, or just screaming. Her eyes widened as she turned to the door.
"Oh no..."
"Do you hear that?" Zane asked, dropping the snoring topic.
"I think the robots awake," Cora thought aloud. If it was just Nancy it would be fine, but if Damion saw it first it would be dead meat. The closest voice she clicked to was Abigail, but she didn't know what sort of reaction she would give him.
Zane stumbled. "Excuse me? Robot?"
"Me and Lillyian found the robot last night..." Cora replied, not thinking of her friend's confusion and quickly darting to the door.
"WHAT?"
She pushed through the old wood and stepped into the hall, not paying attention to Zane as the door slammed in his face. She quietly made her way down the hall, the high-pitched talking becoming clearer. Cora took a glance to each bedroom door, but they were closed. Soon, she arrived in the opening of the kitchen.
She couldn't believe it.
She struggled to keep the laughter in.
There was Abigail, standing in front of the robot with a wild grin. But it wasn't what she was doing, it was what she was saying.
Abigail bit her knuckles for a moment, thinking, then grinned.
"OO! Can you speak?"
The poor robot didn't know what to think or how to react to the behavior. He looked much more lively and was still wearing his black Speedo with his knee high boots.
"Ummm?"
"OH MY GOD THAT'S BRILLIANT! Can you...can you sit down?"
Atom sat down on the edge of the couch obediently. Abigail clapped her hands in delight. Cora shook her head. The woman didn't have a clue about robots.
Amateur...
"Can you run? Oh! Can you cook? Can you cry? Can you-"
"AHEM!"
The two flinched towards Cora, emerging from the hall. Atom seemed to be in full relief, Abigail just seemed surprised.
"Good morning, Mrs Chrome." Cora said politely. "I see you have met terms with our robot."
Atom jumped up from the couch and quickly scampered over next to her. She looked to him and scoffed out a laugh. He looked as scared as a rabbit being chased by a killer dog.
"It's extremely fascinating! I mean, it not only looks like a human," Abigail explained, walking over, "It reacts like one, talks like one! I can't believe Damion didn't let us have one! Well, of course we don't have any working bots here..."
Her eyes then shot up to Atom.
"Where can we get one?" She asked eagerly. Atom shuffled a bit. He didn't really know if there was any other robots like him. The thought of him being a particular brand made him feel uncomfortable.
"Umm, I'm sorry but we think this particular one was a onetime only," Cora explained, sharing a glance with Atom.
"Well, how much do you want for it?"
Atom jolted. Cora was shocked at the woman's quick change of heart for the robot. She suddenly felt Atom slide his fingers around her wrist, sending cold shivers to snake up her spine. Without saying anything, they both knew that a sale was out of the question.
"I'm sorry, but it isn't for sale..." Atom quickly nodded his head in agreement. Abigail's shoulders slumped a bit.
"Yes well, I guess Damion wouldn't be too happy about it." She said glumly. Cora frowned. The sudden idea that Abigail was in some what a prisoner came to mind.
Who was that guy to tell Abigail what to fear, and what to love? What to keep, and what to avoid?
She looked to Atom and smiled. "But, since where the guests in town and all, I think that our robot could maybe give you a hand in the kitchen?" Cora proposed, ignoring Atom's sudden desperate expression and jerk of his head. Abigail beamed.
"Splendid! I'll just go and see if Lillyian is awake..." and with that, she left the room with creaks following every step. Atom let go of Cora's wrist and held his head in dismay.
"That...woman...is killing me."
"Don't be rude, she's only interested," the teen explained, looking over to the scrunched up blankets on the couch. "How's your arm by the way?"
"What's there to know? It's gone!" Cora turned to him.
"Don't raise your voice. What I meant is, does anything hurt too bad?" Atom examined himself for a moment, then shook his head.
"I feel fine."
"Good."
They stood in silence for a bit, hearing Abigail and Lillyian talk from the bedroom. Cora looked to the ceiling and played with the ends of her singlet, while Atom shuffled his boots and looked around the kitchen.
Talk about awkward...
To break it, Cora took a deep breath and turned quickly to Atom, clearing her throat. Not even waiting for Atom to look at her, she quickly sent her message. "ThankyouforsavingmewhenwefellofftheRidge." It all came out in a blur of words. The robot frowned and cocked his head.
"Pardon?"
Cora bit her lip and sighed. "I just want to kinda thank you for saving my live...you know, when we fell off the Ridge..." She then quickly darted her head away.
Atom smiled. "Is it really that hard to say thank you to a robot?"
She slowly looked up at him, frowning. His smile remained, innocent and sickingly human. For one strange moment, she felt her heart sink a bit. She shook her head, and even without wanting to, words slipped out of her mouth. "So human..."
Atom's smile faded and he frowned a bit.
"ATOM!"
The two jolted around to the excited Lillyian, awake and back to her bubbly self, complete with purple and orange giraffe PJs. Cora frowned as she raced up and hugged the boy around the waist.
"Atom?" she repeated. The robot hugged the small girl with his one arm.
"It's my name." He said. Lillyian slipped from the embrace and grinned at him. She turned to Cora.
"I made it up!" she yelled boldly.
"You don't have to refer me to Atom, just I thought-"
"No, no. Atom is fine, it's better than 'robot boy' all the time." Cora said with a smile. She nodded to him. "Atom it is."
"YAY!" Lillyian cheered. Abigail and Zane then entered the room. Zane, wearing his now clean jacket and jeans, jolted at the sight of the activated Atom.
"HOLY! It's true! You did find it!" he cried, running up and circling around Atom. "Nifty, you look alright..." but then he turned to see the missing limb. His face dropped. "Oh geeze..."
"Nancy is out to the shed now." Abigail informed. "When she comes back she'll-"
"Good morning everyone!" as if on cue, Nancy appeared at the door, carrying a small box filled with tools.
"NANCY!" Lillyian cheered. The bright woman swished past her and over to the couch, laying the box on the ground next to the larger one still left from last night.
"Good morning, sweet!" she took a moment to dust her hands and look around the room, smiling to each person. "Cora," she nodded, "Hope you had a warmer sleep in Zane's room." Cora smiled and returned a nod. Nancy looked to Zane and chuckled. "I think you had one of the best sleeps of your life! Not as much hot chocolate next time!" Zane tried to look offended, but couldn't help a laugh as Cora elbowed him in the gut. "Feeling any better, Abigail?" Nancy asked, concerned. She nodded and smiled.
"Yes thank-you, Nancy. Still a bit shaken, but nothing visual."
Nancy smiled. Her eyes traced over to Atom. She and him were the first ones up, but all that was said to each other was a quick note that Nancy had to go to the shed for tools and Atom giving some reference to his new name. She smiled and gestured for him to come over.
"Atom, come over here. Let's see what we can do about that arm of yours, hmmm?"
Atom nodded shakily and treaded forward, standing in the middle of the couches. Nancy set to work, leaning down and looking through all the tools, even tossing some aside. She inspected each one, gave it a slight hum of consideration, then threw it back. Cora was fascinated by her knowledge of mechanics- every single tiny tool, screw or bolt she looked at like she had used it a hundred times before, and was thinking whether it was perfect. Soon though, she rose holding what Atom dreaded.
Out of all the tools, why that one? He thought in dismay.
Indeed the appliance looked dangerous, with a thin bar of metal with a small curved hook at the end sticking out of the green handle. Atom gulped. Nancy stopped fiddling with it and looked to Atom's scared face. "Don't worry!" She said, stepping over and placing one cool hand on his shoulder, leaning in on the exposed wires and circuits. "I'm a professional."
While Nancy fidgeted with the robot, Atom letting out small yelps or gasps now and then, Abigail went on with her daily job- cooking breakfast. Lillyian, Cora and Zane gathered on the couch to watch Nancy do her work.
"EEP!" Atom flinched. Cora and Zane snickered. Nancy looked up.
"Sorry!"
Lillyian leapt up and held onto Atom's hand for comfort as she did when they had carried him on the stretcher.
"It's okay." Atom smiled down at her. Soon they could hear a sizzling sound upraise from the kitchen as Abigail prepared the fry pan.
"Anyone disprove pancakes?" she called over to them.
"YUM!"
"Yes please!"
"Thanks!"
"No thank you..." They all looked to Atom as he responded.
"Not you!" Nancy laughed, pulling on his ear a little playfully. Atom shrunk down. Nancy snapped her head to Cora and Zane. "Why don't you two go have an arm treasure hunt, hmm?"
Cora nodded, but Zane's face turned slightly pale. "W-what?" Cora tugged on his shirt.
"Atom's arm, stupid! Come on!" she urged, running up to the door.
"Oh...yeah, right," he mumbled, lamely following.
"Be careful!" Nancy called.
"AND HURRY!"
The morning was nothing short of beautiful. The grasses were just shedding out of their winter skin, changing to bright green to yellow. The sun was partly hidden by the pure white misty clouds. Some in the distance were a churning gray, whispering promises of rain across the Out Skirt range, and a small breeze was whisking up dust and white ash.
Zane and Cora passed by the different villagers who gave them smiles, nods, or just small glances. Most didn't treat them badly like Cora had once thought. She maybe guessed that they would partly blame them for the events the day before, for if they weren't there it would've never happened. Also they had practically insulted their policy.
But no source of aggression or hatred was shown, just kindness or a touch of curiosity. The two teens made their way to the burn site and got searching. While they lifted the debris and ruin, Cora told Zane of how she and Lillyian came to find Atom, of course taking out the nightmare part. Cora never spoke of her nightmares in detail. She didn't want the trouble of people asking what was wrong- that would lead to the secrets of her past, which she wanted to keep personal forever.
Zane shuffled around in the ash, paying more attention to the black Wonderland than committing to the task they were given. Cora smartly trudged over to where she found the robot, and lifted pieces of scorched wall. They kept themselves occupied by thinking about how the others would react when they rocked up, not only alive, but with this extremely expensive robot.
"What would he be worth in Metro City?" Zane called from his idle place a few meters from where Cora was digging. She swiped her forehead.
"I dunno. Couple hundred thousand?"
Zane edged closer with a smile.
"A million?" he cooed. Cora gave him a look.
"What, you're just gonna steal Atom from me in the night and shit off to Metro City?"
"...We both could?"
Cora's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't sure if it was from a misshaped laugh she failed to express, or maybe even that glint of excitement. She started to think.
Holy crap...we COULD leave the circus! We just hitch a ride up there, sell Atom back to his creator and BAM! No more circus work. We would be living the dream, teen millionaires!
But one thing struck her.
"Sludge and Widget?" She asked as she went back to tossing and digging. Zane gave a careless gesture.
"Yeah, yeah, of course we'll go back for them!" he jumped over to her with new found enthusiasm. "But just...just think about it! Rich...Metro City..."
The echoing words spread a smile on their lips like a spell.
"But what if we never find its owner?"
"Pfft!" Zane looked back to Nancy's house. "Would it matter? The highest bidder, in my opinion..."
"I dunno...I would feel back about- ARRRG!"
Suddenly Cora let out a horrified gasp and leapt over to Zane, her body tensing. Zane frowned at her, then trudged over to what the cause of her reaction was.
Atom's arm.
With a laugh Zane picked it up by the elbow. It didn't seem too damaged at all, just dusty. He jerked it in Cora's face. "OOOOO! IT'S GOING TO GRAB YOOOUUUUU!" he yelled stupidly.
Cora relaxed and gave Zane a shake of her head.
"Real mature, Zane."
"KIIIILLLL..."
He brushed one of the fingers across her cheek.
"ERRG!" Cora slapped it away, sending Zane in a fit of laughs and snorts. "CAN IT!"
"You are scared of a fake arm! HAHAHAHA!"
The annoyed teen walked over and jerked on the boy's collar, cutting his giggle to a stop.
"Come on," she snapped. Zane grinned goofily and followed behind her, occasionally poking her with Atom's arm.
"You're freaked out, admit it!"
"You gotta admit Zane," Cora said as they passed back through the town, some people giving them absurd looks, probably wondering what a teenage boy was doing waving around an arm, "It's kinda creepy. That's technically a dead arm. You're holding a dead arm."
Zane barely heard a word.
They made their way through into the lounge room, a strong whiff of pancake batter and cinnamon filling the air. Much better than the smell of ash. With a leap of joy from Lillyian and an approving nod from Nancy, Zane and Cora handed the arm over to be mended back into place. Atom seemed very disturbed having everyone in the room passing down his own arm- and, really, no-one could blame him.
Well, how would you feel if you saw your own arm, unattached from you?
While Nancy worked hard on Atom- not daring to make a move, Lillyian, Zane and Cora gathered around a small dining table between the kitchen and lounge room for breakfast. There, they discussed transportation with Abigail.
Cora leaned over to Zane's ear. "Do you even know where the circus is?"
They had just arrived at the place, and straight away went on scavenging duty, so nowhere seemed to ring a bell. And that bump on the head from the fall didn't exactly bring the memory bird back.
Zane shook his head. "Nah."
"CIRCUS?" Lillyian's eyes grew wide with interest.
Shoot. Busted.
"Can we go to the circus, mommy?" the child begged. Abigail frowned at Zane and Cora.
"Circus?" she asked. The two teens awkwardly glanced at each other. Then Zane did the smartest thing he'd done that week.
"Y-yeah. I remember our house being near the circus that just dropped in. You know, the Great Robot Circus?" With a trusty smile from Cora, Zane finished up. "You know it?"
Abigail scratched her carrot orange hair, her freckles bunching up in thought. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she left her seat, walking over to the old drawer. "You still have that flyer, don't you Nancy?"
Nancy waited a full 20 seconds before looking up from Atom, glancing to Abigail. "What? Oh! Yeah, top drawer..." she replied poorly before returning to Atom's arm. Abigail nodded and slid it open, shuffling around in it before returning to the table with a brightly colored piece of paper.
She placed it on the surface of the table to show the two. Before them was a very familiar article.
The flyer showed Hamegg proudly standing in the middle of a circus ring with his whip, surrounded by various robots and robot animals. Down the bottom read,
'The Greatest Robot Show Around! Now Showing In Sunset City!'
"Sunset City!" Zane cheered. Cora joined his relief. They grinned at each other and shared a hug.
"We're going home!" Cora gasped. Abigail smiled and stood to return the flyer to its place. Lillyian sobbed a bit, clasping the teens attention. They looked to her.
"Y-your leaving?" she whimpered. Cora placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We have homes too, Lillyian."
"W-will you be taking Atom, too?" she said, wiping her eye. They both nodded. Lillyian quickly flinched over to Atom, who gave her a quick smile, though he was rather sad too.
He would much rather live in Autumn than travel to the Robot Circus for a home. He wanted to stay with Lillyian. Maybe he could clear out the odds with Damion and Scooter and the town. He could be the town's only robot. I liked the sound of that.
But he knew it was out if the question. Cora wouldn't allow it. After all, it was him who got them sucked into this mess.
After finishing breakfast, Abigail called Scooter in to discuss the best route to Sunset City from here, and perhaps give them a head start in his pickup truck. After having quite a jolt at Atom, he settled down with Zane and Cora, passing on the vital info.
"I'll give ya a lift to the fork in the road. Then you must turn RIGHT- it'll lead ya into the forest. Keep following the path until you start to reach bigger roads. You should be approaching the town Scarlet Lake, if that's the case. Keep up the main road, and walk until you reach the old railway station. The train there will probably be runnin' past Green Fields, and that's a long way so it might take a day's travel. When it stops at a place called Sparks, that's your stop. Be careful around there- that place is a wild party casino heaven!" Though saying this as a warning, Scooter seemed like he called the place his second home, "Any who, Sparks leads into the backstreets of Sunset City. Hopefully you can make it from there."
With that Scooter passed on a rugged little map, the path highlighted in blue pen. Thanking him, Cora passed it roughly to Zane.
"DON'T forget about this one THIS time, Zane!" she warned him kiddingly.
After about half an hour, Nancy had reconnected Atom's arm. Zane and Cora had passed the time by exploring the town and its people. The Bella family Cora particularly liked. The three blond children were so sweet, and their mother was quite young, only 20. Zane much preferred Lennox and his stories of hunting down robots and wild rabbits. But soon it was time to leave.
Atom flexed his left arm with a grin. It didn't hurt, it didn't malfunction. But best of all- it was there!
He let out a laugh. "Well," Nancy said, rubbing (or rather smearing) grease from her cheek. "How does it feel?"
"Brilliant!"
Nancy smiled. Atom wriggled his fingers. Curled his wrist. Snapped his fingers. Everything just felt so good to move again. He smiled at Nancy. "Thank you."
"Ha!" the humble woman replied. "It was nothing! I should be thanking you- it's nice to feel like I'm in business again. Especially with something as remarkable as you."
"Thank you anyway," the robot pestered his complement. He turned to bump into Lillyian, starting to sob slightly. He tilted his head and bended down to her.
"Maybe we'll meet again one day?" he offered. She wiped her nose and nodded sadly.
Outside, Nancy, Zane and Cora were out by Scooter's truck he had parked by the Maple Tree. It was quite a rusty thing, with doors slightly not hooked on and the wheels slightly on a tilt. It had been through a lot obviously, with its washed out red coating. While Scooter worked out the kinks (he hadn't driven in a long time) and filled the tank, Nancy talked with Cora and Zane with a surprising conversation.
"So...you two call the circus home, do you?"
They looked at each other with shock. "Y-you know?" Zane stumbled. They all looked to the house for a moment as Atom walked out with Lillyian and made his way to the truck, them hand in hand.
"I figured it out. I know a fair bit about circus kids, honey, but your secrets safe. That's why you were out in the Wastelands, wasn't it? Pick up robots for it?" They looked to each other and slowly nodded. Nancy glanced to Atom and bit her lip. "Now," she said firmly, "I want you two to PROMISE you won't let Atom get too battered in the ring. I don't want to stumble across him in the Wastelands again, except he's in pieces. Got it?"
Zane swallowed and the two looked to Atom.
"Alright guys! Everyone in the truck!" Scooter called. Cora shook Nancy's hand.
"We'll try." She smiled. Nancy pulled her into a hug.
"I'll miss you, dears." Cora had no trouble hugging back.
"I'll miss you more. You're an incredible woman, Nancy." Zane embraced with them in a tight group hug.
Atom looked to Lillyian and sighed. "Well, I guess this is my lift." She squeezed his hand.
"I'll miss you! Soooo much!"
She leapt up and tightly hugged him, wrapping her small arms around his torso. Atom hugged her back with just as much passion.
Suddenly Abigail could be heard yelling in the house. And someone was yelling back, barking about something.
"Oh no..." Nancy gulped. Scooter, who was sitting in the driver's seat, leaned over cautiously and slowly closed the car door. Cora recognized the usual loud aggressive voice.
"Atom..." she called softly. Atom and Lillyian parted, him glancing to Cora.
"Yeah?"
"You may want to make a run for your life to the truck..."
"WHERE IS IT?!" As expected, Damion appeared at the thrown open door, his face red with anger. Atom's eyes widened and he slowly edged towards the car door. Cora scowled and Zane tensed.
Damion's head slashed over to stop the terrified Atom, etching away. He raised his finger.
"YOU!" he started to walk towards him, but Abigail held him back.
"Damion, sweetie! It isn't harmful, it's-"
"I'LL KILL IT! I'LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!" he screeched as he struggled to push past Abigail. She looked over to them and quickly mouthed,
'Run!'
With that warning Scooter started the truck, the engine coughing into life. Without even waiting for the teens or robot to reach the door, he shot it forward.
"JUMP IN THE BACK!" he called as Cora and Zane took chase, Atom following behind. Seeing the target get away, Damion ducked down into the house to retrieve his gun. Atom pulled ahead with inhuman speed as the truck descended out from the town, and grabbed onto the edge. With a small groan he pulled himself up onto the end of the truck, almost falling onto the rough dirt. Damion leapt out from the house and aimed his revolver at Atom's head as it reached out to grab onto Cora's hand. "Take this you little..."
"ATOM WATCH OUT!"
Hearing Lillyian's warning, Atom jolted his head up just to miss a flying bullet.
"ATOM!" Cora yelped, now seeing this chase was a matter of life and death. Scooter sped up even more upon hearing the gunshot. Atom stretched his arm as far as it would go, their fingertips just touching.
"JUST JUMP!" Atom yelled. As her last resource, Cora linked arms with Zane and leapt forward, as much to Zane surprised gasp. Three more rounds were shot by Damion, but succeeded in only chipping the backing headlights. Atom stood and strained his legs, pulling the two teens up with a pull back of his arm. The two went flying head first into the back, them collapsing all over each other with weary groans.
Damion chucked the gun on the dusty ground in anger, turning and kicking the side of the house. Abigail placed a hand on his shoulder. "Damion, honey...we need to talk..."
Lillyian stared after the truck as it rolled out of town. She waved her hand. "GOODBYE!"
Atom looked up from Cora and Zane (still painfully lying on their backs) to Lillyian. With a smile, he lifted his left arm and waved back.