It wasn't long before the town was swallowed by the dust clouds, erupting from the back of the truck. Atom smiled down at Cora and Zane, lying next to each other, expressing loud groans of pain.
"You okay?" Cora mumbled to Zane. He slowly pulled himself up, straining his back.
"Yeah, I'm good..." with a slight limp, Zane pulled himself up and sat upon one of three small hay bales packed in the corners of the small area. Cora moaned again, flinging an arm over her eyes and holding another out for help. The robot leaned down and locked grips, pulling her up with ease.
"Ahhh, thank you Zane..." Cora opened her eyes to see not Zane, like she had expected. Atom smirked. "Oh! Uhhh, Atom!" she exclaimed, caught off guard. Zane snorted from his seat.
"Ark-ward..." he sang.
Cora scowled and ripped her arm away from the robot's grip without a simple thank you. The boy robot shrugged, and moved his way over to another hay bale, adopting it as a seat. Cora found it much more difficult to even take a step, as Scooter seemed to handle the steering as if he were riding a kicking bull. But soon they all were sitting upon the scratchy straw, looking at the fast moving world around them, which included more piles of junk and scenery almost all the same to Autumn.
For the next half hour the truck rambled on. Cora and Zane talked to one another about this and that, while Atom seemed to like just staring at the sky with a curious expression painted on his face. He seemed to be mesmerized by the sight of the beautiful clouds and sun.
As more time passed, they approached another Out Skirts town. Scooter eagerly rolled his window down and slowed down the vehicle. The town wasn't much, maybe a bit smaller than Autumn, with more man-made huts than metal houses. The structures were built from old wood and sticks, one of them bricks.
Scooter waved his arm out to the only people out, three men sitting on tucker boxes on an old porch. Two were very similar, having a strong build with chocolate brown hair, one with a red bandana around his forehead and then other with a harmonica to his lips. The other was much older, having a white beard and looking freakishly boney. A cap was pulled backwards over his head so you couldn't guess whether he had hair or not. Perhaps that was the idea of it.
"Hey Hicker, Scraps!" Cora, Zane and Atom heard Scooter shout. The two young fellows looked up first before the elder. They all grinned and shared the wave.
"Yo, Scooter!"
"What you been up to, hey?" Scooter asked.
One lifted up a bottle of beer in response, causing them all to burst into laughter.
"Come join us!" they requested. Scooter slowed down more, almost to a stop. He shook his head and pointed to the back. The men all looked to the trio, eyes narrowing.
"Mate, you gotta couple of hitch hikers!" the brown haired laughed.
"Nope, just couple of friends!"
"Gahh, even worse!" they all shared a laugh once more. Cora leapt up to lean over the railings of the back to watch the conversation, smiling next to Atom.
"Well, gotta go mates!"
"Alright, mate!"
"Get outta here!"
"Hahaha!"
As Scooter accelerated back to normal speed, the three waved to Cora, Zane and Atom. They obviously didn't notice Atom to be any different, just laughing at his lack of clothing.
"DIGGIN' YOUR STYLE, MATE!"
"SURE THEY AIN'T HITCH HIKERS?!"
They drove away from the echoing laughter.
As the day started to get cooler, Scooter turned off onto a snaking path, entering through light forest grounds. The junk seemed to disappear before their eyes, as all they saw now was pine trees, grown and sprouting, bushes, prickly and kind, and all types of green and yellow grasses. It was a peaceful scenery moment, and everyone seemed to be feeling the vibe, relaxing and slinking down in their seats, Atom slightly slouching on the railing.
"Ahhhh," Zane sighed, throwing his hands behind his head. "I could get used to this..."
"Yeah well, don't," Cora murmured, "When we get to the fork in the road we have to WALK." Zane groaned, not moving.
Atom smiled and rested his chin on his hand, looking to the rushing dirt road beneath him. He knew his memory meant he couldn't remember who he was and what he did before, but he noticed that this forest and vegetation was an entirely new experience. He felt as if it wasn't just run-down memories that left him curious. He just knew that he had never seen anything like it. Like I've never been outside, almost, he thought. What kind of person doesn't let anyone outside?
After a while of watching him, Cora picked out the distinct features of the robot. She knew he was thinking deeply. "Whatcha thinking about?" the robot jolted, turning around to her.
"W-what? Oh...um, nothing..." Cora knew he was lying, but decided to let it drop.
"You starting to get your memory back yet?" Zane asked. Atom shook his head.
"Nope." Cora glanced to Zane, before picking up his pose and folding her arms behind her head as a pillow.
"Huh, too bad..." Cora looked to the worn out wooden boards that made the ground they were upon, tapping her foot in thought.
"You know, Nancy told us who your creator might be." Zane said. Atom instantly became interested, sitting on the vacant bale and folding his legs tightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah." Cora joined. Atom leaned forward with a curious smile, looking even more engrossed then when gazing at the clouds.
"Well, first off you're a Metro City robot." Zane started.
"Mmmhm. I know."
"Shhh, listen..." Cora said in that rare soothing tone Atom's come to favor.
"Well," Zane said, flipping his leg over the other casually, "She thinks it's out of TWO people. And they are...Drum roll please..."
"Get on with it, glory hound."
"Fine! Geeze..." Zane cleared his throat as Cora and Atom shared a tired glance. "It was out of Dr. Oshay." They both nodded. "Or-"
"Dr. Tenma." Cora finished, smirking at Zane.
Atom's eyes grew wide.
His head snapped up straight.
"HEY!" Zane argued, shoving his hands across his chest.
"What?" Cora laughed. "You were being Mr Suspenseful! Why couldn't I be Miss Interrupt?" She reached over and nipped his ear with her nail.
"Oww!"
"Oh, that wasn't hard..."
"YES IT WAS!"
"Cry baby."
"I'll pinch you..." Cora gave him a look of disbelief.
"You don't know how to do a good pinch."
"I'll get Atom to pinch you!" Zane threatened.
"He wouldn't!"
"ATOM!"
They both looked to Atom before giving each other a battle glare.
Two glowing blue spheres looked back. Flashing on, and off, on and off...
Zane gasped while Cora's eyes just widened. Her throat rejected the suggestion to speak, becoming drier with every breath. She frowned and raised a finger to the frighteningly familiar electric blue.
"Would that...?" Zane already had sprung to his feet, ignoring the unstable ground as he got thrown to the side of the truck, weak wood groaning against his tough body.
"It's happened again!" he screeched, in a mixture of tones Cora couldn't nail on. She kept on frowning in confusion as Zane kneeled down in front of the robot, not making any sound, just staring, as if it was focused on what was going on inside him rather than the surrounding world.
He waved his hand in its face.
"Hellooooo?"
No reaction.
"Yo!"
SNAP! SNAP!
Still nothing. Zane sighed and sat next to Atom, glancing over to Cora. "You gonna help?" he asked, annoyed. Cora slowly nodded, blinking and getting to her feet.
"WHOA!" as the truck hit a bump in the rocky road, she got thrown forward, landing half on the hay
bale, feeling the annoying prick of sweet straw. Stumbling on her legs and words, she looked up to
Atom, trying to gather the information about what was happening. Zane was right. The robot was
back to its idle state, not moving, not speaking and not thinking.
Pushing a clump of black hair behind her ear, Cora kneeled on the ground, resting her torso on the
bale. She sighed angrily and glanced to Zane.
"Well, now what?" she asked hastily.
"How am I supposed to know?" Zane almost shouted. Cora was thrown back by the unusual snappy
behavior. Zane nudged the robot's shoulder. "I'm getting sick of this thing! All it can do, is get us in
trouble, be bloody annoying and freeze for no reason what so ever!"
Cora gritted her teeth and glanced up to Atom's faceless expression. She exhaled through her nose.
"What about your plan?" she asked, looking to Zane. "Our plan. We, we just have to live with Atom
for a few more days, then we'll be off to Metro City with Sludge and Widget before you know it!"
"I dunno, Cora. I'm just about ready to chuck him off this truck." Cora stood her ground, trying not to
look foolish by tripping or falling.
"You're not getting rid of him! I get a say in this too!" Zane scowled.
"Your say is pretty much all that matters, isn't it?" Cora was stunned.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" the raging teen stood, much more steadied than her.
"You chose to keep the robot. You were the one that made us fall!"
"That was Atom that made us fall!"
"If you weren't so stupid and went crazy at it, then we might be at the CIRCUS RIGHT NOW!" Cora felt
a boiling rage in the pit of her stomach. It was unusual that they fought. She couldn't see the
problem- Zane had always been the laid back one, and Cora was the take-charge one. That's why they
got along so well. It was like Ying and Yang. Cora and Zane.
She covered her face with her hands. He was telling the truth. She had lost it. But, come on...who
wouldn't?
"Look, I'm sorry about that, but it was Atom's fault. I mean, he was being a pain in the ass!"
"EXACTLY!" Zane said, pointing to the robot. "Can we please just get rid of it?" Cora sighed. He was as
reluctant as a child going to the dentist. Not like they had many, on the Surface, but not one person in
the circus was very keen to try it.
"No, Zane!"
"Why not?!"
"We need him!"
"Why?" the teen snapped. He looked to Atom, as if wanting his words to be heard by the deaf
machine. "I DON'T WANT YOU ANYMORE!"
"D-Dad?"
The two reeled back. They couldn't tell if they both just imagined what they just heard. Am I going insane? They both thought. Both going insane at the same time was at the top most un-likeliness. But what happened next wasn't exactly what would first come to one's mind...
Cora's brows creased, confusion etched all over her face.
"Did you just hear tha-"
"Dad?"
They both jumped as Atom spoke. Or was it someone else? Well, Atom's lips defiantly moved, but the voice coming out didn't sound like him. The boy's voice sounded more rusty, natural. More human, if you wish. Not Atom's clear, perfect tone.
They both just stared at the robot. One thing had changed. His eyebrows were now pulled down, in a look of pleading. Cora breathed more heavily. Suddenly it felt as if the air had become ten times more humid than it already was.
"What just happened?" Zane looked at her. His face said one thing:
'What the hell?'
And she couldn't agree less.
Suddenly Atom jolted his arms to his side, sending the two to jump in their skins.
"Whoa! What's happening?" Zane asked, fear playing on his voice. Atom started to get to his feet, fractionally, as if a slow playing movie with each frame. His eyes kept on flashing, the time between each light up becoming slower. Cora and Zane got to their own feet, pressing their backs against the railing as Atom staggered forward, reaching his arms out.
"D-Dad?" he repeated the name that shouldn't be known to him. He said it with such mercy in his voice. He sounded like he only wanted one thing- forgiveness. But... forgiveness from what?
"Okay, Cora? What's going on?" Zane asked quietly. They both watched as Atom etched forward, grasping his arms out, heading for nothing in particular.
"P-program glitch?" Cora stammered.
"Oh yeah, 'cause every robot gets glitches and starts calling for Daddy," Zane mumbled. Cora scowled.
"No time for a fight now, Mr Emotional."
They both looked back to Atom...heading right for the end of the truck, taking slow, steady steps. Their eyes widened.
"Oh god…"
"Oh damn…"
Springing into action and alarm, they both raced over to the out of control robot, only a few more framed steps to the drop off. Cora gripped her hands around Atom's shoulder and tried to haul him back, groaning from the effort.
" Y-you gonna help or not?" she bit out. Zane quickly took Atom's other shoulder, and together they pulled back, Cora beginning to reach out for the rusty rails for support. Atom seemed to struggle forward more, grunting as his boot slipped a little.
"D-Dad? Why?"
"Yeah Atom, why? Get your butt back here or you'll be a piece of junk waiting to happen!" Cora screeched, digging her heels into the wood.
"Exactly!" Zane groaned, pulling more. "Come on mate! S-snap out of it!"
"It's all your fault, Zane!" Cora said. She rejected the idea of pulling Atom back- that wasn't doing anything. While the poor robot kept on slipping over his own legs, she decided to find a way to shut him down, or at least knock him out. It was better than him falling onto a forgotten road, probably never to be found again.
Cora felt a little prick in her heart at the thought. Zane scowled at her.
"Where are you going? And how is it MY FAULT?"
Cora felt to her waist bag, but...she was still wearing the cloths from Autumn. She kicked the hay bale.
"Just when I needed it!"
"What?"
"My spare screwdriver I stole from Nancy's collection!" Zane's neck gawked forward.
"Y-you stole from her?!" Cora smiled slyly and put her hands on her hips.
"You surprised?" Zane's brows rose.
"Probably not in the way you think..." With a wink he pulled out another screwdriver from his breast pocket. He twirled it in front of her. Her eyes widened.
"You sneaky bugger!"
"Dad! Wait!"
Zane twisted around and aimed the tool above his head. With a groan he hauled it right in the middle of Atom's scalp. A deafening smash echoed through the wildlife, and Zane's hands wobbled violently from the back-shot.
The results should have been foreshadowed, but came as a surprise.
"Dad..."
Zane pulled up the screwdriver as Atom continued to stammer forward. The metal was now bended into a rounded shape, a bit of a spike forming on the end. Cora's face twisted. Zane frowned...then shrugged.
"Should have known." He said casually. Cora snatched the harassed tool up and jumped up near Atom, just one step away from disaster. Remembering what she had done to stop Aim with the Scavengers, she stabbed the tool into a moving piece of fire-red metal among the chunky boot. Atom let out a small cry, surprisingly sounding more in his normal robotic voice. The twisted iron caught around his other unsteady foot, causing the robot to sway, waving his arms everywhere. Zane leapt up and Cora reached forward, both pulling on its arms just as he started to fall. Atom remained silent, all limbs going limp, head rolling to one side. Cora and Zane glanced to each other.
"You...do you think that's it?" Zane asked, as if Cora would know the answer. She swallowed, adjusting her grip on the rubbery skin.
"I-I hope."
THUNK!
Just as the luck they had gained punched them in the face, the truck hit yet another ditch in the earth. And, knowing Scooter, the truck has increase speed while approaching. The magnitude knocked the breath out of the two helpless teens, as they all got thrown upwards, landing on their backs on the creaky wood of the platform. It wasn't exactly something they weren't used to.
Atom flew up with them, his un-responsive body landing hard by the left bale of hay. Cora groaned, closing her eyes shut tight for a few seconds. Zane lay beside her, looking as if he'd gone to sleep there and then. With a tired grumble, Cora pulled herself up, glancing to Atom. She sighed, getting to her feet.
"Zane! We did it, we saved him!"
"Glorious..."
With a slight laugh, Cora ran over to Atom as Zane pulled himself onto his hay bale, sitting down and watching his friend aid the robot. She flicked some dirt off his cheek, and hauled him on the bale. It's eyes slowly closed in doing so, the relaxed expression painted back on its face, how it should be. With a pull back of her hair, Cora stretched her arm across her chest and glanced to Zane. Her joyful face dropped.
"We're KEEPING HIM..."
It was as if he had tried to take a child's favorite toy.
He smiled and shoved his hands behind his head. He still wasn't overly keen, but money was money- and Atom was worth a lot of it. They couldn't just throw him away, at least not for their sake.
"Sure, sure..."
Cora scratched her head.
"So, what the hell just happened-"
"AH!" Zane shot his finger up. "Give it a rest, Cora. I'm exhausted, you're exhausted. Let's just forget about the robot for two seconds and enjoy the ride." He snickered. "The way Scooter drives makes me feel like I'm on the train at the circus!" Cora gave a small smile.
"Yeah, I guess..." she sat on her bale, staring to the road ahead of them. How many time she had to stop herself from glancing over to Atom, not even he could count.
Over all, the ride took about five hours. Five hours of boredom. Cora and Zane gave up talking just over half way, as the truck rambled into more clearer grounds, passing grassy paddock by grassy paddock. Occasionally they passed an old farm house, once a small shaggy dog racing after. The owner (a young woman) soon called him back, giving a wave to them. Seeing the un-conscious Atom made her second guess her nice greeting, her face dropping as they traveled around the corner. Cora had sighed, looking to Atom.
"When do you think he'll wake up?" she asked her companion.
But Zane was fast asleep.
The sky was getting darker when Atom finally stirred. Cora had tried napping at the time, when her body jerked up at the groaning sound expressing from tired lips. Her shock swirled into relief as she ducked over to the robot's side. Atom arched his back and slowly opened his eyelids, wiping the dreamy state off his face. The icy blue eyes of Cora met his gaze.
"Cora? Are we there yet?" he asked, as if nothing had ever happened. Cora smiled slightly and patted him on the shoulder. He didn't remember a thing.
With a tilt of his spiked head, Atom frowned.
"S-since when did the sky get so dark?" he looked to the obvious face of the human. He frowned, becoming concerned. "What happened?"
"Oh, nothing. You know, just the usual saving your butt and all..." Cora replied smartly, rubbing her nails on her chest. She felt the buzz in her head, warning her.
'YOU'RE the boss of him! You're being way too friendly!'
No, not warning her. Annoying her.
She soon pushed them away, sitting on his haystack. Atom smirked. "If I remember correctly, I am the one who saves your butt!" Atom caught his tongue the moment he said it, hoping he hadn't violated a 'mannered robot' rule and ticked Cora off. But to his surprise, Cora smiled.
"You froze again, that's what happened." His ears flinched back.
"Again?" he face palmed with a groan. "I keep on forgetting!" Cora edged closer.
"We said another name. Zane thinks it's something to do with the amount of time between pauses, but I'm certain it's to do with what we say. I mean, it can't just be a coincidence." Atom tapped on his knees.
"W-what name did you say this time?" Cora rested her arms behind her head.
"Well, last time it was Tobi, right?" Atom seemed to cringe at the name. But slowly, he nodded.
"This time it was Dr. Tenma." Atom's chin raised a bit. "He's apparently the most brilliant mind in all of Metro City, and practically invented robots. So it would make sense if he was your creator."
"D-...D-Dad..." Cora leaned forward, curious. He still remembers him as Dad? I know he LOOKS like a kid, but...she frowned for a bit, but pushed the surreal idea aside.
"That's what you were saying when you froze. You were, like, trying to run to something. You looked really desperate." Atom let out a groan and cradled his head. Cora frowned and leaned all that closer. "Yeah...kinda like that..."
"I-I...I just can't remember! I'm really trying! I just can't! I don't know what this all means!"
"Hey, neither do we!" Cora exclaimed truly. It was all a giant muddle to all of them. She had already deeply thought about it while Atom was knocked out, and she had come to ONE idea that wasn't crazy.
The first freeze Atom didn't do anything, but when the time came he had saved them. Perhaps he'd done the sort of thing before? And now this scene, where he seemed to be...re-playing. Re-playing something from his past.
Cora put the two events together and found the obvious. "I think you're slowly getting your memory back, so it can't be that bad. From your performance, I'm not very sure you would want to remember, but yeah, not all bad."
The robot pivoted his head, the sky ablaze with dusk colors reflecting off his glass eyes. "What do you mean?"
"As I said- you looked really desperate." She placed a hand on his back, surprisingly feeling the small shudder from the contact. She took a breath. "I'm really sorry Atom, but I think your creator was a bad man. I...I don't think he wanted you..." She wasn't sad about this fact, just troubled.
If Atom's creator doesn't want him, then who the hell do we sell him back too? She wasn't keen on letting any drunk collector pick him up. I mean, who knows what they would do with him. Servant? Guard? Knowing what he was capable of, he could even be sent to the military...
Atom looked even more devastated then before. His mind whirled. I don't even get to meet my creator, and I already find out he doesn't want me...
He stared down at his legs, clenching his hands. The late afternoon breezes ruffled Cora's hair as they were cast in silence like too many awkward times gapped the quiet by piecing more of the puzzle together."That's why you were on the Surface..." she more told herself then Atom. "You must have been..." she cleared her throat before quietly finishing. "...Dumped..."
He didn't really need her to finish, which pinned his heart (if he had anything like that) down even more.
A moment passed of troubled breathing.
"Cora?"
"Hm?"
"...Where do I belong?"
Cora was caught off guard. She looked over to him. Not to a metal, artificial face. Not to glazed over brown eyes. But to a human. Almost...herself.
Belong...
She tried not to give away the small prickling of hot, salty tears on her lashes. With a small pat on his back, she walked over to her own seat, leaving Atom hanging for an answer. It seemed only the few birds were heard for the moment, their calls getting sucked in by the loud choking engine. Cora left it for what felt like hours until she replied, not really thinking about her answer.
"I guess one day we'll find out together."
Atom frowned. He noticed her voice was a new tone as he analyzed the voice chords in his head- something he found he couldn't control. She sounded...longing. As he was. But he still couldn't find out why.
We'll find out together? What was that supposed to mean?
Cora more than visually showed off her certainness for various occasions. She knew who she was, where she stood...didn't she?
Still, her words touched him slightly. Together. A robot, and Cora? A team? Maybe she was just tired. Even so, Atom rested his head back with a smile dancing on his face.
The truck stopped as the sun was going down and as the thunder started rumbling. It felt strange to feel steady earth beneath Cora's feet, as she hopped eagerly off the back of the truck, closely followed by Atom, who almost slipped on his boot. With a strange look, he pulled out a wrecked screwdriver from his heel. He thought it best not to ask.
After a few flicks on the nose and an aggressive shove, Zane finally awoke. With a groan he stepped shakily off the vehicle. The vibrating from the ride hadn't completely worn off.
Cora stepped across the rocky trail they had ridden on for the past five and a half hours. She couldn't imagine what they'd done if they hadn't got given a lift. The whole thing on foot may have taken a day- maybe more. Perhaps they would've begged for a ride back at that other town near Autumn. The people seemed friendly there, but Cora just wondered if they had the education to even step off their porch.
Scooter was right- they had arrived at a large fork in the road. She was standing right in the pin point where it parted. Down to the left was more paddocks, the long grassy fields wrapping around the many hills. It seemed peaceful down that road. But, unfortunately, their route meant they had to go to the RIGHT- where dense forest smothered the view.
Scooter, all dusty and tired, trampled out of the front and smiled at them all, giving a slight warning that there should be storms later in the night. Rather than the 'thank you, good bye' that he deserved, Cora decided to part her way...
With a stern face Cora grabbed Scooter by the collar and leaned in close to his face.
"I want MY CLOTHS BACK."
Zane surprisingly seemed concerned for Atom, asking immediately if he was alright while Cora got dressed into her old cloths in the passenger seat (along with a very aggressive threat to all who would dare to try a peek). While Zane convincingly said,
"EWW! We're technically SIBLINGS, Cora. That's just WRONG."
While turning to Scooter...
"...Oh, come on! You're like, sixteen!"
"SEVENTEEN."
*Suspicious glare*...
Either way, it was all too soon before the goodbyes were done, and Scooter had to drive all the way back.
"I'm really sorry we dragged you all the way down here," Cora mumbled, biting her lip. Scooter laughed merrily and gave the truck a pat on the dust covered bonnet.
"That's fine kids! It's good to be back in my Beauty again!" his grin grew even wider. "And I might be able to hang out with the old boys on the way back!"
They all knew he meant Scraps, Hicker and the old man by the rusty houses, and exchanged smiles. Cora found herself envying Scooter for a brief second. His life seemed so perfect. He knew who he was, who his friends were, his family were loving and he got to do whatever he pleased. I mean, not once had Zane or her gone to a pub, or club with her friends. There was always work to do.
Still, she managed a smile and a small hug. Zane and him shared a manly fist-to-fist shake, while Atom remained silent the whole time. Only when Scooter was turning back to the truck did he barely realize he was even there. With a smile he leaned forward and tugged on his horn for hair.
"See you around, mate!" he laughed. Atom just silently covered his hair after, some-what becoming self-conscious about it. Scooter then leaned in close.
"Just not around Autumn..." he warned with a stern face. The grin appeared again as the robot nodded, and the young adult hopped back into his worn out, pale blue leather seat. The engine started up once again loyally, and the trio watched as the dust clouds took chase and the pickup truck disappear down the road.
"Well," Cora said, stretching her long sleeved t-shirt into shape. Her cloths were defiantly not taken care of in the most top manner, feeling the crinkly fabric against her skin. She looked to the sky. It was getting a bright amber shine to it as the sun settled, hiding half behind the large forest trees. "We better get going."
"Couldn't agree less." Zane said, stretching his arms across his chest. "It's getting' dark, so I suggest we should prepare for sleeping outside."
"I dunno. Maybe we'll run into a house."
"Over there." Came the voice of Atom. The two looked around to see him standing, pointing over to a large shrub, twisted and green. Cora raised an eyebrow to Zane, who shrugged. She sighed and stepped up next to him, hands behind back.
"What?"
As if waiting for the invitation, Atom waltzed forward a few meters to the side of the road, meeting with the wrangled vines of the plant. He started to tear away at the vegetation, to reveal shining red. Zane and Cora frowned, making their way over. Soon, Atom finished off, wiping his hands over the found treasure. Well, not really treasure. It was an old sign. Cora stumbled.
"How did..." a pale finger raised to his face. "How'd find that?"
Atom shrugged. "I could see a bit of the red between the leaves." He stopped for a moment. "You didn't...catch that?"
"Of course not, show-off," Zane huffed, looking over, "Now what does this thing say?"
SCARLET LAKES
24 MILES
"Scarlet Lakes!" Zane cheered. "That's where we're headed right?"
"Yep," Cora sighed, "Just a humble 24 miles away..."
They started to walk along the road absent-mindedly, the small pebbles and dirt crunching underneath sneakers, flats and boots. Just three teens, walking into the sunset, bound for home. Such a movie-moment...Cora smiled at the idea. The taste of adventure on her lips. I mean, come on! If I'm gonna spend the next three days out here, I might as well make it interesting... She was used to this feeling, remembering how she was for the first few months at the circus, going out to scavenge. The world looked so vast back then, standing on those mountains of junk. But it didn't come quite close to this, feeling like she was in an entire different world. And, in a way, that's exactly where she was.
Zane's eyes lit up.
"Maybe we could hitch-hike!"
"Zane... we're about to go through a forest."
"Maybe they're some people who live in the forest!"
"Okay, but you're the one finding them, Tarzan. The way I see it, I think we're just on foot for now."
The teen let out a cry, causing Cora and Atom to snicker. But still, the not-so-bright teen kept on popping out ideas.
"Well, maybe Atom could help?"
Atom frowned, but kept his mouth sealed.
"How so?" the disbelieving human laughed. "Not like he could fly us over to Scarlet Lakes."
"What if he could?"
"Oh please. He's not that impressive."
All Atom could do was smirk.
As the evening grew on, the trio traveled down the road, cutting off at a small dirt path after many reminders from Cora to check the map. Once again, Zane and Cora talked among themselves, but Zane almost tried to include Atom in more, now and then calling back with an,
'Are you doing alright back there?'
Or maybe,
'Not far to go now.'
Most of the times he would use Atom to back up his opinion, which the robot would agree in with a shrug. To Zane, that counted as a 'yes'.
But Atom wasn't that troubled about being left out usually by the chit-chat, but was completely engaged with the wildlife around him. More than any of them could count had Cora had to trudge back and give the robot a playful push on the shoulder to keep him going when he was keeling down to examined an extremely fascinating bug or leaf. All they heard from him was,
'OO! Look at that!'
And many other complements to the forest. To them, he was pointing at a plant. To him, he was looking at a rare specimen with beautiful yellow-tinged green leaves. To Cora, he was examining a butterfly. To him, it was an extremely elegant treasure to the Surface.
It was annoying, but also an amusing way to spend the next hour. Soon they were walking through nothing but trees, young and old. The sun was almost gone now and the sky was gray with clouds. The path they were once on had all but disappeared and they only had lucky sense of direction to keep in a straight line, stepping into the moist fallen leaves.
Sadly, Scooter was right. It wasn't long before a light shower started. Then it got heavier. And heavier. Soon, it was a proper thunder storm, with dark clouds whirling with thunder and a wave of rain crashing down on their heads.
Zane grumbled, pulling his beloved leather jacket over his head. Cora had a harder time finding her source of shelter, as her small pale hoodie was of thin fabric. She resolved this by scampering over next to Zane and huddling under his jacket instead. He hadn't found the point in complaining. Atom however wasn't troubled by the rain, tilting his head to the clouds as if trying to find out where the water came from. He would spin in circles laughing, or just reach out his hand and feel the heavy drops patter off his skin with a smile. The lightening, however...
The boy robot merrily sided on the mud, reaching out and touching the shiny leaves of a small tree. Cora glanced back to him and giggled.
"Happy robot- just add water..."
FLASH!
A huge lightning bolt lit up the sky. Atom jumped, almost clearing three meters. He raced up to the teens. "W-what was THAT?"
Cora blinked.
"That was lightening."
"Is it safe? Is something on fire?" the robot was frantic. Zane laughed.
"Don't worry!" he said, patting him on the shoulder. "It's just natural." He returned a shaky nod.
That's what started the weird behavior. Other than acting like he's never stepped out of a house before, Atom didn't seem to know what anything was. Could it be just his memory? The funny thing was, as much as Atom looked like he was a born adventurer, he defiantly didn't want to get his hands dirty...
Atom was leading ahead, closed eyes, long steps. With sodden bodies Cora and Zane stumbled after, hogging as much shelter as they could. Is wasn't long before they heard a cry.
SPLOOSH!
"AHH!"
As they looked ahead, they saw Atom, up to his waist in muddy water. Cora burst out laughing and Zane keeled over, holding his stomach from all the snickers. Atom had fallen into an extremely deep puddle...and wasn't very happy about it. With a screech he quickly leapt out of the brown pit, shaking the brown water off him.
"EWW! Yuck! Arrg!" the two teens continued to laugh as the disgusted robot raced behind, setting some distance from the gap in the earth. "I'm contaminated!" they heard him yell. Cora laughed some more, looking back to him.
"You can't even get contaminated!" she called. Atom wiped the mud from his leg.
"It's still gross!"
"Oh, quit complaining you cry baby!"
"Urgh! Ew!"
But, rain or shine, they all were going strong. It seemed nothing bad could come against what they had already gone through, with the fire and the Scavengers. Even without that, Zane and Cora's life had been harder than a bit of rain.
She smiled, whipping her hair from side to side to shake some sweet drops off, some splattering on Zane. He blinked a bit, then shook his mop of hair over her.
"Hey!" she whined. Zane smirked.
"You're the one who declared war!" With a glare, Cora looked up to the sky, or at least those small pieces of gray she could make out through the trees. The rain had calmed to just a drizzle, and the air was still and started to gain its humid weather once again. She walked out from the canopy of the jacket, stepping with sodden footsteps on the leaves and mud. With a sigh she looked back to Atom, his head tilted back slightly with his eyes closed.
"You doing' alright back there?" she called. Shaken from his deep state, the robot looked up to the pair of blue eyes.
"Yes." He answered. Zane stretched his arm back with a small yawn. Suddenly, with the last few drops, the rain stopped.
"I'm starving..." he groaned. "What time is it?"
"Probably around late evening..." Atom answered. Cora waved her hand to him and he obeyed, running up to join.
"Okay Mr advanced, could you help us see which way we're going?"
Zane pulled out the map, carefully kept dry from the safety of his jean pocket. Un-folding it, they all gathered around to examine where they would go next. "Well," Zane pointed to the blue line, high-lighting the path, "It seems that we just keep heading north-east."
"Yeah, but...are we heading north-east? What direction are we going right now?" Atom took a glance around, looking to where the sun was setting behind the clouds and then to where the moon was rising. Automatically, he lifted his arm to point to the left of them.
"There." He responded simply. Cora stepped over to him, looking down to his hand, then up to his very focused face. She glanced to the direction.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
"Awesome!" Zane cheered in triumph, already jogging ahead. Cora shook her head with a smile, walking with him through more trees. Atom followed after, his boots giving a continuous 'THUNK' with each step, letting the two know that he was always close behind.
It was a little while before the sun went completely and all that was there to guide them was the pale moonlight, caressing over the trees, causing the shadows to dance and leap in front of the trio's eyes. It was quite magical, with the stirring of the leaves whistling like a song, along with the crickets as the backing music, and just the pure beauty of the night wrapping around the forest.
Cora sighed deeply, taking longer steps, taking more time. She had never been through this kind of nature before, being cooped into the life of a circus woman. No, she only got her fair share of sites like this when she sneaked onto the circus train roof when traveling. Only then did the pure brilliantness of the milky way and the moonbeams fully reach out to her.
Zane was more of scanning the ground, probably analyzing where would be a good place to sleep. She cringed. Sleeping outside would be cold- and dangerous. Insects, wild animals and disease comes as an easy threat in this era.
"Should we stop to rest soon?" Zane asked after a while. Atom walked along side Cora, giving a small concerned glance to her as she rubbed her shoulders from the cold. She nodded shakily.
"P-probably..." She flinched when she felt a hand lightly touch her back. "You gotta problem?" she snapped to Atom, who looked up to her, caught off guard. He scratched the back of his neck, for no real reason Cora could summon.
"Sorry, it's just...you're cold." Atom said quietly.
"Well, yeah! It's winter! I wouldn't be surprised if frost is starting to creep its way to us," Zane said, wrapping his moist jacket over his shoulders more.
"Your clothes are still wet." The robot stated the obvious.
"Hmm, we should dry them..." Cora mumbled. Zane's head jolted at this.
"Eh?"
"Not all the cloths at the same time, dufus!" Cora laughed, shoving him to the side. Atom smiled, walking a bit ahead.
"It's getting too dark to see with the clouds passing by the moon. I'll light the way," he declared. Cora smiled, leaning over to him.
"Keep the eye lights ON this time..." she whispered cheekily. Atom froze for a second, then awkwardly scratched the back of his neck again. Cora laughed and walked along Zane again, resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes like a walking zombie.
"You lead the way..." she said with a yawn. "I'm gonna crash here..." Zane knocked her face away.
"Cut it out, Cora!" he scolded. "We'll all stop when we absolutely have to."
"All of us?" Atom asked from in front. Zane thought for a second.
"Okay, Atom could walk for weeks, but that's beside the point!" They laughed.
"Hey, you gonna get your eye lights on or what?" Cora asked, poking Atom in the back. The boy robot took slower steps, his eyes creased.
"I'm...trying!" he urged.
"A robot who doesn't know how to work himself!" Zane snickered, shaking his head and walking past him. "I thought I'd never live to see the day..." Cora approached Atom with a calm face, looking him deep in the eye.
"What did you do to get them working last time?"
"I focused. I focused hard."
"Okay then..." Cora said, planting her feet into the moist soil, causing Atom to stop with her. She lifted his chin, making sure their eyes were locked. Atom frowned.
"What are you doing?" Zane came to a halt, putting hands on hips, looking at the two.
"Stare." Cora ordered. Atom's ears flinched back.
"Huh?"
"Concentrate, and stare into my eyes..."
"Cora, how on earth is that supposed to-"
"SHH!" Cora hissed to Zane. He sighed and chucked his bag down near a tree root, sitting down next to it. While Cora steadied herself again, he got to work in drying some of his cloths, taking off his shoe and tipping it, watching the muddy water spill onto the ground.
Atom looked to the icy orbs of blue. They had a sort of sharp tinge to them, which made them more alluring. He stared and concentrated, like she had asked, thinking only about his eyes. Deeper and deeper, he soon could just see his own eyes out of the reflection of the dark pupils, like a never ending pit of black. Soon, he could see a small ring of blue high-light around the rim of his iris. Dull at first, but then without any warning beams of blue light shot out, spilling over Cora's head.
She let out a small yelp, pushing away from him and covering her face. "My eyes!" she half laughed. Atom rubbed his head, darting his eyes around and adjusting them to a comfortable ray of light. Zane looked up from squeezing his sock, eyebrows raised.
"Whoa...huh, it did work..."
"You did it!" Cora cried, patting Atom on the shoulder while wiping her watering eye. The robot grinned and nodded, looking up to the canopy of the trees, illuminating the leaves with the brilliant blue. "Just work on starting them up, because man that is bright!" she walked over to Zane, still rubbing her face. "I think I'm going blind..." she mumbled. With a laugh Zane shoved his shoe back on, grabbing the bag strap while standing.
"Epicenes, dude!" he praised, smiling to the robot. Like a gentleman escorting a VIP, he swayed his arm ahead of him. "Lead the way!"
So, for the next few minutes the two teens followed behind Atom, his eye lights scanning everything in his path. Sometimes he would keep his gaze on one particular plant or flower that was once hidden by the night, but Cora was sure to keep him going with a little help from her palm against his head. The night became peaceful again...until about half an hour later, something amazing happened.
"What are those?" the teens heard the robot ask out of the blue. Cora shared a glance to Zane, who gave her a frown of confusion.
"Probably just another plant or something..." she mumbled to Zane, stepping up to walk next to Atom. But instead of his eyes being focused on something on the ground below him, the boy's eyes were focused dead straight to the left of him, shooting passed the large trees. Cora looked to Atom, making sure he was certain of where he was staring, but there was no denying it. She looked back to the direction. Nothing. She wasn't surprised, for Atom could probably see something miles before it was visible to her, concluding the sign spotting before. But there was no second guessing what Cora saw next.
A light. A small, glowing yellow light.
She felt her heart thump up her throat, her breath getting cut off. Atom's brow creased in more confusion. Who would be out here? She thought anxiously. Have we accidentally run into private property? I didn't see any more signs...had Atom seen another one? Considering what happened on the Ridge, we can't exactly fully trust him yet... the girl was frantic. She didn't them to run into any trouble again. By the looks of the light, it was a fair bit away, as it was small. A car? Motorbike? She couldn't hear an engine, which was strange.
Cora jolted a bit to feel Zane nudge her on the back.
"What is that?" he whispered, a little annoyed. Cora frowned, looking to Atom for a second. He was still planted on the spot, completely focused on the coming light. The nudge became a pull.
"We should go..." Zane insisted. Cora looked to him, unsure of what to do. Zane scowled at her. "Cora, let's go. NOW." With a nod, she rushed by Atom, running over to where Zane had dropped his bag. She chucked it to him, who quickly began walking down through more trees. Cora followed, brushing by Atom who didn't move. With a fast breath she grabbed hold of his shoulder in a failed attempt to turn him to face her.
"Atom, come on."
Nothing.
"ATOM," she addressed, more fiercely. With a growl she flicked him on the ear in a last response. It was Atom's turn to be annoyed. He flinched away.
"No, just wait a minute..."
"No?" Cora snapped.
...Robots, did not say NO, to a human. Especially in the circus. Cora was afraid that if Atom was ever so freely making decisions when they got back, that he wouldn't make it through the first week. Hamegg hated disrespectful robots, ones that broke from their purposes. He says that their means of being on earth is to serve the ones who gave them that privilege. Just...Atom was too human. It made her nerves rattle. She had to prepare him on how to act.
Zane stopped and turned, leaning against a tree with a growl. Cora aggressively grabbed the robot's shoulders, pulling him to face her.
"YOU, are not the boss of ME!" she shouted, snapping a finger out to his face. Atom couldn't have looked less interested in her demands, glancing back to where he was staring at before. "ATOM!" Cora screamed.
"Just a minute, I think there's-"
"No! NOT just a minute!" she teen argued, grabbing his shoulders again. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Atom faced her, but his eyes stayed glued to the scene. Surprisingly, a look of utter confusion spread on his face. Cora was too angry to notice. "Look, if you go acting like this at the circus, you'll have Hamegg to deal with, not me! And it won't be a lecture!"
"Cora, what is-?"
"BE QUIET!"
"But-"
"ATOM!"
Without warning, the robot finally used his last resource. With a swift move of his hands, he locked his fingers around Cora's arms, scowling at her. The girl was shocked.
"How dare you-!"
She never got the words out as Atom shoved her body around to face the forest.
Cora's breath was caught. Her yelling was cut off immediately. There was something floating in front of her. She found herself crossing her eyes to see it properly, but it looked something close to a floating speck of gold dust. Glowing gold dust.
Her eyes widened as the tiny insect hovered peacefully inches away from her nose. Not a light, not a car, no people. Just another piece of nature.
Atom took a few steps back, oblivious to what the tiny thing was. Cora did the same, her hard features melting into a smile. The robot took more and more steps towards Zane as Cora twirled around, the glowing speck floating past her. Zane straightened up from slouching, his eyes widening. Suddenly, the shimmering undergrowth began to have a slight pale glow. Cora took a step forward, while Atom almost tripped scampering over to Zane, his face twisted with fear and some source of confused disgust.
Hundreds, maybe thousands of fireflies swarmed out peacefully from the forest. Up they drifted, like a golden wave, spinning and dancing among the rays of the moon. Cora breathed more quickly, reaching her arms out above her head with a laugh. As they circled around, enveloping her into a glittering ring, Zane leapt up next to her, many fireflies zooming away at his touch. Atom grabbed the tree bark defensively, arching away with wide eyes.
Cora laughed again and spun in a circle, looking over to Zane. He let his bag he once was holding slip from his grasp and thud onto the ground as he stood there, head tilted up to the array of dancing lights.
"This is...amazing," he said, completely dumbfounded. Cora closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.
"W-what are those things?" Atom gasped out, causing the teens to look to him with a blink. While Zane still stared, Cora smiled and walked up to him, the insects spreading out more to dot the sky. With a reach for his hand, she smiled and whispered,
"Fireflies."
Atom flinched, not taking her hand.
"Fire flies?" he said with a quiver. Cora dropped her arm and laughed. Zane snickered and stepped more into the caress of the swarm. Flicking the glowing dust away, Cora leaned against the tree for a moment, giggling like a freak.
"Not real fire!" she gasped out. Atom frowned at her as she stood straight, reaching out to him again. "They're a type of insect that glows, like that butterfly you saw, accept they're smaller." She explained. The robot boy took a small glance to the floating lights above his head, then slowly reached out and locked grasp with her. She grinned.
"Please do as I tell you?"
Atom looked at her with a sheepish face. "If that's what I'm meant to do." He said with a nod. Cora frowned and she stepped over to Zane, Atom moving with her with slight hesitation as the insects slightly bounced off his shoulders.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, taking slower steps as they pushed through the clouds of gold. Atom slightly ducked his head.
"Robots are meant to do that, right? That's all they're meant for."
"Yeah, but-"
Suddenly they both heard gagging from Zane. They looked to see him keeling over, punching his chest.
"I think I just swallowed one!" he said, spluttering. Cora laughed, running up to him and giving him a hard pat on the back.
"Careful Zane. Not everything's edible." Another loud cough rang through the night.
"Challenge accepted."
With a small smile, Atom reached out slowly to the fireflies, as he has done with the rain before. The tiny insects bounced off the skin and then continued flying and buzzing around, some low to the ground and some high above their heads. Cora smiled at Zane and approached him, slipping a hand into his. He looked at her with a smile, but frowned as she grabbed his other one and took long strides, taking him along for the ride.
"What are you doing?" he asked finally. The girl sighed dreamily.
"Ballroom dancing," she said simply. Zane snickered, reaching his arm out to let her twirl under it.
"Why?"
"Spark of the moment." She glided back into his arms, spinning past more fireflies. Atom watched them both in interest, his eyes following their feet. As they both took three more strides, Zane nudged his head over to the robot.
"Maybe you should show him?" Cora gave him a strange look.
"What? Why?"
"Oh come on," he convinced, feet stopping. "Teaching an amnesic robot to ballroom dance? You got to have that somewhere on your Bucket List!" Cora took a step back.
"Do you?" she asked with concern. Zane froze up.
"No...of course not...that would be weird..."
With a laugh she confronted Atom. He looked up to her slowly. She took one hand in his, as much as he flinched away.
"What are you doing?" he watched as she took his other hand. She sighed.
"I guess I'm going to teach you to dance."
Atom blinked, but was pulled into a long step. Cora smiled, stepping to the right. "Okay, now just follow my feet," she ordered. Atom waited a while, but then took his right boot to lay opposite hers.
"Good. Now try and keep up."
For a while Cora would step in wide circles, Atom clumsily following her foot by heavy foot. After a while she stopped. "No," she said, "Not exactly like that." Atom let off an annoyed sigh, but Cora knew it wasn't to her, but more the annoyance was cast on him for not getting it right. "You're too...well, robotic with your movements." Cora tried to explain, only setting Zane off into a long stream of laughs and snickers.
She snapped her head to him, shooting him a threatening look. With a sigh she looked back to the robot. "Just...okay, think of flying." Atom's eyes sparkled.
Ah-ha! Now I'm on the right track...
"Imagine that you're gliding over the clouds. Just feel the wind in your face, and be at peace." Atom took longer breaths, softly closing his eyes. Cora wasn't sure whether to ask if he was ready, or if she should just start again. The thing looked like it had just gone to sleep. Slowly, she took a step.
Zane felt his eyes widen. Cora felt her breath quicken. As she took more and more steps, it was like the robot suddenly knew every single complex twist and turn from the dancing art. Keeping his eyes still closed, they slowly and softly paced in small circles. Without warning Atom would slowly open his eyes for a slit second as he reached out for Cora to spin under his arm, which she did with a laugh of delight. A soft smile creased the robots face as the fireflies swarmed up the more they moved, darting around them. Soon Cora let go of Atom's hand, dizzily stumbling on Zane.
Atom still concentrated, thinking only of soaring, that beautiful feeling of flying through the thin air. He let his arms sway beside him as he quietly spun and stride, until something made his ears twitch.
CLICK.
That small sound made the three look around in alarm. Atom's mind raced, wondering where it came from as his eyes snapped open. But as he went to place his foot down, he ended up falling head over heels, as if nothing was there to support him.
"WHOOA!" With a yelp he flipped over, hitting an arching root. Cora and Zane looked at each other, then back to the fallen machine. Atom rubbed his head, looking to the ground, wondering what had just happened. His eyes laid upon something that filled him with dread.
His foot was wrapped in a rope.
TWANG!
In a few quick seconds the poor robot felt the air rush around him, and then , just like that, he was upside down.
Cora looked with wide eyes as the fireflies all darted away, hiding back into the forest. As if they had never come in the first place, they once again only had the moonlight to help them see. Atom was dangling upside down, his left foot strapped in some sort of rope attached onto a high branch of one of the pine trees, at least five meters up. She immediately sprang into action, running up to him.
"What the hell is that?" Zane asked, running to join. Atom strained his back to look up at the trap, squirming and grunting. Cora reached up to Atom's head, holding it still as she examined on what to do.
"Get me down!" he shouted.
"How?" she asked, walking around him to find a way to undo the rope.
"What is this thing?" Atom asked in anger.
"Looks like you got caught in a spring trap..." Zane said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Why would there be spring traps out here?" Cora asked, walking under the robot to Zane.
"I dunno, maybe to catch..."
"Robots?"
"In a forest? No way, that would be stupid thinking." Cora glanced up to Atom, simply hanging there, waiting for a decision to be made.
"Well," she replied, "It worked."
"ERIC! COME OVER HERE!"
Their bodies tensed as they heard the unfamiliar call, not from far away. Soon enough they saw the glow of flash lights darting across the ground and trees, and four shadows came into view. Cora edged closer to Zane, placing a hand on his shoulder. They all froze on the spot, eyeing the bodies.
"What do we have here?" asked a gruff voice with a slight hidden chuckle in it. With the flash light close enough to see, they finally got a good look at the strangers. The one who had just spoken was a man, probably around forty. His belly was round, covered up in large vests and a huge grey sweater. From the glow reflecting off his face, they could tell he had wispy brown hair with a tinge of white, along with a prickly chin that needed trimming. Right now his eyes were dark, and were pulled into slits.
A few of the other shadows could be made out more clearly- a small one with the suggestion of two long stringy plats, a hunched over one near the back and one that was approaching the man. As the person came into view, you could see a mop of brown hair over a pointy face, large almond eyes and a giant white baggy sweater. This woman looked around thirty, and had a cigarette in one hand. As they both got a good look at them, their faces dropped.
"Kids?" exclaimed the man. "KIDS?"
"I told ya! There was no tracks on the ground!" replied the woman with a bit of a slurred tongue, taking a chug of smoke.
"Did you find anything good? Huh-huh-huh? Diddya?" came an over-excited voice, and a small girl sprung into view. Her face was pale with a dirt smear across her cheek, and a round panda cap was pulled over her red stringy hair. Her eyes were wide, and she wore a shiny white vest over a strawberry top. She pounced in front of Zane and Cora, who reeled back. But, just like the others, her face dropped too.
"Aww, common!" she turned to the older ones, their flashlights lowering. "Some outcasts? Losers?" she whined.
"You guys are completely hopeless." While the hunched shadow still remained un-identified, they all could tell it was a teenage boy by the voice.
"I was so certain..." the man scratched is head.
"And that's meant something when?" the woman blew a whiff of chemicals in his face.
Cora and Zane just watched them all argue about whatever they were supposed to catch with wide eyes, wondering whether they should leave them alone or maybe ask for directions or a short cut. So far the running option was winning. Atom was busy straining again, looking up to his free leg. As he twisted it around to meet his vision, his throat got caught up in a gasp. The place where his boot should be wasn't there. Instead, a small rounded stub took its place.
ACK! Where did my foot go? Was that the cause of the clicking sound? Atom glanced around. Did my boot fall off or something?
"Um, excuse me?" Cora said in an attempt to grab the people's attention. The small girl gave them a hiss. Cora frowned at her, then looked to see if any others had heard her.
"Okay, next time I'M leading the way!" the woman declared.
"Lin? You're bloody half drunk!"
"And I betcha I could do a better job!"
The teen looked to Zane for help. He only shrugged. Cora sighed and tried once again.
"Uh, hello?"
"We should get moving," the woman snapped, adjusting her belt.
"Yeah!" agreed the child. "Momo is waiting for me!"
Atom huffed, once again just deciding to dangle there his him arms down by his side. If his foot was going to be fixed, them he better wait until he got down from the trap first.
To the teens dismay, they all nodded to each other and started to make their way down the muddy path between the trees without even a last glance to them all. Cora had just about had it. With a growl she stamped her foot on the ground, throwing her arms in the air.
"HEY! You gonna help get our robot down or what?"
As if time held a firm grasp on them all, they froze on the spot. With small glance between the man and woman, them and the girl slowly turned to face them. The man stumbled on his words.
"T-that's a robot?" he asked in disbelief. Cora huffed. Huh, now I got their attention. Zane nodded quickly, while Atom gave them a small smile and wave of his hand. They stared for a bit, then the man cleared his throat.
"Where are our manners!" he exclaimed, trudging up to them with a cheap smile on his face. He walked up to the three, holding out his hand. "My name is Eric!"
Cora and Zane looked at each other with a raised eye brow, not buying the nice act. Eric noticed as they didn't take his hand. His face dropped a bit as he bit his lip, but his smile returned again as he looked up to the hanging Atom.
"Well, looks like you got yourself in a bit of a knot, hey buddy?" he said with a chuckle. As the girl and woman stepped up, Cora instinctively walked closer to the robot protectively, still questioning whether they would be trustworthy. The way they're so interested in them now that they know a high-tech robot around made the alarm bells in her head ring.
Eric looked to his alleys with a smile. "This," he addressed to the woman, "is Lin. And this other little one over here is Rascal." Rascal grinned, jumping over near Atom. Eric frowned to the hunched over teen. "And that anti-social shadow is Zag." He looked up and smiled. "Your names?" Eric asked. Zane gave him a look of dis-friendliness, and instead asked,
"What are you doing in a forest?" the man took a some-what offended step back.
"A forest? This is not just a forest!" Cora looked up to Atom, who gave her a look of confusion. Eric continued. "This forest so happens to be the most legendary woods in Surface history!"
"Well, I've never heard of it." Cora said surely, crossing her arms. Lin shook some burnt ash off her cigarette, giving a yawn.
"What makes these woods so special?" Zane asked. Eric face palmed.
"This is said to be the home of a great power!" he urged. When this was responded with blank looks, he gave a sigh. "I'll tell you later..."
"Who says we're staying here long?" Cora snapped. Rascal let off a snicker.
"You guys find your way through these trees on your own? Yeah right!"
"For your information, he have all the direction we need," she replied smugly, looking up to Atom.
"A tied up robot?" the annoying girl laughed. Cora shot her a look. Eric's eyes became enchanted again, walking up to Atom with his hand on chin.
"Yes, this robot," he murmured, circling. "Where did you get it?" Cora scowled, taking a step closer.
"We found him." Atom smiled, but gave a little jolt as he ended up face to face with the man.
"Found? As in, lucky find at the auction?"
"As in, dug up from the Wastelands." Cora said, hands on hips. Eric looked at her with a strange look. Rascal came up next to Eric.
"Dug up this thing? Where? How?" Atom winced away, not enjoying the attention.
"C-can I get down now?"
The three all reeled back, Zag even nudging his head over.
"It talks!" Lin said with a stumble on her feet. Zane's eyebrows furrowed.
"Well, yeah. Don't most?" Eric nodded, examining Atom who was starting to look a bit annoyed.
"Yeah but not like that! It's like..."
"Programmed to be human. Now leave him alone." Cora spat. Racal poked her tongue out. Atom let off a heavy sigh, scowling at the man.
"Say something else!" he ordered with excitement.
"How about this: stop treating me like a specimen under a microscope and cut this stupid rope from my leg!"
"Amazing!" Eric cheered. Atom looked even more annoyed. Cora stepped forward.
"Look, not that we don't exactly like people catching our robot in a spring trap, completely ignoring us and being downright rude, but if you excuse us-" Cora started to walk around the tree looking for the rope to cut it and Zane swung his bag over his shoulder when they were interrupted.
"No!" Eric stumbled forward, only to be met by cold eyes. "Look, I'm very sorry that you got that expression from meeting us for only that very shot amount of time, but we truly would love it if you came to camp with us." He finished with a swallow.
"We got food," Lin mumbled.
"And a place to sleep!" Rascal piped in, jumping quietly on the spot. Cora and Zane looked to each other with a raised eyebrow. Why would they be so desperate about us staying with them? Is it because of Atom? Though her concerns, the night was a dangerous place. They were cold, hungry and had no real source of security. She would have to ignore her gut for now. With a sigh she looked to the dangling robot, then to Eric's hopeful face.
"Fine," she murmured. Zane blinked.
"What?"
"Common Zane, we'll go with them," she explained, walking over. Atom flinched at this.
"What if we can't trust them?" He asked. They all looked to him.
"We are trustworthy people, don't you worry!" Eric said, patting Cora on the shoulder. He looked to Racal. "Cut the robot loose!" he ordered.
"Atom," Zane told him, walking over to Cora.
"Cool name," he said carelessly. Rascal smiled as she pulled an axe out of Lin's shoulder bag, poising and aiming for the rope. Atom winced, pulling his arms in.
"This is going to hurt..." he more told himself. With a grunt the small girl swung the weapon, and with a 'THOCK' and a slice it cut through the rope and hacked into the pine's sturdy trunk. Atom squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the wind blow around him and he plummeted to a head first fall. But instead, he felt his left boot heat up. Hotter, hotter, hotter, until an explosion of fire burst out from it.
"WHOAAAA!"
Cora's hair was blown back as all she saw was a blink of white before her eyes adjusted and she only saw Atom, now smashed into a tree. Everyone looked at him, trying to register what had just happened. Atom winced, groaning and slowly moving his arms. He looked down to feet, scared that they might react again. But they were back to normal boots.
"What the hell was that?" Zag asked, and they heard footsteps as he made his way over. Zane shook his head, oblivious to the answer.
"I have...no idea." He mumbled. Cora scowled at them all, then ran up to Atom with a concerned face. He slowly looked to her before gravity took over and he went falling down to the ground. Cora caught his shoulder with a gasp, pulling him to his feet. The robot arched his back a little, rubbing his neck with a groan. Cora looked to his feet.
"Are you okay?" she asked with a frown.
"As much as I could be after that..." Atom murmured.
"What just happened?"
"I have NO idea." Surprisingly, Zag approached him hands in pockets.
"It might've been a reaction to a loose wire or something, causing the sparks to arise in an explosion strong enough to send him airborne," he said like it was an obvious observation, nudging Atom's boot. They both stared at him for a few seconds, before he rolled his eyes and made his way back to the shadows.
"Not that anyone cares..." he scowled, only to be stopped by Eric, catching him in a headlock and ruffling his hair.
"That's our Zag! Smart little mechanic, aren't you?" he grinned. Zag couldn't seem less amused, pushing him off with a growl.
"Lay off!" he snapped, making his way down the path on which he had arrived. Cora and Atom looked at each other, before the robot was approached by Eric.
"If it's just a little repair you need, then we have some tools at camp." He suggested. Cora looked to see what Atom would say, and was startled at the robot boy's expression of complete distrust. He slowly nodded.
"Yeah...great..." he replied carefully. The man still smiled, walking over the other people and Zane.
"Let's head off, shall we?" he asked. With a nod from everyone they all trudged along the mud, trying to catch up with Zag. Cora looked to Atom before setting off.
"Are you okay?" she whispered. He smiled and nodded meekly, regaining his balance the more we walked with the group. Eric was leading the way, talking excitedly.
"So glad you decided to come with us! We actually have a good meal cooking at camp, so we probably should hurry. Oh, there's just so much to tell you about the forest! It's the Hunter's dream to find this power-"
"Hunters?" Zane and Cora asked. Eric grinned, performing a bow.
"It appears you have just run into the great Hunters!" Cora smirked.
"You don't say. We're Scavengers." She told.
"Best ones around!" Zane perked up. Atom smiled. Eric nodded.
"Scavengers, hey?" Cora grinned.
"Yep. With a HELL of a find." Atom laughed quietly, moving off to the side of the group to look at the trees.
"I never thought we would catch a robot in this forest," Eric said, watching him.
"I did!" Rascal said, flinging her arm in the air.
"No you didn't," Lin said simply, taking a beer out of her bag and opening it with a hiss.
"Now common!" Eric said, walking with all of them down the path. "Before dinner gets cold..."
As soon as the elevator doors slid open, the workers at Metro Security knew all hell would break loose. In an outburst of people, the wide red face of Mr Vendigo stomped in, his eyes twitching slightly.
"What do you mean LOST IT?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, causing the citizens at their computers to cease typing and snap their heads up. Vendigo was a very in control man, that liked to wear crisp blue suits and a scowl on his face. His eyes were small and beady, and he was the closest thing related to a bull in the history of humanity.
One of the very brave yet small workers, Dug Finnegan, scampered up with a blue screened pad in hand. Tapping on it madly, he took a moment to push his thin glasses up the bridge of his nose to cover his crystal blue eyes.
"Y-yes Sir, you see-"
"No, YOU see Mr Finnegan!" the man snapped. Dug winced under roar in his voice, but continued to explain.
"Mr Vendigo, I assure you that everything is under control! We have traces of where it might-"
"Under control?" Vendigo threw his arms in the air, leaving his strong body guards near the lift. "If everything was under control, Mr Finnegan, then firstly Tenma would be behind bars, this apartment block would've never been burnt down and this freaking robot would be in the incinerator RIGHT NOW!"
Dug gulped, but was saved by a more respected character in the building. Miss Helen Myers was the head of the Metro Security Incorporation, was a very stern yet likable woman and was famous for getting the work done. Yet this case could so well crush her career. She approached Vendigo with calmness, her watermelon sweater hugging over her floral skirt.
"Mr Vendigo, I'm afraid you are not adjusting to this situation very well." The man's frown didn't faze.
"This 'situation', Miss Myers, doesn't need adjusting it needs solving!"
"And solve it we shall. Now I had already told you that all my finest police officers and detectives have searched the ruins almost a hundred times in counting, but the robot in which you seek is still missing."
"Search it again," he answered immediately, turning to the elevator. Helen scowled, grabbing hold of his shoulder.
"I believe you didn't hear my words correctly. ALL my greatest-"
"All your work, is not finished. Search the building again."
"It is more of a ash heap now so there is nothing left to search!" Helen growled. Vendigo stood his ground, coming in close to her face.
"I have three million people on this floating piece of dirt that are scared out of their minds," he explains coldly, "If I don't see that blasted Tenma behind bars and that robot in the fire pit then I will fire everyone in this ROOM, starting with your hard earned career. Got it?" he spat. The room went silent, watching to see Helen's reaction. She took a breath through her nose, challenging him with a heavy stare.
"As I reassured two days ago, Mr Vendigo, we will find it."