G. Wright - Broken Things

No, she knew him better than that. He’d never put a kid first, not unless there was something he could get out of it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The fresh air felt good in her lungs, purging the stale air from her system. The shaky knees steadied with each breath until she pushed down the panic sensation.

She tip-toed silently away from the house, feeling as though the neighborhood could hear her every step. She didn’t relax until three blocks away.

The night dragged on. Josh eventually succumbed to sleep, but James couldn’t take the chance. He expected that the android would show up soon. He wanted to sleep too. He knew he would pay for staying up late come morning. There were still a few things sacred to him and sleep topped the list. He checked to make sure Josh still slept and snuck out of the shed. He didn’t enter the house, he’d warned Laura to keep the house locked. His wide, well-kept yard often brought him peace. They kept the flower beds well-tended, and a yard service took care of the rest. After long hours at the office his home became a sanctuary, a place to escape from the day to day grind.

In the dark of night it no longer felt so safe. The fence about his property provided too many shadows, and though he had outdoor lights they didn’t provide nearly enough illumination to dispel them all. He didn’t run, but barely. Despite his pragmatism, he covered the ground to the company truck in record time. The EMP generator gun was still behind the seat, right where he’d left it. The thing was bulky, but the weight gave him confidence. He scanned down the street, but the only movement came from a light breeze that gently shook the trees. He shivered, whether from the chill of a late summer night, or from a feeling of being watched, he suddenly couldn’t tell.

“I’m ready for you,” he said in a low voice, “I’m waiting.”

Nothing accepted his challenge.

The darkness from the other direction was even more complete. There were far fewer homes, and therefore fewer lights in the foothills. The often pleasant remoteness now gave way to dread born from isolation. He took one step toward the shop and paused. There was a shadow on the sidewalk, but two blocks away. The waxing moon was but a sliver, providing almost no light, and only the infrequent porch light of his neighbors broke up the shadows.

Maybe it was just someone out for a walk. At two in the morning.

The figure continued to steadily approach. A light breeze blew an empty plastic bag across the street like a lone tumbleweed. This feels like a gun fight , he thought, would be a lot nicer at high noon .

The figure crossed the street and made its way up his block. As it got closer, he noticed that it wasn’t the boy’s monster, not unless it had switched bodies for a shapely woman. He lowered the gun. It wouldn’t work on a human.

As she approached, he saw that she held a tablet. She hadn’t even noticed him yet, standing in her path. The tablet dimly lit her face.

It’s probably not a good idea to stand in her way with a gun, she’ll call the cops on me. He stepped back onto his lawn and out of her way. But she didn’t walk by. She stopped in front of his house. In the light of the tablet, he could just make out some of her features. She had a pretty asymmetrical face, long brown hair spilling past her shoulders. She had a very youthful appearance, one of the lucky people, kids really, that were young enough to have their age halted in their early twenties. This girl would be beautiful forever.

“Do you live here?” she asked. Her eyes met his and dropped to the gun he held.

She can see me, he realized. “Yes. Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for a lost boy. My tablet says he’s here.”

He eyed her warily. “Can I ask who you are? I know you’re not his owner.”

“I’m just trying to help him out. I’m a friend.”

“I don’t think he’s got many friends here.”

“No, he doesn’t. My name is Angel. I just met him today.”

“Well Angel, he’s okay. I’ve fixed him up and he’s going to be fine. How did you come by a tracking tablet? That’s not something available to the general public.”

She shifted uncomfortably. “Everything is available when you know where to look. What’s with your toy gun? Is that legal?”

James glanced down at the EMP generator. “Monster hunting,” he said with a half-smile.

She didn’t smile back. “Can I just see him? Please?”

He hesitated. She must’ve been the one that fixed Josh’s other damaged parts. That meant that she would have access to the other missing boy, something that would make his boss happy. James nodded. “Come with me. He’s in my shop.”

The two walked back through the yard, and though he didn’t know her, Angel’s presence alleviated much of his fears. He was also sure that she wouldn’t be much of a fight for the android (and he wouldn’t tell anyone about charging it), but he appreciated the extra set of eyes. And it bothered him less to put this stranger in harm’s way over that of his wife.

He entered the shop first, with Angel trailing behind. He set the gun down and turned to find Angel scanning her tablet. Looking over her shoulder he could see the Kidsmith logo clearly on the device. She had stolen it. He would’ve remembered a pretty girl like her around the office.

“Can you drive?” Angel asked.

“Of course, why do you ask?”

“Because Josh is running.”

James looked over at the cot where Josh had been when he’d left. How stupid! He hadn’t even checked to make sure the boy was still asleep when they’d returned. “Is he in the bathroom?”

She turned the tablet so he could see. The boy was moving across the foothills to the North, traversing them in the dark. “Not unless you’ve got a wandering outhouse.”

“Damn it,” James cursed under his breath, “Where do you think he’s going?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Unless… unless his monster got him.” He quickly picked up his EMP generator and looked about for his own tablet. Strange, he swore he had left it there too. He shook his head feeling his day suddenly get much worse. “He stole my tablet.”

“What do you mean, monster? That’s the second time you’ve said that. And it involves your toy gun?”

“It’s Josh’s monster. It’s some type of old android we found with him in the mountains. It’s gone rogue and killed at least two people already, and I think Josh is the key to stopping it. This,” he hoisted the gun, “Is a home-made Electromagnetic pulse generator. I intend to fry the android’s brain with it.”

Angel took a step back from him.

“It’s okay. It won’t have any effect on humans. But it’ll wipe out your tablet and cell phone. The only problem is if I miss. It’ll take a few minutes to recharge.”

She nodded slowly. “So we make sure you don’t miss.”

Cody stumbled out of bed to use the bathroom. The television lit the hallway, the sound so low he couldn’t hear the infomercial trying to sell him exercise equipment to firm up his abs. It looked familiar. Maybe he had one in the garage. The artificial light in the bathroom nearly blinded him, and he peed with one eye closed and the other cracked just enough to make sure he hit the toilet.

He’d been having a dream about Carrie, his next door neighbor. Though they rarely ever saw each other (except when he watched her from the privacy of his laundry room window), she tended to ignore him. He knew she wasn’t married, the guy she lived with had a different last name (who also ignored him). He knew this because their inept mailman often delivered their mail to his house.