Draft 1.20
Golem Project In Progress
“Well, let’s see what our little camera saw,” Ethany said.
She and Wessel sat cross-legged under the empty transport rails, Aizi standing next to them. There was a strip of grass that ran under these rails, as well-cultivated as it could be, given the place in the city. They weren’t far from the power plant, and the damaged tower could easily be seen through the tall buildings.
Wessel wasn’t quite comfortable, in this damp little grotto of grass, but it was better than sitting in plain sight on the sidewalk, among the cleanup efforts. Not to mention all the glass shards and bits of rubble that hadn’t been swept away yet.
Ethany turned the power knob on the camera, and a green and black screen popped out of the side, fading to life. A click of another switch set the monochrome video to motion, from the beginning.
“Well, I’ve got hours of footage,” Ethany said. “I’ll set it to the highest speed, but I guess we gonna have to watch this for a bit.”
With a nod, Wessel adjusted his position, holding his legs close to his body. Aizi didn’t move at all. He’d rather her be moving, talking, helping him to parse what was going on, but it was better this way. She rarely talked to him with others around, and especially with the cops in town looking to confiscate power sources… she needed to be this way.
And besides, he needed to learn to adapt. Couldn’t lean on Aizi for everything, right?
“You know, it’s lucky for us that the power is out,” Ethany said, leaning back and absently looking at the screen. “It’d be hard for our sneak thief to make any golem mods during the blackout, since computer junk is so stingy about power use.”
Wessel froze, for what felt like a small eternity. He hadn’t told her what was stolen, had he? No, surely not. “Mods?” he tried to ask, it only came out as a breath.
“Of course, if the power weren’t janky, they might never stole your stuff in the first place.” Ethany glanced over at Wessel. “That is what was stolen, right? Special golem modifyin’ programs?”
Wessel ran fingers through his hair, mussing it up. “How?” he asked.
“You got a special golem that you can tinker with, who can even self-tinker. Your computer is what you are missin’. After seeing that fight, and your determination and love for golems, ain’t that hard to take a guess, is it now?”
“No.” Wessel swallowed. “It’s just a guess?”
Ethany shrugged and looked back at the camera. “I just thought you should know that I knew. I ain’t gonna say nothin’ about it, don’t you worry your head. Aizi’s safe with me, and we’ll catch your burg-u-lar, and that’s the end of that.” She nodded again at the end of her statement, as if affirming it to herself.
Wessel had no response, so he sat and tried his best to calm his heart rate. If she was telling the truth, he was safe. And he’d already decided to trust her. He had to stick with that, or everything would come unraveled. But…
But what if she was looking to steal it herself? To modify her panther golem into a machine that could better win the fights?
“If she was going to turn on you, she would not have said anything,” Aizi said. “And relax. As long as I am present, nobody will steal from you.”
Thanks, Wessel thought back at her. That helps.
“Oh, look!” Ethany said, squinting at the screen. Wessel leaned forward as well, watching as Ethany slowed the recording down. She held her breath for a moment, then sighed. “Nope, just some guy walking by. Fast forward!”
The screen began buzzing again, little scan-lines and small movements indicating the passing time. Wessel kept an eye on it for a minute, but his gaze then drifted to the girl next to him.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hm?” she responded, eyes riveted to the video playback screen.
“You know a lot about me, but I don’t know a lot about you.”
“So?” she asked. “I’m not really relevant to your whole stealy situation, am I? There ain’t nothing you got to know about me.”
“But I want to know,” he said. “It’s fair.”
“About me, huh?” Ethany chewed on her lip for a moment. “Okay, shoot.”
“Shoot?”
“Ask me something. Anything.”
“Okay.” Wessel thought for a moment to make sure, but he already knew what he was going to ask her. “Black Queen?”
Ethany blew a clump of hair out of her face. “Oh. That.”
“It is okay if you don’t want to say anything, but I want to know.”
“Yeah, no, it’s fine. I’ve just never told anyone about it before, and… where to start?”
Wessel didn’t interrupt. Ethany seemed lost in thought, though no less attentive to the screen.
“I’d love to say something like ‘My younger brother’s sick, and we couldn’t pay for the meds, so I turned to a life of crime and had my golem fight for money.’ That would be neat. But it wasn’t like that. It wasn’t that cool.
“I was exploring, and just stumbled across someone who led me into this sort of thing. I went willingly. I… I really like this stuff. The thrill, just of it being illegal, a little bit dangerous.”
“You just wanted to?” Wessel asked.
Ethany blushed. “I know I’m sounding like a little firl longing for adventure, but yeah. I was bored and wanted some excitement, and there’s so little of it going on in society. Golems never fight anything, you know? Their presence alone wards off violence.”
“So it’s the fighting.”
“And the illegal part.” Ethany pursed her lips. “It’s not even all that illegal. Problem is, the government pays for golem repairs, and that fightin’ ring is officially labeled as a repair shop. Kinda like cheatin’ on taxes, I guess, but hey, Charles is the one running around like that.”
Ethany paused for a second, having rambled past the question. The screen she was watching flickered again, and she adjusted it.
“I’m not like that, but I get it,” Wessel commented. “I get not being satisfied with things like they are.”
“Right?” Ethany explained.
Wessel nodded. “That’s why I’m into golem stuff. It’s exciting and new to me.”
“Hold up,” Ethany said, lifting a hand. She switched the camera to normal speed once again, then stopped it. “There.”
Wessel peered closer. The grainy, monochrome image clearly showed his window, and Ethany had stopped the image just as someone stepped through the shattered remains.
“This is them!” Wessel said. He couldn’t see much, just a pale jacket and jeans. “Maybe catch them as they come out? We could see their face, then.”
“Sure,” Ethany said. She adjusted the speed into normal-motion, then let it play. The intruder disappeared into the window, then appeared a minute later, Wessel’s computer tucked under one arm. The intruder looked up at the camera, jacket hood lowered.
It was a young girl, with an off-centered ponytail. She clearly saw the camera, and then, with a sheepish grin, waved at it. With that, she skipped off-camera and out into the rain.
“Looks like she’s about your age,” Ethany said. “You recognize her? Maybe an ex?”
Wessel’s jaw trembled. Why would she do that?
“Wessel?”
“I know her,” he said. “I thought she was my friend.”
Of course it had to be her. Wessel had wasted his day, running around looking for proof. Who was the only person to take interest in his program setup? The only person who had seen it?
Lillian.
Wessel whispered the name, and a fresh surge of emotion ran through him. He wasn’t angry, as the thought he’d be. Only sad and confused. “Lillian,” he said again. “We share a birthday.”
“You took the exam together?”
Wessel nodded.
“Why would a kid like her go doing this at the first opportunity? Is she crazy?”
“I don’t know,” Wessel said.
“What does she want to do with it? I didn’t think many kids your age were programmers. Is she a secret genius?”
“I don’t know,” Wessel said again, louder. He sat back on the ground. “I don’t get it. Why is it like this? She wasn’t supposed to—”
“Hey,” Ethany said, plopping down next to him. “It’s okay. We’re one step closer.”
“She was the only friend I ever had over,” Wessel said.
“Only person you ever had over. You still haven’t invited me.”
Wessel tried to smile at that, but failed.
“Do you know where she lives?”
No. Wessel shook his head.
“That’s a problem. School won’t start back until the power comes on.”
“We have found our target,” Aizi added. “She is not a master programmer. It appears we have a little time, and we can gather information. Should we go home?”
“Let’s,” Wessel said, then added, “Let’s go home.”
“Sure thing. Mind if I pick this up with you tomorrow?”
Wessel looked at Ethany, and she shrugged.
“Like I said, I like the excitement.” “In the morning,” he said. “We need to find Lillian.”
Kyle Adams 