Draft 1.27
Golem Project In Progress
Wessel was surprised to find a fully functioning jail in the middle of the city, running on emergency power. It wasn’t even far from the broken power plant. Even with a society that is self-protected, where neighbor looks after neighbor and golems protect from harm… some people had to go to prison.
He never thought he’d be one of those people, though.
“Hey,” Ethany was telling him as they were escorted into the cells. “It’s all going to work out, okay Wes? We aren’t criminals. Not really.”
The words didn’t help much. Wessel wasn’t sure if Ethany even believed them. Wasn’t she the one who said not to trust the cops? He focused on his connection to Aizi, as they parted from one another. The connection was there, but he heard nothing.
Aizi hadn’t said anything to him since they got on the transport. Nothing about the diagnostic, her plans, the program. Her silence was worse than the cold iron bars around him.
Wessel was placed with Ethany and Jakob in a cold three-cell block, separate from wherever they’d taken Lillian. Separate from each other as well. An officer with only a few teeth said that someone would be by in a bit to check on them, then left them alone.
Wessel curled up against the wall, holding his knees to his chest. The cells weren’t as slimy and dark as he’d pictured. More like a sparse patient room in a doctor’s office than the cold, miserable basements that he’d pictured. But a jail was a jail, and Wessel never thought he’d see the inside of one. Shame burned in his cheeks, and he buried his face in his arms.
For the first time in almost two weeks, Aizi was not by his side. He was alone again. And if the police found out that she wasn’t normal, they would wipe away the modifications and return her as a normal golem.
She would be there for him, but she—Aizi—would be dead.
Minutes passed as he waited for the inevitable. He thought through the events of the past twenty-four hours. What could he have done differently? How could he have avoided this mess? It was a futile line of thought, and he didn’t come across any answers, but that didn’t stop him from blaming himself. Whatever happened to Aizi… and to the others arrested with him, it would be his fault.
Ethany had been silent for several minutes, but she spoke up and broke Wessel out of his reverie. “Do you think they’ll find out?”
Was she talking about Aizi? Wessel shuffled closer to the end of the cell that bordered Ethany’s, and said, “About what?”
“The Black Queen,” Ethany said. “Y’know what I mean. I don’t want to say nothing, just in case they got recorders in here.”
The golem fighting ring. Ethany was a big part of that scene, of that place. If they found out… “What would happen?” Wessel asked.
“I dunno. If we was out in the country, they’d squeeze me for info and shut everything down. Maybe jail the one in charge. But the city is different. I ain’t got a clue.”
“Well, that is not why we’re in here,” Wessel said. “I don’t think it will come up.”
“What will come up?” Jakob called from the other side of the block.
“Nothing!” Ethany said.
“Dang right it ain’t nothing.” Jakob spat in a corner of his cell. “We ain’t done nothing but our neighborly duties, neh? They should be celebrating us as heroes, and they better be sorry once they figger everything out.”
Ethany and Wessel were silent for several long moments, then Wessel whispered again, “I don’t think it’ll come up.”
“Right. Thanks.”
“Mm.” Her problem wouldn’t show up, wouldn’t cause any trouble. If Wessel lost Aizi because of this, he would lose everything. The trust of Vincent, the government guy who’d given him Aizi. His special task. His life’s work, his program.
He’s lose his closest friend. He’d only have Ethany left, and Lilli— no, not Lillian. That girl had only wanted to use Wessel because he was interesting. Once he’d stopped being interesting to her, she’d thrown him away. He wouldn’t even try to be her friend anymore.
But Ethany was—
Ethany was—
Was Ethany any different?
When he’d met Ethany, she thought his golem looked cool. They hadn’t started hanging out together until his computer had been stolen. From then on it was detective work, fights, solving little mysteries and diving into the Birmingham underground. The last day had been crazy, different, exciting… interesting.
When this was all over, would Ethany leave him too?
Wessel opened his mouth to ask, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He didn’t want to know the answer. Or, no, he did know the answer. He just didn’t want to hear it.
Who would be interested in having him as a friend? On a normal day, he was just slow. Just a tinkerer, a programmer. A below-average student with boring passions and an inability to adapt. He wasn’t good at talking to people, wasn’t strong, wasn’t good-looking.
Of course she would leave.
Wessel held his legs tighter to himself. Aizi had to come back to him, safe. She had to. There was nobody else he could depend on. Just Aizi.
Just Aizi.
“Hey, you okay in there?” Ethany asked. It wasn’t the first time she’d asked.
“Uh huh,” he said.
“Really? You’re breathing harder,” she said. “Makes you sound upset.”
Wessel grit his teeth together. “I am upset.”
“That’s what I was asking about, ya dingus. It’s okay for you to be upset, but that doesn’t meant you’re okay.”
“I don’t get all that,” Wessel said. “Okay, not okay, does it matter? Do you need updates? Are you keeping records?”
“I’m asking in case you need to talk about it,” Ethany said. “Instead of bottling up and getting all mad. Mom says bottling up just makes you explode.”
Talk? He’d already decided that he didn’t want to ask her. And he couldn’t talk about Aizi, not here, not now. “What if I do not want to talk about it?”
“Well, what else are you going to do? Just be bored?”
Wessel beat a fist once against the wall. “Bored? Do you know why I am upset?”
“Not specifically.”
“It’s because I just had a not-friend get be thrown in jail! I had my computer smashed, my golem might be taken away, and…”
“… and what, Wes? I’m listening, really.”
“And you… I’m boring, so. Lillian didn’t care about me. Jakob doesn’t like me. And there’s you, and I’ve been interesting too, so you’re…”
“So you think I’m like Lillian? Like Jakob?”
“Don’t compare me to that girl,” Jakob growled.
“Shut up.” Ethany’s voice softened. “Wes, you think I’m just going to say, ‘well, that was fun’, and disappear?”
Wessel didn’t respond. His breathing was harsh, and he closed his eyes to get it under control. He could pretend he wasn’t here, shut everything out for just a moment. It was all too much for him. Breathing first. He needed to breath slower.
“Wes, I’m not going to just shun you. Wes?”
Wessel exhaled, opening his eyes. He wiped at his face with a sleeve. “But tomorrow I won’t have a thief or a computer to chase,” he said. “I might not have anything.”
“Not gonna lie, that sounds pretty dull,” Ethany said. “Guess I’ll just have to help you find something interesting.”
Wessel swallowed. “Together?”
“Sure, why not? I’m not the pick of the litter when it comes to friends either, y’know.”
“Why?”
“I dunno, because I never cared about having my hair right, or because my skin wasn’t good enough, or—”
“No, I mean… why aren’t you like Lillian?”
Ethany snorted. “Not hardly anyone is like that girl. Your mom and dad aren’t like her, right?”
“No.”
“She’s crazy as a sack of hammers. Most people ain’t lookin’ to have fun and then drop you like a brick, neh? We got good people too.”
“And you’re good?”
“Sometimes.”
“Bleh,” Jakob called from his cell.
“Hey,” Ethany snapped. “We helped you out. You shut up.”
“Fine, fine.”
Wessel felt something swell in his chest, and it felt like he could breathe again. He smiled. “It’s alright Ethany,” he said. “Jakob’s just jealous because he does not have friends.”
“Hey, I gots plenty friends,” Jakob said.
“Name five.”
“You ain’t even got five, you donk. And I got Rogen, Gerry, Kyle… uh, Kyler…”
“You’re making them up,” Ethany said, a note of awe in her voice.
“Am not! I am not, will not, but I got those three. Shut up!”
“You could make friends with Wessel. Aren’t y’all both in the same grade?”
“Uh uh, ain’t doing that. You guys can’t say nothing to make me, neh. Got it?”
“Whatever, weirdo.”
“Wessel’s the weirdo,” Jakob grumbled, quieting down.
Ethany sniggered.
The doors to the cell block burst open.
“Alright, based on what we’ve gleaned from the golems, you three are free to go!” The same officer with only a few teeth whistled as he unlocked the cells, and Wessel stepped out. Ethany and Jakob were there. So were the ‘power’ golem, Ethany’s ‘freedom’ golem, and Aizi.
Aizi.
Wessel stepped up to her and laid a hand against her burnished golden shell. “Are you okay, Aizi?” he asked.
There was no answer.
For a moment, Wessel’s heart felt like it would stop. There was no reply. Nothing to reassure him, to let him know she was okay. She wouldn’t remain silent on purpose, of course not.
The officer cleared his throat. “Oh, and just so you know little Master Cote, I think your golem picked up a hitch in that little kerfuffle. Might want to get it checked on when the shops are going again?”
“Huh?” Wessel said.
The officer shrugged, then pointed down the hallway. “Door’s that way. You kids head home until the power comes on, y’hear?”
“Yes sir,” Jakob said, heading down the hall.
Ethany smiled as Wessel, then followed.
Wessel took a nervous step forward, and Aizi followed. Her steps were unsteady, faltering, barely balanced. Just like she had been when Wessel put her into low power mode.
When he’d temporarily turned off her higher functions.
Despite the tears in his eyes, he smiled.
Aizi would definitely be okay. He was sure of it. And he would be okay, too. No matter what happened next.
Kyle Adams 