“You have no business being here, Syndra,” the Gearmaster said, the remote he was about to use to turn the Clockwork on now at his side. “Me and the people of Carmsborough will not tolerate your insurrection.”

“Oh, please, I’m not here to cause any trouble,” Syndra replied, almost through to the stage. “In fact, I’m begging you to continue. Please, activate the Clockwork.”

“Absolutely not. Not anymore.”

“Why not, old man? What are you afraid of?”

“I do not fear you, Syndra. You are a bully and a brute.”

“Then activate the machine.”

“No.”

Orion, somewhere near the middle-right of the town square, stood by in confusion and fear. Who was Syndra, and why was he interrupting the Gearmaster’s presentation with armed guards? Things felt like they were about to go south quickly, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.

“Turn it on. Last chance.”

“I will never cave to you.”

“Then let the record show I gave you a fair chance.”

Syndra pulled a pistol out from a holster on his side, aimed it directly at the Gearmaster, and fired. It connected with his shoulder, and the old man dropped the remote on the ground, button-side up.

Chaos ensued as people in the town square started screaming and running away, desperately hoping to avoid being shot themselves. The rest of Syndra’s path to the stage cleared out, allowing him to snatch the remote.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do we not want to see what the Clockwork does when turned on?”

Orion was watching in horror. He couldn’t believe the Gearmaster had been shot in front of hundreds of people and that the presentation was being hijacked by some crazy man. If there was a time to run away and hide, it was now.

“I guess I’ll do it myself,” Syndra said, pressing the button with a smile.

Beside him, the monstrous machine moved its arms, and the lights in its eyes flickered awake.

“Ladies and gentlemen of Carmsborough, prepare for revolution!” he yelled, stretching his hands wide.

The armed men fanned out from the stage, aiming their weapons at the scurrying crowd. Orion, finally snapping to reality, found the strength to move. His legs felt weighed down, as if he were living a nightmare, but he hurried away from the main section of the town square.

Then the second gunshot rang out. It was loud and uncomfortably close, momentarily stunning him. People ran faster, and screams echoed against the building walls instead of cheers. The gunshots increased at a steady rate until there was one nearly every five seconds.

Orion set his sights on the nearest alleyway, hoping to steer clear of the madmen with weapons. The noises were mostly coming from the other side of the town square, but he knew bullets didn’t care about a distance as short as this. As he neared the alley entrance, another escaping attendee blindsided him, sending them both to the ground.

“Watch it, twerp!” the man said, moving to return to his feet.

“Sorry!” Orion called, also attempting to get up.

Bang.

The man next to him flopped back over. His face grew dull and expressionless. The culprit, one of Syndra’s armed men, was staring directly at Orion, gun drawn.

This is it. This is the end.

Orion was helpless to do anything but watch as the man drew closer. It was only a matter of time until— A shrieking sound filled the air, similar to that of a jet. It was jarringly loud and caught everyone’s attention. All eyes watched as the Clockwork charged into the town square and crashed into the man threatening Orion, sending him soaring a good five or six meters to the side.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“What’s happened?” Syndra asked, staring at the Clockwork. “What are you doing? I activated you. You’re mine.”

The Clockwork stood in front of Orion, unmoving. It towered over him, which was a menacing sight to be close to.

“So the Gearmaster wasn’t lying. The Clockwork really does choose who it wants to defend, and it chose some miserable child. Men, take care of him.”

All guns pointed their way. Rather than wait and see if the Clockwork was going to block the bullets of ten men, Orion did the next best thing: turned and ran down the alley.

The Clockwork hesitated before chasing after him. Its heavy footsteps rocked the streets and buildings around it, kicking up dust and pebbles. Behind it came half of Syndra’s men, ready to shoot at the first clear shot of the child who was unintentionally running away with the most valuable technology in the world.

“Stop following me!” Orion yelled, hoping to control his extra shadow somehow. If it understood, it didn’t listen.

He emerged onto one of the major streets of the Housing District, where the chaos of Syndra’s “revolution” was already taking hold. People running away from the town square were blending into the normal foot traffic of the afternoon, causing for mass confusion and flow issues.

Flow issues that, of course, weren’t an issue for the teenager and the ten-foot golem following behind him. A wide space cleared in front of him, allowing passage through the street.

He stole a peek back at the alleyway where the men were still following him. To either side of it, more of Syndra’s goons were converging on his point, clearly prepared to fight the metal monster.

Orion still wasn’t ready for that. He streaked across the street and into a second alleyway, the Clockwork trailing a good five meters behind. With as loud and visible as it was, Orion knew he had to lose the guardian angel that had apparently chosen him if he wanted to survive this encounter.

What a strange irony. A one-of-a-kind protectorate was going to be his downfall.

Plus, it’s not like he had anywhere that would fit the Clockwork if he escaped their grasp. It wouldn’t be able to climb the stairs to his apartment. It can’t even take a step on a stone street without cracking the foundation.

He took another look behind him to see his progress against the armed enemies. Thankfully, his youth and stamina were benefiting him, despite the tipped scales in every other category. The men were lagging a little, though still well within gun range if they could get past the Clockwork.

Where to go? Orion’s mind pounded at the same rate as the Clockwork’s heavy footsteps. His home was still a good forty-five minutes away, but work was a brief ten. If he could get the Clockwork through the loading door in the back, he might be able to hide out at the butcher shop.

His lungs were roaring for air, but adrenaline kept him moving towards the butcher shop. With any luck, the boss closed shop for the event, or the takeover that proceeded it.

It wasn’t a takeover, though, right? Surely the police and government would be on this. Syndra wouldn’t get far without the military stepping in to prevent whatever disruption he was planning.

Right?

Orion didn’t plan to leave it up to luck to ensure his safety, much less the government.

The Clockwork kept its rhythmic pace behind him all the way to the butcher shop. At last, out of sight of the henchmen that were hunting for him, Orion allowed himself a long breath.

“Why are you following me?” he asked the Clockwork, finally having caught up on oxygen.

The Clockwork stared at him long and hard. Something was flickering behind its eyes, but if it was sentient thought, he didn’t know what.

“Not going to talk to me, eh?”

Again, the Clockwork just stared.

“You know, the Gearmaster could’ve at least had the decency to give you the gift of language. Maybe then I could tell you to stop following me. I’m not a fan of running for my life.”

“Orion? What on earth is going on out there?” The sound of Orion’s boss’ voice spoke from the back doorway of the butcher shop.

“Hey, Mr. Calvin. Got space in the loading room for a big metal nuisance?”

-◦=[ ]=◦-

“And that’s when I decided to come this way,” Orion said, finished relaying his story to his boss. “Things have gotten a little out of hand, and I’m scared. What’s happening?”

“Stay right here, and try not to make any noise,” his boss said. “I have some phone calls to make. And, for the love of God, do not let this thing run rampant.”

“I have no clue how to control this thing, Mr. Calvin.”

“You’d better find out soon.”

The older man disappeared into his office, leaving Orion with his inherited machine. His heart was still slowing from the exertion, so he thought it a good idea to flip a radio on and to see what was happening outside.

“This is once again a warning to all residents of Carmsborough: please stay inside and avoid any interaction on the streets. The war general-turned-revolutionary known as Syndra has men parading a good portion of the Housing District hunting for the Clockwork and the boy that ran away with it. No word yet about our government’s response, but sources say they’re looking to make swift and decisive action against these insurrectionists.”

Orion’s boss paced inside his office, occasionally looking over at the refugee kid standing in his loading room with a coveted steambot at his side. He couldn’t tell what Mr. Calvin was saying, but his nervous glances were enough to put him on edge.

“What could Syndra possibly want?” the radio continued. “Does he have some sort of manifesto? What are his goals and ambitions? We don’t know a lot yet about his time in the military, but it’s clear he’s willing to use force to get what he seeks. And right now, that is the Clockwork, the Gearmaster’s newest steambot creation.”

A loud pounding rattled the loading room’s overhead door. Orion looked back at his boss, who was now crouching, mostly out of view.

His boss set him up. He was going to be ambushed.

The Clockwork seemed to realize this, too. It braced its arms in a wide stance and readied its fists.