Orion had never been in a proper fight. Yeah, like every other kid of his stature and awkwardness, he’d been victim to intense bullying throughout his school career, but it had never come down to both sides throwing punches.

And it was certainly never a fair match.

Still, like the Clockwork in front of him, he raised his fists, nowhere near prepared for the potential battle that awaited him on the opposite side of the garage door.

“Open up, kid,” a voice said. “We know you’re in there.”

“You’ll have to come in here, I’m afraid,” he replied.

A moment of silence passed before a crack of light appeared beneath the overhead entrance. Four goons lifted the door, all slightly intimidated by the towering machine.

The first approached, a knife in his hands, and came at Orion. The Clockwork punched out, sending the man careening into a wall. He laid against it, unconscious.

The other three hesitated a moment. This was not a machine that was going to give up easily. The one in the middle charged forward, prepared to strike or dodge, whichever he had the chance to do first. His colleagues followed suit, attempting to get on either side of the Clockwork.

Unphased, the Clockwork swung its incredibly heavyset arms, which collided with the two trying to loop around it. Then it kicked forward, connecting with the middle man’s chest and throwing him out the door. Orion thought he heard more than one cracking sound, but didn’t want to think about what that meant.

He turned to face his now former boss in his office, who was cowering behind his desk. For years, albeit illegally, Orion had worked for this man, who was willing to sell him out to a radical revolutionary in ten minutes flat. Why?

It didn’t matter anymore. Where there were four, there were more. He and the Clockwork had to find a new spot to hide.

Maybe I should head home, he thought. Maybe Syndra would be less likely to check one of the more crowded sections of the Housing District. It’d be a lot harder to go door-to-door searching. That didn’t solve the issue of the Clockwork being too heavy, but he could cross that reinforced bridge when he got there.

Without waiting for more visitors, Orion rushed out of the loading area and back into the streets and alleys of Carmsborough. The Clockwork followed closely behind, blissfully unaware of how obnoxiously loud its footsteps were. They were bound to draw the attention of more hostiles.

“Remind me why you’re following me, again?” Orion asked the automaton, jogging backwards for a bit. It looked at him, responding with the low hum it constantly emitted.

“That’s okay, don’t answer me. You know, you’re making things pretty hard. Your footsteps are too loud, you’re literally cracking the pavement and rocks as you step, and you’re like three meters tall. None of those aspects are good for finding a spot to hide.”

The Clockwork continued to look at him. Orion thought he saw its eyes flicker, if for a second.

“And no, knocking the rocks out of those guys back there doesn’t make up for any of it. They wouldn’t have been an issue if you weren’t here in the first place.”

“There it is!” he heard someone yell from across the street. Orion glanced over to find a squad of armed men similar to the ones that initially chased him. Not wanting a repeat moment, Orion burst into a sprint, blazing down the strangely empty road.

Where were all the people? Had Syndra’s threats terrified everyone into hiding?

The first bullet sounded off, ricocheting off of a wall somewhere behind him. He picked up the pace a little, and the Clockwork followed his lead. The second bullet pinged into a nearby trash can, sending it toppling.

Was this how it ended? Shot on the street while running for his life?

Taking an off chance, he spun down another road, out of sight of the men, and continued sprinting.

Wait, he thought, I recognize this street.

A block down was his rehearsal building, still unlit from the inside. Maybe he could stake out inside and wait for…

No, that’s not an option. The door’s still locked.

He couldn’t keep running forever. There had to be something. Up ahead, he could see the figure of Pamela closing shop for the day.

“Pamela!” he yelled, followed closely by the monolithic machine. She looked in confused horror as they barreled her way.

“Orion? Is that you? What are you doing with that thing?”

“Long story. I just need to know you’re not going to sell me out and throw me to Syndra’s dogs.”

“Syndra’s dogs? What’s a Syndra?”

“Great answer. We have to hide.”

“What’s happening, Orion?”

“I’ll tell you as soon as we’re in a safe place. Do you know somewhere we could go?”

“Well, the back alley is usually empty.”

She led him to the alley, which sported only a trash dumpster, and he filled her in on the details of the day. Her face contorted permanently into a worried expression.

“That’s a lot to take in,” she said, staring at the Clockwork. “What all does this thing do, then?”

“I’m not totally sure. I know it fights pretty well and stomps pretty loudly, but that’s about it.”

The Clockwork stood looking between the two, clearly disinterested in showing off any other skills or talents.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I have to go home and make sure my dad and sister are okay, but I can’t take this thing with me. It’ll paint a target on their backs. But I don’t have a choice. I can’t run away.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

A loud pounding noise rattled the front of the building. Pamela peeked around the side and went to go meet a group of men.

“Sorry, gentlemen, we’re closed up for the day, but we’ll be open again same time tomorrow.”

“We’re actually not here for food. Have you seen this kid or this robot?”

Orion couldn’t see what was happening, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out who they were talking about.

“Can’t say I have. Why, what’s wrong?”

“That kid has stolen some serious technology from our boss, and we need to return it and bring him to justice.”

“Well, I’ll keep an eye out, I suppose. Have a good day.”

When she returned to the alley, Orion was digging through the trash. “Don’t mind me. I’m trying to find something to make this thing quieter when I’m walking around.”

“I don’t think you’ll find anything in the food waste to make a big metal beast quieter, Orion. It’s probably best if you navigate the alleys to your place. How far away do you live?”

“Thirty-five minutes at a running pace.”

“It’ll be dark before you get halfway there. Are you sure you can’t stay here for the time being?”

“I have to get back. I need to know they’re okay.”

“Do you have a landline phone?”

“Yeah, but I’m not entirely sure it works.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot.”

She looped back to the front of the building, scouted a little to make sure the coast was clear, and ushered them in. The Clockwork barely fit through the doorway, but once she shut the blackout blinds and flipped the lights on, they were completely hidden to the outside world.

“Go ahead and use the phone on the counter there. I’ve got some calls to make in the back as well.”

She disappeared somewhere in the kitchen, leaving him to the device. He punched in the old landline number, praying for the connection to be made.

The line was quiet for longer than he was comfortable with, but eventually, it rang.

“Hello?” his dad said on the other end.

“Dad? It’s me, Orion.”

“Orion? Where are you?”

“I’m at Pamela’s Diner. It’s right across the street from my rehearsal building. Dad, we’ve got a bit of an issue.”

“I’ll say. What happened down at the event in the town square? I heard all sorts of noises.”

“Well, you’re never going to believe it, but—”

“This just in, ladies and gentlemen,” a radio on the counter of Pamela’s diner said, springing to life, “we have updates on Syndra’s revolution that happened down in the town square earlier today. An official spokesperson for Syndra has reached out to media outlets, saying that they’re holding the Gearmaster hostage until the boy with the Clockwork surrenders himself and the steambot.”

“Orion,” his dad said, “please tell me they’re not talking about you on the radio.”

“If I said that, I would be lying.”

“You stole a steambot from a violent revolutionary?”

“No, Dad, the steambot chose me. It was supposed to choose whoever needed defending the most or something like that, and it picked me. And then I ran away from it all. It’s a very long story, but one I would rather tell in person.”

“Is that Orion on the phone?” Sam’s voice asked in the background. “Tell him it’s his turn to take the trash out. I’ve done it every time for the last two weeks.”

“Orion, how soon can you get home?”

“If I ran at full speed, half an hour. But this thing is loud when it runs.”

“Ditch the robot, Orion.”

“I can’t, Dad! I tried! It won’t leave me be!”

“Okay, I hear you. It’s alright. Just get home soon, and be careful.”

“Alright, Dad. I’ll be there soon.”

He put the phone back in its place and waited for Pamela to reappear in the diner.

“For all you listeners out there, it sounds like we now have information about who the mystery kid with the steambot is. His name is Orion Muldane, a seventeen-year-old that works in a butcher shop on 87th street. His current whereabouts are unknown, but he was last seen headed towards the Housing District.”

He sat staring at the radio for a long time. They knew who he was. How did they know who he was?

Probably his boss. If he ratted his location, then he would’ve ratted everything else, too. His boss knew everything they needed about him: who he was, and more importantly, where he lived.

His family was in danger. Were they in more danger with or without him there? If he was there, the Clockwork would theoretically protect them, but if he wasn’t, they would have no reason to hurt his family, right?

What to do?

“Hey, Orion,” Pamela said, reappearing in the dining area. “How’d your call go?”

“I have to disappear,” he said, wide-eyed.

“What?”

“I have to go. Disappear. Hide. They know who I am. They’ll know where to find me. They’ll hurt Dad and Sam if I’m there. I have to hide.”

“Slow down. What happened?”

“The man on the radio just said they know who I am. I have to find a way to get out of here. Probably leave Carmsborough entirely. They’ll kill me.”

“Don’t you think this is a little drastic?”

“Pamela, they’re going to kill me. They were shooting at people in the plaza. What would they do to me?”

“Okay, Orion. Let’s calm down for a moment. How about we take a rest in the diner for a bit longer tonight? We’re perfectly safe in here.”

A knock repeated at the door again, loud and forceful. Both of them froze and stared, fear plastered on their faces. Pamela slowly and cautiously approached the door, doing her best to stay composed. The situation had gotten to her nerves, too.

“Gentlemen, I already told you I’m closed for the night,” she said, met with the same group as earlier.

“Ma’am, do you mind if we look inside? We won’t steal too much of your time.”

“One second.” She closed the door lightly in front of them and silently turned the lock. Then she faced Orion. “Run.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know, out. Use the back window if you have to. Run!”

With one simple word, Orion was tripping over his feet to get into the kitchen, panic exploding from his chest, further motivated by the heavy pounding on the flimsy front door. The Clockwork followed suit, paving a messy trail across the kitchen by plowing into rolling carts and loose items. When they reached the back window, the sound of crashing glass came from the dining area.

“Now or never.” He cracked the window open and slid through, landing harshly on the cement ground. The Clockwork hesitated for a moment, and having decided to crash through the wall, sent brick and dust scattering in the alley.

“You could’ve led with that,” Orion said, brushing himself off. “Come on, let’s go. I don’t know where, but somewhere.”

Before Orion could start moving, the Clockwork hummed loudly. Then it hovered off of the ground, propelled by what seemed to be two jets on the bottom of either of its feet.

“What is that? You can fly?”

It stared at him.

“You could’ve led with that! Why have we been running everywhere if you can fly?! Can I hitch a ride?”

The machine turned to reveal handles on its back, which Orion wasted no time in latching onto. With the noises from inside the diner getting louder, there was no time to delay.

“Get us out of here. I don’t care where. Just away from the city.”

The Clockwork lifted off, sending them high into the sky, up and over the tallest of the nearest buildings. The wind battered Orion heavily, and aside from the panic of being attached only by some handlebars for his hands and feet, it sparked something in him.

A feeling he thought he’d never get to experience: soaring through the air. A dream that had previously died with the harsh reality of no cloudship to drive. The Clockwork continued on an upward trajectory, threatening to scrape some clouds with the human on its back.

“Too high,” Orion said. “Too cold.”

The Clockwork listened, lowering itself back to a slightly more sustainable height, and headed off in a seemingly random direction.

This was it. The open sky. All his worries and stressors of the day melted away, if only for a moment. He was riding on the back of a semi-sentient robot as they soared across the city, propelled by jets on its legs. The world below him raced by, and what few people were still out were the size of ants.

It was everything he ever wanted in a situation from his worst nightmares.

“Any idea where you’re taking us?” he asked the Clockwork, which of course did not answer. Instead, it continued its path, slowly exiting the Housing District and sending them towards the Golem Mountains to the south. He’d seen them in the distance before, but never this close or from this angle. They were near the southernmost part of the range, but were soaring over some mountains and between others.

“This is awesome!”

A couple minutes later and they were nearing the other side of the range, with a vast plain in front of them. The Lower Agriculture District.

And then there was a loud sound, like that of a cannon firing. Orion looked to their left and saw a cannonball headed their way. Without having the time to react, all he could do was watch in horror as it connected with the Clockwork, sending them spiraling out of control. The last thing he remembered was seeing a rapidly approaching golden field of wheat and a house off in the distance.