Rami and Max ran around the house to greet their mom and dad, with Orion trailing behind. Their parents had just hopped off of the tractor, which had a large cart on the back full of wheat.

“You two are here awful quick,” their mom said.

“And you’re here awful early,” Rami replied.

“Yeah, there was a big smoldering patch in the middle of the field and we wanted to find out what happened,” their dad said. “Help us unpack some of this into the silo.”

“We have a visitor,” Max blurted, before either of them could open the cart.

Orion slowly appeared from the side of the house, the Clockwork unsurprisingly with him. Their parents were confused and shocked, but more worried than anything.

“Who is that?”

“That’s Orion. He’s from the Housing District. Doctor Brown said he had a concussion.”

“Rami, what do you know about this?”

“He walked up to the door earlier before I went out to do my rounds and said he needed help. Sounds like he’s the boy that Syndra is after.”

“Hmm.” Their dad stared at Orion as he approached the group.

“The name’s Orion,” he said, extending his arm. “I’m sorry about your wheat field. My reluctant bodyguard back there sort of crashed us into the ground.”

“That would explain the mess, then,” their mom said, looking at the stranger kid. Dirt and soot were caked into his hair, face, and clothes.

“Max said you have a concussion?”

“Yeah, or at least I’m pretty sure. I’ve never felt this wrecked in my life.”

“Why don’t you go inside and take a quick shower?” their mom suggested. “Maybe that would help. Rami, why don’t you help him get a shower going? Max, you’re gonna help us unload the tractor.”

“Again? Why is it always me?”

“Because your mother told you to,” their dad said. “God’s will.”

Rami led Orion to the front door again, but before they entered, Orion turned to the Clockwork. “Stay out here. Do not, under any circumstances, try to follow me in. You will destroy their home. You hear me?”

The Clockwork stood and stared at the duo. That was as much of an answer as he was getting.

Orion took a step inside and looked to see what the Clockwork was doing. It stood near the porch, still watching the two. He tried more steps, still watching the machine, but it stayed put.

He was finally making progress. All it took was a concussion and a game of catch.

“I’ll get the water started for you,” Rami said, stepping into the bathroom and getting things ready. Orion looked at himself in the mirror. He was a mess in more ways than one. Dark circles had formed under his eyes, no doubt from the impact, stress, and being unconscious for over a day. Dirt and specks of dried blood covered his face and clothes, and his hair was matted and crusted.

“I’m sure you know how to work a shower, so I’ll leave you to it.”

“Actually, before you go,” Orion said, “I need a favor. Another favor.”

“What’s that?”

“I can’t lift my shirt over my head. It hurts.”

“Why does it hurt?”

“I don’t know. Raising my arms over my head hurts right now.”

“Okay.” Rami moved to help, pulling his arms out of his sleeves and lifting the shirt over his head. An awkward moment of staring passed before Rami snapped out of it. “You’re scrawny. And pale.”

Orion laughed. “Sorry. I think. Not a lot of chances for me to go shirtless in the sun. Also, not a lot of farm labor in my life.”

“I’d say. Anyway, I assume you can do the rest yourself.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Thank you.”

Rami saluted and left the bathroom, allowing Orion some alone time for the first time since the town square incident. There were a lot of emotions and events to process, but thinking about any of it made his head hurt.

Eventually, he settled for cleaning himself off and letting the water run over his body, minus his head, because the constant pattering only worsened his headache.

Were Dad and Sam okay? This was the longest he’d been away from either of them, and under these circumstances, his anxiety was spiking. He decided he’d ask to use the phone before dinner.

Should he? Can they track the call and find out where he is? He didn’t want to put this family in danger, either.

When the water got cold, he stepped out and changed into a fresh pair of clothes Rami had left out for him. His arms were feeling a little better, allowing him to fully dress himself. It certainly wasn’t his style, but the stereotypical farmer’s outfit didn’t look terrible on him.

“Welcome back to LowAg News, your number one source of information in the Lower Agriculture District,” a radio in the kitchen said as Orion exited the bathroom. “Today’s developments on Syndra’s revolution are about the same as yesterday. Syndra has now completely taken control of the government, employing much of the military in his scheme to force cooperation in the Housing and Industrial districts. While nothing in Syndra’s actions indicates movement towards either agriculture district, that’s not to say there isn’t some minor conflict on the northern borders and between them in the Biomed District.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What does that mean?” Max asked her mom, who was cutting up a gallery of potatoes on the counter.

“For us, not a lot,” their dad replied, in the living room recliner, reading a newspaper. “The politics of the north rarely affect what we do down here. So long as we make their food, they leave us be.”

“Syndra is also once again talking about finding that boy and the Clockwork, who went missing Tuesday. The boy is named Orion and has black, curly hair. The robot is massive, metallic, and a force to be reckoned with. Surely, if they were still in the country, we would have seen them by now. Unless they went to our district to hide. In which case, they could hide in plain sight.”

The mom and dad looked at Orion, who felt sheepish after being called out by the radio. “I’m sure you know, but that’s me they’re talking about.”

“Thought I recognized you from somewhere when you came to the tractor earlier, but that’s just because they’ve mentioned you a hundred times in the past two days.”

“Syndra tried to kill me and steal the Clockwork from the Gearmaster. I don’t know what he wants with it, but I was in the town square when he attacked, and I don’t think he has anything good planned.”

“Don’t worry, dear, we’re not going to turn you in,” the mom said.

“You’re not?”

“No. We’re not supporting Syndra in this house. He doesn’t stand for the traditional Christian values we uphold here.”

“He’s a dishonest and cruel man from what we’ve been told on the radio,” the dad said. “I expect Pastor Ben to have a damning sermon against him this Sunday.”

“Max said you live in the Housing District?”

“Yeah, in an apartment complex with my dad and sister.”

Their dad shook his head while reading the newspaper.

“I used to live up there, too. We were packed in like sardines, and I couldn’t wait to move out.”

“Our building has slowly been emptying everyone out. We can’t afford anything nicer, though, so we’ve been holding out as long as we can.”

“Understand that,” the dad said, folding the paper up. “We have one more financial crisis this year and we’re going under. Same for most of the district.”

Rami reentered the house, carrying a large bag of what looked like flour or sugar.

“Thank you, Rami,” the mom said, grabbing a few measuring cups. “Why don’t you go down to Jerry’s and get some butter for tonight?”

“Wheat again?” Rami asked.

“Yeah. And maybe a batch of eggs for the morning.”

“What’s our budget?”

“Three bundles. If butter’s more than that for some godforsaken reason, skip the eggs.”

“Alright. Want to come with, Orion?”

“I suppose, yeah.”

Orion followed Rami out the door, surprised to find the Clockwork in the same spot he left him in.

It in, he thought. The machine is an it. There will be no humanizing it.

“How far away are we going for the butter?”

“Twelve and a half minutes.”

“Stay here, Clockwork. We will only be twelve minutes away. Nothing’s going to happen in the meantime.”

The steambot stared at him and made a low rumbling noise, but otherwise didn’t respond.

Rami tossed him a bundle of wheat, and together the two started the trip to Jerry’s on the uneven dirt road.

“Hopefully, my family hadn’t started to indoctrinate you yet,” Rami said, focused dead-ahead. “They love to sneak that sort of thing into conversations.”

“They were certainly… being religious,” Orion responded. “I’ll be honest. I don’t know a lot about religion, so I don’t have much to say. We were never religious at home.”

“It has its places and uses,” Rami said. “But there’s too much hate in the church for me.”

“How’s that?”

“It’s all in the groups they ostracize. If you don’t fit their predetermined bill, they make your life hell.”

“I’m assuming you’re not the religious type, either.”

“I’ve played the organ every Sunday for seven years, but that’s the most I participate.”

“A piano guy?”

“I know, that’s usually a girl’s role, but—”

“I play cello. Have for just as long.”

“Ah.”

“Is that… bad?”

“No. It’s relieving, actually, though I’m not sure why. What do you do performance-wise?”

“We mostly play small venues. It doesn’t make hardly any money, but where we’re at, money is money.”

“Fair. You practice every day?”

“Almost.”

“I’m jealous. The only time I get to play anymore is at church, right before and during the service. Otherwise I’m too busy.”

“Sorry to hear that. Maybe at some point you’ll have the chance to pursue it.”

“Probably not. Dad’s made it pretty clear I’m taking over the farm once I’m old enough.”

“He really controls everything, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

“Who drives, who calls, who does what chores, that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, I suppose so. A lot of that is the ‘man’s role’ or something like that. I don’t really follow what they talk about in church.”

Their walk continued in silence for a good portion of time until they reached another farm on the side of the road. Different animals roamed in different sections, with cows, pigs, chickens, and horses all taking up residence.

“Here’s Jerry’s.”

“I thought Jerry’s was going to be a store.”

“We don’t do that down here. Not that we could afford it if we wanted.” He walked up to the farmhouse and knocked on the front door. A minute passed before a man, presumably Jerry, appeared.

“Well, if it isn’t Rami! I was wondering when Linda would have you come this way for more supplies. What are we after today?”

“Oh, we’re looking at butter and eggs.”

“Butter and eggs and the usual?”

“Double the usual. Jerry, this is Orion. He’s a cousin on my mom’s side visiting for the month.”

“Orion, huh? Who names a kid like that?”

“I get that a lot,” Orion said, shaking the man’s hand.

“What do we have for bargaining today?”

“Three bundles today, Jerry.”

“Well, as it would have it, that’s perfect. We’re at one-and-a-half for the butter, one for the eggs, and the rest for the usual.”

“Only half for double the usual?”

“It’s not every day your cousin comes to visit. Just don’t expect a discount next time.”

“What’s the usual?” Orion asked, finally fed up with hearing about it.

“What’s your flavor choice of ice cream, Orion? Vanilla or chocolate?”

“Ice cream?”

“You heard me.”

“I can’t remember the last time I had ice cream. Vanilla, I suppose.”

“Figures,” Jerry said, elbowing Rami. Jerry disappeared inside his house and reappeared with a small bucket of butter, a carton of eggs, and two cones of ice cream, one vanilla and one chocolate.

“Thanks, Jerry,” Rami said, exchanging the goods for the wheat.

“Of course. See you kids on Sunday. Can’t wait to hear what Ben has to say about everything going on.”

“They’re brothers,” Rami told Orion.

“Ice cream?” Orion repeated, staring at the cone in his hand.

“Yeah. Eat it quick. Both because it’ll melt and we have to eat it before we’re in eyesight of the farm. Mom and Dad don’t know I do this.”

“Being sneaky, eh?”

“Jerry’s in on it, too. I mean, how are you gonna turn down more sales? Besides, it makes almost no dent in our wheat supply. As you’ve seen, we’ve got a lot this year.”

The two walked, ice cream and other animal products in hand, and Orion momentarily forgot the stressors of his current situation. Here he was, with a new friend, having ice cream on a walk back to a farmhouse for dinner.

Was it too early to call him a friend? They’d only met that morning. Still, it’s not every day a complete stranger helps you with your concussion and sneaks ice cream with you. The feeling was probably reciprocated by the way Rami had been talking.

Orion finished his cone right before the cutoff Rami had warned him about and wiped his face of any mess he’d made. When the Clockwork got the two of them in view, it hovered over, seemingly relieved that they’d made it back in one piece.

“What’d I tell you? We’re fine.”

The duo walked into the farmhouse, leaving the Clockwork to stand by outside as the sun lowered in the sky.