Sem- Adventures Across Time

by T S Wieland

  Otto put his voltmeter away and walked back over to the computer. Merek moved out of his way, clearly afraid to ever stand between Otto and the computer ever again. Otto scrolled through the readouts on the computer screen.

  “Where are we going?” asked Ally from the stairs.

  “Otto, what’s the news?” asked Sem.

  Sem pulled his backpack from the locker and began placing his med kit, a flashlight, and his binoculars into the bag.

  “You won’t need to bother changing clothes this time. Looks like you’ll be in the early twenty-second century. Your outfits may look outdated, but no one should think much of it.”

  Ally stared down at her outfit, wondering how her style could ever seem outdated.

  “There’s a backpack in that locker you can use,” said Sem, pointing to the one next to his.

  Ally walked over to the locker with a plaque on the front. She read the name plaque.

  Chapter 18

  The Lost Boys of Tomorrow

  The young man fleeing the android officers weaved through the dense crowded skyway of people ahead of Sem, slipping through the small gaps between the groups of pedestrians. Sem’s pace was slowed as he tried to avoid a group of young women gawking at the partially naked young man who had run by them. The back of the young man’s partially shaved blond hair and the blue, robotic officers passed in and out of sight.

  Ally hurried to catch up, spotting Sem working his way through the crowd. Each person Sem passed made a path for her to follow as he parted the sea of onlookers. She continued to run as fast as she could, hoping that the chase would soon end.

  The young man turned hard around the corner of a department store as androids maintained their pursuit, unfazed by the quick change in direction. Sem approached the store, seeing the young man through the windows of the store. He had stopped in the city square around the corner with his back to a star-shaped fountain at the center. His hands were up in the air, as the two officers pointed their guns at him and approached cautiously.

  Ally ran over to Sem and stopped next to him, breathing heavily.

  “Ugh, I feel out of shape. If we’re going to start running everywhere, you should just carry me,” said Ally, coughing and catching her breath. “Did you lose him?”

  “No. He’s at the fountain in the square. We need to do something before those androids take him though,” replied Sem, regaining his breath.

  “Let’s go get him, then.” Ally took a step forward, ready to keep moving onward.

  “Hold your horses, slowpoke.” Sem extended his arm out to his side to stop Ally from going any further. “We need a plan first. I don’t want a repeat of cold robot fingers around my neck.”

  “Alright. What do we do, then?”

  Sem thought for a minute, watching the androids turn the young man around and hold him down with his chest to the edge of the fountain. He grinned and looked back at Ally. “This one's all you. Why don’t you go talk to them?”

  Ally glared at Sem, unable to believe the words coming from his mouth.

  “Yeah, right! I doubt they’d just give him to me,” Ally said.

  “You want me to just walk up there and say, ‘Excuse me, but can you please not arrest this naked man?”

  “Yeah…”

  “You're kidding, right?”

  “No. Maybe if they couldn’t recognize us earlier, they might do what we say, not knowing how else to respond.”

  “That’s a really stupid idea.”

  “Only if it doesn’t work.”

  Ally shook her head at him and sighed.

  “Fine. Let's get this over with. But if they arrest me, I’ll make sure you wish you’d never saved me.” Ally pushed past him and proceeded to walk towards the androids.

  “I already do,” mumbled Sem to himself.

  A crowd had now gathered around the androids arresting the young man. Sem followed Ally at a distance around the outside of the department store. Ally casually approached the android officers through the crowd as they placed the handcuffs on the young man.

  “Excuse me! Uh, officers!” yelled Ally as she approached them, unsure how the androids preferred to be addressed.

  “Let go of me, tin man!” said the young man, struggling with the handcuffs as the android stood him up right.

  “Please. Remain calm, and stand back, miss. The McN Police greatly thank you for your cooperation,” said the other android, extending a hand to stop Ally from coming any closer.

  “No, officer. There’s been a mistake. This man is with us,” said Ally, slowly approaching them, hoping they wouldn’t turn hostile.

  “Unfamiliar response. Please rephrase your statement.”

  “This man is with us. Please don’t arrest him?”

  The android looked at Ally, stiff and motionless. Sem stood still in the crowd behind her, hoping the android would give a positive response.

  “Identity unknown. Performing extensive search,” said the android.

  “Please work…,” whispered Sem from the crowd.

  “Search complete. Identity unknown. Releasing custody of unknown party.”

  The second android opened the handcuffs.

  Ally’s jaw dropped. Sem chuckled to himself at her expression. He pushed past the crowd and patted her on the shoulder.

  “See, told ya. Sometimes you don’t know what will work until you try.”

  “That plan was still stupid,” replied Ally, frustrated.

  “Please, go about your business,” shouted both androids, waving off the crowd. “There is nothing else to see here.”

  The young man stepped away from his two robotic officers and joined Sem and Ally.

  “Uh, thanks?” he said sounding confused. He reached out and shook Sem’s hand.

  “No problem,” said Sem, shaking his hand. The two androids’ officers wandered away from them continuing to clear away the crowd.

  “I don’t owe you guys money or anything, right?”

  Ally and Sem looked at the young man, befuddled.

  “No. Why would you ask that?” asked Ally.

  “Kyle!” shouted a voice from the dispersing crowd. A small group of three young men ran over to greet the half-naked man.

  “Hey! How did you guys find me?” said Kyle.

  “Zip saw you rush past him at Queensbridge with the tin men chasing you,” replied a brawny young man with dark skin and a white buzzed mohawk.

  “Yeah, you nearly gave one old lady a stroke with your public display,” said the shortest young man, who sported a black hair cut in striped lines across the top of his head.

  “Thanks for the help, Zip,” replied Kyle sarcastically while looking at the shortest young man, adjusting the towel tighter around his waist.

  “No, it was too funny. I figured I’d rather get Teech and Twig anyway,” said Zip, a contagious smile spreading across his face.

  Ally looked at Sem. Sem stood with a blank expression. Their half-naked friend was not the missing traveler they were searching for. A devastated expression formed on both their faces, trying to mask their heart break with pitiful smiles.

  “How did you get away from them, anyway? They just let you go?” asked the young man with the mohawk.

  “Yeah. Wish I could say I just charmed them with my stunning looks and persuasive words, but that would be taking all the credit from my new friends here,” said Kyle, pointing at Sem and Ally. “They asked the tin men to let me go, and they just did it. No questions asked.”

  “Bullshit. They're cops too, probably,” said the young man with the mohawk, staring at Sem and Ally suspiciously.

  “No really, Teech! The tin men said they were unknown. Even if they were undercover cops, the tin men would have at least recognized them.”

  “Ha, just like I always said. Tin men. No brains,” replied the tallest one, Sem and Ally assumed to be known to his friends as Twig.

  A tall man wearing a fine grey suit stormed through the crowd behind them. His shirt billowed arou
nd his chest, his black hair finely combed to one side.

  “Stilt!” he shouted the man, marching towards them. “You're a dead man!”

  “Oh, great… Please tell me you weren’t hanging out with Gina?” asked Teech, shooting Kyle a harsh look.

  “Uh . . . what if I said, no? Or at least a small maybe?”

  Kyle turned around to see his finely dressed accuser pointing his finger towards him.

  Kyle hid behind Sem and Ally, using them as a human shield to protect him. Teech hopped up onto the fountain next to him with his arms crossed, seeming ready to defuse the situation or start a war.

  “Marcus McNeal. A pleasure to see you on this side of town. Though I think you're in the wrong place,” said Teech.

  “Wrong! This is my city, and I’ll go wherever I please! And kill whomever I please!” shouted Marcus. Sem and Ally blocked Marcus’s path as he pointed at Teech. Marcus looked around behind him.

  “What the hell happened to the officers I sent after you?”

  “They fled. Cause they know you never mess with the Stellers,” said Kyle, trying to act tough in his towel, still cowering behind Sem and Ally.

  “You're on our turf, McNeal, and we go wherever we please and beat whomever we please. So, you best get back to your mansion before you become another piece of trash on the sidewalk.”

  Teech glared at him.

  “The only trash in this district is you four. That piece of garbage deflowered my sister! And I’m going to tear him apart, one piece at a time!”

  Teech stepped down from the fountain. Zip and Twig stood at his side, looking ready for a fight.

  “Someone deflowered her long before I did,” said Kyle snickering.

  His friends laughed.

  Marcus grinded his teeth and looked at Kyle with an infuriated expression. He grabbed Ally by the arm and attempted to throw her to the side, ready to rip the Kyle to shreds.

  Ally head-butted him with all her might, forcing the metal rim of her goggles into the bridge of his nose. She grabbed Marcus by the arm, and rotated it counter clockwise, forcing him to turn his back to her before she swept his legs out from under him with her foot. Marcus fell to the ground with a loud, painful thud.

  Ally pressed her knee into his back with both of his arms twisted behind him. She held him down with an intense look on her face, imagining it was David she had just thrown to the ground. She looked around at the expressions on all the men’s faces.

  Each of them stood with their eyes wide and jaws dropped, including Sem. The group erupted into spontaneous, childish laughter.

  “Wow,” said Sem, slack-jawed. “Where did that come from?”

  “What? I took a few classes when I first started college. It was good exercise, and my ex-boyfriend was starting to scare me,” she replied, her knee still wedged into Marcus’s back.

  Sem nodded, beginning to realize he had continued to underestimate his new partner. “You couldn’t have used that earlier?”

  “I don’t like hurting people. Besides, he grabbed me.” Ally replied.

  “I see,” said Sem.

  Marcus laughed exaggeratedly. Ally stared down at him, annoyed by his rude and cocky attitude. She wedged her knee further down into his back harder.

  “Something funny?” Ally asked.

  “You should probably get off me,” replied Marcus.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because if you don’t, Ike will do it for you,” said Marcus, still laughing.

  “Ike?”

  A tall shadow passed over her.

  Looking up, Ally saw that the source of her shade was a rather large, buff, dark-skinned figure. Two tuxedo-dressed androids stood next to him. Releasing Marcus from her grip, Ally stood up with her hands raised, afraid to tangle with the bodyguard.

  She laughed awkwardly, trying to play the moment off as a friendly joke. Ike gazed over her, cracking his knuckles like walnuts. Sem and Ally backed away from the bodyguard, now feeling more comfortable standing next to the gang of hooligans than the three-hundred-pound man made of pure muscle before them. Marcus stood up from the ground and brushed his suit off.

  He lifted his hand to his nose, covering the gash Ally’s goggles had given him. Marcus strolled over to the fountain next to Sem, smirking. The group watched him quietly, choosing not to escalate the matter any further.

  “See, Teech. As I said was saying. This is my city,” said Marcus as he pulled the handkerchief from his pocket and dipped it into the fountain water to clean his face.

  Sem looked down and noticed Marcus’s weight was now all on one foot as he bent over towards the fountain next to him. Sem brushed Marcus’s foot out from under him with the side of his boot, unable to resist the moment. Marcus stumbled into the fountain head first. He stood up and gasped for air, soaked from head to toe.

  Everyone burst out laughing again. Sem tried his best not to laugh, hoping not to let on it was his fault. Ally knew by the look on his face that he was the culprit. Ike started to laugh as well, covering his mouth with his hand, trying in vain to maintain his professional bodyguard appearance.

  Marcus pulled himself out from the fountain. His fine suit was now drenched. Marcus huffed in anger. He reached around behind him ready to grab something from his waistband that would silence his applauding audience.

  Sem’s smile vanished. He reached over and grabbed Marcus by the wrist, glaring at him sternly with his eyes, ready to drop him to the floor again if he tried anything.

  Ike’s childish giggle went silent as he saw Sem grab Marcus by the hand. Ike placed his hand in his jacket, ready to pull his gun if Sem tried anything.

  “I’d think twice before you do something you might regret,” Sem muttered to him.

  Relaxing his arm and bringing it back around in front of him, Marcus smiled at Ike, acting like the whole thing had never happened. Sem released his grip and backed away from him.

  “Smile while you can. I’m not finished with you yet, Stilt,” said Marcus pointing at Kyle as he stalked over to his bodyguard.

  “And as for you two, I’d leave town before something bad happens. The city can be a dangerous place.”

  “Don’t worry. We don’t plan to stick around long,” Sem replied.

  “Before today is out, your gang will become just another stain on this city’s skyways, ready to be washed away.”

  Marcus waved to Ike and his android guards. They all turned and began to follow him, asking if he was alright. Marcus shouted back at them in frustration as the crowded square watched him walk away soaking wet and throwing a tantrum.

  “I never knew seeing that man’s humiliation would bring me this much joy,” said Kyle.

  “You're telling me,” replied Zip.

  “You guys are alright,” said Teech, reaching out to shake hands with Sem and Ally. “Not many people would mess with that walking bag of money. Least you faced him unlike you, Kyle.”

  Kyle raised his arms acting pretending he was innocent.

  “Who was that guy, anyway?” asked Ally.

  The four men all stared at her with dumbfounded looks.

  “You serious?” asked Twig.

  “You guys definitely aren't from around here if you don’t know who that was. He’s Marcus McNeal. Son of the famous Thomas McNeal,” said Kyle, still holding the towel around his waist.

  Ally and Sem both nodded, pretending like they knew who he was, but the group could easily see through their performance.

  “Wow! You guys are either dumb or lost. Or both,” said Zip.

  “Thomas McNeal? The CEO of the largest android manufacturing company in the world? Owner of half of New York?” asked Kyle.

  “Oh! That McNeal,” replied Ally, not having a clue who he was talking about.

  “Yeah, which McNeal did you think I was talking about?”

  “We’re from out of town,” said Sem.

  “Clearly,” replied Teech. “Now as a gesture of gratitude to our new heroes, why don’t you gu
ys come hang with us and we’ll celebrate? Think of it our way of repaying the debt Kyle now owes you two.”

  Sem opened his mouth to turn down Teech’s offer. He looked at Ally and saw she was shaking her head for him not to say anything.

  “Sure, that sounds awesome,” Ally replied.

  “Awesome? What are you from the thousands? You guys are some seriously odd ducks,” said Zip, once again being straightforward and blunt with his words.

  “Whatever. Let’s just get out of here before Kyle gets arrested for nudity,” said Teech.

  “Speaking of which. What happened to your clothes?” asked Twig pointing at the towel around Kyles waist.

  “I had to climb out of Gina’s bedroom window before Marcus found me,” replied Kyle, crossing his arms to stay warm in the cool city air.

  “You didn’t grab your clothes before you left?” asked Zip, pretending like he was about to pull the towel away from him.

  “I didn’t have time. Marcus was knocking on the door, Zip. I barely made it down before he broke down the door and saw me running across the lawn,” Kyle replied lowering his hands to protect his only article of clothing. Teech shook his head.

  “Well, you can expect to never see those clothes again. Now let's get out of here.” Teech stopped and looked down at Ally’s feet with an uncertain expression. The others all did the same. “Is that your dog?” asked Teech, pointing down next to Ally.

  Ally looked down at her side. The black-and-white border collie from the overlook had followed her. The dog sat with his tail wagging. He looked up at her with an innocent look in his eyes, waiting for her approval. Sem looked at her, his eyebrows quirked.

  “No, I’m not sure whose dog it is.” She said reaching down to pet it. “I met him earlier playing ball, but his owner left. I guess I’ll just let it follow me until we hopefully find his owner again.”

  Sem hesitated. He chose not to say anything, waiting until they didn’t have an audience. He looked away and rolled his eyes at her. They had no time for celebrations or lost pets.

  “Fine with us,” said Teech.

  The three young men began to follow Teech away from the square. Sem leaned over to Ally. “A dog? Are you kidding me?”