Tin

by Padraig Kenny

  They finally reached the top. Christopher and Jack helped Rob over the edge. They were just in time. A sudden pulse of energy ran through the whole platform. The vibration was enough to throw them all off their feet and rip the top of the ladder from its mooring. They watched, helpless, as the ladder tumbled to the ground. They got to their feet and Jack tried his best to look confident as he exchanged glances with Christopher and Rob.

  Blake was standing some distance away at the opposite edge of the platform. Some spiders were scrambling over the edge, but the crazed engineer was kicking at them and swiping with an iron bar. Reeves was standing a few feet behind him, his arms hanging by his sides, his head lowered forlornly. Jack had never seen anyone look so wretched and defeated.

  ‘Come, then! Do your worst!’ Blake roared as the spiders swarmed on to the platform. Jack felt a bolt of fear as he heard the now-familiar roar of another waking Berserker.

  ‘What are we supposed to do?’ Rob asked desperately.

  Christopher stepped forward. ‘I’ll distract him. You two have to destroy the Diviner.’

  Jack nodded. Christopher signalled for Rob and Jack to go left while he was going to attempt to go right and creep up on Blake.

  ‘What about him?’ said Jack, pointing at Reeves.

  Reeves was looking at them now, with that same defeated expression on his face. He didn’t look like he could move even if he wanted to.

  ‘I don’t think he’s going to be a problem any more,’ said Christopher.

  Christopher hunched down and started moving towards Blake. Jack took Rob’s hand and they moved to the left. All around them they could hear the wind roaring, the skittering and shrieking of spiders and the howl of Berserkers. The world was grey and filled with smoke and sparks, and it seemed to take them for ever to move forward.

  Jack saw Christopher heft the steel rod he’d carried up with him. He smashed it against the platform and Blake wheeled round and snarled like a dog when he saw him.

  ‘Oh no,’ he said, wagging his finger. ‘Oh no, not now. Not now.’

  Blake advanced towards Christopher and grinned as he raised his own bar. He brought it down in a great swooping motion. Christopher managed to sidestep just in time, wheeling backwards, almost losing his balance.

  Blake ran an agitated hand through his hair and lifted his bar again. Jack shook himself and nudged Rob on towards the Diviner. It hovered before them, the light thundering out of it while a strange gossamer aura of calm pulsed around its core. They could feel the pressure of the light that came from the Diviner pushing them backwards. It was like trying to walk into the wind. They managed to get within inches.

  Jack reached out for the Diviner, while a nervous Rob placed a hand on his shoulder.

  The sudden shock of what he felt almost sent him reeling.

  ‘What is that?’ moaned Rob.

  ‘I . . . I dunno, Rob . . . I . . .’

  I think it’s warmth, Rob, he thought to himself. And I think it’s cold. I think it’s feeling.

  Jack blinked as the sensations rushed through him. The warmth, the cold, the joy, the sorrow. He looked at his hand. Some of the skin had been peeled off and he could see the grey steel of his fingers poking out. He looked at Rob.

  There was a sudden shriek to their right, and both of them turned to see a crazed Blake shouting at them. Christopher was tottering back from him after narrowly avoiding another blow. He was just regaining his balance as Blake drew symbols in the air with his free hand and then pointed a finger at the Diviner.

  In response, the Diviner blazed with a ferocious blue-white hotness, and Jack and Rob were thrown to the ground by a sudden blast of energy.

  Blake gave a howl of triumph – which became a howl of pain as Christopher hit him across the shin with a mighty crack. Blake collapsed on the floor and Christopher moved in. He stood over Blake as the engineer held his hands up to defend himself. Rob and Jack were trying to get back to their feet. They were momentarily stunned and the world was spinning, but Jack had enough of his wits about him to realize what Christopher was about to do. He could see the rage in Christopher’s eyes. He was starting to bring his weapon down for what would be a killing blow.

  ‘Christopher! No!’ Jack shouted.

  As soon as he called out he regretted it. Christopher looked at Jack for barely a second, but it was enough for Blake. He grabbed the steel rod and wrenched it from Christopher’s grasp with such force that it threw the boy backwards across the platform. Christopher skidded to the edge and barely stopped himself from going over. He could only watch as his weapon flew over the edge and disappeared.

  Blake clambered up and limped towards him. Christopher tried to get up, but Blake was already upon him and raising his own rod for a blow that would surely smash Christopher’s skull in.

  Jack tried to say something, but only a strangled yelp came out.

  Blake roared as he started to bring the rod down.

  And, amazingly, he was stopped in mid swing.

  Blake swung around and twisted as the rod stayed right where it was, gripped tightly in both hands by Reeves.

  ‘Let go!’ Blake screamed.

  Reeves remained impassive, his eyes fixed on his master’s face.

  ‘I said let go!’ Blake roared again.

  Reeves didn’t even flinch. His grip on the rod remained vice-like.

  Blake had gripped the rod with both hands now and attempted to drag it away from Reeves, only succeeding in dragging the mechanical himself across the platform. Both of them were almost on top of Christopher now, the rod held between them as Blake wrestled for it, while Reeves simply held it in his clawed hands.

  No matter how he tried, Blake couldn’t release it from his servant’s grip. Sweat was pouring down his forehead now as he gave one last animalistic roar of fury.

  That was the moment Reeves let go of the rod.

  Blake went tumbling and screaming off the edge of the platform.

  His right hand fumbled blindly and snagged Reeves’s coat. Reeves went slipping off the platform, as if not caring, mutely surrendering to the inevitable.

  And then both men were gone.

  For a moment, Jack, Christopher and Rob gaped at the space where Blake had been.

  Christopher was up first. He ran towards Jack and Rob and helped them to their feet. All three of them turned towards the Diviner, and all three felt the same sinking sensation.

  The Diviner was blazing with such ferocity now that they could feel the waves of light pushing them even from this distance.

  Jack made his decision in an instant.

  ‘Take Rob back down,’ he said to Christopher.

  Christopher shook his head. ‘Jack, no . . .’

  ‘Take him down, Christopher, and go with him.’

  ‘You can’t do this on your own, Jack,’ Christopher protested.

  ‘Do what?’ asked Rob, looking from one to the other and back again. ‘Do what? What’s he talking about?’

  Jack lowered his eyes, and gently started to push Rob away. Rob frowned for a moment, then he looked at the Diviner and his eyes widened.

  ‘No, Jack! No!’

  Jack sighed. ‘Rob—’

  ‘No, you can’t. It’ll explode and you won’t come back, Jack. You won’t ever come back, just like Proper Edward and Gripper, and then what will I do?’

  Jack leant in to Rob. He spoke gently to him. ‘I have to do this on my own. Christopher can’t, because he has his grandfather.’

  ‘Then I’ll do it. I’ll destroy the Diviner,’ said Rob petulantly, and he started to barrel his way towards it.

  Jack grabbed his arm. ‘No, Rob.’

  Rob tried to wrestle his way out of Jack’s grip, but Christopher held him now as well.

  ‘Why can’t I?’ Rob sobbed. ‘Why does it have to be you?’

  Jack smiled sadly. ‘It doesn’t, but I couldn’t forgive myself if it was you or Christopher, Rob.’

  Rob’s lower lip wobbled. He looked at t
he ground for a moment, then half looked at Jack, slightly ashamed and guilty. ‘Okay, but just know that I hate you for it. Just know that, Jack. I hate you,’ he wheezed.

  Jack was still smiling, but it was a sad, resigned smile.

  ‘What are you going to do?’ Christopher asked Jack.

  Jack smiled wryly despite his predicament. ‘I suppose I’ll just have to crush it with my bare hands. Cormier said it was fragile enough.’

  Jack held up his hands, and Christopher saw the skin had been ripped off them. Jack quickly lowered them.

  ‘What will it do to you?’ Christopher asked.

  Jack shook his head as if it didn’t matter. ‘Nothing, I’ll be fine.’

  A worried Rob looked from Jack to Christopher.

  ‘I’ll be fine, Rob,’ Jack said. He smiled, but deep down he knew that wasn’t true.

  ‘Come on,’ said Christopher, pointing to the edge of the platform. They followed him across and they all looked down over the edge.

  The first thing they saw was Blake lying there, arms and legs splayed, a dark wet patch just below his left shoulder where the steel rod had pierced him through his back. Reeves was a few feet away from him, lying still.

  ‘Climbing down isn’t an option, but we should survive something like that,’ Christopher said to Rob.

  Rob looked over the edge and nodded. ‘It’s far, but not far for a mechanical. I should know. I’ve been rolled down enough hills.’ He turned to the others and smiled. ‘Am I right?’

  Both Jack and Christopher smiled in response. When all else failed, no matter what, they both knew they could rely on Rob to look on the bright side.

  Rob grinned broadly at both of them.

  Then he shoved Christopher into Jack and watched as they both went spinning off the platform.

  Rob’s first response was to feel guilty. But he quickly shook it off as he reminded himself that it was for the best, and that at least his friends would be safe. That made him happy. The truth was, there was nothing more important in the world to Round Rob than his friends, and he was going to make damn sure they survived this.

  He walked away from the edge and started to ponder his next move. He looked at the grey sky veined with blue lightning. He saw the Berserkers moving inexorably towards the platform. Almost all of them were animated now. At least two had collapsed under the weight of Cormier’s spiders, and three more were fighting what remained, but there weren’t enough spiders to stop them all. He looked at the sylph-like shadows that scudded out of those fizzing blue fractures. He looked at the Diviner blazing like a star, and he thought about the best way forward.

  I’ll have to crush it, Jack had said.

  Rob nodded to himself. Jack was right. If anything was going to work it was crushing the Diviner, and Rob reckoned he had a better advantage than most in that department. He stuck out his chest, tapped it and listened to the hollow echo.

  Rob turned to face the Diviner. He could still feel the waves of energy pushing him backwards – like being in the teeth of a gale.

  He knew he wouldn’t have much time. ‘Best make the most of it then, Rob,’ he said to himself.

  He held his breath. Then he laughed – he didn’t have any breath to hold. He raised a hand to hold his eyebrow in place, and advanced towards the Diviner.

  The waves hit him in the chest, but Rob pushed forward. Strips of skin started to peel off his face, but he kept going. On he pushed, getting closer to his goal, his eyes fixed on the blue pulsing light, until finally he stood over it.

  The energy roared off the Diviner and now the skin on his hands was being flayed. Rob didn’t mind. He was too busy thinking about more important things. He thought about the day he’d woken in the junkyard and found Christopher and Jack looking down at him. He thought about the day Estelle had given him his face and how he’d caught her smiling with pride, even though she thought he wasn’t looking at her. He thought about looking out over the junkyard at the top of one of the biggest piles of scrap, holding Manda’s hand while the sun was setting in the west. He thought about Gripper.

  Rob reached out with both hands and held the Diviner. He felt the strange cold and warmth again, the heat and iciness, the sound and fury, the sorrow and the pain, but he didn’t mind it. His mind was on other things.

  He held the Diviner to his chest and squeezed with all his might. He closed his eyes and pictured his friend’s faces and whispered their names. Jack, Estelle, Gripper, Manda, Christopher. Then he fell forward on to the Diviner.

  Round Rob smiled.

  And the world exploded.

  Jack and Christopher had just gotten back on their feet when the force of the explosion from the platform threw them to the ground. There was the dreadful screech of wrenching metal. Jack felt Christopher grip his shoulder and scream: ‘Come on!’

  Christopher dragged Jack away from the platform as its struts and pylons collapsed outward. Chunks of metal fell through the air and embedded themselves in the earth. Rivets rained down and clattered against Jack and Christopher. Jack’s first thought was for Estelle. She and Cormier had somehow managed to drag Blake some distance away. He could see her lying on the ground, her face buried in her hands. Cormier was lying across Blake in an effort to protect him. A large supporting girder had collapsed and crushed poor old Mortimer Reeves.

  The steel rain seemed to finally abate. There was a momentary lull, then a low rumbling. The great beam of blue light started to scream.

  How can light scream? thought Jack.

  The light contracted suddenly and viciously and the ensouled Berserkers howled in unison. There was a sudden inrush of pressure, as if all the air was being squeezed from the world. The brittle fractures of blue light were sucked into the shrinking pillar.

  The black souls followed. As quickly as they’d been shot into the metal bodies they were now ripped out of them. The Berserkers fell to their knees and collapsed. Shrieking tatters of blackness spiralled and streamed out of them and were sucked into the narrow pillar of light and back into the void. As each Berserker fell they sent tremors through the graveyard, until finally no more were left standing and the emptied silver shells were silent.

  The pillar of light winked out of existence, leaving only thread-like veins of wispy light in the air.

  There was nothing but silence.

  Somebody coughed. Jack turned to see Blake attempting to rise. Blood was pooling at the corners of his mouth. It was a dark, mucky red, like the blood on his shirt.

  ‘Philip . . . Philip . . .’ he wheezed.

  Cormier squeezed his arm. ‘Rest now, Richard. You must rest.’

  Despite his pain, Blake grabbed Cormier’s arm with both hands. ‘I was trying my best, Philip, that’s all,’ he hissed. ‘You won. You won, and in the process you’ve destroyed everything.’

  ‘It wasn’t about winning, Richard,’ Cormier said wearily.

  Blake smiled. ‘He would have been proud, Philip, wouldn’t he? He would have been so proud.’

  Cormier seemed to struggle inwardly with something, then he nodded sympathetically, as if he’d decided there was no harm in what he was going to say next. Especially now.

  ‘Yes, Richard. He would have been.’

  Blake smiled at Cormier. Then his smile started to fade and his eyes glazed over. He gave a final sigh and went limp in Cormier’s arms.

  Cormier let him go, just as something smoky and black rose from Blake’s chest.

  ‘What’s happening?’ said Estelle, recoiling.

  ‘It’s the last vestiges of the Diviner’s energy. Any dying souls caught within in its radius are sucked into the next world.’

  They all watched in horrified fascination as Blake’s soul drifted on the air like a spider web blown in the breeze. The soul came up against the tiniest glimmer of a fracture, but with a barely audible crystalline sound the fracture shattered like fine glass. The soul hovered for a moment then started to dissipate and fade, making a sound like hissing sand, until soon the
re was none of it left.

  ‘What happened to it?’ asked Estelle.

  Cormier shrugged. ‘It vanished. Simple as that.’ He turned away.

  Estelle squinted out across the jumble of scrap the soul had passed over. Her look was one of deep suspicion and distrust.

  ‘Rob,’ Jack moaned.

  He turned round and started to run for the wreckage at the base of what was left of the platform. The others followed. Jack was frantic. He started to throw bits of metal aside, oblivious to those around him. ‘Rob!’ he shouted, over and over again.

  He found Rob’s body moments later. There was no mistaking it. It was cracked and jagged where it had been torn open by the Diviner. The metal was blackened and burnt at the edges. Jack dragged the body out from under the detritus and held it tenderly. There was no sign of Rob’s head. A great hush fell, broken only by Jack’s sobbing. Christopher fell to his knees by his side, one hand on his friend’s shoulder, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

  Jack looked at Christopher. ‘He’s gone, Christopher. He’s gone,’ he sobbed. He held Rob’s body and sobbed, rocking back and forth. No one said anything, until a familiar voice suddenly piped up:

  ‘You said you’d teach me how to whistle when all this was over.’

  It was like being hit by lightning. It was Rob’s voice, clear as day. Estelle shrieked and ran forward. She pulled aside a sheet of metal, and there was Rob’s head looking up at them, battered and a little smoke-damaged, but it was unmistakably his head, complete with wonky eyebrows.

  ‘You’re alive!’ Jack screamed.

  ‘Course I’m alive,’ said Rob.

  Jack grabbed his head and squeezed it to his chest. Christopher did the same and Estelle snatched him away from both of them and held him fiercely.