The Angel Weapon

by Scott Wilson

  “I do not require maintenance,” the spider said, retracting its leg and shaking it. “There is no need for physical contact at this time.”

  Caden gazed at the spider. There was no way it could be real. It had to be some sort of prank by Dom. Did he make Annika drop this thing off when she visited? Was he waiting outside, ready to pounce? Caden stood and peeked out of the stable, but there was no one. Outdoors was pitch black, lit up only by the moon and Metl in the sky. This was no prank; it was actually happening. Caden took a deep breath and sat down in front of the spider, both of them illuminated by the flickering candlelight.

  “What are you?” Caden asked. The spider cocked its head.

  “I have already answered that question. Do you require me to repeat—”

  “That’s not what I mean. What I mean is …” Caden decided to use a Metlist phrase. “What is your purpose?”

  At hearing that, the spider’s legs went straight as if standing up at attention.

  “My purpose is to escort Caden Aire to his father, in order to prevent him from destroying the world.”

  Caden’s skin went cold and goosebumps burst onto his arms. His mouth dried up as he tried to speak.

  “My … my father?”

  “Question unclear. Please elaborate.”

  Caden tried to stay calm. “My father sent you here?”

  The spider shook its metallic head. “Incorrect. I was not sent specifically to this location.”

  “That’s not what I mean,” Caden said. He reached into the hay for the photo of his dad and held it in front of the spider’s seven eyes. “Is this the man who built you? He probably looks older now.”

  The spider’s eyes blinked wildly, scanning every inch of the photo.

  “The probability is above ninety percent, but it is impossible to be certain.”

  A smile grew across Caden’s face. He was talking to someone—or something anyway—that had met his father. In person.

  “You know my dad? What’s his name?” Caden asked excitedly.

  “I do not have access to that information, as it is not relevant to the mission.”

  “Of course, it’s relevant!” Caden said a little too loudly, causing Reabon to grunt. He had to stay quiet. Only now did Caden realize what he was doing: he was using Iltech, the same thing that all the Nobodies’ parents had been taken away for. If anyone saw him, then he’d be erased by the Holy Police. He cleared his throat and tried again in a whisper. “I mean, you said my last name is Aire. Is that true?”

  “I would not have said it if it was not true.”

  Caden smiled. He did have a last name. He whispered it to himself: “Caden Aire.” Just saying it made him feel warm inside.

  “And is ‘Aire’ my dad’s last name too?”

  “The probability is above fifty percent. Human children often have the same last name as their parents.”

  Caden sighed. He wasn’t getting very far with this thing. It was like he’d found a treasure chest but had no way of opening it.

  “Is there anything you can tell me about my dad?”

  “Yes. My purpose is to escort Caden Aire to his father, in order to prevent him from—”

  “All right, all right, I get it,” Caden said impatiently. “So where is my father? Is he in Salem or something?”

  “I do not have access to that information, as it is not relevant to the mission.”

  “What? You don’t know where he is?”

  “Correct. I do not know his current location.”

  Caden threw his hands up in frustration. The treasure chest was being sealed away tighter with every question he asked.

  “If you don’t know his name, or even where he is, then how are you supposed to lead me to him?”

  “Incorrect. I will not lead you to him. You will lead the way.”

  This was getting more ridiculous by the second. “What? No way. Trust me, if I’d known how to get to my dad, then I would’ve left here a long time ago.”

  “You do know the way,” the spider insisted. “It is programmed into you.”

  “Programmed?” Caden wasn’t sure if he was more confused or angry. “What are you talking about? What does that even mean?”

  “The path to your father has been written into your code. You are a robot. Like me.”

  Caden stared at the spider. A robot? Like they’d learned about in religion class? Iltech that could walk, clean, and sometimes talk?

  Caden laughed out loud.

  “Listen,” he said, still smiling at the absurdity. “I’m not a robot. I think I’d know if I was.”

  “You are partially correct,” the spider said. “You are only part robot.”

  “Sorry, but I’m one-hundred percent human. I’d be the first to notice any Iltech on my body.”

  “Incorrect. Your robot parts are not on your body. They are inside your body. I can sense them. They have not been fully powered on yet. I will correct that now.”

  The spider’s eyes flashed red and scanned Caden. Caden shook his head and tried not to laugh, but then he felt a sharp pain in his palms. A burning sensation like he was too close to a candle. It got hotter and hotter. Suddenly he was sweating and clenching his teeth to stay silent through the pain. Caden flipped his hands over, palms up.

  Two glowing red Xs stared back at him.

  The Xs were thick, filling up his entire palms, and bright blood red. They had seared away a thin layer of flesh with a burst of steam and protruded out slightly from the skin. Caden looked at them, hands shaking. He was dreaming; he had to be. He slowly reached over with a trembling finger and touched the X on his left hand. It was warm and smooth, the same as the metal on the spider. This was no dream. It was Iltech. He was Iltech.

  “What is this?” he gasped, hands still shaking.

  “Those are your vents,” the spider said. “They are similar to mine. Observe.” The spider rotated its abdomen upward and showed off the bottom of its metal body. Underneath glowed a red X, the same as on Caden’s palms.

  “This is impossible,” Caden said, still holding his hands in front of him. “I’m not a robot.”

  “Correct,” the spider said. “You are only part robot. There is a one-hundred percent probability that you are part robot.”

  Caden couldn’t take his eyes off the Xs on his palms. They were glowing like flames, as if there was a fire inside himself that he’d had no idea was there.

  “This is crazy,” Caden said. “This doesn’t make sense. How could I not have known?”

  But then Caden realized, he had known. Maybe not exactly what it was, but he’d always known something was different about him. All these years he’d been kicked by horses and fallen from saddles, and he’d never had more than a little pain. When the same happened to other Nobodies, they were put in splints for weeks. Today was Caden’s first encounter with Mother Mildred’s medical bag, and even she was shocked at how little damage Annika had caused when she’d landed on him. Caden had never even gotten sick, despite spending every cold winter night in the drafty stable. He’d always just thought he was lucky. But no, it was because he was made of Iltech.

  “What part of me is robot?” Caden asked, finally looking up from his hands.

  “I do not have access to that information, as it is not relevant to the mission.”

  Caden had expected as much. He looked back at his glowing hands, then he remembered something else the spider had said.

  “You said I was going to destroy the world?”

  “Correct, I did say that.”

  “How?”

  “I said it by accessing my vocal programming and then—”

  “No, I don’t mean how did you say it.” Caden was reaching the end of his patience. “How will I destroy the world?”

  “I do not have access to that information, as it is not relevant to the mission.”

  Caden finally hit his breaking point. His dad, the Xs, the spider, t
he Iltech, it was too much! He grabbed the spider, lifted it into the air, and shook it ferociously. The spider’s legs flailed and its eyes flashed red as Caden yelled at it.

  “How is that not relevant? How did my dad make me? And why did he make me? And you! What about you? Where did you even come from? And why do you have seven legs?”

  Caden stopped shaking the spider, ready to finally get some answers. But the spider didn’t say anything. Its eyes dimmed then flickered on and off.

  “Question overload. System … slowdown. Recharge required.”

  “What?” Caden asked, suddenly worried he’d broken it.

  “I am a … solar powered unit.”

  “You’re a what?”

  “I receive energy from … the sun.”

  “You mean like a plant? I thought you were Iltech!”

  The spider’s eyes were all off now except for one. Its legs went limp in Caden’s hands.

  “I do not have … the energy to explain. I need to … go into low power mode for the night. Tomorrow we will leave to … find your father.”

  Caden’s eyes darted all over the drooping spider, hoping to find answers somewhere, but there was nothing. At first frustration rippled through him, but then he realized something: he and the spider were leaving tomorrow to find his dad. That meant he wasn’t going to be adopted.

  The hairs on Caden’s arms stood up with joyful prickles. Suddenly he didn’t care about not getting all the answers immediately. It didn’t matter. Soon enough he’d be able to ask his dad—in person!—anything he wanted. And he’d never have to see Dom or Mr. Stercus again. Caden looked at the spider, its weak legs dangling through his fingers, and felt guilty. He gently placed it down on the hay-covered floor and was relieved to see another eye light up and its fangs wobble.

  “I’m sorry I shook you,” Caden apologized.

  “I am undamaged,” the spider said. “But please refrain from further unsolicited shaking.”

  “Got it,” Caden said. He looked again at the red Xs on his palms, glowing brightly as ever. Questions flooded his mind. But he could wait. Although there was one thing he had to know immediately. “Hey, sorry, but one last question. What’s your name?”

  The spider looked up at him and answered weakly. “I have already … answered that question. I am Spyder unit model number 20219-B.”

  “Yeah, I know, but do you have a name that’s easier to remember?”

  “20219-B is only six digits. Do you have … difficulty remembering six digits?”

  “No, it’s just …” Caden thought for a moment. “Here, how about I call you 2-B? Or Tooby? Does that sound good?”

  “If you have difficulty … remembering six digits … then that is fine.”

  Caden smiled. Then another thought crossed his mind.

  “Hey Tooby, if I’m part robot, then that means my dad … is he not really my dad? Did he create me? Or just my robot parts?”

  Tooby was silent. Caden felt bad for asking more questions even though he knew Tooby had to rest. Just as he was about to tell Tooby not to worry about it, he heard his faint metallic voice.

  “There are many … definitions of father,” Tooby said tiredly. “There is a ninety-five percent probability that yours … fits one of them.”

  Caden nodded. Just as he was about to thank Tooby, Reabon let out a wild whinny, as if she’d seen a ghost. That woke up Mara and Deber, and suddenly the stable was filled with three screaming horses leaping in their stalls. Caden rose to his feet.

  “Hey there, girls, what’s wrong?” Caden turned to Deber. There was no sign of her usual silly face; her eyes were wide with terror. Caden reached out to console her, but she swatted away his hand with the side of her head. Caden went to the other two, but they were even worse, braying in panic as if the stable were on fire.

  Caden grabbed the rope off the shelf in the tack room, ready to wrap the horses and force them to be calm. But then a loud ringing echoed through the night. Caden knew that sound: it was the Home’s bellrock. It rang six times every day to signal the end of fieldwork. But this was no friendly signal. This was an emergency alarm being struck at full force, over and over and over, nonstop.

  Caden dropped the rope and ran outside, the sound of the bellrock getting louder. It wasn’t the only one ringing. Bellrocks from Salem and other faraway towns joined in as loudly as the Home’s, turning the night into a thunderstorm of clanging stones. Lights appeared on the horizon as warning fires were lit. Something bad was happening. Caden looked around desperately for an answer. Was Salem being attacked? Was Mother Mildred okay?

  Then Caden looked up. The terrifying answer was in the sky.

  Metl was branded with a giant red X, the same as on Caden’s palms. Even worse, the massive metallic sphere was twice its normal size, meaning only one thing—it was moving closer. All Caden could do was watch as the fiery X in the sky slowly grew bigger, heading toward Earth like a blazing fireball.

  Somewhere in the background Tooby shambled up next to Caden, but it didn’t register until he finally spoke.

  “Caden,” Tooby said, “I now know how … you are going to destroy the world.”

  Chapter 5

  Metl

  Caden ran to the Home. Halfway there he stopped, rushed back to the stable, and threw on gloves to cover the glowing red Xs on his palms. He mumbled something quickly to Tooby about staying hidden then sped away. As he ran he couldn’t take his eyes off Metl, its bright fiery X extinguishing the stars around it. Bellrocks kept clanging through the air so loudly Caden couldn’t hear the screams and crying from the younger Nobodies until he arrived at the Home, breathing heavy and dripping with sweat.

  Everyone was gathered in the hall. The older Nobodies, Dom and Annika included, were gathered by the wall, fighting for a view out the window. They were entranced by Metl but too scared to risk going outside underneath its blood-red glow. At the tables the two assistant Mothers led the youngest Nobodies in wide-eyed, unblinking prayer, while Mother Mildred stroked the heads of three little ones in her lap, trying to soothe them with a lullaby.

  “Metl in the sky,

  Up so high,

  You are so bright,

  You make it day at night.”

  It didn’t seem real. Metl was a symbol of happiness and hope. Now it was just fear. And the worst part was Caden couldn’t help but feel that it was his fault. When he stepped in, all eyes riveted toward him as if shocked to see him alive.

  “Is it safe to go out?” asked one of the Nobodies by the window.

  “Metl didn’t light you on fire?” asked another.

  Caden didn’t speak. He didn’t want to accidentally give anything away. He hoped that no one could see the glowing Xs hiding underneath his gloves. Dom crossed his arms and snorted.

  “Well if he was okay going outside, then I think we’ll be fine.” He dashed to the door, but Mother Mildred stood and asserted her authority.

  “Dominic!” she yelled, halting Dom in his tracks. “No one may go out that door until we know it’s safe. We must wait for a signal from the church.”

  Dom scoffed and rolled his eyes but did as he was told, pushing through the other children and returning to the window. One of the younger Nobodies, the ten-year-old girl with no right hand, wrapped her arm and stub around Mother Mildred’s legs and pressed her head against her waist.

  “Mother Mildred,” she said, sounding on the verge of tears, “what did we do to make Gotama mad? I thought we were doing everything right.”

  “It’s going to be fine,” Mother Mildred said softly, cupping her hand around the girl’s head. The girl didn’t say anything. She just stared out the window, holding onto Mother Mildred for dear life. Even she knew what Mother Mildred’s lack of an answer meant: she didn’t know what was going on. Mother Mildred knew everything—the best way to plant corn seeds, how to make a pork bone last for weeks in a soup, she could even recite the whole Book of Metl forward and bac
kward. If she didn’t know what was happening, then no one did.

  Except Caden. He didn’t know exactly how the Xs on his palms and the giant X on Metl were connected, but it couldn’t be a coincidence.

  For a second, Caden thought about telling Mother Mildred. Maybe he should show her his palms or tell her about Tooby. Maybe she would know something that could help. But just one look at her face and Caden realized that wasn’t a good idea. Mother Mildred’s smile hid her terror well, but it was still there, popping out in her eyes. If Caden told her about the Iltech, she’d call the Holy Police and he’d be taken away. He’d lose his chance to find his dad and escape adoption. Although … would any of that matter if the world was ending?

  Caden felt hot, like he was being cooked in a soup. Sweat dripped down his forehead and neck. He didn’t want to stick around inside the Home any longer. Someone—namely Dom—might start to suspect something.

  “I’m going back to the stable,” Caden said to Mother Mildred. She furrowed her brow and shook her head.

  “You stay here tonight, Caden,” she said firmly. “We all need to be together right now.”

  “But what about the horses?” Caden tried. “Metl and the bellrocks scared them. I need to make sure they’re okay.”

  “The horses will be fine. No one is going outside until we get a signal that everything is—”

  Something exploded outside. Everyone tore over to the window. Dom and a few other brave Nobodies defied orders and ran out the door. Through the window a fountain of white light shot up into the sky from far away. It was like an upside-down waterfall of blinding white fire, screeching loud enough to drown out even the bellrocks. With some relief, Caden realized it was the church fireworks.

  Every year the church in Salem set off fireworks on important holidays, like New Years in January and Ant Day in June. It was a way for everyone to send a grateful message up to Gotama, to thank him for another six months of prosperity. The church spent weeks creating the fireworks that only lasted as a one-minute explosion of color in the sky, but it was worth it. All Metlists looked forward to the fireworks shows. They were something to always count on. The shows made them feel safe. And that had to be why the church had set off fireworks now, to tell everyone it was okay, even if it looked like the world was ending.