by Scott Wilson
Caden wondered if the church knew something, or if they were just setting off the fireworks to prevent a mass panic. Either way was trouble for Caden. He needed to get back to Tooby.
“I’m going to check on the horses,” he said to Mother Mildred. She turned to him, her face flush with relief from seeing the fireworks.
“All right. Mother Nadine, take a lantern and follow Caden to the stable. Ride Reabon into town and ask Father Yohan what’s going on with Metl. We need some answers.”
The Mother who had been praying with the Nobodies came over from the window. She was the youngest Mother at the Home, only a few years older than Caden. She had the same stone-colored robes as Mother Mildred, and her long blond hair and fair skin made her look like a flower blooming out of a rock.
“Yes, Mother Mildred,” she said. She grabbed a glass lantern from one of the corner shelves. “Come, Caden. Let’s go.”
“It’s still getting closer,” said one of the Nobodies by the window. The fireworks had ended and the bellrocks were silent. Only the sound of crickets echoed through the night as the flaming red X on Metl glowed in the sky.
“It definitely looks bigger than it was before.”
“It’s not going to hit us, is it, Mother Mildred?”
Every face in the room focused on Mother Mildred. For a moment, she tensed up like she was overwhelmed by it all. A second later she was back to pretending to be Mother Mildred who knew everything.
“Of course not,” she said, forcing a smile. “The church set off fireworks to let us know we’re safe. This is all just a message from the Great Gotama. He’s trying to tell us something, and we need to figure out what it means. Mother Nadine will ride to town and talk to Father Yohan, then she’ll come back to tell us what it’s all about.”
The Nobodies were not convinced. The lips on the young ones trembled, and the older ones had blank stares. Mother Mildred sighed.
“But for now, let’s not worry. Everyone, bring your mattresses into the hall. We’ll all spend the night together. Mother Laura, fetch the leftover honey cakes. We’ll share them and say some prayers together.”
That got all the children excited. The hall cleared out instantly as everyone dashed to their dormitories. The sound of bare feet pounding against wood floors filled the Home. When all the Nobodies were out of the hall, Mother Mildred turned to Mother Nadine. Her smile was gone, replaced with the drawn face and heavy eyes of a tired, old woman.
“Please bring back good news,” she said. Mother Nadine nodded, lips tight. As she and Caden walked to the stable, both staring at the flaming X on Metl, Caden had only one hope: that Tooby had found a hiding spot.
Thankfully, Tooby remained hidden while Mother Nadine was in the stable. The horses had calmed down, though Caden grabbed them each an apple out of the tack room just in case. He pat Deber on the head and held the apple to her mouth as she happily chomped away. She was back to her bouncy self, all trace of the horror gone in her eyes. Although she did seem to prefer not looking outside of the stable.
Caden helped Mother Nadine saddle up Reabon, fastening the leather straps around the horse’s lean black stomach, placing the rope bit into her mouth, and attaching the reins behind her head. Caden set the stool for Mother Nadine next to Reabon, and with a small nod of thanks, she climbed on top and galloped into the night, leaving Caden alone.
As soon as her lantern disappeared into the blackness, Caden dashed to his stall and searched for Tooby through the hay pile. It didn’t take long. Just like a good little piece of Iltech, Tooby had burrowed all the way to the bottom, completely out of sight. He was immobile, lying there like a rock with seven dangly legs. Caden tried poking him and whispering, but there was no response. Caden sighed, nudged Tooby to the side, fluffed up his hay pile, and tried to get some sleep.
Sleep did not happen. Caden’s mind was reeling. His dad. The Xs on his palms. Metl. Especially Metl. What did it mean that it had the same red X? And why was it moving closer to Earth?
Caden gave up trying to sleep. With a heavy sigh he walked outside. Up in the sky the burning X on Metl glowed vividly against the black night. Across the yard the lights were on in the Home. Caden could hear laughter. He thought about joining everyone, for a second, but it wasn’t worth the risk. He leaned against the side of the stable and slouched to the ground, alone, watching as the fiery horror in the sky inched ever closer.
A scratching sensation on Caden’s leg woke him the next morning. With groggy eyes he looked over and nearly jumped in shock to see Tooby out in the early daylight, scratching his arm with the sharp tip of one of his mechanical legs.
“Tooby!” Caden yelled. Immediately realizing his mistake, he covered his mouth and looked toward the Home. It was still early; no one else was up yet. Good. He was safe. For now.
“I require charging,” Tooby said, his seven red eyes blinking slowly.
“Okay. Go charge then,” Caden said. He stood and brushed off his dirty bottom, expecting Tooby to scuttle away to the closest sunny area. But he just stayed put watching Caden.
“Will you please protect me?” Tooby asked.
“What? What do you mean?”
“Please come with me and alert me if another human is coming.”
Caden looked back to the Home. The breakfast fire hadn’t been lit in the kitchen shack yet. That was usually done a half hour before breakfast, to heat the rocks to boil the potatoes and eggs. Caden didn’t know how long it would take Tooby to charge, but they probably had at least twenty minutes before anyone showed up asking what he was doing with an Iltech spider.
“All right,” Caden said. “Where do you want to charge?”
“I sense an optimal spot nearby. Please follow me.”
Tooby worked his metal legs through the grass at the speed of a crawling baby. After what felt like forever, they reached the wooden fence around the barn. The cows inside were just waking up and peeking out, their moos filling the air as they waited to have their swollen udders milked. Next door the pigs were licking empty troughs, and the chickens were pecking each other for the best feeding spots.
Caden looked to the sky. Before he could even try to figure out what time it was from the sun, he saw Metl. It was even bigger than last night. Metl, usually the same size as the sun, was now three times as big. It looked like a spherical cloud, too close to Earth for comfort. And that red X still glowed menacingly as ever.
While Caden gazed at Metl, Tooby found a charging spot by the fence. He flipped over on his back, curled up his seven legs, and exposed the red X on his abdomen to the sun. It slowly radiated between black and red, like smoldering embers. Caden wondered if that was how all Iltech got their energy, but he didn’t ask. He had far more pressing questions.
“Is Metl going to hit the Earth?” he asked.
Tooby didn’t move from his upside-down charging position as he spoke. “If it maintains its current velocity, it will impact the Earth in two days, one hour, and sixteen minutes.”
“So, it’s going to hit us then?”
“Correct.”
Caden tried to ignore that terrifying thought and moved on. “You said I was going to destroy the world. Is this … is it my fault?”
“Unclear. I was not told the manner in which you would destroy the world, but the probability of a connection is above ninety-nine percent.”
Caden looked up at Metl. If only he knew how he’d triggered this to happen. Maybe there was some way to reverse it.
“Does my dad know how to stop this?” Caden asked. “Metl hitting us, that is.”
“There is a high probability. My mission is to bring you to him so that he can prevent you from destroying the world.”
Caden let out a sigh of relief. Good. There was a way out. He’d find his dad and save the world. He couldn’t imagine a better solution.
“When do we leave to find him?” Caden asked, rocking his arms with excitement. He was itching to get going. If
they could manage to sneak away before anyone came outside, then they’d get a head start before the Mothers alerted the Holy Police. Caden still wasn’t sure exactly how they were going to escape, but Tooby probably had a plan.
“We will leave as soon as I have finished charging in four minutes and twenty-two seconds.”
Caden smiled. In four minutes he’d be leaving the Home for good, to find his father. He’d never imagined it would happen like this, being led away by an Iltech spider, but he wasn’t going to complain.
“Hey, Tooby,” Caden asked, another question popping into his head. “How did you find me anyway? Did you just get lucky, or what?”
But Caden didn’t get to hear the answer. Mother Mildred’s voice came flying from the Home.
“Caden!” she called. “Come inside! We have a surprise for you.”
Caden immediately crouched down, hiding Tooby underneath his body. Mother Mildred probably couldn’t see the spider from the Home, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He glanced back at her and shouted his response.
“Be there in a minute!”
Mother Mildred disappeared inside. Caden panicked. His heart raced, and the morning sun suddenly felt a lot hotter. He didn’t have four minutes. He had to leave now, before everyone started coming out and found the Iltech spider by the cow barn.
“Tooby,” Caden whispered. “We have to go. Now.”
“Impossible,” Tooby replied. “I am not fully charged. And you are blocking the sun, making it take even longer.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Caden said. “If we don’t leave now then we’ll never get out of here without someone spotting us.”
“If I do not finish charging, then we will not be able to leave at all. I will finish charging here, and we will meet back at the horse’s house in three minutes and fifty-eight seconds.”
“Tooby, I’m telling you, we have to leave—”
“Caden!” Mother Mildred called again. “Come here immediately! You are being rude to our guest.”
Caden’s stomach sank. Now he had no choice. He couldn’t run away with Mother Mildred watching. He’d get as far as the cornfield by the time the Home bellrock starting ringing in emergency. He’d have to find a way to slip away later. Maybe at night. If he could somehow keep Tooby hidden all day, that could work. As if sensing Caden’s inner conflict, Tooby spoke up.
“Go to the human calling you,” he said. “We will meet back at the horse’s house in three minutes and forty-nine seconds.”
All Caden could do was comply and hope that the sunlight reflecting off Tooby wasn’t noticeable. Mother Mildred watched him the whole way, her eyes narrowed with concern.
“What were you doing by the fence?” she asked.
“I was just, uh, checking on the cows,” Caden lied quickly. “I don’t think they’ve been milked yet. They were getting kind of loud.”
“Well don’t worry about that. Mr. Stercus arrived a few minutes ago with a lovely breakfast for everyone, so we’ve postponed morning chores. He’s waiting inside to leave with you and Dom.”
Caden’s blood froze. He hadn’t planned on Mr. Stercus already being here. This was worse than the worst-case scenario. How was he going to run away with Tooby now?
His mind whirring, Caden followed Mother Mildred inside. Just like she’d said, breakfast had already been served. The Nobodies were seated at the tables in the hall, all thoughts of scary Metl evaporated from their minds. They were happily stuffing their faces with hot bacon, thick cheese, smoked cod, and loads of strawberries and blueberries bursting with color. Any one of them would have been an extravagant treat for the Nobodies, but all of them together was an unimaginable feast.
Standing at the front door was the supplier, Mr. Stercus, his arms crossed and smiling broadly as he watched everyone savor what he’d provided. Adopters often brought gifts to the Home in exchange for the Nobodies, to thank the Mothers and earn extra blessings from Gotama. With everything Mr. Stercus brought, either he really wanted to thank Mother Mildred, or he needed a lot of extra blessings to get on Gotama’s good side.
Standing next to Mr. Stercus was Dom with a scowl on his face. Mr. Stercus showing up this early had probably taken him by surprise too; now he wasn’t going to get a chance to beat Caden into an un-adoptable pulp. Caden had a hard time feeling bad for him.
“Where are your manners, Caden?” Mother Mildred said. She gave him a gentle push toward his adopter. “Say hello to Mr. Stercus and thank him for this lovely breakfast.”
“Thanks,” Caden said quickly. Dealing with Mr. Stercus and eating breakfast were the last things on his mind. Any other day he would be at the table stuffing himself like the others, but right now just the thought of food made his stomach lurch. He had to get back to Tooby immediately.
Mr. Stercus grunted at Caden’s halfhearted thanks. “Eat up, son. We’ve got a long day ahead. I want to bring you around the shipyard, show off those fast legs of yours to the men. Have a feeling some of them are going to slow down with all that gossip in town about Metl, but you’ll show ‘em a little X in the sky shouldn’t get in in the way of business.”
“Come on, Caden,” Mother Mildred urged. “Listen to your father. Sit down.”
Hearing Mr. Stercus say “son” and Mother Mildred say “father” made Caden furious. This guy wasn’t his dad. His real dad was out there, waiting for him. Caden’s cheeks burned as hot as the Xs hidden under his gloves. At the other end of the tables, Annika looked over at him. She blended in with the other girls, wearing a lime-green dress and bonnet, but her face couldn’t have stuck out more. Her lips were pressed together tightly as if she were enduring the same frustration as Caden. She’d told him not to give up on his dad, and she was right. It was time to go find him.
“I’m not really hungry right now,” Caden said as calmly as he could to Mother Mildred. “I’ll just go say goodbye to the horses, then come back in a minute.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Mother Mildred said coolly. “Your real father is here now, Caden. You should move on.”
Caden knew what she was talking about. She thought he wanted to go back and get his photo from the stable. She was telling him to leave it behind, forget about his old dad, and move on to new his life with Mr. Stercus. If only she knew the truth.
“It’ll just be a second,” Caden said, making his way back to the door. “I need to say bye to Deber.”
“Caden, you get back here right now!”
“Let him go,” Mr. Stercus growled. “It’ll be a good lesson to teach him what happens when you miss out on breakfast.”
Mother Mildred relented with a shrug. Caden was almost thankful to Mr. Stercus for making this easier. He turned back to thank him, to try and make his betrayal less obvious, but just then Mr. Stercus adjusted his flowing fur coat, and for an instant Caden thought he saw a flash of something metallic inside. But the next moment it was gone, and Caden was back outside, now worrying about much more immediate things. Like running away with an Iltech spider.
Caden sprinted to the barn fence, not sure how long he had before Mother Mildred decided to peek outside. He arrived out of breath at the post he’d left Tooby, but there was no sign of him. Caden bent over and brushed through the grass, desperately searching, every panicked heartbeat ticking away precious seconds. Tooby must’ve finished charging and gone back to the stable. Caden glanced back at the Home. No one was calling for him yet. He still had time.
Caden dashed to the stable, scouring each stall for any sign of Tooby. Mara snorted in disapproval at all the movement, and Deber started bouncing up and down excitedly. Caden didn’t have time for them. He had to find Tooby now.
But the spider was nowhere. Caden checked the loose brick in the foundation, but it only had the box containing his treasures. He quickly slipped the photo of his dad inside his overalls and remembered Mother Mildred hinting at him to leave it behind. He felt bad for deceiving her, for run
ning away without even saying goodbye. She’d always been so nice to him, even when she didn’t have to. But he had no choice. Finding his father was his purpose. She would understand that. Maybe someday he could write her a letter explaining everything, or even send her a photo of himself with his dad when he found him.
Something entered the stable. Finally, Tooby was here! Caden jolted out of his stall ready to run away.
But it wasn’t Tooby. It was Dom. He stood glaring at Caden, carrying a heavy quartz sledgehammer with both hands. It was used to smash rocks apart when clearing fields, and it could crush human bones as easily as sticks.
“I warned you, no one,” Dom said. “Now we do this my way.”
“Dom, please,” Caden pleaded. He looked around for any sign of Tooby but there was nothing. “I’m not even going to be adopted. I’m leaving, running away, right now!”
“You had your chance,” Dom said. He flexed his muscles and bobbed the wooden shaft of the thirty-pound mallet up and down as easily as a cornstalk. “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to break your legs, then I’m going to scare one of these horses out of here, and then I’m going to tell everyone you fell off trying to run away. And if you say any different, you’ll lose your arms too.”
“Dom, you don’t understand. I am running away! You’ll never see me again.”
Caden’s words weren’t getting through. Dom stepped closer, his grip tightening around the hammer.
“Sorry, I can’t take that chance. Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard—”
Suddenly Dom dropped the mallet. It crashed against the wood floor with a thud that shook the stable and scared the horses. Dom’s body went rigid and shook and his red hair stood up straight like a flaming porcupine. After a second, he stopped shaking and collapsed on the ground with another thud. Behind him was Tooby, little sparks of electricity dancing around his fangs.