Gears of Brass

by Jordan Elizabeth

  “Lana, are you decent?” August called.. “I’ve some boots that may fit you.”

  Thank the stars. My feet were raw from running barefoot like a barbarian. In some places, the flesh had split, dirt and dried blood caked into the sores. What I wouldn’t give for a servant to rub warmed balm into my soles.

  He held the boots out as I walked around the corner. They were a child’s boots. New, polished black leather and wooden soles. It sickened me to think that the man I had loved was responsible. Whoever these boots, and the clothes I now wore, belonged to, had been butchered.

  “Thank you.” I squatted and tugged the tough leather over my feet. These boots weren’t worn long enough to have been broken in.

  August rubbed his jaw staring down at me. “Elizabeth mentioned you needed some tools.”

  I nodded, tying the laces tight.

  “You know how to work on Clinkets?”

  My head snapped up. “Of course I do. My father made sure I could perform my own maintenance without the assistant.” Though the man had been useful, my father didn’t want me pairing with him. He didn’t have the social connections I needed to advance my status.

  “Can you fix me?” August’s fingers fumbled with the buttons on his faded blue shirt.

  As the buttons opened, the smooth planes of his chest became visible. For a moment, I thought of running my fingers over the well-defined muscles—until the last buttons were loosed and the shirt fell open.

  Five large, gray scars—shiny and raised—curved like sickles from his navel around his lower back.

  “These weren’t sutured.” I lifted my hand, disgusted at the thought of touching the deformed flesh. “Where’s your magnetic panel?” I walked behind him, looking for the hidden door used for upkeep.

  “When I woke up”—he pulled his shirt closed—“those butchers were in the process of removing my Clinket kidney. I’d managed to fight my way out, but my magnetic panel had been damaged beyond my repair. Fire was the only option to close it. I can’t filter water to the steamworks for proper function. Everyday I’m dying.”

  “I’ll fix it,” I said, conviction strong in my words. If I could fix him and we were able to get help, I might win his affections and, with that, gain access to the elite social life. “After I fix you, you must take me back to the city where we can alert the proper authorities. We’ll need a hover steamer to get there, though.”

  I gripped the knife until my knuckles turned white. Sure, I could do anything my father did, but I’d never had to cut a person open. One steady deep breath and I felt with my free hand for the hard, metal ridge just beneath the surface of the skin. I’d only have to make a few shallow incisions to expose the edges of the panel. After I finished with him, I’d be able to adjust the loose cogs in my ear.

  “Ready?” I asked, the tip of the knife resting on the upper portion of the panel and the raised scar tissue.

  August lay on his stomach and gave a muffled sound of approval.

  A red bead of blood welled at the tip of my knife. August’s body tensed while I traced the edges of the panel, parting the scar tissue and sending small rivers of blood trickling down his ribs and hip.

  “Elizabeth! You need to hurry with the iron,” I shouted over my shoulder. August didn’t have anything to suture the edges, so a hot iron rod he’d stolen on one of his trips to the retreat would have to do.

  August’s legs kicked and he moaned into his arms. The panel clicked open, ripping the rest of the skin apart.

  “I’m here, dear.” Elizabeth thrust the short iron rod into my bloody hand. The tip of the metal glowed a fierce white and orange. She squatted in front of August, bracing her bony hands on his shoulders.

  For once I was happy Ollie had taken my sinus enhancement. I didn’t want to know what human flesh smelled like while it popped like bacon. I wasn’t looking forward to sealing the skin on the door and housing cavity.

  I held the panel open. Already I could see where the problem lay with the function of his steamwork. It would need to wait until I closed the wounds against infection and repaired the panel.

  I used the lightest touch against his skin. As soon as the heated metal touched the fresh wounds, August screamed into his arms. I wanted to close my eyes. Having to watch what I was doing to him made me want to vomit. Gray and white smoke coiled from the glowing rod and his flesh. Pieces of his skin melted and stuck to the rod as I followed the edge. Elizabeth put all of her weight on his shoulders to keep August still.

  “Almost done.” My words drifted from my mouth as though I hadn’t really spoken them.

  I moved quicker. I could picture my father standing behind me, whispering words of encouragement. Think of the gain, Lana. I could see myself standing at the base of a grand marble staircase, my right arm threaded through August’s elbow as a room full of important people clapped for me. I’d have everything I’d ever wanted and more.

  The door panel finished, I moved on to the edges of the frame. My hand no longer wanted to shake. I felt sure of my method. I could do this. As the last of August’s flesh bubbled, I tossed the rod aside and grabbed the wooden bowl of water and a shredded shirt. I dabbed his smoldering skin with the cold liquid.

  “August?” Elizabeth sat up, brushing his long hair from his sweaty forehead.

  “That was worse than the first time.” His voice was hoarse and throaty with contained pain.

  “You did well, August.” I opened the small bag of tools next to my knee. “Just a little longer and you can have a rest.” My hand caressed his calf. I hoped it wasn’t too forward of me. I had to play this right.

  August’s magnetic strip had shifted in the metal cavity, just to the right of his filter system, causing the door to not shut properly. I slid it up the metal wall, careful not to jar the inner mechanics. Once the plating was in place to secure the function of the door, I moved to the delicate, clear tubing and gears. One tube had been severed from the pump and a clamp holding the Clinket in place had been unscrewed. I fastened the tube onto the pump and tightened the clamp. The gears were a mess and several were missing.

  I forced my lips together in thought. There were no spare parts here and if I didn’t fix August, he’d die and ruin any chance I had to rebuild my future. I pressed the panel on my forearm. It clicked open revealing my calibration watch. I could live without my vital readings for a while if I checked my works often. As long as I made it out of this dreadful place and back home, I’d be fine.

  I used a small screwdriver to pry the casing from the mold and tubes, then cracked it open. A puff of steam hissed into the air. I hope August would take this act as one of caring.

  “What are you doing?” Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose to her hairline.

  I fished for the right sized gears in the tight compartment, the tip of the screwdriver scratching tiny grooves in the metal. “Saving his life.” I snapped the casing back into my arm and closed the panel.

  Without tweezers, my fingers fumbled with the tiny gears as I set them in place. “August, I need you to drink some water.” With the last gear situated, the Clinket hummed to life. It was a dry sound. If water didn’t get into the steamworks, the system would stall.

  Elizabeth held a metal canteen to his lips as he drank. Slowly, the clear tubes bubbled with water. The pump gave a puff of steam as the liquid trailed through the filter.

  “That should do it.” Gently I closed the panel, the magnet holding the door closed. The seams of his skin were a painful reddish purple.

  I was more proud of myself than I’d ever been. I’d never done anything like this by myself before. My father was always there, or a servant to cater to my needs. I’d done this without help.

  August sat up, wincing. Elizabeth had some strips of clean fabric tied together and began to bandage his torso.

  “Thank you.” A bead of sweat trailed down his temple. “Can I help you with anything?” he asked as I set a small looking glass on a rock and moved my hair to the side. The tips of hi
s finger whispered across my collarbone. My stomach somersaulted at his touch.

  “You need to rest, August,” Elizabeth insisted, tying the ends of the bandage and giving me a knowing look. Did she know what I was up to?

  “I can manage.” I pressed the panel below my right ear and it popped open. With a new confidence, I set to work. Outside the lean-to, Mattie scowled at me, her large forehead scrunched up and her eyes squinted.

  The fire crackled and red sparks drifted in the darkness. In less than an hour, August and I would head back to the retreat. I felt sluggish with so little rest, but August was adamant we leave tonight. He had a shortcut through the woods that would take little time to get to the retreat. The others would stay here and wait for help. Once August and I were able to steal hover steamers, we’d go straight to the city to report the Burkers and Ollie. If I wed August, I wouldn’t be looked down on. I’d be looked at as a brave survivor.

  I shifted on the cold ground near the fire, trying to get a few minutes rest. I’d never slept on the ground before and hoped to never do so again. If everything worked just right, I’d be engaged to August in a month’s time. I’d have grand parties with the finest foods. I imagined Margret’s face, a girl whose father was an important politician, as she saw August’s and my engagement photo in every society magazine. She’d be sick with envy. I drifted off thinking of how wonderful my life was going to be.

  A large, warm hand shook my shoulder. “Lana, it’s time we’re off.” I sat up as August secured a knife to his belt. “It’s best if you drink plenty of water before we leave.” He handed me a leather canteen.

  I sloshed the water around before draining it and handing it back. I smacked my lips together, an odd, heavy feeling coating my tongue.

  August nodded to the ground. “Leave the canteen. You don’t have a belt to carry it anyway.”

  “What is this sensation?” I pointed to my mouth and got to my feet. Mattie lay a few feet away on her pallet, her eyes twinkling in the firelight. Her lips gave a slight twitch as she stared at me. The hair on the back of my neck rose..

  “The water wasn’t able to filter as long as normal,” August said, tying his long hair back with a strip of leather. “It’s the calcium in the creek water.”

  I glanced at the sleeping bodies in their lean-tos close to the fire. No one was up to see us off. How rude. Seeing as August and I were about to risk our lives to possibly save theirs, you’d think they’d want to say good-bye. I dusted my bottom off.

  “Should we wake Elizabeth to say good-bye?” Out of everyone, I’d thought she’d have the decency to bid us farewell.

  “There’s no need.” He wrapped a man’s dark tailcoat around my shoulders before taking my hand and leading me quietly out of the clearing and back into the woods. “I’ve given them instructions. All they can do now is hope we bring help.”

  I ran my fingers through my hair to smooth out the sleep crinkles. It’s not like it mattered all that much. It was so dark in the trees I couldn’t make out August’s features properly anyway. It wasn’t like he’d cringe away from my distressed appearance when his was much worse.

  After a few hours of walking in the dark, a deep guttural howl filled the night followed by a dozen others all around us. I flung my arms around August’s shoulders, my steamwork heart puffing hard.

  “Shh,” August whispered and pried my fingers from his jacket. “We’ve entered their territory. Not much farther till we reach the resort. Keep close.”

  Their territory? What in the seven cogs did that mean? My fingers sought the back of his jacket as we picked up our pace. It was harder to be quiet now. Even his steps were louder than the tiptoe strides we took out of camp.

  The trees thinned as the east side of the resort came into view. The well-maintained lawns and shrubs hid what the building was really used for. If I could still smell, would the air be tainted with salt and iron? The stench of death and blood?

  “I didn’t realize how close your camp was to the resort.” I glanced up at him. His lips were pressed together and his eyes darted from every object. “Is that wise?” That heaviness was back in my mouth, making my tongue feel numb. I bit down on it, trying to get feeling back. The beginnings of panic tightened my chest, squeezing.

  “I do what works for me,” he mumbled. The sounds of a snuffling animal and breaking branches sounded mere feet behind us. “We need to go, now.” August yanked my arm and broke into a run.

  My boots slipped on the dewy grass and I fell to my knees. August pulled me to my feet, his fingers bruising my upper arms as he yanked the tailcoat from my shoulders and threw it behind me.

  A squat, brick building with round windows lay to our left. I assumed it must be the garden shed. August used his shoulder to break the door. The snapping of breaking wood was sure to alert the Burkers and Ollie that someone was out here.

  August shoved me in. My shin smacked into what I thought must be a wheelbarrow, and I let out a soft cry. August closed the door and leaned against it, panting. The darkness in the shed be complete if it wasn’t for the light of the torches lining the walkways of the retreat spilling through the shed windows.

  “The hover steamers are a hundred yards away at most.” He wiped the sweat from his neck and forehead.

  I swallowed. The dryness in my mouth felt like a desert. I shouldn’t be this thirsty.

  “Can I have some of your water?” I bent over, my hands on my knees sucking in great breaths. I shouldn’t be this out of breath either.

  August laughed. “This water?” He tapped his index finger against his canteen. “Not until we reach the steamers.”

  I shook my head. Something was wrong. Not just with the way August was acting, but with me. My head felt fuzzy and light. I fell to my bottom, my fingers curled in the dirt floor beneath me.

  “Damn.” August sighed. “I had hoped the poppies wouldn’t affect you fully until I’d reached a steamer.”

  Fear like I’d never felt before coursed through my veins. Tears spilled down my cheeks in unchecked rivers. “What?” I choked out. “I saved your life.”

  Moans and howls came from outside our shelter. After everything I’d been through, I was back where I started and in a worse position than before. Something dragged its nails down the sides of the brick shed. Whatever was out there, wanted in.

  August knelt down and grasped my right hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed my knuckles. I managed to wrench my hand free with a grunt.

  “I’ve done nothing more than what you would have.” He smirked. “You think I’m blind? You’re a social climber. If I’d had true affections for you, you’d use it for your own gain. It was a gift from God to find you. It proved to me God indeed has a plan for me.”

  I shifted my weight and got my feet underneath me. I focused on August’s knife hanging from his belt. The wails outside continued, growing more eerie.

  “Elizabeth and the others?”

  “All drugged. They’ll be found eventually. One way or another.” I couldn’t believe how careless he sounded.

  “What’s out there?” Although I had a guess, I needed to know for sure. A spider scurried across my neck, but I didn’t make a move. My mind was too overwhelmed to react.

  “Nightmares,” his voice hitched on the end of the word. “They have your scent and I will be faster than you. This is where I say good-bye, Lana.” August stood and peered out one of the round windows. His face paled at whatever he saw.

  I dove for his knees and knocked him off balance. He crashed into a shelf and sent ceramic pots to the ground in shattered heaps. My hands scrambled to fasten on his knife. Our grunts mingled with those coming from outside the door. August’s fist collided with the side of my head. My hearing enhancement gears whirled loose. If he hurt me, I couldn’t feel it yet. My left hand went up his shirt. My fingernails dug into the raw flesh at his panel. He grabbed fistfuls of my hair and I screamed as the roots pulled out. His panel opened and I thrust my hand in, yanking everyt
hing I could and ignoring the searing steam.

  August gasped and fell on top of me. I felt around the cavity for more to rip out, but found it empty. I pushed him off. Blood coated my hand and part of my arm. I’d severed the blood supply to the Clinket kidney.

  His ashen face shone with sweat from our struggle. His hands wrapped around his side where blood pooled in a steady flow.

  I freed his canteen from his belt and took a drink. This time, I didn’t feel the coating over my tongue, although it was still numb. I looked down at August, not sure how I should feel about killing a man. I knew, as soon as I opened the door, that the unknown beasts lurking outside would kill him.

  I pressed down on my calibration watch, then remembered what I’d done to save his life. A hysterical laugh bubbled from my lips. Now, of all times, I was in need of my vital readings. I didn’t know what effects the drugs August gave me could have on my Clinkets.

  I took a moment to try to evaluate my condition. I closed my eyes and felt the steady whizz and thump of my heart. My lungs wheezed a bit, but that could be from the dust in the air.

  Heavy breathing came from the other side of the door. Dirt rose and swirled at the base of the wood with every exhale. Oh God.

  I snatched the knife from August’s belt. His bloody hand shot out and closed around my wrist. “You can’t leave me here.” His words slurred.

  I waggled free from his grasp and stood, clutching the knife in my right hand. “I’m sorry, August. I imagine what’s about to happen is going to be horrible for you. But my life means much more to me than yours.” With my left hand, I gripped the cold porcelain doorknob. When I gave it a little turn, the broken gears ground against each other before releasing.

  I didn’t know when I opened the door if those creatures, whatever they may be, were going to kill me where I stood, but this door was my only chance at survival. I pulled it wide open and froze in the doorway. Creature was far too kind a word for the vile beasts before my eyes. Two lay crouched at my feet, sniffing the ground like bloodhounds. A stretched expanse of skin covered where there should have been eyes. They had the giant snouts of pigs grafted where a human nose once was. Their naked bodies had human hands crafted to the front legs of wild cats. Others came from around the side of the garden shed, more monstrous than the two at my feet. These had more than one head and not all were human. Monkeys and dogs atop human bodies advanced to the doorway.