Claire

by Lynda Behling

  "Mostly." He said. His voice was still so flat. She frowned up at him.

  "What were you-” She started to ask, but stopped. There were eyes on her; lots of them. She looked around. There were people all around. But they all seemed extremely busy with what they were doing. Paranoia bloomed in her chest. So many people were around. She was not used to it. "Not here. C'mon."

  She grabbed his cloak again and led him away, not really looking at him, but all around while she walked. It didn't register with her how easily he complied. He allowed himself to be lead with no protest. She was too busy making sure no one followed her. No one did, but she could feel their stares.

  *** "What- who are you?" Claire asked, peering at him nervously. They were safely ensconced in her hut. She had kept watch while he knelt down and went inside. It was really only large enough for herself, but they both managed to squeeze in, with the body's long legs and feet sticking out.

  "I do not know." The body answered. He wasn't looking at her, but looking outside through the opening of her hut. "Are you a person?" She asked him. She was being direct, but he still didn't respond with any emotion.

  "That depends on your definition of person." He answered her.

  Claire thought for a moment. "Are you a human?" She asked.

  "No."

  She thought again. "Are you an android?" She asked. The junk yard was littered with defunct androids. You could find bits and pieces of them in any pile.

  "No."

  She hesitated. "Are you a monster?" She asked, somewhat anxiously.

  His sharp yellow eyes focused on her for a long moment, then he looked away again. "No." He answered.

  Claire was starting to feel frustrated. "Then, what are you?" She asked finally.

  "A possibility." He answered.

  Claire frowned. "What is a possibility?"

  "A conceivable alternative." He answered.

  This stumped her. "Well, what do I call you?" Claire asked. She was confused, and it was really annoying her. This person was strange. He didn't look like someone who lived in the junk yard. If that was true, then she wasn't breaking the parent's rule.

  "It doesn't matter to me."

  "Don't you have a name?" Claire asked hotly. This wasn't how introductions went; though she had little reference.

  "I do not know." The body said.

  She frowned at him again. What was she supposed to think of him, if he didn't help her out? She was still having trouble not thinking of him as a dead body. "How did you get into the trash heap?" She tried again.

  "I jumped."

  That surprised her. "You jumped? From where?" There were no structures near the garbage piles, except for the wall. But the wall was heavily guarded and there was stun wire running along the top. No one ever tried to climb or scale it. Everyone avoided it. She didn't even know what was on the other side, she had only ever seen the junk yard.

  "I don't remember." He answered. Claire's frown deepened. She was so curious about him. She wished she was making more headway. But she was persistent and would spend as long as she needed to figure him out.

  Claire drew her knees up and rested her face on them. What was she supposed to do now? "Why did you jump?" She asked suddenly.

  "I wanted to die."

  Wanting to die… Claire knew that feeling. It was not a good feeling. It was a sad feeling. Sometimes, when Mommy was sad, Daddy would put a hand on her shoulder and tell her things would be okay. She tried that now, and felt something hard under his cloak.

  He continued to face the opening to the hut. But his tawny eyes were directed on her as she sat on his knees and pulled the cloak away from his chest. Her eyes widened and she gasped.

  This strange body had no arms. She should have guessed earlier by the way he moved, but she had been preoccupied with getting away from prying eyes and how the body had managed to get in the trash heap. There were three wide metal strips over each shoulder, starting from the front just above his chest and going into his back, on the shoulder blade. One went over where the shoulder juts out the most, then one across the middle and one underneath. The metal was worn and beaten up, but didn't look rusted. It seemed to be attached by bolts, embedded through the ends of the strips and into the stranger's chest and back.

  "How did you lose your arms?" She asked.

  "They were taken away." The body continued staring outside.

  "Who took them away? And why?" She asked, her eyes were soft with pity.

  "I never knew their names, and I never asked why."

  Claire was quiet for a long time after that. She sat in thought until the sky darkened into night. During this time the body did not move. It was unnatural at how utterly still he was. A normal person with blood flowing and heart pumping and lungs breathing will always move, even if they try to be as absolutely still as stone. But this body, when he chose not to move, was no different than rock.

  So, when he did finally move, she was startled from her reverie immediately. It hadn't been a large movement either; just a slight turn in his head, his eyes following something outside.

  Claire peered outside. Men were heading their way. Three of them, from what she could see. She didn't dare stick her head out to try to see better. She didn't like the looks of these men who were heading towards her hut so purposefully.

  She was getting a bad feeling. It started in her stomach and went upward, squeezing her throat. Should she really stay here, inside the hut, where they couldn't get out if they had to? "We have to leave." She said. She decided it then. They should leave now, before the men reached the hut.

  The strange body obeyed her simply, with no thought of questioning or arguing. In fact, he hadn't argued with anything she told him, merely going along with what she said. It wasn't a bad feeling, being listened to.

  He slid out of the hut and stood, there hadn't been enough room to stand up inside. Claire followed him, eying the men warily. They had stopped about ten feet from the hut, spread out about three feet apart.

  "What do you want?" Claire asked, peering out from behind the body. Her voice trembled slightly and she hated it. She stepped out from behind the body and took a more defiant stance.

  "That guy is coming with us." The middle man stepped forward, pointing at the body. Claire guessed he was the leader.

  "What? No!" Claire said, taken aback. "I found him first!" She looked back up at the strange man behind her. She had just professed ownership of him, and he didn't seem to care. He really was strange. Could she really let him go with these men without finding anything about him?

  "He could be a spy from the Upper Class." The leader was saying. "Everyone knows they want to exterminate us from the junk piles."

  "That's impossible!" Claire said stubbornly. "He was thrown out. He wasn't sent down here. No one wanted him." She glared at the men. "I want him though, and I won't give him to you."

  "He could be leading carriers right to us!" The man to the left of the leader cut in. "Stop being stupid, little girl!"

  "How is he gonna lead anyone anywhere? He's got no arms!" Claire asked, getting angry now. "He's harmless!"

  "And you're just a kid! What would you know about him?" The leader yelled. "He can't be trusted, and he's coming with us!" He walked up to Claire and the body. She could see a crowbar in one hand. In fact, all three were armed with a piece of scrap metal. "They sent him down as trash? Well, we'll dispose of him properly."

  "No!" Claire screamed, stepping in front of the body with her arms wide open. Why had she saved him from the crows, if she was just going to let these men have him? Granted, she hadn't known that he was alive, but that was irrelevant. She knew he was alive now. She had let her guard down, let someone in that wasn't Mommy or Daddy, and she wasn't going to let go of that link. The link to another person.

  The leader didn't even pause; he lifted one arm and brought it down on her face and neck hard. Light exploded behind her eyes and she felt her feet leave the ground. She landed on her shoulder hard. She di
dn't move, her eyes were scrunched tightly closed, her body was stunned. All she could do was whimper.

  She heard a yell and managed to open her eyes a little. The pain was nearly blinding, but she was able to see the leader go sailing off the junk pile and into the next one. The other two looked at the body, stunned. But they set their faces grim and hefted their weapons. They advanced together.

  Claire saw the body's cloak whip up and suddenly there was a heavy black boot under one man's chin. Then he was flying into another junk pile. The body spun and the other man was thrown sideways onto the ground.

  Claire's vision faded in and out and her head throbbed. She couldn't be sure of what she was actually seeing. When her vision cleared again there were two black boots in front of her face. The body knelt down. "Why did you do that?" He asked.

  "Ugh...." was Claire's response. Couldn't he sound at least a little concerned about her?

  "You did not have to put yourself in danger. You do not know me."

  "Mommy and Daddy are gone, I don't know anyone else." She said. She was dizzy and not thinking clearly. How could she really explain that she had nothing, so she had nothing to throw away?

  "Can you move?" He asked her.

  Claire's vision blurred again. "I don't know." She said.

  "We must leave, and I cannot carry you if you do not get up." He stated.

  With a horrible groan Claire willed her body to move. She sat up and the world spun. She closed her eyes for a second before she got sick.

  "Climb up, if you can."

  She stretched her arms out blindly. Her hands found his back and she circled her arms around his neck and clung to him. She felt him stand and dizziness overcame her again at the movement.

  "There are some loose straps by your hands."

  She felt a bit and found a strap that once was bound around his chest, but had been snapped. She tied both ends around her hands and held on for dear life. She felt him walking slowly, but steadily forward. "Where are we going?" She asked.

  "Away." was the only answer she got.

  She looked back at the junkyard. Hot wetness ran into her eye, stinging incredibly. "Good." She said. "I don't like it here." She didn't ask how they would get out of the junkyard. She just closed her eyes, concentrating only on the slow steady rhythm of his walking.

  Chapter II – B.E.A.S.T Mrs. Kennie ran the kitchens of The Sword and The Rose. "A high class dining establishment." she always called it. And it was true. Hers was certainly not the biggest restaurant/party room, nor the fanciest. But the food was certainly the best. And even though it was nearly on the edge of the Silver District, the Upper Class flocked to it every night. She even catered for those Upper Class noblemen and women that were too timid to come anywhere near the common area; even though the common area was an entire district away.

  Her secret? Love. She poured her heart into her establishment, into her food. Now, many will mutter and say that the Upper Class has forgotten such concepts like love. But while most no longer feel it, they do enjoy the taste of it.

  And Mrs. Kennie loved her establishment dearly. She was always the first to arrive each afternoon, and the last one to leave in the early pre-dawn hours. She not only cooked, but she cleaned as well, sometimes taking on the most difficult chores all on her own. And she was no longer as young as she once was, either.

  But it was such good fortune that she did devote herself to The Sword and The Rose so deeply. For if she was lazier or more indifferent, then she would not be hauling the garbage bags out to the dumpster that early morning that they arrived.

  She was on the last bag when she saw him turn the corner. He walked slowly, but steadily. He was hunched over and deformed under his cloak. Her heart went out to the man, for to her in her age he looked quite young to be so burdened.

  She was in the habit of feeding those less fortunate that wandered by, for she could never leave a soul in need. But she did always make sure that no destitutes were around when her customers were in house. Or else she would have no customers the next day. But, being in the Silver District, she rarely saw them. They were mainly in the Stone District and the junk yard, and the Copper District was in between. But, occasionally one would wander in; some poor soul trying to escape the factories of the Copper District. Like today.

  "Do you need any help?" She asked kindly, stepping up to the man.

  "No." The man replied in a voice like dust and stillness. "But she needs food, and rest."

  Mrs. Kennie looked at him questioningly. But then he stepped into the light and she saw that what she had mistaken for a deformity was really a small child, clinging to the man's back.

  "Her hands are tied. I cannot free her."

  Mrs. Kennie hurried over. The man did have a handicap. He had no arms. The poor child was tied to him by the hands. He was hunched over to prevent her from falling, for she was unconscious and could not hold on with her own power.

  She pulled out a knife from her belt and sliced the straps binding the girl. She had her knife away before the girl even started to slide off the man's back. She caught her quickly. She was light, much too light.

  "You had better come inside." Mrs. Kennie said to the man. She turned and carried the child through the back door of the Sword and the Rose.

  *** He watched as the older woman looked over Claire. They were in a small room with a cot against one wall. Its purpose he could not guess. Other than the cot there was only a metal cabinet and some cleaning supplies on a shelf.

  The woman tsked to herself as she inspected Claire's face. Brown and crusted blood went in a messy line from the side of her head, over one eye and down her cheek. She set to work cleaning Claire's wound right away. "It's not infected, thank heavens. But I am worried that she hasn't woken up." She directed her talk to him. "How long has she been like this?"

  "She fell asleep seven sunsets ago." He replied. The woman looked at him in alarm. "Dear me." She whispered. She quickly cleaned Claire's wound and bandaged it. "Let's see if some food will rouse her." She said, getting up and walking out the door.

  She returned quickly, bearing two large steaming bowls. She also had a folding table under one arm. She held both bowls with one arm and set up the table with a snap. Then she set both bowls down.

  She dipped a spoon into one bowl and dribbled a little of the thick liquid between Claire's lips. Claire swallowed, and then gave a great shuddering sigh. She opened her mouth slightly, so the woman fed her some more.

  This went on for several minutes, the woman slowly giving Claire nourishment. Finally, Claire's eyes slowly opened. She winced at the harsh overhead light. "Whur-am-I?" She mumbled.

  "Hush. You're safe now, child." The woman smoothed Claire's dark and tangled hair back from her face. "Here, eat." She offered more food. She didn't stop until the bowl was completely empty and Claire let out a contented sigh, her eyes fluttered sleepily. "You rest now, dear." The woman said kindly. Claire nodded and drifted off.

  Then the woman turned to him. "Will you need any help eating?" She asked politely.

  "I am fine." He said. He watched Claire breathing slowly and rhythmically.

  The woman frowned. But she left his bowl on the table and took the empty one away. "I will check on you two in a few hours." She said. "Just stay here until then."

  She closed the door behind her, and he heard a click after it was closed. He sat on the floor as still as stone and continued watching Claire breathe.

  *** Claire woke and stretched. She couldn't stretch too hard, as all her muscles protested every movement she made. Her hands and her head hurt the worst. She sat up slowly, looking at her hands. The straps had bitten cruelly into them and they were bruised and swollen.

  She looked up and around at her surroundings. She spotted the body sitting on the floor across from the cot she was laying on. "I still don't know what to call you." She said to herself. "Where are we?" She asked him.

  "The Sword and the Rose." He answered. The name meant nothing to her. Mor
e questions sprang into her mind. They made her head hurt more. She settled on the most important one. "Why are we here?"

  "I brought you here after you fell unconscious." She thought about this for a moment, and then said "But, why?" She looked at him with serious eyes.

  He shrugged. "That, I do not know."

  Claire sighed. It was a heavy, world-weary sigh. Her shoulders sagged under the weight of it.

  Then the door clicked and was opened. A short plump woman with deeply tanned skin and dark hair walked in, balancing a heavy tray expertly with one hand. Her eyes widened when she saw Claire sitting up. Claire saw that she was happily surprised and found her heart warmed by it. She even smiled just a little.

  The woman smiled back at her, a big kind smile. "Food or shower?" She asked gently.

  Claire's brow furrowed. "What's a shower?"

  Now the woman's eye widened in a bad kind of surprised. "Let's get you to he bathhouse right now." She said. She tsked as she helped Claire off of the cot and to the door. Her companion stood silently and followed.

  *** He followed behind Claire like a shadow, quiet and unnoticed. The woman chatted merrily with Claire as they walked. Soon they had exchanged names. The woman didn't ask about him, though he noticed that she looked back at him several times. Her expression was fiercer when turned on him.

  Once, Claire glanced back at him. She smiled softly. He could see that she was not used to smiling. There were remembered hardships in those young eyes. Those sad eyes coupled with her shy smile stirred something in his memory. But it was elusive, he could not grasp it.

  "Here we are." Mrs Kennie said as they approached a wooden building. It was low, only one story, but long. This was the outer edge of the Silver District, where buildings in general were smaller, but this was the only one that was just one story tall.

  A tall, thin woman was standing in front, right next to two double doors behind a large metal gate. She was unlocking a metal box beside the doors. Inside was a glowing keypad and screen. She yawned hugely as she punched in a few numbers quickly.

  Mrs. Kennie hailed her. The woman looked at her startled. "Mary! What are you doing here at this hour? I've barely opened!" She looked over the strange group. "Besides, you have an excellent bath at your place." She had black hair tied back into a tight bun. Her features were sharp, her nose pointed and her