•Sad Golem•

Town

Sad Golem is just a young, young fellow. Full of what most folks call spirit, but most importantly biomechanical parts, a machine born of both organic substance and machinery. He wasn't built into the world, but he was born, like everybody else. Still, as much as he liked to remain optimistic through his crushing days of school where the other students and children would disapprove of his being, one particular day, when most students that would normally be absent were present, he was in for something far far worse than he could emotionally handle. Something big.

All the students filled the classroom, spilling into the room to fill the seats, and as Golem climbed up into his assigned spot, Burney approached him. Burney was the class joker who had every last student on his side. Nobody could oppose him without the disapproval and uncomfortable interactions with the rest of the class, and he'd always picked on Golem, but today, seemingly for no particular reason, he'd made his big mark.

"Hey Golem", Burney exclaimed, next to Golem's chair, "Take this."

Golem hadn't seen such an item before, and when Burney offered it to him, his curiosity sparked so bright that he simply had to pick it from Burney's hand, inspecting it in the light, out of light, looking for words or inscriptions, when he finally asked, "Thanks Burney, but... I don't know what it is."

When Golem offered it back to Burney, Burney pushed Golem's hand up and pressed the object, through Golem's hand, overtop the poor sap's mouth. Two other students in the classroom grabbed Golem's shoulders and started shaking him around to try and scare him. The rest of the class saw and gathered around the assault on the poor child's dignity, and began chanting, "Out with the Golem! Out with the Golem! Get out! Get out!"

When Golem was let back out of reach by the shoulder-holding brats, he lunged himself forward so hard he fell out of his seat, and quickly regained balance. He ran to the front of the class to look at his reflection in the metal on his arm. The image was distorted, but he saw what had been done to him.

He looked up at every last student who wouldn't help him with tears in his eyes, unable to speak, and none would help him still. They laughed.

They laughed, cackled, they butchered Golem's dignity. The cuff around his mouth was all they needed to shatter him. He couldn't even take the cuff off, no matter how many desperate attempts he made to do so, even, at one point grabbing a sharp paperweight and attempting to lever it off. This only made the children laugh harder.

Golem's fists shook more, and he only wanted to hit Burney. He was ready to fight him. He could have pounded him. He knows how much harder metal is to punch through than bone is. His fists were shaking more and more, but... then Teacher walked in.

"Hey! What's all the ruckus in here? Go back to your seats!"

Golem was surprised by Teacher's sudden presence, and looked back at her when he didn't mean to. That would just mean the Teacher saw what happened to him.

"Golem? What is that? Are you trying to eat something?"

The students laughed.

"What is that? Anybody? What is this?"

"I don't know", replied Burney in a taunting manner, which was apparently just another matter the students got to laugh at. That sharp, twisted torture of everyone inside the same box as him all at once ganging up to cripple and torture him, it was enough. Golem could handle it no more.

He reached his peak. His eyes swelled with tears, he was hyperventilating, and began to step backwards.

"Golem, stay right there. Burney, what did you do?" Teacher responded.

"Nothing, I swear."

Golem couldn't say anything, and so he could only tremble more, and he kept backing out the door, when finally, he looked Burney dead in the eye, and Burney looked right back.

"He's a golem".

Golem slammed the door and ran. He ran to the foyer, grabbed his blanket who everybody just stacked their books on, and left, not even grabbing his own otherwise belongings. He wanted to shield his face. His favorite blanket couldn't have been useful any more before than now.

He put it over his neck and caped it, using the top part as his hood. He wanted to leave the entire town before anyone else could see what had happened. He wanted to escape to the jungle.

"But why should I?" He asked himself. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

I am just a machine, but I have a human heart- I'm not a freak! I have every right to live where I want to- But without the acceptance of my friends?

Golem corrected himself in the last moment.

Golems don't have friends.

He still had to deny he was a freak. He wasn't just a machine. He wasn't programmed to "do homework for" people, he wasn't designed to "solve" other people's problems... he wasn't... JUST a machine. "I have a human heart." He concluded. "A good one." He thought. "That should mean something."

"But... no... it does... it has to... right? Yes... I'm sure of it."

When Sad Golem's tantrum was controlling him, he put his mind to work. No matter how silly his initial reaction is, he always made contingency plans for the future of his decision, and built on to his plan mentally. He didn't like being a golem, ever, but today was the last rodeo. Golem's going to go get his Missing Gear.