Of Gears and Humanity

| 32.2

[Damien]

The air smelled differently. The wind had a roughness. It hurt as it hit my skin.

Was it nature's effect on my body, or was it my mind playing tricks on me? My mind went somewhere else, I knew it. I couldn't stop thinking of Arvon's face. Of his words. It stuck with me heavier than anything else he'd ever said to me. Was this what loss felt like?

In silence, for hours, we walked. The Attributions followed close behind us as we made our way into the trees. Carmine came out of hiding and with him in front, Elene rode his back. Theo was at her side. And me? I tried to hang back; no one needed to see my face. I didn't want to be in front of the peering eyes of the world, but I knew that was inevitable. The fight was done, the treaty revealed, nearly set in stone. I was a building block amongst all of this; even if I didn't want to be.

The light from Homestead's entrance at night looked blinding. Or it could've just been me. I was done. By the time we made it back to Elena's town, the moon had replaced the sun.

I covered my face as we approached the wooden gates. I stood on the other side of Carmine, opposite Theo. He leaned against the horse for support. I wanted to turn back.

"Princess Elena is back!" someone called from within the town. "She's back! Everyone is back with her! Open the gates! Let them through!"

I stopped as the sound of ropes pulling at the gate filled the air. I shook my head, trying to escape the sound. Why was everything loud to me? Why did I feel so small?

"Damien?" Elena spoke down to me from up top Carmine. "Are you okay?"

I looked up at her. She'd asked me that same question—I don't know how many times she asked. I wasn't okay, but I didn't know how to tell her that. But we'd done it, we accomplished what she set out to do. And as promised, I wouldn't leave her side.

She smiled. "Come up here." She extended her hand. "Carmine is comfortable."

Her horse? I glanced at Carmine's face just as Homestead's gate opened wide. A crowd of people awaited us. Unbothered by them, Carmine stared at me. For a horse who couldn't talk, he said a lot without words.

Clearing my throat, I looked back at Elena. "I'm fine. I can just walk in."

"But—"

"Let him walk, Elena." Theo looked at me over Carmine's back. "We can walk in there."

"Good." Because I didn't want to ride her horse.

The crowd within Homestead approached us, but stopped before they could step outside the town's walls. Their wide eyes scanned us. Each of us. It wasn't until I followed the gaze of a woman on the left that I saw their focus.

The Attributions behind us.

"I know what everyone is thinking," Elena said, lifting her hands defensively. "But this is what will happen. I wanted to ease everyone into this but," she turned back, eyes passing over Theo and me before glancing at the Attributions who waited on a command, "I couldn't just leave them without guidance."

I looked back at everyone. A part of me expected a retaliation. Yes, they'd agreed before we left for the Gate, but minds could change. Especially human minds. If there was one thing that Arvon taught me about my people was... indecisiveness; and it was true. We could flip at the drop of a dime.

And the Attribution with their learned abilities... did the same. At least one did.

But no one reacted that way. A child emerged from the crowd without an ounce of fear of their face. He clutched the woman's hand before stepping in front of Elena. With each blink, curiosity grew in his eyes. "They look like us," he said.

Elena nodded quickly. "They... they do."

The child smiled. "Then they are us and that means they are family."

The easiness of acceptance in the kid's heart. No way an adult could've done that. But adults could learn and react the same, because they did. Quiet murmurs erupted in the air as some broke free from the crowd and crossed the gate. They approached the Attributions with as much curiosity the child had and... it was amazing. Weakly, I smiled.

"Theo!" a scream sliced through the chatter. I turned back to the entrance just as Marleth rushed through the group of people. She pushed past Elena and me and threw her arm's around Theo's neck.

He winced on impact, but he caught her. He held her close. As she openly cried against his shoulder, he slid his hands through her hand and shushed her. "I'm here," he whispered. "I made it back just like I'd promised."

Marleth pulled back, tears sliding down her face. She punched his shoulder once, whimpering. "Don't!" she cried. "Don't ever do this again!"

Theo lifted his gaze and looked toward Elena. He gave a weak smile before giving Marleth his full attention. "With Elena being Queen, my duty is to protect her. But," his smile widened, "Elena wants peace, so this," he looked down at his bloody ribs, "will probably be the last time this happens, Marleth."

"Good." She sniffed. "Because I love you."

She'd said it. With everyone around, she let the words go. Some within the crowd looked back at her, listening to see what would happen next. I did, too. The two of them told me how they felt; explained how terrified they were about it. It had to have been known all over Homestead that Theo was supposed to be with Elena, like it was written in stone.

But rocks could break.

I knew from experience.

Theo's hand cupped Marleth's cheek. "And I love you," he said.

They kissed. A gentle stream of aw's filled the air as a lot of the attention changed. But with the reaction so well, I had to relax. My entire life I believed humans were selfish and greedy and brought on their own demise. But in just days I learned humans were spontaneous, yes, and in a dangerous way, but they did care for one another and wanted nothing more than their neighbors to be happy.

The Attributions were the neighbors across the Gate. And they received the same amount of love.

Elena came to my side. Her hand reached for mine. I grabbed it without hesitation, but I didn't look at her. I watched parts of the crowd congratulate Theo and Marleth on their relationship. The other half spoke to the Attributions, questions after questions, but to get to know them. To want to know them.

"We did it," Elena said. "You did it."

I bit my bottom lip. "You've said that already."

"I know." Elena tugged at my arm and made me face her. There was a weak smile on her face. And because of it, I noticed the dirt smudge on her cheek. She continued, "Don't you believe it?"

I sucked in a slow breath. I couldn't let her stand in front of her people with dirt on her face. Lifting a hand, I gently rubbed it away with my thumb. "Do you want me to be honest?"

She nodded.

I sighed. "What I believe is I've killed the only person, machine, thing who loved me and meant the words when he said it."

Elena frowned and shook her head. "But you didn't kill him, Damien. He sacrificed himself to save you."

I closed my eyes. "Exactly," he breathed.

Silence settled over us. Even the crowd, I couldn't hear them. It had to be me, lost in my thoughts, circling back through memories of Arvon. I felt guilty because I hadn't thought of Unique once; but her love was programmed. Arvon felt it, hadn't he? The look in his eyes and the tone in his voice meant it all. A father who loved his son.

"If I'm being honest, Damien, the way I see it... you saved him. And I'm sure you can fix him."

My eyes snapped open. Elena leaned her face against my palm. Biting the insides of my cheek, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Elena pressed herself on the tips of her toes to whisper into my ear, "you're their mechanic, right?"

[thank you for reading]