Broken People (Serial)

Fifty-Four

As if knowing it was a day of celebration, the sun was out when the train prepared to leave in the morning. A small crowd had gathered outside the train station, filling the platform and waving their hands and colorful handkerchiefs.

The town's tradition to wave goodbye to the circus came less as a surprise than having Aurore attending it. She stood on the platform with a wide circle around her and a smile frozen on her lips. Her fingers clutched her purse, but other than that, nothing gave away the discomfort caused by the proximity of the second source.

Dale admired her resolve. Her face was serene, without any shadow of anguish, and she wasn't wearing any gloves or high boots for once. Her prosthetics were put ostentatiously on display, and she didn't seem to care. She wasn't hiding anymore.

The siren announced the train's departure, and the cheers became louder.

As if upon command, several heads popped out in the cars' windows. Spinner stood with Robot Girl in the factory. Her robo-suit fired two rockets that exploded into fireworks above the train station. In the next car, Riella threw confetti over Rake's shoulder. The small pieces of shiny paper ignited and burned, leaving behind a scent of heated sugar. Cielo waved from another window. A shadow with multiple arms moved in the background. Nicholas and Anya were alone in a separate car with dancers and contortionists on one side, gymnasts and aerialists on the other.

Aurore nodded at Nicholas, waved discreetly at Rake, and smiled at Spinner, who stumbled backward as if freaked out by her smile.

"You're bad," Dale said quietly.

She shrugged, smirking. "It works every time."

The wheels spun slowly at first, then faster as the train gained speed. The crowd ran towards the end of the platform, trying to keep up with it. Rosie was among them.

Aurore stayed put but raised her arm and waved. Her golden skin glinted in the sun.

"May I ask a personal question?" Dale leaned in, although there was no one left around to overhear them.

Aurore turned her head to look at him, curiosity and a hint of a challenge gleaming in her eyes. The wind brushed a golden lock on her forehead, and she pushed it away. "Yes?"

"Why didn't you grow them back? The technology has been available for several years, and you certainly can afford it."

"You can't regrow limbs separated from the body," Aurore said. "And it takes months for the process to naturally complete. If I had done it one limb at a time, it would have taken years. I can't put my life on hold for that long. I won't. This is me." She did a small twirl in front of him. "What you see is what you get."

Only it wasn't so simple. There were several layers forming that appearance. Dale couldn't help admiring her flawless silhouette and graceful limbs, even if they weren't made of flesh and bone.

Something must have reflected in his eyes because it was Aurore's turn to lean in, a smile dancing on her lips. "May I ask you something?"

"Sure."

She took his arm, and they started towards the train station. "Why did you stay?"

Dale contemplated the answer. He'd wanted to successfully complete his mission, save those people, stop the war, all that. But that wasn't all. He'd also wanted to protect Aurore and prove to Ternchiev that he wasn't just a thief. And now, he was stuck in a town that, until yesterday, he couldn't wait to leave, in the company of a woman with a will as strong as his, and he didn't mind. It could have been much worse.

"I'm not sure," he said.

"Uh-huh." She smiled knowingly and whispered, "I'm so going to enjoy torturing you."

"Oh, I know." And, once again, he didn't mind.

To prove it, Dale covered the golden hand that held onto his arm with his free hand. When Aurore arched an eyebrow, he answered with a smile of his own and glanced at the empty horizon.

The Nightingale Circus had left town.

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Author's Note: Thank you all for reading Broken People, the first novel in Broken People series.

If you're on Goodreads, please consider rating it and leaving a short review. It would help a lot.

There are two more books available in this series:

The Nightingale Circus - a prequel, free to download on NoiseTrade

Broken Hearts - book two, available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Smashwords, etc.

I hope you'll enjoy reading them, too!