The Adventures of Will Irving: Automaton Trouble

Chapter 31

"We gotta stop by Millie's on the way home," Will said to Claire as she locked the front door to her house. "I promised Hank and Emily that I would bring them both a piece of pie. It's Monday, so that means chocolate cream...their favorite."

This was now the third day that Will and Claire had returned to the secret room beneath her house. With each visit, they had learned new information about Atticus and the giant automaton. Today, Claire had begun to make her own notes as she studied her father's various schematics and plans. It was now only a little past five p.m., but they had promised Emily to be home early today so that they could have dinner together. After making the quick stop at Millie's to pick up the pie, they finally pulled into Will's driveway.

"I'll meet you inside," Will said as he got out of the car. "I'm gonna get the mail."

Claire grabbed the bag from Millie's and made her way up to the front door while Will jogged over to the mail box and removed an assortment of mailings. Claire was still standing on the front porch when Will finally made it up the front steps.

"No one opened the door?" Will asked with a puzzled expression.

"No...I rang the doorbell, but no one answered," Claire replied.

"Hmmm," Will said as he suddenly broke into a knowing smile. "I bet Emily has some kind of surprise waiting for us."

Will unlocked the door, opened it, and took a step inside. Immediately, he held out his left hand to stop Claire from following him, and then dropped the mail to the floor and pulled out his gun. As Will took in the scene that lay before him, memories of the night when Claire had been kidnapped instantly flooded his mind. The coat rack lay broken on the floor in the entryway, and to the left, Will could see various signs that a struggle had taken place. Furniture was overturned in the living room, and broken glass was scattered on the floor.

"Stay close," Will whispered to Claire as he motioned for her to follow him inside.

They turned into the living room, and Will quickly spotted Hank lying motionless on the floor. Hank's gun sat on the floor a short distance away. Will cautiously made his way to Hank's side and checked for a pulse and breath.

"He's still alive," Will whispered as Claire knelt down beside him.

Will grabbed Hank's gun and gave it to Claire.

"Stay here with Hank while I check the rest of the house," Will said quietly.

Claire silently nodded, and Will rose and began to make his way toward the kitchen. The door to the backyard looked as though it had been kicked in, but there was no sign of any assailant, and Will passed through and entered the entryway again. Before heading up the stairs, he looked into the living room, caught Claire's gaze, and motioned that he was going upstairs. Once upstairs, Will noticed that there were large holes in the walls of the hallway that led to Emily's room. After checking his room and the spare room first, he finally made his way toward Emily's room.

As Will approached his sister's room, he could see through the open door that her window had been completely smashed through. He paused at the door to take a deep breath, and then he cautiously entered. Almost immediately, Will fell to his knees and gasped.

"Emmy!" Will shouted.

There on the floor in front of Will lay the broken body of Max. His head had been separated from the rest of his body, and he was missing part of his right arm and the lower part of his left leg.

"Emmy!" Will shouted again, looking around the room.

There was no answer. Will rushed out of the room and made his way to the secret space in his closet where Emily had hid the night that Claire was kidnapped. As he opened the door in the floor, his heart dropped into his stomach. There was no adorable face to greet him this time...the space was empty.