Alex in Wunderstrande: The Clairvoyance Clock [BOOK ONE]

Chapter XVIII: The Lighthouse

The next day, we gathered what articles we had in our possession and set out at once. Lucian insisted I stay off my feet, so he assigned Mechanical Man to carry me as far as possible. Being that I had a slender build, and the cyborg's arms were literally made of steel, I knew he'd be able to transport me all the way to the coast without issue.

Ambrose, who had a habit of perching atop Jayce's shoulder, would regularly chirp at me as if to check in on my condition. Jayce hadn't spoken a word to me since our row in the tent, and I began to regard her silence as aggravating. So, I turned my attention to our surroundings.

Garganoias stretched their magnificent branches toward the high heavens, each trunk the size of half a Lancastrian city block. Spindly brambles skirted the trees, danced around their roots, and dashed along the forest floor. Byrds chirped odd, motorized songs and flapped their wings of titanium in alarm when we entered their domain. The clever results of human ingenuity, these creatures claimed the woodland areas as their home alongside other organic beasts. Since I'd been cooped up in a city my entire life, I had never seen Mechanical Wildlyfe in their natural habitat. Instead, I relied purely on travel presentations to illustrate an accurate portrayal.

Growing up in Lancaster, surrounded by only travel materials on which to base my knowledge of the world, I'd always imagined the Great Northern Forest differently. A picture painted across my imagination showed a line of midsize trees, with vicious robotic guards pointing heavy blasters in the direction of anyone foolish enough to approach. The patrol was for one purpose: keeping people out of Wunderstrandian territory. So far, I hadn't seen any Watchers, but decided not to rule it out. Just the fact we were close to the rumored location of enemy land had me on edge.

Several hours after midday, our pace slowed to a pathetic crawl. Hunger had crippled us. Mechanical Man hadn't been able to scrounge up much the night before, so we were left to scavenge the measly pickings from nature's table. Which, in the horrid wintry landscape, basically meant nothing. My stomach growled in not-so-silent retaliation.

While Mechanical Man and Sheridan refilled our canteens with slushy water from a forest stream, Lucian sat on a boulder, producing a PenArrow and folded parchment from his pocket.

"I'm about ready to eat dirt," Jayce grumbled, collapsing in exhaustion on the bank. "Or my shoe."

"I see our situation in a more positive light," Imogen began in a cheerful manner, sitting next to her. "At least my corsets will fit more comfortably."

Jayce raised an eyebrow. "That is revolting."

I eyed Lucian, watching as he scrawled something on the parchment. After sending the PenArrow off into the trees, he quickly ripped the parchment into pieces and tossed the remnants into the stream.

"Who are you writing?" I asked.

He started, not realizing he had an audience. "Oh. I've been communicating with the authorities about Clement. I just want to make certain he won't be following us."