Gears and Steam

Information

Floyd

Why did Luther insist on sending me out for parts when it was raining? He knew I hated the rain, I feel like he did it just to spite me. It was annoying, having to trudge into town just to get a stupid part that I wouldn't even need for a few days. Luther liked playing with his pawns, seeing how far he could push us before we left. He would never let me actually leave, of course.

I stared down at the cracked cobblestone beneath my feet as I walked, trying to keep the rain out of my eyes. I had forgotten to braid my hair back today, and it now hung limply around my face. Stupid rain. Stupid Luther. Stupid everything.

I reached the town square and squinted into the gloom, trying to spot any people that might try to talk to me. I could only make out two figures sitting on a bench. The path I had to take in order to reach the shop I was looking for involved getting closer to the two figures, close enough that I could make out their faces.

Edmund, my Edmund, was sitting criss-cross with a smile on his face. His chestnut curls were plastered to his forehead, and his clothes stuck to his skin. He had obviously been sitting out here for a while. He had the same grey vest that he had when I worked with him. It was the one that Freddie made him wear whenever he went into town. I remembered him fighting her about it every time we came to buy parts together. He hated dark colors.

The other figure was Edmund's new assistant, the one who had punched me. There was a yellowing bruise across the bridge of my nose from him. What was his name again? Jules or something like that. I didn't think he would last very long with Edmund, I thought he would be gone by now. Things weren't going how I'd envisioned. It didn't look as though Jules would just be another name on the list that I knew Edmund kept.

Edmund was smiling, something I didn't often see from the quick glances I got of him. Jules had his hand on the side of Edmund's face; he seemed to be trying to calm him down. The boys obviously didn't see me since they were too focused on each other. As I watched, Edmund took Jules's hand away from his face and began playing with his fingers. He used to do that with me when he was nervous.

I couldn't stand the way they were looking at each other. I wanted Edmund to look at me like that again. He would someday, once he came to his senses and ran back to me. He had always been weak. I was his protector. He would realize that soon. If he didn't...well, I could always reveal his secret. That would surely make his team turn on him. People like him...people like us weren't accepted anywhere, that's why we belonged with each other.

I stomped away before I could see anything else. The pounding rain disguised the sound of my footsteps. The boys were none the wiser to my presence. They had no idea that I had witnessed that moment which most people would find odd or downright disgusting. It didn't matter anyway. Jules was still insignificant. He didn't matter to Eddie, not like I did.

...

"Good, you're back. Any news from town?" Luther asked coldly as soon I stepped through the door of our team's house. Only about half of us lived here. Who knows where the others went. Right now, the members of the house were Luther, his two apprentices, me, and my two assistants. Our other six were just support in case any of us got hurt.

I flopped down onto one of our couches and tossed the part I bought to the side. I was completely soaked, but I didn't care enough to change my clothes at the moment. My blood was still boiling. "Nothing much, just..."

"Just what?" Luther barked.

"Just...getting Edmund Silvane on our team might be a little bit harder than I thought."

Luther's scowl deepened. "We don't need him."

"Yes, we do," I growled. "You said I could keep him."