Gyaros Book One: The Mice Eat Iron (YA 17+ Sci Fi Adventure) (38 page)

“Looks like Maxen's fishing again today, wanna go
see how he's doing?” he asked and Lucy jumped to her feet.

“Yeah!”
she said as she began to make her way to the back door with Miles.

The next couple of hours were spent relaxing by the pond and talking as a warm wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves
, creating a calm, soothing sound. Maxen caught an impressive total of three fish, though none of them were quite as big as the one that he had caught the day before. At just past midday Miles saw Adam exit the house through the back door and begin to make his way down to where the three of them were sitting by the water. He had completed the arm and was ready to perform the operation, he called everyone back inside and prepared his workspace for the procedure, clearing a large table in the centre of the workshop and retrieving several medical instruments from a case under his desk.

“Are you ready?” Adam asked, looking down at Lucy who seemed a little nervous.

“Um, I guess so,” she replied.

“You got nothin' to worry about, Adam here knows what
he's doin',” Maxen assured Lucy.

“And we'll be right here when you wake up
,” Miles added to ensure she felt safe.

“Okay
,” Lucy said quietly with a soft, but apprehensive smile on her face. Lucy was lead to the Powell’s upstairs bedroom by Miriam where she removed her clothing and replaced her dress and shirt with a papery gown designed for this kind of operation. The gown allowed maximum access to the area that would be operated on while maintaining the patient’s modesty. Lucy re-entered the workshop with Miriam as Adam was sanitizing his hands and equipment.

“Now, you're gonna have to lay down on this table, I know it's not the most comfortable thing in the world but you'll be unconscious for the whole operation anyway
,” said Adam. Without saying a word, Lucy climbed onto the wooden table and laid on her back.

“Like this?”
she asked.

“That's perfect, Lucy
,” Adam replied, filling a syringe with a clear liquid, apparently some kind of anaesthetic and sedative. “I'm going to give you an injection, it’s dreamscape in its liquid form, it'll hurt for a second but then you'll fall asleep, is that alright?”

“Uh huh
,” Lucy nodded and reached out her right hand to Miles who knelt beside her and held it tight with his.

“Alright,” Adam said, flicking the needle with his left middle finger
, “I want you to close your eyes and try to count backwards from ten.” He slowly pushed the needle of the syringe into a vein at the base of Lucy's neck, she winced in pain as Adam squeezed the plunger.

“Ten, ni-” within less than a second, Lucy was c
ompletely unconscious.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Miles asked
after a few seconds.

“I think it's best if you just leave me to if for now, this could take a while
,” Adam replied, looking up at Miles, “I'll let you know if I need you.”

“Alright.” Miles took a last look at Lucy now lying motionless on the wooden table
, a look of serenity on her young face, before he and Maxen left the workshop, leaving Adam to perform the procedure in peace.

Miles watched the clock as
the hours slowly rolled by, he had complete faith in Adam but was still quite nervous about the operation. Luckily he had Maxen and Miriam to keep his mind occupied as the three talked and told stories to pass the time. Adam remained in his workshop for about three and a half hours before finally emerging in the late afternoon.

“Well, it took some work but it's all finished
,” said Adam proudly as he wiped the last of Lucy's blood off of his hands with a white rag, “you can see her now if you like.” They all made their way into the room where Lucy was still asleep on the table.

“Wow, she looks great
,” whispered Miles, looking down at Lucy's mechanical arm which was now completed and fully attached to her left shoulder.

“I think it suits her
,” Maxen added softly, leaning in for a closer look.

“You did a great job honey
,” Miriam said, putting her arm around Adam and kissing him lovingly on the cheek.

“Did you have any trouble
attaching the arm?” Miles asked.

“It was definitely a challenge opperatin' on somethin' like her but I wouldn't call it trouble, it's always exciting to explore new kinds of machinery
,” Adam explained.

“Um, would I be able to talk to Adam in private?”
said Miles after everyone had just about finished admiring Lucy's new limb. Maxen and Miriam returned to the living room and left Miles in the workshop with Adam and the unconscious Lucy.

“I wanted to talk to you about Lucy
,” Miles began.

“Go ahead
,” Adam replied, his eyes narrowing and his left eyebrow rising. Miles looked down at Lucy, making sure she was asleep before continuing.

“I
can’t take her with me to New Fortune, I just couldn't bring her to such a dangerous place,” Adam seemed to already know where this was going. He decided to hear Miles out, “this place is different from the rest of Gyaros, it’s green and full of life, you and Miriam are kind people. I know it's asking a lot but I want Lucy to stay here, I want her to be safe and this is the best way I can make sure she'll be alright.” Miles looked at Adam pleadingly, appealing to his sense of humanity. Adam remained silent for a few seconds, considering the request before finally speaking.

“I'm not sure Miles, even you don't know where this girl came from, how do I know that
she's
not a danger?”

“Well...I guess you don't,” said Miles honestly
, “and I can't force you to do this, but I just want her to have a decent life and this is the only place on Gyaros I've seen where that seems possible.” Adam looked at Lucy, even though she was made up of mostly wires and mechanical parts, it was hard to see her as anything less than human. He let out a deep sigh and replied.

“I suppose I still owe you for that tower...”
he returned his focus to Miles and added, “alright, she can stay. Miriam always wanted a kid, but…well, it just never happened,” Adam’s eyes fell to the ground and his cheeks turned a little red.

“Thank you Adam
,” Miles said sincerely, “it means a lot to me to know that she'll be safe.” Adam looked over at Lucy once again and said, “convincin' her to stay might be hard, she seems to be pretty attached to you. How are you gonna tell her?” Miles sighed deeply before replying,

“I'm not, it would be better to leave without saying anything.
It would be impossible to convince her to stay when I go, but I know that it’s what’s best for her, and that’s all I want.”

“I see
,” returned Adam, nodding his head understandingly. Miles continued, “Maxen and I will stay for another week while Lucy recovers and learns to use her arm, then we're leaving for New Fortune. We're thinking of making a stop at the arena so Maxen can make some money in the fights.”

“You know, I've told you that you're more than welcome to stay here as long as you like. New Fortune is a rough city, I know it's probably none of my business but what do you two think you're gonna find there that's worth riskin' your lives for?” Miles wasn't ready to let Adam know the truth, the
fewer the people aware of the supposed “way back”, the better.

“I'm sorry Adam. I'm extremely grateful for your offer, but my reasons for heading to New Fortune are not something I can talk about. All I can tell you is that Maxen and I made up our minds the day we landed on Gyaros and the plan hasn't changed.” Adam seemed to understand, he’d been around long enough to know that everyone on Gyaros had their secrets and he knew
not to push people for answers.

“Well then, I wish you boys the best of luck at the arena and in New Fortune, I won't be askin' any more questions.” He checked Lucy one more time before adding
, “she'll be wakin' up in a few minutes, you might wanna stay here. I think it'd be best if you're the first thing she sees.”

“Alright.” Miles pulled a wooden chair next to the table where Lucy laid and sat down as Adam left the two alone, returning to the living room with the others.

Miles watched Lucy closely as he sat beside her, waiting for the effects of the dreamscape to wear off. After three or four minutes, Lucy's eyes began to slowly open as she looked up to see Miles smiling back at her.

“Lucy,” Miles said softly
, taking his right hand in hers again, “how do you feel?”

Lucy's face started to twist into an expression of discomfort as she br
ought her hands up to her head.

“Lucy?” Miles began to panic, Lucy looked to be in pain, or perhaps the dreamscape caused her to remember more of her past
. “It's okay Lucy, it’s over.” Miles could hear a soft ringing in his ears as Lucy continued to hold her head tightly, moaning in pain.

“You're alright, everything went well, don't worry.” Miles was desperately trying to calm Lucy as the ringing in his head grew louder until it began to hurt, he took Lucy in h
is arms and whispered painfully, “Lucy ... it's... me... please... stop.”

“Papa?” Lucy said quietly, the ringing disappeared and the
pain in Miles head went with it.

“I'm so sorry,” Lucy apologized as tears began to form in her eyes
, “I had a bad dream...you went away…I didn't mean to, I couldn't -”

“It's okay, Lucy
,” Miles interrupted, the smile restored to his face, “the operation was a success, how do you like it?” Lucy's eyes quickly shot to her left arm.

“Wow!”
she said weakly, still recovering from the effects of the sedative. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of her shiny new arm and a large grin stretched across her face. She began to move her arm around slowly, getting used to how it functioned by bending all of the fingers one at a time.

“This is amazing
,” she whispered.

Upon hearing Lucy’s voice, the others entered t
he workshop, smiling excitedly.

“Look guys, it works, it
really works!” Lucy said happily as she sat up straight.

“Lookin' good Lucy
,” said Maxen as everyone made their way towards Lucy for a closer look.

“Feel alright after the
operation?” asked Adam.

“Yep, fine
, just a little tired. Thank you so much Mr. Powell!” Lucy threw both of her arms around Adam and squeezed him tightly.

“
You be careful now, it’s gonna take a while to heal,” said Adam.

“
How about we get you off that hard table and go sit in the living room?” Miriam suggested with her usual comforting expression.

“Yeah,” added Maxen
, “we don't want Adam to have to make you a new butt too,” they all laughed and returned once again to the comfort of the living room to end the hard day with some cold, refreshing drinks.

“Hey, can I try some of that?” Lucy asked as Miles
opened a beer.

“Well I don't know,” Miles said
with a concerned tone, “I think you're a little young for that.” He realized how ridiculous he sounded, given the circumstances, but he still felt strange about giving alcohol to a “child”, human or not.

“Aww, come on, you drink it all the time, just one?” Lucy pleaded. Miles thought about it, beer wasn't exactly the biggest danger Lucy had faced in the past week and someone who had been throug
h what she had deserved a drink.

“Alright, just
a little bit though,” Miles said sternly and he poured his beer into a clean glass that was sitting on the coffee table until it was half full.

“Awesome! Thanks Papa!” Lucy took the
glass in her hand and brought it to her mouth, her face scrunched up as she tasted the bitter liquid but she swallowed hard, determined to consume the beverage like the grownups.

“So what happens when you give booze to a robot anyway?” Maxen joked
.

“I guess we'll find out
,” Adam replied with a chuckle.

The beer seemed to make Lucy rather tired and they decided to get to bed early again that night, Lucy's training was to begin the next day so she needed a proper rest. Miles and Lucy fell asleep instantly on the two sofas, exhausted
by the excitement of the day.

The next week went by peacefully with Lucy spending a couple of hours a day learning to shoot with Maxen, she was a fast learner and within just a few days she could hit targets - mostly trees and rocks - fairly consistently. She spent much of the rest of her time playing on the old skateboard, Adam had helped her build a small wooden ramp which she would ride up, turn 180 degrees on her back wheels and roll back down. She picked up a few scrapes and bruises but they were nothing to someone who had recently had their arm chopped off. The arm itself was healing rapidly and although Miles worried about her roughhousing Adam assured him that everything was just fine after the operation, and that he’d never seen such a speedy recovery. Miles and Maxen spent most of their time helping out around the house and occasionally discussing their plans regarding New Fortune in private.