Tesla: A Teen Steampunk/Cyberpunk Adventure (Tesla Evolution Book 1) (7 page)

“Can I get you to teach Bindi that?” Sheila said. “She just leaves her clothes crumpled all over the floor.”
 

Sebastian smiled. It was another thing his mother went on and on and on about. Remembering her reminded him of how much he was missing her. He felt his insides tighten, but now was not the time to be emotional. Not when he was being fitted with armor.

“It’s very light,” he said, as Merv fastened it around him.

“Yeah, good, isn’t it? Keep it under your tunic. Concealed but comfortable.”

“He looks so handsome, like a little knight in shining armor,” said Sheila.

“The sheilas’ll love it. Case in point,” Merv said. He gave Sebastian a mischievous grin and winked. “I guess that’s about it. I’ll get the horse sorted and we can get going.”

Sebastian felt a little disappointed, as he secretly hoped he could ride in the SUV. Merv disappeared then reappeared a few moments later with a huge black stallion in tow. He smoothed a blanket over its back and threw on a saddle. As he was tightening the cinch, Sheila and Bindi appeared.
 

Sheila was carrying a small backpack. She handed it to Sebastian. “You can’t leave here without any food. People may say things about our hospitality.” She gave him a warm smile.
 

Bindi burst into tears and gave him a big hug. Unsure of what to do, he delicately patted her sides.
 

Merv handed Sebastian his tunic then heaved him up onto the blanket in front of the saddle. “Back in a moment, loves,” Merv said as he forced his foot into the stirrup and swung up easily into the saddle.

“Sure you want him in front, love?” Sheila said.

“Best place to keep him protected,” replied Merv. “He can grab an ice pack at the other end if he gets a bit tender.”

“You take care of yourself, sport,” said Sheila.

“I will, love,” Merv replied.

“I meant him, you drongo.” She gave Sebastian another smile.

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done,” Sebastian told her. “You’ve given so much and all I’ve done is take. I hope one day to be able to repay you for all your kindness.”

“Don’t sweat it. You made it more interesting around here. Right, Bindi?”

Bindi let out a long wail and ran off back to the house.

“We better head out, love,” Merv said.
 

Sheila patted him on his thigh. “Be safe.”

Merv wheeled the horse around, then spurred it down the track and out through the gates.

9

AFTER THEY HAD been riding for a while, Sebastian said, “Merv?”
 

“Yeah, sport?”

“What if they do come back?”

“The way I see it, they’re after you. Which is bad. But you can sort of sense them. Which is good. I’ve never seen anythin’ like it. It’s like you’re are a new kind of person with special powers.” He laughed. Sebastian didn’t respond. “But don’t worry about us. I think the best thing is to check on your mother, see how she’s holdin’ up in Toowoomba.”

“The last thing I got from her was an instruction to go to the academy. She wouldn’t have told me to go there if it wasn’t important.”

“The Steam Academy? Out at Isa? Joshuz, that’s a long way. It might be important, but is it right? I’m not tellin’ you how to live your life, but I’d want to know about my mother.”

Sebastian sat in silence.

“Of course, knowin’
my
mother, if I turned up to see if she was all right after she told me to go somewhere else, she’d give me a clip round the ear. So I guess there’s no easy answers. But family’s personal, we all need ’em at some point.”
 

“I really miss her.”

“I’m not surprised, son. Havin’ seen what you been through in the last day’s been bad enough. If it’s been goin’ on longer it’d cause me some concern. How long’s she been gone?”

“It’s been a few months. My aunt came to look after me, but she got sick like all the others. Then the cyborgs got her when they destroyed the town.”

“So you got no home?”

“No.”

“That’s not good.”
 

The two rode on in silence. The landscape crawled past and the heat settled in for the day. Demented flies buzzed around their hands and the rear of the horse. It occasionally flicked its tail, sending another thousand buzzing annoyingly around them. From time to time Merv handed the water canteen to Sebastian, who took long sips. Merv ignored the sobs as the horse trotted along.
 

To while away the time, Merv recited some of the epic poems his mother had forced him, at knifepoint, to learn. He explained that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded as the knife was made of chocolate. But that was what his mother was like. Large of heart and bosom; long on discipline; and short on shirking off chopping the wood.

*

Halfway through the epic
Cloudstreet
drama they hit the outskirts of New Toowoomba. It was the biggest city Sebastian had ever seen, and boasted a population of over eight thousand people. They entered through the valleys, a pass that was an occasional floodplain. The houses were built on tall poles to keep them safe when the water came through. As they rose up into the hills, the SUVs and buildings became plentiful.
 

In the center of the city, at the highest point, was a massive building. It had an impressive tower that had a clock on each of the four faces. Three of the clocks were working.
 

“Just in time for lunch,” Merv said. “Little Tracey’s about to chime. You can dig into the tucker the girls made.”

And, on cue, long booming clangs from the bells rang forth, deafening everyone in close proximity. Merv dismounted as they reached the front steps of the station. The stone steps led up to the glass doors underneath a great brass dome. People from all walks of life streamed through the doors. The clangs echoed away as the sounds bounced off the nearby mountains.

“Some people say this place is a thousand years old,” Merv said. “It survived the Reckoning. Hasn’t changed a bit. Apart from bein’ fixed up now and then. Survived everythin’ except poor maintenance, so it’s only fallen down a dozen times.”

He lifted Sebastian off the horse, placed him gently on the ground and ruffled his hair.

“Thank you for everything, Merv. I hope I can meet you under better conditions in the future.”

Merv turned and swung himself back up onto the horse. “No worries, squirt. You learn on the land that most things are uncertain, but that’s okay. Look forward to meetin’ you again. I’d join you but the rains’ll be comin’ soon and I gotta get the crops in before the big wet. The community’s gonna need the contribution this year ’cause Barry’s got his bad leg and Trev’s back’s been out.”

Sebastian nodded, but he knew the real reason Merv wanted to get back. Protection of the family came first.

“Best way to Isa’s on the express train,” Merv explained. “It’s a bit pricier, but it’ll get you there in a couple of days instead of a week. But don’t forget Toowoomba.”

“But Merv, I don’t have any money.”

“Check your pockets, kiddo. Good luck, Seb, I’ll be thinkin’ of you.” He tapped his finger to his Akubra and wheeled the horse around. He dug his heels into the sides of the great beast and took off back to his family with a determined look on his face.

Sebastian checked the pockets of his tunic. He found about a hundred dollars scattered through them, in notes and coins. And a letter written on pink paper with lots of x’s at the end. He didn’t want to read the detail yet, so he placed it in his chest pocket, beside his mother’s letter, next to his heart.

He slung the pack over his shoulder and marched up the large stone steps. People jostled around him as he entered the large doors. The expanse inside was impressive. It was the biggest indoor space he had seen. He felt dwarfed by it. People pushed him aside as they fought their way inside. He estimated that all the buildings in his town could fit within the confines of the walls.
 

Three train lines were evenly spaced across the area, each one going directly out through the open expanse of the far wall. The roof was epic, the brass dome reaching all the way across the other side where the trains exited the building. Down each side were dozens of small shops selling an array of supplies. Tables were scattered liberally thought the center of the space. People were sitting at them, drinking tea or eating lunch.

Trains were releasing steam, whistles were blowing and conductors were shouting. And everywhere he looked there were people. He noted a nearby booth with TICKETS displayed on a sign above the window.
 

He joined the queue. “A ticket to Isa on the express train, please.”

The old man behind the counter gave him a look of suspicion. “You traveling on your own?”

“Yes. I’m going to meet my mother.”

“Hmm. It’ll be forty dollars.” He dragged a stained and wrinkled hand over his chin.

“It says thirty dollars there.” Sebastian indicated the sign displaying the prices.

“You want the ticket or not?”

Sebastian counted out the amount using the largest of the notes.
 

The old man scooped up the money and issued the ticket. “Platform one.” He pointed vaguely and without much enthusiasm across to the other side of the station.
 

Sebastian made his way over. The signs at the end of each platform counted down from four, but ended at two. He couldn’t see platform one anywhere.
 

He pulled on a passing man’s sleeve. “Excuse me, sir.”

“Yes, son, I don’t have any spare money.”
 

The elderly gentleman was dressed formally in a tailcoat and top hat. He wore a monocle that magnified his eye. If Sebastian hadn’t been disoriented by his circumstances he may have found the freakish nature of the different-sized eyes cool.

“Could you tell me where platform one is?”

“Certainly,” the elderly man replied. He pointed to side of the cavernous exit. “Go to the side, then turn right. It’s outside. You’d better catch up with your parents before the train leaves.” He smiled.
 

Sebastian smiled back and made his way to the long platform outside. It disappeared off into the distance. It was drier out here. There was the occasional sun umbrella, each heavily populated by those seeking relief. The humidity had been replaced by a fierce, unrelenting sun capable of killing an unwise and unprepared man in a day.
 

The platform was packed with people. Men stalked about in their britches and top hats, and the women fanned themselves as sweat ran down their backs, absorbed by the thick material of their Vesta blouses and Vivien fishtail skirts. Most of them were modern women, fighting for equality, and Sebastian had heard some of the men back home say unpleasant things about them. Here they were standing in groups, talking behind fans, then hushing as someone deemed unworthy passed by.
 

Two conductors appeared behind him, blowing their whistles, herding the people down the platform. He heard the blast of the air horn from the train. It was time to board.

Then he saw the train.

*

What will Iris instruct?” said @Graham74.

“It will instruct what it always will instruct. Kill.kill the boy,” replied @SunLover15.

“But if the probability trees see the boy will come, how will we kill him?”

“The trees will know.”

“If he comes here, what will happen? What will the trees instruct?” said @Graham74.
 

“The trees go kill.kill. There will be no instructions for anyone. We go kill.kill.” @SunLover15 paused. Parts of the machinery on his body crawled over him. “We will kill.kill the boy.”

“How?”

The cyborg stood there unmoving for several seconds. There was a beep from the small black device in his hand. He lifted it to his face. The light from its display cast an eerie glow over his face. He turned it so the other could see the instruction.

“How many?” said @Graham74.

@SunLover15 consulted the device again.

10

THE TRAIN HAD a sloped front that rolled onto a long, flat top. Every part of it was swept back, giving the impression of speed, even as it stood still. Sebastian felt it was alive, and longed for nothing more than to sprint off into the horizon. Its skin was a combination of steel and bronze, making it dazzle in the sun.
 

He reached out and ran his hand over the surface of the metal. It was warm to touch, but not overly. He stroked his hand down it until an angry engineer shouted at him from the cockpit to keep his hands to himself. He guiltily retracted his hand and placed it in his pocket.
 

There was another loud whistle, followed by the platform conductor shouting for everyone to board.
 

He ran to the first door, yanked it open and clambered into the carriage. It was the first time he had been in powered transport. He had heard someone on the platform declare the train could travel at nearly two hundred miles an hour. He didn’t know how fast that was in real terms, other than it being a big number, but he was dying to watch the scenery fly past at that speed. He wondered if it was fast enough to fly.
 

He opened a glass door to a private cabin. It was empty so he sat by the window with his backpack resting on his knees. There was a long, slow whistle, followed by the loudest release of steam he had ever heard. The muscles in his stomach tightened and he was filled with excitement as the express train jolted forward, and then slowly and smoothly pulled out of the station. A big grin spread across his face as he watched the platform slide away. He folded his arms against the windowsill and rested his chin on his arms.

The train began to pick up speed and gently rocked from side to side. There were two loud whistle blasts as it surged forward.
 

There was a clunking noise on the roof. Sebastian craned his neck up and could just make out the edges of giant golden wings as they unfolded, curving out and down over the side of the train. The looked like upside-down wings. He wondered if the train went so fast it needed special wings to keep it on the ground.