by Fletcher, MJ
“I bet.” Sitting around a table making maps being my favorite pastime? Yeah, right.
“Chloe, I’ll show you the way,” Slade called out as he waved me over to him and a small group of students. “None of you are declared so just pay attention to the instructors and don’t go into any off limits areas.”
Slade lead us through the Academy halls. We moved quickly passing other groups of students their expressions as confused and nervous as ours. Finally, we turned down a corridor I hadn’t seen on Mrs. Flint’s tour and stopped at a set of large metal doors.
Slade stepped up and pulled off three pieces of what appeared to be junk from hooks on the doors. He turned away from us and worked on them for a moment. When he turned back toward us he had a Doorknob in his hands and placed it on the door. The knob and the door glowed green and melded together. The knob turned and the doors swung open of their own accord.
“Remember, only an Engineer can create the knob that opens this door. So if you’re ever late and are still undeclared you won’t be able to get in, understood?”
We all nodded our heads in unison and stepped through into the realm of the Impossible Engineers.
The first thing I noticed was the massive set of gears that reached from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Some were the size of dimes while others were over two stories in height. They all moved and whirred in constant motion. To one side of them was a long line of ovens and blacksmith forges complete with anvils and hammers that kept the room constantly hovering from warm to hot. On the other side were rows upon rows of drafting tables with people sitting hunched over working on diagrams of what I figured must be more crazy contraptions.
“Hello all.”
The booming voice came from behind us and I spun around. A very large man stood right in front of me. His bright blonde hair was a mass of messiness that seemed to fit him and his blue eyes shined as brilliantly as his friendly smile. He pulled off a pair of thick gloves stuffing them into his workman’s belt from which hung a large and heavy looking hammer.
“I’m Mr. Miller, but you can all call me Levi. I’ll be your instructor while you’re training with the Impossible Engineers.”
Slade stepped around the group and walked up to stand beside Levi. Slade was a big guy but next to Mr. Miller he was pint-sized. Miller was just plain huge.
“Now as some of you may know we at Impossible Engineers or IE like to think of ourselves as tinkerers more than anything,” Mr. Miller said as he turned and walked away forcing all of us to practically run to keep up with his long strides.
“We make everything from training doorknobs for the Society to Everything Goggles —Trademark the Impossible Engineers, trust me the Engineers are very serious about their trademarks— for the Mapmakers Union and some of the more everyday items that people with particular abilities have come to depend on.”
At that moment a student wearing a jetpack flew passed us with his butt on fire. We all ducked as he zoomed overhead, a trail of smoke and a high-pitched scream trailing in his wake.
“Would someone please tell me who let Morgan into the jetpacks again? I thought we learned our lesson when he played with the Ever-Increasing Stairs, Trademark, oh you get the idea.”
Slade and a bunch of other Engineers ran after Morgan grabbing fire extinguishers as they went.
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll fix that jetpack right up,” Levi said with a smile at all the nervous faces.
“What about Morgan?” I asked.
“He’ll be fine once they get a hold of him and put out the fire, Of course, he’ll have to serve two months detention. But I’m sure he’ll be able to sit again at some point.”
“Great,” I mumbled thinking Mr. Miller was a bit crazy.
Mr. Miller stopped beside a desk piled high with papers and started rummaging through the mess.
“Now where did I put that? Ahh here it is.” He lifted up what resembled a joystick handle with a button on the top and clicked it. A massive grinding sound echoed around us and the ground began to shudder. Students grabbed onto each other desperately trying to stop from falling. It didn’t help; we wound up on our butts.
The floor just behind Mr. Miller cracked open and rolled backwards, a wall cranking up in its place. All manner of devices and gadgets hung from various sized hooks that ran the height and width of the wall. And in the middle was an old-fashioned blackboard.
Mr. Miller walked to the board, grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote; Impossible Engineering 101.
“Welcome to the class,” he said with a grin. “Now I know some of you may be familiar with what we do here but for the benefit of those who aren’t, how about a little history.”
As we dusted ourselves off, metal balls rolled off the wall and came to rest behind each of us. No sooner had they stopped then a creaking sound was heard and the balls morphed into chairs.
“Take a seat please. We’ll begin in the simplest of terms. What each of the groups here at the Paladin Academy can do is, in some way, effect space and time, either by traveling through it or being able to manipulate it. We here at the Impossible Engineers are able to create devices that can make such travel easier by bending the laws of nature to suit what we need.”
Mr. Miller walked to the wall and grabbed a jetpack off a hook. It appeared an older model, numerous steam pipes sticking out from its top and tubes angling off its sides. A weather-beaten leather harness stood in place of the newer Kevlar harness models, the ones I was used to stacking at the Arrowhead.
“Let’s take this jetpack as an example. Using our special form of technology the user is able to not only fly but do short controlled bursts through space. Now granted it can only help someone do this that already has abilities but it is a useful thing to have. After all one never knows when one might run into a gremlin or some other type of nasty creature.”
“Could you use it to jump anywhere?” One of the kids yelled out.
“No, nothing like that. You can only use it to jump within your line of sight. So it’s good for a quick getaway. We’re still bound by our own abilities as well. So if you’re not particularly adept at your powers I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Is it true the engineers built the Paladin Academy?” another student asked.
“We, like most of the other groups, helped build the Academy. But yes you can say we built it. It was the first Impossible Engineers that discovered how to build and live in the multitude of dimensions that connect to our own. This is what enables us to keep ourselves autonomous from the outside world. That and humans strange penchant for not being able to see what’s right in front of their faces.” He chuckled as he replaced the jetpack on the hook.
He turned and motioned for Slade to join him in front of the class. “What we’ll do now is break up into pairs and measure your aptitude for Impossible Engineering. Slade will tell you who you’re partnered with.”
Slade began calling out names and pairing students. He ran down the class list quickly until I was the only one left and then he waved me over. He wore a grin as I apprehensively stepped over by him.
He laughed. “It appears you’re stuck with me, Chloe.”
I smiled but bit the inside of my lip. How was this ever going to work? It was obvious that there was something happening between us no matter how hard I tried to ignore it or convince myself that this was not a convenient time. When did relationships ever wait for convenience?
We walked down the row of drafting tables until we reached the one I assumed belonged to Slade. It was covered with sheets of diagrams while small gears lay scattered across it. He reached into the mess and pulled out exactly what he was looking for, a blueprint of a jetpack.
“Now what?” I asked examining the diagram curiously.
“Now we’re going to see if you have an eye for design.” He winked and smiled at me.
Instinctively, I returned his smile. I couldn’t help it. His smile was contagious.
He spread the blueprint out a
cross the entire surface of his drafting table and tried to smooth it over with his hands but all the junk beneath made it difficult. He started slowly pointing out the hand controls and then the temperature and fuel gauges on the actual pack. After that we moved on to the internal mechanics that were filled with gears some as small as a pinhead. I was mesmerized by the depth of intricacy to the device. I don’t know how long he detailed and I listened but before I even realized it the final bell of the day was ringing.
“We’ll go over more tomorrow. But for now why don’t you take this to study.” He handed me the blueprints and I folded them up and shoved them in my bag.
“Thanks Slade, that was really interesting.” I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Slade was a good instructor and didn’t mind me constantly peppering him with questions. I found myself looking forward to the next time we would work together.
~~~
For the next few weeks I worked with Slade on the jetpack design and studied every night when I got home. In the first week of class with the Impossible Engineers two students in our class declared for the Engineers after their powers were able to activate the devices they were working on. Another student was removed from the class when he showed no aptitude at all. Plus he dropped a dimensional hammer on Mr. Miller’s foot, that made him really unhappy.
I found myself enjoying the IE classes though I hadn’t declared for the group. I didn’t think it would be totally horrible if I did, but there were the other disciplines to try. I hadn’t had a chance to visit the library yet, which I figured was still my best chance to learn about my dad’s expulsion from DS.
Dad’s tour was going well and he tried to make it home most nights, though most of the time unsuccessfully. I had a feeling Dad was up to something. It didn’t make sense that he couldn’t get home after the shows every night. I’d helped him set up for his routine far too long to believe the various excuses... equipment malfunction my foot. It only fueled my resolve to help him and find out everything I could.
Most of my free time was spent with Val and Edgar unless of course I was working at the Arrowhead. We were becoming quite the little group. Michael Slade was another story.
Slade and I spent one night a week together studying for class and I began finding myself looking forward to that night more each time. I liked that I could ask him any question, no matter what it was, and he would answer. No question seemed too stupid or obvious. He remained patient and understanding doing his best to help me. I knew I was only setting myself for grief and disappointment, but I liked how simple it was to hang out with him. He was nice and normal and it made me forget just how messed up I was. Around him I could almost forget my problems, be a different person, someone who didn’t scare away guys or feel like a freak whose mother had deserted her.
Since I was undeclared I needed permission to use the library so I tried to convince Slade that we should work in there but he didn’t think it was necessary. So every day we were back at his drafting table, tinkering away at blueprints and diagrams. He would teach me about the different components and then Mr. Miller would quiz me on them. I was allowed to handle the devices but my powers didn’t activate them. There were a few times when I could feel a slight tug in my stomach when I thought I might, but it didn’t happen.
I found myself happy for the first time in I don’t know how long. I enjoyed my time with Slade and we had fun together. He was always showing me some new gadget and I was asking him every question under the sun. At the end of class one day he asked me to hang around. The other students had cleared out and Mr. Miller had left as well.
I sat at Slade’s drafting table while he dug around in his bag searching for something. I glanced around the Hall and laughed when I spotted the broken jetpacks that Morgan had been made to hang on the wall every time he crashed one, it was up to six now.
“I made something new,” Slade said proudly as he pulled his clinched hand from his bag and stretched his arm out to me. He spread his fingers and there nestled in his palm laid a locket. It was oval and crafted of silver. I reached out and scooped it up.
“What is it?” I peered at it nibbling nervously at my lip as I turned it over in my hands. If Slade made it there was no way it was an ordinary locket.
“Press the sides.”
I did and a small click was followed by a whirring noise. The top of the locket split and flipped open. Tiny sheets of metal rotated around in a tornado-like fashion. They flew up from the locket each quicker than the last and connected to one another until they formed a perfect metal rose that spun, the bottom of the locket its base.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“I’m glad you like it.”
I stared at him speechless, not sure what else to say, not knowing what this meant.
“I made it for you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I stumbled over my words, his beautiful gift scaring the hell out of me. “I don’t think I can take it.” I tried to hand him the locket.
“It’s yours,” he said clasping his hands over mine and closing the locket.
The warmth of his hands sent a tingle through me and I looked down at the way his hand covered my own... with gentle tenderness. He leaned closer, turning his head and I knew he intended to kiss me. I shook my head and pulled away.
“I’m sorry I need to go.” I jumped up and rushed out of the room throwing the locket into my bag as I went.
I avoided all of Slade’s texts that night and the next day, pretending as if nothing had happened, nothing had changed. Even though I knew it wasn’t true. I wished I could be a carefree girl who fawned over the hot guy. But that wasn’t me I was the broken girl who always pushed people away and I knew it. I’d gotten so comfortable pretending to be someone other than myself that I started to believe that maybe I could have that life. When all the while down deep I knew it would never work. Maybe I’m just not capable of a normal relationship?
Chapter 13
Status: I meet the Doorknob Society
“Are you kidding?” Val’s mouth hung open in shock.
“No, he tried to kiss me.” I ran my finger around the edge of my coffee cup, which I hadn’t even taken a sip from since we sat down. I loved the Cape Beanery and apparently the others did as well since it was fast becoming our official hangout place.
“Did you?”
I didn’t have anyone else to talk to about this so I had called Val.
“No.” I shook my head annoyed. Not sure if I had wanted to kiss him or not sure why I hadn’t let myself. “I need to concentrate on school I don’t have time for dating.”
“Right of course.” Val seemed unconvinced and took a quick sip of coffee to cover her face.
“What?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
She smiled and I nearly laughed aloud, Val was a terrible liar. “Tell me.”
“It’s just, well he’s nice and I think you’d make a cute couple, in an opposite attract kind of way.”
It was her turn to laugh and I couldn’t help but think she was right. Michael Slade is one of the cleanest cut and handsomest guy I’ve met. He looks like he walked off some All-American calendar. I on the other hand with my skirts, combat boots and hoodies didn’t scream cheerleader. My fingertips slid over the multitude of silver rings I wore on my fingers and I closed my hand into a fist.
“I’m no good at relationships,” I said thinking of the list of failed boyfriends I’d already accumulated and of course my mom leaving me didn’t help matters.
The bell above the door jingled and I glanced over to see my worst nightmare walk into the café. I hunched down in my seat wishing I had pulled my hoodie up and cursed my luck that he would have to be here now.
“Damn,” I whispered and Val turned to see what I was looking at. She spun around as soon as she saw him, her face flushing red. But it was too late. He’d seen us and was on his way to our table, his cocky half grin stretched across his face.
“Mas
ters, I heard you were busy engineering?” He winked at me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me.”
He rested his hands on the table and leaned forward; the silver necklace he wore swung free from his shirt and caught the light shining through the window. I watched it spin in circles for a moment and then glanced up at him.
“Jealous, Nightshade?”
He smirked and stood straight, snatching his necklace and slipping it under his shirt. “Want me to be?”
“You’re impossible.”
“Isn’t your boyfriend the Impossible one?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” My hand slid over my chest, my fingers probed finding the locket Slade had given me hidden beneath my shirt. I caught Nightshade watching me and dropped my hand under the table.
“Sure he isn’t.” His voice took on an edge of sarcasm.
“I said he’s not my boyfriend!” My voice carried across the room and silence fell. Everyone turned to look at me and I wanted to crawl under my seat and vanish. Instead I held my head up and kept my eyes on Nightshade. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing how foolish I felt.
He leaned in closer the scent of leather drifted off the jacket he always wore and wafted over me. It was a distinct scent that you either loved or hated; I kind of liked it. And damn if his strange colored eyes didn’t mesmerize.
“Good to know.” His voice was low and before I could respond he pulled away and walked to the counter. I gritted my teeth and my fingers gripped the handle of my coffee cup my knuckles losing all color. I wanted to scream at him but then he would just assume he had won. I didn’t know why the guy drove me nuts but it seemed as if he could set me off with a simple phrase.
“Ms. Masters?”
“What?” I spun ready to attack but instead of Nightshade a man I’d never seen before was standing in front of me. He was tall and older with wisps of grey in his beard. His hands rested in the pockets of his long overcoat. My eyes were drawn to the rectangular necklace he wore with a lion’s head doorknob insignia.
