by L. C. Mawson
She took a small piece of metal from under its belly, which stayed attached via a small wire.
“Follow Michel,” Ruth told the spider before putting the small piece of metal to her ear.
After a while, she heard a voice through the metal, telling her that the spider had arrived at Ivy’s compartment.
“May I sit down?” she heard Michel ask.
“Of course,” Ivy replied. “It feels like too long since we’ve spoken.”
“It does, doesn’t it? I’m sorry. I’ve been so busy with university that I’ve barely seen you lately.”
“Well, it’s not as if I’ve not also been busy. It’s just strange that it feels as if we’ve barely talked when we’ve been travelling for so long. It almost feels as if... Well, pardon me for saying so, but it almost feels as if you have been avoiding me.”
“I... There is some truth to that, I won’t deny. I simply... I feared that our time apart had caused our friendship to wear. I’m not sure if I could handle that.”
“Michel, I don’t think such a thing is possible. Though I am sorry for us not spending more time together.”
“As am I.”
Silence settled in their compartment and Ruth sighed as the spider returned to her, seemingly realising that there was no more conversation to relay.
Ruth leaned back in her seat in an attempt to become more comfortable, hoping that she could manage some sleep during the journey. Her thoughts, however, stayed on Michel and Ivy. He may not have told her how he felt, Ruth thought to herself, but at least they were talking once more. That would have to be enough for now.
7
When the train finally reached its destination, Ruth was sure that it had broken down. There was barely anything within sight as she disembarked. Certainly, it was exaggerating to call it a town. Not to mention how temporary everything looked. The buildings seemed as if they might fall down in a heavy rain - a stark contrast to the stone structures that had stood on English soil for hundreds of years.
America’s newness, she decided, was too strange to even feel real. How could land lack such a basic element as a sense of history? The capital had been different, but not by much. Here, it was too stark for her to ignore.
“It’s not exactly London, is it?” Ivy asked as she looked around, squinting against the harsh sun.
Hall let out a snort. “My dear, it’s not even Newcastle.”
His love elbowed him for the derisive words about his hometown, though Thomas did chime in with, “It’s barely Dinnington.”
“Where?” Ivy asked.
“A mining village just north of Newcastle.”
Ruth gave the buildings a quick once-over as she began to sweat beneath her heavy dress. She wished she had worn lighter clothing.
“Do you suppose that building is the pub?” she asked, gesturing at an establishment with swinging doors out front.
Hall nodded. “I would recognise a drinking establishment in any part of the world.”
As they approached, they heard shouting from within, telling Ruth that this was indeed some kind of pub.
Before they could reach the door, someone flew backwards through them, landing with a sickening thud on the ground before them.
“I say!” Ruth exclaimed just as another figure followed him out.
It took Ruth a moment to realise that the newest arrival was, in fact, a woman, as she was wearing jeans and a shirt, a hat covering her hair.
The woman was walking backwards, her eyes on the door rather than the man on the ground behind her. Three more men spilled out of the establishment, making a beeline for her.
“This has been fun, boys,” the woman said with an accent that Ruth found a little grating, “but I’ve got places to be.”
The man at the forefront of the trio flushed bright red and lunged forward.
She side-stepped out of the way with seconds to spare, using the fact that he was caught off-guard to put him flat on his back as well.
“Do you really want to keep this up?” she asked the others.
The man on the left looked apprehensive, telling Ruth that he really didn’t want to keep it up, but also didn’t want to wound his pride by conceding a fight to a woman.
The man on the right had no such quandary, lunging for the woman as the first man had.
She side-stepped once more, but this man was ready for her. However, just as he was about to land a blow, the woman delivered one of her own with her boot, right between his legs.
Thomas and Hall tensed up beside Ruth as Ivy struggled to hold back a laugh.
“Last chance,” the woman said to the third man, who scurried off after only a moment’s thought.
“Good riddance,” she muttered before turning to Ruth and the others. “Enjoy the show?”
Ruth was caught off-guard, but Michel stepped forward. “It was a fairly impressive one.”
The girl shrugged, walking back into the pub. “I suppose. Now, if you’ll excuse me, they interrupted my drink.”
“Well, that was terrifying,” Thomas said.
Ivy shrugged. “Well, we need information and she seems capable...”
Thomas shook his head violently. “Oh, no. Not her. I like everything in my trousers just the way it is, thank you very much.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “Men.”
“I could speak to her,” Michel offered. “She is unlikely to do me harm.”
Ivy turned to Ruth. “Well, the other men are useless, you’re not exactly our top negotiator, and I’m not going to feel comfortable talking to anyone in this small town until I see someone who isn’t white.”
Ruth nodded. “Michel it is. The rest of us will sit at a table inside.”
They headed into the establishment and Michel went to the bar, which the woman from before was leaning against.
The others sat at a nearby table and Ruth inched her chair over so that she could hear exactly what was said.
“I was wondering if I may enquire after your assistance,” Michel said to the woman.
She narrowed her eyes. “What is that accent? English?”
“Correct.”
“I’ve never seen an English automaton before.”
“Have you seen many of my kind?”
She shrugged. “A few. What’s your designation?”
“I do not have a designation. I have a name. I am Michel.”
“A name? So not an industrial model then. No, you’re too pretty for that. The woman who looked like she had a bad smell under her nose, you’re her servant automaton, aren’t you?”
“I am no one’s servant. Ruth is my friend.”
The woman gave a disbelieving snort. “Alright, Michel. I’m Sally. What do you want?”
“We are new to the area and were wondering if you might have some information.”
“About what?”
“We were led to believe that there was a WestTech facility out here...”
Sally froze. She turned back to Michel with a dark look in her eyes. “Look, I’m being real friendly here when I say this, but you need to get your mechanical behind out of town and never ask about WestTech again, you understand?”
“No, not especially.”
“Then you’re not as clever as the manufacturers have us believe.”
She stormed out of the establishment at that, leaving behind a bewildered Michel.
He walked over to the others, sitting down next to them.
“Well, that could have gone better,” he said.
Ruth sighed. “I wonder what caused that reaction. She looked almost scared.”
“We can’t leave,” Ivy said. “But perhaps Michel should lay low until we know more.”
Ruth nodded in agreement.
“I’ll see about getting a room to stay in.”
“Perhaps you should stay with him,” Ruth said. “As you pointed out, this establishment is very white, and we may need someone on look-out if WestTech does track down Michel.”
Ivy nodded
. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”
“I don’t need a nanny,” Michel protested. “And Ivy will be in more danger if WestTech does come for me.”
Ivy placed a comforting hand on his. “I know, Michel, but I will probably be of more use with you than down here.”
He nodded reluctantly before following her to enquire about a room.
“THIS IS GETTING US nowhere!” Thomas exclaimed, sitting back down next to Ruth and folding his arms. “No one wants to talk to us.”
Hall gave a reluctant grunt of agreement. “It seems WestTech well and truly owns this town. Every time I ask about them, someone tenses up.”
Ruth nodded, barely listening to them. In truth, she had done her best to talk to the strangers in the establishment, but it had been difficult, and she barely had the energy to move her eyes.
“You look like a shark,” Hall told her.
“Pardon?” she asked, managing to just barely rouse herself.
“Your vacant expression, especially behind the eyes, is reminiscent of a shark.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You truly know how to flatter a woman.”
“Well, I can’t say that flattering women was ever something I had an interest in.”
Ruth gave a small smile before standing up. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I need some fresh air.”
“Be careful,” Thomas warned. “It’s getting dark out.”
“I won’t go far,” she assured him. “The noise in here has become suffocating.”
Thomas nodded as she headed out, seemingly accepting that she could take care of herself. She had her disrupter tied to a holster beneath her skirt, as always, so she had nothing to fear from WestTech automatons. Men who had imbibed a pint too many, however, would most likely give her more than a little trouble.
As soon as the dusk air hit her, Ruth felt her breathing ease. She truly hated crowded and noisy spaces.
She stood just outside the door for a few minutes, catching her breath, until she saw some men approaching. She suspected that many people would come and go within the next little while and she was directly in their way. While it meant that she was in public view, it also meant that she felt overly exposed.
She decided to head around the corner for a short walk, in the hopes that she would be ready to re-join Thomas and Hall once she returned.
The path was dusty, and Ruth worried over the state of the hem of her skirt. She didn’t have many dresses to choose from, meaning that she couldn’t afford to damage any of the ones she did have.
After a short while of wandering, she heard voices. Her hand instinctively moved to her skirt, pushing it down so she could ensure that her disrupter was still there.
She left it alone, however, when she recognised one of the voices as Sally’s - only it wasn’t speaking English.
Ruth crept up to the stable where the voices were coming from. She peered inside, doing her best to not be seen.
Inside was indeed Sally, laughing and talking with Indian woman. But not an Indian from India, which Ruth had always found incredibly confusing. Because, of course, people would rather continue referring to an entire people incorrectly than admit that a man made a mistake.
She supposed that meant that Sally was speaking Indian - or, rather, whatever language it was that these Indians spoke.
Sally said something that made the other woman laugh, and Sally blushed in turn. The other woman said something else, stepping closer to Sally before kissing her.
Ruth took that as her cue to leave, turning to head back to the pub - or saloon as she had since been informed by the bartender - only for her skirt to knock down a box of tools from atop a barrel.
Sally and her lover were in front of Ruth immediately. Sally aimed a pistol at her, while the other woman brandished a small weapon that Ruth couldn’t even attempt to name. It looked sharp, though.
“You again?” Sally asked.
“You know her?” the other woman asked with an accent that was far less irritating than Sally’s.
Sally nodded, putting away her pistol. Ruth didn’t know whether to be relieved or insulted that she was thought of as so little a threat. The other woman kept her weapon up, soothing Ruth’s ego slightly.
“She’s a newcomer,” Sally explained. “British. She and her friends came with an automaton in tow and started asking about WestTech.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“They’re more likely to bring trouble than help, Chepi. We have no idea who they are or why they’re here. We have no idea if they can actually help or if we should trust them.”
“That’s not true,” Ruth interjected. “Well, the part about us bringing trouble isn’t true. You were right about not knowing us.”
“Really? You barge in here and just start asking about WestTech as if you’ve got a death wish and you honestly don’t think you’re bringing trouble right into town?” She turned back to her lover. “They have no idea what they’re doing. If they want to get themselves killed, we shouldn’t follow them.”
Chepi mulled over Sally’s words before turning to Ruth. “Why are you asking about WestTech?”
“I have my reasons.”
Sally rolled her eyes. “I told you, she’s of no help.”
Ruth sighed. “Look, they stole something from me. I just want it back.”
“Then you do it alone. You’re of no use to us, so there’s no reason why we should get involved with you.” She turned away.
Chepi didn’t follow. “How do you propose to get your stolen ‘something’ back?”
“I know technology inside and out,” Ruth said, activating her bracelet so that it scuttled up her arm.
Sally raised her pistol, but relaxed when she realised what it was.
“Just show me where the facility is and I can retrieve my ‘something’ myself.”
“I say we take her with us tomorrow,” Chepi said. “She can probably be of some use.”
“Fine,” Sally sighed before turning back to Ruth. “We have our own issues with WestTech. We’re going to scope out their facility tomorrow night. You can come with us, but if you take a single step out of line, I will shoot you - and I don’t miss. Understood?”
Ruth nodded.
8
Despite fearing that Sally and Chepi would refuse to bring her with them, Ruth still brought Ivy with her to meet them the next night. She didn’t want to be alone; she feared that the other women wouldn’t be as quick to trust Thomas or Hall, and she didn’t want to drag Michel into WestTech’s path.
“She your servant?” Sally asked as the two arrived, her tone slightly mocking.
Ivy glared in response. “I’m her friend. Got a problem with that?”
Chepi stepped forward, placing a calming hand on Sally’s arm. “Of course she doesn’t. You two need to change into something more practical, however.”
Ruth had worn her lightest dress. It was a deep blue and easier to move in than the rest of her wardrobe. She had also tied her hair up with a clip to keep it out of her way. Ivy wore a white shirt, with a black corset over the top, going under her breasts with straps over her shoulder. She also wore a black skirt which just brushed the ends of her boots, over the top of which was her toolbelt. Her hair was in its usual tie above her head.
However, looking at the other two, Ruth realised that they were, indeed, in far more practical attire. Sally dressed much like a man, in jeans and a brown shirt. She wore practical boots, and she had a jacket for the night air that Ruth imagined might feel chilly to someone not used to the temperatures of the north of England. Her blonde hair was tied back in a plait that she kept tucked under her wide-brimmed hat. Chepi wore a dress, but it only reached her knees. Beneath it she wore leggings and sensible boots. Her jet black hair was in two braids, decorated with beads.
“Let’s get you some trousers,” Sally said. “The last thing we need is one of you tripping over yourself.”
“Trousers?” Ruth asked, shocked by the very notion.
She was not always one to conform to the expectations of gender, she would admit, but there had to be a line somewhere.
Ivy smiled in a way that made Ruth think that someone had told her that Christmas had come early.
“It’s trousers or stay behind,” Sally told her.
Ruth sighed, folding her arms. “Then I suppose I shall have to suffer your wardrobe.”
It wasn’t long before Ivy had swapped out her skirt for a pair of jeans. Ruth had to change her entire outfit, sacrificing her dress for an incredibly tight pair of trousers and a shirt that was far too loose.
“This way to the facility,” Sally told them, pointing over to the nearby woodlands.
“We’re going on foot?” Ivy asked.
“We don’t want the horses giving us away,” Sally said as they began their otherwise silent trek.
Ruth, though usually fond of silence, found this particular brand to be rather oppressive. She itched to say something, to get the others talking, but nothing came to her. Every possible question that popped into her mind seemed either inane or invasive. Not to mention, if she started asking questions, she would be opening herself up to the same. The last thing she wanted was to end up having to reveal too much about herself to these relative strangers.
After so long that Ruth was sure the sun would rise at any moment, Chepi stopped dead, halting them all.
“It’s just around here,” she said. “We should split up. We can get a better look that way.”
Sally nodded before turning to Ruth and Ivy. “I don’t trust the two of you to go off together.” She pointed to Ivy. “You come with me and your friend can go with Chepi.”
Ivy rolled her eyes. “I have a name, you know.”
Sally glared, then relented. “Ivy, you’re with me.”
Ivy nodded before following Sally in the opposite direction to Ruth and Chepi.
“Try to keep up,” Chepi told her as she headed off with strong strides.
Ruth hurried a little to catch up, feeling a little out of breath. “Just because physical activity is not something I’m used to, doesn’t mean that I’m useless.”
