"My parents died when they crashed their car when it malfunctioned because of faulty bots at the factory. I was at school," she muttered as her arms crossed her body and she began to rock back and forth.
James raised his hand. "I planted that memory of the classroom."
Gerard spoke again. "Your mother, being the child of a Reaper, was herself a Reaper. She helped us and Conrad fight the forces of the Countess, just as you are doing now. They knew they had to protect you because your mother's identity had been compromised. They were taking you to a safe house when the steamer cab rolled over a trigger mine in the road. Someone leaked the location, and the Davarti Soldiers were waiting."
With her hands now firmly embedded in her hair, Lucy asked, "Then why wasn't I finished off? Why leave a liability behind?"
"They would have if they had found you. Being a reanimated dead foot soldier doesn't leave much room for intelligence, kiddo," Stan stated.
"Your mother was killed instantly by the blast. You and your father were thrown from the cab. You were seriously injured, fatally injured, in fact, but your father held out hope. With his body riddled with shrapnel from the mine and the car, he managed to hide you and make a last stand to distract the soldiers," continued Gerard.
"That doesn't explain how I'm alive or why I have this... thing!" Lucy exclaimed as she pointed to her elbow again.
"You are evidence of a brilliant mind!" James stated. "Conrad Otto was the best at engineering steam intelligence. I can only hope to be half the man he was in that workshop. He told us he had a bad feeling about the trip to the safe house. He went to check on you but he was too late. He found what was left of the cab and his family. The fear that they had taken you had begun to set in when he heard a noise from behind some bushes. You were cold and still, but he brought you here. We tried to tell him you were gone, to let you go, but you were all he had left."
Stan took Lucy by the hand. "You were given a second chance at life. Somehow Conrad knew you were destined for great things. Things that would save our world."
"I can't be whatever you think I am. I was just an average girl, living an average life, with less than average friends. I have never been in a fight. I'd rather run. I can't do this."
"It's not a matter of if you can or can't," Gerard added from the foot of the bed. "It all comes down to if you will or won't. Your grandfather thought you would. Was he wrong?"
He crossed his arms, "You are a miracle that modern times can't duplicate. Help us finish what Conrad and I started."
One by one, they shifted their gaze to Lucy. Her body was shaking from fear and confusion. "I'm scared," she said.
"We all are," Gerard told her. "But we don't let that define us. We are our own destiny. Our paths take us where we need to go. We just have to choose if we are going forward, standing still, or falling back."
Lucy sat on the edge of the bed that Conrad had slept in for countless years. She ran her fingers up and down the sheets, twirling the fabric. She looked around at the items that once meant something to him. She almost felt like he was sitting there with her, trying to comfort her.
"Who else knows about me and my condition?" she asked in a satirizing tone.
"Just the ones in this room, chick. The others think you are sleeping off pain meds," Stan told her. "It's your secret to tell."
"Good," Lucy said. "Let's keep it that way. At least until I can handle who or what I am myself."
The others all nodded in agreement as Lucy reached for her backpack on the table. She pulled Conrad's diary out and opened the back flap.
"I know what Dadeag told Gramps," she said holding up the old brochure. "We need to go back to Atlanta. We're going to Stone Mountain."
"Are you sure?" questioned Stan.
Lucy's lips were quivering as she answered. "No. But Gramps wanted this. He wanted me to carry on his work." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "If I didn't at least try I would never forgive myself."
10 Stone Mountain
That night, Lucy met with the group in the library. Everyone sat around the table with her in the middle.
"Dadeag kept screaming about the eyes of Lee. He said the 'The eyes of Lee sees all. The eyes of Lee must fall.'" She slid the Stone Mountain Park brochure to the center of the table. "One of the figures carved into that mountain is Robert E. Lee of the Confederate Army. I believe the riddle was talking about this carving," Lucy pointed out.
Gerard let out a loud sigh, his fingers rubbing his temples, "We have to go back to Georgia, but with us barely escaping the Pallidus they will be looking for us, and this time they won't be so nice."
He clapped his hands onto the desk as he stood, "I'll go alone. I can't risk any of you."
Jaso spoke up, "I don't think so! You left me here on babysitting duty last time, and you needed my help. Walter can watch over the others while we are gone."
"If the Countess finds out where we are going, she’ll send her army or possibly even show up herself. We could use Jaso, Gerard," Stan added.
Gerard's lips pinched together like he needed to spit. "Ah! Fine, but we can't just head back down there. We will give it a couple of weeks to die down."
Stan gave a nod to Jaso. "We ready for this?"
"We'd better be," Jaso said ringing his hands together. "Because, you can bet, they will be."
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE of weeks, the Reapers laid out a strategy for Stone Mountain. They gathered as much information as they could about the area, and readied supplies and gear onto the Silvertooth. Lucy was learning what it meant to be a Reaper, their duties, abilities, and responsibilities. To be one of the few people left that could save her world from a tyrant was overwhelming. At night, Lucy would walk the halls of the Met looking at what the world used to be like or she would lie awake and read Conrad's diary. It gave her glimpses inside the life of the man she had previously only known as Gramps.
'Journal entry, 1 December, 1995. This year has opened my eyes to more wonders and miracles than I could ever imagine. I am a Reaper. It took me a while to admit that. Not many know of us, and that is a good thing. If word got to Ruina Baxter who had the power of the Reaper, she would stop at nothing to destroy us. The worst part is that she has convinced this nation, and possibly the world, that she can bring change. She has announced her candidacy for President of the United States. If she succeeds there, I fear the world will fall to her power.'
Lucy closed the journal and lay her head back on the pillow. "I can't remember a time when she wasn't in power. I wonder how the world was before her?" she thought.
The next morning during breakfast, Jaso and Gerard were talking about the trip.
"Are they ready?" Gerard asked. "We can't risk losing them to the Countess, so we need them prepared. I'm sure she will try to beat us to the key."
Jaso took a sip of his coffee and wiped his mouth. "They need experience under their belts, but they are learning fast."
Lucy walked over to their table with a plate of waffles, "So, when are we leaving? I think the Underground has cooled off by now. We don't want to risk the Countess finding something before we do."
The men looked at her in bewilderment. "What? Do I have syrup on my face?" she asked, standing in full gear. Her bright blue hair pulled back, showed a face of determination that would not be deterred.
"Have a seat, Lucy. Let's talk," Gerard said as he pushed out a chair from the table with his foot.
Lucy sat her plate down and took a seat. "I've been reading more of Gramp's journal. I’m starting to see what you guys are doing, your purpose behind this mission. I've read some of the stuff you've had to endure, and it’s truly awful. I was born under the rule of The Countess, so this is all I’ve ever known. I now realize this world could be a lot better. It used to be better, and that's why Ruina Baxter needs to be brought down."
Jaso held up his cup of coffee as if he were about to make a toast. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He and Lucy looked to Gerard.
"Wel
l, what else can I add?" he said tossing his hands up in the air. "Let's get that key!"
Lucy smiled and picked up a naked waffle, "It feels good to have a purpose!" She folded the waffle in half, dipped it into the puddle of syrup on the side of her plate and took a big bite.
Gerard laughed and asked, "Is tomorrow soon enough for you, ma'am?"
Lucy smiled "Well if that's the best you’ve got, it will have to do," she said, flashing a wink. Jaso almost spewed coffee all over them. The trio shared a laugh and finished their breakfast.
That afternoon, Lucy was talking to James and helping him ready the Silvertooth for another long trip down south. "So, you helped Gramps do this to me?" she said while pointing at her almost healed elbow.
James put down his spanner wrench and wheeled right up to her. "You say that like it's a bad thing. Do you see me as some kind of freak, or just inferior because of this chair?" he asked sternly.
She stumbled backward, shocked by his response. Knocking over some boxes, spreading nuts and bolts all over the floor. "No... I never... that's not what I was saying," Lucy said as she folded her hands in front of her.
James smirked, "Then what were you saying?" he asked. "Do you consider yourself less human because you have some parts inside you that you were not born with?” He didn’t give her time to answer, “To answer your question, though, yes. I helped Conrad on the most brilliant project I have ever had the honor to be a part of. Your grandfather's mind worked like the machines he invented; flawless. We took you from the brink of meeting Azrael in person, to a healthy living little girl."
"How much of me is still... me?" she asked poking around at her stomach.
"It's all you!" he exclaimed. "This chair is me! Is it the path I would have chosen? Hell no. It's the path that we were handed, and I'll be damned if I'm going to roll over and fold because it wasn’t part of my ideal plan. I'm different, and that’s not something to pout about. None of us are perfect. None of us are exactly where we need to be or want to be. That's why we keep moving forward, because we already know what's behind us. Keep pushing forward. Fight. Live. If not for you, do it for Conrad. He believed in you."
James wheeled over to the bench and picked up a screwdriver, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. "I fell into a deep depression after I lost my legs. I felt like half a man. I was sure people would look down on me or treat me like I was helpless. One day your grandfather came to me and asked if I had given up. If I was just going to give up and let Ruina win? Before I could say anything, he answered for me. He handed me this screwdriver and told me I wasn't going to give up. Conrad encouraged me that I wouldn't be confined to this chair forever. He designed this chair, and it gave me a purpose. It gave me my life back; your grandfather gave that to me."
Moments passed and with tears staining her cheeks, she wrapped her arms around James. "Thank you."
"For what?" he asked.
"For helping me see what my eyes weren't willing to," she told him. Lucy saw a side of him that helped reveal more of the secret world her grandfather was a part of. These people were a family, and now they were her family.
Like most nights, Lucy sat alone in her room inside Gallery 305. This was when she felt closest to Conrad. She would look at the picture from the back pouch of the diary and let her mind drift to memories of him. She knew tomorrow was going to be dangerous. Something inside her felt the Countess would be there. She pressed the button and the screaming voices of heavy metal blaring from the iHome strangely soothed her to sleep.
THE NEXT MORNING THERE was a knock at her door. "Almost ready! Come on in if you want!" she shouted.
The door opened, and Micah stepped in. "Micah! I thought you were Stan!" she exclaimed spinning away from him to finish the buttons on her shirt.
"I told the others I would come get you," he said with his eyes fixed on the floor and shoulders slouching forward. "I wanted us to have a moment to ourselves."
"Why do I get the feeling you don't want me to go?" she asked him.
"I don't want to see you get hurt. Do you really think you are ready?" he asked her.
She walked slowly toward him, her eyes fixed on his. "Isn't that why you have my six?"
Micah tried to hide the smile that was forcing its way onto his face. "I'll always have your six."
She held her hands out in front of her, palms up. Micah placed his in hers. Slowly, he leaned in to gently kiss her. She clenched her fingers tightly and gave a twist of her wrist forcing his arm behind his back. With her index finger pressed to his head like a gun she whispered into his ear, "The only time I won't need you, is when you are needing me." She released him and smacked his forehead playfully. "Now come on, we have a key to find." She grabbed her bag and walked out. Micah took a deep breath, and straightened his gear before flashing a smile.
“She is something else. Something else indeed,” he said as he ran to catch her.
On the roof, they were boarding the ship when Jaso stepped in front of them. "If you love birds have the kissing out of the way, can we go now?"
Lucy's face turned blood red, and she tried to answer, "We... he... Well..."
"Love birds? What are you talking about?" Gerard punched Jaso in the arm. "Leave them alone; we have work to do."
They readied the ship and took to the air. Lucy closed her eyes and rubbed the scar on her elbow. Being back on the ship felt awkward now. The air pushed through her hair bringing goose bumps to her skin.
"Is it as good as the first time you flew?" Micah asked as he walked up beside her.
"I could get used to this," she answered. "The feeling of freedom up here is wonderful. I just hope there's not a surprise like last time."
"Last time?"
"Oh, you know, the Pallidus. I hope this trip is a little smoother," she stuttered.
"Maybe when we get the keys and end all this, we can fly somewhere. Just the two of us," he told her.
Lucy felt her heart skip a beat. She tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat. "I would like that," her head hung low. "But I have some issues I need to deal with before any of that happens."
Micah took his finger and angling her head up to face him. "We all have issues, that's why we’re here in the Synod. I know how to be patient, though. When you're ready, I'll be here for you."
Lucy was smiling on the outside. 'If you only knew the truth, you wouldn't be wanting to wait,' she thought.
The Silvertooth broke into Atlanta airspace, and James' came over the loud-speakers. "We will be at Stone Mountain in ten minutes. All hands-on deck and keep your eyes peeled for those blasted Davarti."
As the huge rock formation came into view, Jaso turned a dial on the side of his goggles and zoomed in on the mountain-top. "Too late, James. They’re already here! Lower the shields and get ready!"
The large plates shifted into place with ease.
"Gerard and Jaso, man the rickshaw cannons and wait for the signal." A loud boom was heard as the Silvertooth was rocked by mortar fire. "Now, boys! Show them the way out of here!" James shouted from the main deck.
The rickshaw cannons were rapid-fire weapons that dealt massive amounts of damage. Mounted on the side of a swivel platform with two wheels, they could turn almost in a complete circle. Gerard gave a thumbs-up through the hull to Jaso, and the pair opened fire. Each round fired from the rickshaw cannon was the equal in power to twenty short range shotguns, with a rate of fire at three rounds per second. After the shells were fired, they split into smaller rounds, each with explosives inside. The smaller rounds pierced the armor of the Davarti Soldiers and exploded on impact spewing the undead in all directions. Another mortar was then fired from the ground barely missing the right cannon.
"That was too close, James! Can you try to make it a little harder for them to hit us?" Jaso shouted.
James yanked the wheel to the left. "Pfft, kids!"
As the right side of the Silvertooth shifted toward the mountain-top, Gerard opened fire again. "Woo-hoo! I love
this!" The soldiers fell like dominoes one by one. The troops were thinning out as Stan motioned to set the ship down. Dust and debris swarmed around the ship as it descended. Light as a feather, James guided the ship down.
"Do we even know where to look?" Jaso asked as they readied themselves to leave the ship.
"Dadeag said the eyes of Lee," Stan said. "But how do we scale a mountain with Davarti on us?"
James shifted some levers on his chair. Gears buzzed and whirled, grinding loudly into place. With one last turn, the chair now had eight legs again, like a spider. "I'll get to 'The Eyes of Lee', you just keep them off me."
They formed a line between James and the Davarti as he disappeared over the edge.
"Here they come!" Jaso shouted.
Gerard tightened some of the knobs on his armor and steam rushed down the sleeve chambers. Gears turned, and pistons started to pump warm steam power through the armor. Gerard was once again filled with the power of ten men. With a loud "Rah!" he pulled the sword from his back, and ran straight ahead steam-rolling through the middle of the first group head on. He hit the first one so hard that he turned to dust! One after another, he punched and sliced through them. The second wave of Davarti were flanking from the right.
"Keep a lookout for James!" Jaso shouted. He pulled two grenades from his belt and threw one right at the feet of the oncoming horde. The blast sent the front line flying and as the bodies hit the ground, Jaso threw the second grenade into the middle of the pack. Boom! The second blast cleared a hole, blowing undead everywhere. Jaso pulled two gut-ripper rifles from his back holsters and unloaded into the remaining minions.
"Found anything yet, James?" Stan shouted.
"I'm having a little trouble down here!" he yelled back.
They looked over the edge to see James. He was clinging to the side of the mountain with four legs while the other four were fighting off soldiers, rappelling down the edge. Dangling directly above the head of Robert E. Lee, James had the bubble shield in place for protection.
The Key of Knowledge Page 7
