The Proving by Brosky Ken

Author:Brosky, Ken [Brosky, Ken]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-01-04T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Benjamin Redcloud

Clan Athens

The roof was surrounded by a four-foot-high rampart made of refurbished steel, complete with old rusted gutters to filter rainwater. The solar panels, in fact, could be positioned — thanks to a hack by Cleo — to provide some additional cover by reclining on their hinges. If they wanted to, they could probably sleep safe and sound.

But no one was particularly interested in sleeping, least of all Ben.

He found Wei, Tahlia, Reza and Cleo downstairs, inside the building. Reza was using the old emergency computer console. It had a holoscreen and two touchscreens but only one was turned on, currently being used for a simplistic chess-style strategy game that moved character pieces around on a 3D playing field. Character pieces that wielded ridiculously large axes and swords.

“Um, is that connected to the same battery power we’re using for your shield contraption?” he asked Cleo.

She sat up. She’d been lying next to the entrance to the staircase, using a saw from the Tumbler to cut a hole in the wall big enough for her strange robot to fit through. The thing gave Ben the chills. It was a robot with little arms, then with a simple word command it transformed into a snake-like device that could crawl inside a hole. It seemed to react to Cleo in a human-like way. Not a robot-like way. Not a dog-like way.

And that was just a little too much for him. Ben liked his automatons acting like automatons. Mixing chemicals. Printing food. That sort of stuff.

But Gabriel’s sister, on the other hand . . .

Wei was on her knees beside Cleo, peering into the hole, searching for the robot.

“What’s it doing in there?” she asked.

“Oh, you know . . . if I programmed her right, she should be finding me a green wire that I can splice.” Cleo stood up and dusted off her hands. “And yes, professor, that computer is hooked up to the depot’s battery. No, you don’t have to worry. It’s a low-drainer. The battery’s in good shape, save for a few small underground leaks.”

Ben nodded, deciding not to ask for any details. He trusted Cleo. She knew her way around electronics. Her snarky attitude didn’t exactly help during the tense situations, but he gave her the benefit of the doubt that she wasn’t a jerk. Her tone suggested otherwise from time to time, even when her actions didn’t line up with that assessment. She was just a little awkward.

Aren’t we all at this age, he thought.

Ben peered around one of the shelves full of spare parts. Tahlia was walking down the aisle, shining a little LED flashlight across the shelves. “I’m going to try and convince Tahlia to get some sleep. Would you like me to take Reza up, too?”

Cleo raised an eyebrow. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch. I just . . . you know . . . kids.”

“Yeah. Kids.” She smiled. “You’re decent, professor. Reza! Get your butt over here!”

Ben itched the pain in his ear. The girl’s voice had an incredible decibel range.

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