A small village was sitting outside the city of London. The sky was full of black clouds that poured out from massive factories that blocked out the horizon. Street lights could only do so much as the streets of the village had a cold fog filling the air.

A young woman was quickly making her way down the sidewalk. Her hard heels were in her hand as she made her way as quickly as she could. Her dark green and brown dress was tight around her torso before stretching out into a wide silhouette that went as wide as her wingspan. She looked over her shoulder quickly as she kept running down the sidewalk, clutching her shoes even harder.

She ran past an alleyway, but was then suddenly grabbed and pull hard. Her dress tore to reveal her shoulder as she tried to scream, but her mouth was covered by a dirty hand that smelled horrible.

Throughout all of the screaming, none of them could hear the sounds of loud wind that suddenly disappeared. They felt the gust and looked around, but the rest of the alleyway was covered in darkness.

“Ignore that…now get the dress up.”

Two men were holding the woman against the wall, pulling and ripping her dress as a third stood a few feet in front of them, laughing and smoking a cigar. Once they got her dress ripped enough to expose her legs, the third man smirked and threw the cigar over his shoulder. He dropped his pants…but all three of the people in front of him were frozen as they stared with wide eyes.

Behind the man standing with his pants down to his ankles, two massive wings stretched out from the shadows. They resembled bat wings, but were each the size of a human being. With the angle they were standing, it appeared as if the wings were coming from his own back, stretching from the darkness and into the light.

“Yeah, big one ain’t…” He started, but then he felt the cigar get thrown over his shoulder right next to his face. He looked down at it confused, but was then violently grabbed by the back of his shirt and thrown nearly twenty feet to the side in a flash.

The two other thugs quickly let go of the girl, one of them pulling out a very well crafted knife.

They both ran towards the shadows, but both were quickly pulled in and the sounds of loud punches and bones breaking filled the air.

The woman was still leaning against the wall, staring into the shadows as she could only see glimpses of humanity.

One of the thugs suddenly dropped down from the shadows, his head covered in his own blood as he clawed the ground.

“Please…” He muttered while spitting out blood.

He was suddenly pulled back into the darkness as his nails broke as he tried to claw the ground.

The woman was still frozen in fear when she dropped her shoes, where they bounced and rolled towards the edge of the shadow. They sat on the line of darkness and light.

She went to reach out, but the man who had pulled his pants down had made his way back over, grabbing her and holding his own knife to her throat.

Her eyes were wide as she looked forward into the darkness.

The man and woman were unable to see anything in the shadows.

Until a hand emerged, close to the ground and grabbing the heels off the dirty ground. The hand was human shaped, wrapped in what looked like dark brown fabric. The figure stepped forward to reveal the entire body covered in the black fabric that was tight to the body, a leather belt with a copper buckle wrapped around the waist. The face had goggles wrapped around the head and covering their eyes.

“Let her go.” The voice was deep, but not naturally. The person seemed to be making their voice deeper as they held a heel in each hand. The wings slowly retracted into the figure’s back as they kept staring.

“What the **** are you?” The thug asked, his pants still down to his ankles.

“Let her go…and you won’t have to find out.” The figure replied.

The thug smirked and grabbed the woman by her hair.

“You really want to do this? Alright.” The figure shrugged.

The thug was confused until the wings suddenly shot back out, scaring the thug and making him drop his knife. The girl immediately ran off as the figure handed her the heels. He then punched the thug hard in the face, followed by hitting him in the gut with his knee and then using his elbow to hit the thug in the back of his head. The thug dropped down to the ground as the figure kicked him hard in the ribs, sending him flying out of the alleyway and into the street. He was groaning loudly as the figure emerged into the light, the wings casting massive shadows that covered the thug.

The thug quickly covered his face, but a massive gust of wind went over him. He uncovered his face to see the alleyway empty. The two thugs slowly crawled out from the darkness holding each other, covered in blood and bruises while there were parts of the body uneven due to the bones broken inside.

“What…now?” One of them asked while holding their dislocated arm.

“We get the boss.” The thug in the street replied, rubbing their ribs.

The winged figure was flying through the dark night sky, away from the village as they flew over miles and miles of nothing but empty fields. The dark clouds became less frequent until the sky was empty, the only sight the full moon illuminating the ground below as they continued to fly. The air was quiet, the only noise coming every so often as the figure had to flap their large wings to stay high in the air. Whenever they flapped, for the next while the wings would stay flat and let the figure glide through the air. Whenever he was gliding, there was nothing. Not even the air was busy enough to create too much noise as it rushed past them.

The figure tilted forward as the wings retracted closer to the torso, making the body more aerodynamic as they began to race quickly towards the ground. After a while, the wings went back to suddenly slow them down before they landed on the ground with a small amount of force, the wings fully retracting back.

The figure was standing behind a large wooden barn that sat a mile away from a large home. The figure grabbed a few of the wooden boards that moved quite easily to the side. The figure stepped in before putting the boards back. The barn was pitch black darkness until the figure reached out, tapping the wall before finding a small chord and pulling hard.

The entire barn was instantly filled with warm and soft orange light that came from the walls and ceiling. Small light bulbs all attached on long pieces of wire stretching out along the walls, and a chandelier like pattern made on the ceiling created a large blanket of illumination.

On the floor of the barn were tables and tables covered in pieces of metal in all shapes and sizes. Gears, nuts and bolts, chains, practically any piece of machinery that could be found scattered all over the place. Papers covered in crossed out and messy drawings and writings were thrown all over the place, creating a nearly four inch tall ocean that had to be walked through.

The figure sighed and made their way over to one of the lesser packed tables, removing the goggles and placing them down quite hard. They then pulled off the gloves and their belt, placing them hard next to the googles.

Afterwards, they reached up and pulled off the mask covering their head, revealing straight, dark brown hair with shaved sides. The man’s face was roughly handsome, a well defined jawline partially obscured by short facial hair. His eyes were a faded brown color as he sighed, pulling his arms inside of the tight fabric sleeves in order to mess around with the top of his outfit, removing it like it was a thick shirt. After that, he removed the bottoms to show very small underwear that stuck to his form.

The man reached over and grabbed his belt, biting down on the leather as he grabbed his undergarments. He quickly pulled, the sound of skin and hair ripping off followed by his muffled scream as he bit down harder.

He had to pull every inch off of his body before he could slowly and carefully slide it down his legs. His waist was now covered in raw red patches as he took the belt out of his mouth.

“Fucking hell.” He muttered.

His accent was thick and in the middle of posh and cockney, not identifiable as either class. He groaned and folded all of the clothing up very nicely, making his way over to a far off, dark corner that had a few piles of hay. He pushed some of the hay away very easily to reveal a hole in the ground that he carefully placed the clothing inside, pulling out fresh and new clothing from the same hole. He unfolded it and dressed himself in the undergarments, dark brown dress pants, a faded white shirt followed by a matching brown vest. He then grabbed some dirt, splashing it onto his face and rubbing it with his hands before throwing more all over his clothing. He then walked slowly to the other side of the barn. Sitting on a small chair was a thick dark brown and green jacket that he slipped on, buttoning all fourteen buttons up before then going back, unbuttoning them and letting the jacket flow open and messy. Next to the chair was a dark black top hat that he flapped around, covered in dust. He then took a deep breath and pulled another cord by the barn doors, all of the lights quickly turning off. He opened the door, stepped through, and quickly shut it again as he yawned. He rubbed his eyes with his still dirty hands as he began to walk to the large home in the distance.

The home stretched out with the front door right in the middle, a second floor with a mirror perfectly centered. Each side had two more large windows, the home being perfectly symmetrical. The was made of white painted wood as it stretched out with a small front porch surrounding the entrance.

The man slowly walked up and opened the front door, hanging his jacket and hat on a small coat stand just inside the door. As he made his way across the floor and to a staircase, he slowly unbuttoned his vest. He slowly climbed up with the open vest still on his torso as he carefully unbuttoned his pants.

He made it to the top of the stairs and turned, walking as quietly as he could through an open doorway into a spacious bedroom. He continued to move slowly and quietly on the wooden floor while removing his pants as he walked. He nicely folded the pants and vest before placing them by a large queen sized bed with a wooden frame. There was another figure already asleep as the man very slowly and quietly tried his best to lift the blanket up just enough to slide in.

He fully got onto the bed and carefully pulled the blanket over his body, but then the figure slowly turned over.

“You work too late.”

A feminine voice with an equally thick but much more posh accent than his spoke. Her hair was long and straight, the same color as his as she pushed it out of her face. Her face was incredibly clean and smooth, no blemishes of any kind. The man sighed and put his arm around her to pull her close.

“Yeah yeah…you say that every night.” He responded.

“I don’t see you for nearly twenty hours a day.” She replied, clearly tired.

“You have to teach the kids and I have to work.” He replied.

“You go into a barn to mess around with things that I don’t understand.” She replied, wrapping her arm over his chest.

They both softly chuckled as he took her hand, moving it up to his mouth and kissing it softly.

“Don’t use that cute charm of yours.” She said, rubbing his face and feeling the dirt.

“Did you get in our bed without cleaning yourself?” She asked in a joking but still serious sounding tone.

“I didn’t want to wake you.” He replied.

“Go to the bath. I’ll help.” She said.

They both sat up in their bed, the blanket moving off. She was wearing a very loose white nightgown with two very thin straps over her shoulders as she then moved her legs to sit on his lap.

“What are you doing?” He asked her.

“I’m tired. I want you to carry me to the bathroom.” She replied with a playful smile.

They both softly chuckled as he repositioned her on his lap before lifting her up with ease, standing up and slowly making his way across the wooden floor. He carried her carefully through the doorway and went straight across the small hallway to another door, the woman pushing it open before pulling on a cord, lighting a few very small light bulbs that filled the room with a warm orange hue while still leaving plenty of room for shadow.

He carefully let her down to her feet and shut the door quietly before they both undressed. They went to a large bathtub sitting on the floor before he twisted a knob attached to the wall, hot water slowly pouring out.

“I’m going to have to fix that.” He said to himself.

His wife’s hands went over his chest to calm him down.

“Don’t worry about work now…now is resting time.” She whispered right into his ear.

She kept massaging his front and kissed his cheek softly a few times as all of the stress and tension in his body melted away.

“Thank you honey.” He said.

His wife moved her head back and stared at his upper back. His upper back was rough with two large scars just on either side of his spine, stretching from his shoulders to nearly the halfway point of his torso. She stared at them as her hands continued to massage his lower chest.

“Is everything okay?” He asked.

“Yeah…everything is fine.” She smiled and gave his cheek another kiss as the tub was full enough of water. He turned the knob off and very slowly climbed in, the water hot and filling the room with steam, making the room hazy and foggy through the faint lights. He leaned back as the water began to turn his skin shades of red and pink. The woman reached across him to grab a small rag, dunking it into the water, ringing it out, then scrubbed his face. They were both smiling as he turned to look at her.

“I love you darling.” He said.

“I love you too.” She replied before they shared a deep kiss.

The woman was cooking in the kitchen while the man was reading the newspaper.

Suddenly, two children quickly ran down the stairs loudly as they were both giggling.

“Leco, Adeline…settle down.” He said as he moved his paper to the side to look at them.

The boy had the same eyes as his father, short and thin brown hair, and puffy cheeks despite the rest of his body being lean and slender but still healthy. The girl had cool blue eyes with shoulder length dirty blonde hair that obscured half of her face as she had a massive and blinding smile with white teeth and thin lips. Both of the children had dry and dirty skin from playing in the dirt every day.

“Who’s hungry?” The Mother asked as she brought in four plates of food, two on each arm.

“What’s for breakfast?” The Father asked.

“I made baked beans, eggs, sausages, fresh mushrooms and tomatoes, and finally some bread.” She replied.

The Father softly chuckled.

“Lot of food.” He replied as he folded his newspaper very neatly until it was the size of a pocket square.

“Lot of energy you’ll need.” She replied with a wink.

The children quickly sat in their chairs and started to eat.

“Any ideas for dinner?” She asked as she sat at the table across from her husband.

“You’re the genius. I trust your judgment.” He replied as he slowly began to eat.

The children were quickly making their way through the food as the Mother smiled.

“So Father, what have you been working on?” Leco asked with an excited and curious tone.

He looked at Leco while chewing on beans, thinking before he responded.

“I am waiting for inspiration. After I gave them my light fixture design, I still haven’t gotten my payment. I will be heading up there today though.” He said.

“You never told me you were heading to London today.” His wife replied, tilting her head.

He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.

“I didn't think it was a crucial thing that you needed to know.” He replied.

Her eyes opened slightly as she dropped her spoon loudly, creating a loud and dissonant clink. The man immediately looked apologetic and dropped his own.

“No…I…Lettice.” He got up as she quickly gathered her mostly finished plate and quickly made her way to the kitchen. He sighed and sat back down, quickly finishing before making his own way over.

Lettice was washing the dishes she used to cook as her husband put his plate down, hugging her from behind.

“I apologize…I should’ve told you.” He said.

She kept washing without responding.

“Honey…”

He took her arms until she shook free with ease, like he was holding back his strength.

“I don’t want you going to London…” She quickly turned to face him.

“It’s a dangerous place.” She said.

“Oh come on. I’m capable of defending myself.” He replied.

She crossed her arms and looked both angry and scared.

“What about…you know…” She asked as she checked to make sure their children weren’t listening.

“People are just paranoid. Trying to connect things that just happen. It will be fine.” He replied.

“Well…not just about…that…but…the other thing?” She continued to look worried.

He let out a heavy sigh and took her hands in his own.

“There is no such thing as a flying man. That isn’t possible.” He replied.

“Kenrick…” She whispered.

The two locked eyes until there was a thunderous and loud sound outside.

Everyone quickly ran outside and through the front door. A carriage was turned over with two metal colored horses laying on the ground. Steam and smoke was pouring from both horses and the carriage. Kenrick quickly ran over, but as he drew close the carriage door suddenly went flying high into the air with a loud gust of air. The door flew high in the air before crashing onto the ground with a loud thud. Kenrick fell back and looked forward at the carriage.

A person suddenly popped out, wearing goggles and a cap on their head.

“Oh, is this your home? Sorry about that!” She said as she jumped out of the carriage and onto the ground. Her accent was very thick and Irish sounding. She removed the goggles to show a face covered in freckles and dirt. She then removed her hat to reveal short and curly red hair. She was wearing fingerless gloves, a dirty white top, and blacksmith pants and boots. She had four different belts wrapped around her body with tools and pouches attached.

Kenrick took her hand and stood up slowly as he looked at her. She crossed her arms and looked him top to bottom.

“You’re a handsome one.”

She suddenly moved to the side and observed his body from behind. As Kenrick tried to turn, she kept moving too quickly for him to keep up.

“I don’t…who are…”

Kenrick kept spinning before he looked over at his family on the front porch. The woman was standing next to them and looked around.

“Good craftsmanship. Did he make it?” She asked Lettice.

“Yes. Now leave us alone please.” Lettuce said as she pulled her children back behind her.

The woman responded with a shrug before doing a cartwheel off of the porch and onto the ground.

Lettuce looked down to see her children smiling wide, but then stepped in front of them.

The woman walked with a pep in her step back towards Kenrick.

“What are you doing?” Kenrick asked.

She spun around him and made her way to the carriage.

“Okay so I’m gonna just try and dumb things down for you. I made these horses. Tried to make mechanical horses that don’t need food or water. Problem is they get too hot and well…this happens.”

She pointed at the two metal horses when one suddenly burst into flames. Kenrick immediately ran back inside his home, grabbing a large wooden bucket and filling it with water before running back out, throwing the water onto the horse.

“What the hell?” The woman shouted.

“Fire.” Kenrick simply replied.

“You don’t throw water on…”

Sparks and more fire exploded out, making the woman jump into Kenrick’s body. Kenrick cleared his throat as she stepped aside.

“I have stuff in my barn.” Kenrick said.

“Oh please, farming equipment isn’t going to do anything.”

Kenrick looked confused.

“Holy shit.”

She was standing inside of the barn looking around at the tables of metal and mechanical pieces. She then looked around at all of the light bulbs illuminating the space.

“I told you I’m not a farmer.” He replied.

She ran around quickly to observe everything, picking things up and holding a massive pile in her arms as she kept running.

“This isn’t a shop. I’ll help you fix your machines, but you’re not taking my stuff.”

The woman stopped and turned to look at him.

“Oh…um…okay.”

She dropped all of the parts as Kenrick recoiled from the sound.

“So…I guess the first thing to ask is…what is your name?” He asked.

She smiled and stood up straight with her fists on her hips.

“Name is Gisela. I am originally from…well what do you people call it?” She asked.

Kenrick held his arms up.

“I…how am I supposed to answer that…if I don’t know where you’re talking about.” Kenrick responded.

She seemed to be drawing a map in the air as she thought.

“So like…an island…southwest…no…northwest…well…yeah that’s right.” She said.

Kenrick’s eyes squinted.

“Ireland?” Kenrick asked.

She clapped, but then looked confused.

“That’s what you call it?” She asked.

“What do you call it?” Kenrick asked.

“Éire.” Gisela replied.

Kenrick shrugged.

“Well whatever. How’d you end up here?” He asked.

She started to walk around the barn, her hands gliding across every piece of metal that she passed.

“Came here with my parents when I was but a wee child. Been living here my whole life, but they only spoke Gaelic in accents thicker than mine, so that’s why I speak like this.” She shrugged as she got close.

Kenrick looked over at the entrance of his barn. Both horses were laying on the ground.

They were made entirely of brass and copper, gears covering the body while the torso was holding a large engine made from mismatched scrap. Kenrick kneeled down to look at it. It even had a skeletal structure made of metal with plates wrapped around like skin and gears covering most of it.

“How did you make the engine?” Kenrick asked.

“Found some metal. Used an anvil.” Gisela replied.

“You’re a blacksmith?” Kenrick asked.

“Yeah, what else would I be?” Gisela asked.

Kenrick looked inside of the horses and pried open their chest.. He reached inside and pulled out the engine sitting inside. Gisela skipped over, but then stopped.

“How did…how did you just…” She made her way over to the ripped open horse and looked inside.

“Strong. Now, how did you…”

Kenrick slammed the engine down onto a table hard, the table loudly shaking and nearly buckling from the weight.

“Well strong doesn’t do that…the ****?” She started to poke his arms before squeezing them.

“There is very little there yet they sure can do a lot.” She said.

“Please stop touching my arms.” Kenrick said.

“How are you…”

“What did you make this with?” Kenrick asked.

“I found parts to start, then whatever I needed I made.” She said.

Kenrick kept observing the machine closely.

“There are so many different materials, this won’t work at all.” He said.

“And why is that mister smarty strong man.” Gisela said.

“Well, even though metal conducts electricity and maintains heat, the problem is that when you use a variety of materials it will all be uneven. Thus you using whatever you found means that the energy will be contained in a specific spot instead of spreading out. The energy builds and builds until they overheat and become too much for the…horses to keep up with.” Kenrick said as he was taking the engine apart.

Gisela crossed her arms, but tried to hide her impressive gaze.

“Alright, I guess you do know things.” She said.

Kenrick subtly smirked as he opened the engine and looked inside.

“I need my goggles.”

He pointed over towards one of the tables. Gisela kept standing by him until Kenrick slowly turned to look at her.

“What?” She asked.

“Goggles?” Kenrick asked.

“I’m not your apprentice. Go get them yourself.” Gisela replied.

Kenrick sighed and rolled his eyes as he got up. He turned his back to her and walked, but the entire time he had a soft smile on his face. He grabbed the goggles and made the smile disappear as he turned around.

“You ever heard of a thing called manners?” Kenrick asked as he put the goggles on and kneeled down in front of the engine.

“Well yeah…but I don’t have to use them all the time.” Gisela replied.

Kenrick smirked again while he was observing the machine.

Gisela’s gaze was stuck on Kenrick as she softly smiled, a small amount of pink appearing on her cheeks.

It was a very late night over in the center of London. One of the many large factories were still open as a large and muscular man slowly made his way out through the front door. The streets were impossible to see through thick black fog and smoke, all of the polluted air covering every square inch of the outside. He was covered in dirt, grease, and bruises. His body moved slowly and stilted, like he was dragging invisible weights while all of his bones and muscles were burning. He was wearing a white shirt that was covered in so much dirt, dust, and grease it almost appeared as if it were entirely black, messy and torn black pants, and he removed the thick leather gloves from his hands. He pulled out a large cigar and tried to light a match, but he couldn’t get it to light. He threw it down and tried another one, but that too didn’t light.

“Need some help?” A feminine voice asked from the shadows.

A young and beautiful woman emerged wearing a purple and blue dress that was very loose around the torso and very tight below her waist.

The man looked at her before immediately smiling.

“That would be lovely.” He said, holding his cigar out towards her.

She pulled out her own matchbox and struck one, holding it up until the cigar caught. He took it to his lips and took a large hit before removing it and blowing the smoke out. He looked at the woman and smiled.

“Would you like some?” He asked.

“Oh that’s so sweet of you.” She replied.

She took the cigar to her bright red lips and breathed in, but then immediately began to cough.

“That’s too strong for a fragile girl like me.” She said as she continued to cough.

The man chuckled and put his hand on her lower back, causing her to give a seductive smirk in response.

“What’s a lady like you doing in a place like this?” He asked.

She shrugged.

“I wouldn’t call myself a lady.” She whispered.

The man shivered and softly moaned to himself.

“I don’t live far from here. You want some…”

He lost his train of thought as he looked at her body top to bottom. She snapped her fingers and put them under his chin to push his gaze back up to her eyes.

“It’s improper to stare at a woman like that.” She said in a teasing tone.

The man kept smiling.

“Why don’t you show me that place of yours…it’s getting quite cold out here.”

The man smiled again and held his arm out. She wrapped her arms around his as his free hand allowed him to keep smoking the cigar. He quickly finished it

They walked slowly through the empty and quiet streets. As they disappeared into the smoke, another figure emerged from the shadows by the factory.

They were wearing a black top hat and a metal mask covering the lower half of their face. They wore goggles that made the fog and smoke almost completely disappear to them. Their entire body was obscured by a large, leather trench coat that nearly reached to the ground. The boots they were wearing were thick and heavy, very well cleaned and maintained. The hands were covered by matching black gloves that were very tight to their large hands…tight enough to see every individual knuckle and line in their skin.

The figure very slowly walked forward, following the same path that the man and woman went in, even stepping exactly where they stepped. The figure continued to follow, watching as the new “couple” made their way into a small home. The figure stood across the street, completely obscured by the thick fog and smoke.

A light turned on inside the home, but the figure stared at the window. The curtains blocked the bodies, but the silhouettes were clearly doing sinful acts as the clothing came off and was thrown around very quickly. The man’s silhouette picked the woman up with ease and carried her away from the window, the figure losing track of them. The figure slowly walked up and grabbed the door knob, which turned and opened with ease. The figure could hear a door slam shut upstairs as the figure walked inside. They quietly shut and locked the door before going over to the living room. They collected the clothes off the ground, folding every piece very neatly before placing two separate piles on the dining table. As the figure walked around, they cleaned and tidied up whatever was uneven or tilted. Once they finished, they turned the light off and very quietly made their way to the stairwell. They moved silently up the wooden stairs, their hand moving to the inside of their trench coat. The fingers moved along multiple tools before slowly wrapping around a scalpel. They made it to the second floor and turned towards a door. The sound of a bed rocking and hitting the wall covered up the sounds of sinful moans and pleasure. The figure very slowly made their way over to the door, grabbing the door knob and very slowly turning, pushing it open just enough to look inside. The woman was on top, riding the man quickly as they both moaned. Their hands were all over each other as the figure continued to watch. The pushed the door open just enough to slowly slide inside. The only source of light was the moonlight, which struggled to get through all of the smoke and fog. The limited light was only enough to illuminate the woman, her body glistening from the sweat already covering her skin.

“Yeah…that’s it…that’s good…” The man grunted and moaned as his hands moved to her hips, speeding up the thrusts as she moaned louder.

The figure moved until they were standing at the foot of the bed. They slowly pulled the scalpel out as they continued to watch for a few more seconds.

Suddenly, the two on the bed quickly switched positions. Neither of them noticed the figure watching as the man got on top, pinning the woman down and thrusting quickly into her. They were both continuously moaning as the figure continued to watch.

“That feels…so good…” The woman moaned as she began to claw the man’s back, cutting his flesh with her sharp nails. The man grunted and sped up, like the pain invigorated him.

“I’m…about…to…”

The man was cut off by a loud sound. His body went limp on top of the woman as she tried to get free from under him.

“Um…hello? Are you…”

She finally pushed him off, where he dropped lifelessly off the bed and onto he floor. She looked over to him, but then looked forward. In the darkness, she could spot a metal tool shining in the moonlight.

She tried to scream, but a gloved hand shot out to cover her mouth. She then felt the tool slash her neck deeply, blood quickly pouring out and running down her ***** body. She laid on the bed, unable to make any noise as the figure moved to stare into her eyes. She could see herself in the reflection of the goggles until everything went to black.

“Rise and shine!” Gisela shouted right into Kenrick’s ear.

He was passed out, his head resting on one of his working desks. He shot awake and quickly fell backwards, hitting the ground hard.

He looked up to see Gisela leaned over, upside down from his viewpoint, as she smiled wide.

“How’d you sleep?” She asked playfully.

“Fine…until you did that.” He replied as he slowly sat up, rubbing his head.

“Well, had to wake you up somehow.” She replied.

Kenrick very slowly sat up and needed to use the desk to get to his feet.

“Because why?” Kenrick responded.

Gisela pointed to the engine, which was almost completely finished. Kenrick rubbed his eyes hard before observing it closer.

“Okay…that doesn’t answer my question.” Kenrick replied.

Gisela rolled her eyes and sighed.

“It’s almost done. Hurry up and finish it so I can get going.” She said.

“Aww, you don’t like me.” Kenrick teased.

Gisela rolled her eyes before turning to look at the two mechanical horses laying on the ground.

“Wait…did you pull the second one out?” She asked.

“No.” Kenrick replied quickly.

“Why not?” She asked.

“Because I don’t know if this is going to work. If I did both like this and they fail, then we’d have to start over with both.” Kenrick replied.

Gisela thought about it and seemed to agree.

“Alright. Let’s see what happens when we put it in.” She said.

Kenrick attached a few more screws and plates to the engine.

“Alright, this should work.” Kenrick said.

He made his way over to one of the other desks, but Gisela kept her eyes locked on him. As he walked away, she bit her lip and quickly reached down, removing a single nut from the outside. She slipped it into her pocket as Kenrick made his way over. He screwed in the new screws before carrying the engine over, sliding it inside the horse and closing the mechanical ribs around it. He lifted the horse up with ease, Gisela looking on with wide eyes.

“I will never understand how somebody looking like you can be that strong.” She said.

Kenrick walked around before figuring out how to turn the horse on. It began to move slowly in a straight line, but then Gisela quickly ran up to it. She jumped up onto the body in a single quick and fluid motion, riding it like a normal horse. She then shifted her body weight, causing it to turn to the side.

“How’s it working?” Kenrick asked.

“I think it’s pretty…”

Before Gisela could finish, the engine began to loudly rattle before the horse sprinted quickly, bursting through the barn wall. Kenrick immediately ran after as Gisela screamed.

The horse kept speeding up as the engine was loudly blasting and screeching. Suddenly, the horse stopped and went dead as the engine exploded inside, causing the body to drop to the ground and send Gisela flying high into the air. Kenrick looked around briefly to make sure nobody was watching when he ran as quickly as he could.

Gisela was looking up at the sky as she screamed before she suddenly felt her body get caught in the air before she turned to see Kenrick. A second later they both crashed hard onto the ground, rolling around before they ended with Gisela laying on top of Kenrick.

“Ow..” Kenrick said.

“That was fun! I want to do it again!” Gisela jumped up and danced around as Kenrick looked at her.

Gisela looked over at the collapsed horse, then up at the sky. She began to do mental calculations as she pointed down at Kenrick.

“How the **** did you do that?” She asked.

Kenrick very slowly got to his feet, clutching his back.

“Catch you?” He asked.

“Not just catch me…but like…”

She used her hands to draw the calculations in the air.

“How’d you jump that high to catch me? And not only that, but you covered more distance than should be possible by foot.” She said.

Kenrick was still clutching his back as he limped over.

“You were in danger. I ran as quickly as I could to get you. I jumped off the horse to catch you as high as I could so you didn’t get hurt when we landed.” Kenrick replied, groaning as he struggled to stand straight.

“You are a really strange person.” Gisela said.

She crossed her arms and gave a skeptical face.

Suddenly, Lettice ran over to held Kenrick stand.

“I heard a loud noise. Are you okay?” She asked him.

“I’m fine honey. The engine wasn’t…made correctly.” He groaned.

She looked at Gisela with an angry look.

“Did you do this?” Lettice asked.

“No. Well…technically yes. The two of us worked on the engine and it didn't work, so it’s the fault of both of us.” Gisela replied with a joking tone.

Lettice marched forward and slapped Gisela hard across the face, but Gisela took it and didn’t even turn her head as her cheek quickly turned bright red and began to swell. She still was barely reacting as Lettice went back to Kenrick, helping him limp his way to their home.

Gisela stood alone in the field, staring down at the grass subtly blowing in the wind. She could feel her eyes begin to water, but she rubbed her eyes hard to keep the tears in.