Fianna Kelly Versus the Jeebees: A Collection of Steampunk Stories Read Free Page A

for a rest and he just stood in the road like a
metal statue.
    "Please
wait here. I need some privacy for a couple of minutes." It was funny how
I now thought of him as male and I will do female things out of his sight.
    I
WILL WARN IF DANGER
    "I
figured that. I'll be back shortly."
    After
returning, I took my bag of supplies from him and got out some food and water.
    "How
long can you go on without stopping for water?"
    TWO
DAYS WALKING
    "I
have the makings of a sandwich here. What kind of fuel do you use?"
    DRY
WOOD IS OKAY
    "Do
we need to get any for you?"
    NO
    "How
long before you need more?"
    SEVEN
DAYS
    "You
may be able to go on for days at a time, but I prefer to eat three times a day.
You won't object if I eat in front of you, will you?"
    NO
    "I
had hoped to see some people on the road and get a ride to a town by now. It
looks like we'll be walking until we find a town or village ourselves.
Hopefully it will be inhabited."
    I
looked up at Bradan and wondered if he could carry me too. On second thought, I
would either burn myself, get seasick from the way he walked, or both. I should
have looked at the farmhouse for a wagon or carriage. He looked like he could
pull one. Then I could have been riding instead of walking. I wondered if he
could run. Would we be moving even slower if he was pulling a carriage?
    Would
he object to that though? He may not want to be treated like a beast of burden.
Do we have the kind of relationship where I can make him do whatever I want?
Perhaps we are just friends and he only does what I ask to be polite. Does he
even have feelings? The beings indicated he had some kind of conscience. Maybe
he'll do anything I ask as long as I don't offend him. If I upset him, will he
leave me all by myself? Does he know what an apology is? Would he be able to
tell if I asked a hypothetical question? I don't think that I want to know the
answers to these questions right now.
    About
an hour later, we came upon a blockade in the road. Bradan saw it first and
tapped me on the shoulder.
    ROAD
BLOCKED AHEAD
    "That
will be no problem. You are with me. Just hold my things and pretend you are a
wind-up servant. Once we don't look like a threat, they may believe we
aren't."
    I
walked up to the blockade with Bradan a respectable ten feet behind me. Where
did he learn that servants walk behind their masters? If I was lucky, he
wouldn't need to alert me to anything and make me explain all about him. Two
soldiers got up from where they were lounging under a tree and stood behind a
barricade blocking the road.
    "Who
are you?" said the one on the left. The stripes on his collar indicated
that he was a sergeant and likely the one in charge here.
    I
replied, "I am Fianna Kelly."
    "Where
are you from?" asked the other soldier who had corporal stripes.
    "I
come from Ireland."
    "Where
are you headed? This region has been declared dangerous and you should not be
here."
    "We
are on our way to Wimbledon for the International Firearms Tournament."
    "Do
you have a passport?"
    They
took a quick look at my documents, as if it was sufficient that I had
something. I wondered if they could even read.
    "And
what is that... thing?"
    "Isn't
he wonderful? He is an automaton built to carry my luggage. I don't know what I
would have done without him. I don't think I could have made it this far on my
own. There was supposed to be a ride waiting for us at the dock and we have had
to walk all this way."
    "Well,
I guess that is okay." replied the sergeant, as if it was only by his
permission that we existed.
    "Could
you tell us where we could secure a ride to London?"
    I
heard Bradan's wheels spin into place and he tapped me on the shoulder.
    INCOMING
DANGER
    "Where
are they?" I asked him.
    ESE
312 YARDS
    I
was getting accustomed to his replies being either uselessly exact, terse, or
arcane. I figured that I would need to have a long talk with him later. To be
sure, I'd be doing all the talking.
    "Point
to the direction they are coming from," I