Now, I don’t mean motionless like little Petie here, staring at me all wide-eyed. I mean completely, and utterly still.
Finally Fidget summoned the nerve to step forward. He raised his hand holding the pathfinder, and the light trembled along with him. The glow caught the figure’s foot, and something glinted back, like the way a sword will catch the sunlight.
The light moved higher as Fidget took one more step forward. And then he saw that it wasn’t a man; it was a statue of a man. No, it wasn’t a statue, like you’d see in a town square. It was a man made of metal.
Walking forward, curiosity starting to overcome his fear, Fidget ran the light up and down the metal construct. It stood about seven feet tall, and it looked strong, powerful, like it could come to life at any moment.
Then Fidget heard a noise outside the cave.
“We know you’re in there, Fidget.”
He recognized Tatem’s voice. Fidget tore his eyes away from the metal man and looked back at the entrance to the cave. He could see the light outside, and hear other boys’ voices.
He wondered if he’d be able to hide in the cave, and maybe his tormenters would leave him alone. Then his nose wrinkled. He could smell wood smoke, and in a breath he could see wisps of grey entering the mouth of the cave.
The boys had started a fire.
Fidget coughed and his heart started to race. He might not have been the fastest runner, or the strongest wrestler, but he was clever, and he knew that if he stayed in the cave he would choke on the smoke and die.
Already smoke was pouring into the cave, filling it with gray clouds that clustered on the low ceiling. The entrance could no longer be seen through the haze. Fidget had to act, and he had to act fast.
He crouched down low and ran half-bent over, his hand over his mouth and nose. Fidget heard the sound of heavy branches being dropped onto the fire outside. He screamed as he reached the cave’s mouth and all he could see was grey, interspersed with flickers of red flame.
Terrified beyond belief, Fidget ran blindly ahead, feeling the fire touch his skin, burning through his thin clothing and blistering his stomach and legs.
He tripped over a branch and fell to the ground. Rolling, his eyes shut tight and lungs burning, he kept moving until he finally felt the heat lessen, and he knew he had made it out.
“Look, Tatem, isn’t that your pathfinder?” a boy piped.
Fidget still held the device in his hand. He opened his eyes. He was on his back, squinting against the bright daylight. There were five of them; they stood around him in a group, looking down at him.
“Lord of Fire, look at Tatem’s face. I’ve never seen him so mad.”
Fidget grimaced as he tried to move. Though his burned skin hurt worse than anything he had ever felt before, he knew the danger was far from over.
“You’re not getting up,” Tatem finally said. The expression on the big boy’s face was dark. He bent down and took the pathfinder from Fidget’s unresisting fingers. “You stole from me. No. You’re not getting up,” he repeated.
Fidget’s vision burst in stars and he felt an incredible pain. Tatem kicked him in the head again. Then the breath went out of him as Tatem kicked him in the stomach.
The other boys jeered and laughed. Fidget tried to cover his crotch, so they kicked him in the head. Then, when he covered his head, they kicked him in the crotch.
The kicking went on and on, all the boys joining in. Fidget’s body curled up, but they still found unprotected spots. All of the individual points of pain joined together, and Fidget felt his mind disconnecting from his body. When Tatem kicked his back with all his strength, Fidget felt something break inside him.
Eventually they left him, and as the day passed, Fidget wondered if he would live. The sun set over the horizon, and the moon rose, and still Fidget couldn’t move. He heard the howling of wolves.
Petrya is near the desert, and with the night came a terrible chill. As the temperature dropped, Fidget began to shiver, but it wasn’t until he heard the wolves’ howling draw closer that he managed to drag his body back inside the cave, crawling along the earth like a worm.
By late the next day, Fidget was finally conscious of his surroundings. Lying on the ground, his breath wheezing in his chest, he looked around and realized that after such a long time in the cave his eyes had adjusted to the darkness.
And there, just a dozen paces away, was the metal man, as still and silent as ever.
Fidget tried to stand, feeling pain shoot through his bruised and battered body, but there was something wrong with his back. He fell back down to the ground, crying out with the agony.