The Highway to Hell
Left turned the screwdriver into the ignition. Turning it, the engine stayed stagnant. Removing the screws from the plastic cover was a waste of seconds. Cutting the power cords, he stripped the plastic and tied the two wires together. After he cut, stripped, and touched the starter wires together, the car roared to life. The owner screamed at him, and that was his cue to jam the screwdriver into the steering wheel lock.
Left slammed his metal paw into the clutch pedal and sent the car flying down the road. The humans tried to run after him but he was a lot faster than humans. When he got a few blocks away finding a similar make and model to snatch the license plate was cake. Take the insurance, and all of the important information, and now he was good from the cops, not that they could stop him.
When all was said and done he drove onto a highway into the great plateau of Utah. Large slabs of jagged rock protrude from the earth, their layered red hue reminding Lefty of a red velvet cake. The smooth white tops of the plateau grew small green plants. The waving sky and large clouds signaled a thunderstorm. The roads ahead of him gave the illusion of water, but all of the small shrubs and grass stole any of that water.
Lefty pulled off the road up to one of the rock formations. He got out of the car and started to climb up the top. It wasn't too much of an issue, except for letting a few rocks slip.
Sitting up at the top he looked at all of the arches, hoodoos, and the mountains. The wind gently blew across the top, and the sun started to turn the sky pink. He started to wonder if the Boss would come out and just look at the scenery….
Turning something on thr back of his neck, he let his body relax. Charlie violently ran out of the robot’s body, only stopping when she nearly ran off the edge. She panted and looked around. “I’m…. I’m free? Why am I…”
She looks at the robot that was face-first in the dirt. Charlotte collapsed to the ground, her body shaking. Glancing at the ring on her left hand a new energy came to her. She crawls over to the robot and sits it up to look at her.
“Where did you take me,” Charlie asks. The robot just looked at her. “Why did you take me here?”
“I remember how much you loved the stars.” A tiny voice, one that didn’t sound like Left or the Puppet, whispered from the robot.
“Where is Liam? He- he’s my husband.” Charlie choked, tears threatening to fall down her face. “Where is he?”
“Ennard.”
Charlotte had to stop her hands from shaking. Lying to herself that Elizabeth would take care of him was all she could do to stop herself from screaming into space. The robot brought Charlotte into a hug.
Finally, Charlie cried. It was everything clasping into her. Her father, her killer, her robot self, all of those years with the Marionette, with Liam, with Elizabeth, with Susie, and everything in between. She drew in shaky breaths and let her tears roll down the robot’s body. The robot, new to any emotion, let the ghost cry.
Charlie wiped her eyes and glared up at the cloud covering the stars. “Alright, I have a plan. We need a lighter and a lot of gasoline.”
“Charlotte-“ A violent shock went through the robot’s body and Lefty became whole again. He looked up at the sky and felt feelings like no other. Perhaps if the robot could move any part of his mouth, he might have smirked.
The robotic bear got down the plateau and got back into the car. He drove around the night until he reached a gas station. He stole some bins, hacked into the gas pump, and filled all he needed with gasoline. Lefty walked up to the counter and placed some matches. The girl looked Lefty up and down as if she wasn’t the weirdest thing she had witnessed.
He bought matches and started to head to New Harmony. It was a good 6-hour drive from where he was. The radio was playing classics from the 90’s, a time when Lefty didn’t exist. A part of him longed for the 70’s, where Charlie was just a baby and he worked in the diner.
Lefty’s only work was fitting the Boss into Prototrap, and hot-wiring a car. It must be that noodle thing that’s in him…… As he continues his long drive he lets the window down and he gets to stick his head out. Holding onto his adorable little top hat he let the wind fly through his ears.
The sun started to rise over the mountains, the golden ribbons tied around the clouds, the storm far behind him. New Harmony became closer and closer, and Lefty knew where to go.
That ghost, whose name he did not know, was leading him. As he got to more broken sidewalks and decaying streets, a large rotting tree stood in front of a dead building. Lefty slammed on the brakes and felt his arms shake.
Unknown feelings welled up in his chest as he got out of the car. He made sure to turn it off before walking close to the restaurant. Lefty slowly walked up, letting himself be vulnerable to the public. The grass around him was up to his knees, and some grass cracked through the old cement. The front doors are glass, letting all of the sunlight in.
As he reached the door a memory came over him. He. Was half the height of the door, maybe smaller, hitting the glass with small wet hands. The rain was pouring down on him, and small kids were laughing at him from the other side of the door. As the memory version of him was pulled to the side he came back into reality.
Lefty’s hand is still on the door. He pushed in and looked at the empty restaurant. The wooden floors are a dusty brown, remnants of a bar sat in the corner, the ceiling fan only had one blade, and a stage sat in a location where it could steal all of your attention. There was an empty corner that was for his music box, it looked lonely with nothing in it. The wallpaper peeled, letting in a nice draft.
The robot walked up to the stage, remembering corny jokes and songs that were on this stage.
Fredrick, you’re un-BEAR-able.
Left let out a sound that could be a chuckle. He was reminded of having the curtains behind them changing for each performance. He got on stage and opened up the door behind the stage. It was empty, looking exactly like it had back in the 70’s. Here is where Bonnet and the Puppet held each other. It was only for a few moments, but it felt perfect. They were alone, just the two of them in their small world.
The Bonnet he knew was gone, wasted by Afton.
The Puppet was gone too, now trapped inside of Lefty.
Lefty looked at another door and saw a place that might have been a closet. He saw extra fur, and metal parts hiding in here. No, Elizabeth and Charlie hid in here too with their Barbie dolls.
He walked by the kitchen and into the back.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
This place was nothing more than a place for a ghost and a robot to be sad. Anger boiled up inside of him remembering who made this restaurant. He opened the door and started to pull out chunks of dry grass.
Piles of dead grass grow in the center of the diner, and those tubs of gasoline get emptied into different rooms. Lefty pulled out matches and looked at the restaurant one last time.
This time, he had the feeling that this was the right choice. Striking the match, he threw it into the dry grass. Lefty walks out and stands a good distance away from the building. He remembered that a train would pass by a lot, and there used to be an old picnic table right by the dead tree.
The orange flames glowed bright and smokeless. Lefty saluted, his old pride never wavering.
Burn in hell, Dad.
The building exploded, sending little bits everywhere. Nothing was left of the building, and Lefty drove off as it continued to burn.
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