Tick

Chapter 2

Josh brushed his long brown hair out of his eyes and looked down at the mess of gears and screws that covered his desk. Why was it that he could never find the pieces he was looking for? With a sigh he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He was a handsome young man, fairly tall and lanky, with tan skin and dark brown eyes. He was dressed in a plain shirt and thin jacket. He didn't have the money to afford much else. Being an underground inventor was exactly a highly lucrative business.

He stood up and stretched. He been working on his latest project for days now with little progress. He was considered one of the best inventors in the underground, but that didn't mean he didn't have his off days.

Josh wandered over to his workbench along the wall and dug threw his parts and tools. His offices weren't very large, just a desk in the middle of the room and a workbench and bookshelf off to the side. A door at the back led to his bedroom and the shop where he kept some of his larger tools. Every surface in his office was covered with metal contraptions of various styles and purposes. Some did what they were meant to, others not quite.

Josh finally found what he was looking for, a small hinge piece that moved like a joint, when there was a knocking at the door.

"Come in" Josh yelled, sitting back down at his desk. He straightened up and tried to look professional. Business wasn't exactly booming, considering large parts of the city still believed that technology was some kind of witchcraft. Only certain kinds of people come to inventors. You never knew who your costumer might be, but then again it didn't matter, as long as they had the coin.

The door opened to reveal a small elderly gentleman. He looked at Josh nervously as he enter and wrung is hands. Josh waited expectantly as the man approached his desk.

"Can I help you?" Josh asked.

The man took a deep breath and glanced around the room. Josh sighed. This man was obviously one of the people who didn't fully trust technology. He didn't appear to be a criminal so he must have some good reason to be here.

The man seemed to compose himself. "I need your help. I've tried everything else. You see it's my daughter." The man began to choke up "She can't walk. I've gone to all the doctors and no one can do anything. I thought maybe that you could build something that could help her."

"Like something that would attach to her legs and allow her to walk?" Josh asked, a little skeptical.

"Yes." The old man said, nodding frantically "Please"

"I've never done anything like that...but still" Josh looked around his office, the gears in his head beginning to turn. "It won't be easy but I may be able to do something"

Josh quickly got up from his desk and began looking through his supplies.

"Thank you! Thank you!" The man yelled in excitement "You really are too kind!"

"Don't thank me yet" Josh said "All of this is going to cost a pretty penny"

"Of course, of course" The old man dug threw his pockets until he found a bag of coin and put them on Josh's desk.

Josh turned away from his tools and looked down at the bag of coin. He frowned as he weighed it in his hand and dumped the contents out of the desk. There wasn't honestly that much there.

"This is it?" Josh asked, raising an eyebrow.

The man's face filled with worry and he nodded his head. "I'm a poor man. This is all I have."

"This will barely cover the cost of materials" Josh explained with a sigh "I can't make any profit off this."

"Please!" The man's eyes were pleading as he begged. "You have to help me! I'll owe you! I'll be in your debt! Just please!"