The Call of the Beachwick

Chapter 24: Blue and Gold

Kesi felt the fire of a thousand suns radiate down her backside. A burning sensation, the likes of which she had never felt before, punctuated every inch of her lithe form. As she lay sprawled in the street, unable to move, she could feel the painful welts beginning to form, the blistering heat seemingly boiling her skin from within. Only small patches of her once vibrant red dress managed to escape the devastating destruction wrought by the blast, serving as stark reminders of the merciless force that had just engulfed her.

Everything hurt.

Desperately, her mind tried to cope, quickly calculating her mistake. Amongst the pain, she could see her and her mom back in the bedroom, desperation etched on the latter's face with concern for her safety. As the shackles of Kesi's mind started to free itself from the prison of her own making, a plan started to form, a gambit not without risk, but better than the alternative of leaving her mother for dead against Xara's unknown wrath.

"Wait," she said desperately pulling her mother back into the room to stop her plan. The earlier mention of the steam clock had surprised even her with an idea to put it to good use. It had been almost two full days since her gift had spoken to her, that the moment it did, she knew she had to listen. Most of her life, she had been so burdened by its weight, it was a relief when it was finally gone. However, in its wake, she found nothing remained, not even herself. It was as if she was a blank canvas, primed and readied by a well-versed artist, but when the artist came it wasn't the beauty of the one who bestowed her of her gift, but brashness of Eliza's personality. In the worst possible way, she had become the woman that used her body to get everything she wanted. Even now in her pain, she shuttered at the thought.

Still, her mother's words had moved her and Kesi felt the binds holding her back finally breaking free. She was still angry at what her mother had done, though the rationale part of her gift was telling her how absurd that was, but she didn't wish ill on the woman who gave her life. "I have an idea."

"Badger, we don't have—"

"We draw them in, then scuttle the house," she said much to her shock and embarrassment. It was her home after all. She had grown up with it her whole life. It was a haven from everything and everyone that weighed down on her. All those dreams and aspirations she had of moving beyond its walls now seemed silly as she considered its destruction, but as nostalgia pulled at her soul, she could see no other recourse to getting the two of them away safe.

"Scuttle?" her mother answered blankly. Kesi could tell she was confused.

"If Xara is tracking you, we'll need a head start. My beam didn't do the job, but at least it knocked her out for a few minutes. I figure we need something equally as big to get a head start. This way we kill two birds with one stone."

"You still haven't explained what you mean?"

"Get Xara and the Syndicate inside. I'll head to the washroom and increase the steam in the tub's tank. Once I remove the regulator, the steam should build up pressure. Once it hits maximum velocity..." she trailed. She couldn't bring herself to say the rest. Even her mother understood what steam did under pressure and she was sure her mother wasn't going to approve.

To her surprise, her mother didn't even question it, just her ability. Kesi wasn't even sure herself, given the rate her gift was coming back to her, but she found with some concentration, she could press forward. Once more the steam clock came to mind and she saw each gear rotating right and left against itself. With each rotation, she counted the cogs, then the teeth and found the simple answer to her mom's earlier question.

"216."

"216?" her mom asked.

"216 teeth across seven gears in the steam clock."