Orion and the Clockwork (The Carmsborough Vigilantes #2)

Chapter 6

"Right on time," Rami's mom said, taking the butter and eggs from them and placing it on the counter. "Dinner is almost ready. Will you go get your sister from the field?"

"Yes, ma'am," Rami replied, leaving out the front door again.

"I'm sure you guessed," she said, turning to Orion, "but you're welcome to stay for dinner. We want to talk with you more about how long to stay and such."

"Alright. Thank you."

He waited in silence, hovering around the living room while Rami went to fetch Max. Their house was quiet. It was a strange change of pace from the bustling sounds of the apartment complex, with cars occasionally driving by down below, and one hundred other people sharing the same building as a living space. This was almost something he could get used to.

When the two returned, everyone took their places at the dinner table. Orion sat at one of the two empty seats after everyone else had already picked, and dishes were slowly passed around, allowing everyone to get a portion of what felt like the most diverse meal he'd seen in a long time.

"So, Orion," the dad began, setting his fork down a couple minutes into dinner. "We wanted to talk to you about what your plans were. It's alright if you don't have an answer yet, but there are some obvious things that need to be discussed regarding being in our house, should you choose to stay."

"I'm not totally sure," he replied, halfway through his chicken. "The only other place I have right now is my home, but with being hunted down, it's not a very safe place to be. And I don't want to get my dad and sister into any more trouble than they probably are right now."

"Is there something you can do about that?" Rami asked.

"I don't know. I'm not a fighter, but I want to protect my family. If I could figure out how that machine out there operated, then maybe I could do something, but for now..."

"No worries," Rami's dad said. "For now, you can stay with us. We have a spare bedroom up the stairs that you can use, and we'll give you some of Rami's clothes to wear. We're obviously taking in a little bit of risk having you here, but that's a bridge we will cross when the pastor gives us some insight. But, while you choose to be under my house, you will abide by my rules."

"Understandable."

"Good. The first rule is that I'll be putting you to work. We need all the help we can get out there in the field, and you could use a little manual labor. The second rule is that you listen to me and don't talk back, and the third rule is that you're coming to church with us when we go."

Rami shoots him a knowing look, which he ignores for now. "Sounds fair to me."

"Right on. We're up at dawn."

-◦=[ ]=◦-

Dawn came much earlier than Orion was prepared for. After a long day of walking around and coping with the Clockwork, Rami had helped get the spare bedroom set up for Orion, including a few changes of clothes. The bed was larger than he was used to, and much more comfortable. Or maybe that was the exhaustion.

And yet, at the first peeking of sunlight over the horizon, Orion was still dreadfully unexcited for the day ahead. Aside from working at the butcher shop, he'd avoided the bulk of physical labor in his life. Not to mention the possible concussion he was sporting. He only hoped today would go fast.

His footsteps creaked down their wooden stairs, where he arrived in the dining room once again. Dinner the night before had ended quietly, and everyone had left to head to bed. This morning, everyone was back, bowls of some sort of cereal replacing the pleasant dinner.