The Boy On Fire (A Caleo Short Story)

Chapter 5

               Bunker 9 was just as Leo had left it. Wires covered the floor and hung from the ceiling, leading off into mysterious motors and generators. Almost every square inch of wall space was covered in blueprints. Large circular corridors ran out of the main room in random directions. It was just how Leo loved it, complete insanity. Ahh, it's good to be back.

               Apparently Festus thought that too, because he walked right over to his pad in the center of the room and lay himself down, keeping one eye open. He couldn't sleep anymore because Piper had permanently woken him up, but Leo guessed that Festus still found his pad comfortable.

               "So what do you think?" Leo asked Calypso as she stared at everything around her.

               After some pondering she spoke. "I think it needs to be redone."

               "What do you mean?" Leo was confused. Did she not like it? He thought she would love Bunker 9!

               "Look over there." Calypso pointed to a corner of the room that was filled with crates. "Can't you just see a worktable over there? And over there can't you see buckets of sorted tools just ready to be used?"

               The funny thing was, Leo could see all of that. He could imagine crates of sorted tools, brand new worktables instead of the almost one-hundred year old ones that he used now, and maybe even a few conveyor belts with fancy machine parts spilling out of them. Maybe Bunker 9 did need a makeover.

               "Yeah, I think your right, Calypso. This place is kind of a dump."

               "Don't think of it like that. Think of it as an opportunity to make something amazing even better!" Calypso turned to him with a beautiful smile that lit up her entire face.

               "So you do think it's amazing?"

               "Of course I do, Leo! It is amazing!" Calypso walked over to Leo and hugged him.

               Leo felt warmth travel up his spine and into his heart from where Calypso was touching him. The hug ended too quickly though and Calypso started to pace around the room, muttering about different things that she could do to improve the bunker. Leo followed her.

               "We could have a small kitchen over there by the windows to prepare food if were hungry."

               "Yeah! And we could put in a mini fridge to store snacks and soda!"

               "A mini fridge?"

               Leo scolded himself. He was always forgetting that Calypso wasn't up to date on all of the technological advances of the twenty-first century, or even the first century.

               "It's like a box that keeps stuff cold so that it won't spoil as fast."

               "Oh! That's smart. So it's like a Greek icehouse?"

               "Yeah, I guess. But it's a lot smaller and more compact."

               "Perfect! Now what kind of flowers would match this mechanical theme..."

               As Calypso walked around the room, brainstorming ideas, Leo thought. I should really tell her that she's immortal. I don't want to keep it from her. It's not like if I don't tell her, it won't be true.

               "Hey, Calypso?" It was now or never.

               "Yes, Leo?" She stopped her planning and turned to look at him.