We’ve Got You

The smoky-gray hellcat sauntered out to observe the situation. Buford, the half-demon mechanic, wiped a greasy hand on his coveralls and squinted into the shop’s rafters. The half-fae, May, stood beside him, hands on hips, wings fluttering anxiously. The mechanical ticking of gears came from above. Glowing LED eyes peered over the rafter.

Buford called out, “Just ease down the column.” The eyes disappeared, and the clicking ceased.

“It’s not coming down.” May hovered off the floor.

Buford reached to stop her but stumbled over the hellcat as it swiped at her foot. “We got enough issues without your help.” The hellcat gave him a flat stare and flicked its crooked tail before disappearing behind the column.

Above May encouraged the mechanical spider. “We’ve got you. Buford will fix it.”  The spider shuffled back, favoring its hindmost leg. The ticking increased, followed by the shriek of grinding metal. May tsked. “You saw him fix my wings.” They fluttered faster for effect. One caught half-extended, causing her to spiral.

Buford caught her and set her down. “I’ll see to you next.”

The scraping of pinchers against wood caught their attention as the spider scrabbled on the rafter, lost its grip, and fell—Buford dove for it. Metal pinchers bit into his arms. He cursed but held on, cradling the robot. The flaming eyes of a hellcat peered over the rafter.

“Alley!”

A self-satisfied yowl answered.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have to push it.”

Another yowl told Buford that yes, he did.

Image based on photo by Ray Shrewsberry