The Falling Machine Read Online Free PDF Page A

coughed. There was blood on his mouth. “—three times your age. No matter what you might feel for me, that was never meant to be.”
    “No!” She looked upward, and tears continued to roll down her face. “You're going to live!”
    “Wishing won't make it so. But I need to speak to Tom before I go. And I need you to—” He coughed again. It sounded worse this time. “—help him, Sarah. If you do care for me, then you'll find the best parts of me are inside of him. It will take time for Tom to discover what he is capable of, and he'll need your assistance to find out. “
    When she opened her mouth to reply, she was cut off by a scream from behind them. She turned to see the Automaton lifting Nathan's leg free from the cut end of the harpoon. The young man's eye caught hers, and he called out her name. “Sarah!”
    She quickly stood up. “Tom, come here. We need you.”
    Nathaniel whimpered slightly as Tom pulled off his coat and wound it around the wound. “Please try to relax.” Having completed his crude bandaging, he walked over to Sir Dennis.
    Tom stood above the Professor, Sarah by his side. “You are badly hurt…sir.” He held up the saw-blade. It was slightly scorched. “I should remove the…harpoon.”
    Darby shook his head. “Far too late for that. Now come down here so I can speak with you.”
    The Automaton folded his legs, collapsing down into a squat. “How can I save your life, Sir…Dennis?”
    “You can't, Tom.” He reached up and took his left hand. “But, I need you to retrieve the Alpha Element from that Irishman if you can. Second, I want you to find the new body I was building for you in the laboratory. It's not complete, but once you're in it you'll be able to finish the work yourself.” His grip tightened for a moment, and then his hand fell away. “Sarah will help you.”
    Tom reached down to grasp his fingers. “Sir…Dennis, I can…”
    “You have the potential to become much more than you already are, but it won't be easy.” He started coughing again. The blood on his skin was brighter now, and there was a wet rasp coming from his lungs as he fought to draw in another breath of air. “When dark times come it is men of honor who must lead us back to the light of reason.”
    “But, I am not a…man.”
    “No. But you can be…the light.” He looked up at the Automaton and smiled. Then Sir Dennis's eyes grew wide as he struggled to inhale again and couldn't draw a breath. “I…I…I…” The words vanished into tiny gurgles as blood replaced the remaining air in his lungs. He closed his eyes, shuddered, and then sagged as the life left his body.
    “Sir…Dennis?” Tom held him for a few moments, and then lowered his creator's lifeless body down onto the cold stone.

 
    S arah heard a grunt rise up from the Bomb Lance's prone form as she walked toward him. When she got close, she pressed the tip of her black boot up against the Irishman's shoulder and pushed him. He shifted over, rolling back the moment she stopped. Sarah lifted up her skirts slightly, swung her boot back, and then gave a good solid kick to the man's ribs. He groaned loudly.
    Frowning, she put her heel against the brass frame he wore and gave it a hard shove. “Roll, damn you!” she yelled, and gave him another shove. He spun over onto his back while she stumbled in the other direction. “You're going off this tower!”
    Swimming back to consciousness, the Irishman used the harness to block her foot as she attempted another kick. “That'll be enough of that,” he said in a drowsy slur. He hooked her leg with his arm and pulled her down in a flurry of skirts and ruffles. “I'm not supposed to hurt you….”
    Down on the ground, Sarah's feet flailed until one of them connected with his chin. He batted back at her with his brass-clad arm, knocking her legs away before she could hit him again. He was clearly awake now. “But you do that again, lass, and I'll skewer you.”
    There was blood in