Chapter Two: The Mayor’s Visit
In Suite 5, Asteroid had made himself at home. His journey to earth was made many moons ago when he found himself stumbling upon Eclipse Ranch Motel. He was captivated. He noticed its flaws—it was impossible not to—but he felt like it was a place he belonged. He knew he could make it something of value to him and besides, nobody was going to care if he barged his way in. He chose the only standard room whose windows had not fallen victim to the local kid’s rock-throwing contests. Inside were the original bed and appliances from decades before him. He made some modifications to its appearance and decorated it as he pleased. His patchwork sheets had been a work of his own, with the help of his best friend, Lucille, who was an expert seamstress when she wanted to be. Asteroid had to convince her for months to help with the bedding but she finally caved in after he buttered her up with a letter telling her how much he appreciated their friendship. Though his intent was not to persuade her, it prompted her to assist in his small wishes. His patchwork sheets and quilt matched the drapes which were also created by him. The deep blues and mature reds of the bedding complimented the cream drapes which would cast a summery sheen through the windows in the evening. Something he never thought he would appreciate but grew very fond of during his time on earth. A small desk just large enough for his journal, a book, and a few pens sat across the foot of the bed with a matching chair. A gift Lucille had bestowed upon him to make him feel at home in the motel suite. It was the most charming piece of furniture he had ever seen. It was crafted from the finest dark brown oak, ornately sculpted hardware, and gold details painted with a delicate hand. Its beauty entranced him. It was missing a drawer on the bottom left, but he didn’t mind.
The carpet was found in decent condition, but a good day of cleaning left it looking and feeling brand new. The thinly striped navy blue and cream wallpaper had only begun to peel off in the corners of the room which was also an easy fix. He never had much to his name, nor did he care to. To him, the run-down motel room felt like a palace for the mightiest of kings. He filled it with a few of his belongings from home which consisted of his childhood plush his mother made him before he was born, his backpack which held his journals, some pens, pencils, and an old CD player with a pair of batted-up and tangled headphones. Though he never felt a need to own possessions, he loved learning about items and gadgets and wrote down his favorite inventions—along with their purposes—in his journal. He adored the antique shop Lucille owned in the next town over and she would bring him little treasures that either reminded her of Asteroid, or were things people seemed to ignore. Asteroid always found a calling to the items discarded by the local folk. Suite 5 had become his place of solitude. He knew nobody would mind him being there, nor dare to bother him, for its location was undesirable.
As the sun went down that night, Asteroid sat at his desk writing in his journal. Auto, his robot companion sat up on the foot of the bed, kicking his thick metal feet back and forth. He was hollering profound words at Asteroid to include in a short story they were creating to pass the time while waiting for Lucille to show up for movie night. The two were a great pair! They shared a similar humor and bonded over being from the same planet, though Auto used to be Space Force official property. Auto was sent on his final mission many moons ago and failed to complete Space Force orders in time so they labeled his unit as “defective” and left him stranded on Earth to fend for himself. He was a quick thinker and had a heap of emotions, sometimes too many for him to even control. His temper was short with most people but with those close to him, he extended a hand of compassion. His original programming was created for him to be an aid in schools to help the young beings learn, which was the reason he possessed such a wide vocabulary and had swift witty remarks. Each time he spoke the buttons on his front surface would illuminate. What was originally an injury from his final mission, became something he and his friends loved about him.
“Skulk!” Auto shouted. His voice was robotic and grainy but squeaked like a child’s.
“Skulk? Okay, you’re just making up words now!” Asteroid’s body bounced as he let out a chuckle.
“I am not! It’s a real word!”
“Alright, what does it mean?”
“It means to move in a stealthy or calculated manner.”
Asteroid stared at the little robot for a moment, then grabbed his pen as it rolled to the edge of the desk, stopping it from plummeting to the ground. He twirled it around in his hand and brought the metal tip to paper and continued writing.
“Something had caught Elizabeth’s eye from across the street. She tried to investigate further but her reflection was competing to look back at her. Once she had focused on the outside world through the diner window, she saw something skulking in the alleyway…”
His words slowed down as he lost the idea.
“Hmm…what should it be? A person would be too bland and probably anticipated.”
Auto squirmed with excitement and his metal frame bounced up and down making the bed let out a faint whisper.
“A raccoon! And it can be in the dumpster! And it- it pulls a teacup out of the bin and throws it on the ground and the glass shatters and he jumps up out of shock and um- then he-” Auto’s giggle that echoed in his metal body slowly turned into a sigh of embarrassment. Asteroid turned around and gave Auto a reassuring smile.
“That’s very silly Auto, maybe we can use that for another story. Like the one with those foxes or something. This one has to be mischievous! I need to write something gripping!”
The glimmer in Asteroid’s eye was one that glistened with excitement and determination.
“I know, I’m sorry.” Auto let out a small breath of air and threw himself on the bed flat on his back. He was quite carefree around Asteroid and Lucille. He only trusted them. Well, the trio really only trusted each other. Everyone else in the world proved to be an immediate threat so they stayed within their confines.
“I miss Lucille.” Auto murmured as he rolled onto his side taking the quilt with him.
“What do you mean? We saw her yesterday!”
“I know but- I just miss her okay! I wish we were always together all the time you know? Like, what if something bad happens to her? What if her car explodes while she’s driving and loses control or- or she runs into the corner shop to grab me a cosmic candy bar and someone sneaks up on her and does something crazy! And- and it would all be my fault because she stopped there for me, to- to be nice- because she’s the nicest!”
Auto’s tone shifted into one of desperation and slight panic. His mind was expressive and he often thought twelve steps ahead of everyone to make sure everything was going to be okay.
“She’s okay Auto, I promise. She’ll be here soon it’s almost 8 O’clock. You know she’s never late.”
“You’re right, you’re right. I know…”
A silence fell over the room. Asteroid’s pen kept writing and the scratches of the metal tip across the paper were the only sound filling the void. The pages swooshed by as he flipped one after another.
“She’s going to die someday though.”
Asteroid whipped his head around in a flash. The pen slipped from his hand and rolled to the edge of the desk and dove to the ground.
“Auto! Don’t say that!” He laughed it off, straining it a little to reassure Auto and confirm that he wasn’t worried too much. But also, to make himself feel a little better too. They both knew she would die before them, she’s a human after all. Auto knew at some point there would come a time he would have to say goodbye to everyone he loved. Robots lived indefinitely—or until someone shut down their systems for good.
“You don’t need to worry about that right now. Go over to the cupboard and grab some snacks and get the TV up and running. She’ll be here soon. It’s alright.”
“Okay…”
Auto propped himself up slowly and hopped off the side of bed. His legs were too short to reach the ground gracefully, so he always landed with a little thump. As he walked over to the cupboard he was humming a tune to himself to get his mind off all of the possibilities that could go wrong. In the oak cupboard—also a gift from Lucille—was a bag of pretzels, a few apples, two cans of tomato soup, a cosmic candy bar for Auto, and some microwave popcorn sleeves. Auto tried reaching for the pretzels but the top shelf was just out of reach. He looked over his shoulder readying himself to ask Asteroid for a hand, but refrained after seeing how concentrated he looked in his writing session. He took it upon himself to try and reach a little higher. Placing one of his metal feet on the bottom shelf, and his clamp-like hand gripping to the middle shelf, he reached for the bag of pretzels. He fidgeted and wiggled ever so slightly trying to snatch the bag without losing his balance. The crinkling plastic was just out of reach and he wobbled back and forth, and finally fell to the ground with a thud!
“Auto! What are you doing!”
“I was just uh- trying to get the pretzels.”
“Why didn’t you just ask for help?”
“You looked really busy and I didn’t want to mess up your flow! Plus I thought maybe I had grown a little taller and could reach now. ”
“Auto, you know you’re not going to grow any taller, you’re made of metal.”
“Oh shush, I know.”
Asteroid rested the pen on his journal and rose from the wooden chair to help Auto get up and prepare the snacks. On the floor beside Auto was a shiny penny, laying heads up. Asteroid grabbed it and gave it to Auto.
“Look! Something good is going to happen to us!” Asteroid’s face lit up and he looked over at Auto whose eyes widened. Auto once saw a man at the corner store pick up a penny from the ground and say to his wife that they were in for a good omen—and ever since that moment—Auto believed nothing truer than that statement. He held the penny in his hand paying close attention to its impressions and detail. Asteroid grabbed the pretzels from the top shelf and poured them into a small bowl to be set on the counter. He tore the wrapper off the popcorn sleeve and placed it in the microwave for seven minutes. Its timer was broken so he had to keep track of how long to use the microwave manually. The clock above his desk read 7:53 p.m. As the popcorn began making a ruckus he tried to write a little more in his journal while Auto still stayed fixated on the penny in his hand. Being careful to notice the time so he wouldn’t burn the popcorn, he looked up at 7:55 p.m. and thought to himself, “Five more minutes.”
A screech loud enough to be heard on the other side of town punctured their silence. The two jumped in their seats and looked at each other in shock.
“Was that Lucille?”
“No no, it’s not 8 o’clock yet. She is always on time, never early, never late. Probably just some stupid kids messing around.”
The clock read 7:56 p.m. when a light could be seen growing closer and closer on its way up the driveway from the main road. Asteroid stood up and stared through the sheer drapes watching the light engulf the darkness. The sound of a motor grew more noticeable until it came to a stop and the headlights turned off. A car door swung open, a few footsteps slapped down on the pavement, and then a slam shut. Asteroid looked back at Auto whose face had dropped to a blank stare. He pranced over to the window and pressed his face flat against the wall to peer behind the drapes and into the parking lot. It was not Lucille. A black car with a shiny paint job sat a few doors down. Its tires were comically shiny and the windows were tinted to resemble a black hole. He stood in confusion as he tried to think of whose car it could possibly be but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Frantically, he threw himself backward, stumbling over his feet and landing on the bed.
“Who is it?” Auto whispered.
His eyebrows furrowed, and he stood up slowly.
“I’m not too sure.”
Asteroid regained his balance and walked over to the door to look through the peephole. Though the picture was foggy, he could make out the short and stocky silhouette. Standing not much taller than 5 feet—even in heels—and a folder in hand was the mayor of Bliss, Miss Eliza. She seemed to have a worried look on her face as she scanned her head left to right looking around the parking lot. To his relief, he turned back to Auto and whispered,
“It’s Miss Eliza! Don’t worry.”
Auto wiped his worried expression off his face and noticed he dropped the penny. He quickly made himself busy trying to find it as Asteroid unlocked the door and greeted the mayor.
“Hi Miss Eliza! What’s going on, is everything okay?”
“Oh hello Asteroid, yes yes things are fine- well, yes and no.”
“Why? What’s going on? You’ve only ever come all this way one time before. What’s with the urgency?”
“Um, well, may I come in?”
“Yeah- yes of course, just take a seat over there.”
She made her way to the armchair which sat in the corner by his bed. With her head down low, she sifted through her papers until she found one that she handed to Asteroid.
“Ah! There you go!”
He grabbed the paper and began to read it but couldn’t make any sense of it.
“I’m sorry- I- I’m not really sure what this is about. What am I looking at?”
“Well Asteroid, some of the citizens of Bliss are claiming that you don’t belong here and wish to have you removed from this motel, and from Bliss as a whole. I don’t really understand why, but they’ve managed to get enough signatures to make me have to bring it to your attention.”
“What? Me? But I- I didn’t do anything? This can’t-”“Oh I understand, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about either but I legally have to make you aware of this petition now. That’s all. I best be going. The sun is almost entirely gone and I hate being out too late.”
Miss Eliza stacked her papers neatly and tucked them into the pockets of her folder. With her head perched high, she hastily stood up and made her way to the door.
“Well, what do I do? That’s it? I just have to leave because they said so?”
“Oh no! No, no, no! Not yet. You’re able to stay but you would have to prove to those who signed it that you’re a good citizen and make them change their minds and revoke their signatures. You have 30 days before I have to come back and start escorting you away. I’m sorry Asteroid.”
She walked out the door and practically sprinted to her car. Asteroid stood in the open door frame and watched her drive away. He wasn’t sure what to think. His entire life he had been a burden to those around him for no fault of his own. He was good-spirited and never had done anything spiteful. He stared into the vast desert of Bliss with a million thoughts racing through his mind.
The high-pitched scream of a fire alarm began blaring in the room as it filled with smoke.
“Asteroid! The popcorn! I- I think it caught fire!”
Auto ran towards the door trying to flee the room to grab the fire extinguisher that hung a few doors down, on the wall outside Suite 3. Asteroid ran over to the microwave to open the door. He reached inside and pinched the corner of the bag and threw it onto the floor.
“Auto! Hurry up! It really is on fire!”
Auto raced through the doorway and over to the blazing popcorn bag, pulled the tab on the extinguisher, and put out the fire. Between the smoke and the extinguishing agent, the two started coughing and squinting their eyes from the fumes. With the hope that the fire had been put out the two ran outside to get some fresh air. As they were making their grand escape, Asteroid tripped over a crack in the sidewalk and slammed to the ground. A sizable gash was revealed on his left arm and started gushing blood. It trickled down his arm and formed a puddle beside him. When he looked down to see the mess, he began to cry and put his head on his knees, wrapping his arms around himself.
“Ugh! Why! Why! Why!”
“It’s okay Asteroid! I’ll get some bandages you’re gonna be fine.”
“It’s not that Auto. I don’t care about the blood. I just can’t ever seem to catch a break. No matter where I go and no matter who I’m near, I’m somehow always unwanted. I never go into town, I never see these people. I stay up here in the motel or we go to other towns like Chastain or Fang Point so I don’t scare anyone but I always end up being a problem to people.”
He wiped his tears but his sweater was soaked in blood, leaving a red trail across his face. He stared at the ground. His mind was empty. Auto sat down next to Asteroid on the sidewalk’s edge and rested his cold metal arm across his back.
“You’re not the problem Asteroid. They are.”
He picked up his head from his knees as he heard a motor making its way towards them. The clock read 8:00 p.m. Lucille will know exactly what to say.
To Be Continued…
