Machinist of Mana

The lathe spun, and carefully, bit by bit I removed the material. It was a delicate thing, time consuming, but meditative as I worked the small piece of steel into the exact shape it needed to be. I had notes of course, and measurements, and the original bit sitting on the bench nearby, all to get this metal the right size.

As I pulled back I heard a voice shouting. “Making another six-shooter there Liam?”

I turned and after confirming my visitor switched the machine off before removing my earplugs and glasses. The radio buzzed in the background, news playing for some white noise.

“Nah, nephew broke his favorite toy. Just making a replacement part. How's it hanging Mitch?” I asked as I rose to greet him, hugging one of my oldest friends where he stood in the door.

“Good brother, you? Just came by to see if you wanted to go with Lee and I up to the mountains this weekend. He's found some place he wants to try camping, says the views are great.”

“Hate to say it, but I've already got plans,” I said as I motioned him towards the house.

We turned from rolled up door of the shop and to the small home that I'd bought last year. The price had been great for being this close to the city, mostly because it was torn to bits. None of that really mattered to me though, what had mattered was the beautiful outbuilding. The last owner had apparently loved fixing cars in his younger days, but had been unable to keep it up as he got older. Cleaning everything had been an absolute pain, but worth it.

“Date?” my friend asked as we entered.

“No, seeing grandma,” I said with a shake of my head. “She's... old ya know? Might not get too many more chances.”

“Spend time with them while you can,” he answered with weight. I'd never known much about his grandparents, but I knew he'd lost one just last year. Then he perked up, “Anything else going on?”

“Not much if I'm being honest. Work and playing around here,” I told him with a shrug.

Mitch didn't stay long, and I hated to see him go. We'd known each other for years and years, but sometimes if felt as if we were drifting apart. Now we had different lives, some separate friends. Perhaps that was the way of things, old friends leaving us, new ones being found, but it still hurt.

I gave my 3d printers a once over, making sure they were still doing their work without going all screwy on me before heading back to the shop. It was still early, barely even noon, so I decided to take an extended break. One by one I turned off my tools and lights as I went for the door.

“... Is due to be executed this evening...” the radio said as I flipped it off, some report about a psycho doctor or something.

“Now, where to go?” I asked myself. “Need some onions, maybe...”

There was a small vegetable stall about a mile away, less if I cut through some old fields. It was quint, an unmanned thing that always surprised city folk. Many would ask themselves how everything didn't get stolen, but so far as I knew the people who ran it never had major problems. The owner was a nice old man, sometimes joined by some of his wife or grand-kids. I could pop over there for some produce and be home soon enough, the fresh food would go well in dinner.

With a pep in my step I kept in through the backyard, crossing a small patch of woods and into an abandoned field. The trails were well-worn by game and myself, the walk easy. I didn't know what this little vacant area had been, probably either grazing or tobacco some years back, but now it was just an overgrown lot, head-height grass, probably forty acres total. Some real-estate developer was sure to buy it up someday, and fill it with ugly cookie-cutter houses.

I kept to the trail here, there'd be enough chances of me picking up ticks either way, but less was better, at least that was my intent. About halfway through the area the ground rumbled, and I tripped, falling from the path. Quick enough I picked myself up and turned back around, but the opened route wasn't there.

For a few moments I searched. Game came through here all the time, so it shouldn't be difficult to locate where I'd been walking, but it was gone. That was no matter, this meadow wasn't that big, and I knew where the road was, so I turned and started walking.

Things got weirder and weirder by the moment. The weeds and grass, they were all one kind, and it looked like every step I took forward made them get taller and taller. It hit me then, there were no bugs, not a cricket or anything. A brief look around on the ground didn't reveal any either, that shouldn't be so, there should be something around, there were always little critters in an area like this, but there were none.

A few more steps and I could barely see the sun through the tops of the surrounding plants. They'd always been tall, but this wasn't right, none of it was right. In a panic I tried to turn back, tried to run from wherever I'd stumbled into, but it didn't work. Even when I headed back the way I came the grass still grew taller, the ground darker, and fear began to mount into panic.

Then the grasses parted, and I found myself in a circle. The ground here was stone, covered in vines and some sort of vine I didn't recognize. In the center of the little clearing there was a glowing pool of water. That was odd, but not the oddest part. The grasses that I'd been running through, that had grown to insane heights curved up to form a sort of ceiling.

“Who are you? What do you want!?” I asked nobody, pulling the small knife I kept in my pocket, but there was no response.

I spent several minutes trying to work things out while I calmed a bit. I even tried to head back to the grasses, but before I could push through I was wrought with mind-numbing terror. No matter what I tried I couldn't leave the circle, even trying to jump into the hedge failed, feeling as if I was almost physically pushed back. Really I wanted to have an answer, but only one thing came to mind.

“It's a trap, I'm in a trap,” I told myself. “Only questions are whose trap, and is it a live trap, or a roach motel?” Other questions did flit through my mind, but until I got out of here those weren't that important.

Working around the circular opening I began to examine things. The vines were odd, and though I tried to cut them that too caused fear, just walking around was fine, but attempts to damage always failed. The symbols on the ground were likewise meaningless to me, though reminded me of some kind of fantasy gobbledygook.

“Doesn't look alien, unless aliens have a weird sense of style, fairies or magic maybe?” I said with a shrug.

Eventually I gave up. Time would tell me what was going to happen, and at the moment I had little to do but wait. So wait I did, playing a few phone games, then a bit of tic-tac-toe with myself on the ground.

I didn't know what time it was, but it should have been late when I fell asleep. The next morning was similar, so very similar, except for one thing. There was a flower just beside where I'd slept, opening onto a beautiful blossom.

“That looks friendly,” I guessed. “and I hate to, but time to find out if this is poison.”

Marching to the central pool I leaned down. There was a chance, and a very good one, that this would kill me, but if it didn't I'd need the strength for whatever came next. Carefully I cupped my hand and took some of the liquid, sniffing it first before I drank. It was sweet, cool, and nearly perfect.

“Well, tastes better than the stuff from the spring in town. I drank from that once, tastes like metallic fart,” I said to whomever might be listening, hoping to get some reaction. It was true too, there was a mineral spring in the local town that people thought was good for you, and it did in fact taste disgusting.

I spent another day doing little, for there was little to do but look at the big rock I was on. It was an odd sort of thing, the grain strange and almost unnatural, but I didn't really know much about rocks, so who was I to judge?

As I woke up on the third day there was another new addition. My flower from the day before had gone to fruit. The thing was periwinkle, and about the size of a mango. It was also a clear invitation.

“Time to find out if whoever set this up wants me alive or not,” I said as I bit down, eating the whole thing. Sure there were stories telling you not to do just that, but I had little to lose at this point, so it became breakfast, washed down with some of the water.

An hour and no less and my insides began to burn. It was subtle at first, a bit of water from the pool cooling it, but it got worse and worse by the moment, until no matter how much I drank the burning never stopped. I'd not cried many times since childhood, but it was enough to send tears down both cheeks.

“Ah, ah, guess roach motel then,” I said through gritted teeth. “Didn't have to make it hurt so bad though, AAAHHHHH,” I screamed as another wave of pain washed over me.

As I opened my eyes and looked down I saw my hands starting to flake and burn. Desperate, I crawled into the pool, the water had cooled the pain before, and any relief would do now. More and more I drank, begging for reprieve as bits of me floated off and away.

The pool glowed brighter and brighter until it became almost physical, a pushing on all sides. With a final scream the pain ended, and the light overtook me.

The world around me shifted as it pushed me forward, the light fading into only a bit above, where I was going. It was strangling, stifling, and I struggled, but still I was pushed, thrust ever forward.

It all came to a fore in what seemed like only a second, first my head, then the rest of me pulled out and into the air. I felt weird, gross and wet, and confused. I couldn't properly see, everything a blur of colors and shapes. Then somebody smacked my ass.

I tried to yell at whoever had done that. This was all too weird, to strange, but that had seemed intentional, and rude. The noise came out as a high-pitched cry though, not sounding at all like my voice.

There was shifting and movement as I was turned around again, and with effort to open my eyes I saw all around me giant figures. One in particular was looking down at me with a smile, or I thought it was a smile, my vision was still not great.

What the fuck was going on?