Klaire de Lys
Stories (80/0)
I, Willhelm
Afraid that the robot would try and kill him, Robbie uploaded his video immediately. Even before Robbie published his article the following morning, the dome attracted attention immediately. It was hard to miss, glowing so brightly it was visible from space like a pale blue star, completely different to the yellow glow of the roads, towns and cities that webbed their path across earth. The local farmers where the first to notice it. Patric Hogan was an old farmer, he had know Frank a long time ago, but just like everyone else, he assumed that the farm had been sold to fund a care home and was now under new management. He arrived a few hours after the dome first appeared, several people already standing outside it, curious and afraid. Some people had thrown stones at it which had passed through, one of them even contemplated firing their shotgun at it. Patric watched as the farmer who had made the suggestion lifted the gun, took aim, and was immediately thrown back by an invisible force.
By Klaire de Lys3 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
The next few weeks were a blur for Robbie. First the police wanted to talk to him, then someone from the army who’s name he quickly forgot wanted to talk to him. Each talk took hours, sometimes days, the same questions asked over and over until Robbie’s throat was dry and raspy. Then journalists swooped in. Every time he talked about it the story it changed a little more, a little more fearful, a little more embellished. Even though the video evidence clearly showed the contrary, he found himself describing how the robot’s eyes went red when it spoke of war. He didn’t even realise he was doing it, an air of fear that surrounded the whole story gradually permeating his memory.
By Klaire de Lys3 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
Robbie stared at what the farm should look like; a white house, surrounded by fields on a barren landscape and looked up at what was really there. The house was nowhere to be seen, a forest in it’s place that was over a mile wider than the original boundary of the farm. He knew this because of the milestone next to his feet that read; HELM FARM. 1 Mile.
By Klaire de Lys3 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
Robbie knew of Peter from work. The wealthy trust-fund child of the man who owned a little bit of everything - but mainly the newspaper Robbie worked for. He’d often seen him at work functions, up until a few years ago when he had decided that they were too boring, and the best way to win daddy’s attention was by behaving like a human mosquito. It had an been interesting yet predictable metamorphosis over the years, watching the young man with bleached blond flat hair go from an eaton-educated mirror of his father, to a boy who’s entire personally could be explained in the phrase; smash the system. It didn’t matter what the system was, it needed to be smashed. Naturally this rebelliousness was not shown when money was involved. He had become rather adept at being charming in his fathers presence, and vitriolic once he was out of earshot.
By Klaire de Lys3 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
When Dave first came to Robbie, the story could not have been less appealing. Although he would never say it, the homeless where not exactly front page material. He’d tried in the past to write stories about the shocking increate of homeless, first due to the pandemic, and then the cost of living. But the fact was that the public didn’t care. It was too close to home with so many people only one pay check away from experiencing it themselves, so they ignored it. Robbie didn’t see the point in wasting his time.
By Klaire de Lys3 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
Alice had been found in Scotland, walking along the edge of a loch Fyne. She was wearing the same clothes she had been taken in, covered in mud and barely talking. The news dominated the news stream for a week, the once avoided estate was suddenly flooded with reporters, cameras and curiosity tourists. She never left the house, her husband the buffer between her and the outside world. During this time she barely said a word, even to the police who came to interview. Her story was simple; the robot appeared to have malfunctioned, took her away. For weeks she had been locked in the back of a van, eventually escaping when the robot malfunctioned. The police searched the area, found an abandoned stone van and a broken robot. It appeared to the the same robot according to the serial number on it’s neck. But something about it frustrated Robbie Samuel; the payout had been minuscule. Of course the actual number Aphelion robotics that made was not disclosed anywhere, and whatever it was; it was enough for Alice Wilson’s husband to quit his job and work part time, but they never moved into a bigger house, bought a fancy car or did anything else that implied a surplus of cash. This lead Robbie to believe that they had not pushed for a large number, and that made him suspicious.
By Klaire de Lys4 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
It had been a hard few years. Alun was tired down to his bones. Every morning he would wake up look at the alarm clock and wonder if relief would be the last thing he would feel if he stepped out in front of the bus today. Of course he would never do that, he’d seen enough photos in court and witnessed the devastating emotional aftermath in the witnesses to know that he could never actually do that. But still, imagining it provided a kind of metal relief that was was almost soothing.
By Klaire de Lys4 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
Robbie Samuel had almost given up on the Aphelion story when an email arrived at 2 am. He’d been up all night, his cat curled on his lap and purring. Normally he would have ignored the email until morning, but as it was he’d been up late sorting through the various admin he’d been ignoring from his mother’s nursing home. The saw the email arrive in his inbox, opened it without thinking and began to read. The cat mewed in protest as he sat up and leaned in towards the screen, it’s head squished between his stomach and the edge of the desk.
By Klaire de Lys4 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
Alice’s husband hadn’t slept properly in three days. He was holding the baby tightly, starting into the distance as the police spoke with the men from Aphelion robotics, a lost look on his face. The help had come pouring in. Meals where made, family and friends worked on rotation to care for the baby, not that it was terribly needed; the school immediately allowed an indefinite leave of absence. The house was spotless, the meals were cooked, and the baby had not stopped crying in three days. It hated the food he made, he hated the way he was put to bed down, he hated the sound and smell of strangers in the house. He hated everything except, his father, and refused to be put down.
By Klaire de Lys4 months ago in Chapters
I, Willhelm
Alice husband was still inside comforting the baby. Alice watched from the edge of the garden, her hands over her mouth and her eyes red, tapping her foot relentless as her thoughts swirled. He couldn’t see her. It was dark outside, the stars already out, and he wasn’t about to come outside to find her either.
By Klaire de Lys4 months ago in Chapters