Chaos’s Fear

Wednesday has come around again and I’m happy to present this week’s flash fiction.

“Keep up, would you?” Professor Aldald’s voice carried over the din of experiments in various stages of progress. Grancis glanced at one worktable bellowing copious amounts of dark, thick smoke from a mechanical. Or destruction, he amended to himself.

Grancis ducked beneath a swinging arm and straightened to see Aldald skip-hop past another device belching flame over… Gracious! Was that a fire stone?

Shaking his head, Grancis mimicked Aldald’s movements until they reached a thick wooden door on the floor’s far side. The professor hefted the door open. “Here we are.” Grancis followed as Aldald hurried through. Aldadl hulled the door closed as a mechanical rumbled past.

“Is the chaos always thus?” He dug into his satchel searching for the report that had sent him here.

“Gracious no!” Aldald said settling into his chair. “Some days are truly exciting.”

Pulling the papers clear, Grancis glanced over them. “Is true that four nights past, an experiment failed with such… pronouncement that the surrounding ten blocks shook?”

Aldald nodded crisply. “Certainly did. Matin’s experiment provided us with invaluable data!”

“That didn’t worry you?” Grancis scowled.

“Not in the slightest.”

“An event effecting the entire environs didn’t worry you?”

Aldald waved dismissively. “Fools building next to a mechanical foundry. No, that did not worry me.”

“Then what does?”

Aldald prodded a pair of cufflinks sitting on his table. “It’s things like these that keep me up at night.”

“Cufflinks?”

“Yes, unfathomable things.”

Grancis blinked. Findlin would regret assigning him this inspection.

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