The large man slowly stood up, his jaw gaping open in shock and awe, as he alternated glances between the thin, lithe man beside him and the smoldering heap of sizzling metal before him.
"How in the bloody seven hells did you..." He trailed off, staring at the ruined machine. "That was a fully functional Mark IV Pasture Guardian Ani-maton!" He swung around to look down at the young man beside him, his face a mix of shock and horror. "And what kind of black magic fuckery did you just whip out like a toy gun?!"
"Ah, yes... about that..." Drake shook the grass and hay from his blonde hair, straightened his pleather trench coat, and attempted to make himself presentable again. "I believe whatever was in your canister was ripe with photonic energy or something very similar. Strikingly similar, I might add."
"I didn't understand a bloody word you just said, boy," the man stared down, confused, at the young man. "But that was mighty fine, impressive indeed, son!" He grinned a genuine smile and shot out a hand to shake. "Name's William. William Blackwood."
Drake nodded and politely shook the man's large hand. "Pleasure to meet you, William."
"Bah! Only my mother calls me William, and she's dead as a doornail." He balked with laughter. "Folks just call me Bill, but my friends call me Bull!"
"Okay then, Bull. Nice to meet you." Drake nodded, still shaking his hand. "My name is Dr. Drake Voss."
"Doctor, eh?" Bull looked surprised. "Ain't you a lil young to be a doctor? How old are you, son?"
"I'm 25." Drake looked unenthused. "And where I'm from, that's not too uncommon."
Bull looked Drake up and down, taking in his unusual attire. Drake wore shined black dress shoes, slim black gloves, slim black slacks, a black shirt with no buttons or zippers, and a brown pleather trench coat. "You definitely ain't from 'round here, that's for damn sure."
"Uh, yeah... I am..." Drake shyly scratched his head, looking around at the vast wilderness of oak trees, grassy pastures, and rugged, tree-topped mountains surrounding them. "Kinda far from home..."
"Well, regardless of where ya from!" Bull patted him on the back with a hefty pat that shook Drake. "I'm thankful you were here! The rogue Bull-maton has been neutralized, and now I can go get paid. Thanks for the assist! I'm headed back into town." He hoisted up his launcher and walked off to the gate of the pasture.
Drake nodded as the man left. Realizing that Bull was the only kind face he had met so far and that the canister had reactivated his Tegnyks, Drake decided this giant of a man was his best hope of figuring out where he was and how to get back home. "Hey, uh, Bull!" Drake shouted out as he trotted after him.
The burly man paused mid-stride as Drake caught up to him. They continued to walk down the dusty road, and Drake tried to find the words to plead his case to the giant of a man. "You are... indeed correct. I am very... VERY far from home..." His words lingered with a haunted reality. "And I, uh, don't really know my way around... or where the town even is..." The realization of how desperate his situation really was began to sink into Drake's words, and his face paled with distress. "And... I... I am trying to find a way home... but... uh..."
Bull nodded softly and grinned. "And you need a place to bunk in the meantime. Am I right?"
Sulking and accepting his fate, Drake conceded, "Yeah," then returning to plead his case, "But I don't take up much room, and it will only be until I find a way to get back home. I won't be a burden! I promise!"
"Eh, sure, why not." Bull shrugged. "And I can tell you are far from where you lay your head down on yer pillow." He grinned, looking Drake up and down. "And I wouldn't call ya a useless burden neither."
"Oh?" Drake asked as they meandered down the dusty country road.
"Nah!" Bull scoffed. "Anyone who can take down a Bull-maton with their pointer finger's hella useful in my book!" He looked down at Drake, confused. "How the hell'd you do it anyhow?"
Drake pondered. "As I said, I believe that yellow material in your canister has strikingly similar properties to that of photonic molecules. I would love to examine that canister material when we get to your place if you don't mind."
"Sure," Bull shrugged, "But that still don't explain how you shot freaking lightning from your fingertips!" He belted out a laugh. "Unless you're hiding some ether manipulator and lightning generator under that coat of yours." He shook his head as they headed up the road and into the mountainous woods beyond.
"Well..." Drake pondered how to explain it without breaking any temporal laws or the time code of conduct. "It's... kind of... complicated..." Drake hesitantly replied as the light of the sun dimmed under the thick forest canopy of firs and pines.
"Eh, don't worry about it then." Bull shrugged as they wound around a thin trail into the forest. "The fact that you can is all that really matters to me. I ain't one to pry into people's business or personal affairs." He then paused and smiled. "And here we are. Home sweet home." They approached a small, quaint log cabin in the woods, with copper and bronze pipes and tubes jetting out and up into the air, billowing out steam, or digging into the ground for whatever plumbing was needed. The grounds before the cabin were cleared of grasses and foliage, with a clear area for chopping logs and a fire pit for cooking outside.
"That is... your home?" Drake asked, looking around at the woods, trees, and the logs that made up Bull's residence. "Did you build it?"
"With my own two hands!" Bull beamed with pride. "Come on. Let's get you something warm to eat for lunch. I don't know about you, but wrangling an automaton always makes me famished!"
Drake nodded and followed the burly man into his log cabin in the woods.
Inside, the cabin was small and quaint, clearly decorated by a man, with bear skins, antlers, and other animal parts used for practical purposes and decoration.
Drake's eyes wandered around, taking in the small glass windows and deer skins used as curtains. Then he saw something that made his eyes bulge and his jaw drop.
"Is that... a calendar?" Drake paused, pointing to a small poster on the wall.
"Yeah... why?" Bull asked, taking off his work gloves and plopping them on the dining table.
"And this is an accurate, up-to-date calendar?" Drake asked in shock.
"Yeah... why?" Bull was now genuinely puzzled by the odd questions as he stared at the man who looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Drake gazed in shock. The date was July 15, 2028.