[HIATUS] The Tide Rises

Chapter 13

It was nearing late afternoon, and as Fade stood on a dock outside the mall and stared at the water, only one thought ran through his mind: I'm bored.

How long had it been since he was brought here? A week and a half, nearly two? In just that short period of time, it seemed he had been everywhere he could possibly be around The Fortilla, and though he hadn't quite memorized every corner and walkway by heart, it was still getting tiresome walking around the same places every day. His daily path consisted of the apartments to the mall and Sticks, though every day he'd stray to a different building on the way, whether it be the warehouse where Jules now situated herself in or the main building containing the vault. He'd often be turned away from the latter, though, unless one of the more laid back agents was there. Despite knowing nothing about them, save for Ocean and a bit about Jules, he was pretty good with names. Skye, TNTina, and Tek were nice enough, though the only one he'd ever be able to hold a full conversation with was the young adventurer, who didn't seem to know when to stop talking. Not that he minded, because the behaviour was also liken to his sister.

Routine was an utter bore, and he missed tearing away from daily chores back home to find his own little adventures. He missed everything about his hometown and the surrounding countryside and towns, but if there was one thing he didn't miss, it was this dragging feeling of restlessness tearing him up as he desperately searched for something to do. He had ended up examining every item of every shelf of every aisle in the mall, which led him here after he had finished. Fishing seemed to be a popular activity around the base and a viable option, but as much as he too liked the hobby, he didn't want to sit around waiting for each bite.

"Hey," he heard behind him, and he turned, flinching as he found Ocean standing right there, her helmet on. He hadn't heard a single footstep. "What's up?" She asked, an innocent smile in her eyes, though a hint of amusement shone just as brightly at her successful ambush. It again reminded him of his sister and her teasing nature... I'll figure out how to get back, Alyssa.

"I'm bored, I guess," he sighed, looking back into the water. "I mean... not that I'm not glad to be here and not... y'know, with SHADOW or whatever, but there's only so much you can do here, right?"

"Yeah, I get it," Ocean laughed. "The Fortilla's kinda boring after you get used to it, right? Aren't any sharks to ride because they kill 'em before they get too close. I'd say we could get out, take a boat and explore a bit, but I already kinda learned my lesson. It's safer to stay here until we can maybe get the upper hand. SHADOW... I dunno. They're pretty wack."

Fade smiled a bit, but it was short-lived as he replayed her words. "You, uh... wouldn't force me to ride a shark. I'm not experienced, y'know."

He shivered as her eyes twinkled rather deviously, and she slipped off her helmet to reveal a smirk upturning her lips. "Yeah, I'm definitely showing you how that one works the next time one comes by."

Fade chuckled nervously at the offer (dare he even say threat), and the conversation turned to silence. Ocean couldn't stand conversational silence, though, so she broke it as soon as something came up. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask... what's your world like? Bigger than the  island? Once you've been around here long enough you kinda just know everything and figure out how to deal with it, but from what you told me the other day, there's a lot more going on from wherever you're from, I mean, aside from the fact we're kinda at war here. What did you do?"

His eyes lit up at the question. "Well, uh, I like to travel. It's hard to really tell how big the island is since... you know, the flood, but... it definitely looks way smaller than where I came from. Anyway... you know how I'm taking a semester off? From college?"

Ocean nodded.

"I got bored, like I usually do, so I decided to give it a break and I'll start again in the spring. I'm trying to go around, get some travelling out of my system before I go back. It's kinda hard to stay in one place, you know?"