Next Up

19

Several years prior.

The setting sun turned the sea orange as Geier sat on the edge of the dock, his legs swinging below him. All around him, crew members from navy ships, fishing boats, and yachts moved throughout the port. They reminded him of ants, which seemed to roam aimlessly, each with their own purpose. The loud squawks of seagulls and pelicans filled the air as they hovered around the harbor, looking for fish or any scrap of food they could find.

Behind him, he heard small footsteps on the old wooden planks. He leaned his head back, seeing Kiari walking towards him with Addilynn skipping beside him. Addilynn was a shorter girl, with dark tan skin and blonde hair. They had been living in the harbor town of KernEcho Bay for the past few weeks, and they had both decided to dress the part. Addilynn wore a brown dress with a white blouse. The arms of the blouse plumed outwards, giving it a 'royal' look. All the females in the area wore something similar. She had a small black leather pouch that hung down from her shoulder.

It was the first time that Geier had seen Kiari wear anything but his usual outfit. He looked deeply uncomfortable as he walked down the pier. He wore a dark brown leather jacket with coattails to his ankles, black, oversized waterproof boots, and leather gloves.

"Marlin and Kurt have found the perfect ship. Once it gets a little darker, it's gonna be ours," Kiari said.

A slight frown crossed Geier's face, "Who owns the ship?"

"Not sure. From the look of the ship, it looks like it was built for trafficking. So, don't worry."

"Alright, but I don't think they like me very much. Are you sure it'll be okay if I come along?" He held out his arm, and moments later, a fat grey pelican landed on it.

Addilynn laughed, "Oh, don't mind them. Marlin hates just about everyone but Kurt. And Kurt probably won't even remember you." She hopped over to Geier; her buckled leather shoes made a squishing sound as she did so, scratching the pelican's head and fishing out a loaf of bread she had in her satchel, tearing off a piece and giving it to the bird. Within seconds, every other bird in the area seemed to zero in on their location and circle them, looking for a free handout.

Geier was fourteen years old. He had met Kiari a little over a year prior on an island not far from this harbor. The once beautiful island society had long since been degraded. "I never thought I'd see the outside world," Geier thought. "No one who lived there ever thought about leaving. Any sort of talk on that subject was seen as socially taboo. But Kiari, he probably saved my life in a way. Not from an immediate death, but a slow miserable one that would take over fifty years. I keep thinking and wondering, 'why was I the one that got to leave?' It may have been fate."

When Addilynn first ran into Geier, they didn't even speak the same language. She would mime out words and use drawings to describe the outside world. In return, he would find food. She told him she was waiting for a boy and that he and his friends could take them away. Someplace safe. In the meantime, she read a lot. She seemed to read one book, in particular‌. Geier became curious. He spent almost all the money he had on a translation dictionary. He used it to read through the book alongside her, as well as to learn her language.

The book was an adventure story about a man who lived in a desert colony. A place called the Outback. Addilynn had told Geier that the book was very important to her. They would read the book for hours on end every day. It would take over ten minutes just to read one side of a page, as he would have to constantly reference the dictionary, but she was always patient with him. They were able to finish the book; by the last few chapters, he didn't even open the dictionary once.

When the boy she was waiting on returned, he introduced himself as Kiari, a twenty-year-old. Behind him stood Marlin and Kurt-Adam. Kiari instantly treated Geier as if they were friends—no, family.