Globe Tracers 1: The Case of Thomas Crain

Chapter 4: New World

Kyle:

My new sword on my waist, I moved over to a nearby road. No one seemed to care too much that I was walking away, besides that creep Frankie. He eyed me like a hungry cat looking at a mouse. I didn't know what his problem was, but I didn't like him one bit. It took everything in me not to fight him right there. I really wasn't fond of the way he looked at Jessica either, like he really wanted to hurt her. Truth was, Jessica was supposed to protect me, but if anyone wanted to hurt her, they still had to go through me.

In any case, I had a lot to think about. I stayed in view but still traveled over to a set of rail guards on the side of a nearby road. I leaned on them, looking to a far-off city. I started talking, the words I would have said if my father could have been there. "Dad... what were you thinking? I don't need anyone besides Jessica anyway. The people of this world are primitive, and the ones you sent me to are a paranoid group of crazies." I sighed. I heard a subtle thump next to me. I turned to look at Jessica.

"So... what do ya think?" she asked.

"The blade is beautiful Jess. I just don't know how to use it," I said, fingering the new sword at my waist.

"Oh goodness not that," she said. She rested against the railing too. "I mean about the planet so far."

"Well, we've only been here for a couple of min-" I began, but she cut me off.

"Oh my- look!" she shouted, pointing at the city. The sun was peeking out over the horizon. The black sky was gradually changing colors, dwarfing the lights of the city and making the buildings seem like silhouettes. The slowly clearing clouds caught the light and changed colors too, the sun creating a strange reflective effect beneath the raining clouds. "This planet is breath-taking sometimes."

I chuckled at Jessica. "You are so easily enchanted. We have sun rises on our world Jessie, this is nothing new."

Jessica pulled me around and pushed me against the rail, jumping back and holding up her hands like she was focusing me for a picture. I couldn't see obviously, but I guessed I probably looked pretty... imposing? I was pretty small so... maybe I just looked "cute". That was a thing Jessie liked.

"Don't tell me you've ever seen a sunrise like this- cause I know you haven't." She shook her head. She shot back over to me and I turned around so we could keep watching together. "I have. This was always something special between me and my old trainer when I was here the first time, back when I was your age. I used to imagine myself as the only Pharaoh in years to have seen this planet's beauty."

She was being sentimental, again. I realized that, sure, but I was not sentimental at all, at least not on this, so I rattled off trivia. "There are between one thousand to three thousand Pharaohs on this planet at any given time Jess. It used to be our home. Just because no one knows what we really are, doesn't mean we're not out there."

"There are over half a billion people on our world Kyle. It's still pretty unique to be the only ones here and not there... just enjoy it." She breathed in the air like she was savoring it. I did have to admit, though not out loud, the sun reflecting off her did make her look rather pretty. I was too young to really see her in that way, but I could still appreciate. "Not a lot of our people see this. You see what's different don't you?" I shrugged. "You don't? How could you not? No huge ships in the air, no floating landmasses, no massive amounts of pollution obscuring the whole thing, no sky advertisements... just a massive blank sky with buildings where they're supposed to be, on the ground."

"Hmph," I laughed to myself.

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. You talk about all our inventions and technologies as if they're a curse that interferes with your view of the sky. But really, do you have any idea how many people here would love to know how to make masses of land fly for instance?" I looked back at Allen. "Wonder what guys like him would pay to see a sunset over a floating city."