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Chapter 16: Michary City
“Wake up already!”
Someone kicked me in my comfortable hammock.
“Come on! We're here,” a woman's voice growled.
Another, more brutal kick right on my butt made me swing.
I scrambled upright and almost fell, trying to find my footing with my non-existent hand.
A blonde girl whose green hair tips blended looked at me with a bored smile. Her brown eyes looked rested yet exhausted.
“There you are. How was it? Did we have a nice dream?” Selina quipped.
The need for a particular urge pushed my heels up. I lost my balance, fell forward, and into Selina.
Like a magnet next to iron, I dropped into Selina and wrapped my arm around her.
“You’re awake . . .”
I couldn't tell if she was cautious or confused, but she patted me gently on the back.
“I remember promising to kick your ass, but I don't remember the part about the hug.” She chuckled.
“I'm sorry if I—”
The words stopped coming. Instead, a tear trickled over my lips.
Was it the guilt over not listening to Selina that made me cry? I couldn't put my finger on it. Probably. Since that had ultimately led to so much death.
How many of her friends had died because of me? She had saved me and risked her life for me several times. And how did I thank her for that?
“I'm just angry with myself . . . Why did I join another crew? Hadn't my past mistakes shown me that I didn't fit in? My arrogance and curiosity always lead to death . . .”
I pushed the thoughts back inside me. I locked them up tight. And whatever was still left, I wiped away with the tears.
I let go of Selina.
She eyed me. Aside from the fact that she had lost some weight, she still looked the same as before.
“Maybe I should just pay my debts and leave again. I'm just luggage. Luggage so heavy, not even my parents wanted to carry around . . .”
Selina avoided my face. Twisted thoughts weighed on her forehead.
[Relation Record]
-Selina probably hates me like no other, but she’s too kind and hides it.
I swallowed the guilt as best as I could. “Sorry, let's go upstairs.”
She crooked a brow like a sponge had wiped her face clean of negative emotions. “Yes, that's why I woke you up, sleepy-head.” She turned and went to the stairs.
The dim morning light greeted me behind the door. So did the stares of the entire crew. Captain Reysan stood on a small crate, map in hand.
Behind him, rows of scattered, disorganized buildings covered a large island. The morning sun colored the clouds pink. Tall buildings with glowing yellow windows cast shadows longer than entire streets, and small shacks fought for attention like grains of sand between stones. Behind the sea of houses, three suns floated in the clear blue and burned into the stone surfaces.
We'll form five groups and explore the city. Each team will buy items; the rest is free. At sunset, we'll meet up again. Anyone who shows up after then will become our dinner.
Nita was immediately fawned over but turned everyone away and came to me instead. Gale especially didn't like it.
I looked around for Hale—black and white stripes, like bars in a prison cell, stood right in my face. I winced slightly but stayed put.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
I craned my head up.
Blindfolded eyes gazed at me.
I cleared my throat and tried to stay calm. “Good morning, Miru.”
“Likewise.”
“So, you join us?”
“Yes.”
“How nice . . . did you sleep well tonight?”
“Yes.”
I bit my lip. “Nice weather today—”
“Hercu!” A hand pulled me away. Nita flicked my forehand. “I told you to go to sleep earlier.”
“But I had this great idea about my new prostheses and . . .”
Nita was already talking with someone else. She, Selina, and Hale chatted about our shopping list.
But like the person I am, I kept spilling out my thoughts about a retractable blade. It only motivated me more to keep it up. And who knows, maybe Miru listened.
—
Brenda, who I had brought into our group, Nita, Selina, Miru, Hale, and I left the ship.
The harbor was full of engineers tinkering with various ships: giant pieces with gigantic sails, medium-sized ones with far too powerful drives, and equipment on the sides that looked like weapons.
In front of some inns, crowds tried pushing their way through to read a notice board with dozens of notes.
Nita noticed my gaze.
“These are quest boards. The larger cities establish guilds to moderate the population's quests. Everyone can attach tasks for a small compensation. Whoever completes a task gets the specified compensation.”
“Oh, maybe they also reward prosthetic parts.” I made my way toward one of the boards.
A hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“Maybe another time. We have different business here for now.” Selina held up the list with items that Reysan had assigned us to get.
The curiosity to find out about the quest bit me, but this time I held firm.
“Alright . . . then let’s get straight to it.”
—
We wandered through the lively streets, and merchants shouted out their products, but I refused to give in and go check them out.
Someone bumped into me. The person hit the remaining shoulder part of my prosthesis.
“Watch it!” He rubbed his arm and went on.
Distracted by all the stores and tall buildings, I didn't notice how grim everyone looked. Some were hiding under cloaks and dealing with Jade Mint in alleys.
Only a few people had prosthetics here, but their clothes stood out. Many wore green decorated armor, from leather to metal, from small planes to complex cravings. The ones with expensive-looking clothes wore no green at all, but on closer inspection, you could see green weavings in the fabric, almost like a second, lower layer.
“I wonder if they wear those to have protection while looking fashionable or if the protection is perhaps higher than with normally enhanced armors. Nonetheless, all this stuff must cost fortunes.”
We arrived at a vast plateau with multiple poor fountains that had run out of water to splash.
“Alright!” Selina said. “First on our list is . . . oh, seems like besides ropes and hooks, we should get everything in a shop for prosthetics. We have to . . .”
Her voice subsided into the background noise of the crowd’s chatter and footsteps.
A nostalgic wave washed over me. The broken statues, the amounts, the size, everything fit the fountains from the city of my orphanage. My breath caught in my throat.
“Are you okay, Hercu?” Hale stepped next to me.
I stumbled a laugh. "Yes, sure. It just looks like the town of my orphanage, Michary.” I kept my eyes on the fountains.
“Oh, probably because it is.”
The shock went so deep that I felt my feet twitch.
“It can’t be. You mean . . . this city—is the former town Michary?”
“Michary City now,” he corrected. “Fascinating how fast the—”
I couldn’t hear him anymore. My legs were already carrying me through the crowd. As my steps quickened, I stopped evading but forced my way through, not caring if I bumped into anyone.
“If progress is so rapid, what has become of—”
I turned the last corner, my eyes fixed on the building where my orphanage had once stood. Instead, I looked at the city hall. A large clock drew all attention to the former home of many children, its hands ticking a tenth the speed of my heart.
“No way . . . but I sent them here. Lisa, James, Darrick. Hopefully, you have found another place to stay.”
A firm grip pressed down my shoulders, forcing me to my knees. I recognized Miru’s striped pants.
He told me that if I ran away again, he would break my legs and lock me up on the ship. The others arrived shortly after, scolding me. I simply let it wash over me.
We went shopping, buying the items from our list. A young engineer tampered with my prosthesis, complaining about what sizes and settings my shoulder had and that he had no compatible parts for me. We visited more of these stores.
Miru now followed me every step of the way, never more than a meter away.
Now that I knew it was Michary, I recognized more and more places and memories from my childhood after my parents had left me, came up.
I did everything I could to suppress them. Men were just disgusting bastards. Fortunately, nowadays, only nuns are legally allowed to work at an orphanage. Not even the janitor or a security guard, if you could afford them at all, could be male. Too many men harmed young girls in the past.
“I hate old mem—or noble brats who think they are already grown up and can get away with anything. No matter who you are, why should you have the right to buy people?!
“Damn it! I should have killed them all back then . . .”