He grinned out towards the ever growing crowd, his bare feet finding footing on the rickety scaffolding. He was a natural, more than Althea could ever hope to be. It had taken her nearly 20 minutes to cross a total of 20 feet towards the young man before she crouched down to stabilize herself, unwilling to move any further.
Her eyes had immediately been drawn to the young man. He was loud and animated, but his garb was anything but the norm in Altair. Althea eyed him thoughtfully from her crouched position, watching the silver crescent disk hanging from his right ear move from side to side as he closed the distance between him and his spectators. He had an untamed look of excitement reflecting in his brown eyes.
“Count it, that is two years,” he crooned. “Four missing persons disappear from each of the territories on Amyths.” He paced the metal beams, the silver jewelry around his forearm clinking gently together like a tambourine. “Ya land is big enough. Juuuusstt big enough to not notice one or two people are missing.” His drawl seemed to heighten the crowds anxiety.
Valda leaned in next to Althea, whispering in her ear. “That’s the guy I was telling you about. We brought him here from Hadar.” Althea rose a single eyebrow up, more curious of the foreign stranger than before. She had never thought a Hadarian would travel so far from their homeland, let alone the farthest prefecture from their tiny fishing islands.
He paused in front of Althea to tower over her, and smirked. “Ever notice that pattern?” He bent at the hips to gain closer proximity to her face.
She gave her hair a quick sweep to move loose strands from her face before resuming her tightened grip on the metal bar holding her steady. “No...I can’t say that I have.” She could hear her heart thudding in her chest. She was enticed by his story, but had an even greater desire t crawl her way off the monstrosity she was hunched over on.
He gave her a sideways glance, but was unmoved by her sudden indifference. He brought up a single hand, and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His calloused fingertips lingered there a little too long.
He grinned wide and toothy. “Then you and your people are a foolish people.” Althea could hear the spectators beginning to mutter. His scornful comment made the taste in the air go sour. The magic was wearing off, and the atmosphere was beginning to turn thick with anger.
“What exactly is your grievance, Hanska?” Valda was fuming. She had, after all, taken it upon herself to take in this man with her on her laborious trip. She fed him her food, and sheltered him up until this point. “You gotta’lot of nerve to run your mouth like that about a place that has been nothing but kind. Did you come here just to cower thinking that this year might be the year you’ll disappear too?”
“Valda, stop—” Althea watched as the man spit between crevices of metal. The darkness alluding to the depth of its fall.
“No, Thea. Why does he get to make jabs at the people who are taking him in and feeding his people? Hadar relies on us, not Deneb and not Capella.”
The Hadarian approached Valda now. His face was apoplectic and his hands balled up into a fist. The Hadarian people were not a weak and timid people. They bred their nation for hard labor to build upon their scarce lands. Hanska was not any different, Althea could see that. He was tall, but his muscles were taut underneath his weaved tunic. Tan lines marked his body where his regalia would have been placed, a clear indicator of his time out in the sun.
Althea could feel the bodies behind her move away as he leaned in. She grabbed Valda’s pant leg, tugging her back, away from the perceived threat.
“Are you crazy?” She snapped, her cheeks reddening. If Althea were to be caught in the middle a tussle, she would surely lose business. She understood Valda’s sentiments, but it wasn’t worth losing her composure over. Althea certainly didn’t see the rest of the onlookers jumping at the opportunity to wring his neck, and based on the frightened looks they were giving Hanska, it was for a good reason too. “His people are missing, let it go.” She tightened her grip on Valda’s ill fitting pants. Valda did not look happy, but did not struggle to shake of Althea's grip.
“It’s not just mine, it’s yours too,” he growled. “Go through your newspapers in two year periods. Only on Amyths a person goes missing. Large places tend to turn a blind eye.”
Valda rolled her eyes; she was thoroughly unconvinced. “That’s a coincidence.”
“Aye Fish, that would be the easy answer.”
Thunder rumbled above their heads. The clouds above them were moving quickly, the moon giving off only slivers of light. The crowd was beginning to disperse, ready to hide away from the approaching storm. Althea could feel the sway beneath her, the metal giant was beginning to give even under the slightest breeze.
“I’ve never counted the years, but after Amyths I must admit I have encountered people searching for loved ones after the festival.” Althea's voice quivered within her attempt to mollify the argument. “Valda, you are gone nearly the entire year doing shipments, it’s normal to assume coincidence.”
Valda groaned, “I cannot believe you’re trying to rationalize this guy’s deranged theory.” Hanska scowled, raising his chin up in the air. A familiar sense of pride emanating. If Althea wasn't so frightened she may have laughed at how similar the two of them were.
“But, we are a port. People run away all the time. Like you.” Althea narrowed her eyes at Hanska, but he shrunk back like a wounded puppy. It was not easy for him to admit that he had shamefully run from something that he wasn’t even sure was going on himself. From the corner of Althea’s eye, she could see her friend smirking with crossed arms. Valda was pleased to see a towering brute flinch at a few stinging words.
Another explosion of thunder filled the silence, and a streak of lightning lit the sky. This time, the metal bars rattled beneath their feet as the wind heightened. Thick drops of water plummeted from the sky. Althea suppressed the urge to scream at the sudden movement below her. Valda to a hold of her shaking arm, and pulled her up to her feet.
“We should get off this thing. I may call you Fish, but I don’t think you’d survive the fall.” Valda punched him in the arm, throwing him off balance.
“C’mon, Thea. Let’s leave or I might make someone disappear for Amyths.”
Althea nodded giving a somber smile. Although she was terrified, her heart ached in the depths of her chest. She could not feel happy for Amyths ending so bitterly with a storm.
In the distance, Altair had become nothing but a shadowy outline. The rain pelted down, leaving no one person dry. The waves were vicious below the memorial. The roaring sound of the waves hitting the rock face was deafening. Her hands trembled as she walked the railing, never losing sight of her friend dismounting ahead of her.
“C’mon, c’mon,” she muttered to herself. She was nowhere near close to getting off, and remaining there would only prolong her fear. Althea was doing her best to convince herself that the distance was no great obstacle. After all, when she was younger climbing trees were her second nature. She believed that if it came down to it, it would set in like an instinct. She just wasn’t sure how long it would take for it to set in.
Screams echoed behind her and she stopped. She turned slowly, looking over her shoulder at the outcry. A whine, similar to that of a dying deer, confined her. The rain and sky becoming muffled against the painful screech.
As she peered over her shoulder she could see people running on the meager angled bars. The memorial began its lean off the edge of the overhang while writhing bodies descended from the air into the aggressive waves below. She wasn’t even sure if they would survive the fall, and if they did, the waves seemed as if they would eat them whole. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes, blurring her view.
The bars bent in abnormal angles, the rusted pieces snapping like hardened bread. Althea reached above her, the lean of the memorial was so severe she was able to hold the metal rods as she walked. She was feet away from the edge, and Hanska was reaching out his hand. Although Althea could not hear Valda’s screams, she was sure she was yelling for her to hurry; to run. In all of Althea’s terror, she could not make her feet move any faster. Her boots hung from her feet like cement blocks.
Althea reached out her free arm, her fingertips only brushing the tips of his own. She could see Hanska smile through the opaque rainfall, reveling in her relief that he had Althea moments away to safe land. She hesitated for a moment, watching Valda as she sprinted towards Hanska, her long legs pounding against the muddied puddles of water.
Valda wrapped her arms around Hanska’s waist; her body impacting his ribcage. They rolled on the floor while one of the carts from the ride took their place. The carriage burst into fragments of rebar and glass. The impact lay waste to the earth below it. Althea shielded her face, the glass pieces making contact with bare hands while a remnant of the metal contacted her shoulder and struck her on the temple.
She gasped, her eyes shutting tight against the pain. Her head lulled and her vision went bright. She could feel both nothing and everything. The wind howled in her ears, screams echoed above her, and the rough waters bit through layers of clothes.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
