Chapter 5

The night before I had to get to the docks and sail to New Merica, my mom walked into my room and stood in my doorway as I finished closing my last suitcase.

"Your hair is really shaggy. I leave for a few days and you let this thing become a forest?" She laughed as she ran her fingers through my nappy afro from behind me. I turned around to look at her. She had a sad smile on her face as she caressed the crisp, long curls on my head. "I can cut it for you again before you go. You know, if you haven't gotten too old for me to do things for you," she offered as she walked to the doorway and turned back at me in hope.

I met her gaze. And something clicked. It clicked like it always clicked when mom was home. I wasn't going to be home for long anymore. I was going to enter a world I didn't really know. A world that made our world like this.

Her grip on the door frame said it all. She was trying so hard to stop from trembling. She didn't want to let me go. I scratched the back of my head. Mom always wore her heart on her sleeve, even when she didn't want to. "Sure thing Mom. You can cut my hair. Just please don't make me go bald," I said as I walked to meet her in the doorway.

...

Early in the morning on the 11th of Augun I arrived at the New Midland Mariner Docks. And said my goodbyes to my Mom.

The boat I boarded was the keyword definition of rinky dink. It looked more like a barge. With rusty areas on the bottom where the steel touched the water, and scrapes and holes and scratches where the paint left. The deck was populated by several cages and boxes holding either animals, or materials or both. Most likely for commercial trade.

My room was more akin to a prison cell than anything else. The bed was rough and obviously used. With desperate springs protruding through the mattress's skin and corners. And there was an unexplained large brown stain in the center of the floor.

I figured it would be best to explore the lower decks for now. I rounded a metal, slightly rusted corner to find an old woman dressed in rags. Luckily, I didn't run into her and stopped just in time. Thank goodness for the increased reaction time. "O-oh, um. Sorry. I should l-look where I'm going," I said as I removed my hands from my pockets and stuck them up to look less threatening.

No amount of machinery can fix that gelatin willpower of yours.

I ignored Jack as the old woman wrapped up in gray, green, and grey rags smiled, her wrinkles morphing into a comforting pattern. "It's fine young man," she said.

"Did you, um, sneak onto the boat?" I asked almost immediately. RUDE! I shouted at myself in my head.

"Oh, of course. I'm a Yotamite on my final journey. After that, my life's mission will be complete, and I can die in peace," she remarked. "Will you be a dear and not rat me out? She asked.

Well, she was obviously a mad person in alot of respects. But it wasn't really my place to judge. Besides, I was the one with a bunch of little machines running around in my bloodstream and brain to give me super powers.

Madness loves company, one way or another. "Of course not. I'll make sure you're kept safe," I said while putting my finger over my mouth and leaning down to her eye level. She smiled and giggled a bit while nodding her head. After she ran off, my smile melted away and I frowned.

"Well, it shouldn't be too much trouble for me and my goals. It kind of feels nice to be sort of responsible for someone," I said out loud to myself at the dismay of a passing fisherman. My eyes widened as he glanced at me with a worried look and I put my head down and powerwalked away and past several shipments of fish and such.

With my head down I couldn't see where I was going and bumped into a box blocking my room door. After I moved it, I got curious. And opened it up with the crowbar on top.

It was filled with syringes. Needles filled with the Verniraux Serum from the Pre-Tertiary Voyager Evaluation. Why would they be going to New Merica though?

"I thought the Evaluations were done for the next 3 years. These can't be extras," I said to myself out loud. Then I felt something cold and hard press against the back of my head.

"They're not," the voice of a man said from behind me. "Get up, put your hands where I can see them and explain yourself," he said as he pressed the object harder into the back of my head. A gun? No. The barrel didn't feel long enough and there didn't seem to be an opening of any kinds.

"One way or another, better to comply," I thought as I followed his intrsuctions. "L-look, this is my r-room. I just got a bit curious, and I have some questions," I said. He jammed the object into the back of my head harder.

"You don't get to ask questions!" he yelled as footsteps approached.

Would you like me to get you out of this one?

"No I can do this myself," I thought at Jack.

"Who's the kid?" A voice asked behind me as well. This one seemed to belong to a woman. It was much gruffer, but still had a charisma to it.

I could hear the man grip his object tighter. "Some Middie who doesn't know what's good for them. They were snooping in the supply," he growled.

"Well don't kill them. Yenlo, Farensol, and I agreed to no unnecessary blood shed," the woman behind me said. "Turn around kid,".

I followed her orders to realize that it was the fisherman from before holding a kipball bat to my head and a woman with her hands in her pockets behind him. She was short and had drak brown hair with flairs of purple popping up in certain areas. She seemed extremely relaxed and had on the same red jacket that Ned usually wore. I clenched my fists. She smiled.

"Don't worry. We won't kill you if you don't give us a reason to," she said as she smirked and closed her eyes. "Now, relay it to us. What exactly did you see on this boat today, in front of your room?"

I was quiet for a bit. It would be smarter to just keep it to myself. Besides, there was no telling just how good this fisherman was with a kipball bat and I wasn't about to test any hypothesis. "Nothing at all. I walked into my room with no trouble and went to bed," I responded while still glancing at the woman's jacket. It's red and orange lines kept bringing me back to Ned's useless smile.

She grinned and nodded toward the fisherman. He smiled as he raised up the bat, ready to strike my head.

...

The large light bulb hung from the ceiling and swayed to the motions of the boat itself as well. I sat down on the bed, which was surprisingly springy if you must know, and put down my bags in between my legs. "I guess they were better safe than sorry.

They left you a note.

On the back of my neck, was a pice of paper with something attached to the back of it. I ripped it off and looked at it. "Read it to me. I'm pretty sure my brain is hemoraging," I moaned as I wondered why anyone would make kipball bats out of purified steel.

I see what you see, oaf. Open your eyes.

I scratched at my tight and shut eyelids as Jack waited. It was almost like I could hear him stamping his foot from inside my head. When I opened them, he read:

Don't worry kid. I didn't hit you too hard with the bat. Just enough to make sure you could forget. Just know that all we do is for the good of the real New Midland. You were the kid who was said to break all the New Merican records for the Voyager exam. We are sure you will do great. Use this if you ever need "special help". Press the red button for up to ten seconds and we will arrive in no time.

I looked down on the floor and noticed a grey and gold, small remote with a single red button in the center. Engraved inside the button was the letter "R" in a super curly and fancy font. "Great. Now I'm in with the Color Gangs," I murmured.

It's fine. It's not even the most of your worries at this point. Now lis-

Jack was suddenly cut off by a large rocking of the boat. "Put it on hold, I'll be right back" I said as I hazily ran up to the upper deck. I was blocked by a Leitend level Voyager with wet, black hair and told to go down below deck. He must have been monitoring security. Should I tell him about the Red Color Gang lady and the fisherman on board? And why did that lady have the same jacket as Ned?

"There's an immortal up there. You don't want to deal with him. Get below deck where it is safe and wait for us to finish up," he yelled as the waves kept crashing. Whatever it qas doing the crashing, it was definitely big. And whatever was going on, it was my problem if this ship sank.

"It looks like you guys are barely handling him yourselves," I replied, barely looking up at him. My head was still pounding and I could barely move. "Jack, help me out here,".

Got it.

...

I appeared above deck and I was leaning against the wall completely drenched. Above me I saw the captain with a rag wiping my face up and down. I tried to wave it out of my face. The corse rag only seemed to be scratching at my forehead, but I couldn't lift my hands. "Jack what's the status on my body?" I said quietly.

" Oh thank Tettch! He's alive! He's alive! Tell them the Butcher of Midland lives!," the captain yelled out to his crew. Of course. A geralist.

You're all good. Just some mild paralysis. Courtesy of, well, me.

"Well then undo it please," I growled. Finally I was able to move the rag and sit up.

"Hello there sir, sorry for all of this, we didn't realize we were dealing with such dangerous waters. I'm a new captain from Midland. Name's Walters," he said as he helped me up and handed me my suitcase. "Beautiful isn't it?" he remarked as he looked out over the view. "Tettch surely is a miracle worker, is he not?"

I looked up myself to find what I could only describe as insanity. Above the ports and docks were building after building that seemed to shoot upward into the sky, dividing clouds and blocking the flight paths of birds. Light from the radiant sun shot out and reflected off of the metallic buildings. Cars and small hovering vehicles bustled around the urban areas with long, layered stretches of road that carried things from pedestrians, to cyclists, to 20-wheelers. From building to building varying colorful screens played and displayed all kinds of commercials and advertisements for products to buy and consider. It certainly clashed well with the sun making the sky a pinkish orange and blue.

Hey kid! No time to gawk, that ship received horrible damage after the fight. You'd best hurry up or you're going to miss orientation.

"What? How much time did we lose?"

26 hours. Maintenance on the water was hell to sleep through.

Knowing that, I bolted off of the ship. I was supposed to have a day to prepare but because of that stupid Immortal, now I won't even have time to settle in. I looked at my watch and it was 30 minutes from noon. After checking out of the port, I checked the docking station's mini map section for the map and barely had time to find it before bumping into somebody and dropping my stuff. I re-oriented myself and luckily the duct tape I had used for my suitcase's lock held firm.

I got up quickly and bowed my head trying my best not to make any sudden moves. But what should I say? Sorry? No no that would be too typical. My apologies? Too formal. What if they thinks I'm some weirdo New Midlander who doesn't know the customs. But, either case I still was. Wait, I need to think about this. I need to apologize but there are too many factors to consider about the person's race, ethnicity, social standing, upbringing. And I haven't even seen their face yet!

"Hey bum! Aren't you gonna apologize?" a female voice said as a hand lifted my head upward. I looked up and saw the angriest woman I'd ever seen. Her firey dark brown hair contrasted her mustard yellow jacket and deep brown skin. Her frown made her nose crinkle and her disgusted squint bore into my soul and mind. My eyes then fixed on her pressed together lips which made them look thin and wrinkled. I don't think I ever blushed just from someone's appearance before but I couldn't say this would be the last time.

"Earth to the Middie!" she said as she waved her hand in front of my face.