Deserted (26 page)

           
“We don’t necessarily have to get back here,” Chester replied, studying Kay’s
incredulous expression, “we might very well enjoy it out there.” Kay stared my
father down, his mouth slightly agape at the insinuation. My father sighed
heavily. “Look, you don’t have to come with us, Kay, alright? Take over my
position here if you wish. But when I get back to our town and they all ask me
where you are…what do you expect me to say? To tell your parents that you’d
rather chase women than to see them again? If I have to break people’s hearts
on your behalf then you better be okay with that.”

           
Kay hesitated, much to my surprise. His face was still stern but I could see a
hint of doubt in his eyes. “What if it’s not for us? What if…we wanted to
leave?” He asked finally.

           
“I’ll make preparations for that if that’s what you’re really concerned about.”
My father replied hastily, digging his hands through a nearby box. “I’ll take a
compass from our supplies and make a map as we go, although I can’t guarantee
its accuracy. Is that acceptable?” My father replied.

           
Kay’s eyes landed on the table in front of us and his fingers rapped nervously
upon it. My father pulled out a small, blue compass from the bottom of the box
he was rummaging in and looked up at Kay, waving it around in the air. Kay
eventually nodded. “It’s worth a shot I guess…”

           
As my father started searching through the papers on his desk, I finally
realized what had been eating away at the back of my mind. “What about the
Pirates of the Sands?”

           
My father stopped what he was doing at the words and both men stared at me with
blank expressions. “What about them?” Kay uttered in a disapproving huff.

           
“They travel the continent pretty fast, don’t they?” I turned my attention from
one man to the next as they quickly glanced at each other, “I’m pretty sure they
know exactly where my town is.”

           
Kay shook his head before I even finished my sentence. “Their whirlwind is for
Pirates only. They hardly ever speak to us, let alone allow us into their
personal circle. It’s a waste of time. Besides, how would we find our way back
here if we wanted to? I’m pretty sure they’re not a transport service.”

           
I furrowed my brow. “Does it hurt to ask?
To at least gather
some directions or advice?”
Kay waved me off and returned his attention
to my father. “The Kay I know would never give up so easily.” I replied loudly
with a hint of anger.

           
“Well maybe I’m not ‘
the Kay you know’
.” He responded with an irritated
tone. The words took me by surprise and I looked at him for a moment as the
thoughts I had tried to ignore resurfaced. He was completely right. He
isn’t
the Kay I know…and I’ve known that for a while now.

           
“But I can’t give up…” I whispered to myself but my father overheard it,
surprisingly nodding in agreement.

           
“If it’s just for directions, Kay…they might oblige. They never speak to us,
sure…but does anyone ever speak to them?”

           
“They might not be as stubborn as you think, Kay.” I replied, trying to swallow
my feelings.

           
Kay shook his head angrily but finally obliged. “Fine; we can ask, but I‘m
telling you it won’t do any good.”

           
“Meet me at their gate in half an hour,” Chester said. “I’ll get our supplies
together.”

           
“Gate?”
I asked as Kay had already turned to leave.
“Where is that?”

           
My father looked towards the retreating figure in the tent and said, “Ask Kay;
he’ll show you the way.” Chester returned to his papers and I quickly caught up
to my former friend outside. I stopped to speak but Kay merely glared at me and
pushed past me, causing me to stumble on my feet as he charged further into the
Outpost.

           
“What is your problem?” I called after him.

           
He stopped suddenly and turned on his heels.
“My problem?
My problem is
you
! I was perfectly happy here and with what little I
remembered. Life was good…until
you
showed up. You ruined everything;
you just
had
to take it upon yourself to ‘solve’ everything, didn’t you?
Did you ever think about how we would feel about all this? Huh? No, of course
not; you thought only of yourself. I refuse to believe those are my real
memories of you. The vial’s fake and you’ll never convince me otherwise.” The
words sprung from his lips in heated vitriol, his voice loud enough to gather the
stares of nearby townspeople. After a few huffs Kay turned once again and
stormed off. I paused, becoming increasingly aware of the staring faces all
around me. With some distance finally between me and the exploding volcano, I
slowly followed after him, hoping he was headed to the Pirate’s gate. His words
stung more than I had originally thought as my mind raced over them yet I
couldn’t help but agree with him. What if Kay had a family out here? What if my
father did? Would I have still done this?
Because, in the
end…their happiness didn’t even cross my mind.
  Was I really that
selfish? Perhaps the truth isn’t always the best answer.

*

           
I had followed behind Kay at a great distance, eventually trailing him to a
large chain-link gate that lay near the protective sandstorm on the outskirts
of town. The gate was not far from the storehouse, actually, and I took the
opportunity to return to the medical tent and gather my things, hoping the
break would allow Kay to cool off. With a now empty satchel that was too small
to fit my diary into, I tossed it aside and adjusted my medical bag around my
hip once again, relieved to see that my supplies were still intact. I
procrastinated in the tent for a few minutes, finishing off the last two apples
that I had been given and struggling to find the courage to face Kay once
again. I wondered when we would be leaving…
tonight?
Tomorrow?
My father seemed ready to go as soon as we were
decided but the third member of our trio may be harder to convince. With the
thought of returning home now fresh on my mind, I finally left to meet Kay and
my father at the gate, finding myself growing excited at the prospect of
travelling back together. Maybe the journey will bring back their memories on
their own?

           
Kay did not look impressed. He still stood where I had left him, his arms
folded firmly across his chest and I noticed him sigh when he spotted me. Yep,
this should be a fun meeting. I stood next to the fence, smiling warmly at Kay
and eventually realizing that no matter what I tried, there would be no
civility here tonight; not between the two of us, anyway.

           
“Where’s my dad?” I asked him and he gave me a slight glance.

           
“Who?”

           
“Chester.” I corrected myself. Did Kay know that, yet? Had they spoken about
their lost memories together or were they too fueled by emotion to discuss it
yet?

           
Kay did not look surprised by my answer but he didn’t exactly react
to
much of anything at the moment. “He’s not here yet.” The
words came fast and sharply and I nodded in response.

           
It was an uncomfortable wait for my father and I hugged my journal tightly to
my chest, embracing its familiarity. I ran my fingers up and down its spine as
I took in my surroundings and found myself staring at what lay within the gate.
There were two large men inside, both of which dressed in bright, baby blue
tunics with blue tattoos splashed across their face.  Each guard had
piercing green iris’ with a hardly visible pupil; it was rather pretty to look
at, although it must have been disconcerting for them to see me watching so
intently. The two men guarded a very large tent in the centre of the gated area
and it spurred forth Kay’s rough voice as he watched me staring.

“Gatekeepers.”
Kay said coldly and that was the last word he
spoke to me until my father arrived.

Chester
had a large backpack with him, similar to the one I had to leave behind with
the banshees. I heard the sound of vials clinking together inside as he drew
near. “Supplies are all set and waiting for us when we’re done,” my father
sounded almost excited when he arrived, “I also included a compass in each one,
Kay, so that we’ll always have backups.” Chester smiled at the both of us and
it raised my hopes about things to come. Maybe, in time, Kay would come around
too.

           
My father turned his gaze to the large tent and motioned to the gatekeepers.
“We’d like to speak with your representative.” He yelled out to them. The
gatekeepers looked at each other for a moment before one of them went inside
the tent. “Let me do the talking,” my father told us as we waited for the guard
to return, “This isn’t the first time I’ve spoken with Nathaniel.”

           
I felt my skin turn to ice, even in the blazing heat around us. Nathaniel?
The same Nathaniel from the schoolhouse?
I had completely
forgotten what Kay had told me; that Nate was their representative. I grew even
more nervous for what was about to happen.

           
The guards eventually came to unlock the gate and they guided us towards the
tent. With the sandstorm so close by, I found the wind picking up wildly and
while it was blowing dirt directly into my face I took minimal notice of it. My
feet felt heavy as I drudged along the sands, the slit of the tent growing ever
closer. I’m finally going to be face-to-face with the man I’ve heard so much
about during my travels…but just what kind of man will he turn out to be?

           
The flaps of the tent blew wildly in the wind as we entered and I was
immediately surprised by how bright the inside was. There were lanterns burning
brightly all over the place, casting eerie shadows of the storage boxes in the
small enclosure.

“Hello
Nathaniel.” My dad smiled at the massive man sitting in a wooden chair before
us but he stared at us skeptically.

Nathaniel
had to have been at least seven feet tall. He was a brawny man with short brown
hair and a five o’clock shadow; something I had heard my dad say many times
when I was growing up. Nathaniel had one long, white strand of hair that ended
half way down his back that appeared to float on its own; it was very similar
to the woman in the storehouse and I wondered if they were related.

“You
remember me?” Nathaniel growled in response.

My
father’s face turned sombre as he nodded. “Yes…you could say that. I may not
personally remember but I’ve been shown what I’ve forgotten.” My father pulled
out his Memory Vial from his backpack.

Nathaniel
narrowed his eyes at it.
“
Krastanov
?”
He eventually asked.

My
father nodded again. “And I believe I owe you an apology.” Nathaniel said
nothing as my father put the vial back. “We’ve come here to ask a favour.”

           
The Pirate laughed. “You know how well that went last time.”

My
father smiled sheepishly. “I know…but things are different this time.”

           
“Oh are they?” Nathaniel stood up, his massive frame towering over the three of
us. I instinctively cowered away from him.

           
“Yes; I’m not here to blackmail you. I’ve come to fix my mistakes…I’m asking
for forgiveness.”

           
“Blackmail?”
I blurted my thoughts out loud and
everyone turned to look at me. “I-I thought the vial clouded over when you
looked at it?” I continued on in a nervous tone as Nathaniel stared me down.

           
“It would not show what happened when I left town for the last time…” My father
started, “…but it did show what happened the first time I met our Provider. I
had journeyed past the Meeting Place and originally found nothing of interest;
I was tempted to return home. But the wind was blowing in my favour that day; I
started to hear the faint sound of voices coming from the
cliffside
on my left. I followed a hidden and winding trail through the earth until I
stumbled upon a cave…and Nathaniel. He was arguing with a young man and they
both jumped when they saw me. I had overheard parts of their conversation…”
Chester looked at me with a stern face as he spoke, “I thought I could use that
knowledge to my benefit, so I threatened to expose them as Pirates if they
didn’t give in to anything I demanded; that’s how I received so many things for
you and your mother.”

           
I didn’t know what to say. I never pictured my father as someone who could so
willingly blackmail someone for their own gain; he was always so friendly and
happy…he was my hero. How could he do something like this?

           
“Why…?” I eventually said. “Why did you feel the need to go out there in the
first place?”

           
“I had been shorted on the goods I had requested at the last Provisioning. When
I asked about it, the Mediator responded in harsh tones that
‘we received
what we deserved’
and that
‘we should be lucky to even have a Provider
at all’
. I was sloughed off and degraded; we were treated like lesser
beings and I wasn’t going to stand for it. So, I decided to find the Provider myself
and get to the bottom of things. That’s when I found an opportunity and took
advantage of it.”