Kholvaria (The Color of Water and Sky Book 2)

by Andrew Gates

  The boy found his boots a few meters onto the beach, but decided to continue barefoot for a bit. He liked the way the soft grains of sand felt beneath his feet. It was as if the ground shifted with every step, conforming to his foot’s shape like a pillow.

  Jallah picked up the boots and carried them up the shoreline until he found some of his companions. Ophelia was out by the water, snacking on crackers. The two men were closer to the trees, chasing some sort of small animal with sticks in their hands. None of the others were in sight. Jallah guessed they were probably back by the cave.

  “Hey,” Jallah said as he approached Ophelia.

  She turned and looked at him as she took the last bite of her cracker. It was amazing how dark and red her face looked. Everyone’s face was darker now. Jallah wondered if it had to do something with the air.

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  “Taking a dump. I figured I’d just go in the water.”

  Ophelia giggled a bit. Despite all the craziness, it seemed like poop was still a funny subject.

  “I heard you wiped yourself with poison ivy earlier,” she said.

  Oh, so that’s why she’s laughing.

  “Is that what the plant is called?”Jallah asked.

  Ophelia nodded. He could tell she took pleasure in knowing that she knew more than him.

  “Who told you about that?” he wondered.

  “Margery.”

  Why would she tell Ophelia that story? I only wanted her and the adults to know.

  “Well… so what?”

  “Nothing,” Ophelia replied, turning to watch the men. “I just thought it was funny.”

  Jallah took a deep breath and turned to watch the men too. He did not like the jokes about him, but figured it was not worth fighting over right now.

  “How did you sleep last night?” Jallah asked, just wanting to change the subject.

  “I was tired but it was hard to fall asleep. It’s weird being outside,” she said.

  Jallah agreed. Even tucked away in a cave, sleeping outside was like sleeping in a mover. There was always noise and movement around them. To make matters worse, small animals the size of dust kept flying onto him. Jallah noticed that they left itchy marks on his skin wherever they landed. These things were the most annoying things in the world.

  “I’ve felt tired all day,” he added. “Even after sleep.”

  “I think we’re all getting sick. That’s got to be it. We should not feel this tired, right?”

  Jallah shrugged.

  “Mr. Georgopolis put his hand to my head this morning. I think he was measuring my temperature.”

  “Yeah, he did the same for me. Did he say anything to you?” she asked.

  Jallah shook his head.

  “Me neither. Do you think we’re okay?”

  Jallah shrugged again. He did not know enough about the human body to have an opinion. That being said, he had noticed a cough coming on lately.

  “Will the cave protect us from getting sick? Should we stay there?” Jallah asked. He was proud of himself for discovering the shelter last night. It was lucky that they found it so quickly. But today part of him wondered if it was really a good location after all.

  Ophelia shrugged as she continued to look out toward the men with their sticks.

  “Maybe. I don’t know how any of this works.”

  “Yeah, me neither.”

  “Do you think they’ll catch anything?” Ophelia asked, changing the subject.

  The boy turned toward the forest. The two brothers looked like fools running around with their sticks, trying to corner whatever it was they were after. They seemed to be getting nowhere. Their prey was smaller and faster than them and would dart between their legs. He watched as the creature eventually ran back into the trees and disappeared from sight. The younger brother threw his stick down in frustration.

  “Nope. I don’t even understand why it’s such a big deal to catch it. We still have all this food from the pod!”

  Ophelia turned to face him and shrugged.

  “Maybe they just want to get used to catching things. We’ll have to do it eventually,” she answered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well obviously we can’t rely on the pod food forever. We’re going to run out.”

  Duh, he thought. Does she think I’m stupid?

  “Why do you have to act so smart all the time?” Jallah asked, aggressively.

  “Margery acts smart. You don’t seem to mind when she does it.”

  “Yeah but she doesn’t tease me about it like you do.”

  Ophelia put her hand on Jallah’s shoulder.

  “You’re too sensitive, Jallah. I barely said anything. Hasn’t anyone ever teased you before?”

  Jallah put his head down and looked at the sand. Perhaps he was being too sensitive.

  “I used to have two brothers. They would say things, but it was different because they were family.”

  Family.

  That was the first time he had mentioned his family since the city was destroyed. He intentionally tried to forget about them by focusing on other things. But now that he’d said it aloud, the memory of his family spilled into his mind like water into the damaged station.

  My family is dead.

  He turned and looked out to the ocean, just imagining their fate. He pictured their bodies floating in the water somewhere out there. He did not know how they died, but he was certain they were dead. If they were lucky, the metal monsters got to them first and gave them a quick death. If they were unlucky, they probably drowned and died slowly.

  Jallah dropped his boots and took a few steps towards the water. He could feel his breathing getting stronger. He wiped his face and realized that his eyes were full of tears.

  “I’m sorry,” Ophelia said, walking over to him. “I didn’t want to bring up anything.”

  The boy fell to his knees. Waves came up to his waistline.

  “You… you didn’t mean it,” he said between breaths.

  Ophelia lowered her head and stood still. Nobody spoke for a few seconds. But then she raised her head again and walked over to his boots.

  “Here,” she said, handing his boots to him, “put these on and get out of the water. If we’re getting sick, we should stay warm.”

  That’s smart, Jallah thought. She’s smart like Margery.

  He struggled to stand up, but the thought of his family weighed him down like a ball and chain. Ophelia let out her left hand and Jallah grabbed onto it, pulling himself up.

  Once standing, he hobbled up the shore and grabbed his boots from Ophelia. He struggled to put them on and ended up filling them with sand. But at least his feet were warmer now.

  He wiped some tears from his face and looked at her. For the first time, he noticed that she had been crying too. Not knowing what else to do, he leaned towards her and embraced her. He could feel her tears on his cheek.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad too,” Jallah said as he embraced her.

  He could feel her shaking her head.

  “You… didn’t know,” she replied.

  Jallah did not know if Ophelia had any brothers or sisters, but he met her dad for a short time. Her dad was supposed to go on the escape pod with them, but there was not enough room. Though nobody really knew, everyone guessed that he’d launched the pod from the outside, setting them free. None of them would be here today if it were not for him.

  “Your dad saved us. You should be proud,” Jallah said, hoping to cheer her up.

  She pulled away from his embrace, wiped some tears from her eyes and nodded.

  “I am,” she replied quietly. “He was a hero. He had some problems but he was a good man.”

  “What about your mother?” Jallah asked.

  Ophelia shook her head.

  “She had problems too. She wouldn’t disappear at nights the way dad did, but she didn’t like me the way he did. I was a chore for her, someone to take care of. That
’s what caused the divorce, I think. I’m pretty sure it was because of me.”

  Jallah regretted asking her about her mother. He could immediately tell it only brought out more bad memories.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, not knowing what else to say.

  “Don’t be. I don’t really like my mom. I don’t really care that she’s gone.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I mean, I’m sorry about bringing it up. I didn’t mean to make you remember those things.”

  Ophelia simply nodded her head. Nobody said a word for the next few seconds, just sniffles and heavy breathing.

  A gust of wind blew into Jallah. He shivered and crossed his arms across his body. Wind was still new to him. He did not understand where it came from but it made him instinctively look out toward the water again.

  The ocean, formerly home to the Atlantic Station and everyone he knew, was now just a place to relieve himself and clean his itchy butt. Jallah remembered seeing his old home from the outside for the last time as they sped away in the escape pod. There were still so many questions.

  Where is the destroyed city? Where are the bodies? What happened to them? Images filled his mind of corpses floating in the ocean or trapped in ruins far below. In his mind, all of the bodies were human. None belonged to the UBEs. That’s what they called the creatures, the Unidentified Biological Entities.

  “Do you think the UBEs are still out there?” Jallah eventually asked. He turned back towards Ophelia again.

  “They’re in the water,” the girl answered through her sniffling. “We’re safe from them now.”

  “Safe?” Jallah was surprised by her answer. “Why do you say that?”

  “Before he… before he died, dad told me about footprints on the surface.”

  “Footprints?”

  Ophelia nodded and walked towards him.

  “He thinks there are people here. Maybe even my uncle Damien.”

  “What? Do you believe him?”

  “Yeah, don’t you? Look, Jallah, we can breathe. Don’t you think that’s strange? My guess is the President knew about the air the whole time. I bet the Federation is here now. I bet people live here. I bet there are cities.”

  This was a lot to take in, especially after dealing with the memories of his family. The boy simply looked at her in confusion.

  “So… so you think the government lied about the surface being unlivable?”

  “Yes.”

  Jallah simply shook his head. He did not think her story made much sense.

  “No way!” the boy exclaimed. “The government would not just let my family die like that. Why would they do that?”

  “Maybe they weren’t behind the attack.”

  “So who was?”

  Jallah felt the emotion build up again. He fell to his knees one more time.

  “Who do I blame for the death of my family?” he asked.

  She held her arms up, as if to suggest she had no answer.

  “You blame the same thing that killed mine.”

  “Who?” Jallah barely got the word out through his deep breathing.

  Ophelia locked eyes with him.

  “Fate.”

  That’s not helpful.

  Jallah stood up and ran towards the trees. He did not know where he was going, but he wanted to get away.

  Corpses entered his mind again. He could see his family floating in the water, rocking like logs in the waves. Jallah slapped himself in the head, hoping it would knock the images out of him. Not again! Get out of my mind! I’d forgotten you. Why can’t you stay forgotten?

  The sunlight stabbed at his eyes. He raised his hands above his face, blocking the orange light. The sea above was already starting to change colors, just like it did yesterday.

  By the time he made it up to the forest, the two Georgopolis brothers had given up their hunt. They both stood around, talking to each other.

  The older brother spotted the boy first and raised his right arm towards him. He must have seen the tears in Jallah’s eyes. But the boy ignored him and continued forward, still not sure where he was going.

  Before he knew it, Jallah’s foot collided with some sort of shrub. He lost his step and toppled forward, landing onto the soft dirt and leaves.

  The two brothers rushed over to him.

  “What’s wrong?” one of them asked. Jallah could not tell who was speaking.

  He could hear Ophelia chasing him up the beach too.

  “Let’s get him up,” one of the brothers said.

  Jallah rolled over. The men pulled him up until he was standing. Ophelia soon joined them.

  “Why did you run off like that?” she asked.

  Jallah looked around. He wanted to get away from everyone, but now he was surrounded by three people. This was not what he wanted to do. He simply lowered his head and did not say anything.

  “Jallah!” someone else shouted. This voice belonged to Margery. It was unmistakable.

  Oh no. Margery will see me sad and crying. I don’t want her to see me like this.

  But before he knew it, Margery appeared out of nowhere. She looked worried. Not asking any questions, she instinctively hugged him.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “It’s okay.”

  “Go away. Want to be alone,” Jallah said faintly.

  Margery let go of him and shooed the rest away.

  “Let us be, guys.”

  Everyone slowly dispersed until only Margery and Jallah remained together.

  “You too,” he said.

  Margery looked at him with a concerned face. Like Ophelia, her skin was darker and redder.

  “You want me to go too?” she asked.

  Jallah nodded, but Margery did not leave. She stood where she was and kept one hand on him. When he realized that she was not going away, he took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes.

  “Where did you come from?” he wondered.

  “I saw you running up the beach and came to join you. You looked upset. Was it something Ophelia said?”

  “Sort of,” Jallah replied. “Not on purpose.”

  “What was it?”

  Jallah wiped some tears from his face and sniffled.

  “We were just talking and… well… she reminded me of my family back home. I’ve tried to forget about them this whole time. But once I started thinking about them, I couldn’t stop.”

  “Oh, Jallah,” she said, embracing him again.

  He felt her warm body and her soft skin. She had not hugged him like this in a long time. They held the position for nearly a minute. When he finally pulled away, he noticed that she had a few tears on her face too.

  “You’re crying too?” he asked.

  She shrugged and wiped her face.

  “You’re right. Once you start thinking about your family, it’s hard to stop.”

  “Yeah. Did you try to forget them?”

  Margery nodded.

  “Ophelia cried too,” he said. “But she didn’t seem as bothered.”

  “Why?”

  Jallah shook his head.

  “I don’t know. Her dad saved our lives. Maybe that helps ease the pain. And I don’t think she liked her mom that much.”

  “Oh.”

  Jallah grabbed Margery’s hand and held onto it. She smiled. Somehow being with her helped ease the pain.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For staying. Talking to you helps.”

  Margery nodded and grabbed his other hand.

  “I’m glad. I’m sad about my family too. It’s hard not to be. But do you know what has helped me these past few days?”

  “What?” Jallah asked.

  “Knowing that we have someone to help us.”

  How is that supposed to help?

  “What do you mean?”

  “Think of it like this: when you had a bad day back home, who did you used to go to?”

  Jallah did not understand why she was making him remember the past again.
This was exactly what he did not want to do.

  “My family,” he answered. “Well… usually my dad. He was always the one to give me advice. But mom helped if I was sick.”

  “But you had someone to go to?”

  Jallah nodded, still not sure where she was going with this.

  “When you were sad just now, what happened?”

  “Just now?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well you saw. I wanted to get away. I ran. I had nobody to go to. It’s not the same without them.”

  Margery shook her head.

  “That’s not what I saw. I saw Dan and Grey reach out to you. I saw Ophelia run after you. And don’t forget about me! I came running out of the woods when I saw you were in trouble,” the girl explained. Now Jallah was starting to see her point. “You have people here who want to help you, people who care about you.”

  Jallah let go of her and wiped his face again.

  “So you’re saying I have a new family now?” he asked.

  Margery nodded.

  “Yes,” she answered. “This is your family now. Mourn your parents and your brothers. What you had with them was special. But don’t think for a second that you won’t have a family again.”

  He felt a smile form on his face. It was amazing how Margery’s little speech cheered him up. She had a power over him that he could not explain. She’s right. She’s always right.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I needed that.”

  She nodded back and returned the smile.

  “I’m glad I could help,” she replied. “Your story is far from over, Jallah, trust me. I think a new chapter of your life started the day you asked me out.”

  Jallah understood now. Asking her out may have seemed trivial at the time, but Jallah was welcoming the first new member of his family into his life.

  The teachers, Ophelia, the girls… they all came next. He could see that they cared about him. And he cared about them back. That was the way a family was supposed to feel.

  The branchless tree loomed over them like a voiceless god. The sun was fading from view, but its light still touched parts of the forest, casting shadows in every direction.

  A few minutes passed since Margery found Jallah and cheered him up. They spent a lot of time holding each other in their arms. But now that there were no more tears in his eyes, he felt comfortable returning to the rest of the group. Returning to my family.