by Burks, John
Mia was going to the real world, he’d decided. That was the most fitting punishment for his wife. He was going to make sure she had a chance at an actual life.
The ship was the only other option, and he opened the door to the still running truck, and helped Mia in. He turned the big rig around and headed down for the dock where the cruise ship was already docked. Workers were filling up the garbage bins with refuse from the cruise. They looked on in utter shock and surprise at the arrival of Steven and Mia.
He couldn’t blame them. He couldn’t imagine what the two must look like with his scraggly beard, long hair, and both of them covered in dirt and grime.
“Hey…are you all right?” a young man in a crisp uniform asked, rushing to them.
“My little girl and I…we got stranded here while sailing. We’ve been here for weeks…we really need to,” he paused dramatically, looking back towards the direction of the Cage, “we need to get out of here.”
“Where is Jackson?”
“Who’s Jackson?”
“He’s works for Island Waste and usually meets us here to help offload the garbage. It’s all dumped in a big hole at the top of that mountain. Surely you’ve seen him? He would have helped you off the island.”
“No…there isn’t anyone. We found this truck up by the dump and drove it down here when we saw you were coming. I don’t know. Maybe something happened to him. Maybe he fell in that hole?”
The crewmember nodded in agreement. “I always told him working out here alone like that was dangerous. He wrapped his jacket around the girl and began leading her up the stairs. “I’m guessing this young lady can probably use some ice cream and cookies, correct?”
Steven doubted she even knew what ice cream and cookies were. He started to follow her up the gangway, but paused, again looking toward the Cage.
“Sir…aren’t you coming?”
The missing fifth mark burned on his forehead, and the four that were there felt wholly incomplete.
“I…I just don’t know.”
END
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
