The City of Ionia

When I returned after taking a moment for myself, Tim and his friend patiently waited by the door, their bags ready to go.

“Where’s Roger and Owen?”

“Inside,” said Tim.

“Great, can you tell them to hurry up?”

“Without fail.”

The next thing I heard was yelling from inside the cabin. I could easily pick out who was saying what.

Within moments, they all came crashing through the door, with Roger having to turn sideways since he was too big.

Owen had a backpack with a red polo shirt that looked a bit tight. Was that what he was looking for in the shed? I didn’t say anything since I didn’t need to; I was simply wondering.

Roger listened to my words and packed his own backpack, though I didn’t know what was inside, nor did I care.

“Hey, my legs are going to shut down. I don’t know how I’m gonna walk for five hours.” Tim complained.

We haven’t even started walking, and he’s already bickering.

“We’re walking to Trinksville for a carriage. Owen, how many outis coins are you bringing?”

“I have no clue. I just dumped a couple of handfuls in this bag.”

A couple of handfuls of golden outis coins would last us a month or two in Walisburg, so it was safe to say we had more than enough.

“Good. Are we all ready, then?”

“Can Owen just bring the carriage person here? I really don’t want to walk.”

Was complaining necessary?

“No. We’re all walking. Besides, it’s good for the body.”

"Is it because you want to walk more to lose that waist weight you’ve been complaining about?” Tim rudely speculated.

I firmly hugged my chest while avoiding any eye contact. “D–Don’t say stuff like that! The hell’s your issue!”

Roger said loud enough for me to hear, “Tim, that was a little too far.”

“Ya, sorry,” he apologetically murmured with his head down.

This was a perfect opportunity to switch the topic and start walking. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Anyways, let's start walking, shall we?”

About thirty minutes had passed since our departure. We were about halfway there to Trinksville.

Endless patches of emerald grass scratched the calves of my pants. The blue sky was dotted with fluffy clouds that drifted lazily with the gentle breeze. And next to me was Owen, who spoke about a subject that wasn’t my specialty.

“O–Owen, just because I’m a girl doesn't mean I understand what other girls like.”

“Wait, wait, hear me out. How about this: I hunched my back a little to match your height because I want to gaze at the same setting sun as you.”

“Like I would know.”

I didn’t know how to respond. He knew I wasn't that type of girl, so why was he trying to have this pointless conversation with me?

Tim must have heard Owen since he excitedly interjected, “Hey, Owen, are you really going to try to get girls? If you are, do you mind helping me?”

“It’s pointless to teach you my ways. Someone as small as you would go unnoticed. That being said, you’re just a lost cause.”

“How am I a ‘lost cause?’ Owen, have you seen your reflection? That greasy hair of yours shines brighter than your intelligence.”

“None of us have greasy hair besides you!”

I snickered at his remark. “You guys are too much.”

Maybe it was a good thing they came along. Having them here and messing around with each other while everyone got a laugh felt comforting. I adored them all too much. Without them, it would’ve been awfully lonely. So it's a good thing that I didn’t go alone.

I looked over my shoulder, checking how far Roger and Tim’s friend were. They were more behind than I thought. The two had been chatting alone for a while now, which wasn’t weird, but I wondered what the subject could be.

“Hey, so what exactly do you have to do there?” Tim asked while prancing forward.

“I have something to do.”

“I know, but I want to know what. Hey, do you think music will be playing all night?”

That was a sudden swerve. I found it weird, but sometimes his attention span was all over the place.

“Music should be playing, no? I mean, it’s called the ‘Musical City’ for a reason.”

Owen jumped in: “It is called the ‘Musical City,’ but Avery says the music stops at night. The music is only an evening thing. I don’t know about the festival. It can last well into the night and maybe till the next morning.”

For someone who’s never been to Walisburg, Tim’s friend had awfully good knowledge. I almost wanted to turn around and ask how he knew this, but something made my stomach feel tighter. It was an irritation, almost like a really annoying itch.

“Hey Jill, why did you stop?” Tim asked while casually walking ahead of me.

I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him towards me. “We’ll wait for those two to catch up.”

What were they talking about? It was the first time I didn’t see Tim with his friend. Did something happen? No, Tim seemed energetic enough to dance at a party. He didn’t look down at all. Maybe Tim’s friend wanted to speak with Roger? But why?

My mind bounced against my skull, going a million kilometers an hour. Whatever, it was me overanalyzing.

“Why did you guys stop?” Roger halted along with Tim’s friend. “Own, did you do something to weird her out?”

Tim shouted loud enough for his tonsils to fly out of his mouth. “What type of accusation is that?!!”

“Hey Roger, Owen laid out a few romantic lines to Jill, trying to get her opinion on them. He’s tryna get busy tonight.” Tim jokingly elbowed Owen’s arm.

“Owen, don’t you know that Jill isn’t that type of girl? Her romance ability is like Tim’s brain; it’s non-existent.”

“Hey, why are you dragging me into this?”

I rubbed my forehead while thinking about the awful environment I created. I should’ve walked ahead.

Whatever, I shouldn’t be focusing on them. I walked while they bickered about something stupid.

“Hey, she’s moving. Quickly, everyone, go follow the leader!”

I’m going to bury these dimwits alive…

While walking further, Owen called my name and pointed to the side.

“Jill, look!”

Something approached us at an incredible speed. Not only that, but it hovered over the grass like a bird sweeping the ground.

“Quick, everyone behind me!”

I jumped before the boys and held one arm out like a mother at a crosswalk with her children.

What the hell was that? It could fly, too, at such speed? I pulled a dagger from my sheath, strategically waiting for the range to diminish.

It closed in on us and elevated to an unreachable height. Four limbs were angled down from the trapezoid body, with razor-sharp spinny–things keeping it in the air. Its body had a random hole in the middle. No, now that I thought about it, it wasn’t random. That hole was too perfect for it to be random. The machine was small enough to hide within the thick branches and leaves but big enough not to go unnoticed.

I’d never seen anything like this before, but I knew it was undoubtedly related to SCAR. I mean, who else controlled advanced technology like this?

The machine cowardly loomed over us. Was it going to do anything? How was it going to attack? I’d never encountered this machine before, so I didn’t know what to do.

“It’s not going to attack.”

I looked back, hearing Tim’s friend's assumption.

“What? How do you know?” I asked, glancing back and forth between the two.

“Trust me, I’ve seen one of these before. These things don’t attack.”

Like I could easily trust someone I had just met. Give me a break. I brushed off his remark, only for Tim to support him.

“Ya Jill, look, it’s not even doing anything. It’s just hovering over us.”

I growled, “Then please tell me what you want me to do.”

“You don’t have to do anything but wait. It’ll leave sooner or later.” Tim’s friend said, attempting to sound comforting.

His knowledge was almost frightening. I drew my dagger back into its holder, patiently waiting for the machine to leave.

After about ten seconds of silence, the machine did the unthinkable.

“Tonight,” the machine spouted and left without even explaining the purpose of its appearance.

Tonight?

Tonight was the Walisburg event, and my long-awaited conversation was also tonight. Was that what the machine meant? But how would it know? My mind exploded from the overload of questions.