D. MacHale - The Pilgrims of Rayne

The trip was cake. The water was calm and the air was warm. In the afternoon when the sun got really hot, we swung off the rails from ropes attached to the mast, plunging into the warm, tropical sea. It was a blast.

I also took the chance to explore the rest of the ship. The engines were small, just as Siry had said. They weren’t powerful enough to do much more than maneuver. Loque explained to me that it ran on fuel that was distilled from plants. How cool was that? Organic fuel!

There were several jugs of fresh drinking water on board, but not a lot of food. That was the one part of the plan that the Jakills had to sacrifice. Given the way we had to hijack the ship, there was no way to bring food on board for our voyage. Their hope was that we’d find enough at our destination.

Rubity.

What was Rubity? The concept of there being a whole world outside the island made sense in theory, but actually seeing a map and learning a name made it real. As excited as I was, I had to think the Jakills were going out of their minds with anticipation. And maybe a little dread.

When night fell, I took the time to begin this journal. I found this paper in a cabin to the stern of the ship that must have been the captain’s quarters. It had a single bunk and a table where I could write. There was no artificial light on board, so I sat by a window at the stern and used the bright light from the stars to write by. As I sat there alone, writing by starlight, I felt certain that the closer the ship got to land, the closer I was getting to my next meeting with Saint Dane.

That wasn’t the only reason I was feeling anxious. Being with the Jakills and seeing how they’d risked everything to take charge of their lives got me thinking about my own life. I wondered how much longer my quest would go on. How much longer would I have to blindly accept my fate and bounce between territories chasing Saint Dane? Right or wrong, the Jakills had taken control of their own destinies. Was it time I did the same with mine?

I fell asleep that night with those thoughts banging around in my head. I’m surprised I got any sleep at all. I lay down on the bunk in that cabin and tried to push the negative thoughts out of my head. Eventually I nodded off and didn’t wake up the entire night. As I slowly came out of dreamland, my stomach gurgled. I hadn’t eaten in a while-that was my first thought. My second was that someone was up on deck, screaming.

“Hey! Hey! Everybody!” he shouted. I forced myself to wake up, threw my legs over the side of the bunk, and stood up. It was early. The sky was only beginning to turn from black to deep blue. The sun would soon follow.

“Come on! Everybody on deck!” came the excited voice.

I rubbed my face to get the circulation going and headed out. I made my way along the small corridor to the ladder leading to the top deck. On the way, I ran into Loque and rat boy.

“What’s going on?” I asked groggily.

“Don’t know,” Loque answered.

We all climbed the ladder and headed out on deck. We were met with the sight of several Jakills standing shoulder to shoulder along one railing, gazing out to sea. At first I thought they had seen a whale, or another ship. At least that’s what I hoped. I didn’t want another run-in with a Flighter warship. I joined the group, gazed off in the same direction, and gasped. I really gasped. The vision in the distance forced it out of me. On the horizon, maybe a few hours’ sailing time away, was land. We had reached the shore of the great land mass on Siry’s map.

“Closer than I thought,” Siry said as he joined us. “It’s beautiful!” Twig said.

“Everything’s beautiful from a distance,” Siry said.

I couldn’t begin to imagine what the Jakills were thinking. Their suspicions were correct. The map was real. There was land beyond their island. What we saw on the horizon was something none of the Jakills had ever seen before. I had, but seeing it here on Ibara, knowing what it meant, made my knees go weak. There before us, on the peninsula marked “Rubity” on the ancient map, was a city. A modern city. The tops of buildings appeared on the horizon first, which meant they were big. Very big. Skyline big. Chicago big. New York big.

“What are those pointy things?” rat boy asked in wonder.

I didn’t answer. He would see for himself. The simple island people of Rayne were about to get what they wanted.

They were going to discover the truth about their home.

I, on the other hand, had entirely different expectations. I had absolutely no doubt that somewhere in that mysterious city, Saint Dane was waiting for me.

(CONTINUED)

I was struck by the quiet.

It’s not often you can say that quiet has such an impact. It didn’t seem to bother the Jakills, though. From the moment we saw the city, they were over the moon with excitement. (Assuming that Ibara has a moon, that is.) For years they had spoken in secret whispers about what might lie beyond the shores of their island. They met in the jungle to wonder and plan. They were so driven by their hunger for the truth, they were willing to become outcasts among their own people to find it.

Their long-planned search was about to come to an end in a place called “Rubity.”

Those who weren’t manning the sails or below tending to the engines were eagerly leaning over the rails as if those few extra inches would get them a better view of this wondrous city. At first there was nothing but enthusiasm. As we sailed closer, their emotions were less obvious. Looking at their faces, I could guess why. I felt it too. Maybe not as strongly as the Jakills, but I felt it. There was still excitement of course. but there was also worry. What if the reality of Ibara turned out to be dismal? That would be bad enough, but it would mean that learning the truth wasn’t worth the sacrifices they had made. Nobody spoke. Nobody laughed. Nobody speculated on what it was they were seeing. They all silently kept inside their own heads. One way or another, their lives were about to change. I could only hope that their dreams wouldn’t turn into nightmares.

“A pier!” Loque shouted from the bow. “We can tie up there!” He pointed off the starboard bow to what looked like a low structure built out onto the water. It looked like a few other ships were tied up as well. It was as good a place as any for us to aim for. Siry made a slight course adjustment and we glided toward the pier.

For me, the real show was about to begin. I felt as if we were growing closer to Saint Dane. This may sound weird, but the odd quiet of this city made me think of him. Maybe it was because something felt off. The others didn’t know what to expect from a city, but I did, and I knew something wasn’t right. At first we were too far away to hear anything more specific than a wall of city white noise. We never hit that wall. I listened for random honking car horns, shouts, sirens, music… anything! There was nothing but the lonely, hollow sound of wind blowing through the canyons of buildings.

Siry gave the wheel to Loque and took me aside. “Okay, Traveler,” he whispered. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s a city,” I said. “Think of Rayne, times a few thousand. No biggie.”

That seemed to relax Siry. It wouldn’t last.

“But something’s odd,” I added. “It’s too quiet. Cities are cities because they’re loaded with people and activity. I don’t hear any of that.”

Siry listened for a moment, and frowned. “I don’t know what I’m listening for.”

“Life,” I answered. “If you get that many people together in one place, they’re going to make noise. Rayne is louder than this.”

Siry looked at the buildings that were now growing to the size of skyscrapers. It looked like any city you’d see on Second Earth. Nothing unusual… except for the silence. Siry went back to the wheel, saying to Loque, “I’ll bring us in.”