The harbour seemed quiet as Thaqib watched the crew leave the barge back to East Port. He hadn’t spoken another word for the rest of the shift, the crew had done likewise. They seemed ashamed to look at him as they’d gathered on the transport boat. Beemo had reminded him to keep the net going all night, bringing as much junk up as possible before the morning when the investigators would arrive to go through it. In the distance, he saw the storm clouds flickering and the mist of approaching rain. Thankfully there wasn’t all that much to do but sit in the control room and keep the net moving and unloading. He made his way up to the cabin and sat in the operator chair and dropped the net.

He’d brought in ten hauls by the time his eyes started to droop. The rain was coming closer now, coloring the sky like ink on wet paper.

In his pocket he felt some object rub against his leg, he reached in and pulled out the small white figurine he’d found earlier. He’d completely forgotten about it and how he was going to give it to Rast. He remembered how he’d wanted to ask Rast about the Order. “Am I ever gonna get out of this rat race Sophia?” he asked the figurine. He rubbed a finger over its smooth stone surface, over the soft features of the face—smiling gently as if to reassure him that things wouldn’t always be like this. He placed the figurine down on the dashboard and leaned down on folded arms staring out the window of the cabin. He stared into the distance, at the Veil swirling, still feeling that disturbing sense that it was calling to him. His eyelids became heavy and he drifted off to sleep.

The face of a woman appeared to him from the dark, was it Sophia? She smiled at him. Above her, the sky was a vibrant coral pink. He felt warm, comforted by the way she looked at him. Suddenly—she began to disappear, as she faded, the sky became dark, he turned, sensing something ominous behind him. He saw tendrils of mist writhing across black, oil-slick water. He turned to find an impossibly high wall of gray—and he was floating toward it. Dark shadows danced within, taking the form of terrifying beasts, like shadow-play across a silk screen. They writhed and paced as if watching him, anticipating him venturing into their domain. The water carried him into the wall, he cried out for help with his last breath. Then, he found himself in a world of mist, were his eyes open? Dark phantoms at the periphery of his vision swirled like sea creatures hunting their prey. Suddenly—black jaws thrust from the gloom toward him.

CRAKOOOM

Thaqib shot awake in the chair of the control cabin. His face was wet. He looked outside and saw the barge swaying among large waves. Rain pounded the deck creating a haze of water vapor. He rubbed his eyes and wiped the water from his face, realizing he’d fallen asleep while the net was still working. He looked out the cabin window to see the haul—fat with refuse—swaying upon the winch-arm. He heard the grinding sound of metal as the wind blew at the net, twisting the arm. He suddenly jumped up and pulled on the leaver to bring the net in but was shocked to discover that it didn’t work. He pulled it again, back and fourth but nothing happened. He realized it must have gotten jammed. “Damn!” he yelled. He knew the only way to get it in now was manually. He could leave it hanging but then the whole arm might break off from holding so much weight in this wind.

He quickly threw on a rain coat and ran out onto the deck. The wind was fierce. The rain beat on the jacket, drowning out all other sound. He struggled to see through the water streaming off his hood. He made his way along the deck, struggling to stand upright on the swaying barge and the soaked deck. He finally managed to reach the manual controls. Up above him, the net swung dangerously upon the winch-arm, he was afraid that it would snap off at any moment and crush him. As he was looking, he noticed something strange. There seemed to be a flickering light within the contents of the net. He rubbed his eyes, thinking that he must be seeing things. But when he peered closer, it was unmistakable, there was a light there. He rushed to operate the crank that turned the winch arm toward the deck. The rusted metal leaver was slippery and jammed tight. He pulled at it with all the strength he could muster but it wouldn’t budge. Suddenly, a large wave hit the side of the barge and he lost his footing and fell forward, the weight of his body pushed the leaver and loosened it. He got his footing again and began cranking in the arm.

Finally, the net hovered over the deck, he was breathing heavily and felt hot and sweaty under the rain coat. He climbed out of the way, upon the railing, as he unclasped the release switch. A slurry of refuse poured across the deck, sending water washing against the railing. He looked intently at the mound for that light he’d seen. He quickly secured the winch-arm and tied up the net, then ran to the mound with a shovel. He searched around and finally found it shimmering just below the surface.

The light was golden and he couldn’t make out what was emitting it. He pushed the trash around gently, trying to uncover it. Suddenly he saw something—a human arm. He fell back into the mound out of fright, then quickly leapt up and checked if it really was what he thought. It wasn’t just an arm, there was a person buried in there! He grabbed the arm and pulled. From the trash, a person emerged—face down. He knelt, rolling the body over.

Again he jumped back in alarm when the person’s face was revealed—glowing eyes stared back at him, a mouth bared wide. He tripped and stumbled over, tumbling down the side of the mound. He held out his shovel in defense, expecting the strange thing to attack him at any moment. He waited, but nothing happened. Steeling himself, he climbed back up on all fours and peered over the edge of the mound. The body lay there as he had left it—not moving. He stumbled up and made his way closer. He realized it wasn’t a creature’s face he’d seen at all, but an elaborate carving adorning the visor of some kind of helmet.

The light he’d seen was coming from the chest of the person’s strange outfit. A tight fitting covering that looked like it was made from golden bands wrapping around the body—a female body.

“Huh?” he said, stepping closer. He reached out a hand to touch the light that beamed brightly in the dark, illuminating the rain like a spotlight. Suddenly, a flash of light blinded him and a surge of electricity rippled up his arm, sending him flying backward across the deck.

For a moment, he was stunned. The rain came down upon his face, snapping him back to consciousness. He sat up and was shocked by what he saw. Between him and the body, a small glowing disk hovered in the air, water dripping off it’s gold, metallic surface. He noticed the glowing light on the person’s chest was now gone and he realized this is what had been emitting the light.

“What is that thing?” he asked, sitting up. His curiosity overcoming the fear of having just been shocked. He moved closer to get another look. As he did, a strange whirring sound came from the floating disk. He neared it, drawn in by the curious way it moved. The sound increased in pitch and suddenly, a bolt of lighting shot fourth, sending him tumbling backward down the mound.

“Hey!” Thaqib said, sitting up in anger. “What did you do that for!?” The disk chirped. “Huh? Did you say something?” The disk chirped again. He realized that this disk was communicating with him. He looked at the person still lying there. “You’re protecting her aren’t you?” he asked. Another chirp. “What are you? Some kind of drone?” The disk elicited a chirp that rose at the end like a question and then another as he moved closer—another warning. He heard coughing coming from the person on the ground. “She’s alive!?” he said, looking to the disk. “She’s in trouble. There’s nothing I can do if you’re gonna keep zapping me!” She coughed again. The disk seemed to consider what he was saying and let out a cautious chirp before moving out of the way. “So you do understand me,” he said as he moved cautiously toward the body. She was still in the same position and seemed unconscious, but now he could hear strained breathing coming from inside the helmet. He reached for the strangely carved visor, it suddenly shot up as he touched it, he fell backward in surprise. What was more surprising though, was the face it revealed—a teenage girl.

She was probably about the same age as him, around sixteen he guessed. The disk hovered close, seeming to watch his movements with suspicion. Thaqib moved slowly and cautiously, trying to avoid getting an unwarranted shock from it. The girl’s breathing was labored but she was breathing. He turned to the disk. “I’m gonna get her out of this trash, so don’t shock me OK?” he said. The disk tilted as though mulling it over and then replied with a low hum. “Alright then,” he said, grabbing the girl’s arms and pulling her out of the trash as carefully as possible. He lifted her into his arms, surprised that even though what she was wearing seemed to be made of some kind of metal, she was much lighter than he was expecting. Her head tilted to the side causing her face to nestle inside the helmet. As he carried her down the mound, he tried to shield her face from the pouring rain.

He got her to the cabin and out of the rain. He noticed the disk was buzzing close behind, seeming to watch him like a protective pet. The way it behaved he thought, was strange for a drone, it seemed to have a personality of some kind, it wasn’t just some cold calculating machine like the Mako he’d dealt with. It buzzed in out of the rain as he lay the girl down on a metal bench and grabbed an old blanket to dry her off. When he got the blanket to her she started coughing. The disk started chirping in alarm as though urging him to do something.

He gently rolled her to the side and began tapping on her back to help her expel the water. He landed a firm blow and the girl suddenly awoke—bursting into a coughing fit. He jumped back daring not to make a move. When the coughing was over, she suddenly seemed to become aware of her surroundings and rolled over in alarm. He saw her eyes open for the first time, the color of them caught him off guard—they were gold.