The Makers

The First Visitors

There was a camera in her face.

Mae looked down as the stuttering pattern of flashes came at her from all directions. The paper in her fingers crinkled and Mae stared down at it.

Raleigh Railroad, Ticket No. 13303.

She dared to look up again for a second. The sign above the waiting station confirmed that this was indeed the right place, but maybe this wasn't where they were supposed to be meeting. Maybe they were supposed to be meeting somewhere less...public.

Mae glanced over at Nery beside her. He was grinning as broadly as he could at the cameras, which was pretty broad considering he always had a big smile. However, she could see the tension in the corners of his almond-shaped eyes. He hadn't expected this either. You'd have to really know Nery to recognize that he didn't mean all the smiles he was flashing.

Next to Nery, stood Jabez. His grin stretched from one large ear to the other. He waved a big lanky arm at the press like he had been doing this all his life. Not like he had suddenly been chosen, just like Mae and Nery, to be the first visitors to the city of Raleigh.

Mae took a second to study Jabez for the first time. He seemed nervous too but was overcompensating for it with a puffed out chest and blazing eyes.

The Newspapers had sent out the notice months ago: "Applications Wanted: Be the First Visitor of Raleigh!" They were looking for young adults. Young enough that they wouldn't remember the deep hatred that most Ardinians held towards the people of Raleigh.

Looking around the small train station, Mae noticed a man leaning against a post. He was peering at them from behind the crowd, his buzzed head and straight posture giving Mae the impression that he was a military man.

"Hey," She nudged Nery and he leaned towards her expectantly. "Who is that?" She nodded at the man. Nery straightened and squinted into the crowd.

"Who are you talking about?" The crowd had shifted and the man was no longer visible. Mae shook her head and Nery pulled away again.

Mae craned her head for a minute, trying to see around the crowds but the man seemed to have disappeared. His spot by the pole sat empty. That's when a small display window, jutting out from the wall, caught her attention. A printed picture of a large burning building was stapled to the front of the cluttered corkboard. Mae frowned at the photograph, remembering it from somewhere. The bold type at the top of the clipping read, The Aftereffects of The Arden Fire.

She tore her eyes away from the clipping as another flash of a camera tried to burn through her irises. Mae couldn't remember the fire. She'd been four years old when it happened. She knew that her age and lack of memories of the incident was part of the reason why she was chosen for this journey.

One person beside a camera suddenly got her attention.

"Mae! Tell us your thoughts on the tense relationship between Arden and Raleigh!" The woman's black puffy coat was scrunched up around her neck while she held the microphone forward, pointing it at Mae with anticipation. The camera man beside her shifted as seemed to zoom in on her. Mae turned her head away quickly and pretended she hadn't heard the question.

Nery shot a longing glance at the train car that stood behind them. Mae knew exactly what he was thinking. Escape. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she tucked her wild red curls further into the collar of her coat.

A man suddenly emerged from the energetic crowd. His buzzed hair and straight posture towered over most of the media crew. For a moment, they took no notice of him until he took a few steps towards Mae, Nery, and Jabez. The cameras turned on the man like a bunch of spotlights, their black eyes unblinking.