Alliance

Chapter Three: Northport

The boat appliance store smelled of wood, oil, and metal. Unlike the other stores, Old Jack's Store was rectangular instead of square. The walls were so close together that if I spread my arms out wide, I could almost touch the shelves on each side.

A few steps into the store was a counter that stretched from wall to wall. Behind the counter was a long storage room.

"Hello?" I called into the labyrinth of shelves that held boat motors, sails, tools, fishing gear, and other equipment.

"I will be right with you," called a man's voice back from the depths of the room. "Please make yourself at home. Take a moment to look at the items on display."

A smile crept on my face. Old Jack was never this pleasant. He didn't know who stood on his storefront. Usually, it was jokes and sarcasm that made up most of our conversation.

I pulled out Dad's shopping list from my pocket and put my worn backpack on the counter. On the surrounding shelves were oil, cheap fishing rods, bait worms in a cooler, and other fishing supplies covered in dust. I had the shelf items memorized from the hours and hours I spent in this store with Dad growing up.

The only thing that was not covered in dust was a picture of the royal family that hung on the wall to the right of the counter. From the years seeing it, I had the faces of the family memorized. Short brown hair was on top of the king's head and his sons. The queen had long black hair that matched her baby daughter's. The picture had to be nearly fifteen years old. The princes and the princess looked very different today, though I was only guessing. There hadn't been a new Royal Family Portrait in several years.

I stepped towards the large storefront window that took up most of the wall beside the front door. A week had passed since the town meeting. And everyone was on edge. The soldiers that Mayor Roma and Commander Guard Frye said would arrive to help protect the town showed up yesterday.

All six of them.

When I walked into Northport an hour ago, I saw three of them. All three had a baby face. The age limit to join the army was nineteen. These men had to be at least that age, but they looked like children.

The townspeople were not happy. Women gossiped about the young men while they walked from store to store. The men gathered in groups and spoke loudly of how the army was not doing enough since they sent them 'children with guns.' The only people who were excited to see them were teenage girls who wore their prettiest dresses and tried to catch the soldier's eyes.

On the other side of the street from where I stood, Commander Guard Frye walked with one soldier who had arrived a day after the six baby faces. From what I could see, the soldier looked to be middle-aged. The pair walked down the sidewalk toward the mayor's office. Townspeople moved out of their way. I wanted to know what they were talking about. I'm sure if I went into the tea shop next door, one of the gossip ladies there could tell me.

A crash from the back of the store caused me to jump, nearly banging my forehead on the glass. "Old Jack!" I sprung to the counter and pulled myself half on top of it, ready to jump over it to aid the shop owner. "You, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," said a low, grumpy voice. Shuffled footsteps broke the silence. A short man rounded the middle shelf. "I'm fine. How can I serve you today?"

The man shuffled forward with his hunched back. Dust and cobwebs dirty his white hair. When he looked up at me, his eyes squinted behind his large glasses. "Mel? Oh, it's only you. What do you think you're doing? Get off my counter!"

My smile widened, and I lowered my feet to the floor.

"Well, I was going to save you if you needed it," I said innocently. "But I guess I know not to."