(Baird's POV)
After we had flown for an hour, Aaron summoned us all to the cockpit over a ship-wide intercom I'd been entirely unaware of previously. With more or less confusion, we obliged him and hurried up.
"Hey," he greeted us briefly, "We just left the Kemarian seaboard behind. So we need to make a decision here, guys. We need to decide whether we're gonna fly the rest of the way to Unterstat over land or sea."
I wrinkled my brow. "Does it really make any difference?"
"Of course it does, or I wouldn't ask." Aaron chided calmly, "Here's the thing. Flying over land has its advantages, such as higher probability of surviving a crash instead of drowning, quicker replenishing of any supplies and food, you name it."
"Well, how 'bout we just go over land, then?" Hannah asked.
"Well, there's a big disadvantage for that, too. We'd be passing over two very antagonistic countries, Alconte Proper, and Klovania, neither of which am I overly confident about. What we need to decide is if the risk is worth the potential reward."
"I don't see any problem." Jedrek replied slowly, "As long as we don't act like idiots and make ourselves super obvious, there shouldn't be any reason for a standoff."
Keira narrowed her eyes. "On the other hand, we did give that Redistribution Force of theirs quite a run for their money a couple weeks ago, and I doubt their memory is short enough to have forgotten already."
Khemera nodded. "Keira's right. We should take the sea route."
Hannah and I added our agreement to the consensus, for what little it was worth, leaving only Jedrek on his side of the issue, and Sila neutral. So with a shrug, Aaron directed his course to fly over the oceanic waves.
"I'm gonna take it nice and slow," he announced as he spun the wheel, "because a vessel this big, traveling too fast, could attract some very unwanted attention."
I smirked and nodded. "I'll bet."
"So if my calculations are correct, we'll reach our position tomorrow morning sometime. Then we'll have to drop down into the water and travel the rest of the way submerged."
We all nodded our assent. "Sounds like a plan to me." Keira said, verbalizing the sentiment we all shared.
With that, Aaron dismissed us. Khemera, Keira, Hannah, and I exited the cockpit to reconvene in the lounge room. We seated ourselves in the four chairs and shifted into whatever posture and position was most comfortable for us.
I sighed. "Isn't it crazy that tomorrow, we'll be entering Unterstat?"
Khemera nodded. "Hopefully, yes." he replied vaguely.
"That is a...wild thought." Keira remarked thoughtfully, "Can't help but feel a bit nervous, though."
Hannah brightened up and leaned over to pat Keira's shoulder. "Don't be nervous, darlin', it'll be loads of fun!"
I narrowed my eyes. Something about her taking her optimism this far seemed quite foolish and reckless. "Hannah", I began, "your positivity's refreshing and all, but I advise you not to take it to the realm of imbecility."
Hannah narrowed her eyes and dropped the grin. "I'm not catchin' your drift."
"Well, all I mean is that you need to face reality sometimes. Life isn't always fun and games, and acting as if it is, is naive and immature, to put it plainly."
A wrinkle appeared on the girl's brow, one I'd never seen there before. It appeared incongruous with her features. "Lemme get this straight." she said, "Are you callin' me childish?"
I nodded. "Yes! You're honestly pretty childish, and you clearly haven't lived long enough or seen enough to—"
"Well, you've got some nerve to say somethin' stupid like that!" Hannah shouted, rising abruptly to her feet. "You have no clue what you're talkin' 'bout!"
"I'm merely stating what I've observed." I replied as calmly as I could. Honestly, seeing Hannah angry was pretty disconcerting. "It seems to me, life's handed you everything you could possibly want in a neat little package. That's why you're so shallow-mindedly happy all the time."
"And 'dis is comin' from the sheltered Ferangian author who's probably never worked an honest day o' work in his life! You have no idea what I've been through!" Hannah shouted, balling her fists as she did so.
I opened my mouth to reply, but a kick from Keira quickly persuaded me that silence was preferable.
"What have you been through, Hannah?" Keira asked kindly, glancing at me judgmentally a second later.
"Well, for starters, I was only thirteen years old when momma and papa killed themselves right in front of me!" the usually optimistic girl exclaimed, her angry countenance suddenly tinted with a touch of sadness.
"Oh dear..." Keira and I exclaimed in unison. Khemera merely gasped.
"Why...why would they...do that?" Keira inquired further, keeping her vocal tone gentle and eyes soft.
"Heaven forbid I ever know!" Hannah replied, "Probably somethin' to do with drugs or maybe even somethin' worse, I have no clue! All I know, is I never knew papa had a pistol 'til he shot himself with it. And the only meat my vegetarian momma ever cut with that kitchen knife was her own flesh!"
I flinched at Hannah's words. I thoroughly regretted my previous insensitivity, but my throat had run dry, effectively preventing me from voicing that sentiment. I opened my mouth to attempt it, but nothing came out, drawing only a glare from Hannah.
"So, I'm assuming you had...family take you in?" Keira asked.
Hannah shook her head. "Nah, I didn't have nothin' but myself at dat point. All mah other relatives lived too far away. So I just roamed the streets by mahself for a bit, scroungin' up barely enough to fill mah tummy, but I was depressed, y'know."
"Naturally." I managed to reply with a struggle, although somehow, the empathy I'd meant to convey got lost somewhere in the dryness of my throat and made me come across as sarcastic.
"Shut your freakin' mouth, Baird!" Hannah yelled, grabbing a wooden game board from off the coffee table and hurling it at me in a rage.
My eyes widened, and I darted my hands out to catch the board. I caught it by a corner, which cut into my hands, but at least it hadn't hit my head like Hannah had intended.
Keira managed to inject even more sympathy into her gaze. "I'm sorry to hear that, Hannah. But how'd you get to be...the way you are, now? Because I admit, you're a breath of fresh air from the depressing world around us."
"Well..." she began thoughtfully, the wrinkles in her brow abating, "like I said, I was depressed, and I nearly forgot how to smile. But then I realized the futility of it all. Because, as I realized, momma and papa only took themselves out because they were dissatisfied, and depressed with life. And I realized...mah depression could only lead me down the same road, sooner or later."
Keira smiled. "So you decided to be happy?"
Hannah nodded, a grin creeping to her lips. "Yeah! I realized life is what ya make of it, and so I decided to look at the bright side of thangs!" Her brown eyes rested on me. "So, Baird, I'm aware dat shadows exist. I know there're places light never shines. But dat don't mean I have to dwell on that, missin' out on my happiness in the sun."
I nodded concedingly, a tear making its way to my eye. I laid the board on the table, stepped around it, and threw my arms around Hannah. "I'm sorry. I truly am. That was really insensitive of me to say. You're a beautiful ray of sunshine, and I'm ashamed it took a dark cloud for me to realize that."
Hannah grinned. "You're good." she replied, "I reckon we all need a reality check every now and then."
Khemera chuckled. "Now that's a truth." he remarked, his eyes sparkling humorously.
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A few hours later, Khemera helped me to my feet with a delighted grin. "You're making good progress there, Baird." he encouraged pleasurably, "You not only finally got back to the 20 pushups I originally prescribed, but you also threw an extra three in there!"
I nodded and smiled victoriously. "Yeah, it...was definitely a struggle," I remarked between gasps for breath, "but I managed to push through. Having your...encouragement...always helps."
Khemera patted my back and nodded. "That's how it works. Let's get you some water."
I smirked. "Sounds like a plan if I ever heard one."
With that, we exited the quarters Khemera and I shared and made our way down the hallway to the lounge room. When I stepped through the door, I narrowed my eyes. Jedrek was standing over Keira's shoulder in the kitchen area, mumbling something in her ear and seemingly adding to her audible sobs.
"Hey!" Khemera barked behind me, "What're you doing, Jedrek?"
The black-hatted man glanced back calmly. "None of your business, old man."
I narrowed my eyes and stepped a little closer. "I think we deserve to know, considering that Keira doesn't strike me as the type who just randomly cries for no reason."
Jedrek shook his head. "She's a woman. Of course she does that."
Keira gasped and frowned at the man in disbelief, as did Khemera and I. Though, on our part, it was less disbelief, and more anger.
Khemera stepped over to the brunette and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Keira, are you okay? Because if you're not, I can quite easily make him not okay." he said, jerking his head in Jedrek's direction.
"I'm...I'm alright." she replied, not at all convincingly, as her voice being drowned out in sobs didn't sound at all acceptable to me. "He just...told me some things. Horrible things."
"What things?" I questioned, accidentally letting my curiosity inject some frustration into my vocal tone.
"I told her she can't keep holding me responsible for the death of her children that I was told nothing about." Jedrek replied calmly. "Much injustice has been done in the name of retribution for a crime I never committed."
"How dare you say something so foolish?" Khemera shouted, "Whether you were aware or not, your selfishness is the issue here! Even Keira herself, with no strings attached, should be far more precious to be preserved than your own life!"
"What for?" Jedrek questioned cooly. "What, because of some 'women are victims and need to be protected' garbage that I don't subscribe to? She can fend for herself, as you can clearly see."
Out of nowhere, I threw a punch at Jedrek's jaw. "What has society come to, that men should use women as merely sources of pleasure, without being bothered to cherish and protect their delicacy?" I shouted, though the words leaving my mouth seemed to require no conscious thought on my part.
Jedrek appeared somewhat shocked at how powerful my punch had been, but he made no move to retaliate. "The world's a horrible place." he remarked calmly, evading eye contact with anyone but the doorway, "Survival is an 'every man for himself' ordeal, and only the fittest actually do survive."
Before any of us could reply, he stalked across the room and stepped through the open doorway. Khemera and I glanced at one another in frustrated bewilderment, at a loss for words. Keira whimpered and threw herself into my arms, and I firmly returned her embrace. If I'd learned anything that day, it was that the two women in our party had been put through much grief in life, and deserved all the more to be cherished and comforted. True manhood, I then realized, was a mixture of great strength, and great weakness, perfectly balanced and each trait being utilized in its proper season.
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A/N: Is that anticipation I smell in the air? We're getting close, so I wouldn't be surprised. 😂
Well, if you enjoyed this chapter, don't hesitate to vote and comment.
Now...how about Hannah's past? Kinda puts some things in perspective and definitely makes you look at her different, huh?
This is clearly gonna be a shorter note than most, because here I am with the random question of the day already: What's your biggest pet peeve?
(I have a couple, but I think my biggest one is when somebody comes in my room and starts talking to me, but then keeps staring over my shoulder at whatever is on my computer screen, or even worse, what I'm currently writing in my diary or something. It's just kinda like, "I get you have a legitimate reason to be here talking to me, but my eyes are up here, bud." That, followed closely by my dad sometimes critiquing who I follow and what posts I like on social media, really annoy me.)
Anyway, that's enough on that. I hope you have a great weekend, and generally, next six days! I'll see you on Friday's update if you survive the zombie apocalypse until then.
🤭
I let that slip, didn't I? That was supposed to be...ugh. Have a good week, guys, gotta go talk to my boss about severance pay now. 😂