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Chapter 1: Neptue’s Call

I can feel myself, descending-

I have no idea where I’m going-

The open air is consuming me, I can’t move a finger against the pressure-

I’m numb-

Help me…

The stack of books hit the desk as Mira snapped up, falling back. In the dramatic exposition of her surprise, she managed to snap her chair in half in the process of her dramatic reaction prompting one of her peers to sarcastically chime ‘nice’. A fit of laughter erupted in the classroom and she suddenly realized that the disturbing vision was simply an overactive imagination simulating a vertigo feeling of dread…. Though, the look on her Instructors’ face brought about a nightmare of inevitable doom.

“Sorry…” She muttered sheepishly, looking at the stack of splinters which was once a wooden chair. A nervous smile crawled itself on across her face as she bared a toothy grin, as though trying to cute her way out of the punishment to the elder man hovering over her- which only brought about more snickering amongst her peers.

“Cheeky antics will not excuse your lack of discipline, Ms. Dawkins,” He reminded her as the smile melted into a pout, he then bent down and helped her up, “-everything in order?” He asked, scanning her small frame vaguely. And what a plucky young woman she was, moderate height, boney/lanky build, and shoulder-length brown hair with blue eyes. The instructor always took a liking to her, primarily because she was a feminine reflection of her elder brother.

Mira nodded, “I’m fine, sorry about the chair-“

“Quite alright,” He said reassuringly, but his tone of voice was filled with vexation. Attempting to gather the shards, then looked to his class, “Let’s take a…” He grimaced at the thought, then followed through, “Let’s just end it there for today and you may leave for your next class-“

The other students had no problem with this announcement, packing their things and in a frenzy leaving the map-riddled walls of the Humanities classroom, they were gone faster than the chair hit the floor. As the footsteps dissipated and the door swung closed, the Instructor was then joined by Mira, she meagerly offered him one of the many pieces of the chair.

“Thanks…” He muttered sarcastically.

“I’m sorry Mr. McCoy,” Mira apologized.

“This is the fourth time this month you’ve fallen asleep in class,” Mr. McCoy scowled, “And also the fifth item from my classroom you’ve managed to wreck!” Mira winced, genuinely ashamed of herself.

“I’m really, really sorry and I already told you I’d pay-“

“It’s not about financial compensation, Miranda,” He corrected her while carrying the shards to a nearby trashcan, “It’s about your health-“ He concluded to her surprise.

“What?” Mira asked, a bit perplexed, “So you’re not going to send me to detention?”

“Mira…” Mr. McCoy shook his head, and looked at her pleadingly, “Do you think detention is just something I give you to ruin your day or tick your off? It’s punishment for you to think about what you’ve done wrong- but this is something else entirely- falling asleep in class, being jumpy-“

“Well Mr. McCoy-“ Mira interjected, “In my defense you DID drop a book on my desk-“

“Oh well then what about last week?” He asked, eyeing her, “I instructed your classmate to tap you awake and you nearly KILLED him- the poor lad had a worse fall then you did-“

“I did no-“

“Mira, the boy needed stitches, and if he came from a lesser family then both of us would be pending lawsuits in the making!” Mr. McCoy told her. Mira lowered her head, fixated on her uniform as her bangs slowly eclipsed her hazel eyes. She had been getting picked on quite a lot lately due to her spasms. If not for her skills at football then she’d surely be on the lowest rung of social obscurity that ever existed.

More frustrating was that she had no explanation for the narcoleptic and/or epileptic episodes and her older brother refused to take her to the doctor, instead opting to give her more caffeine as a means to counteract the possible ADHD she was contracting- was ADHD even contagious?!

Mr. McCoy bent to one knee, patronizingly to Mira as she didn’t believe she was THAT much shorter than him. “Is something the matter, Miranda? Last semester you seemed so much more…together…” He said for lack of a better word, he then commended, “And your GCSE results were more than expectable- you’ve got a bright future ahead but as of late you seem lazy. That’s beneath your potential and I’m worried that you’re engaging in harmful habits-“

“I just need to get more sleep, that’s all.” Mira explained, trying to feign a smile and convince her Instructor that she wasn’t on drugs or something, “I promise that tomorrow I’ll be better.”

“You know, some doctors give children medicine for teenagers that act like you-“

“Yes, and that’s called bad parenting,” Mira quipped, “I’ll be alright.”

“Good,” Mr. McCoy smiled, “And I want you to remember that if there is something that’s bothering you, you can come to any of us or the counselor for help or even advice- within reason.” He said warmly.

“I’ll remember that.” Mira chimed.

“Good- so now you have something to contemplate when you sit through detention-“

“Ah bugger…” She pouted.

“Detention again?” Soledad inquired.

“Yes…” Mira repeated in an exasperated tone, putting her book-bag in her locker and shutting it. She looked at her best friend pleadingly, “I don’t know what happened.”

Soledad was of a Brazilian heritage and her features definitely reflected it- she stuck out amongst her peers superficially but appearances aside, she sounded more English than the local instructors. Mira envied her, not only was Soledad a resident student with a sister-hood like following amongst her classmates, but she also developed early- something that Mira was very sensitive about. It seemed as though she was last place in almost everything and she began to ponder if that’s why Mira herself worked so hard to excel in sports.

“Don’t worry about it, Mira,” Soledad dismissed, assuring her friend with a gentle wave of her occupied hand. Mira then realized she was carrying around a magazine of some sort, “Do you know how much I wish I were in your shoes? I mean you live in a flat above a pub in SOHO- what more could a girl- no- a teenager ask for?! Home cooked meals, awesome music, weekend adventures, your own ROOM as opposed to a clustered dorm, plus- and did I mention- A PUB IN SOHO- you get to meet such interesting people on a day-to-day basis,” A evil grin crossed her face as she got lost in her own musings, much to Mira’s chagrin, “-and you live with the hottest-“

“My older brother-“ Mira reminded her with a look of disgust.

“-I know…” Soledad muttered, shaking her head, “What a twist of fate…” She said as she opened the magazine, burying her nose inside as she almost tripped over another classmate.

“Where are we going?” Mira asked.

“The dining room, it’s a little cloudy, I don’t want to eat on the quad.” Soledad explained,

“Ah okay-“ Mira then grabbed Soledad’s wrist lightly and steered her accordingly, aiming her at the mess hall.

“Weathers been dreadful lately, very sporadic and it’s all coming from the Atlantic- I hear Dublin was getting a nasty hail storm all last weekend, can you believe it??” Soledad muttered, flipping through the magazine.

Unable to answer without asking the obvious question, Mira gave in, “What in God’s name is that?” Mira asked, referring to the magazine.

“Oh, I have to write a paper for journalism-“ She then raised her head with a over-zealous smile, “Guess who won Septic popular culture and media!!”

“Eh…” Mira shook her head, steering Soledad into the bustling cafeteria. The scattered circular tables riddled the modest room, resembling more of a Bistro than a facility. “Well there’s a couple of interesting things going on-“

“Yeah like those murders,” Soledad mentioned, turning a page, “Why can’t anything interesting like that ever happen around here?”

”That was awhile ago,” Mira replied, “Like what? 3 months?”

“Just before Christmas,” Soledad told her, “But yeah, used to be that’s all you’d hear about the yanks- between that and what they’re little golden boy was doing- like he’s their trophy or something. Then when he ran away they disowned him and don’t even post his picture anymore.”

“That’s harsh,” Mira lamented, “In all honesty I’ve only seen like one report of him last year, he was alright I guess but he had these goofy goggles on- I don’t think people around here actually cared.”

“I followed his story,” Soledad admitted, “He’s a cutie!” She sighed. Then she frowned reading into the murder stories. Putting away the magazine and tucking it under her arm very gentleman-like, Soledad peered about the cafeteria, “Well I don’t want to ruin my appetite with the gory details of my research- so what shall we have for lunch?”

The tall figure landed in an alley, dropping down from a nearby building and hitting the ground with bent knees and a waist like an accordion. His long, spider-like limbs outstretched, showing no wear or tear from the fall and emphasizing his impressive 6’4” height. Now free from any vantage point of a camera and within private property, the horned figure relaxed. A humble, albeit mischievous, smile protruded from his lips as he pulled down the mask which went up to the bridge of his nose and left his eyes exposed below his bangs and the horned skullcap he wore, which was also removed revealing matted, stringy brown hair.

He simply stood back up, brushed off his t-shirt and leisurely walked up a stoup to the back entrance of a building, entering. He was about to scale the staircase adjacent to the back-entrance which would have taken him to his Flat, but the scent of perfume filled the air and he scoffed sardonically.

“Jack…I was wondering when you would arrive…” A dry female voice barked from another room. Jack didn’t need to walk through the inventory to know who that lovely siren was in the bar- somehow slipping through the locked door.

Entering the Pub, Jack confirmed his suspicion, “Ello’ Poppet!” He yelled patronizingly to the sultry brunette awaiting him at the bar. She was definitely a sexy woman, the face of a Goddess, body of a lustful temptress, and a wardrobe to emphasize only the most generous of places which he would indulge his eyes with- had she not been family.

Yes indeed, the sexy and precocious Luci was Jack’s little cousin, and object of his vexation. She simply glared at her elder cousin with a glance that few men were able to live to tell about. Venomously she scoffed at his patronizing greeting.

“Aww,” he teased while making his way behind the bar and asked, “Would Luci like a Bickie??” taking out a cookie jar from under the cash register and opening it for her. She flipped him off in response as he laughed, causing her to chuckle as well. “So to what do I owe the grace of my little cousins’ presence, did Mr. Right finally send you up the duff?” He joked, putting away the cookie jar.

“As I recall, you summoned me, remember? And as a matter of fact, unfortunately for you I’m still available and it just kills you doesn’t it- you perverted git-“ She spat venomously,

“Sorry girl, I have a very good Landlady who helps me run this fine little establishment which you have so happily let yourself into, unannounced as usual.” He smiled and grabbed a couple of glasses, and put a pot of coffee on.

“How is Helena anyway?” Luci asked, regarding Jack’s girlfriend/business partner.

Jack perked up, “She’s doing just wonderful, still taking morning classes at the institute, she should be back in a couple of hours or so before opening time if you’d like to have lunch with us-“

“Sounds great- I can’t imagine how does she does it all. I can hardly make the trip over to London rather than skipping around all day juggling a business, morning class, and domestic duties.” She then looked to her cousin skeptically, “Isn’t the Devil’s Den open until 11?”

“Usually we are,” Jack nodded, watching the pot as the coffee began to drip, unlike conventional coffee-makers, this was an instant brew so it wouldn’t take long to make. Jack turned back to Luci, “But Mira has been helping me run night shift on the days that Helena has morning classes.”

“Which is why I’m here I’d suspect,” Luci nodded, “It’s almost Mira’s sixteenth birthday- this Friday if I’m correct-The big day is coming sooner than I thought.” She said sentimentally.

“I know…” Jack smiled, “She’s about to begin going through the changes.”

“Oh my lord-“ Luci gasped, “She’s so…Average…I just… Never imagined that she’d…Start changing…“

“Well neither did I until I began getting calls about her conduct in class.” He explained, handing her a cup of coffee with some cream and sugar, “The Gaines Secondary Academy is just as uptight as when we were there, she hasn’t been adjusting well at all-“

“I was the same way-“ Luci reminded Jack, “I was around her age too. Such a confusing time, I felt alienated.”

He scoffed cynically, “Yeah, until you inflated like a damn balloon- to this day I’m expecting your bust to pop open and candy to fall out-“

Clearing her throat, Luci told Jack in a very dignified tone, “Female Dawkins’ are late bloomers, one day Mira will bloom as well until then she’s just beautiful the way she is-“ Jack winced at the thought of his dear sister being ogled at by sex-crazed teenage boys, the likes of which he beat down in his heyday alongside Luci, though her behavior didn’t exactly help her reputation.

“I’ll see to it that she remains innocent, hell, I’ve seen what happens when I don’t step in.” He muttered glaring at Luci comically.

She stuck her tongue out at him then threatened, “You mark my words Jack, someday a very special young man will drop out of the sky and there you’ll be with a rebellious, boy-crazed girl on your hands.”

“Tell me Luci, do you enjoy breathing without aid of a respirator? If so then STOP TALKING.” He glared.

Luci laughed, “Aw, you’re so protective.” She cooed as he rolled his eyes, “So how far along is she?” Luci inquired, genuinely concerned. Jack leaned on the bar and sighed.

“Well they say she’s been falling asleep, so fatigue is definitely setting in. Strange spasms, which is just a given. And also she’s ranked first-string starter on her football team.” Jack then smiled, baring his fangs, “What can I say?”

Luci felt for her little cousin, “At least I had Mum to explain all this to me- and you know damn well that you owe it to her to tell her the truth-“

“-And I will.” Jack replied seriously, “She’s been biting my arm off about going on the freighter with us- so that’s why I called you here.” Luci nodded, “I was going to see if you could arrange us a little trip around the coast, nothing major, just spend a weekend out on the Atlantic and then come back, then we could explain all this to her and hopefully we can all get on the same page before the major stuff begins happening.”

Luci nodded, “Sure, I can arrange that- it is her birthday after all.”

“Good,” Jack smiled, “I know I should have told her sooner but, I dunno, I always envisioned mum or dad telling her about it.” He trailed off and his smile disappeared, “I always thought that…”

Luci put a hand on Jack’s shoulder and lightly shook him, “Hey Jake, it’s not easy growing up.”

He nodded and then joked, before choking up, “Especially in this family, right?”

They both chuckled.

Luci then mused, “I just hope there’s no bad weather.”

“Are you kidding?” Jack asked, “It’s my little sisters’ birthday, what kind of world would it be if there was a massive storm on such an event?”

The thunder clapped in the distance as the vessel began to change course. The massive drifter ship had a deck the size of a football field, filled with hands who were attempting to reroute the course of their ship.

“Well so much for this idea…” Luci muttered, wearing a heavy coat (to the dismay of her staff) and standing next to Jack as he stared at the looming tempest in utter horror.

Helena joined them, she was a tall woman, almost as tall as Jack with long legs which culminated in a firm bottom. Flowing red hair framed the gentle features of her face and trailed down to her generous chest curling at the tips and accentuating her figure. Though, unlike Luci, her dimensions were more consistent and it was clear that while Luci was very stoic and solid, Helena’s assets were more natural and rounded.

The crewmembers found themselves at odds between her and their captain as both seemed equally alluring, though Luci was much more volatile and demanding, whereas Helena was very gentle and soft spoken- unless she was speaking to her boyfriend.

“I’m sorry, everyone.” Helena consoled, trying to be upbeat but knowing that this may have been a bad idea from the beginning. Luci withdrew, being called away by woman who had a teletext signal going to verify the severity of the impending storm.

With a long, exasperated sigh, Jack simply lowered his head, looking to a lower platform from the higher-elevated Stern where the captains and navigators usually stood to negotiate their path. On the lower platform amongst the fraternizing crewmembers, Mira was starring out unto the sea just feet away from a railing which separated her from falling into the ravenous sea.

It had been a bad day for Mira as it was, Soledad wasn’t able to make it to come with her on the trip so that meant the hour drive over to Brighton was a long and mundane snore, for the first day adrift she had felt sick to her stomach, and now that she was beginning to get a grip on the unstable boat-ride a storm loomed ahead, they hadn’t even made their way into the open Atlantic, simply wafting along at a snails’ pace and threatening to return to shore.

Mira did appreciate her brother for the surprise, as well as her cousin for making this possible as it may have been very costly and, at this point, life-threatening to come out all this way. However, Mira would have been just as happy at the Pub eating a slice of cake and maybe getting a sip of cider from Helena’s glass while she wasn’t looking.

“Maybe you should go talk to her,” Helena suggested to Jack, once again playing a maternal role, “At least you can tell her about your family, that is the reason why we brought her out here.” She suggested.

“Right.” Jack nodded, but was reluctant to leave.

Helena understood, “Listen, you told me about the secret when we were still in Primary school and I didn’t even flinch!” She reminded him, “Miranda is practically a young woman now, she’s in secondary, I think she can handle this-“

Jack shook his head, “It’s one thing to TELL someone about this secret, and another thing to LIVE it…” He shrugged, “It’s not like she’s about to experience her first full stop-“

Helena smacked him on the shoulder, “Stop that-“

“Well it’s similar!” Jack muttered in his defense, “This is like the birds and the bees… Except…” He shrugged muttering, “Arson and mischief…” He then trailed off, “Also I know she’ll start asking questions about Mum and Dad…”

Helena paused, looking down at the small-framed girl, that was a incident which even Helena was hesitant to bring up around the family. “You don’t have to tell her everything at once- I wouldn’t even advise it myself- at least tell her enough to know that she isn’t a freak or anything-“

“She ISN’T a freak.” Jack scowled Helena.

Helena retorted, “Well you better get down there because that’s her self-image and a young woman’s self image is very fragile.”

“All right, wish me luck,“ Jack said and bounded down to the lower platform with ease, landing a good distance from Mira as not to startle her.

Mira stared to the sky above. She felt like a total screw-up. Her grades were slipping, her social life was non-existent, her favorite pastime was now just an obligation to keep herself from seeming like a total spazz. Then, worst of all, her thoughts began thinking back to her Father and Mother and why they weren’t around to see her through this. Unable to contain herself anymore, tears streamed down her face.

“Why are you crying?” She whispered to herself below the volume of the open water, “It’s your birthday, you should be happy.” She looked out to the open water. Her opportunistic thoughts always seemed to sprout from the woodwork in moments like these and when that happened- especially as of late- it was quite embarrassing.

She cleared her throat, “I’m fine…” She told herself. “Perfectly fine…”

Just then her tears seemed to float off her cheek.

She paused, the surrounding area seemed to go silent and her heart stopped.

“What the hell?” She asked- but no sound came from her mouth.

“Miranda…” Jack began, a few feet behind her.

“What the bloody hell is this?!” Miranda exclaimed in complete horror and fascination with the floating tear, her voice loud as ever. A chill suddenly filled the air, and she looked to the sky to check on the storm.

But what she saw was…

“HOLY SHIT-“ Jack screamed- confirming that she wasn’t insane.

It was something, someone, falling from the sky a good distance from the ship. But it was arcing, as though someone had vaulted the poor bloke across the horizon. Luci appeared next to Jack as the staff on the ship also gathered to hold witness to this peculiar event. Mira was awestruck by the fall and determined, somehow, that it was a boy, perhaps a young man, and from the give on his legs and arms she ascertained that he was unconscious. Jack quickly receded behind the crowd, away from view.

“How long would it take to get over there?” Luci demanded from her navigator, an older man about Jack’s age, but slightly shorter than her. He struggled through the crowd that built up to watch as the flailing body careened to the sea below..

“Too long,” He replied, shaking his head, “The poor soul will die on impact at the rate he’s going-“

“GANGWAY-“ Jack screamed, the crowd divided as he cleared the deck from portside to starboard in a few inhuman strides- kicking off of the rail just inches from Miranda’s body, snapping it like a twig and vaulting at least 20 meters away from the vessel in a matter of seconds- Miranda fell back, eyes wide and speechless as Helena attempted to calm her, before she could realize what just happened she came to the conclusion that she didn’t move at all but Luci had yanked her away before getting trampled.

“You alright, kid?” She asked her little cousin.

“What the hell is going on?!” Mira screamed.

Jack soared through the air, he had methodically taken his time to measure the jump he’d need to make but upon getting closer he saw that the arc of the human-projectile wasn’t so much a subtle javelin as much as it was a crash-landing.

Taken by the surprise and unable to change his trajectory, Jack did the only thing he could- he slung his nearest limb, his arm out as though trying to pluck the boy out of the air- instead they clipped one another and both collided with a sickening smack went into a dramatic and heart-wrenching downward spiral away from one another now affected by their encounter. Jack hit the sea with a massive splash and the boy actually hit the surface of the water, skidding like a skipping stone, then eventually submerging. Jack had used himself as a shock-absorber to reduce the lethal momentum of the young man and also to shift his trajectory so that he wouldn’t hit the water dead-on in a position which would knock him senseless

“Wow-“ One of the crewmembers muttered, though not sure if Jack’s action was one of brilliance or complete idiocy.

“I WANT THIS SHIP TURNED NOW-“ Luci commanded as the men went to work, adjusting the sails and shifting the direction of the ship. Luci ran up a ramp to the Stern platform to take her position.

“What just happened-“ Mira asked, Helena looked just as worried. She had never seen Jack wipe out or miss his aim. Since they were children he had always managed to land on his feet, to see him hit the water so hard and so awkwardly definitely made her heart sink at the thought that he may have been underwater and injured.

Moments passed as the vessel turned and made it’s way to the general area in which they fell, almost 5 minutes had gone by and Mira was convinced that her brother had passed away- no human could hold their breath for that long. Helena and Luci peered over as a few of the men began to ready a small boat with a respirating mechanism equipped to assist in resuscitating the two men.

Another agonizing while ensued until finally Jack poked his head out of the water with the mysterious stranger in tow. “He’s got a concussion!” Jack announced as the men dropped the boat, paddling over to the two of them. Mira watched in jaded astonishment as Jack carefully lifted himself up and assisted in pulling the castaway onboard before paddling back to the vessel and being pulled back up, all the while the young man was being tended to and resuscitated by the crewmembers’ limited knowledge of CPR and the respirating mask.

An on-board medic quickly ran past Jack and to the castaway as the ship’s crew crowded around to get a good look at him. Another moment past, “Our lung capacity is more powerful,” Luci suggested, quickly yanking the young man’s mask off and attempted mouth-to-mouth. Sure enough, after only a few controlled breaths he began coughing and gagging,

“That would probably bring me back to life too-“ A crewmember muttered under his breath as the others quickly surrounded the boy to see if he was completely back to consciousness- all having the same question on their mind as to where he came from and how he came to be.

However Luci wouldn’t allow it, “He needs air- don’t crowd him-“

“He’s in shock,” The medic determined, peeling back the boy’s eyelids and shining a light into his blue eyes which responded to them,

“We need to head back to shore immediately- but first get him into some dry clothes-“

“He can just wear the batch I had for tomorrow.” Jack offered, as everyone agreed. Hoisting the young man up and transporting him to the quarters, Jack looked to Luci slyly, “So since you two are now acquainted, you ready to take one for the team if he has hypothermia-“

“HAH- he’s not in Heaven yet- That’s all you-“ She scoffed as Jack went pale. “Well take him to Jack’s quarter-“ Luci said to her crew as they carried the castaway into the lounge in a large cluster, the men began to reset the vessels’ route again, this time back to shore. The door shut immediately as the men began to estimate how many hours it would take to return to shore, of course they couldn’t go all the way back to one of Brighton’s docks, they’d need to radio something more local for assistance if the situation was beyond their own control.

Suddenly Mira burst from the quarters, blushing. Jack followed soon after, with a grin on his face at his sisters’ complete obliviousness- yet a little reassured that she still had an innocence to her. Helena quickly walked up to Jack.

“All right?” She asked.

“I’m fine!” He smiled as she suddenly began swatting at him ferociously with a big smile-

“NEVER SCARE ME LIKE THAT AGAIN YOU IDIOT-“ She laughed.

“A man’s life was on the line-“ Jack retorted to the overwhelming, if not comical reaction, he playfully caught her hands and pulled her close, “I’ll give you fair warning next time I save someone’s life, deal?”

Helena smacked him on the face lightly, “Deal-“ Then laughed, “Love you!”

“How did you do that?” Miranda interjected, annoyed that everyone was treating the situation so casually- especially the crewmembers. “Am I the only one that sees this as completely ridiculous and absurd!? And YOU Helena??” She said, turning to a woman she saw as an older sister, “You knew about this?”

Jack then bent down on one knee, much to Mira’s frustration, “There’s something I need to tell you about our family-“ He put his hands on her shoulders, “We aren’t-“

She smacked his hands away, “I’m tired of being treated like a little girl, I can’t believe you hid this from me-“

“Well if you’d listen-“ Jack began.

“Don’t talk to me,” Mira replied, “Let’s just get back to shore and get this man…boy…” She trailed off, “Some help.” With that she walked off, Jack attempted to go after her but Helena stopped him.

“Let her go,” She reassured him, but Jack wouldn’t hear of it, Helena grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him to her. “Listen to me Jack, she’s not a girl anymore, she’s a woman. Let her have her space and we can all sit down and talk about this when there isn’t so much at stake, okay?”

Jack sighed, “I hate seeing her like this, and I hate that we’ve began all of this on the wrong foot.”

Luci emerged from the quarters with her Navigator, “So if we use the oncoming storm as a means for thrust and head North then I know of a correspondent in Bournemouth who may be able to send a medical fleet if need be.”

The Navigator nodded, intently writing in his notebook, “By my calculations we’ll be there just shy of dawn-“

“How is the boy?” Jack inquired.

Luci shrugged, “I’ve seen worse, The medic says he’s got swimmers ear from the cold air, both are swollen shut. Poor lad seems to be in shock, cold as winter, but he’s warming up, lucky for you, and with the appropriate antibiotics the medic says he’ll be alright- though I think the better question would be, ‘where the hell did he come from?’, a plane, cannon, wrath of God- who knows!”

“I think the best thing to do is to keep this quite.” Jack said, “He’s been through enough already, we’ll drop him off and leave him in the care of professionals.”

“Sounds good.” Helena nodded, then admitted, “Though I hope he can explain himself, I’d love to know where he came from…”

“Well,” Luci chuckled, “I did find something interesting in his pants-“

“I think Mira did too-“ Jack interjected and then was greeted with a smack to the groin by Helena, causing him to back up and bend over, “-Why?!” He pleaded to her.

Luci took out a box, “I’m not quite sure what it was, looks to be a normal package but it’s faded.”

Helena examined it, “Curious…”

Jack waddled away, bent over in pain, “I need to walk this off.” He squeaked.

Luci sighed, “Might as well get some dinner then wrap up for tomorrow, we have an early morning and long trip home.”

The following morning, the sun descended upon a small town on the English coast as Church Bells rang out to greet the citizens on a beautiful Sunday morning. It had been an ordeal of a night in trying to get to their destination and Luci had to settle with simply stopping at the nearest dock that would hold the freighter long enough for them to get to a hospital. Instead of finding a state-of-the-art institute, as they previously were expecting, they found a very low-end hospital that had limited resources and a very meager vacancy- but it was within a Kilometer of the dock and so it was a matter of convenience rather than quality.

Sitting in the waiting room, Jack skimmed through a magazine while Helena looked over his shoulder. Though conservatively dressed for the occasion, the amorous Luci was still able to drive a male nurse insane, eyeing him across from the waiting room as he bashfully typed away at a computer and she swung her folded leg playfully while watching him squirm. Mira sat, arms folded and peering forward impatiently and yearning only to go home, but at the same time, dreading the following day in class and how she’d most likely make a fool out of herself this time.

It was then that Mira decided to check her messages on her phone, forgetting the device. Pleasantly, she was surprised to see a few good tidings of her birthday, among which was a message from Soledad:

Soledad Wrote: Hey happy birthday! I hope all is going well for you, it’s boring here and my RA is such a bitch for not letting me leave on such short notice- I miss ya!! We should totally go to the cinema this coming weekend.

Mira replied, using the touch-screen keyboard-

You: Not so great, we found this guy adrift at sea and so we’re trying to get him some help. Not to sound self-centered but that’s been the highlight of my birthday, Yay me… w00t! But the movies sound good. Wanna go see SNUFF? JK, lol.

Mira then read the other good tidings which were just as supportive, but she could reply to later on. Feeling a bit better, Mira stood up and walked out of the waiting room, needing a snack. As she passed her older brother, Helena nudged him and nodded to his exiting sister. Quickly he handed over the magazine and followed her out.

Now attempting to pay for a chocolate bar via a vending machine, Mira was vexed to find her brother enter. “Hey,” He greeted in a hushed voice.

“What?” She asked, turning to him, knowing that she was being rude. Now that she had a little bit of reassurance from her classmates, she felt a little less volatile and softened her apprehensions- yet still upset with her brother.

“I just wanted to apologize for not telling you sooner about…” He trailed off, “You know.”

She sighed, “I know, and I’m sorry for being kind of bitchy about it but things have been so confusing lately and I’ve been beating myself up about it-“ She looked to her brother pleadingly as she put words to her concerns, “Do you what it’s like to feel alienated and blame yourself for something you feel out of your control, only to realize that it’s some sort of inside joke to everyone else?”

Jack felt a twinge in his heart.

Sure, it was nice to keep her out of the loop for her own benefit. However, he had never thought of it once as a joke. Quickly he clarified this, “I don’t hide stuff from you as a means to torture you, Miranda. I’m just looking out for your best interest.”

“I know,” Mira sighed, seems like everyone has been doing what’s best for her behind her back. “So tell me everything…” She said, determined, “What’s next for me-“

“JACK-“ Luci hissed, popping her head around the corner, “Get in here, we have an issue!”

Jack and Mira quickly joined the others in the waiting room as a Doctor and Helena were having an altercation.

“What do you mean that we have to accept custody?” She demanded, a bit flustered by the prospect.

The elder doctor, about as old as time itself, waved his hands dismissively at her tone, “We cannot afford to keep your friend fed and housed without the appropriate papers that tells us we’re going to get compensated for it. We’re a small town. Now, if you take him to your home, I can give him a prescription to get rid of that nagging Ear infection as well as the Flu he’s acquired from what you say is him being ‘adrift at sea’.“

“Isn’t there a way we can…” Jack stammered, “Disown him?”

“NO!” Mira yelped, “This is a-“

“Quite Mira-” Jack scowled, and turned to the doctor, “Look, we’re living on a fixed income, we can’t afford to take care of someone else- we barely have enough room for me, my wifey, and my little sister-“

“Well we can’t either.” The Doctor said, “You don’t necessarily have to take him home, but you certainly can’t leave him here.”

Jack continued to argue with the Doctor for a moment longer. It wasn’t so much that they wanted to dump the boy completely, they just wanted to do the right thing, but not assume the boy’s guardianship. The Doctor argued that the meager hospital couldn’t afford to house and feed him for longer than was needed and seeing as that he was a foreigner, didn’t have any legal papers, and obviously came from an unknown origin with conflicting stories regarding how he came into the possession of other strangers, the small-town Doctor didn’t want to deal with who he perceived as “shady” individuals.

The dispute would continue for a few minutes and Mira could already see that her presence was obsolete- suddenly her phone buzzed and so she wandered into the room in which the young man was being kept so that she could at least text in peace.

Soledad: NO WAY- I don’t believe you!! People just aren’t out on drift like that. He’s still alive?? And GOD NO to snuff, I’ve read enough of that for my project thank you very much! :)

Mira looked ahead, startled by the sound of whispering.

“Hello?” A raspy voice said, “Why can’t I hear myself??” It was just as the medic had told them, his ears were temporarily swollen shut. If that was true then it must also be true that he’s in agonizing pain and rendered (fortunately temporarily) deafened. She continued typing, somewhat freaked out.

You: I can send you a picture, he’s in pretty bad shape and I’m not sure what to do.

Mira then aimed the phone and tried to get him in frame of the small lens on the opposite side of the phone. It was then she realized she could finally see the boy up-close for the first time in distinguishable light. He had bright platinum, almost white hair with dark roots which was indicative by his facial hair. Soft blue eyes squinted in the light of the fold-out lamp which was used to examine him so Mira took a moment to scan him and just take him in for a moment, as not to scare him. She could tell from his size that he wasn’t too tall, but not necessarily short either, and overall he had a lean build. Understandably he was overwhelmed and disoriented, if not from the alien surroundings then surely by the nausea and dizziness brought on by the Flu and Inner-Ear Infection.

A small flash went off as Mira sent the message with the attached picture to Soledad, the suddenly flash alerted the stranger and he fearfully asked, “Is anybody there?”

He then began coughing, Mira immediately felt guilty for gawking at him and sharing him in such an undignified manner. Mira cautiously outstretched her hand, grasping it as he clutched hers with a firm grip like he was about to fall from the face of the Earth. An enigmatic smile appeared on his face, “I’m sorry...” He said softly, closing his eyes.

Mira was somewhat confused by this phrase, but before she could inquire, he appeared to calm down. Suddenly, the young man had fallen asleep and his clutch lessened. It was the most strangest and comforting feelings she had ever experienced and she pondered what he might have meant, obviously he wasn’t speaking to her, so who was it?

Elsewhere, at a boardroom in an ambiguous locale, a door opened and revealed the silhouettes of upstanding and pride-filled figures, sauntering to a table. The men and women adorned in professional business attire were situated at a roundtable facing the centerpiece, a speaker with a rounded receiver so that they may converse with their employer. A few of the members seemed rather droll considering the hour of night it was, however, this did make it easier to use their resources without being “on the clock” or raising suspicion.

“Progress report?” The synthesized voice stated as the others looked to one another nervously.

A thin man spoke up, “We’ve managed to determine that the target is no longer within the boundaries of our legal power.”.

“What the hell kind of report is that?” The voice barked.

Another man chimed in, looking as though he better places to be and was fumbling with his cell phone, “Well when you hired us, we were under the idea that the target was within the country. Now we’ve worked hand-in-hand with the Black Beret’s to trace the airspace, but unfortunately our target was much too small and slow to be picked up by their radars and somehow he managed to lower his body temperature to a point where infrared was unable to distinguish him from the open atmosphere. Motion sensors were still able to track him, up to West Virginia until he encountered a severe lightening storm in which we lost any indication as to where he is- logically his only way out was to follow or remain within the storm and follow it out to see. If that’s the case than it’s safe to say that if he was heading into the Atlantic that he’s now dead-” He then sighed, “So there’s your lead, when do we get our money?”

“Oh no, it’s not that easy.” The voice insisted, “He acts stupid but he can be very cunning when he needs to be- the boy is dangerous… I don’t care if you need to book a submarine- I want my property returned and the money which I have at my disposal goes to the first man or woman who is able to give me a solid lead, as in, photographic evidence- that was the deal- not pussy-footing around and coming up with crappy excuses as to why you don’t want to get your hands dirty.”

Another female jumped in, a bit more assertive and having quite enough of her employers’ attitude, “We are quite aware of your…Generosity… But I have to ask: Where, pray tell, did you receive the funding to follow through with this bounty. I mean, we’re putting our trust in you because we all owe you something in return for the favors you’ve done for us in the past- but to call all of this in at once, with a bounty as a cherry on top seems a bit suspicious. Especially if this ex-client has cost you so much money that you’ve recently gone bankrupt.“

The others peered over to the centerpiece, intrigued.

“Let’s just say…The target is of a common interest to me and another colleague of mine with deep pockets and shallow motives.” He then reiterated, “Find him. Scan the Atlantic if you have to. And don’t be afraid to use our old connections to get your hands dirty…”

Another man stifled a laugh, he was shorter and a tad older than the others, but they seemed to simultaneously look to him as though he was somehow above them, “Do we want to find the boy or kill him?”

“Death is in this season.” The assertive woman replied, “Look at Rebecca Lynn, people are still applauding that murder.”

The voice coldly replied, “I don’t care what you do to him, I’m paying you to do whatever it takes.”

The others looked to the centerpiece intrigued.

“So get on it…”

A beeping sound emanated from a cell phone. Answering it, one of the exhausted executives chuckled.

“What’s so important-“ The voice began.

“A peripheral company which mine is affiliated with has an uploading engine which requires administrative consent before posting to eliminate child exploitation and pornography-“

“Yes and how efficient that process is-“ The assertive woman chimed.

“Just now on a blog, someone has uploaded a very interesting picture that my boys have forwarded to me, which I will now forward you-“

“Yes.” The voice replied.

In his office, the man looked out his window, standing up and peering over to the construction of the massive tower which had long-since been damaged from a scuffle which seemed to be an eternity ago when in actuality it was merely a few months. Looking at his reflection in the window, the black suit and vest he wore made him appear nearly like a living shadow albeit a golden silk tie which went well with the pale features of his face, framed by a thin goatee and thick-rimmed black glasses. The dirty blonde was stone-faced- starring into the now-vacant skyline.

His cell phone chirped, picking it up off of his desk, the man looked to the interface which greeted:

“SAINT you have 1 New Message!”

He peered at the picture, though crude, it was enough to warrant his next campaign. He commanded, “Trace the blogger, pursue it’s vicinity and keep tabs on the person who loaded it.”

“Yes sir-“ The voice replied from the speaker.

Disconnecting from the conference, the man continued starring into the vacant skyline.

NEXT TIME ON THE HOUSE OF DAWKINS:

Jack: So I think this went well-

Mira: You call this “well”?? My birthday is a total wreck- I could have been killed!!

Luci: But you did learn a bit about your heritage-

Jack: And you got to see your first peni-

Mira: JACK-

Helena: Hey the stranger has been asleep for quite awhile- do you think we should wake him up?

Jack: Meh, he’s breathing, as far as I’m concerned he can wait. It’s time for me to drop some science on Mira as to the changes she’s about to endure.

Mira: YAY- wait, endure?? What the hell does that mean?

Ezekiel: Hey, I’m here with a belated gift for my favorite little sister of my best friend-

Jack: Oops sorry Zeke times up, save it for next time-

Mira: WAIT- HE WASN’T EVEN IN THIS CHAPTER HE DOESN’T DESERVE A LINE- ANSWER THE-

Next Time On The House Of Dawkins: Talk

Jack: Hey, I like that song-

Mira: JAC-