BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - Chapter 22: The Outer Dock (by Clive J. Welan)

-

Chapter 22: The Outer Dock

The outer dock was nothing like the rest of the harbor—darker, quieter, and feeling… abandoned, with old wooden planks creaking under every step and only a few working lights left while many had already gone out, yet it was precisely in places like this that important things happened unseen and unrecorded. Rhevan walked ahead, his steps slower now, more careful.

“We’re almost there,” he whispered.

Pierre glanced around.
“I don’t like this place.”

Quianna replied quietly,
“That’s because your instincts still work.”

Eljireh said nothing, his eyes fixed forward, where at the end of the dock… the ship came into view—not large, not striking, yet clearly different from the others, dark, still, as if it didn’t want to be found.

“That’s it,” Rhevan said.

They stopped a few meters from the ship. Silence. No sound. No movement.

Pierre whispered,
“Why does this feel like a trap?”

Rhevan didn’t answer immediately.
“Because everything that leads south… always does.”

Footsteps sounded from above the ship. A man emerged from the shadows, large, hard-faced, watching them for a long moment.

“Rhevan,” he said.

Rhevan nodded.
“It’s been a while.”

The man jumped down from the ship, his steps heavy.
“These them?”

Rhevan nodded. The man looked at Eljireh, then Quianna, then Pierre, his gaze lingering on Eljireh just a little longer.

“I don’t like this,” he said.

Pierre replied immediately,
“We don’t like a lot of things either.”

The man didn’t smile.
“My name is Dargen.”

Silence.

“I’m the one taking you out of here.”

Quianna asked,
“Straight to the south?”

Dargen shook his head.
“No one goes straight there.”

He pointed at the sea.
“We start at the edge.”
“And then… we see if you’re lucky enough to go further.”

Silence.

Eljireh asked,
“When do we leave?”

Dargen looked at the sky, then the sea.
“Should be tonight.”

Should be.

“But now… I’m not sure.”

Pierre frowned.
“Why?”

Dargen pointed into the distance, where moving lights signaled something more than ordinary ships.
“Surveillance is increasing.”

Rhevan exhaled slowly.
“They’re already here.”

Quianna looked at the lights.
“Global Council…”

Silence. Eljireh looked at the sea, then at the ship—this point… the one they had been moving toward all along—yet something felt off.

Dargen said,
“I won’t sail if they’re too close.”

Pierre reacted immediately.
“We don’t have time to wait!”

Dargen looked at him coldly.
“If you want to die at sea, that’s not my problem.”

Silence.

Quianna said quietly,
“We need a decision.”

All eyes turned to Eljireh. For the first time… they were truly waiting for him. Eljireh looked at the sea as the wind grew stronger, everything mixing in his mind—the map, the data, the Global Council, and that file: ROOT FAMILY—his hands clenched.

“If we wait…”
“…they’ll get closer.”

Silence.

“If we leave now…”
“…we might not survive.”

The wind blew harder. He closed his eyes for a moment.

EL… what should I do…

No answer. But when he opened his eyes… something in his gaze had changed.

“Not tonight.”

Silence.

Pierre reacted immediately.
“What?!”

Quianna looked at him—not angry, just… understanding. Rhevan nodded slowly.
“That’s the right call.”

Dargen gave a faint smile.
“At least you’re not stupid.”

Pierre shook his head.
“We’ve come this far…”
“…and we stop?”

Eljireh looked at him.
“If we die before we get there…”
“…all of this is meaningless.”

Silence. Pierre didn’t answer—but he didn’t argue anymore.

Dargen said,
“We wait.”
“One night.”
“If tomorrow is still clear…”
“…we leave.”

Silence. But deep inside Eljireh… he knew this wasn’t just waiting—it felt like something was arranging the next move.

In the distance… a surveillance ship moved closer. Inside it, an agent said,
“They’re at the outer dock.”

Lucien Varkis stood near the window, looking into the dark.
“And they haven’t left.”

The agent asked,
“Do we intervene?”

Lucien gave a faint smile.
“No.”

He looked at the sea.
“Let them think they’re choosing.”

Silence.

“When in truth…” he whispered softly,
“…they’re just following a path that’s already been prepared.”

At the dock, Eljireh stood alone, looking at the ship—just a few steps away, yet feeling like another world—as he took a deep breath, and for the first time… realized something: this journey wasn’t only about discovering the world, but about discovering himself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - PROLOGUE: “Before the World Was Forgotten” (by Clive J. Welan)

-
Image
PROLOGUE: “Before the World Was Forgotten” In the beginning… There was no sky. No sea. No land upon which to stand. There were no stars burning in the heavens—only an endless darkness. The darkness did not move.  It made no sound.  Time itself did not yet exist. And yet, within that infinite void…  there was One Will . A presence created by no one.  A presence that had no beginning. It was known by a single name. EL And within His boundless existence, EL was never truly alone. For within His divinity were three who were one. The Source. The Word. The Breath. They spoke before time itself was born. And the Word said, “Let there be light.” At once, the darkness shattered. The first light ignited like a dawn tearing through the void. Time began to move.  Space began to unfold. And the universe was born. Stars flared into existence like oceans of fire in the newborn sky.  Galaxies turned slowly in an immeasurable cosmic dance. Yet among all creation, EL formed ...
Read more

BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - Chapter 13: Run to the Edge (by Clive J. Welan)

-
Image
  Chapter 13: Run to the Edge The night wind slammed into them the moment the metal door opened. The observatory rooftop was narrow. Slippery from the rain. The city stretched out below them—streetlights glowing like scattered stars in the darkness. And behind them, footsteps were getting closer. “Move!” Quianna whispered. Eljireh moved first. He grabbed the iron railing along the edge and began moving carefully across the narrow ledge. Pierre followed behind. “If I fall,” he muttered, “I’m blaming both of you.” Quianna replied without looking back, “If you fall, we all fall.” “Great. Fair enough.” They should have been panicking. But somehow, all three of them kept moving. Forward. Without stopping. The door behind them burst open. Metal clanged across the rooftop. Global Council agents emerged. Flashlights cut through the darkness. “Stop!” No one stopped. Eljireh looked ahead. The next rooftop wasn’t far. Three meters. But below it, a deadly drop. “Jump,” he said. Quianna stared ...
Read more

BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - Chapter 1: The Shape of the World (by Clive J. Welan)

-
Image
  Chapter 1: The Shape of the World The morning sky above the City of Novara was a pale blue, clean as freshly polished glass. The sun hung high, casting light across the neat rows of university buildings that lined the main boulevard. Students hurried toward their classes—some with books clutched in their arms, others holding cups of steaming coffee. At the center of the campus plaza stood a massive screen. Almost every day it broadcast news, guest lectures, or official announcements from the university. Today, the screen displayed an animation everyone knew by heart. A blue sphere slowly rotated in the emptiness of space. A beautiful planet. The planet called home. Large letters appeared above it. EARTH Moments later, the image shifted to an elderly man wearing the traditional attire of a classical scientist from centuries past. “Centuries ago,” the narrator in the video began, “great scientists such as Galileo Galilei helped humanity understand the true shape of our planet.” Th...
Read more