ODE TO THE END: A BALLAD OF BROTHERS

CHAPTER 8

ADLAI

The high sun was causing the air to simmer in the distance, and the world of junk contorted on the edge of the horizon. Adlai traveled along a paved but shattered path and implored a number of traversing maneuvers just to walk on its way.

He hopped over potholes, leaped up and down displaced rocks, and stumbled upon a few roots. The occasional scrap metal caught his gaze, but they were always scooped up by darting children and thrown in their wagons. A number of trees had broken through the concrete and provided shade to the scavenging laborers. The wandering young man tried not to make eye contact with the few people he passed, for curiosity was a contagious thing and he desired no attention beyond what he needed.

No. It was better to keep his hood up, his eyes down, and his pace as conspicuous as possible. Besides, there was no reason to talk to them. He had already confirmed it. Achim, his brother, was still close. Now that he knew this fact, Adlai took no further worries. He merely glanced to the great wall in the east, York's Divide, and its long-running rim.

Adlai slipped. A particularly rambunctious root snagged his toe and sent him fumbling to the ground. He fell and slammed against the hard cement. The impact did not hurt. He actually did not feel anything, but he groaned as if his bones had been rattled. He heard the laughter of a young scavenger in the distance. They were so far away that they could have easily been laughing at something else, but the wanderer could not help but shiver at the possibility. If not him, then who?

The eldest Arbitor hurried to find those he heard and saw two boys, much too engrossed in their own games to notice him. Relief pressed against his lips, but the very memory of his folly kept them quivering. He lowered his head as he struggled to his feet, but a shoddiness of motion plagued his recovery. He rested his weight on his left side as he pushed off using one arm. From the flutter of his cape and cloak, nothing seemed amiss aside from his awkward locomotive skills. The reason for such jarring movements would only become apparent when the shroud he wore draped at just the right angle. Only then was his secret revealed.

Adlai's right arm was gone. Only a bicep remained, and it provided little aid with the most mundane of tasks - like getting up after falling down. The young man hid his handicap so quickly that not even standing up proved more pressing. Because of this, Adlai, slow rise, simply wallowed.

A moment's time was what he needed. Time to block out the world and contended with his insecurities, but his ears twitched during the quiet contemplation as if something had been heard. Something deeply close but distant. Another moment came and went. Adlai, for a time, seemed entranced. This would end when Adlai simply shook his head. He then rose to his feet and walked on.

The young wanderer waded through the sludge of the slums in order to find his own refuge. Because he was not a native to the heaps, Adlai did not know what he was looking for, but he found a spot all the same. This place was a lone foundation of a long-forsaken lot. The home that sat on top of the base had collapsed years ago. The debris had been scooped up and taken, leaving a cracked slab where the building once stood. Dead leaves littered the ground, and every burst of wind would call them to perform a waltz across the floor. Adlai watched the dancing dead as he sat, but something soon interrupted the performance.

Deep barking boomed at Adlai. A stray dog found him in its lair and howled disdain at his friend intrusion. Pouncing around the young man but no longer encroaching, the dog's instincts demanded a cautionary distance. The hound would take heed of the ill-feeling, but not without letting itself be heard.

A snarling growl bellowed from the beast, and its canines snapped at Adlai as a signal of menace. After suffering the ruckus, the Eldest Arbitor decided to suffer no more. He peered at the mastiff with his hellish gaze , and a wave of fear pressed upon the beast. The essence that exuded from the ink of his eyes was one of utter dominance. Raw, the invisible aura was thick with promises of violence.