The City of Wanderers - No Peaceful North Part One

Chapter One

Wet and cold. Every day was wet and cold. There hadn't been a single ray of sunshine in days, only dull grey overcast skies and rain. As was usual for early spring on the coast of former British Columbia, now Pacifica.
Wes always hated that time of year, all it did was rain and everything was colourless. At least he could spend it out at sea instead. He stood along the railing on the outside deck of the ferry, completely dozed off and not caring that the rain was pelting him. His hair being wet hid the grey streaks in his long black hair and beard better. Wes was only 40 years old, still too young to be going grey already. He also had pale beige skin, hazel eyes and usually wore dark coloured clothes under his dark brown coat and high vis jacket.
Wes was a crew member for the ferries that would still operate from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay. The same route every day. He missed his old life from before everything went to shit, as did everyone else. Wes only got the job because of his husband, who was the captain. He had lost his previous job as there was no longer much need for a high school biology teacher. Not like it mattered anyways, nobody was being paid with money anymore. Everyone worked for the right to stay fed in Pacifica.
"There you are, we need someone to direct vehicles into lanes and I'm not doing it again." One of Wes' coworkers told him, snapping Wes out of his daydream while he stared off at the sea. He reluctantly agreed to it and started heading down to the vehicle decks. Wes started regretting standing out in the rain as he hated the feeling of wet hair on his clothes, especially when it was under his coat. It didn't matter though, he had a job to do.
The bridge opened and vehicles were allowed to board. Wes made sure they were evenly distributed to keep the ferry balanced. As the weeks went on there seemed to be fewer people travelling from the Island to the mainland. It was rare for them to have to use the 2nd vehicle deck for more than just storing crew members' vehicles. Rumours of pirates on the Salish along with ships vanishing was definitely not helping. Once the bridge was up and they were ready to set sail, Wes went back up to the passenger deck to see if there was anything that needed to be done up there.
As soon as he entered he was approached by a woman with short messy brown hair, a black coat over a red shirt with black pants and more tanned beige skin. She asked Wes "I assume you're a crew member, yeah?"
"Yes." Wes simply answered, he wanted to say more but chose not to. She then pulled out her phone and showed Wes a photo of someone with pale skin, freckles, long bright red hair and was wearing a red flannel hoodie.
"I'm looking for this person, I have reason to believe she's stowed away somewhere here. Could you maybe keep an eye out for her and tell others?" The woman explained to Wes, who asked her "Is this your kid?"
"Uh, yes." The woman replied as Wes told her "I'll inform the captain."
"Oh thank you so much, sir!" The woman exclaimed as Wes went to go do exactly that. Though the more he thought about it, he wondered why she didn't tell him immediately that she was looking for her kid, perhaps she was just nervous.
As soon as Wes stepped back outside the horn went off, scaring him and causing his ears to start ringing. When he made it to the other kind of bridge, he said "It's as if you wait for me to be outside to blare that damn horn."
"Oh, sorry Wes. Didn't realize you were outside that time." The Captain responded. His name was Aditya Madan. His skin was a russet brown colour, his hair and beard was also black but always kept short, had brown eyes and was wearing his black captain's uniform.
"Whatever, I need you to make an announcement." Wes told Aditya, who agreed to it and asked "What kind?"
"Someone thinks her missing kid is hiding somewhere on board. They have long red hair and freckles, that's the best description I can give." Wes described to Aditya.
"Oh, of course! A missing child is very important." Aditya exclaimed as he reached for the intercom, but Wes grabbed his arm to stop him and said "Wait."
Wes then explained to him "Although I'm suspicious, the kid doesn't look anything like their supposed mother and when she asked me about them they didn't bring up that they're her kid until I asked. I would rather them be reported to crew first."
"Oh, I see." Aditya responded before making the announcement in the way Wes told him to.
"I'm gonna head back down now, you keep piloting this million dollar vehicle, I guess." Wes told Aditya as he headed back out the door. Aditya saluted to Wes and replied "Will do, sir."
The one good thing about working on the ferries all the time was that Wes could always be in close proximity of Aditya, his husband. They had gotten married just weeks before the world changed. He made it worth doing with his oddly cheery attitude despite the circumstances.
Wes decided to head to his truck and spend a bit of time alone before he had to go deal with people. He sat in the driver's seat and just rested his head against the wheel, not hard enough to trigger the horn. Wes thought to himself "I really need to spend some time on land. I'd give anything for the opportunity at this point."
He lifted his head back up briefly and noticed something moving in the rear view mirror under a blanket Wes didn't remember putting on the floor. While keeping his eyes on the mirror, he reached for the hunting knife he had stored in a compartment next to him. Once he had it in his hands, he turned around and removed the blanket, revealing what was underneath. It was the kid that woman was looking for. Wes then felt like the knife was not necessary at all.
They were staring at Wes in fear as he tossed the knife onto the passenger seat next to him and apologized "Sorry, I- That wasn't really necessary."
"No, I'm sorry for hiding in your truck. It was unlocked and I needed to hide. I'm sorry I will leave." The kid started telling Wes as they sat up and motioned for the door. Wes exclaimed "No wait! You can stay!"
The kid then stopped and asked "You're not gonna tell Niamh, are you?"
Wes assumed Niamh was the woman that was looking for them.
"That depends, what are her intentions with you?" Wes asked the kid in response. They answered "She's going to kill me if she finds me."