The Last Undrowned City

The ocean, people say, is one of life's greatest mysteries. Dark waters beneath the line of waves are where nightmares are born. There are creatures with six arms and twenty rows of teeth; fish with eyes the size of small fishing boats, and the water is so dark, people swear you go blind just swimming too deep. But the ocean was also beautiful. When the sun hits the horizon it turns the water yellow and orange, like a sea of gold. Sailors say it was then when you were most likely to be rewarded with good fortune.

But, people rely too much on luck to just happen to them.

Sometimes, you have to make your own luck.

“Another day in paradise, huh Cheeto?”

The dog wagged its tail, it thumped against barrels and boxes, threatening to send them overboard. He was a large thing with two colored eyes of yellow and brown.

“Ey, it’s not that exciting, calm down you big whale before you knock our lunch overboard again.” The dog lowered his head. “I’m not eating stale fish bait because you’re happy to be on my boat.”

Sam, a boy no older than sixteen looked at the map in his hands. It was faded, the corners torn, and edges frayed. “It used to be around here, the islands-” A frenzy of barking and the boy grumbled. “Cheeto, I swear, if you’re barking at seagulls again, I’m going to turn you into one.” The dog didn’t stop and he peeked above his map to spot his dog hanging over the edge of the boat.

Sam grabbed him from around the neck to pull him back, barking widely in his ears. “You big idiot, do you want to be shark food-?” But he stopped when he noticed what his dog’s attention was on. A boy, who looked to be around his age, lay across a wrecked boat. He drifted along, either asleep, unconscious, or...No. People died all the time out in the open ocean. It wasn’t his first time seeing a dead body. A gleam of sunlight crested off something around the boy's neck.

“Oh, lookie there Cheeto, you think it’s real?” he threw his hand over his eyes from the glare.

The dog barked in affirmation and Sam smiled.

“Yeah, me too.” he threw off his shirt then dived into the water. As he reached the edge Sam hoisted himself up, the saltwater crested down his face as the sun beat on his back. The wooden boards creaked in protest and it felt as though he was going to tip the whole thing over.

Sam’s hands reached out toward the other boy, whose skin was a painful red against a pale white. His fingers wrapped around the necklace and turned it over in his hand. It was gold, the heart-shaped plating shone against the sunlight. Sam bit down on the metal and there was a solid ‘cling’ and he smiled. He tugged at the trinket, but the necklace wouldn’t break away from the stranger's neck.

A small shadow lunged from underneath the unconscious boy. Sam veered away and he fell back into the ocean with a loud splash. As he surfaced and sputtered he could hear Cheeto barking madly in the distance. A tiny tabby cat stood at the edge of the broken ship. It hissed and Sam hissed back.

“I fucking hate cats.” he splashed water at the feline and it backed away with a rumbling growl.

There was movement from the body. The stranger sat up with a moan and squinted his eyes in the sun. Sam peered at him as he pulled himself back up on the boat and stood, the boat rocked to the side from the movement.

“Am I alive?” the stranger questioned.

“I don’t make a habit of talking to dead people.”

The other boy patted himself down in confirmation and groaned. “I’m not dead, it seems.”

“Sure looked like it.” Sam crouched beside him, the stranger seemed delirious from the sunlight. “You’ll be a walking corpse at this rate though.” There was a soft click between his fingers and he grinned. “But at least you have a backup meal to last another night.” he nodded toward the tabby cat who rumbled a growl.

The strange boy gave him a confused look as Sam pulled away. “Look, I’d love to stay and chat, but my ship-” he nodded his head toward the boat drifting away; the stranger looked in that direction. “-don't wait on anyone.” Sam jumped into the water, the cold seeped into his veins as he swam for his ship, his prize clasped in his hand. It seemed heavy between his fingers as he struggled to swim toward his boat. As the shadow of his ship loomed overhead, Cheeto pushed a bundle of rope down and it slapped against the wooden frame. Sam grabbed the rope and climbed. His feet hit the floorboard with a slap as Cheeto circled him. He lifted the necklace, the light glared against the surface.

“This is going to clear everything up, Cheeto.” he looked at his dog. “No more tuna sandwiches or seaweed salad for us.”

“That...that isn’t yours.”

Sam looked behind him to see the other boy had followed him. He lifted himself from the ropes and collapsed on the deck of the ship. Sam took a step back as Cheeto crept up close.

The stranger struggled back on his feet, the little tabby still on his shoulder, water crested across its whiskers. Cheeto peered at it and let off a quiet “woof”.

“I don’t have any idea what you’re getting at, I found this. ”

“From around my neck?”

Sam smiled. “You find things in the most peculiar places sometimes.”

“Give it back to me,” the stranger demanded.

“According to the law, whoever finds sunken goods, is the owner.”

“So, you’re a pirate?” he accused.

Sam knew better than anyone, a pirate was a term used for the most dangerous criminal. An outsider, willing to kill for a change of luck.

The boy launched at him and Sam side-stepped. The stranger flew past and skidded off the side of his ship; he dangled off the edge, fingers grasping the floorboards. The tabby cat jumped to the edge of the ship and grabbed his shirt to pull him back in. But he was far too heavy. Sam squatted down to look the other boy in the eyes. He dangled the necklace in front of him, it swung to and fro, just barely out of reach.

“Who’s stealing what from who?” Sam grinned. “This is my ship and you’re not going to just hang around uninvited.”

“I’ll leave once you give me back my necklace.”

“Why is it so important to you?” Sam questioned.

“Why is it important to YOU?”

Sam and the stranger held a quiet stare off as he hung precariously off the edge of his boat.

“Well, you’re not in the position for a debate.” he grinned and with one foot he pushed the boy against the shoulder into the water. Sam looked over the edge as the cat paced on the railing above took off down the ship. The strange boy broke the surface and gasped for air. Sam turned around and pulled up the rope ladder he used to climb back on his ship.

“Alright Cheeto, we set sail for Aletras!” Sam noticed the cat sat at the edge of the ship, eyes on the water below.

“Look, a new chew toy.” The dog glanced at the cat but didn’t move. Sam sighed. Time passed slow. He watched the sun dip down the horizon as the day turned into evening. He could see his destination in sight, lights flickering in the shadowed sunlight.

Sam heard a drip of water behind him and swerved around to find the stranger and his hands only an inch away from his pocket. He jumped back and grabbed at a splintered piece of wood and angled it toward him like a weapon. The other boy straightened back up.

“You pushed me off.”

“You want to see me do it again?” Sam threatened.

The other boy opened his mouth but he stopped, he stared in awe and Sam then realized he wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at what was behind him. It was the city of Aletras, the colossal floating city-liner. It’s been around for decades, ever since the flood of 58’. Before the world was 99% water, there was land; an abundance of it too, or so he’s read in the few history books available. The floating city of Aletras was constructed before the water swallowed the land. The floating city is home to three million people. But its true appeal was the ability to connect to other city-liners, essentially making this city on water expandable every year with sub-cities. It was a sight to see in the dawn, with the lights sparkling across every building.

“What, never seen a city-liner before?”

“A...what?”

Sam and his dog looked at one another.

“A city-liner, you know when ships all come together to congregate and they connect to make cities? I thought it was pretty obvious from the name.”

The strange boy put his hand against a frame to stabilize himself.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m going to dock this baby, and you can push yourself back in the ocean yourself.” he grabbed the wheel and turned sharply into the entrance. A man reached out to assist docking as the ship was shadowed from a fabric roof above.

“I’m not leaving until I get my necklace back.” the boy replied. His cat perched back on his shoulder. Sam offered him a glance and shrugged as Cheeto approached his side.

“Good luck with that kid.” he smiled and jumped off his boat. He dropped a coin in the man’s hands as the stranger tumbled off his ship and fell across his stomach beside him; his cat yowled in disapproval.

Sam smirked.

“Welcome to Aletras…” he paused as the other boy got to his knees. He didn’t even know his name.

“Faro, my name...is Faro.”

“This is the biggest city on the Atlantic, Faro, be sure not to get lost.” Sam began to walk away, “wouldn’t want that to happen huh?”

Sam took a few steps up the staircase and pushed open the hatch from below, he was greeted with a bustling crowd. Sam slipped into the mass of bodies, Cheeto directly on his heels. He glanced behind him to see if the strange boy had followed him and cracked a smile when he didn’t see him.

A hand reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, away from the crowd. A woman with a scar across her shoulder glared at him as another one dug his hand into Sam’s pockets. The necklace was pulled out, the gleam of gold dancing in the evening rays. Another man grabbed him from behind the wrists and whispered, “I’ll cut your wrists open if you try to fight me.” Sam felt a shiver race down his spine. Cheeto began to bark wildly, but with a snap of the woman's fingers, the other man kicked the canine so hard he fell to the ground, silent.

“Cheeto!” he bellowed and he felt the blade against his wrist and he cursed.

The woman held his prize and she looked at Sam with interest.

“Whatcha doing with a pretty thing like this?” she cooed.

“It’s mine.” Sam snapped.

“That sounds familiar.” It was that boy, Faro.

The woman laughed.

“Ah, well, it doesn’t seem to be in either of you boy’s hands, now does it?” she clicked her tongue and Faro was struck to the ground beside him. But something was missing. Where was that tabby cat?

“You don’t have any idea what this is, do you, kids?” She lifted the necklace to look at it. She smiled. “This... is the key to the last undrowned city on Earth.”