The soldiers were awoken to the shouting of Captain Marco. He roamed around in front of them, trying to wake them up.
"Wake up, everyone! We've arrived," he informed loudly. Ronnie yawned, stretching her arms over her head. She looked over to Reuben and they exchanged excited smiles. Karma was already awake, and he was sipping coffee at a small table. Arran and Isla stood up, yawning and stretching. Boris sat up, but didn't feel like standing up just yet. He slowly blinked the sleep out of his eyes, still not fully aware of his surroundings. Boo was happily sipping a cup full of orange juice, a little sliding down the sides of his mouth.
They exited the boat, the blinding sunlight hitting their eyes. Ronnie squinted her eyes, shielding them from the sun with her hand.
They approached the huge gates to the city, guards yielding long rifles protected it. They said their farewells to Captain Marco and walked into the city. As Oden and Noa passed the guards, they gave them a little nod as if to silently say "good morning". The city was small, even smaller than Trance City. But, they didn't have as many citizens as Trance City, so Sightburgh had the distant look of an old forgotten village. The buildings were like small cottages with bright flowers planted outside of them. Ronnie liked the look of the houses, and they brought a small happy grin to her face. The citizens seemed friendly, and they smiled when you passed them. Ronnie noticed that they had no protection whatsoever to their city. Shippendale was protected by the hill, and Trance City had walls around it. Sightburgh had nothing. Nothing was stopping anything from invading the city. And then Ronnie remembered something: there were no Lurkers on Civil Island.
They slowly proceeded towards a huge stone castle-looking building. Ronnie guessed that this was their headquarters, even though it didn't resemble the headquarters she was used to. They followed Oden and Noa inside, too astonished to say a word. As soon as they walked in, guards jerked their heads over to them.
"These are our guests, not prisoners," Oden quickly informed them, holding up his hand. Ronnie pressed her lips together in unsettlement as the guards stared her and her team down with cold eyes. She made sure she kept up with Oden and Noa, afraid to fall too far behind.
They quickly strolled down the hall, which was neatly decorated with golden mirrors and picture frames. They came across a huge door, which Oden grabbed the doorknob of eagerly.
"You guys ready?" He looked back at the others, his mouth forming into a small grin. Karma fixed the collar on his shirt before giving Oden a nod. Oden nodded back, opening the door. A muscular man with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes sat upon a golden throne, a few guards by his side. Oden and Noa led them towards the throne, bowing under it. Ronnie and her team did the same, getting on their knees and hovering their foreheads over the red carpet.
"Good job, Oblonksy," the king praised. Oden looked up to his king with a smile, happy he could be of assistance. Ronnie moved her eyes up to the king. He looked down on them like a god, his eyebrows thick and heavy. She couldn't help but notice a small kid beside the throne. He looked unamused and a little mean, his eyes glaring down at the soldiers. The kid had brown hair and gloomy blue eyes, almost as if we didn't want to be where he was. He crossed his arms and leaned against the throne's side. The king didn't seem to care about the gloomy child too much, for he kept his eyes on the soldiers below him.
"I am King Rod of Sightburgh, Civil Island. Please introduce yourselves," King Rod loudly spoke.
"Captain Karma, Your Majesty," Karma said loudly, looking up to the king. Rod's eyes suddenly widened, his mouth seemed to be at lost for words.
"Karma? Is that really you?" King Rod was sitting at the edge of his seat. Karma briskly drew his breath in as confusion hit him like a train.
"You know me?" Karma couldn't help but speak in his usual raspy tone, which he usually only used towards his soldiers.
"You're Creed's son.. I—well, I'm your uncle, I'm Creed's brother," King Rod told him, stuttering a little as he spoke. Ronnie could hear Karma breathing shallowly beside her, and she, too, was rather shocked. She looked at her captain from the corners of her eyes, seeing his eyes wide, wider than shes ever seen them. She looked back down at the floor when she heard King Rod decide to speak again. "We've been looking for you and Creed ever since we parted from Russia," said Rod.
"We?" Karma questioned the king, hundreds of thoughts racing through his mind.
"Me, your uncle Kira, and my sons. We're all here, and we've been here all along," explained Rod. "This is where the Alekhin family settled—well, except for you, your mom, and your father," Rod said.
"I.." Karma gulped. Ronnie could tell that he was put into a bad situation, and he didn't know what to say or do. "Can we get to the peace deal?" Karma bluntly asked, his more firm voice returning. King Rod nodded, sitting back in his seat once again.
"Sightburgh is a wonderful island free of Lurkers. Despite that fact, our citizens fail to thrive," Rod sternly explained. "Our crops have been low, and our citizens have been starving. Our children our skinny, and our elderly are sick. We've also heard about your rivalry with Trance City, so I came to the conclusion that if Shippendale helps Sightburgh with crops, then Sightburgh will help Shippendale with Trance City. Sound like a deal?" Amazingly, King Rod managed to blurt that all out in one breath.
"Hm-m.." Karma grunted, exchanging indecisive glances with Ronnie. She looked at her captain, her eyes slowly blinking. "How soon do you want this answer?"
"We want it soon, Karma," King Rod told him.
"In that case, mind if we sleep on it?" Karma had ever-so-slightly cocked his head to one side, which Ronnie noticed he tended to do a lot.
"Not at all. But, you should have your answer by tomorrow evening," King Rod said. Karma nodded, heaving himself up from the carpet.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Karma dipped his head, glanced over to Oden and Noa, and followed them out of the room. The rest of his team tagged along behind him, hurrying to keep up with him.
Oden and Noa showed them a house that they could stay in. It was there for the soul purpose of holding guests who wished to spend the night at the city, and that's exactly what the Shippendale soldiers wanted to do. Oden and Noa stepped in first, then letting the others come in beside them. It was a big house, and it had everything they needed for the night. Oden smiled, watching the soldiers explore the house with their eyes.
"Have a good stay! Feel free to explore our city. Me and Noa will be at Headquarters until about seven, so if you need anything you know where we are," Oden informed them. Ronnie smiled, looking back to Oden.
"Thanks, Oden," she cheerfully said. Oden smiled, giving a friendly nod.
"It's my pleasure. I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that, Oden and Noa left the soldiers.
Ronnie walked over to Rueben who made his way into the kitchen.
"Aren't the houses just so cute here," she asked him.
"They are! I like this place's aesthetic," he replied. Arran blinked his grey eyes, looking over to his sister. She was scratching the back of her head, and then she moved her hand down to her side and looked over to Karma.
"What are we doing for dinner," she asked her captain.
"We can go to a restaurant. I'm sure they have some in this city," he told her. She nodded, dropping her bag off on the floor. Isla was a quiet girl, her face small and cute. She had blond hair and bangs that just covered her eyebrows, and she was the same height as Ronnie. Her older brother, Arran, was very similar in personality, except he had a shorter temper. He had light brown hair and a young-looking face. They both had the same gray eyes, which gave them sort of an ominous look. Arran was taller than Isla, and he was the tallest on the team.
Rueben tapped his chin before promptly holding up his finger in sudden realization.
"I saw a nice café while we were walking, maybe we could go there," he suggested. Arran smirked, firmly putting his hand on Rueben's shoulder.
"Ai, but do we really want to waste our night at a cute little café?" Arran had a cocky smile on his face, one that Ronnie had never seen on him before.
"Where else would we go? We only want dinner—" Rueben told him, turning away from Arran but still keeping his vision fixed on him.
"Well, I also happened to spot somethin' while were were a-walkin'" Arran informed, his cocky smile turning into an informative expression. "Ther's a casino just up the street. We're all old enough, yes?"
"A casino?" Rueben scrunched his pale nose, a little disgusted by that thought of Arran's.
"Sounds good to me," Karma said flatly. Ronnie didn't have an opinion on the casino. She had never been to one, but she always meant to check one out. They were all old enough, all of them being over twenty-one years old. Rueben exchanged concerned glances with Ronnie, but she didn't know what he was so concerned about, so she looked over to Arran and nodded.
"A casino would be fun," she told him. Arran looked at Ronnie, a little happy that she agreed with him, since she never liked to agree with his ideas.
"Who's in favor of the casino, raise yer hand," Arran announced. Arran himself raised his hand, and so did everyone else except for Rueben. After he noticed all the stubborn looks he was getting, he quickly threw his hand in the air. Everyone put their hands back down by their sides. "Then let's get goin'," said Arran.
The casino was a big building next to the alcohol shop. It had a flashing light in its window, which indicated it was open. The soldiers stepped in, and it was more of a saloon than a casino. There was a bar, and several tables with dirty-looking men sitting at them passing cards around. Ronnie wasn't interested in gambling, but she noticed that there were also tables with chess boards on them. She knew how to play chess, and she enjoyed it, so she decided she would play chess instead of gamble. Before she made her way to the chess boards, she walked up to the bar and sat down on the stool. A man around her age sat next to her, his eyes seemed to be lost in time. He had pitch black hair and light eyes, and he didn't look like the other old men in the building. He looked sad, and he looked alone. Ronnie decided to leave him be, knowing that she wasn't good at cheering people up.
The bartender approached her and asked what she wanted. The bartender seemed to be annoyed, so Ronnie put on a smile and requested whiskey. A few moments later, a snifter of whiskey was slid in front of Ronnie. She looked at it before taking a very small sip. She wasn't a big alcohol drinker, this whiskey would be a perfect amount for her tonight. The man next to her remained in the same position even when she finished all of her drink. She began to worry about him. Was he dead? Maybe something was wrong with him? She decided to check up on him, just in case something bad was happening to him that was being hidden behind his lifeless eyes.
"Are you doing alright?" Ronnie had shifted her head over to him, blinking her eyes in concern. To her surprise, he slowly moved his head to look at her, almost zombie-like. She felt her stomach tighten, regretting her decision a little bit.
"Yuh," the man mumbled deeply.
"Just making sure," Ronnie told him. The man was KK Adelmann; KK standing for Kaan-Kader. He was well-known with the casino staff; they even know what drink he wants as soon as they see him. Him and Ronnie started talking, and by the tone of his voice Ronnie could tell there was something bothering KK. She asked, and all he did was look at her with a glazed expression. She then asked why he went to the casino so much. KK drew in his breath, his chest filling up with air.
"I've got a room in the basement. Don't leave this place much, that I don't," KK told her. His voice seemed very drained, and it was very rough. Ronnie had occasionally heard a similar-sounding voice coming from Karma after a long day of farming in the fields.
"Why do you live in the basement? Don't you have a mother you can bunk with," Ronnie asked. KK spoke again, his faded German accent ringing in Ronnie's ears.
"Don't like to socialize much, and my mother runs this place, yuh see? Yuh, she got her own place down the street but she ain't got room for me in there. So, she just brings me food and gives me free drinks when I need 'em," KK explained. That was the longest sentence Ronnie had ever heard come out of Kaan-Kader's chapped lips.
"I see. You sure I ain't making you uncomfortable? I can go back with the people I came with if you don't feel like socializing," Ronnie told him, feeling a little misplaced in her current situation.
"Naw, naw—you can stay. I get lonely in here, not talkin' to much people and all. I think the last time I even stepped foot outta this place was about a year ago," KK said. Ronnie raised her eyebrows. He hadn't seen the sun in a whole year? Hadn't he had a reason to take a walk, or even run an errand for his mother?
"Is your mother the bartender?" Ronnie had her hand gently displayed on the counter, her fingertips touching the base of the snifter that once held her whiskey.
"Naw, that's my sister. Yuh see, this is Adelmann Saloon yer in. My whole family got a job here except fer me who gets tuh sit here all day and get free drinks," KK spoke. To be honest, Ronnie didn't think that sounded all that bad. But, she knew she couldn't handle his life for long, since she was a huge extrovert who couldn't go a single day without socializing with her friends. KK seemed miserable and lonely, his fingers were very shaky as his sister handed him a drink. His sister gave Ronnie a strange glance as she passed her, almost a warning glance. Ronnie pressed her lips together, looking over to KK who was sipping the drink he had just obtained. Ronnie then wondered if he was drunk.
"How many drinks have you had today, KK?" She asked when he sat his drink back down on the counter.
"Not too much, this is my first one in about a couple hours," he replied. She knew she couldn't talk to KK the whole time she was at Adelmann Saloon, so she glanced over to where the rest of her team was. Karma and Faux were sitting at a table, seemingly playing a card game. Isla was chatting with Arran who was sitting at the table next to Karma and Faux. Ronnie didn't spot Rueben, but when she did she saw he was sitting alone at one of the chess tables. Boris and Boo were sitting quietly in a dark corner, which made Ronnie a little concerned about them. She jerked her head back at KK, who was looking at his drink with slowly blinking eyes.
"The names Veronica Bauer if you ever want to talk with me again. I'm not from here, but if you ask Oden or Noa up at HQ then they'll know who I am. It was nice meeting you, KK, I hope we can talk again soon," Ronnie kindly said. KK looked over to her, giving her a small farewell nod. Ronnie nodded back, putting a quarter on the counter and walking off.
She sat across from Rueben, whose face lit up at the sight of her.
"Heya," Rueben greeted.
"You wanna play chess?"
"I don't know how. I'm just sitting here waiting for something interesting to happen."
"Ah, I see."
"Who was that guy you were chatting with at the bar, Ronnie?"
"His name is KK Adelmann, standing for Kaan-Kader. His family owns this place, but he is the only one who doesn't work here. Instead, he just sits there all day and gets free drinks whenever he wants to. He said the last time he stepped outside was a year ago," Ronnie explained.
"Wow—what about when he walks home? Doesn't he step outside then," Rueben asked.
"Naw, he lives in the basement. He's sort of creepy, not gonna lie," Ronnie said quietly so KK didn't hear her.
"I can imagine," Rueben replied. Rueben and Ronnie's polite smiles immediately turned into startled frowns when they heard the loud screaming of a young man. It was Boo's scream, Ronnie recognized it. Boris was throwing his fists at Boo, even knocking him in the face a few times. Blood splattered on the wooden floors from Boo's right nostril. For whatever reason Boris found satisfaction in thrusting his fists into the scared man. Karma promptly heaved himself up from his seat, reminding Ronnie of a father hurrying to discipline his children. At that point, Boo was retreating back into his corner, Boris cornering him with bloody knuckles. Ronnie could tell that Boo was afraid, and Boris was evidently enraged. Karma grabbed Boris' shoulder, but Boris jerked around and threw a punch at Karma. Ronnie gasped, her hands darting to her mouth. Karma dodged his attack, and quickly grabbed Boris' neck, almost as quickly as Boris escaped. Boo was slowly sliding his back down the wall, leaving a big streak of blood all the way down it. Blood soaking into the creases on Boo's lips, and his eye was twitching horribly. His blond hair was messy, even messier than usual, Ronnie knew that it was from Boris' attacks. Karma grabbed Boris' shirt collar and yanked him away from Boo and towards the middle of the room. He told Boris something that was inaudible from Ronnie's current location, but she could tell that whatever Karma told Boris just seemed to get him even more angry. He pushed himself away from Karma, departing for the door. Ronnie watched Boris storm out of the building, his fists still clenched. Karma grabbed Boo's arm and hoisted him up to his feet.
"What was that all about, Cosette?" Karma had to use his firm voice, Ronnie guessed to get his point across.
"He.." Boo had to swallow a mouth full of blood. "He just attacked me," he managed to say through his jerky breaths.
"For no reason?"
"Well—"
"What'd you tell him, Cosette?"
"I told him that Russia was never going to be habitable, and he should just give up," Boo grumbled, a tear catching the blood from his cheek and turning red as it made its way to his jaw.
"Don't mention Russia around him! How many times to I have to say that?" Karma was angry, but Ronnie didn't think anything of it since he was usually angry.
"I'm sorry—" Boo's legs and fingers were shaking. Karma sighed and sat back down like nothing happened. Ronnie looked over to Rueben, who was watching it all with wide eyes.
"Well, I guess that was the interesting thing I was waiting for," Rueben joked, looking back over to Ronnie. She snickered, leaning back in her chair.
"Hey, we all know it was bound to happen at some point," she cheerfully replied. She then looked over to Boo, who was crouching down in the corner he was in. She stood up, walking over to the man and sitting on the floor next to him. He looked over to her, wiping the blood from his chin with the back of his hand.
"Hey, Boo," she said. He didn't say anything, but he turned his head away from her. She almost never saw him angry, so it made her feel strange talking to him when he was like this. "What's wrong?"
"Why..? Why couldn't I fight back?" Boo's hands trembled, and his teeth were stained red when he opened his mouth.
"Maybe because you didn't have a chance to," Ronnie suggested. Boo looked at her with tightened eyebrows, almost like he didn't like her suggestion. "Listen, Boris is just mean. He likes to make sure other people know that he's dominate in the fight, and that they should be scared of him. We're you scared of him?"
"I—" Boo seemed to have trouble getting words out. "I mean, a little. It shouldn't of got to the point where I couldn't fight back, though," he told her.
"Maybe it's better you didn't fight back."
Boo looked at her, his eyes slowly widening.
"Now that you didn't fight back, Boris is the only one who fought. That gets you off the hook," Ronnie explained to him.
"Yeah, but if it wasn't for me then that fight wouldn't of started."
"But if you said that to anyone else except for Boris then they probably would've shrugged it off. Boris is just sensitive, Boo. He's too sensitive to be around you," Ronnie said.
"He's a sensitive dunce, that's what he is," Boo snarled, standing up to his feet with a grunt. Ronnie looked at Boo, concern flooding her green eyes. She had never heard Boo insult anyone on his team before, she hadn't even seen him so mad. There was no doubt that Boo was a scary person, but not in the ways people might think. He leaned forward and scooped up his old straw hat before setting it on top of his messy blond hair. He looked back at Ronnie, but to her Boo was nearly unrecognizable. His usual innocent-looking face had turned into an angry and fearless expression. He had his lips sealed together tightly, and the dim orange light that hit his straw hat made his eyes darker than Ronnie had ever seen them. Boo never looked like his personality, but she started to notice small changes in him that slowly started to reveal his true self.
She stood up next to him, her eyes flashing at the strange man. Boo glared back at her, almost telling her to stay away. She backed up before completely turning around towards Rueben, completely blind to the fact she just ditched Boo. She wasn't about to make matters worse between Boris and Boo. She knew if she kept talking to Boo, however, it would make matters much worse. She sat back down across from Rueben, and he looked at her in confusion.
"What'd he say?" Was the first thing Rueben asked.
"He's angry—and I'm a little scared," Ronnie replied.
"It's normal for Boo to be angry, he's always angry at people."
"Not around me, he isn't. Rueben, I'm concerned for Boo and Boris' relationship. How are we supposed to have a functioning team if two of the soldiers hate each other's guts?"
"How are we supposed to have a functioning team with Boo in it, anyway?"
Ronnie clenched her jaw and punched Rueben gently in the arm with a faint "Rueben!"
"It's a joke, I know Boo means good for the team," Rueben told her.
"I know," Ronnie said. She glanced back over to KK, who was in the same spot she had left him. He barely drank any of the drink his sister had given him, and all he was doing was looking at the table with half-shut eyes. He looked sleepy, and his chest heaved up and down very slowly. KK had red sleep deprived eyes, which was a very light blue color. So light blue, they seemed to be see-through. His face was skinny and narrow, his cheekbones so visible his face eerily resembled a skeleton. Ronnie couldn't help but wonder why he was the only one in his family who didn't have their life together. She noticed that each time his sister passed him from behind the counter, she gave him a disgusted glare. Ronnie thought about calling his sister out for her actions, but she decided not to since it would create a big scene that she could guarantee KK would despise. Ronnie accepted Kaan-Kader's differences, and she saw clearly that he wasn't like his siblings. He'd rather be alone, or would he? Ronnie thought some more, and she realized something horrible. KK's family was a big functional group of smart and swift individuals, but KK seemed to be the opposite of that. What if the Adelmanns couldn't accept how KK was born? What if they were disgusted by who KK grew up to be? Maybe they didn't tell him to go outside because they were embarrassed by him. Ronnie was lost in thought while looking over in KK's direction. Is that why KK never went outside of the saloon because his family didn't want him to? What a despicable family, Ronnie thought. How could they keep their son from the public just because he is a little different than the average person? Ronnie was snapped out of her daze and she jerked her head over to Rueben, who was watching the people gamble and yell.
"This place is disgusting," Ronnie scowled.
"I know right. I didn't even want to come," Rueben replied.
"The family who runs this place are prejudice," Ronnie told him, a sharp tone in her usual high voice.
"How's that?" Rueben had looked over to her, his eyes sparkling in curiosity.
"I think that they're hiding their son from the public just because he's a little different," Ronnie said. Rueben pressed his lips together, looking from Ronnie to KK.
"We should get outta here," Rueben said. Ronnie nodded, standing up from her seat.
The soldiers exited the saloon, never to hear or see Kaan-Kader Adelmann again. Ronnie slightly regretted leaving him with his abusive family, but she couldn't think of much to do. As she walked back to the house they were staying in, she hoped the best for KK, and she wished for him to recognize his family's abuse towards him and get away from them. She hoped that KK would escape from his invisible jail cell and create a new life for himself, one with sunlight and socialization.