Breaker

Chapter 6-1

Chapter 6

Eddie

It had been over a decade since Eddie had last stood ankle deep in the surf. Small, smooth pebbles brushed over his toes with every froth-topped, blue-gray wave, and Eddie was incapable of killing his grin. Above him, circling gulls chuckled and wailed, to the right, the Atlantic crashed against the pier with thunderous roars, and to the left, the wind shuffled through dry, faded dune grass. It wasn’t Grand Manan, but the view was just as lovely, the scents as refreshing, and the weather this far down was a lot milder than anything Eddie could have expected at his late uncle’s place.

Eddie didn’t bother to watch Rivet have his conversation with a man at the foot of the pier, and to try and listen would have been pointless. By that time, he’d realized that if Rivet didn’t have things figured out, then nobody would. Rivet had been an invaluable, entertaining, and clever travel companion. They had gotten along like they’d been best of friends forever. If Eddie had thought for a second that Rivet might be interested in him sexually, Eddie would have been all over the man.

They’d travelled for three days. On the first day, Eddie had been wide-eyed, running full steam ahead on nothing more than adrenaline and awe. There was a lot to see outside the boundaries of the developments and the metros: ancient beach towns being reclaimed by the sand dunes, clusters of handmade communities with piecemeal housing that didn’t look capable of supporting life in the colder months, and even one city that had been ravaged by flooding and now sat, lifeless and empty, buried under miles of water with only the tallest buildings peeking above the surface. These were sights one didn’t get on the ‘Net when one went searching for images of life beyond the gates. Maybe the government was ashamed of them. Maybe everybody just wanted to forget. Eddie, on the other hand, thought it all fascinating. He’d love nothing more than to hear the stories of the people who had once lived here, and he’d spent hours lying awake at night with his back to the ground and his eyes on the stars, making up stories on his own.

By the second day, Eddie’s legs had started to get tired. His back ached from sitting for so many hours, and irritation had begun to creep into his voice whenever the two of them stopped for a break. Rivet had either chosen to ignore Eddie’s temperament or had missed it completely. He’d regaled Eddie with nonsensical stories—everything from the horrific to the amazing—about life on the mainland and on the fabled Exile. Whether Rivet had actually experienced some of it or had an imagination that rivaled the most talented of creators, Eddie couldn’t quite tell. The Exile stories had to be a crock of lies, even if Rivet did manage to make them sound plausible. After all, if a place like Exile existed, there was no feasible reason for anyone ever to leave it. Why give up paradise for a return ticket to hell?

When Eddie had finally gathered the nerve to ask him, Rivet had smiled and told him, “Not everyone goes to Exile to stay there forever. You’ll see when you get there.”

The absurdity of their destination didn’t faze Eddie in the least, however. The trip was cool, the company was amusing, and the southeastern shore of the Atlantic was positively worth every ache, bump, or moment of panic Eddie had experienced along the way. He’d even considered that maybe, just possibly, he might not hate the fact that fate had stepped in and changed his route. He’d still finish the game with its intended final move. Nothing had changed with his plan to end his life and silence the voices in his head once and for all. When he got there, wherever “there” ended up being, he’d hole up someplace quiet, make a complete transfer of credits from his account to his mother’s, and say good night to the world. The trip was just an extension of his last few days of breathing time—a grand exit, so to speak, and he was enjoying every moment like the last chance it was.

“He says he’ll take you,” Rivet said, startling Eddie back to present. “It’s just a fishing boat, nothing fancy, but…” Rivet lifted both hands and shrugged. “As my mother used to say back in the day, beggars can’t be choosers.”

The thought of Rivet as a boy brought a smile to Eddie’s face. “You know what’s weird?” He waited for Rivet to reply, acknowledged Rivet’s shrug with a chuckle, and stepped out of the water and onto the warmer sand. “All these stories you’ve told me, and you never told me a single one about your family. I’d like to hear that. Maybe while we’re in the boat—”

“Oh.” Rivet shook his head and frowned. “No. I’m uh, well, I won’t be on the boat.”

Rivet coughed a laugh. “Don’t look so heartbroken, my new friend. I’m sorry, but you’re on your own from here. Even if I wanted to go back, which I don’t, at least, not yet; but even if I did, you’d still have to do this on your own. That’s just the way these things go.”

“Do what? Ride in a boat?” Eddie caught Rivet’s wrist when Rivet waved towards the dock. “You can’t back out on me now. We’re in this together, right? I mean, you said you were going to show me how to get to your island—”

“The island,” Rivet corrected. He unwound Eddie’s fingers off his arm. “It’s not my island. It’s not anybody’s island. I imagine that not even the Island Kings themselves would refer to it as their island. Besides…” He patted Eddie’s shoulder, and then gripped it to turn Eddie in the direction of the waiting fisherman. “I did show you how to get here. The locating is up to you. You’ve heard how this goes. Believe it. Find it. Prove your worth. You tell me you believe, and I guess I kind of think that maybe you’re not lying. I hope you’re not, anyway. So just keep believing, keep your eyes and your mind open, and you’ll get to where you need to go.”

“I want to go with you.”

Rivet smiled and pushed Eddie towards the boat. “I am not your story, Eddie. I belong here on land. You belong out there.” He pointed at the water, and then, unbelievably, Rivet walked away. “Go on,” he said, without bothering to look back. “He’s not going to wait all day.”

The last thing Eddie thought before stepping on the boat, while he stared at the beach waiting for Rivet to stop, come back, and say he’d been kidding, was something his father had told him one night as Eddie had waved goodbye on his way out with friends. His father had been leaning against the doorframe, and his eyes had looked haunted. Eddie hadn’t taken the time to find out why. Things to do, people to see, go, go, go. He’d been young, and he’d been busy, and he’d only be gone a few short hours. He could find out what was bothering his father after that. Unfortunately, it had turned out to be the last thing his father had ever said to him.

“Everybody meets the dark alone.”

It had made no sense then, but it made perfect sense now. If Eddie was ultimately going to do what Eddie was planning to do, he had to do it alone. That was just the way of things. That’s the way the gods designed it.