The steam engine rumbled on steel tracks, pulling its black carriages toward the sea. Inside, Henry, Jack, and Lenny sat together at a four-seater table. The carriage swayed gently, smoke trailing from the engine as farmland rolled past the windows.
Jack leaned back, arms crossed, staring at Henry across the table.
Jack: "You don't have her number anymore? Or did she lose her phone?"
Jack asked, his tone somewhere between genuine curiosity and sharp suspicion. Lenny, perched by the window with his cheek against the glass, listened in.
Henry: "What do you mean? I still have her number."
Henry blinked, surprised by the sudden question.
Jack: "Then why didn't you just call her to ask where she is right now?"
His voice rose, laced with disappointment.
Henry: "Because I know that she wouldn't pick up. Last time I called her, she was angry at me for calling, since she is busy all the time. The only person she instantly picks up on when they call is our mother."
Jack: "Don't you think that your sister just doesn't want to talk to you?"
Henry: "Nah, we are family after all."
Jack groaned softly and turned to Lenny, giving him a look that said, "Can you believe this guy?" Lenny returned the exact same look, both shaking their heads in disbelief.
Lenny then flipped open his phone—a sleek silver flip phone with a glowing display inside.
Henry: "Woah, you have the newest model?"
Henry's eyes widened, his trademark shiny expression lighting up his whole face.
Lenny: "Cool, right? Not only can I call someone, but it also has a built-in flashlight."
He clicked it on. A small beam shone from the top, weak but impressive enough.
Henry: "Whoa, my phone is only good to call."
He pulled his own phone out. It was older and smaller, and the screen was cracked like spiderwebs.
Lenny: "You know what? We should exchange numbers."
He grabbed Henry's phone before Henry could protest and quickly typed in his own. Henry's device chirped with a cheerful, outdated tune.
Henry: "Neat, I now have three contacts."
Lenny: "Three? Why so little?"
He asked with a smirk, arrogant but playful.
Henry: "My mom, my sister, and you"
Henry replied simply.
Jack then reached across the table and snatched Henry's phone.
Henry: "HEY"
Jack: "Calm down, I just want to see what your big sister's name is."
He said in his cool-boy tone, flashing a sly smile. His eyes scanned the contact list.
Jack: "Let me see… Emilia Bruma… interesting."
His brow rose, surprise cutting through his usual composure.
Jack: "Your profile says that your name is Henry Dreherg, while your sister's name is Bruma. Might want to explain?"
Henry: "Easy, I have our dad's family name, while my sister has our mom's family name."
Jack: "Makes sense, I guess."
The whistle shrieked. The train lurched and slowed.
Announcer: "We are now at Grenzborg train station."
A crisp female voice echoed through the carriage.
The boys grabbed their bags and stepped out.
Grenzborg's station opened directly to the sea. The salty breeze swept across their faces, the horizon gleaming blue under the morning sun. Ships bobbed in the harbor, sails flapping, gulls shrieking overhead. The scent of fish and tar filled the air.
In every station of the Empire, walls plastered with posters beckoned travelers—offers of work, pleas for help, notices of missing people, and the occasional bounty.
Lenny's eyes landed on one such wall. His heart froze. Three faces stared back at him. Familiar faces. Their faces.
He fell to the ground, pale, his hands trembling as he pointed.
Lenny: "Guys? We have a problem."
He said with a shivering tone.
Jack: "What is it?"
Jack stepped forward, his eyes narrowing—then widening in shock. His own face was staring back at him in rough ink, stamped with bold red numbers.
Jack: "Oh shit, now we are in a deep mess."
He muttered, voice grim.
Jack: "We have to go, fast."
Lenny nodded quickly, fear written all over him.
Henry: "Why? What's the matter?"
Henry asked, genuinely confused, his innocence still unshaken.
Jack: "I don't know how or when, but someone put on some high bounties on each of us. We now each have a bounty of 15,000 credits."
Henry: "Is that much?"
Jack seized Henry by the shoulders, shaking him with fire in his eyes.
Jack: "Hey dumbass, back in that fight club I earned 700 credits and you only 100; I hope this summarizes it."
Lenny: "We shouldn't be wasting time here; let's go."
He called out, tugging on Jack's shirt.
They hurried out of the station and into the streets of Grenzborg. The port city unfolded before them—fishmongers shouting prices, barrels rolled across docks, sailors hauling nets glittering with silver-scaled catch. Beyond the chaos of commerce stretched the endless Lumarian Ocean, waves rising and breaking like liquid steel under the sun.
Elsewhere…
On the deck of a sleek vessel anchored at the harbor, a girl lounged on a chair, her skin bronzing in the sun. She wore a black bikini and sunglasses shading her sharp green eyes, and her long dark hair shimmered with faint red streaks. A flip phone rested lazily against her ear.
???: "Alright, idiot, next time don't call me."
A female voice said before hanging up. She tossed the phone aside and sighed, stretching.
The ship itself was well-kept, with a wide deck, three loungers, a mast with a furled sail, a polished wheel, and a table with chairs arranged neatly. Below deck lay a storage room, sleeping quarters, and a cramped restroom.
???: "Emilia, I told you the deck area is not a tanning spot."
Another voice called out—a young blond sailor in uniform, hauling ropes.
Emilia: "Shut up, Daniel. I can do what I want as long as the boss isn't here."
She smirked without lifting her sunglasses.
Daniel groaned, defeated.
Daniel: "Alright, Emilia, as long as the boss isn't here, I won't say anything."
He picked up a bucket of fish and climbed down a plank, leaving her to her son.
Then—
???: "EMILIA"
A familiar voice cut across the harbor, loud and raw.
Emilia froze.
Emilia: "Oh no, I know that voice."
Sure enough, there was Henry, standing at the jetty and cupping his hands like a trumpet.
Henry: "EMILIA, ARE YOU THERE? THE SAILOR BOY SAYS YOU ARE! I WILL COME UP NOW."
Before Daniel could stop him, Henry stormed up the plank and onto the deck. Emilia sat up from her lounger, sliding her sunglasses down to reveal her piercing green eyes.
Emilia: "What are you doing here, idiot little brother?"
Her tone was sharp and annoyed, but beneath it lingered the faintest tremor of surprise.
Jack and Lenny followed Henry up the plank, taking in the sight of her with wide eyes.
Emilia: "Ah, I see, you even brought some friends."
Henry: "We could use your help, Emilia; we have a problem."
The words carried urgency—and for the first time, Emilia Bruma, the eldest of the siblings, lifted her sunglasses completely, reading the weight in Henry's face.