Auburn hair, neatly tied up in a ponytail. Clothes, cleaner and stylish, with a white top and loose, brown pants. She wore the same chemically-treated gloves and tall, metal-toed boots as them for protection. Well, mostly the same, because one of her gloves had only four fingers.
Comparatively, the two of them looked grungy. Their clothes were faded and worn, and much of the dye had been stripped from repeated exposure.
Jade's glare also held relief as she approached Lucky, starting to extend her arms.
"Ah, no hugs. I got sprayed," Lucky said, motioning for her to stop. "A geyser hit the underside and nearly flipped us."
She stopped and stared at him for a moment. He shifted nervously before she slowly turned to Noland. She locked eyes with him silently before stepping in to hug him.
Noland's arms went wide and his body stiffened.
'Is she hugging me?!' Noland mouthed to Lucky with a panicked expression. 'Why is she hugging me?!'
Lucky shrugged, equally baffled and twirling a finger next to his temple, but all of the silent shenanigans stopped when she pulled away. Jade smiled innocently before sucker punching Noland in the gut.
Noland wheezed, collapsing to one knee before she finally, emotionally, spoke.
"You're supposed to be back before sun hits the pier, right?!"
"Yep, yep," Noland wheezed.
"What's Fenrik's rule on being late?"
"One punch for every minute late, or whack. I prefer the whack- OW!" A slap clipped him across the head.
"Why were you late?!"
"We were checking out a new location and went a beyond the collection site," Lucky answered meekly.
"Damn it Lucky- OW!"
"You're late and going on adventures without me?!"
Jade gave Noland's shoulder one last punch as he rose back to his feet.
"Ow! Hey, it was spur of the moment!" Noland complained, rubbing his arm.
"Yeah?" Jade said, upset painting her tone.
"You're with us plenty! Plus you volunteered to stay, remember? To look after Fenrik? How's he doing?"
Jade sniffed, crossing her arms. "Same as when you left. Not better, not worse."
Noland glared at Lucky before gesturing at him. "Not going to hit him for being late too?"
"He's covered in chemicals," Jade answered dismissively.
"Lucky!" Lucky piped.
"What? So you get some on your gloves! How's that any different from- okay, okay."
She raised her fist threateningly, silencing Noland. Her glare lingered on him, her weight shifting side-to-side awkwardly before hugging him again.
It was brief before she silently stepped past toward the boat. Lucky and Noland exchanged nervous glances again.
"There's quite a bit in here. It'll take some time to clean it out... Where are the canisters?"
"What?"
She groaned, leaning against the boat. "The canisters aren't here..."
"No! They should be tied down in the back! Fuck."
"Fuck."
Their expressions turned grim. The spot where they tied the canisters down was empty except for loose straps.
"We almost had enough for Fenrik's treatment," Jade's voice cracked. "We can't afford to spend money on new canisters right now. Not with everything being saved Fenrik's treatment."
"We've been saving up?" Lucky asked, confused.
"Since when?" Noland added. "I thought we just started."
"I started the day we found out he had bubbled lungs!" Jade shouted. "I told both of you idiots!"
"Oh yeah. I remember now. But we're still several months out from his treatment."
"We're further than a few months now idiot!"
Noland frowned, barely remembering the brief moment when she said, 'I'll be taking a coin out of every trip to save for Fenrik's treatment.'
Glancing at Lucky, he paused when Lucky shifted his pouch with the pill bottles inside. They exchanged glances and nodded in silent agreement. Both of them then scanned the empty pier out of caution.
"What?" Jade asked, nervously rising and looking around.
"We're in luck."
"Lucky!"
Noland sighed.
---------------------
"I think we should keep a bottle or two."
The pristine, unmarked pill bottles were placed on the table next to the thin, unmarked book. The book didn't have designs or anything fancy. It was brownish-grey.
"We can hide them, that's not the problem. The problem will be the frequent visits from officers after we reporting we potentially found a relic. Even if we hand everything over, they won't believe us."
While she talked, she was sprinkling white powder onto their clothes, gloves, and boots. Lucky was sitting in nothing but his undies and a thin, holey shirt. Noland, spared the spray in their race home, only had to remove his boots and gloves. It was required before entering their home.
"I don't want them around." Jade said and added, "They tear up the place every time."
"At least decipher the book," Noland persuaded. "The city library has ancient texts. I'm sure one will match up."
"Great idea! So I visit the library, show my face to the officers every time I pass through the gate, and then we turn these in? You don't questions will be asked?"
Her voice went higher for the mock question, "Why was Jade at the library, so frequently, reading ancient texts right before turning in ancient pills with an ancient book?"
"Curiosity! There isn't a ban against learning so long as we turn it in!" Noland argued. "We might even get a few extra coins if you create a translated copy!"
"That's not going to happen. They'll want to verify it themselves and again, I don't want officers or inspectors trashing the place while Fenrik's sick. But if we hide pills like you suggest and they find them? Execution or banishment." Jade sighed. "Let's turn it in, all of it, take the coin and give Fenrik his medicine."
Their gazes shifted to Fenrik who laid out on his bed listening. His hairs had gone gray and skin pale and sickly. Breaths came short and raspy but his eyes still carried a spark.
"They'll investigate and trash the place whether we hide it or not," Lucky said. "I agree with Noland. What if those pills end up being really awesome or something?"
"Or something," she snorted, dunking a bucket into a barrel of water and setting it on the floor. She threw the clothes into it and sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Fenrik's sick, Lucky could've been hurt, and you both almost died. Now this? Are you serious?"
"Do it."
A weak, raspy and crackly voice, laced with a wet bubbly noise, emerged from Fenrik.
"The doctor said not to speak," Jade replied sharply, becoming more agitated and upset.
Fenrik pointed at the bucket filled with water and their clothes. "Outside."
Jade's mouth fell open and gestured at the items on the table.
"Outside," Fenrik said again, firmly despite the state of his voice.
She sighed and, despite it being very heavy, lifted the metal bucket and awkwardly carried it outside. Lucky tried to help her in the past but was kindly and threateningly told "Hands off."
When she stepped back inside, she said, "Fine. I'll see if I can figure out which text this belongs to."
"Woo-hoo!"
"Fuck yeah!"
Even Fenrik was grinning from the bed as he eyed the two boys. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Hey and if these pills end up being something groundbreaking, this might be our ticket to the mid-city!" Noland added enthusiastically. Jade paused, studying him carefully before nodding at his wide grin.
Later, as evening approached, Noland returned with a sealed sack containing their food. The Chemical Sea was bubbling away meters below, threatening a painful death if he were to slip.
He took off his boots before stepping back inside. Everything was already set up. The valves were opened so that they could cook and drink, Lucky's clothes were hanging in front of the exhaust fan, and drapes were closed separating the mens' side from Jade's.
They knew they were adopted and not related. Chores, cleaning, help Fenrik, and then go play with other kids closer to the mid-city.
The mid-city was the prized goal sought by those on the pier. The further up you were, the more popular you were. This often meant playing kiss-up or brown nosing which eventually they figured out was pointless and stupid. None of those richer kids could actually do anything nor did they care to. They were just taking advantage of whomever they could.
By the time this was finally figured out and they started to work more closely with Fenrik, the physical changes into adulthood had already started. Fenrik wasn't resentful or pushy, he was getting a ration card. Noland doubted Fenrik cared much at all until they turned fifteen and it expired.
Once fifteen hit, Fenrik's attitude changed and they were joining his scavenging trips from then on out.
"The days of eating without working for you little brats are over. It's time to learn how to scavenge," Fenrik said.
And now here they were, over eighteen, and in shockingly good condition compared to others their age.
It often made Noland wonder when he saw others' scarred and deformed bodies if they were lucky in this part of the Chemical Sea. As he was lost in thought, thinking about the past and what-ifs, Jade had taken the sack of food and dumped it into the pots and pans.
Each of them took a hard pill out of a bottle that came with the sack and thirty minutes later, they were eating. Ground meat and blanched vegetables without salt, and a roach the size of a fist for each of them.
The ground meat and blanched vegetables might've seemed fine, but they weren't. The vegetables often had a chemical taste, turning to powder in their mouths and the ground meat was just that. It became old very quickly.
"Do you think our stomachs will explode if we don't take these pills?" Noland asked while eyeing the roach with disgust.
"Fenrik said several of his buds died when they tested it," Lucky said and Fenrik nodded, slowly sitting up to eat.
"Several?"
"I don't know either."
Jade didn't seem to care. Without hesitation, the first thing she reached for was the roach, biting its head off with pearly white teeth. A rare sight in the city. She munched on it as if it was an ordinary snack, goo dribbling from her lips which she quickly wiped away.
"That's disgusting," Noland eyed her with disgust.
"It's delicious. I don't know why you guys don't like it."
"What part of any of this is delicious? I can't stand the vegetables let alone the roach!"
"The crunch with the soft insides feels amazing! You really don't like it?"
"No!"
Shrugging, Jade took another bite out of its midsection. "Well if you don't want yours, I'll take it."
"No," Noland sighed dejectly before taking a bite out of his and swallowing immediately.
His method? One bite, swallow. Don't taste.
Lucky adopted the same method. Together they had become a deranged form of entertainment for Jade. He was certain she took pleasure in watching them eat it.
'She's sick in the head,' Noland thought while she snickered from her chair.
"Eat up or you won't grow big and strong!" Jade teased.
"Eugh."