Chronicles of Han: Preserving Creata: Part 1: Learning Curve
Chapter Forty-One

He dropped me in front of my building and as he left, feelings of physical exhaustion set in.

I made it up to my apartment where I took a relaxing shower and stretched out on my bed.

I relaxed my body, but the sleep did not want to come and relieve the tension of my mind.

Eventually I stood up and went for a walk. Maybe a change in scenery would help.

The walk to the park seemed short compared to the first time Julie and Tucker brought me here.

Sitting down on a bench, I tried to enjoy the lovely garden, but felt even more agitated and restless.

Getting up, I headed towards the beachfront, which turned out to be quite a long walk away from the garden.

The cooler air coming off the beach was soothing to my hot body.

It was already late afternoon and I found a secluded spot near the pier from where I could look out over the sea.

Settling on the sand, I ran it through my fingers. The sun was slowly setting to my right, throwing the pier’s shadow over this stretch of sandy beach. It was not a swimming spot, so was quite deserted.

The tide was coming in.

As I looked upon the silver, gold and red tinted water, something white near the pier caught my eye.

It was only there for a moment. Then gone. Then presenting itself with the next wave coming in.

Not able to make out what it was, I stood up, dusted myself and walked over to have a closer look.

I was almost at the pier when an exceptionally big wave washed the body high onto the beach under the pier.

Running over, I grabbed an arm to prevent it from being dragged back into the sea. I pulled it onto the beach, clear of the water. By now, I knew when a body no longer housed a spirit.

Turning the naked body over, I sat down hard on the sand.

It was the boy I had shared the experience with in the cupboard this morning.

Looking around to see if anyone else took notice, I found that the beach, and for some reason, the pier, was empty, making the whole area feel strangely deserted.

The boy must have drowned for there were no obvious wounds or bruises that I could see.

Looking down at him, I made my decision. I really wanted to know what had happened to him.

Taking his right hand in my left, I was transported to an apartment overlooking the Airport . . .

Ferdi’s father was standing in the doorway.

I was surprised and terrified to see him.

“You killed my son!” he ranted. “You and your kind must be eradicated from this planet. I have taken a vow to protect my family, and now my youngest has been taken away from me also.”

Ferdis father grabbed me behind my neck.

I did not even resist, sort of ‘stepped’ out of my body, and saw him dragging me to the bathroom.

He stuck my head in the toilet and kept it there.

I could not breathe.

I started struggling.

Breathe! Breathe! my brain screamed.

My lungs burnt for air and I took a great big gulp of toilet water.

Slowly, the burning ceased.

Slowly everything started going dark. It did not seem so bad to drown . . .

“Hey, mister. Are you okay?”

I opened my eyes and took a huge gulp of cold sea air.

There was a teenager standing over me.

I struggled up into a sitting position, still taking huge gulps of air.

The teenager looked at me with a mixture of scorn and inquisitiveness on his face.

“I’m okay. I just had a bad dream. I must have fallen asleep for a while. I have been exhausted lately.”

“Well, this is no place for a nap, especially not with the tide coming in. You will be cut off from the high ground soon.

It is a good thing that we were watching you. We do not see a lot of strangers on this part of the beach. Too many gangs around,” he explained.

I liked the teenager. He had a bright demeanour about him. Bright, chirpy, and dangerous.

Feeling for my wallet, I found that it was still in its place.

The teenager did not miss this gesture and laughed out loud. “Do not worry, we do not harass Law Officers.”

I came to the uncomfortable conclusion that he probably did check it out while I was away.

The waves were coming in. It would be a terrible spot to be cut off from the high ground. There were sharp rocks all over near the wall and only two places with stairs that would be under water soon.

Smiling my thanks at the boy, I turned away to leave. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a white object in the water.

I already knew who it was. I really hoped that this was not another vision/dream. Checking the pier to ascertain in which reality I found myself, I saw all sorts of people out for an evening walk.

In my haste to replace peace within myself, I had left my portable comm at home. I turned to the boy.

“Please call the emergency services,” I instructed him. “Tell them there is a body at pier 6. Detective Storm is in attendance and they need to get Lieutenant Racewater from Homicide, division 12, down here as soon as possible. Did you get all that.”

“Yes Detective,” he confirmed before running for the stairs.

I jogged into the shallow waves to retrieve the body.

Careful not to touch the hands, I dragged it to the wall between the rocks. I guessed I had about ten minutes before the water would reach us.

After a short wait, I was relieved to hear a familiar voice from above me.

“What do you have there, Han?” Panam called out. “I received the message that an Emergency Vehicle was needed here to remove a body. From the look of things, it might be two if we do not get you out of there right away.”

He was right. The water was starting to come into the rocks. My assessment of about ten minutes was accurate.

Panam left for a little while and came back with a portable stretcher attached to ropes.

He lowered it down and I secured the boy’s body in it. It was dragged back up and over the edge.

My feet and legs were getting soaked. A rope with knots was flung down and I climbed up to safety on my own.

Clambering over the edge, I sat there for a while, breathing hard.

Whoever placed that boy in the sea knew that the body would have been pulped and eaten by the sea creatures before dawn. They had the timing perfectly correct, so they probably had done this before.

What they did not bargain on was an idiot to fall asleep on the beach. At least I now knew what had happened to the kid and had received a clear look at Ferdi’s father.

I really disliked these real life visions. It is confusing not to know in which reality you actually found yourself.

I was still not totally convinced that I was awake, but I had to settle for this reality because of the uncomfortable wetness from my toes up to my thighs.

A perfectly good pair of shoes ruined at that!