Chapter 33: With Friends Like These

Officer Coal hadn’t even noticed that the water had begun to become more and more split by a misshapen beach until he nearly tripped over himself when his foot became stuck in a bit of sand. He looked around, wondering how he had zoned out such a drastic change of scenery. Last he remembered; he had been traveling along a narrow strip of land only a few meters wide that was completely surrounded by the all-encompassing ocean of Lakira. He glanced over his shoulder as he wrenched his foot out of the sand, making sure the mobility orb was still firmly perched on his shoulder. It was, but the center of the orb was dormant. The familiar blue glow was nowhere to be found.

Officer Coal was uncertain as to whether the mobility orb could lose power or not, but he was strangely afraid of being alone, even if his only companion had been an artificial being, “Athena?” Officer Coal tried to prevent an air of concern from being delivered with his question.