Leaving
Amber took a deep breath as she stared at her reflection. The clothes she typically wore while out in the wilds were clean and only had the faintest signs of fading colors. While the bandana was around her neck, it was down and she could see her anxious and reluctant expression while she hugged her hat to her chest. She gently clutched the hat tighter, struggling not to have second thoughts. It had been a full week since her parents proposed the idea for her to leave Central Town due to her being too adventurous to remain scavenging ruins for the rest of her life. She had resisted the idea at first, but their gentle insistence had worn down her resolve. Deep down she knew they were right, Central Town was a cage that had far too many ghosts in it for her to stay forever.
"You'll be fine Amber. You deserve more than Central Town," her mother said gently behind her.
"It feels like I'm running away," Amber said sadly, tearing her gaze away from the mirror.
"Trust me Amber, there is an entire world beyond this place. Central Town has survived and it will continue surviving. We want you to do more than just survive, we want you to live. So please...do it for us. Don't get trapped like we have become."
Amber looked at her mother and nodded with a bittersweet expression, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Mira gently grabbed the hat and put it on her daughter. The two looked at each other before hugging.
"I'll write," Amber choked out, tears finally running free.
"You better," Mira said softly before breaking the hug and looking Amber in the eye, "Now go. May your travels bring you good fortune."
Amber nodded and picked up the pack sitting on the floor that had spare clothes, food rations, medical supplies, and trinkets she could use to barter. She walked towards the door and threw it over her shoulder. With a slight hesitation, she turned her head to look at her mother. Mira gave a slight nod with a small smile. Amber turned away, tears burning her eyes far more than any activation of her implants, and opened the door.
Bill was standing next to the gate outside of the house. He could tell his daughter was struggling with leaving home. It was one thing to explore the wilds, it was another to go out into the world. A memory of his younger self came to mind. He could still feel the reluctance that ate at him before he left his own home. It was difficult and perhaps the deciding factor that led to the worst moments of his life...but it also was the decision that declared that he could find the strength to make his own path.
"You ready?" he asked.
She gave a silent nod, muzzle wet with tears.
"Let's go," he said simply.
The two of them walked towards the northern exit. The northern mountains were by no means safe, but they were the best means of leaving these ruined lands. With luck, Amber could avoid the worst threats and make her way to the Belran Desert on the other side of them. There were a number of trade camps out there that would offer her safe passage if the merchants were any indication. Once she passed through the Desert, the world would be open to explore for Amber.
"I'm going to miss this place," Amber said quietly as they walked.
"Amber," Bill stopped walking and grabbed her shoulder, "Let me tell you something. A home isn't a place. When we had you, I wanted to leave Central Town behind for good. I begged your mother for us to leave, join a caravan and work off a debt if we had to. We almost did it too."
"What stopped you?"
"You did. We couldn't take an infant with us and we had nowhere else to go. So we made a home, just the three of us. That building back there? It's a part of our home, but it's not what defines it. Our home is our family and that will never change. Even if you were to never come back, even if you find someone to spend the rest of your life with, your home will always be with you because it's here," he tapped her chest where her heart beated.
Amber let out a soft cry and hung her head. They continued walking after a moment. The world faded into the background as they approached the gate. It seemed distant and close at the same time for Amber.
I don't want to leave...not like this, she thought as they stopped just before the gate.
The two looked at the mountains beyond the gateway. Despite the guard next to them, they were alone. It was now or never.
"Amber, I was telling you the truth about where home is. You don't need to be shackled to Central Town," Bill said, giving her a small pat on the back.
"I know Dad," her eyes threatened to tear up again.
"Hey, none of that now. It's okay to be tied to one place, but right now is not the time for you. Now go out there and see the world, understand?"
She gave a light nod, not able to look at him. He pulled her in for a tight hug.
"Just keep your eyes on the mountains until you reach them. No looking back, okay?"
"Okay… I love you Dad."
"I love you too Amber. Now get going. Remember, no looking back until you reach the mountains. May your travels bring you good fortune...and happiness."
They broke up the hug and she stepped into the gate threshold. She took a deep breath before she held her head high to look at the distant mountains and began walking. Bill watched as her walking began to pick up to a moderate pace. Before long, she was far away.
She did as he told her, she did not look back as she walked to the mountains. Within a few moments, she had crested a small incline and disappeared from view.
"She'll go far," the guard said as they watched the scene.
"Yes she will. Much further than I could ever dream of going," Bill agreed before he turned around to leave.
It had been mid-morning when Amber left Central Town. She had arrived at the base of the northern mountains in the waning minutes of late afternoon. Despite having been to the region numerous times in the past, she hesitantly turned to see how far away Central Town was. It seemed so far away...so far away…
Her legs gave out as she leaned against a tree, hugging her knees as she slid to the ground. Everything felt surreal and different. Not even her most lengthy journeys into the ruins made Central Town feel this distant and her so lonely. It was both liberating and terrifying, she really was leaving Central Town behind her.
You're not there yet Amber. You still need to get over the mountains, her mind whispered.
"Shut up," she growled, grabbing her pack and began looking for food while her stomach announced its desire for food.
While rummaging through the pack, her fingers brushed against something large and metallic. Pulling it out, she realized it was the tablet she scavenged the prior week. She distinctly remembered leaving it out of the pack, trying to reason with her parents that holding onto the information was pointless. Yet here it was sitting in her pack.
Wait, something had been placed under it. She found a note lying in the pack, undoubtedly from her parents:
"Amber, by the time you're reading this you should be far away from Central Town. If not, don't turn back. We've looked through the data on this thing and believe that it could be a better means of bargaining out there than bartering for scraps here. If not, you can still find a use for it somehow. Central Town is clinging to the past and refusing to let go. Don't fall victim to the same madness that caused us to be trapped here.
May your travels bring good fortune and with love,
Mom and Dad"
Amber reread the note before staring at the tablet. With another growl, her stomach reminded her why she opened the pack in the first place. Sighing, she grabbed some food, wiped her eyes, and turned the tablet on.
"Might as well see if you have anything interesting to share if we're traveling together," she said as the holograms popped up.
She slowly ate her food while reading. It was primarily military data but considering her lack of recreational options it was better than nothing. She still avoided the file regarding the Immortal Cell and had to search for documents that were not corrupted but the time passed by quickly enough. By the time she had finished eating and reading, it was an hour later.
"Huh...time really does fly," she commented to the tablet before turning it off, "Wonder how long your battery is going to last… Then again, how am I going to recharge anything? Eh, I'll worry about it later."
She dusted herself off and put the tablet back into the pack. Closing the pack, she threw it over her shoulder and gave a brief look back at Central Town. It still appeared farther away than ever before but the pain was less sharp now that she had time to process the past few hours. With a deep sigh, she turned around and began walking deeper into the mountains.
By nightfall Amber was halfway up the smallest mountain. The Winding Ridge was relatively nearby and in the distance she could see the shattered remains of a titan. Drifters who explored the mountains frequently stated the mountain was hollow inside and one could find part of the titan in there. She had no intentions of going there to find out for herself, remnants of the Cult still lingered up there. Even with their religion broken and shattered, those mad avians still jealously guarded the mountain and the monastery they stole. Ritualistic sacrifices and madness clung to them even when their leader was killed.
"Crazy bastards. Just do the world a favor and die already," she rolled her eyes at the sight of the mountain before she got to work on a campfire.
She was perfectly fine letting the Cult freeze to death up there. The few outlying facilities at the base of the mountains were outside of their interest and the few groups that did venture that far down usually met a swift end, either by the wildlife or passing drifters. Still, she would rather be cautious than over confident.
The campfire quickly grew and beat back the encroaching cold. Amber smiled at the sight, quite pleased with her handiwork. Pulling out more food, she began to eat a light dinner as she opened up a holomap.
"Let's see… That's the Winding Ridge there and there's the passage to the Desert. Hmm...midday give or take and then the fun part of crossing the mountains starts," she talked to herself while thinking about the journey ahead.
She continued planning her route for a few minutes before bringing up a view of the world. It was strange that she was planning on visiting these places, no longer seeming like a distant dream. The Cherrystone Kingdom, Band of Citadels, the Dragon Sea...so many places to see and explore. To even glimpse at them all would require years and the thought of exploring them made her push aside her anxiety over leaving Central Town.
"But where to start?" she asked the map.
Her eyes caught a small name that bordered the coast and neighbored several major territories: Crossroad. A city of merchants and explorers, where magic and science mixed as flawlessly as the numerous cultures that visited it. It was a perfect place to start if the rumors about it were true.
"Huh, Crossroad… Well not like I have any better ideas so Crossroad it is then," she said before turning the map off and returning her focus to her food.
The next morning Amber was deep in the mountains. She could see the titan and the mountain off in the distance, a sight to behold despite seeing it several times. Her breath fogged in the cool morning air as she stared at the sight. Somehow it seemed very close despite being days away. If she chose to, she could have taken the Winding Ridge which cut a thin but noticeable trail up the mountain from where she stood.
Turning around, she saw the ruins that Central Town was nestled inside of. Squinting, she could make out the faintest signs of the settlement she called home her entire life. A familiar ache came into her heart, it seemed so impossibly far away and out of reach. Had she really come so far in only a day?
"I'll be back one day," she whispered as her gaze shifted to the surrounding devastated regions before her eyes settled on the Crystal Forest, "One day...I'll find a way to undo all of this."
She turned around and stared at the mountains sprawled out in front of her. It would be a hard trip to cross them, filled with cold days and even colder nights. Even so, they seemed inviting and lacked the usual signs of devastation she had known her entire life.
With a deep breath and determined look she brought up her bandana and aligned her hat before walking towards her destination and new chapter in life, "Let's go."