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, as 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 exposure to the environment.
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 almost flipped us."
She stopped and stared at him for a moment. He shifted nervously before she slowly turned to Noland. She locked a silent, firm eye contact with him 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 shrugs, equally baffled and twirling a finger next to his temple, but all of the silent shenanigans stop when she pulls away. Jade smiles innocently before sucker punching Noland in the gut.
Noland wheezes, collapsing to one knee before she finally, emotionally, speaks up.
"You're supposed to be back before sun hits the pier, right?"
"Yep, yep," Noland wheezes.
"What's Fenrik's rule on being late?"
"One punch for every minute late, or whack. I prefer the whack- OW!" A slap clips him across the head.
"Why were you late?!"
"We were checking out some spots and... went a little beyond the last collection site," Lucky said meekly.
"Damn it, Lucky- OW!"
"You're late and going on adventures without me?!"
Jade gives Noland's arm one last punch as he rises.
"Ow! Hey, it was spur of the moment!" Noland complained, rubbing his arm.
"Yeah?" Jade said, upset tinging her tone.
"You're with us plenty! Plus, you volunteered to stay this time, remember? To look after Fenrik? How's he doing?"
Jade sniffed, crossing her arms. "Same as when you left. Not better, not worse."
Noland glares at Lucky for a moment before motioning at him. "Not going to hit him for being late too?"
"He's covered in chemicals," Jade replies dismissively.
"Lucky!" Lucky pipes.
"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 stepped past toward the boat. Lucky and Noland exchanged glances again.
"There's quite a bit in here. It'll take some time to clean it out... Where are the cannisters?"
"What?"
She groaned, leaning against the boat. "The cannisters aren't here..."
"No! It should be tied down in the- fuck."
"Fuck."
Their expressions turned grim as the spot where they tied down the cannisters was empty.
"We almost have enough for Fenrik's treatment," Jade's voice cracks. "We can't afford to spend it on new cannisters... And food, that's also going to hit what we've been saving."
"We've been saving up?" Lucky says, confused.
"Since when?" Noland adds.
"Since the day we found out he has bubbled lungs, idiots!" Jade shouts. "Remember? I told you!"
"Oh, yeah. I remember now."
Noland frowns, barely remembering her brief moment where she said, 'I'll be taking a coin out of every trip to save for Fenrik's treatment.'
Glancing at Lucky, he pauses as Lucky shifts his pouch with the pill bottles inside, and they nod to each other. Both of them scan the empty pier next to their home out of caution.
"What?" Jade asks.
"We're in luck," Noland began.
---------------------
The pristine, unmarked pill bottles were placed on the table next to the thin, unmarked book. The book didn't have designs or anything. It was just brownish-grey.
"We can hide a few of these, that won't be a problem. The problem will be the frequent visits from officers. They'll be around often to see if we did just that."
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, being spared the spray in their race home, only had to take off his boots and gloves. It was required before entering their home, regardless.
"And I don't want them around for any reason," Jade adds.
"At least try deciphering the book," Noland said. "The city library has ancient texts. I'm sure one of them will match up."
"Alright, so I go up there, show my face a bunch and then we turn these in? You don't think word will spread after we turn them in and questions won't be asked?"
Her voice went a little higher for the mock question, "Why was Jade at the library, so frequently, trying to read ancient texts right before turning in some ancient pills with an ancient book."
"Curiosity! There isn't a ban on learning as 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 will want to verify it themselves. And again, I don't want officers or inspectors snooping around while Fenrik's sick. And what if they do somehow figure out we've been hiding it? Execution, banishment- Let's just turn it in, take the coin, and give Fenrik his medicine."
Their gazes shift to Fenrik laid out on his bed, listening silently. His hairs had gone gray, and skin pale and sickly. Breaths came short and raspy, but his eyes still carried a glint of life as he listened to the conversation.
"They'll be looking around whether we hide some or not," Lucky said. "I agree with Noland. What if those pills end up being really awesome or something?"
"Or something," she snorts, dunking a bucket into a barrel of water, which was nearly empty, and setting it on the floor. She threw the clothes into it and sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Sorry but I can't help think about how Fenrik's sick, Lucky could've been hurt, you both almost died, and now this? Are you serious right now?"
"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, her expression becoming more agitated and upset. It was also the look of someone who was very hesitant and skeptical trying to make a decision.
Fenrik smirked and 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, lifts the metal bucket and awkwardly carries it outside. Lucky tried to help her in the past when she did it without thinking, 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 his bed as he eyed the two boys. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Hey, and if these pills end up being something good, they might be our ticket to the mid-city!" Noland adds enthusiastically. Jade paused at this, looking at him carefully before nodding to 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 one day.
He slipped off his boots before stepping back inside. Everything was already set up for the evening. 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 boys' side from Jade's.
They knew they were adopted. Chores, cleaning, help Fenrik, and then go play with other kids closer to the mid-city.
The mid-city was the prized goal everyone on the pier sought. The further up you were, the more popular you were. This also meant playing kiss-up or brown nosing, which eventually they figured out was pointless and stupid. None of those 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 of growing into adulthood had started. And he wasn't resentful or pushy, Fenrik was getting a ration card. Noland doubted Fenrik cared much until they turned fifteen.
Once fifteen hit, Fenrik's attitude changed, and they were joining his scavenging trips from then on out.
"The days of eating work-free for you little brats are done. 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 their scars or 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 and thrown them into pots and pans.
Each of them took a hard pill out of a bottle that came with the sack. Thirty minutes later, they were eating. Ground meat and blanched vegetables flavored only with salt, and a roach the size of a fist for each of them.
Perhaps the ground meat and blanched vegetables seemed fine, but they weren't. The vegetables often had a chemical taste to them, turning to powder in their mouths, and the ground meat was just that, which became old very quickly.
"Do you really think our stomachs will explode if we don't take these pills?" Noland asked as he eyed the roach with disgust.
"Fenrik said several of his buds died when they tested it," Lucky said, and Fenrik nods, 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 this 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 said with disgust.
"It's delicious. I don't know why you tough guys don't like it."
"What part of it is delicious? I can't stand the vegetables, let alone the roach!"
"The crunch with the soft insides. You really don't think it's good?"
"No!"
Shrugging, Jade takes another bite out of its midsection. "Well, if you don't want yours, I'll take it."
"No," Noland sighs, dejected, before taking a bite out of his and swallowing.
His method? One bite, swallow. Don't taste.
Lucky adopted the same method. Together, they had become a form of entertainment for Jade. Noland was certain that she took pleasure in watching them try to eat it.
'She's sick in the head,' Noland thought as she snickered from her chair.
"Eat up, or you won't grow big and strong!" Jade teased.
"Eugh."