Pilgrims of Rayne by D.J. MacHale

Author:D.J. MacHale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin

JOURNAL #30

(CONTINUED)

IBARA

I was struck by the quiet.

It’s not often you can say that quiet has such an impact. It didn’t seem to bother the Jakills, though. From the moment we saw the city, they were over the moon with excitement. (Assuming that Ibara has a moon, that is.) For years they had spoken in secret whispers about what might lie beyond the shores of their island. They met in the jungle to wonder and plan. They were so driven by their hunger for the truth, they were willing to become outcasts among their own people to find it.

Their long-planned search was about to come to an end in a place called “Rubity.”

Those who weren’t manning the sails or below tending to the engines were eagerly leaning over the rails as if those few extra inches would get them a better view of this wondrous city. At first there was nothing but enthusiasm. As we sailed closer, their emotions were less obvious. Looking at their faces, I could guess why. I felt it too. Maybe not as strongly as the Jakills, but I felt it. There was still excitement of course, but there was also worry. What if the reality of Ibara turned out to be dismal? That would be bad enough, but it would mean that learning the truth wasn’t worth the sacrifices they had made. Nobody spoke. Nobody laughed. Nobody speculated on what it was they were seeing. They all silently kept inside their own heads. One way or another, their lives were about to change. I could only hope that their dreams wouldn’t turn into nightmares.

“A pier!” Loque shouted from the bow. “We can tie up there!” He pointed off the starboard bow to what looked like a low structure built out onto the water. It looked like a few other ships were tied up as well. It was as good a place as any for us to aim for. Siry made a slight course adjustment and we glided toward the pier.

For me, the real show was about to begin. I felt as if we were growing closer to Saint Dane. This may sound weird, but the odd quiet of this city made me think of him. Maybe it was because something felt off. The others didn’t know what to expect from a city, but I did, and I knew something wasn’t right. At first we were too far away to hear anything more specific than a wall of city white noise. We never hit that wall. I listened for random honking car horns, shouts, sirens, music . . . anything! There was nothing but the lonely, hollow sound of wind blowing through the canyons of buildings.

Siry gave the wheel to Loque and took me aside.

“Okay, Traveler,” he whispered. “What do you think of this?”

“It’s a city,” I said. “Think of Rayne, times a few thousand. No biggie.”

That seemed to relax Siry. It wouldn’t last.

“But something’s odd,” I added. “It’s too quiet. Cities are cities because they’re loaded with people and activity.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.