The Arrival by Adair Hart

Author:Adair Hart
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Quantum Edge Publishing
Published: 2016-06-29T06:00:00+00:00

They walked the rest of the way to the apartment complex without issue. Jake noticed that there were several other small groups of males, but they cleared out when he and Evaran approached them.

They reached the front door, where Evaran scanned a console on the side that had buttons lined up with name tags. The name tags were hard to read, and most of them looked like they had been rubbed out or renamed multiple times. After a moment, Evaran pressed on one of the buttons.

A buzzing sound rang out from the console. “Who is it?”

“Someone looking for a Robert Melkins who lost a son named Jake,” said Evaran.

A few seconds later, the door clicked open, and they entered the apartment complex. They walked to the elevator and entered it. Evaran punched the button for the fifth floor. They exited the elevator when it got there and the doors opened.

“Robert is in apartment 5G. I am not familiar with this building configuration, so we will need to find it,” said Evaran.

Jake nodded. He kept opening and closing his sweaty fists. This was it. He blinked his eyes in rapid succession as they walked past each door. Every apartment tag they passed made his heart skip faster, and an excitement like the beginning of a cargo run crept through him. The apartment complex design was new to him. He had read about the various living structures on Earth, and they were very different than how the other species lived. Given how low-tech Earth was, it made sense to have large systems wired or piped into each living area. On Octoris, everything was handled by a matter converter, such as plumbing, water, and food. This allowed for a more spread-out design compared to this cramped layout.

After a few turns, they arrived in front of apartment 5G. Evaran knocked on the door.

“Who is it,” said a voice from behind the door.

“The one who you buzzed in from below. Are you Robert Melkins?” asked Evaran.

Jake heard the scuffling of footsteps approach, then pause as they reached the door. The door opened, and Robert stood before them. He was in his mid-fifties, had an aged face and jet-black hair with tinges of white in it. Jake recognized some of his facial features in Robert, especially the eyes.

Robert squinted at Evaran. “Yeah. Now who …” His eyes popped out when he saw Jake. “Jake?”

Jake swallowed hard as he glanced at Evaran then at Robert. He nodded.

“Oh, god!” said Robert as he burst out the door and hugged Jake.

Jake hugged Robert back. They stood in the hallway for a moment. He was not sure how to react at first, but he knew this had to be his dad. His heartbeat was rampaging, and his eyes widened as he trembled. Nothing had to be said. It felt natural. This is where he needed to be.

After a few moments, Evaran cleared his throat. “May we come inside?”

Robert stood back and wiped his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Come in.”

Evaran and Jake stepped past Robert into the small apartment.

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