The Town at the Edge of the World - Part 1

It was 34 degrees in Tyers.

The sweltering heat hung visibly in the air above the bluestone bitumen streets; the residents avoiding it like a plague. A desperate few visited the surprisingly large servo on the corner - emerging with large packs of icy poles in their arms.

Kieran Young didn’t mind the heat, though. Not at the ripe old age of nine, at least. He had a water bottle with him he’d taken from the freezer before leaving home and wore a sleeveless footy jumper and light basketball shorts to stay cool. Weather wasn’t going to stop Kieran from enjoying his Friday afternoon exploring, rain, hail or blistering heat.

The ice in his water bottle had already begun melting as Kieran crossed the forecourt of the servo and it was clunking gently as he walked. He cut across the servo car park and jumped the curb, crossing the road leading down to the footy club. The only other buildings along here were the CFA and the kinder, so on a Friday afternoon, there was little traffic to speak of.

Kieran could feel the soles of his sandals sticking slightly to the pavement as they melted under the heat of the road. He paused in the shade of a tree when he reached the grass to let them cool off before continuing.

“There you are,” came a familiar voice from behind him, “I was worried you’d be kept home in this heat. My mum nearly didn’t let me come.”

“Nah, Mum knows I can take care of myself,” Kieran explained, beaming internally.

“I wish mine did,” Nate grumbled, kicking at the ground.

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?” Kieran said, attempting to cheer Nate up, “and you’ve got a hat and a pair of sunnies.”

“Yeah, I s’pose. Let’s go then?”

“Yeah!”

The two boys tore across the kinder car park, b-lining it for the playground. That’s where they always started their expeditions. Nate reached the arch at the entrance to the park first, grabbing the wooden pole on the right side to redirect his momentum. Kieran came shortly after, following suit just as he and Nate had done a thousand times before.

As Kieran’s hand met the wooden pole, something changed. There was a brief… thrum… in the air around him. It reminded Kieran of how his mum’s phone buzzed when she got a message. Having been moving so fast, Kieran barely had a moment to process all this, but he could have sworn he glimpsed the air in front of him shimmer slightly, like the heat but less… smooth?

Kieran attempted to pull up from his run but could not stop quickly enough; he went tumbling through the archway. He went tumbling into darkness.