The Town at the Edge of the World - Part 3

Kieran shivered as he walked home. His footy singlet and basketball shorts weren’t made for this weather. All around him the chill wind blew, whistling through the trees as they bowed before its force.

It was only about 150 metres back past the servo to get home, but this place seemed to make time stand still. It was as though every moment could at once last an eternity and pass in an instant. Along this walk home, there was still not a single car on the road or soul to be seen. The horizon struck Kieran as odd too… like something was missing.

~~~~~

Nate could feel the sun beating down on his back as he headed for Kieran’s house. The air was still and thick with haze. Though Nate tried to hurry, the heat made him lethargic, and he struggled to even jog.

Passing by the servo, Nate overheard a man mentioning there was a storm coming tonight - a big one. He couldn’t help but picture Kieran wandering alone in a thunderstorm in the dead of night.

“It’s fine,” he tried to convince himself, “He’s definitely just gone home because of the heat.”

But Nate wasn’t sure he believed himself.

~~~~~

“The mountains…” Kieran murmured under his breath.

The mountains were missing.

There was usually a range of mountains visible from the north-eastern horizon right around to the western. Today, Kieran couldn’t see any at all. It was like the horizon just ended in dull paddocks transitioning straight into grey sky.

He stood staring for a moment, baffled by this revelation, before finally turning to face his front door. “Right,” he thought, “Mum will know what’s going on. She always knows.”

Graham watched from the shrubbery over the road as the boy entered the house. “Nothing for it,” he convinced himself, before following after.

~~~~~

Nate finally reached his friend’s house. Dashing the last few metres up the path, he didn’t hesitate to knock at the door before tumbling though. A figure could be seen, sat at the kitchen bench. “Mrs. Young?” Nate called.

“Nate,” She said with mild surprise as she turned to face him, “… where’s Kieran?”

“I was hoping you’d know! I can’t find him! He was right behind me and now he’s gone!”

Nate was starting to panic.

A brief look of concern crossed Mrs. Young’s face before she spoke. “I’m sure he’s just hiding from you,” she assured him, grabbing her sunnies, “I’ll come down to the park and he’ll come right out.”

This made Nate feel a little better, though he had no idea where Kieran could be hiding. He was sure he had searched every nook and cranny in the park.

“All right,” he said, “but let’s hurry. It’s really hot out.”

~~~~~

The old green door swung open with its usual creak as Kieran stepped inside. He ran through the house as he called out: “Mum!? Mum, where are you!?”

He ran past the kitchen and down another corridor to his room. No one there. He checked the bathroom and laundry. No one. Back through the house to the front door and left into his mum’s room. Still no one. Kieran was starting to panic.

Back into the hallway and Kieran nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a figure sitting at the Kitchen bench. It didn’t look like his mum though.“… W-who are you?” he stuttered, “a-and… what have you done with my mum!?”

The figure turned towards him. It was an older man, maybe a farmer. He wore a well-cared for akubra atop a shaggy mane of salt-and-pepper hair. On his feet he wore a pair of dusty old work boots with thick blue jeans tucked into them. A plaid jacket with sleeves rolled back once or twice was worn over a plain grey t-shirt. His skin reflected a long life of hard work and his eyes… bright green eyes… they pierced right through Kieran as though they could see his very soul.

“I ain’t done nothing to your mum kid,” the man spoke with a strong Aussie accent, “Fact is, she was never here. No one like us ever has been, ‘cept me… and now you. So, tell me kid, how the bloody hell did you get here?”