At his brisk pace, it didn’t take Max long at all to reach the top of the mountain, finding a circular stone observation deck, the giant globe standing on a platform in the center.
Seeing no sign of his friends, he decided to stand at the globe for a few minutes and wait. Wondering if they had already come and gone, he contemplated going back down through the estate and catching up with them. Still, he was curious about this Bone Yard, so he decided to stick around for a little while, then go back down the trail.
While he waited, he looked down at the other side of the island, behind the mountain. On that side were even more docks, and a large gathering of ships moored there. At first he was alarmed at seeing so many, but then it dawned on him that nothing stirred among them, not a single sign of activity. They were just sitting there, empty.
He found something rather eerie about it; the word itself didn’t really seem right for such a pleasant-looking place, but it stuck in his mind nonetheless.
Just when he was about to leave, though, a door leading into the house popped open, startling him. After his most recent adventures, he was relieved to see Justin emerge. When Shades failed to appear behind him, though, he frowned for a moment.
“What’s wrong, Max?” Justin asked. “The view looks great!”
“Where’s Shades?” Max answered with a question of his own.
“Who cares about Shades?” Justin walked over to the observation deck railing to stand next to his friend. “He didn’t like my treasure, and he went off by himself.”
“I see…” Max had hoped they might reconcile their differences, but it was beginning to look like it just wasn’t meant to be.
“Check this out, Max!” Justin whipped out the coin, the only thing he had found so far, shoving it in Max’s face. “I found it near the front door, and I bet there’s more hidden around here somewhere!”
Max looked over the coin, not sure what to make of it. It appeared to be made of solid gold, so he guessed that was why Justin was so excited about it. Still, as interesting as this exotic object might have been to him under other circumstances, right now he just couldn’t get as fired-up about it as his friend was.
“Max…” Justin wasn’t so sure what Max was being so damn serious about, but that prolonged silence and only half-hearted interest in his amazing find, it drove home to him exactly what had been bothering him the last couple days. Since he wasn’t around, there was something Justin wanted to know. “About Shades… What do you see in that guy?”
“What do you mean?” Max wondered if perhaps he might have finally found a window into the nature of his friends’ dispute.
“He’s not like us,” Justin elaborated. “He never had to fight for what he had. He’s a soft, pampered, spoiled prick. He’ll only slow us down. He’s always had it easy… Hell, I’m surprised he even survived the Harken Building!”
“I’m not,” Max replied. He could sort of see what bothered his friend, but, “He may have had a peaceful life in his own world, but— in case you weren’t listening earlier— he has come through a lot to get here. He keeps telling me how afraid he is, but then he turns around and shows me his true courage. He’s got what it takes, Justin. Just you watch.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” While he pondered Max’s words, Justin turned his attention from the view, impressive as it was, to study the globe hovering over them. About thirty feet in diameter, mounted on three steel poles. The inside of the wireframe sphere was hollow, except for a line running through both polar axes, ending in a sharp arrow-point.
For a moment, he tried to figure out why that point bothered him so much.
At last, Justin asked, “So, you’re gonna go with him, aren’t you?”
“What do you mean? You can come, too.”
“But you guys… you’re just giving up on the Tri-Medals…” Justin stood there, the memories of one night’s conversation in Paradise now echoing bitterly through his mind as he tried to find the words to convey what he meant. Betrayal seemed to be his lot in life. Still, he said, “Come on, Max. Even if Shades doesn’t want his, I can see what that thing meant to you…”
“Justin, can we talk about something else?”
After that, the two of them stood there for a long moment, lost in thought. That after so many battles, on two different planes of existence, finally to be reunited, it just couldn’t end this way. Looking down on the dock, it only took Max a second to pick out the Reflection from up here.
Wondering offhandedly if the wise and venerable old wanderer might have any advice to offer, Max waved his arms on a whim, calling, “Yo! Abu-Sharrah! Up here!” But he was fairly sure the old man was meditating, or taking a nap, and didn’t see him.
“Don’t do that,” Justin told him. “He might come up here.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. …Other than that he’s a crazy old fart.”
“He did give us a lift,” Max pointed out. “No matter what you think of him, you do have to give him that.”
“Yeah, and soon I’m gonna be back on that ship with him,” Justin muttered as he turned and headed back inside. “And I’d prefer not to go back empty-handed. This coin is just the beginning— there’s gotta be more around here somewhere. See ya back at the ship.”
“Yeah. You too.”
Max stood there for some minutes, wondering how much longer he would be able to be with both of his friends, just how far Justin would go to have his revenge, then he headed back down the mountain, figuring that he now had no choice but to ask Shades and Abu-Sharrah for advice; after all, he had only until their next destination to figure out a solution before at least one of his best friends parted ways with him.
Thus he was in no particular hurry as he made his way back.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Max and Justin at the Top of the World
