As I stroll across my island on this quiet, almost pitch-black night, I start to whistle for some distraction. I come from the direction of the lighthouse and feel relaxed after the stress I had before. While I wander amongst the piles of metal junk that littered this islands, I am nowhere to be seen for most of the time. Right now I’m dragging a chair, made out of metal, to one of my islands ends.
Every now and then there are a few seconds in which the lighthouse shines in my direction and my silhouette looks tremendous in this dark night.
“Ahh!” After I placed the chair down to the ground just before the scrap wall at the border, I release a moan. There is no better thing to me than taking a glance at the beautiful night sky as my reward for a stressful day like this one.
"What could be nicer than a nice fishing evening after such a day full of excitement?" After I took on the pirate, I had to restore order to my island. Before the pirates entered my borderland I had hidden the really valuable items like weapons and gunpowder as a precaution, because I had noticed the arrival before they probably knew what kind of island they were entering.
Before I continue my preparations for a quiet fishing night, I stretch my body during a short break. Back to the piles of scrap pieces I rummage through all the stuff I collected during the last years. Now and then I need to throw stuff, which I don’t need right now, aside and the amount of gathered crap just astonishes me every time when I look for something.
‘There they are!’ A grin spreads across my face as I finally discovered the metal chains I was looking for. I grab the chains and walk towards the chair which I just placed a few moments ago. The chains rustle on the ground while I drag them behind.
Just as I am about to reach the chair, I have to use my full strength to attach the chains to the metal chair and it almost looks like an impossible task, because inside of the scrap pile the chains are attached to the grounds, so their range is limited.
A groan escapes my mouth as I finally manage to attach the chains to the chair. The next step, to make sure the chair can’t move around on the ground, is easier, because I just have to push some hooks into the ground. Now immovable, the chair wouldn’t be able to move in any direction even if force is applied. Also it keeps sure, that the chair is safe from falling over.
Sweat is forming on my forehead and I take a small break in which I wipe it off.
“As always it’s exhausting.” Inwardly I’m happy even though it is exhausting. Somehow it feels like a nice training session for which I reward myself with relaxing tasks like fishing. For a last time I check, that the chair is immovable before I go on.
‘Almost done!’ In anticipation of what is awaiting me, I walk, with a smile on my face, towards the lighthouse at the other end of my borderland. Smoothly I open the door to the storage room and check some containers. What I need now is a rifle, which I can use for killing my prey.
‘Why is it, that even with my sorting I can’t find what I need when it comes to relaxation?’ It is the same all the time. When it comes to hunting and fighting, I immediately know where to look for the things I need, but if its about taking a break, I feel uncoordinated.
After some time of rummaging I found a long rifle and a fishing rod made out of steel which has a steel cable serving as a fishing line. I grab both of them and want to bring it to the chair, but suddenly there is a loud panting behind me.
The panting is accompanied by a short but powerful, loud bark. Luckily I know exactly what is going on. As I turn around, I see what I expected to see - my tamed fire fox.
Her name is Neila. Years ago a Huntsmann found her left alone in this world. He told me, that, as he was searching for a rare monster, he found her mother dying in a cave with Neila still being at her side. Back then she was nothing but a little fox pup, not able to survive in this rough world and out of pity, the Huntsmann took her with him.
It is rare for Huntsmann like us to feel pity with animals and monsters, because we are mostly paid for gathering fur, scales and other parts of animals, but it seems that even we are just humans in the end.
“Have you been hiding just now?” I know, that it is impossible for her to understand me, but still I like to talk to her as if she could. Sometimes I feel like knows exactly what I want to tell her.
'Good girl, you did well.' Normally I tell her to hide in my little lodge so that she won’t get involved into fights. For a brief moment I bend over her to ruffle her thick fur vigorously which she likes.
"Come with me, Neila. We're going fishing.", I command and pick up the rifle and the fishing rod again.
Reaching the fishing place, I lay down the rifle next to the chair. The fishing rod has it’s own place in a fixture, which is part of the chair’s right armrest. I built this long ago to make sure, that I don’t have to hold the rod in my hands all the time.
‘All that's missing is the bait’. Turning to the scrap piles again, I look at the dead bodies of the two pirates that tried to steal some of my property just a few hours ago. One corpse is enough for now, so I let the other corpse be while I drag the other to the fishing place where I attach it to the steel cable.
“Have a nice view!” While I let out a laugh, I kick the corpse over the edge of my island. The long steel cable just goes down with body for a while. After a few more moments I here a metallic sound, coming from the fishing rod. It’s fixture mechanism works and the rod is still fixated in the chair’s armrest. Also the sound means, that the body finally is in the correct position deep down in the vast sky.
Looking over the edge I couldn’t see the body anymore in the dark night. Because I have to wait now for a flying fish to bite, I sit down into the chair and lean back to gaze out into the star filled sky. It was a quiet night and the only sound that I hear is a bit of wind, since my island is still moving forward with slow speed.
Right now I am on a route which I know by heart, but to avoid unexpected surprises I reduced the speed before I set up my fishing place. After all it is possible for smaller island to be moved by monsters and mens.
The whole time Neila has been at my side and I use this quiet moment to stroke her fur.
“How’s the view down there?” Even though I know, that the corpse can’t give me a reply, I started to talk to it. Being alone on a remote, flying island can be boring sometimes.
“The view here is great. It would be even better with light.”, I reply to myself but in a more comical way with a high pitched voice. Talking to myself is boring, but if I fake, that my dead opponents actually talk with me, it gives me just some distraction. “Should have come here earlier to experience this….”
“Glad you’re enjoying this!” Still being bored, I cross my arms behind my head and lean back. “I guess I’ll also relax a bit.
But before I relax, I look over my shoulder and also start a small conversation with the corpse which is still lying on the scrap pile, since I have no use for it at the moment.
“And how are you? Does the bed meet your needs?”
“It’s fine. I really like it.” Since I talk now with two corpses, I needed to use a different voice for the second one. This corpse has a deeper voice for replying. But I can’t continue the conversation any longer because the chair shakes. This must mean, that something actually got on my bait and is now my prey.
Although the fishing rod shakes under the force applied by the flying fish, it still remains firmly under control of the chairs fixture. I am very sure that my prey is a flying fish, because the rod is being pulled downwards constantly. Other creatures tend to try to fly onward when they attempt to escape the fishing hook.
‘Well, let’s see how big the fish is.’ Now that something has bitten, I need to focus on my prey, because even though the flying fishes are hooked for the long time, they can get off the hook. To lose precious food could cost one his life in the borderlands, especially in remote places like the outland.
In a rush I grab the rifle next to me and charge to the edge. Due to the darkness it is difficult to aim at my prey, but luckily I just need aim near to the steel cable to hit the fish. With one eye closed I aim through the scope of my long-rifle. Moments like these make a man feel alive. Moments, in which everything is decided by one action.
Unfortunately, my prey cannot fight back, because if it could, it would make my heart throbbing even more than it already does. Unlike my heart, my whole body is fixated and doesn’t move an inch while I still peek through the scope. There is this tremendous urge in my fingers and with every moment that passes, it is getting harder.
*BANG!*
The sharp, long bullet leaves the rifle and immediately I hear the impact of the bullet hitting the flying fish’s body. For a brief moment the fidgeting intensifies and the steel cable moves wildly back and forth before all movement dies. The pulsating, exciting feeling in my body subsides and I go to the fishing rod to pull my prey ashore.
“Jackpot!” This fish is thrice my size and will be a nice and long-lasting food supply. The only downside to flying fishes is, that they don’t taste very well, if not to say awful, but out in the wild it is better than starving. I pull out the corpse and leave it be. Since Neila and I are living alone, no one is there to complain about the smell.
With the rifle in one hand, and a wing fin in the other, I drag the fish into the lighthouse to eviscerate it’s body there. But this will be a task for tomorrow. For now I just drop it on the ground and walk toward the engine room to shut down the flying system. In addition to just stopping the system, I also create some bugs into it by disconnecting some pipes.
A lesson that I learned the hard way from people who tried to steal my island. Laughable to try stealing a Huntsmann’s island while he is still on it. But what can I say…the borderlands consists of smart people as well as stupid people. Here in the outland of the borderland, most people are here because they don’t fit into society at all. Many of them are just stupid in the end.
“Well. Guess I can call this a day.” Once again I stretch my whole body after I left the engine room and closed the door. Today was an exhausting day, but it was definitely worth it.
“Neila, come over here!” Neila’s fur is very thick and probably enough to not freeze outside, but I got used to having her inside of my shelter. Together with Neila and my rifle I enter the shelter.
If there ever would be anyone to see my living space they must think that I am poor or crazy. The interior is rather sparse and only one single window let’s the light from the starry night inside. Even though there is a ceiling lamp, I don’t use it much. Energy is precious and I try to use it only for things I really need.
Neila is already laying on the ground, closing her eyes, while I walk to the bunk which serves as my sleeping place. Placing the rifle next to the bunk, I also lay myself down and close my eyes, while I listen to the nights sounds.
