Chapter 3 – Melissa & Frankfurt

Abel took a deep breath and readied himself mentally for the barrage of questions and concerned reproach he knew he’d get for cheaping out on his safety. He knew the longer he delayed, the fiercer the reproach would be so he opened his heavy door and stiffy smiled.

“Hey Mell-“

“What on earth do you think you were doing Abe?! How could you play around with your life over a measly sum of credits! Do you have any idea how stupid..” a slim, ashy blonde young woman started rebuking the poor young man the second he opened the door. She had slim face with an angular chin, thick eyes brows that barely moved and ethereal green eyes that looked like polished jades. Her shoulder length her was tied in a short pony tail and she was still wearing her work clothes as she walked into Abel’s room.

Both Melissa and Frankie worked at the local grocery store, it was more like a food conglomerate that operated countless retail stores worldwide. It barely had any competition in their local area, but it still had a few other competitors on the global scale. Melissa worked in the customer services section, dealing daily with customers complaints or their returns and transactions. It was actually quite funny, Melly usually had a gentle temperament but she also had a short fuse that would blow quickly when she was asked stupid things or if it involved Frankie and Abel. It was a strange paradoxical nature for a person but she seemed to make it work somehow. Abel always inwardly thought it was quite amusing for Melly to have to put on a smile and calmly deal with a middle-aged banshee that was upset about the quality of a particular product when he knew she must be simmering on the inside. Of course, Abel would rather get electrocuted again than dare speak his thoughts out loud.

In fact, Abel used to work there too but in the meats section, some people didn’t like the taste of frozen meats and preferred it fresh and so, there was always a demand for a skilled butcher that knew his way around different animals and poultry. Abel was pretty skilled with a knife and always loved to go out and set traps in the forests near their home, catching wild rabbits, fowls and if he was lucky then a small boar. When he had time he would go down to the docks and fish along the corniche. Grandma Meng’s husband was an avid hunter and fisherman, something that ran in his family from the dark age of humanity prior to the PNC era and she would always joke that if she hadn’t met Abel’s father then she would’ve assumed he was her husband’s illegitimate son. Frankie on the other hand, worked in the warehouse and store room out back, mostly stocking up on products and sometimes replacing the goods on the shelves in the shop without much interaction with the customers, unless they caught him stocking up supplies and asked him then but that was an uncommon occurrence.

“Melly calm down, I told you Abe’s fine, just relax and actually look at him befor-“

“Frankfurt J. Everhart..” When Melissa spoke out Frankie’s full name, both young men stood rooted on the ground, scared stiff with the little tigress, they knew she would explode any second now.

Abel’s thoughts spun quickly as her tried to figure a way out of this ordeal, although Frankie told him earlier that he wouldn’t be able to help him, the gentle giant would always say such things before going back on his words, stepping in to play pacifier. He’d spent many nights on the couch because of that but he never changed and would just give him a silly smile after everything was over.

Abel thought quickly, in the end, he figured he’d just go with the truth. He didn’t want to lie to those he considered his family and he did in fact start trying to set up the pod with the faulty ports before Frankie and Melly got back home. If he succeeded then he could’ve saved the 150 creds for the socket ports, which was more than an entire months’ worth of wages. Although the ports themselves were only 30 credits each and they would last a year, they required a skilled technician to properly replace them and he charged a whopping 15 credits per port replaced.

“Melly, I know I was wrong okay, don’t take it out on Frankie. He wasn’t even at home!” Abel spoke quickly, interrupting the severe scolding that was going to fly out of Melly’s mouth.

Both Melissa and Frankfurt turned to the black haired young man, stunned that he stood up against Melissa. That wasn’t to say Abel was a pushover, on the contrary he was quite fierce when he wanted to be, but he was always gentle and submissive when it came to his family. Especially when he was in the wrong in the first place, he’d never argue and just take the rebuke without a word of protest.

They both looked into his hazel-green eyes and saw the same young man they always knew. But there was just something different about him in this moment, they didn’t know what it was but they felt his self-assurance that was usually missing or perhaps hidden deep down before today. Abel knew this was his chance and he quickly went on to explain in a gentle tone.

“Melly.. I know you’re just worried about me but trust me when I say I’m totally fine. Seriously, you can take a look for yourself” he lifted up his arms and showed the bandaged right arm, swinging it around effortlessly.

“There’s something different about you today Abe, its like.. you.. ugh I don’t know how to explain it” Melly struggled to find the right words to say, she didn’t quite understand what changed in the young man she viewed as a little brother, she was feeling both gratified but also felt a small sense of loss. It was like the silent, little kid that would go ‘hunt’ for game when they were craving some meat was long gone and never coming back.

“Melly, you should seriously calm down. What are you going to do when you have kids of your own in the future? You remember how Grandma Meng used to deal with your naughtiness when we were young, you should learn from her so you can apply it your own kids with Frankie in the future” Abel quickly tried to divert the topic, he knew he couldn’t fully change the topic at once but at least he’d divert it in a way that would help diffuse Melly’s anger.

“Wh-what nonsense are you saying!!” a flustered and wide eyed Melly tried to respond but deep down she was actually look forward to starting a family of her own. Both her and Frankie and had been by each other’s side since that tragic incident and she couldn’t imagine being with someone else in her life.

Abel was feeling a little relived on the inside now, he smiled and continued “It isn’t something embarrassing, you and Frankie have been together since I can remember. When will you make Melissa an honest women and give me some cute nephews and nieces Frankie?” The last part Abel spoke out was directed to the gentle giant with a goofy grin that was acting like a background character since Melly’s earlier rebuke.

“Ha you know I’ve been trying to get her to go to the city hall with me for years now, she’s the one..” Frankie abruptly shut up when he was his girl’s menacing glare from the corner of his eyes, although he knew she wasn’t really angry, he’d always do what she wanted and it was just how the two of them always were. Abel knew Melly could be an even bigger cheapskate than himself but it was only when it was in relation to her own wants and needs. She simply saw no need to go and pay 75 credits for the PNC to officiate a marriage certificate. She knew who she loved, she lived with him and that was all that was important. As to whatever other people said or gossiped about, it would go into one ear and right out the other.

Besides, they lived in a rather isolated area without much congestion. It was one of the top tourist locations in the southeast of the northern hemisphere, the Emerald Isles off the southern coast of the Orienta continent. In comparison to Xiang Xiaowens Earth, Abel’s Earth only had three continents. Well it was apparently four, but the last land mass was at the bottom of the ocean for millennia now. The Orienta continent was the industrial hub of the PNC, with many dense manufacturing cities located all over its expansive landmass. Of course, there were also a diverse number of cities that catered to education, tourism and agriculture but the greatest bulk of the PNC’s manufacturing industry was located on this continent. Overall, it was the most expansive continent on the planet and it stretched from the east to west like an overarching bear trying to wrap around the world.

To the southwest and across the Saphire Expanse was Zephyria, while the smallest continent, it was the agricultural powerhouse of the coalition. It’s fertile lands and diverse fauna made it the perfect breeding base for humanity’s growing need for food. Although the population on the planet suffered a steep decline during the Binary Eclipse incident, it was no where near as bad as the great apocalypse war of 2,000 years ago. That was near extinction level event for humanity. Regardless, food was a vital need for every human and Zephyria had the most suitable soil, hence the largest farms and breeding bases were located there. To the north of Zephyria and across the Tyrrhenian Sea was the administrative center of the coalition and the home continent of Doctor Octavia Vale, the Aureus continent. A majority of humanity’s top scientific labs and educational institutes were located on Aureus. It was also home to the capital city of the coalition where they governed the world and its various cities. Of course, this division wasn’t absolute as there were plenty of farms on Aureus, many educational institutes on Zephyr and a few labs on Orienta. Each city also had a small government overseeing it from the city hall but if each continent was to be generalized in a single category then it would follow those traits.

The emerald Isles were a beautiful group of 5 islands off the southern coast of Orienta and welcomed many tourists every year but its local population was quite small only amounting to a few thousand people across 5 islands. The only airport was on the biggest island, the Isle of Aether whereas Abel lived on Luminara, the second largest island. It was named as such for two reasons that were apparent all year long whether it was day or night. During the day, its pristine beaches would reflect the sunlight giving it a bright and luminous aura whilst at night the islands unique flora and fauna would exhibits stunning bioluminescence, creating a captivating natural light display. In reality, neither Abel nor his two best friends were locals of the Emerald Isles. They had all been vacationing here with their families when the world was nearly upended, only Grandma Meng was a true local. Her husband owned his own little plot of land where their house was located and the old lady eventually left it to the three children before her passing two years ago.

“Abe, are you sure you’re okay? I still think we should have you checked out at the Med-Hub” Melly asked again, concern colored her green eyes.

“I’m sure I’m fine, totally and completely fine.. should I go out and catch us a hare for you to believe me?” Abel replied in mock exasperation but at the mention of food his stomach couldn’t help but growl out in protest. He’d forgotten he hadn’t had anything since breakfast and it was already evening. The whole ordeal of having god knows how many volts coursing through his body and then a foreign soul merge into him pretty much put the needs of his stomach to the back of his priority list.

As Melly and Frankie heard Abel’s stomach cry out in grievance they couldn’t help but smile and didn’t question the young man any further.

“There’s no need, I believe you. Come on then, Frankie finished the tomato and pasta soup and I brought back a grilled chicken from Old Tom’s, it’s still steaming hot.”