Couriers of the Sunny Isles - Part 4

Once again, we visit one of my earlier works. I wanted to offer a nice punctuation mark to the end of the first part of the story.

Behind the scenes, I’m still working on some edits. My goal is to finish revising Cordolium by the end of the year so I can prep it for querying.

So, in the meantime, enjoy Leo’s adventures in the Sunny SIsles!

His eyes went wide, and the only thing Leo could hear was the pounding of his heart in his ears. He stepped forward, with a nervous smile, and made his way to the door. Ford gave him a congratulatory pat on the back, and Bellfree gave him a smile and a wink. Leo had made the cut. Just barely, but Leo walked through those doors not as a random, shy kid, but as one of the future Couriers of the Isles. 

As Leo walked through the door, he could hear Ford and Bellfree dismissing those that had failed. There were tears and frustration, and Leo felt bad, but he couldn’t look back. On the other side of the door, Leo was greeted by the others who had made the cut. Lissa ran up and greeted him. 

“I knew you’d make it! We were one of the first groups to figure it out.” She said.

“I wasn’t so sure.”

“Well, I believed in us, and look where we are!” She was excited. And loud. She was bouncing from person to person, congratulating them. She looked like a puppy meeting new people for the first time. Without the stress of passing the test, Leo was getting a taste of the real Lissa. Many of the others could hardly contain their excitement, and joy filled the space. Eventually, Bellfree and Ford came into the room and greeted the successful bunch.

“Congratulations, each and every one of you.” Bellfree said. Ford stepped forward with a large crate that he gently set down on the floor. “You’ve done well to pass the test and make it this far. You figured out the key trick to the test. Sometimes, it’s going to take a little bit of thinking, resourcefulness, and willingness to ask for help to accomplish your tasks.” Everyone nodded. The questions on the test had been one thing, but having to find your real test was something no one was prepared for.

“Ford has brought you all something special. In this box are a batch of brand new Courier Jackets with the available numbers for us at the moment. Please, everyone take a jacket for the time being.” The group swarmed around the box and pulled out jackets. Leo shoved his arm between two others and grabbed the first sleeve he could get his hands on. With a mighty tug, he pulled it out from the crate and stepped back from the chaos. The jacket was blue and bright, soft and warm. The hood was lined with tufts of wool and fur, and the interior was stitched with flannel. On the front were pockets with buttons, and on each shoulder of the sleeves was a patch sewn on that featured the logo of the couriers. On the back of the jacket, under the hood, the number 73 was emblazoned on the blue fabric. Leo would be courier number 73. He quickly unzipped the jacket, swung it around and put his arms through the sleeves. That day he had worn a plain, green tunic shirt; but even with just that and the jacket on he instantly felt much warmer. He would get used to that feeling. Once everyone in the group had their jackets on, they formed a line in front of Ford and Bellfree. Leo noticed that Lissa had the number 58 on her jacket. He also spotted the twins, Fili and Kili with the jackets 81 and 92. 

Bellfree looked over each new courier in the line. Finally, he said, “Now that we’ve got that taken care of, please follow me for the next step. We have one more thing to do before you can begin your training. One more important thing.” 

“Well, since you’ve got them, I’ll stay here and hold down the fort. We should get the rest of the couriers out on their routes for the day,” Ford said. Bellfree gave him a nod, and then turned away. Bellfree started walking toward a door at the back of the sorting room, a door none of the new recruits had used or seen yet. The old man moved quick for his age, and it was a little while before everyone realized they were supposed to be following him. The group took off at a sprint to catch up to Bellfree, who had already gone through the door.

The door led to a short hallway with rooms to the side for storage, but they didn’t go into any of these rooms. Bellfree continues straight ahead down the hall to a large set of double doors. When he got just in front of the doors, he stopped and waited for everyone to catch up. “Beyond this door, you will face the first real challenge of being a courier. You must stay focused and do your best. The Chief Courier will be with you to help with this one.” Everyone gave a slight nod, and then Bellfree pushed the doors open and the sunlight blinded the kids who had just spent the last few hours inside.

Leo and the others stepped out onto a sandy dune that led down to the beach about 100 yards away. The ground was dusty and rocky, and it was only a short distance before it started to fall toward the sea and the rolling waves. Large rocks were everywhere. And up in the sky, Leo saw dozens of flying birds. “Have fun,” Bellfree said. And with that he went back into the building, leaving the group alone, outside, surrounded by birds. 

Threshes were very pretty birds. They stood four to five feet high, and were round and sleeky when they sat still. Their wings were wide and imposing. Some were yellow, some were orange, some were grey, but most had flecks or streaks of brown in their feathers. Their beaks were short and pointed. When Leo decided that he wanted to be a Post-Kid he would spend hours lying on his roof watching the brown dots fly across the sky and imagine himself riding one of the birds. Threshes were gentle, but could be wild and difficult to tame. The birds on the beach sat sleeping on the ground picking at the grass for food, or were soaring high overhead. Leo and the others marveled at the feathery animals. 

“I told you you’d make it!” A voice shouted from behind. Leo spun around quickly, his black hair fluttering on his head. Maxwell ran up and tackled Leo to the ground. “I knew it! Congrats, Leo!” The two friends crashed to the ground and Maxwell laughed.

“Where did you come from?” Leo asked, pushing Maxwell off of him. They stood up.

“I just landed on Erol to surprise you.” Maxwell motioned to his Thresh a few feet behind them. Erol, tall and with jagged feathers, pecked at the ground. Leo had only met Erol once or twice before, when Maxwell stopped by while out making deliveries, but the bird was friendly and allowed Leo to pet his head. On Erol’s back was a small saddle with a bag. This was for Maxwell to ride comfortably, and once Leo had a thresh of his own, he’d get his own saddle as well.

“Well you certainly surprised us all!” The boys turned to look at Lissa, who was shocked that Maxwell had landed so close to them and tackled Leo. “And who are you by the way?”

“This is my friend-” Leo began.

“Hi, I’m Maxwell,” he cut in. “Good friend of Leo’s here. And who might you be? Are you one of the new Couriers?” Maxwell seemed to be talking fast, Leo thought.

“They’re not Couriers.” A voice boomed. “Not yet.”