Chapter 21 : BLADE
"Another long boring..."
Tom Searle woke up that morning feeling a veil of boredom surrounding him, like every other morning for years gone by.
Tom Searle was 52 years old.
He's never been married, he's 187 centimeters tall, he's worked as a blacksmith for the past 30 years or so and he's homeless.
Well, at least he doesn't say he is homeless.
He lives in the little hut where his working equipment is.
He hasn't made any money in over 6 months. He's barely scraping by, but he continues to work as a blacksmith.
He wears a black damaged beanie, a dirty white bandana around his neck, a tattered brown jacket, black jeans with holes in them, and dark blue boots.
His hair is long and white, going down to his stomach.
His eyes are a gray hazel color.
"This year sure is dragging on for quite a while..." Tom said as he put on his shoes.
He got up and began walking through town.
Tom can't clearly remember how long he's been in Lunento. The closest answer he has is 5 weeks.
"Look it's that old poor blacksmith..." some pedestrian said as Tom walked by them.
"He's been here for over 3 decades..." Tom zoned out from all the conversation.
He was hungry.
He usually got his food from the hotel. They began giving him free food 2 weeks ago and Tom didn't know why, but he just rolled with it.
Tom made his way through the streets, getting a few stares here and there.
He made it to the hotel and walked in.
"Hello, Tom!" The lady at the front said.
"Hey... uh? Terra?" Tom forgot her name.
"Terinia." The woman said and put a bag on the desk.
"Here's your free breakfast, Tom! Have a good day!" Terinia said.
"Yeah, see ya later Terra..." Tom walked out of the hotel.
Zoar and his friends walked into the lobby a little after Tom had left.
"I feel so bad for him..."Terinia said.
"What's wrong with him?" Zoar asked.
"He has something wrong with his head I believe... he can't remember things very well and he's owned a little blacksmith shop for about 3-" Terinia was cut off.
"Blacksmith? That's who we were going to!" Maurice said.
"Yeah, let's go after him. Thanks for the information." Zoar said and they all started towards Tom.
They make it outside and see him sitting on the sidewalk, eating a bagel.
"Are you the blacksmith?" Zoar asked.
"Huh?" Tom said with his mouthful.
"Sorry, we'll wait for you to get done eating..." Kasstia said.
Tom took one last bite of the bagel.
"It's fine now. They never give me that much, but it doesn't stop my suspicions." Tom said, getting up.
"Suspicions?" Asked Maurice.
"Yep. I believe short girl- uh, Terra! Yeah. I believe she wants a piece of old Tom Searle!" Tom said, dusting himself off.
"Right..." Maurice laughed nervously.
The whole conversation was awkward.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you could upgrade my sword. I heard you-" Zoar was suddenly cut off.
"Where in the Hell did you find that!?" Tom jumped to the blade and began touching it.
"I found it in some forest..." Zoar was weirded out.
"I made this old thing! What was it... 20... no, 30 years ago? Back in New... no, no, no, that was before the statue of liberty blew up... I must've made it before that big old..." Tom kept rambling on and on about places, events, and many more things Zoar, not anyone else had ever heard of.
"How do we know you made it?" Kasstia asked.
"Cause I made it, duh." Tom pulled a piece of the leather handle up.
"Hey!" Zoar backed away.
"Look under there! It says "Searle, Tom. '88." Tom pointed at the leather flap.
Zoar pulled out his sword and lifted the flap.
"You're right... What's the 88-" Tom suddenly took the blade and began swinging it around.
"What the- Hey!" Zoar said.
"Follow me back to the shop! I'll tune this girl up real good!" Tom said, still holding the blade as he walked towards the next block.
"Fine..." Zoar said and the group followed.
"So Mr.Searle, can you tell us more about you?" Krycella asked.
"Uh, sure little lady. My name is Tom."
Maurice and Kasstia wanted to laugh.
"I'm 52 years old... I think. I'm vegan, atheist, been a blacksmith for over 30 years I think, my birthdays in March I think..." Tome began rambling to himself.
Tom truly was deranged.
"Man, how long is this year gonna be? It feels like 2280 had been going on forever..." Tom said.
"Uh..." Kasstia was motioned by Maurice to not tell him what year it was.
"Heres my lovely pile of shit," Tom said stopping in front of his shop.
There was an old mattress in the back, old clothes in a pile, flies, trash, smithing supplies, and an anvil.
A small sheet was being held up by long sticks over it all.
Tom immediately began working on the blade in the blink of an eye.
Tom worked faster than anyone they've ever seen. He used an in the theater to turn the blade into a bright red and began banging it with a hammer. He moved on to the next step instantly and began sending it down, getting rid of damage. He then began sharpening the blade and adding redlining to it.
"Here. It's gonna be a lot better at doing whatever you do with it now." Tom threw the blade in the air for Zoar to catch.
Zoar caught it.
The sword looked amazing now. The sunlight reflected off of the edge, smoothly.
"I remember the guy I made that for... his name was Zero... Weird dude... I forgot what he looks like. That's all I remember." Tom said.
Zoar was bewildered by Tom. He was so strange and so interesting at the same time.
"Thanks..." Zoar said awkwardly.
"No problem... Any of you know the way to New York City?" Tom asked.
"What?" Zoar asked.
"We ain't never heard of that!" Maurice said.
"Okay, guess I'll stay here for a couple of years or so I guess..." Tom yawned and laid in bed.
"Bye?" Krycella said.
"Let's just go," Maurice said.
"Right..." everyone said and they followed, heading back to the hotel to head to Dorrex.
Tom laid in his bed and looked up at his stick held roof.
"Where the Hell did you go, Zero Male?"