Setting up Camp

Posted on Wed Sep 4th, 2024 @ 2:17pm by Glitch & Ebenezer Winch & Kyleigh Arynson & Ombretta del Carlo

3,083 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Welcome to the Hometown
Location: Ruins

Thirty years have passed since the last human footsteps echoed through the narrow streets of what was once a bustling city block. Now, nature reigns supreme, reclaiming the concrete and steel with a tenacity that defies time.

The once-proud buildings, their facades now chipped and weathered, lean precariously against one another. Moss and lichen cling to the walls, their green tendrils weaving intricate patterns across the cracked surfaces. Broken windows gape like empty eye sockets, revealing glimpses of the wild growth within.

Where once there were rooftops, now a verdant canopy stretches overhead. Trees—oak, maple, and birch—have thrust their roots through pavement and floorboards alike. Their branches intertwine, forming a leafy tapestry that filters sunlight into dappled patterns on the ground below.

Birds nest in the eaves, their songs echoing through the silent streets. Squirrels dart along the crumbling ledges, their bushy tails flickering like forgotten memories. Rabbits have burrowed beneath collapsed staircases, creating warrens where once there were basements.

The asphalt has surrendered to grass and wildflowers. Cracks in the pavement now host delicate ferns and tiny mushrooms. Vines snake up the sides of buildings, their tendrils seeking footholds in every crevice. Ivy drapes over fire escapes, turning rusted metal into living sculptures.

Amidst the rubble, relics of human existence remain. A rusted bicycle leans against a crumbling wall, its tires long deflated. A child’s toy—a faded plastic truck—lies half-buried in the undergrowth. Graffiti, now softened by time, tells stories of love, rebellion, and loss.

No footsteps disturb the silence. No car horns blare. Only the wind whispers secrets as it rustles through leaves and broken glass. The city block has become a sanctuary, a forgotten oasis where nature dances with ghosts.

As the sun sets, casting long shadows across the tangled landscape, one wonders what tales these overgrown ruins hold. Perhaps they whisper of resilience—the indomitable spirit of life persisting even after humanity has moved on.

As Breaker and Pyra emerged from their vehicles and stretched, Tremors looked at Ebeneezer. "Ready to stretch those legs?"

"Absolutely," he said. "Too damn long in this thing." He got up and stretched so that his back cracked and popped. It felt like every bone got some relief. "Let's go."

Shine was quick to exit the bus after Pyra did and looked around. "Oh wow..." His voice echoed among the crumbling buildings.

In Flora's mind, Wow was an understatement. As the bus had parked, she thought she had heard new voices. The language was familiar, strangely familiar. As she disembarked and caught a glimpse of the fledgling forest, her heart skipped a beat. For most of her teenage and adult life, she had labored to cultivate and expand on the song she had learned.

But this... This had all grown without her involvement. She slowly stepped away from the bus, basking in the beauty of her surroundings. Her eyes caught the mushrooms and ferns bursting out of the pavement beneath her feet. Their song was louder, clearer than what she saw on the surrounding buildings.

She knelt down, tenderly placing her fingertips on a fern. Flora began to sing. The fern and the surrounding plants joined with her. Her fingertips began to glow a soft green and the plants began to grow. The pavement cracked under the pressure, giving room for grass, saplings, and brush. In the space of seconds, the small area that Flora had touched, a mere few cubic feet, doubled in size.

For a fleeting moment, Flora missed those she sang often with. The pang turned into a momentary regret as she considered never returning to her hometown.

Shine let his powers shine out of his pores a little to give the area some illumination, watching Flora with his mouth hanging open. "Oh, wow..." He breathed. "That's amazing!"

Breaker looked over at the suddenly growing vegetation. "Don't overgrow the site or we'll have to pick a new one, Flowers."

"Flora," Ombretta corrected. It wasn't the first time someone got her chosen name incorrect, but that didn't make it any less annoying. She knew the greenery deserved to grow anywhere it wished, and all of it deserved to have a place next to humankind.

Even poison ivy. In fact, Flora wished she had some right now.

That thought must have made it into her song, because a small sapling of the ivy began to sneak out of a crevice.

Breaker didn't notice the ivy growing as he sat down on a fallen piece of masonry near it and pulled the stopper from a wineskin and took a drink. "Flora, flowers, whatever, Get some rest."

Rest? Flora wondered what Breaker thought she was doing on the bus. There wasn't much of anything to do, so why should one rest from resting? She shook her head, supposing she should at least be grateful for not bumping and shaking around. "What's that there?" she asked, nodding at the wineskin. "Water?"

"Yep, drink it if you got it," Breaker said.

* * *

Eb looked around the group and wondered how they'd all get along for the night. He remembered flaring tempers and discussions before they started. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad.

Cordelia looked ahead as the bus and train thing came to a stop. "Looks creepy, doesn't it?"

Kyleigh stopped the bike as the others did, a smile forming on her lips. She had seen many overgrown cities in her young life, but no matter, it never stopped being beautiful. "Creepy? Perhaps, but it's even more so when you're alone," the young woman said as she removed her helmet and goggles to get a better look. "Beautiful? Absolutely. It doesn't matter how many times I see this, it always feels like the first."

"You don't sleep outside under the stars with just a glider oilskin over your head," Cordelia said. "Then again, I usually camp on the top of buildings."

Kyleigh climbed from her bike and stretched. "I sleep under the stars all the time," she said. "Sometimes it's safer than sleeping inside the camper."

Cordelia climbed off the bike as well and stretched before she rubbed her backside. "I won't be sleeping on my back anytime soon."

Kyleigh laughed. "You get used to it after a while. How about we join the others and make some friends?"

Pyra began gathering up pieces of dead wood and stacking them in the middle of a few more fallen chunks of concrete, using her power to light them. "If you gotta go to the bathroom out here, take a friend."

Johnny looked over at the woman with the burning hair starting the camp fire. "Why?"

"Because we might never see you again," Pyra said without looking up.

"And be careful what you wipe with." Flora had arrived at campsite just as that conversation started. "Just because it's green doesn't mean that it's good for your ass."

Cordelia made her way over to the others and gave a smile. "Hey. I'm Elixir. Anyone need some water?" she asked.

Shine looked over at her. "Can you make it rain?"

The young woman smiled. "No, but I can create pure water with just a few drops."

Or pull the moisture from your very person if need be, Kyleigh thought before mentally shaking those thoughts from her min. She offered a smile and decided to introduce herself instead. "Most people call me Sparky."

"So, bathroom buddies and ass-wipe care are cautionary tales. Pure water, would be nice for a change, Elixir," added Eb. "I'm Pulse."

"Flora," said Ombretta, using her common name as she looked for a place to sit. "We staying here for the night?"

Breaker came over with a couple logs and dumped down in a pile. "Might as well," he said. "I don't want to waste time, but the light's fading."

Elixir smiled at Pulse. "My pleasure. Do you have a container and a drop of fresh water? I'll give you it back to you tenfold."

"It can't be that bad though, right?" Flora asked, interrupting the request for and distribution of water. "There can't be that much life out here anymore."

"I have maybe a drink left in this canteen," said Pulse. He handed to Elixir. "Do your thing." He turned to Flora, "I don't usually see too much on the recovery team. But then, we're not out at night like this."

Elixir smiled as she accepted the canteen and gave it a shake. "It sounds like there's enough in here," she said as she pulled a small pouch and retrieved a string from it. She tipped the canteen to let a drop of the precious liquid soak it, then held it upright again. With a smile, she focused on the small drop of water and seconds later, more droplets began to form and drip into the canteen. "There we go, Does anyone else need a fill up?

Shine shook his head. "No thank you."

Pyra worked on getting the fire started with gouts of flame shooting from her fingertips. "I'll be thirsty later." she said as she looked at Breaker.

Breaker gave a crude laugh. "I'll slake it."

"You can give me a refill, if you wouldn't mind," Kyleigh said, holding her canteen toward her companion. "There's a swig or two left inside."

"You got it, Sparky," Elixir said as she finished filling Pulse's canteen and handed it back to him, then reached for Kyleigh's to begin filling it.

Pulse took the canteen back and threw back a big drink. "Damn, that's good," he said. And raised his canteen towards Elixir as thank you.

Breaker looked at Kyleigh. "You're a Ranger, yeah?"

Sparky took her canteen back and nodded her head toward Cordelia in thanks before she turned her attention toward Breaker. "I am," she replied. "I don't like to be tied down to one place."

While the others talked about water and tried to learn more about each other, Flora allowed her mind to drift elsewhere. She closed her eyes and slowly turned out the traveller's voices all while focusing on the fresh singers around them.

Tree. Sapling. Blade of grass. Daffodil. Vine. Brush. She felt each and every one of them. Their music was disjointed, much like a jazz rendition, yet there was a clear harmony on one aspect. They felt threatened.

Flora opened her eyes and blinked twice. It was an unusual feeling, one she'd never sensed before. She closed her eyes again and reached out, contributing her voice to the cacophony and discord. She knew humanity was not as old as the vegetation that embraced the earth. This abandoned and devastated city sat upon what was once a vast expanse that had nearly wiped out a thriving natural landscape. Slowly the city was being reclaimed by nature, and now humanity threatened to take it back just by their very presence...

Unbeknownst to Flora in all of this... the ground around her began to embrace her, as vines and flowers began to wrap around her feet and slowly trace her figure up to her waist.

Shine stood with his mouth open where he was and blinked at he watched all the plants and vines grow up around Flora. "Woah!"

Breaker looked over at her, not noticing the poison ivy wrapping itself around his exposed ankle. "Neat trick. Think you can grow us some moss to lay on?"

Pyra mere grunted and tended to the fire with a fresh gout from her hands. "Grow some fruit and I'll be more impressed."

Flora blinked twice, her mind snapping back to reality once she realized people were staring at her and asking questions. She did not respond, and she returned their glances and stares with a slightly confused look of her own. Then Flora looked down and noticed the reason they were all staring, the native flora had started to embrace her. It was a pleasant sensation, which she quickly encouraged.

She closed her eyes once more and began to sing a few tunes of her own. All around the non-flora party, the ground and logs turned a shade of green as a layer of moss quickly overtook their surfaces. And, for Pyra, a small bush appeared with a couple fresh raspberries quickly ripening for her nourishment.

Kyleigh watched Flora grow a raspberry bush, clearly impressed by what she was seeing. It seemed like the group she was currently with had some incredible power. Those same powers could be used against her, and thus prompted her to want to be a bit more cautious around them.

"Dang, I've never seen green grow that fast, not even in the gardens," said Pulse. "Looks like we have our water, food, and heat taken care of so long as we're out." The unsettling part was that the opposite was also true. Anyone of them could choose to make the others thirst, starve, or freeze to death.

Pyra smiled and looked startled when the raspberries grew out. "Thank you, Flora," she said as she reached for one. "You are a blessing to the Earth."

Flora didn't regard herself so mightily, nor did she know what the do with the compliment. Instead, she just nodded.

Breaker looked at Kyleigh. "You got something to help out there, Sparky?"

Tremors looked at the bald man. "I really doubt you want her frying your arse," she laughed.

Breaker glared, but kept his mouth shut as he turned back to the fire.

Shine lets his power shine out of him so the plants could get a bit more of it. "This is so cool, Flora!"

"How about somewhere to sit?" Kyleigh asked as she approached a boulder the looked like it weighed at least five times more than she did. She crouched down and lifted with her legs, not even grimacing or breaking a sweat as she walked over to Breaker and dropped it in front of him. "Would you like anything else?"

Breaker looked at Kyleigh and his expression shifted a bit from being bullish to being far more appraising. "Thanks,." he said. "Would you like some jerked meat?"

"You're welcome," Kyleigh said, deciding to accept his offer. "Please."

Flora shook her head at the offer of meat. She hadn't eaten anything animal produced in years, and this was not the time for her to start again. Instead, she requested some strawberries of her own from the choir. Her gaze shifted to Kyleigh, finding herself impressed with the show of strength. She offered Kyleigh a smile before looking over to Shine. "Thank you for the light," she told him, speaking for the plants.

"You're welcome, Flora," the young boy said.

Pyra had stopped eat the raspberries that Flora had grown for her and blinked when Kyleigh lifted the huge rock. She threw a quick look at Breaker, then back at the woman carrying it with ease, but stayed silent.

"Woah," Cordelia and Shine said in unison.

Tremors looked at the blonde woman and gave a smile. "No pressure on her, love."

With jerked mead in hand, Kyleigh settled down, wondering if anyone would ask the story about how that particular gift was discovered. To this day, she still felt bad for her Dad, and even felt a bit guilty, but at that moment she felt there was a lesson to be learned.

Shine worked on putting some aloe on a rather red spot on his left arm, wincing a little, but he kept his power active.

Breaker looked over at him. "You sick, kid?"

Shine looked up and shook his head. "My power burns me."

Pyra grunted. "That sucks."

"My power would break my bones without these," Tremors said as she held up her encased arms.

"Is this common?" Flora asked aloud to no one in particular. "We have all developed great gifts, but they come at a physical cost?"

"Some of us are Aces and some are Jokers," Breaker said. "Least, that's what I heard it called. Aces ain't got a drawback. Jokers, well..." He glanced at Shine.

"A label shouldn't be applied to anyone," Tremors murmured.

"We're all mutants and that's a label we were born with," Pyra said from where she sat.

"Are we?" Kyleigh asked as she took a bite of her jerky. "Like you said, we were born this way. I would say that makes this the new normal. At least, from how I see it."

Flora almost scoffed at the term new normal. She did not have many memories of her childhood, or a time before her ability to sing. Instead, she looked down at her arms. Her hands had obviously taken on green tint since using her powers. Any more use and she would start growing a layer of moss. "Joker," she muttered. "If we're using card levels, then I prefer Queen."

"You are," Shine agreed and carefully folded his bit of aloe plant in cloth and tucked it into his backpack.

Flora smiled in response. "Then I suppose that makes you a King."

"Only of the light," Shine said with a shy smile.

"Isn't that sweet?" Pyra scoffed and worked on eating her dinner.

"What about you, Pulse?" Tremors asked. "What do you think?"

"The world has changed. People have changed. Some for the better, some for the worst. And some…some are a little bit of both," said Pulse. He wasn't going to get into the weaknesses of his abilities, not with a bunch of strangers. "Call it what you what, but I think that one day there won't be any humans left. Just us. And we'll have to learn how to get along with each other somehow."

Before much could be said, a low howling was heard in the distance and began to grow louder and closer.

Flora looked up from the fire and turned to the direction of the howling. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but she could hear the change in the song. Whatever the howling was caused by, the plants didn't like it.

"Anybody got any idea what kind of Howler that might be?" asked Pulse. "I'm not familiar with the dangers in these parts." He removed a handful of steel spheres from a pocket and formed them into cone shaped projectiles. The projectiles then hovered over his hand, waiting for Pulse's command for them to fly.

"No clue," Breaker said as he grabbed a piece of rebar from nearby and used his power to lengthen and sharpen it. "But I ain't going down without a fight!"

 

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