C3 Gaia

“What are you doing?”

Henry looked up from the computer at a dark-haired man with a scowl on his face. He seemed annoyed for some reason, but Henry couldn't place what actually annoyed him. He opened his mouth to speak, but he realised he had no idea who this person was, or what he was doing before this. The man waved his hand. “Nevermind. You always do what you want anyway.” He said, his scowl softening into something of a smile. “Come on. I got us lunch.” He said, and Henry felt himself stand. He had no idea who this person was, but he felt safe around them…

Henry sat up with a jolt. Who was that? He couldn't remember who they were, but he felt something in his heartache. He rubbed his temples, trying to push away the headache that was building in his head. The room was moderately lit, so he could tell that it was morning. He scanned the room and spotted the twins from the night before. He could see their chests rise and fall and he let out a sigh of relief. Kamilah must've taken care of them after–

Kamilah

Henry looked around the room again and could see no trace of her. Did she slip out of the room when he was unconscious? What did she do to him? So many questions swirled in his head as he tried to collect his thoughts, but ultimately he came up blank. “Ah, you're awake.” A voice from behind him said and he turned to face Kamilah, who was wearing a slight look of anticipation on her face.

Fury surged through Henry, momentarily eclipsing the throbbing ache in his head. “What exactly is your problem?” He said, scrambling to his feet. "What did you do to me?"

Kamilah held up her hands in a placating gesture, her eyes wide and unfazed. "Calm yourself, Henry. I haven't harmed you."

"Haven't you harmed me already?" He gestured wildly at himself. "You knocked me out, and you're telling me that's not harmful?"

She sighed, a hint of disappointment flickering across her face. "The bindings were necessary. A precaution. What I did was for your own good, and for the potential good of humanity."

Her words did little to quell his anger.

"My good? Since when do you get to decide what's good for me?"

Kamilah's gaze softened. "Since the fate of the world may very well depend on it, Henry. You don't understand how unique you are.”

Intrigue sparked within him, momentarily pushing aside his outrage. "Unique how?"

"You possess an immunity to the Sickness," she explained, her voice dropping to a reverent hum. "An anomaly that neither science nor magic can explain. But there's more than just surviving. There's potential to be more.”

He frowned, suspicion gnawing at him. "What potential?"

"The potential to wield the power of Gaia," she revealed, her voice trembling with anticipation. "The very essence of nature itself.”

“And that's what you were trying to do?” He asked and she nodded. “I cleared your pathways so you can feel the song of the Earth.” She gestured behind him, and he spun around, his breath catching in his throat. Scattered across the floor behind him, glinting faintly in the dim light, were a few dozen or so black, vaguely crystal-like objects.

They pulsed with an unnatural, sickly green glow, sending shivers down his spine.

"What are those things?" he stammered, pointing at the nightmarish crystals.

Kamilah knelt beside them, her gaze lingering on the pulsating green. "Those," she said softly, "were the remnants of the Sickness clinging to you."

Henry's stomach lurched. "Remnants? You mean you...?" he started.

"Extracted them," she finished, picking up one of the crystals gingerly. It pulsed erratically in her hand as if straining against some unseen barrier. "They were embedded deep within you, Henry."

He stared at the nightmarish crystal with a mixture of horror and fascination. So these were the things that had been slowly killing the world, the source of the plague that had turned men into mindless beasts.

"But how?" he managed, his voice barely a whisper.

"Gaia," she said simply, her eyes gleaming with an almost religious fervor. "The Earth responded to your unique nature. It fought the Sickness within you, pushing it to the surface for extraction."

"And you just... let it happen?" Henry asked, slightly confused.

"I guided the process," she explained, her voice firm. "It is a delicate process, Henry. Too much strain and you could have been consumed. But Gaia seems to believe in you, and so will I."

He looked back at the chilling black crystals, a wave of nausea washing over him. The idea of these things coursing through his veins sent a cold dread through him.

"What now?" he asked, his voice hollow.

Kamilah rose to her feet, her expression unreadable. "Now, we see if the Earth's gamble paid off. We see if you can truly become the vessel for Gaia's power.” She turned to him and placed her hands on his temples. Immediately, he felt the cool wave wash over him. The buzzing in his head dropped drastically, reducing to a murmur, and then, a song. It was a melody he hadn't heard before, but one that his soul remembered.

“That's…Gaia's song?” He asked, and Kamilah nodded, her eyes wide with surprise, and slowly withdrew her hands. "You can hear it? So clearly?" He nodded, a strange sense of peace washing over him. "It's beautiful. Like a lullaby sung by the earth itself."

Her surprise deepened. Most struggled to perceive Gaia's song at first, its subtle vibrations often overwhelmed by the chaos of the world. "Can you understand it?" she pressed, her voice laced with curiosity.

"Not exactly," he admitted. "It's more of a feeling. A sense of connection, of belonging."

A slow smile spread across Kamilah's face. "That's a good start, Henry. A very good start. It means Gaia has chosen well. Being able to hear and understand the song is the key to wielding its power. It's a language, a way to communicate with the very essence of the Earth itself."

Henry touched his head. His headache was gone, and so was the song, but he could still feel it, deep in his core. “That was interesting.” He said and took a deep breath. A flicker of something akin to awe crossed her features.

"Most struggle to perceive it at first. It takes time, training, attunement." He frowned, a sliver of unease creeping in. "Is it not normal to hear it so clearly?"

Kamilah hesitated, then withdrew her hands. "Perhaps not. This might mean you just have a deeper connection, a stronger resonance with Gaia's will. It could be a sign of your potential as a vessel."

His unease morphed into a look of curiosity. “A vessel? What exactly does that mean?” Kamilah started to speak but was interrupted by stirring. “One of the children is waking.” She looked back at Henry and looked him over. “You stink, you should probably go take a shower. I don't want you scaring the kids again. Henry wanted to say something and took a sniff of himself, scrunched up his nose without saying another word, and left. Kamilah smiled and went over to the girl who was awake and knelt beside her. “Hi.” She said and the girl looked panicked. “Where are we?” She asked, looking over at her sister who was still sleeping. “Isabel, you idiot, wake up!” She said, simultaneously reaching into her pouch.

“I took away your weapons,” Kamilah explained calmly as the girl paused.

“What do you want?” The girl asked, and Kamilah smiled. “Let's start with your name. I already know your sister's.”

The girl looked around, and seeing no way to escape, she sighed. “Fine. I'm Marie. Can you let us go now?” She asked, but Kamilah shook her head. “Not when you're lying so boldly.” She said, causing the child to freeze in fear. “How?” She asked but Kamilah just smiled. “There is much you don't know.”

“What happened to not scaring the kids.?” Henry said from behind Kamilah, and she sighed, stepping away. “I got too carried away.” She said, stepping back. Henry walked over to the child with a granola bar, and he could see that she was thin and raggedy-looking. “Are you hungry?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence. The girl continued staring daggers at him, but in the end, it was her stomach that gave her away.

The girl remained silent for a moment, her gaze fixed on him with suspicion. Her stomach, however, rumbled loudly, betraying her resolve. Hesitantly, she reached out and snatched the bar, peeling back the wrapper with surprising ferocity.

"What's your name?" Henry continued, hoping to break the ice. The girl mumbled something inaudible.

Kamilah knelt beside him. "Sofia?" she coaxed gently.

The girl’s eyes darted between Kamilah and Henry, a flicker of recognition replacing the initial hostility.

"Sofia?" Henry repeated, a smile playing on his lips. "That's a pretty name."

Sofia offered a flicker of a smile in return, then took a bite of the granola bar, her hunger momentarily overriding her wariness, the crumbs scattering on her ragged shirt.

"You seem to be looking after yourself pretty well," Henry continued, "but you wouldn't happen to know where you came from, would you?" Sofia's brow furrowed slightly. She darted a glance at Kamilah, who offered a reassuring smile. Finally, Sofia mumbled a single word.

"South."

"South, huh?" Henry repeated, feigning ignorance. "Is that where the good scavengers hide?" Sofia, her hunger sated, piped up from behind Kamilah "There are no good scavengers," she declared fiercely. "They all take and never give back.”

Kamilah chuckled, ruffling her hair playfully. "Not all of them, little one. Some just struggle to survive in their own way." She turned back to Sofia, her gaze softening. "Is there someone you're looking for down south, Sofia?” She paused. “No, that's not it. You're running from them. Why?”

Sofia hesitated, then nodded vigorously before turning to her sister who was still asleep. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "My sister, Isabel. She's hurt." Sniffling back tears, Sofia gestured towards her own arm, mimicking a slash. "Big, nasty wound. They took our stuff, and Isabel wouldn't let them go."

Kamilah knelt before Sofia, her eyes filled with concern. “Why?”

“Sofia’s lower lip trembled, but she forced herself to speak.

“We stole something. Some maps. We were going to sell them for food, but they caught us, and now…” Henry stepped forward and put his hand on her head. “Where did this happen?” He prompted.

"Abandoned house. Past the broken bridge, south side of the river.” Sofia answered.

Henry sighed. “That's not far.” He said, walking over to the window to look out. Sure enough, there were at least two cars headed their way. They seemed to be armored vehicles and were picking up a lot of dust. Henry returned to the room. “What did you steal?” He asked and Sofia rummaged through her bag, pulling out a stack of blueprints, and a small book. Henry looked over all of them, quickly recognizing the name Patel on each of the blueprints.

“Patel…that seems familiar…” Henry said, taking the small book in his hands. It looked like a journal of sorts, and it seemed weathered and old. He opened the book, curious to see what was on the other side, but he heard an explosion. The scavengers were here. He could hear the gunshots and the snarling of the monsters they brought with them.

“We need to move. Now.”