Monsters roam the surface when all thought it was the opposite. It was all written in the old books. And now, humans live underground in fear, but resources are scarce. Twelve years in this underground community suffocates Nolan. He has no friends, no parents, and no one to look up to. He barely makes ends meet for himself and when the voting of faring begins on his thirteenth birthday, all votes are tallied to the young boy in the streets, barely any clothing, barely any flesh, and barely anyone to take care of.
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Nolan finds himself at the center of attention for the first time and all he can ask for them is begging for a penny and food. Some found him pitiful, some glad that the boy will not have to live in this suffering any longer. It was a unanimous and easy decision for everyone. Though it is heart wrenching to know that someone young would be going up, especially someone who has been tending to the cleanliness of the streets, the residents have all seen, many times every day, of elevators heading for the surface.
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“Kid…” The soldier clad in all scale armor with a glass helmet pats the boy’s head and tries to reassure him. He too knows that sooner or later, every person living on the streets is the most likely to be sent up. But it is too soon for him, and he never expected people to be so uncaring. “...We’ll stop first at the second level. I can treat you to a meal and buy you something. Is that okay?”
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Something to eat and something to have, those sounds honey sweet to Nolan and he does not mind leaning against this soldier’s waist. He nods, unsure of what words to use to express the thanking beats in his chest.
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When they arrive at the second level, it is chock full of soldiers. All wearing helmets and scale plates with Nolan sticking out in rags and dirty mess. They all were silent but then murmurs start, and staring has Nolan hiding behind the soldier’s shadow. His head down and eyes trying to look at a piece of tile that can at least give him a bit of reassurance. But then he felt himself hovering—seeing the soldier picking him up to his broad shoulders. “Hold on to me,” he says and Nolan gladly does so while also trying to hide his face.
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“Lady Bubu, can I have a…uh…” He looks at the menu and every meal on what would have been normal on the surface are way above his paycheck. “Fried chicken drumstick for one and a bowl of pebble diggers.”
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The lady looks up at the boy who is still covering his face on top of the soldier’s head, and she smiles, out of pity or gladness? “I’ll cook them perfectly for you two. Do you want milk as well?”
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“Can we?” The soldier asks, almost as if he is being offered gold,
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“Of course, we ought to have them. Two glasses of true dairy milk coming right up~”
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It did not take long for the cafeteria lady to serve them their meals. Nolan, who now sits on the opposite of Soldier at their round table, watches the fried chicken’s golden skin closely. Eyes sparkling in amazement. Mouthwatering that gets its first crispy and juicy fill in all his 13 years. It is delicious, and the soldier enjoys his own bowl of pebble diggers. Happily observing the boy eat what can only be his last meal.
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After having their bellies full, the soldier once again carries Nolan on his back and walks around the streets. There really is not a supermarket or mall so the soldier brings him to an open market. Mostly for arms and armor. But Soldier knows a stall that forces his bulkness in a tight fit of a narrow gap in between the walls. Nolan has no problem standing on the soldier. Fortunately, the shop door is open and the two enter after a bit of struggle.
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“Why does it always get harder with you?” Soldier pants, knowing well the lady behind the counter who is surprised to see the Soldier and more so to the kid. She asks about him and the soldier says, “He got voted off. So I want to buy something for him.”
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“Something like a friend?” The shop lady searches around the cabinets under her long desk, eyes carefully picking out what to give the boy as well. “Does he like something?”
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Soldier brings Nolan down and asks him if he wants to buy something. The shop has everything from toys to XXX, literally a black-market stall. But Nolan, who does not know any material things other than a broom, picks a stick broom.
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“Uhm…a sticksweep?” Both faces, though you cannot see the soldier’s are dumbfounded by this.
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“Well, I always see him sweeping the streets so maybe he just chose that because he knows it?”
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“Whatever that means, and why would the Community ask a child to clean the streets? And they voted him off? Who would be cleaning the streets then? Honestly, those people are just greedy. It’s sad.”
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“Hey,” The soldier turns to the shop lady after taking the sticksweeper, “We’ll take this. It’s something special for him.”
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“I guess…” She checks out the item and before sees them both leave the shop. She takes out from her cabinet a toy sword and a silver necklace that she gives him. “Give him a proper sendoff soldier.”
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The soldier salutes and says no word as they squeeze out of the alleway, giving the shop owner a slight chuckle.
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Nolan plays with his toy sword. Squeakily stabbing down to the soldier’s helmet with his legs excitedly swinging. The silver necklace gleams against the lift lights, and they now head for the final level with an underground stairway leading up. Soldiers usually drop off the Casted here and threaten them to walk on their own towards the surface, but this soldier is kind enough to bring Nolan up.
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Every step ticks his sensor from green, to mild yellow, to red. Oxygen levels drop rapidly and the acidity of the air around him heavies on his shoulders. Skeletons and fresh rot line the stairway, nobody bothered to clean them. He has ten minutes to bring the boy and to ease himself of the burden. He hums himself Ruu’s song (You can reference Genshin Impact Ruu’s song for this). Then finally, with a weight as if he is carrying four bodies on top of him, the soldier stands on the Martian surface. Red soils with barks from parts of trees that have long weathered. The scorching sun overloads his sensors and activates the emergency shell. Its sister moon passes by it and an eclipse. A moment that he has never seen before happening like a miracle. A brief three minutes of safety as the soldier finds a broken-down house. He wants to set him here, somewhere with shelter and safe from the harsh weather. And, surprisingly as well, there is a green glass bowl with holes. Something vibrant green. There was no time left and the soldier had to get back before the eclipse ended. He drags a chair and has the sleeping Nolan rest next to the greenery. This is the best he can do and he places the stick sweeper next to the table before saluting off properly, like how soldiers send off their presidents. The soldier leaves Nolan in the house to rest peacefully and returns to the community with the eclipse drifting away.
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The soldier does not see it, for he is already making his steps down, but the green bowl on the table, next to the sleeping Nolan, comes alive and slithers up to the boy’s sunkissed cheeks. It enters through his ears. It looks and sounds horrible, for yes, there are monsters around, but a year later. The soldier who is sending off another Casted–his daughter, read in his sensor that it is not blaring red. Nor does the oxygen seem to drop. He can still hear and feel the sobbing of his daughter as he steps to the surface and sees that from the house he left Nolan, an alien tree has grown with its bark full of holes and leaves scarlet red. Under its shadow are brown dirt. Rich and full of growing bushes. It is an impossible sight, but it is real. The monsters from the books are real!
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A fetal tree that lives in harsh conditions, feeding on toxic materials making it a poisonous living organism. At the same time, providing pure oxygen in a 100 yards radius. The soldier cannot believe it, but he can take off his helmet and breathe. His daughter, still in tears of being casted off, finds safety in the house where Nolan’s chair was, which is now a root of the tree. Eventually, the soldier tells his daughter to stay put before rushing back down to tell the news for everyone in the community.
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