BLACK STORM: The Abandoned Son

Chapter 18: The Master

This place isn't so bad. At least I'm out of the rain. I hear an irritating whirring noise zoom past above me. I look up to see the source, flying drones soar over my head. They spray water down to the ground. Watering both the plants and me- great.

"Fucking sprinkler robots!", I yell.

I might as well get used to it. The elevator's busted on this floor. As soon as I stepped out I turned back and noticed the control panel was destroyed. It had four jagged cuts in it, as if someone cut it with a knife. But what kind of monstrous person can cut through steel?

I hear Dollhouse chuckle.

"Okay, I get it, I'm the last person who should be calling anyone a monster."

Most concerning of all, I think these marks look fresh. No more than a week old if I had to guess. Meaning whoever, or whatever, caused these is still here. This place is big enough for the both of us, think, so it shouldn't bother me.

As I walk though the forest, these trees are so tightly packed together It block my vision. I hear the crawling of squirrels and the chirping of birds. This seems like a proper ecosystem, what's the point of putting something like this indoors? The trees are this bright green colour, I've never seen plants this lush before, they look almost fake. The air conditioning roars, that's to simulate the cool autumn breeze, I guess. It makes the trees rustle and shed their leaves. This place feels so real. If it wasn't for the concrete ceiling, I would have thought this was a real forest.

Maybe I could stay here for a while, living off acorns doesn't seem like a good idea, but as long as it's temporary it should be fine. But it's much to cramp in here for me to sleep or even sit down comfortably, I need to find a better spot. But how am I gonna do that with trees blocking my view?

"Dollhouse, do you think you can get me higher?"

"Well, I can't make you fly."

"Can you help me climb then?"

"I've seen you climb before. Just toss a dart and rope", She looks at me puzzled.

"Not with these new injuries, the church battered me real good."

"Oh right, I forgot how fragile humans can be."

"Well, any ideas?"

"Not really."

Guess I have to figure it out myself, this isn't much of a partnership. I try to use a rope dart anyway, maybe my injuries aren't as bad as I think. I shoot the dart up at a sturdy branch and try to ascend, I couldn't do it, the pain was much too great. I try to think of an idea. As I pace back and forth I step on a branch, this sends a shock of inspiration into my mind. I know exactly what to do now. I gather some branches from the ground, tie them together with rope, I've built a ladder. It's still a painful experience climbing this ladder but I manage to get to the top.

"You know this is the reason why.", Dollhouse hovers next to me.

"The reason for what?"

"The reason my kind binds ourselves with humans."

"You mean besides the fact you need our energy to feed off of."

"Yes, besides that.", She giggled slightly.

"Right, so why then?"

"This world you live in, it's not perfect, but it's littered with unbelievable beauty."

"Unbelievable beauty? This sort of thing is commonplace, do you not have forests where you come from?"

"I come from a place called the realm of chaos, so you tell me."