MOCHA // OMEGA: Lavender Kunoichi #1

Chapter 17 // Genesis

Chapter 17 // Genesis

The view outside the window turned from dilapidated wastelands into a burnt forest. As the gondola continued many miles, the death merged into a blanket of forestry. Everyone was in awe. What is that?! The way the green moved in the breeze made it appear to be a living organism of some sort.

"That's a tree," Mayumi said. Yuki looked at Mayumi with wonder, then to the napping Mocha, then back out the window.

"What's a tree?" the kids asked.

"I don't know, honey. Apparently that." Yuki said.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Ichigo said.

Tatsuki opened his journal and scribbled terrible drawings of the spectacular scene.

The gondola made an impressive landing through the trees into a zone covered in shrub and vines. A collection of gondolas sat aligned with each other, all covered in a tarp that blended in with the environment like a cloaking device. The pilot shut off the switches as everyone unbuckled. The pilots covered the bright yellow capsule (only revealed now as the cloaking had deactivated) with a tarp.

At the beginning of the exodus, the reality of their situation did not truly hit them. But now, in the midst of croaking tree frogs and chirping birds... They all looked to the sky obscured by trees; same sky, yet an alien world. They were so used to seeing the Citadel anytime they looked up... The cityscape had become a part of their daily soundtrack. All that was gone and it was... terrifying.

Their lungs greedily absorbed the fresh oxygen of the surrounding foliage. The children had never seen a tree before in their life, nor the grown adults. Ichigo, Tatsuki, Yuki, the children; all of them had the same stupefied look on their faces. How could one be so scared, yet simultaneously be crying at the beauty before their eyes?

Mayumi took the lead. "Come along now." The group formed a tight line. Tatsuki smiled at Mocha. She saw a shine from the windows of his soul as he wiped away his tears. She thought he looked beautiful in that moment. Pure and free...

They took in the sights as quick as they were able. Nobody back home would believe what they were witnessing. None of that mattered anymore; Omega wasn't their home any longer. Let's set up a tent anywhere in the forest, I'll be content... Yet the exodus wasn't over yet. They walked along the cliffside edge of a waterfall and slipped into a secret cavern. Inside was a megalithic circle made of an iridescent type of metal that fit perfectly symmetrical to the tops and sides of the cave.

On the floor in front of the circle were two small wooden squares filled with smooth sand and a few sticks in between them. The gondola pilot took one of these sticks and dragged it through the sand. A large circle with masses of squiggly circles within it. Only Genesis personnel knew that this image represented the Earth, but those who lived in Omega had never seen such a thing. Then he wrote next to the globe; 4 men, 4 women, 4 children, 1 cat, 1 drone. The sand in the other square began to spread apart on its own. Please stand by and... a happy face?

Before anyone could ask questions, the interior of the iridescent circle transformed into a rainbow aura that was indescribable in its beauty. The pilot used his hand to smooth over the markings in the sand he created, while the other square smoothed over on its own accord. Him and the co-pilot walked through first, then Mayumi. The children all held hands together and took their parents hand, and for the first time, Yuki and Ichigo held each other as they disappeared into the portal. Tatsuki looked at Mocha... She urged him to step through with a nod and followed behind him. They entered through the light.

They were in another area of forestry that looked no different than the previous. They turned around and saw a replica of the iridescent circular structure that was partially covered by foliage. The rainbow portal disappeared after Mocha stepped through.