The Child of Scraps

Chapter 25

The answer to Noah's question was that Tita Sam had been the one to grow them.

Leandro's mother strode in the unfinished building as if she owned the place, while Leandro entered it behind her.

It took them about an hour to get there. Tita Sam decided that speed was more necessary, and the other two Titas wouldn't help. "Melay wouldn't allow you to go no matter what, while Jaz is definitely too excitable to be serious in a battle."

After that, they took a ride on a taxi –thank goodness for diwata mothers that hoarded loose change left by tourists in the park- and discussed their tactics as much as they could in flower language. The taxi driver just decided that these two people were nutjobs that loved flowers too much to not talk about them in arrangements or whatever, and just let it go since they were paying him anyway.

Leandro surveyed the area. He didn't see anything that looked like it was a prison, or whatever. He signaled to his mother that he'd go look elsewhere for the prisoners. His mother nodded, and started growing her plants as much as she could, preparing for a fight with Aguirre.

Leandro hurried over to the right area. He tried to see if there were any rooms that had a closed door or looked like it held someone, but he could find any. He moved on to search for Noah and Avery's father.

He was running along one wide-open area when he noticed a set of stairs. What was strange about these stairs was that it had painted walls and tiled floors, in comparison to the rest of the building. Leandro wondered if that was where Aguirre was residing while staying at the building, so he had it furnished in advance. Considering that the construction had been halted temporarily, it didn't seem like a bad idea, until they started construction again.

He wondered what lay above those stairs, if it was even important after all. He took a single step, unsteady.

"Don't you dare go there."

Leandro turned around to find Elias, poised and ready to fight. Unlike yesterday, when his moves were full of hesitation, Elias was not to be trifled with at the moment. Leandro was now fairly sure that Elias's sympathy for them was only for Noah, for whatever thing that Noah had done with him. Leandro had a feeling that if he gave Elias a reason to, Elias would kill him straight away.

"What's up there?" Leandro asked him, pointing upstairs and doing his best to act nonchalantly.

"Nothing that's part of your business. Get out of here."

"Make me."

Elias lunged at Leandro-

-and was met with a huge shield, made out of ferns.

The superhuman jumped off. He was staring at Leandro, realizing exactly what he was. "What the?"

"You know what I hated about the factory most of all?" Leandro asked as his hands turned green with magic, growing more ferns, surrounding an Elias that was backing away. "The platforms and most things are made of metal. Almost no chance of greenery growing in the cursed place."

"But concrete?" Leandro tapped the floor with his heel. "It's also not friendly for plants. But concrete gets cracked, especially if it's in an old building that never got furnished. Plants can grow in these cracks. Because you know what they say."

The ferns released spore into the air, distracting and irritating a coughing Elias.

"Nature finds a way."

Leandro dashed past Elias, leaving him in the dust. He ran as far as he could and turned at the corner, getting into a hallway.

And he found Elias blocking his path, too quick for Leandro's slow steps.