The Century Project

iii

chapter 3 - written by missmadichristine

~Natalia~

I hear Victoria release a small gasp as I pull down the door of the V-TAME. I pull my dark hood over my head and turn around, nearly letting my jaw drop at the sight of our world.

Ten years ago New York City was a man-made jungle. Skyscrapers loomed over a sea of people, casting large shadows upon them. Crowds thick enough to drown in milled around the city like rolling waves; like tides swelling on and off of the shoreline.

Now, the grand buildings have been torn apart by nature. Vines tangle and weave around crumbling bricks and stone, turning the sleek and sophisticated structures into scenes of rubble and ruin beneath blankets of green. Jungle trees have taken their place; standing hundreds of feet tall and casting shadows down onto us.

I grasp an arrow between my fingers, quickly sliding it out of the quiver and placing it in my bow. I hold it out in front of me as we move forward, climbing over ginormous tree roots and ducking beneath branches.

We walk slowly, on alert; watching for any movement in the brush. Securing the area was the first and most important step in any of our missions. If there is one thing I have learned from my training, it's that keeping your post safe is an essential part of surviving. Especially now, when we have no idea what to expect.

Our footsteps become a constant rhythm, beating against the ground beneath. We all begin to ease up after a long while of silence and stillness.

"What the hell...?" Victoria says, spinning in a slow circle to take in the new surroundings.

What's left of a brick apartment complex stands to my left. A tree has grown through the roof, its roots weaving through cracks in the mortar and pulling the foundation of the building apart at the seams.

"What's the plan?" Ryder asks. His eyes are currently a dazzling hazel, shining in the sunlight.

Ryan replies with authority in his tone, "We stick to what we learned in case our ship malfunctioned and went down somewhere remote. Make it to the first checkpoint as soon as possible to collect more supplies. We'll follow our navigation systems."

I flip a switch on my wristband and a holographic map materializes over the screen. The light flickers a few times before glowing a lime color in the shape of NYC. A yellow diamond blinks in the location of our checkpoint, and a red arrow shows my location.

"This map doesn't seem to be very accurate anymore." I say, motioning around us. The concrete roads have been covered with thick brush at the forest floor.

"We'll have to figure it out." Ryan says, studying his own map. Nix flicks the side of her wristband when her map doesn't show. She twists her arm around as she inspects the control panel.

"We should probably start looking around for some street signs." Victoria proposes.

I nod. "Sounds like a plan."

As I overturn fallen street signs along the road, I hear Nix grunting in frustration at her failing map. "So much for the navigation system." she says, fiddling with her controls. Ryder walks over to her in an attempt to fix the issue.

Victoria searches next to me, but stops in her tracks.

"You alright?" I ask in confusion. She holds up two fingers and taps them behind her ear, gesturing for me to listen.

I stand still and open my ears, taking in every sound. A faint rustling comes from in the trees.

I signal to Ryan, who tells Nix and Ryder to quiet down. The rustling sounds seem to get louder, closing in around us. We ready our weapons, on guard.

"Here we go.." Ryan says under his breath, slowly drawing a plasma pistol from the belt of his bulky aqua blue armor.

Out of the corner of my eye, movement happens somewhere in the trees. I am careful not to make any swift movement as I watch out of my peripheral vision.

In one quick motion, I pull the string of my bow back as I twist my body around, aiming the arrowhead right for the shadow.

A small figure sits in the shade on the branch of a tree. The others lower their weapons as I inch toward the tree.

"It's only a bird, Nat." Victoria tells me, head cocked to one side.

I squint my eyes and look at the bird over the pointed edge of my arrow. There is just enough light for me to catch a glance of it in detail.

The bird's entire body is made of plant life. Leaves run down it's body and spread onto it's wings, replacing what would be feathers. Vines twist together to create the feet of the bird, curving into talons made of thorns. The form of a pigeon stands before me, behaving the same as a pigeon would, but plant life seems to have actually come alive; melding together into the working organs and body parts of the common city pest.

I let my arrow fly, landing it straight into my target. The plant-made pigeon twitched a little before it's body slumped, lifeless.

I pull my arrow out of it's carcass. No blood pours from the wound, there is only a thin dribble of moisture running out of it. "That was not just a bird."

The others shake their heads in disbelief as I hold the dead bird out to them. The clouds part and sunlight shines down into our little clearing between the leaves of the trees.

The rustling sound returns on a greater scale, and we all look into the trees for signs of more birds. They seem to appear everywhere around us, hopping out from behind their leafy camouflage and watching us with blank stares through eyes made of seeds. The team all raise their weapons as the flock takes to the sky, swarming around us and swooping down to attack us with their large, rose thorn talons.

"You know, I've never really been too fond on birds." I say as I send my first arrow flying into the air.