Lena

Sector 45, plant 82. Current status: operational. Diagnostics checks show no errors. Power Output remains at optimal levels. Control systems: functioning. Maintenance: online 

Every half hour of every day, the same broadcast played, after a while it became background noise. But today, something seemed off about it.

*Tick… … … … Tick … … … Tick … … Tick… … … … … … … Tick … … … Tick Tick* The noise disrupted Mary’s thoughts

“I’ve never heard the device make a ticking noise like this before or this fast. What do you think it means Mary?... Mary?"

Mary stared ahead. The forest gave way to a large, expansive plain full of beautiful, vibrant flowers. The trees were sparse, and judging from their size were much younger than the ancient trees which made up the forest surrounding them. “It signals danger. We have been told the faster it gets, the more danger is present and the closer we are to approaching death.” Her voice was as soft and quiet as always. She looked down towards Lena who now stood up past her waist. Both of them wore the same, heavy looking, brown pants, the same sturdy, green-grey hooded coat, even the same dirt colored hiking boots and goggles which they both wore on their forehead, though everything Lena wore was far too big for her. Mary knelt down and put her hand on Lena’s head who looked concerned. “Do not worry too much.” Mary smiled. “We will still be able to safely explore the area and gather some plant and soil samples, but be careful and stay right next to me just in case.” She stood up.

“Ooookay!” Lena responded enthusiastically as the two began to leave the forest.

“We will still need to hand everything we get from here over to the researchers before doing anything else with it.”

“Why?”

Everything near the forest entrance should be fine and possibly even beyond that but I can not tell Lena, she would get the wrong idea. “We have no idea how safe anything from here will be to have near people or how safe it will be to use in anything. We might even end up needing to dispose of it all.”

“But it doesn’t look dangerous. It’s verrrrrrry pretty actually.” Lena said as she flailed her arms for emphasis.

“That does not mean it is safe. There are a lot of things that look safe or pretty but can and will hurt you. You even have hands-on experience, remember when you gave that rose a death grip.”

Lena looked at her hand, the scars were still there. “I wouldn’t have done it if I saw the thorns.” She pouted.

“Exactly, some things are not visible or avoid our detection so we need help from tools like this.” Mary stopped moving and lifted up the device strapped to her hip. It was a large rectangular box with a handful of attachments on each side. On its outward facing side, buttons marked by various symbols flanked a screen which displayed fluctuating numbers in the corner. Mary knelt down and pressed a button on the top edge of her device which caused a handle to pop out. She then lifted the handle revealing a long thick needle which she pressed into the dirt as deep as possible before pushing a button on its side and pulling it out then inserted the needle into her device causing multiple lines and words to appear on screen each followed by a series of dashes.

“What’re you doing?” Lena moved her face towards the upward facing device. 

“Testing the soil.”

The device let out a beep.

The series of dashes were replaced by an array of numbers and units unintelligible to Lena.

“The soil only seems to be slightly contaminated and only at surface level.” Mary mumbled

“What’s that mean?” Lena asked, her face now directly in front of Mary’s.

Mary stood up. “It means everything from here should be mostly safe, but it would still be a good idea to check everything in with the researchers as an extra precaution.”

“I know that’s important, but it’s sooooooooooo annoying.” Lena slumped her arms forward with a drawn out groan.

“The annoying things are the most important in this line of work. They are what keep you safe… What keeps everyone safe.” Mary’s voice slowed down and quieted as she stared off in the distance. “I have never told you this, but… when I was as old as you are now there was a girl from a nearby settlement who I would hang out with during excursions with mom. She was an orphan who was sent out to explore nearby areas. Mom felt bad for her and would always keep an eye on her and help her out when she needed it and I would as well. She never told us where she was from, nor did we ever learn her name. I remember following her back to her settlement as far as we could one day. Mom determined they did not need any help, but she noticed the broadcast changed slightly and decided that was worth noting down. The day before we lost contact with her, we had helped her find some flammable black rocks. Mary paused for a moment to see if Lena was still listening.

“What would they need black rocks for?” Lena asked.

“Apparently that is what was used to power their settlement, though we never found out any more.”

“Oh. why not. Can I meet her?”

“A couple days later our mom traced her footsteps back to her settlement and discovered the broadcast which had been playing near her settlement became a warning. About a week after that... mom and I found her dead.”

Lena’s expression became somber as her nervousness skyrocketed. “R…really. I..I know you don’t make jokes, but p..please tell me you decided to start.” She began fidgeting as she attempted to smile nervously.

Joke... Why would I ever joke about something like that you insensitive moron! Mary subconsciously took a deep breath as she listened to the calming sound of birds chirping and branches swaying. “I know this sort of thing makes you uncomfortable. It makes everyone uncomfortable, but I am telling you this so you take things more seriously.”

“I…I understand.” Lena looked down and grabbed each of her arms, tears beginning to flow from her eyes.

“If it makes you feel better, I promise, now that I am a fully fledged elite ranger I will do my best to not let anyone die. So cheer up okay. Being sad does not suit you.” Mary hugged Lena with one arm as she patted her head with the other. 

"Y...you r...really won't let anyone die, n..not a single person?" Tears continued to flee Lena's hazel eyes.

"Not a single person. If anyone is about to die, I will stop it." She will understand death more when she is older. I hope. I will do my best either way. Mary removed a plain notebook with a simple, hand drawn design on the cover. She wrote 'Figure out how to stop aging' in a page labeled 'long term goals' before returning the notebook to her pocket.

“O…Okay.” She wiped her tears on Mary’s jacket, “Pinky promise.”

“Double pinky promise.” The two interlocked both of their pinkies and shook their hands before starting to move again. 

“There is another reason I told you that story. After finding her body, the rangers at the time investigated the settlement she was from and found the area too unsafe to continue the investigation. Because of that, the rangers decided to take action and investigate our broadcast to prevent the same thing from happening to us.” Mary thought for a moment then ruffled Lena’s black hair.“I am also telling you this so you stop sneaking out so much.”

“It’s fine because you’ll always be around to protect me. Rrriiiight?” Lena looked at Mary with puppy dog eyes.

The pair continued on their journey until they came across a hill which dominated the horizon in each direction. “Lena, I need you to stay here while I investigate, I will signal you if it is safe to follow me, do you remember the hand signs?”

“Of course, I remember everything you teach me.” Lena saluted Mary.

“That’s good to hear, but you should do a better job at remembering things other people teach you.”

“But they’re sooooo boring though…” Lena slumped over in an exaggerated fashion.

“What I said earlier about annoying things applies to boring things as well.”

“Fiiiiiiine.”

Mary jogged up the hill. A sea of thick, concrete barriers stood where trees normally would. The dirt had been replaced by a once non-permeable tarmac. Off in the distance, Mary saw 3 concrete cylinders which stretched into the sky and were surrounded by a lake on one side and an array of buildings on the other. The hill she now stood on top of stretched even further beyond as it trapped both the structures and the lake. The sight was one unlike any she had ever seen and was met with her disgust.

*Tick Tick Tk Tick … Tick … Tick Tick Tk … Tick … Tick Tk Tick … Tick … Tick Tk Tk Tk Tick … Tick Tick… Tick*

Mary’s face shifted from disgust to seriousness as a loudspeaker with a robotic voice blared in conjunction with the encrypted message on her radio. "Sector 45, plant 82. Current status: operational. Diagnostics checks show no errors. Power Output remains at optimal levels. Control systems: functioning. Maintenance: online" The loudspeaker continued after the broadcast ended. "Security measures: online and operational, no unknown entities or threats detected, defense systems: offline but operational, radiation levels are normal."

Mary checked her device. Something is very wrong.