Growth

The Captain blew the ship’s horn and everyone looked forward. Through a clearing in the trees was the base of the Great Tree.

And all around that was a fortress-city. The river led up to docks outside of a gated grey stone wall about twenty feet in height and patrolled by Protectors. It stretched the entire circumference of the city. Within the walls were stone buildings. Not too many could overlook the wall but there was one structure that could with clarity: a castle.

The castle was naturally of medieval style and ran up the base of the Great Tree. Like everything else it was stone but its architectural magnificence was awe inspiring. Clare put its splendor far above the skyscrapers of the other cities.

“It’s incredible,” Alice said.

“My goodness, I never told you the name of the city. We affectionately call it ‘Haven’. The castle at the tree is called The Keep. The Master works at the top,” Raven said. “You may be able to meet her tomorrow.”

The vessel moved along up the river and docked at the port in the shade of the Great Tree. There was only a short walk up a stone pathway from there to the city gates. Clare did not notice any other roads deviating from this one. The gate was wide open but with a good number of armed Protector Guards that had melee weapons rather than the firearms Clare was used to seeing in other settlements.

A single highway circled the city between the Great Tree and the wall and smaller streets branched off of it. If the buildings within were not made of stone, they were of a hybrid of stone and wood.

Protectors filled the spotless streets. Many had their armor and gleaming weapons but many more walked about in leisure. The atmosphere was calm and cheerful.

“So this is where Protectors come from.” Clare’s gaze turned back up to the Great Tree.

“I approve,” Alice said.

“I very much do too,” Todd agreed.

Calvin escorted Marco in front of the group. “Time for goodbyes. I have to take Marco away.”

Marco stood beside Calvin with much uncertainty in his eyes.

“I thought,” Todd started, “that you were fine when we first met. But you make it hard to like you.”

“You kept forcing your beliefs on us. You made me question my life and goals, Marco,” Clare followed up.

“You’re an asshole,” Alice finished.

Marco frowned. “I’m sorry I caused you grief.”

“It’s nice of you to say that,” Clare said. She then nodded to Calvin. Calvin nodded back and led Marco toward The Keep.

“I came up with a plan for you three,” Raven said to the women. “First we have to drop your gear off. Follow me.”

Clare and Alice followed behind Raven, who actually went in Calvin’s direction for a while before veering off and moving into a long building. The interior consisted of two simple, large rooms. One was for community lodging and the other for eating. Raven took the women into the lodging room first where she instructed the women to leave their belongings on cots. She pointed out that the other room was a cafeteria for travelers whenever they were ready to eat. And of course there was a bathroom to the side.

“And now on to where I’m dropping you off. It’s just around the corner.”

“What is it?”

“A center for both learning and entertainment. I’m taking you to the library.”

“I can’t read well,” Clare reminded Raven.

“You can read enough.”

“I’ll help you out,” Alice reassured Clare. She turned to Todd. “You too.”

“I would appreciate your reading aloud.”

The library was a few streets away and was actually more remarkable than the other simple stone buildings around town. A wooden sign with a book on it hung outside the door. It was three stories in height and was rounded. A statue of a woman with a book was secured at the top.

“Who’s that?” Alice pointed and asked.

“Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, among other things. You can learn more about her inside.”

The library’s interior was as one would expect. Books and books and books with a few tables and even fewer visitors. The bookcases were arranged in a circular formation facing the spacious central area.

“It’s pretty,” Clare admired.

An old lady behind a desk by the door put a finger to her lips and let out a “shush!” Clare was quite taken aback but just kept following Raven.

The trio ended up in front of bookcases of newspaper articles. Raven patted a table and said, “This is it! The history of The Growth.”

The women’ eyes widened and they grabbed the nearest papers. The pages were yellow with age but still quite legible. Todd took a seat on top of their table.

“There are three Great Trees!” Alice exclaimed.

Clare was still trying to read hers but looked to Alice anyway. “Where?”

“The Amazon rainforest, the Congolian forests, and the Southeast Asian rainforest.”

“Three. I can’t believe it.”

“Believe it,” Raven said. “I’m leaving you here. Do as you’d like today but get a good dinner and plenty of rest at the Initiate housing tonight. You’ll need it.” She smiled and left the women to their own devices.

Clare returned to her article. She spelled it out slowly for Alice. “The Birds! World Leaders Gather to Unite, Get Killed by Flock of Birds.”

They started pulling random papers from the shelves. “Increasing Reports of Massive Animals, Attacks Increasing.”

“Biological Weapons Escape: Dragons Exist.”

“Plants Growing, World Rioting.”

“Refuge Projects Underway.”

“Pardoned Turkey Kills President.”

“Great Tree Wilts, Plant Life Explodes.”

“‘Primal’ to Save Mankind.”

“‘Primal’ Laboratory Overrun.”

Alice slapped a final newspaper onto the table. “Mother Nature Strikes Back.” “This one is dated the most recent.”

“And must be the last one.”

Alice started neatly opening the newspapers to better examine their pictures. Clare mimicked as Todd got looks at the pictures.

“Here’s the Great Tree from the sky,” Clare pointed out. “What does it say about it?”

Alice scanned the article. “It talks about its sudden appearance. Apparently all three Great Trees just sprung up in one day. It goes on to say stuff about a government conspiracy.”

“I wonder how they got a picture of it from so high up.”

“Beats me.” Alice slid another in front of them. There were two pictures side by side: a man in a suit and a turkey. “This is the one where the President of the United States was killed by a turkey.”

“Who’s the President of the United States?”

“No one now.” Alice moved to the one about the killer flock of birds. It showed a grizzly scene of a room full of body bags. “‘The Birds! World Leaders Gather to Unite, Killed by Flock of Birds’,” Alice read. She scanned until she found the right sentences to sum it up. “‘But when the world leaders put aside their differences and finally gathered for a summit to discuss the situation of the violent state of the world, the flock burst through the windows and doors and attacked. The flock ironically consisted of a united great many species of birds which were formally predator and prey.’”

“They should’ve teamed up before something bad happened,” Clare said.

“The folly of man,” Todd said.

Alice grabbed the next one.

“It’s a dragon.”

“They were biological experiments originally meant to be released in hostile territory to wreak havoc.”

Clare narrowed her eyes. “Hey, let’s put these in order.”

“Sure.”

They organized the papers on the table and found a timeframe for the events of the Growth. They added a few more newspapers from the shelves to fill in any gaps.

When they had what they felt they needed, Alice gave it a good look over. “Here’s what we have. One day, three Great Trees erupted from some of the largest rainforests in the world. They stayed big and tall for just about a month, before wilting. Days after their leaves fell, the world’s flora and fauna steadily doubled in size, at the least, over a few more months. Scientists made Primal to make people strong enough to fight the big animals and Refuges started getting built to shield rich citizens who wanted protection. That’s also about the time those world leaders met up and got killed.”

“Geez.”

“The roots of the growing trees destroyed roads and buildings and wrecked the laboratory where the dragons were being created. It made it easy for them to escape. The same kind of destruction happened at the Primal lab. Animals got in and tore the place up.”

“At least they didn’t target the actual Primal.” Alice slid the last newspaper in front of them. “And here it is. ‘Mother Nature Strikes Back’. Cities rioted, the military crumbled into local militia, animals reclaimed Earth. ‘God help us all’.”

“It all happened so quickly,” Todd said. “Not even a year and it all went to hell.”

Alice looked over the newspapers again and shook her head. “There’s nothing about what caused the Great Trees to grow.”

“I don’t think that matters anymore.”

“I guess not.” Alice started collecting the newspapers. “Help me out, would you?”

Clare helped with the gathering and they returned the newspapers to their shelves.

“This was insightful,” Todd said. “I knew so few details of the origin of the Growth.”

“I wonder what it was like before all of that though.”

“I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff here to tell us that.”

“Another time. I’m kind of sad now.”

“Why’s that?”

“The whole world was in turmoil. Everyone and everything. They must have been so afraid.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“It was so sudden, too. So many people were defenseless.” Alice made a fist. “We have Primal and soon we’ll be Protectors with Elixir. Are you really with me, Clare? Will you be a Protector?”

“I will, Alice.”

“We’ve only been together a couple of weeks but… I consider you a close friend, maybe my best friend.”

“I feel the same way.” Clare finished stacking and grasped Alice’s hand as she looked right into Alice’s eyes. “We made it. We outran cultists and trudged through a swamp and killed a dragon. Let’s become Protectors together.”

Their mess was cleaned up so the women went back outside. The project inside did not even take an hour so there was plenty of daylight left.

“Explore?”

“Explore.”

With only one main road circling the tree, the city was incredibly easy to navigate and each quarter of the city was a district. The area around the front gate was for basic housing and trading, it being closest to the docks. It was for tourists.

The next district focused on crafting. Blacksmiths and carpenters among other tradesmen were hard at work outside of their little shops.

The next was residential. There was extravagant housing in the middle of this district and lesser accommodations around that. Asking a passing Protector about it revealed that the best housing was provided for Champions as a sort of incentive. Braves got modest accommodations and Initiates lived in simple shared dormitories.

The final district was scientific and was comprised of laboratories, factories, and a large hospital.

As what happens when walking in a circle, the group returned to the front gate. Even with Primal, they wanted a break and the sun was finally setting. With little daylight and empty stomachs, they returned to the hostel. There they ate and passed the remaining few hours playing cards. Clare won almost every hand. Frustrated Alice made them call it a night after a short while.

Clare, Alice, and Todd woke up on their own in the mid-morning and immediately made for the restrooms and then for food. They had finished only half of their basic, bland breakfasts when Raven showed up. She seemed quite cheery.

“What’re you so happy about?” Alice asked with feigned interest.

“Oh, I just got to see some friends last night. It was nice to catch up and get laid.”

“What?”

“So are you two ready? The Master will see you now. Want to join us, Todd?”

“I do.”

Clare and Alice looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Now, now?”

“Now. Finish that food. She doesn’t need to be kept waiting.”

The women shoveled down what little remained and followed Raven to The Keep. There was a heightened security force in and around it. There was no moat or massive drawbridge to the castle, just heavy wooden double doors.

The gatehouse led out into the bailey, a spacious area in which Protectors were participating in combat training either barehanded or armed. The speed and dexterity of the battling Protectors made for a fantastic show.

Into the keep and up. Raven took the women past floor after floor and each had something going on behind closed doors but whatever it was would have to be revealed another time. The ascent led to the fifth floor where a masterfully carved wooden door awaited. Raven did not hesitate to enter.

It was a simple round waiting room, like one of any old office with chairs along the walls and a coffee table in the middle. There was a desk with a seated Protector beside another door across the room. Also present were two regular looking young adults seated beside their own Protector sponsor. Calvin was seated beside the door and looked up when the group entered.

“Ah, there you are.”

“I hope we didn’t keep you.”

“Not at all.”

Raven sat beside him and patted the seats beside her. “And now we wait our turn.”

Clare and Alice took their seats. The wait was pretty long. Four more pairs entered and sat in the time the first two couples were called. A knock on the door was the signal the desk Protector received before letting the next inside.

And then the moment of truth. The door knocked and the desk Protector motioned for them to enter. All five stood and approached and for that reason the Protector stopped them.

“All four?” he asked.

“All five,” Calvin replied. He indicated Todd who the receptionist could not see.

“Unusual but not against the rules. Good luck.” He ushered them in.

The next room was like a small spacious throne room but instead of a throne was a tasteful desk with a few chairs with a single window behind it. And there at the desk sat The Master. To the right was another door, an exit.

The Master was an old woman. Instead of the armor of the other Protectors she bore black robes of dragon hide. Her eyes were no less yellow. Though her advanced age was apparent, she retained an incredible elegance. The Master could have passed as the Queen of England.

“Welcome back, Calvin. And Raven! It is good to see you alive and well,” she said in a most serene voice.

“It is good to see you too,” Raven said with a great smile. “It’s been too long.”

“That, it has. Two recruits for me today?”

“This is Clare and this is Alice,” Calvin said.

“Yes, Calvin filled me in yesterday,” The Master said to the women. “I understand that while Calvin and Raven here sponsor you, Clare, Champion Alfred King would be sponsoring you, Alice. Calvin told me what happened. You have my condolences.”

Alice nodded. “Thank you.”

The Master smiled. “But I also have great news. Your grandfather is alive and well. He sent word of his awakening and healing just days ago.”

Alice lit up. “He did?!”

“He did! He sent a message via a carrier pigeon with his signature.”

Alice let out a huge sigh and laid back in her chair. “Thank God.” Clare grabbed her shoulder and smiled. Alice put her hand on Clare’s and smiled back.

“As joyous as this is, we must move on to the matter at hand. So you two wish to be Protectors.”

“We do,” the women said together.

“But Calvin told me you have something called ‘Primal’ in your veins. This fact was confirmed by a Crusader prisoner he had brought in. We now know what it does and what it is being used for but we don’t know how you will react to the Elixir with that inside of you. But the decision is ultimately yours. What say you?” The Master’s expression was gravely serious.

“We’ll do it,” they both said simultaneously again.

“You are brave, leaping into the unknown like that.” She addressed the others. “And now I ask that you three step outside. I will interview these two together.”

The three nodded and left through the other door.

The Master clasped her hands together. “It’s not every day a fox comes through here. So before we get to the Elixir, it’s time for a little interview. There’s more to becoming a Protector than saying you want to. Not everyone is fit for our lifestyle.”

The women nodded.

“We start from the beginning. Alice, tell me about your upbringing.”

“I didn’t have it so bad. It was my parents and I living in Colorado. Alfred and Grammy were Protectors but my parents never did that. They visited every few months if they could. Grammy died when I was around ten and Alfred came around a lot more after that. Then when I was fifteen…” Alice took a deep breath. “Some men broke in one night. They were looting our living room when my parents charged in at them. The burglars must have been well-trained because the fight was short. They beat up my parents and put them on their knees for execution. The one with the scar, he beheaded them. I let out a whimper and they heard me but that was when Alfred showed up. He slaughtered them but the one with the scar managed to get away during the fight. Alfred put me up with relatives in Tennessee after that and then a month ago he came and got me and now here I am.”

“I am sorry for your loss. The story you told me ends with violence, and I’m not talking about the violence you just told me about. You are here to acquire the strength to carry out your revenge.”

“Do not worry about that. I took care of him. So now the reason I’m here is because I don’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else.”

The Master smiled and looked to Clare. “It’s your turn. Tell me about your upbringing.”

“I don’t remember who my parents are but I know they sold me into slavery to a man named Ryker. He just tossed me into the mine and that’s all I know.” Clare looked down. “I was disciplined almost every day for the tiniest mistakes.” Clare looked back up. “And then Calvin showed up. He helped me free myself. Calvin saved me that day. I want to repay him and take out evil people like Ryker.”

“You have a strong sense of justice.”

“Maybe.”

“In the short time between being freed and ending up here you’ve developed a hatred for the wicked but don’t let that hatred develop into something dangerous.”

“I’ll try.”

“On to the next order of business.” The Master grabbed something beside her and then set the women’ weapons on the desk.

“When did you take those?” Alice asked.

“Calvin delivered them.”

“When did he take those?”

“That’s not important, my child. But I know these claws belong to your grandfather. Given the option, would you rather keep them or exchange them for something else?”

Alice carefully set a hand on the claws. “I like using them. They’re just a little large.”

“What about you, Clare? Do you like your battle axe?”

“I love it,” Clare just blurted out.

“This axe belonged to a man we called ‘Ajax’. He was a monster of a man, almost as monstrous as the dragons he loved to hunt, and did he love hunting them. Vengeance drove him as well. A dragon killed his beloved and when he was in Haven he spent most of his days in the surrounding rainforest. He said it was to prevent any dragons from coming near but dragons never come near us anyway.”

“Captain Rogers said he fought beside Ajax.”

“Really? What else did this Captain Rogers have to say about him?”

“He said Ajax died fighting two dragons at once. He killed them both.”

The Master laughed. “That’s Ajax for you! Ah. It does not pain me that that is how he died. That man could not have found a better way to pass.”

“It sounds like it was pretty violent,” Clare said.

“Incredibly violent,” Alice added.

“Violence. His favorite word. My goodness, he had even named the axe ‘Dragon Cleaver’. How could I have forgotten that?”

“Yeah, how?”

Clare nudged Alice.

“Enough reminiscing. Next I’d like to hear about your journey here.”

Alice started. “Well like I said, Alfred came to me a month or so ago and asked if I wanted to become a Protector. I didn’t know much about you people then but Alfred was a Protector and he was strong, so I agreed. Our journey didn’t have any excitement until we reached Memphis. A huge herd of bison wrecked the place right when we sailed out of there.”

“Good timing,” The Master commented.

“That’s also when I met Clare and her group.” Alice turned the story over to Clare.

“My journey started when Calvin saved me from enslavement and asked me to go with him. We didn’t even leave the Refuge when we met Raven and got chased by gunmen. After that…”

Clare told her story until she reached her meeting with Alice in Memphis and then the women took turns speaking and adding missed details to the story. The Master listened to every word with patience, and she needed it with such a long tale to hear out.

“My goodness,” The Master said at the end. “What incredible trials you two have endured. Why, if you two had been Protectors during that time, you would have easily advanced from Initiate to Brave. But let’s go back for a moment. These Crusaders, we had heard of them and have dealt with them before on numerous occasions but we did not know that they have been spreading Primal amongst their ranks, nor did we know of this child army. I am almost glad you stole it because at least now we know of its existence and how well it can enhance a human being. That aside, what do you think of them, of their beliefs?”

“They’re just a bunch of cultist weirdos.”

“They have their points.”

Alice shot a look at Clare.

“What do you mean?” The Master asked.

“If there was an evil man in charge of a group of men, a Protector would kill that evil leader and no others, unless he or she is attacked. The Crusaders would kill the evil leader and the entire group of his followers. I agree that more than just a single bad leader should be killed, but it is ridiculous to kill the whole group of followers because there may be good men in it, good men who somehow strayed from being good.”

“Do you know what ‘genocide’ is, Clare?”

“No.”

“It is the slaughter of a large group of people and it is a terrible thing.”

“I’m not saying I approve of something like that.”

“Good. Neither do Protectors. We do what we deem necessary for the greater good. If we killed every villain we met then we would be labeled as a group of murderous maniacs. We strike when the bad grow too powerful. That is why Calvin killed Ryker and his men in the isolation of Ryker’s operation.”

Clare nodded.

“You have a strong sense of justice, maybe just a little too strong. But I promise that our way is the right one. You will just have to trust us on that.”

“I trust you.”

The Master closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “I’ve said what needed to be said and heard what needed to be heard.” The Master stood. “Now if you’ll just come with me, I will reunite you with your friends so you can tell them that you two passed! Get a good lunch, because you drink the Elixir tonight.”

The women were speechless for a moment, then jumped from their seats and hugged each other.

“We did it, Alice!”

“We sure did!”

“As glorious a moment as this is, I have appointments to keep. Let’s get you to your friends.”

The Master led the women to the door. Another waiting room was on the side and Calvin and Raven were seated with Todd on the floor between them. They saw Clare and Alice’s smiles and immediately smiled back.

“I knew you could do it!” Raven ran and threw her arms around the women.

Calvin was smiling behind her. Clare escaped Raven’s clutches and gave him a hug. “Thank you. For everything.” She started sniffling. Calvin hugged back and put a hand on her head.

“You’re welcome.”

“Congratulations!” Todd hopped into Alice’s arms. “I was skeptical but you proved me wrong.”

“So what happens now?” Alice asked. She rubbed Todd behind the ears.

“I will send for you later this evening. Take a nap, eat, and do as you please. No alcohol though! You two will need clear heads.” And with that she shut the door and went about her business.

“Let’s go for a walk. You can tell us all about your interview,” Raven suggested.

The next few hours were spent on conversation and a meal. A messenger found the group and relayed that The Master had finished interviewing other recruits for the day and was ready for everyone to gather and partake in the Elixir ceremony. Calvin and Raven were leading the way back to The Keep.

“Now this is nice,” Todd said. He walked in the middle of the group as if the escort was his.

The room of the Elixir ceremony was gorgeous, almost like a cathedral but lacking religious effects. It was to the rear of the Keep and was almost like its backyard seeing as how the roof only covered half of the room. This was because a root of the Great Tree consisted of half of the room.

The five were the last to enter. There were three couples of recruit and sponsor waiting, plus The Master who stood beside the root with a knife in her hand and an assistant with five wooden cups on a tray in his hand.

“I see the last few have arrived,” The Master said.

“Forgive our tardiness,” Calvin said.

“No need. I would actually prefer you wait for the time being.” The Master turned to the other recruits. “As for you, it’s time you became Initiates. Recruits, step forward.”

They stood a few feet from The Master as she plunged the knife into the root. Golden sap leaked out and the assistant filled the cups to the same level near the top one by one. When all cups were full he held the tray before The Master, who took each cup and handed them to the recruits.

“And now repeat after me.”

The Master recited an oath and the recruits obediently repeated it.

“With this Elixir I vow

The recruits drank and lo and behold, they reacted as if they had just taken a shot of some strong alcohol. There were the faces of disgust followed by shaky legs but the recruits stayed on their feet, though they wobbled a few moments before they could recover. Only one let slip their cup from their hand.

After the shot all had closed their eyes, like a bright light had suddenly blinded them. After the wooziness and after their recoveries, they were able to tentatively open their eyes, their gorgeous golden eyes.

The Master and other Protectors were all smiles. “The ceremony is complete! Congratulations, Initiates. Your new lives as Protectors has begun. Enjoy the rest of your night. It is yours to do with as you please. But don’t be worried when you wake up sore and stronger tomorrow. It just means the Elixir has taken full effect.”

The excited sponsors had words with their Initiates as they left the room together. They passed Clare on their way out Clare adored their expressions.

“I want this. I really want this,” Clare said to Alice.

She smiled back. “Me too.”

The Master signaled for them to approach, so they all did. She faced her assistant as they walked. “I will take things from here. You are free to go.”

The assistant nodded and handed his tray to The Master before leaving.

“I had you wait because of Primal, as you can imagine,” she explained. “If there is a reaction, I’d like that to be between us.”

“Fair enough,” Alice said.

“But let’s begin. Repeat after me.”

The moment of truth. As they had done with Primal, the women held each other’s hands and drank. There was the burning taste of whiskey, the need to keep their eyes shut tight… and then pain. Fiery, intense pain overcame their bodies. It brought the women to their knees as they both screamed. Clare could feel hands on her back and words of reassurance sounded in her ears but they were distant, like Clare was hearing them through ear plugs.

Agonizing seconds turned into agonizing minutes. Clare’s only tie to sanity was that she could still feel Alice’s hand in hers. Despite that tiniest bit of comfort, Clare’s vision darkened until she blacked out.

Clare dreamt. She was a child again, at the doorstep of Ryker’s cabin. She looked behind. Ryker towered above her with his hands on her shoulders. Clare faced the front. The silhouette of a man in tattered clothes stood a few yards away.

Ryker spoke in his usual horrid voice. “Well this is one way to pay off your debts. Now get out of here.”

The man nodded and turned his back without a word. Clare started running to him but Ryker held fast. The man walked out the gate and faded away.