Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Two - Seeds of Life and Growth

A tiny seed dangling from its feathery parachute danced and twisted upon the winds that carried. It rose high before falling delicately, drifting, seemingly without purpose, unassuming, quiet. Being just a speck within the air, no one would be any wiser of its presence and yet the air suddenly churned for there was indeed something that had noticed it, something that had determined that the tiny seed was more dangerous that it appeared.

The undead sparrow flapped it's leathery wings quickly before closing them to its side in order to drop from the heavens in an attempt to avoid the drifting seed. Yet despite this, the seed seemed to become attracted to its rotten body and fell from its parachute to land at the nape of its thinly feathered neck. The undead bird suddenly froze in midair, falling like a stone from the sky and onto the ground, at which point a seedling with small leaves burst from its nape while tendrils of roots grew at a visible pace until they touched the soil, pulling the corpse even more firmly to touch the earth.

A greenish grey foot stepped upon the soil next to the rapidly growing plant, the rambling owner of which lacking the instincts of the zombie bird, unaware of the danger it was passing. That no longer human being was followed by others and at some point the little plant blossomed, the flowers shaking in the gentlest of breezes before white petals died away to become specks of seeds, each let go of their parent plant to float upon a good wind. However, more than one simply dropped onto the feet of passing zombies.

The zombies trudged towards a towering grey wall, drawn by the hot scent of the living, lusting for that which they contained, drool dripped from open mouths as they cried out in excited hunger.  A whistling sound whispered past the lopsided ear of one zombie resulting in a muffled thud, but the zombie paid it no mind, its concentration solely on the movement on top of the wall.  Aware that the source of the movement was what it longed to taste, it hurried forward for a moment, before grinding to a halt; it could not move its foot.  Tugging relentlessly, there was a tearing sound as the zombie struggled, yet it could not free itself, in fact, its movement was becoming more and more difficult.

A thin spray of leaves descended down before its single eye and if it was capable of thought, it might have wondered where such had appeared from.  However, the signs of existence in its lone eye misted, fading into nothingness.

Ren Zexian watched as a second stem grew out of the deceased zombie's throat as the plant consumed it from the inside.  It reminded him greatly of a herb that grew in the land of his birth; Corpse rosebud.  However, their were differences.  This herb was far more aggressive than the one no longer in existence.  But then, perhaps that was due to the fact that a certain friend to all plants and herbs was just a few breaths away from where these pale flowers bloomed.

He leapt down from the wall, revealing clear concern that his beloved was so close to the hoard of hungering dead closing in on the other side of the three feet thick wall of stone and metal.

Over the past few weeks, the zombies approaching their walls had seemed unending and more populace than those encountered the previous year.  However, that was likely a wrong perception.  Last year, the zombies movement was less hurried due to their stiff limbs and they were also greatly scattered.  They approached the walls from almost all directions once capturing their scents.  This year, they came in groups of as little as ten, but as many as ten times that, all coming from the south.  They were faster, more agile and their abilities more grasped.  They seemed relentless, but in fact, only a few would fight until they moved no longer and these seemed to be the weakest amongst them for the most part.

Ren Zexian believed that their battles would become even more fierce in the future.  But that was then, this was now. 

Behind his lover, a tall weed grew visibly before bursting into sprays of white flowers, along side similar growth with yellow buds.  The flowers died and shed their seeds onto the wind, floating over the wall and into the crowds of undead.  After consuming their meals, most of these weeds would die.  But their seeds would carry on upon the breeze and perhaps where they germinated, their growth would be less hurried and their lifespans not so short.

Nathan greeted his Xian with a small smile.  "They said that you wouldn't be needed on the wall soon," he said, adding a soft hum, before continuing.  "I came to meet you."

"You did," Ren Zexian agreed, unable to keep from returning the smile as the worry he'd held fell from his shoulders.  He reached out to take his lover's hand, which then nestled in his own shyly.  He nodded to acknowledge the four men who'd finished their meal and returned to once more defend their home, before allowing Nathan the freedom to take him where he will.

"I really want a husband too," Patrick pouted as he watched them wander deeper into the grass covered garden with longing in his heart.

"Feel free to pick a man," Jimmy teased, gesturing outside the walls with a wide sweep.  Patrick threw him an unhappy glare before freezing in surprise.  Noticing his startled expression, Jimmy almost thought that there really might be a group of men standing outside for a brief moment and quickly followed Patrick's line of sight.

Instead of a group of rambling undead that the four men were expecting, there was instead a small sea of white and green decorating vases made of silent corpses.

*****

"So what you are saying," Dexter cracked open a pea pod before picking one of its precious contents and popping it into his mouth, only to be chastised in return with a wooden spoon. He looked apologetically at his wife, who simply took away the bowl of the few pods he should have been shelling for the children to eat with a glare. Dexter coughed to clear his throat and returned his attention to the man before him, only that man's attention was upon the bowl of peas.

Actually, it was a bit too early for a pea harvest by more than a month, so Dexter could understand his confusion. Nathan had planted these peas while it had still been winter, but even then, they shouldn't have grown to the extent of being able to flower let alone pod. Unlike many of the greens grown in the other house, these (like many spring vegetables) needed more light to stimulate them. So they'd cheated a bit. Ren Zexian had had the former soldier Zak practice writing sun glyphs for a while.

Sun glyphs, according to Ren Zexian, were a ward that simulated the sun's light and energy for a time and were often used in battle against the most nocturnal of monsters, such as Shadow Ghasts and Deep Dwellers. Hearing that, a few couldn't help question in their minds over Ren Zexian's origins once more. The days that they had thought him to be some sort of roleplayer existing solely in his fantasies had long since passed. Regardless, the strange symbols had stolen them extra time each day of sunlight allowing an early crop of peas and also aiding their creator to break through to the secondary stage of cultivation.

"So what you are saying, is that your higher ups want to steal away Chang Min for a while, in order to expand your base," Dexter began again, finishing what it was he'd planned to say.

The Commander tore his eyes away from the peas that had joined an array of large leafy greens with colourful thick stems, swallowing his saliva before clarifying. "Not steal," he waved away the presumptuous term with a gesture. "Make a deal that results in mutual benefits."

Actually, the higher ups were splitting more clearly into two camps; those that wanted to create a haven and work towards creating a town with a strong internal structure and harmonious relationships with their neighbours and on the reverse, those who wanted to militise their base, conscript civilians and their squads into the military and become a command centre over other bases. The fact that they'd only come across two other bases, both smaller in terms of numbers than their own, but no less successful in surviving thus far, didn't factor into their calculations.

Glancing around, Rhodes, who understood the situation in his home base and that other base, whose fierce people had come to resemble the 'barbaric' warriors in history, it was this base he felt had the most potential of rising above others if they truly wished it. Fortunately, they were peaceful, just their wealth was far too attractive. Consider the two awol soldiers...

"Our higher ups are looking to employ Chang Min for a while," that the two sides did agree on, "We lack the space to sustain the numbers within the base long term. We need Chang Min's help to increase the length of our walls." Their own earth users had some success, but even as a group, they couldn't compare to the competency of Chang Min. He'd heard one of the walls had even collapsed a day after it had been built. They didn't have the time to rely on the few masons in the base, even though they'd managed to scavenge a few supplies for building use.

"In return, my squad will stick around, help you guys with defending the walls and such." One Chang Min really was worth his twenty or so men, however the latter half of their council had protested. Rhodes had sneered at their lack of understanding and vision when he'd heard. "Councillor Justine was also hoping that you might have access to a few high producing crops seeds, regardless of flavour, including grain. In return, we have a small bag of oats seed you might be interested in." They'd harvested these from a field during the first autumn of the apocalypse and some had been retained to grow... but in the end it was determined that it was too risky for them. If it was these people though...

"Anything else?" Dexter asked, feeling like the negotiation wasn't quite over. He had mixed views on what his side would gain in this as well.

"Ha ha," Rhodes scratched at his chin before admitting; "Actually, my own personal request... could your people help train my squad members with abilities a bit more?"