Chapter 2: Black is the color of Darkness

Freya and I hugged as we parted ways to our separate exhibits. We were going to lunch later after meeting at Dr. Green's exhibit. The Lily pond wasn't in close in proximity to the main building, but I needed a walk to stretch my legs and enjoy being surrounded by nature.

I took a second to sit back and daydream about a simpler time in history. What would it have been like to live surrounded by a field of flowers and wake up every day in a clean atmosphere? I had lived in big cities for so long, this day had been a fresh breath of air, literally.

I passed another map of the gardens, and according to this map, I had walked clear in the opposite direction of where I had intended. I was standing right outside Dr. Green's exhibit. I had intended upon going to see the water lilies first, but I suppose since I'm already here, a peek wouldn't hurt?

It seems the crowd of Dr. Green's followers had kept him at the welcome center, as they have yet to make it this far out. This was perfect for my anxiety levels; the exhibit was abandoned and I didn't have to deal with a crowd again.

This part of the greenhouse was all for show: fake plants and fancy poster boards showing what they intended to do with their research. The back half was blocked off and led in to the lab where the real action happened. It was dark, pitch BLACK.

I am not your typical snoop, in fact I'd much rather follow the rules most days, but something drew me to the darkness.

I edged closer, being sure not to step on anything important. The walkway was lit by small safety lights, with just enough light that I could make out a large plant. I'm reminded of a prehistoric plant we had studied briefly. It also looked like a lily hybrid with a venus fly trap type opening, pointing toward the ceiling. I was sure it could swallow me entirely if it wanted.

I joked out loud while poking it, "feeeeeeeed me Seymour." It was all fun and games up until it tipped over, almost falling on top of me. I shrieked, jumping out of the way, as BLACK seeds spilled all over my feet.

BLACK. Seeds as dark as obsidian. They pulled at something inside me, begging me to pick one up like sleeping beauty and the spinning wheel. I should be having a full induced anxiety attack because of the mess I had just made, but instead I felt a calm peace engulf me.

I bent over, picking up a single seed and brushed it off. Possessed by the thought of getting outside in to the sunlight, I walked out the back door and set an emergency alarm off. The wails of the siren screamed in the back of my head, muted, but present. Nothing could distract me from the urge I felt deep in my core.

Reminiscent of Aurora drawn to the spinning needle, the seed shot tendrils out, pricking my finger and absorbing the blood droplets like a vampire. Roots longer than my arm grabbed downward toward the earthen soil, and upward, wrapping around my body.

Connected infinitesimally, plant and human, it slowly encased me in a cocoon. Vines were wrapping, clinging to every part of me, as I surrendered, fearless.

I heard the voices of my friends echoing in the back of my thoughts as the ground swallowed me whole.

BLACK. The color of darkness. The color of eternal sleep.

Freya:

I'm running as fast as I can, alarms blaring in every crevice of my being, as well as in my ears. Nola is in trouble and I feel it in my heartbeat, my soul.

"Miss, you can't go back there, it's off limits! Some kid got in here and damaged the exhibit." A man in a uniform informed me, but I wouldn't be deterred. I ran past him, dodging his grasps for my arm.

BLACK. Goo spreading across the floor.

I stopped short, raising the toe of my shoe out and away. Nola's footprints trail out the back, through emergency exit. I would recognize those prints anywhere. I bought those shoes for her birthday only a few months back. Without thinking, I leap over whatever mess she made on the floor and sprint out the door, only to be met with a baffling discovery. Her foot prints stop.

The are no signs of a struggle, no footprints in the grass, no Nola. My heart ached for my best friend. I had no clue where she was or what had happened. Questions blossomed in my head, distracting me from everything around me, until I noticed a small black sprout.

I reached out, willing myself to touch the plant, knowing somehow if it could speak, it would tell me a horror. It knew everything that had happened, I know it does. I reach out, purposeful in my intent to pluck this diseased looking weed, but just before my finger was able to brush the silky surface, I was pulled away.

"Miss we already told you this area is off limits until a full examination of the damage is complete." The security guard gently grabbed my arm to lead me away. I took one last glance back before a blaze of flames overtook the entire building.

BLACK. The color of ash and ruin.

Diego:

"So, you see, plants and mammals have a similarity in essence. We as humans have a hemoglobin molecule in our blood flow, which is red. Where areas the plant has a chlorophyll molecule, which is green. They both have a metal atom in the center of their molecules. Our blood has a center of Iron, which most of you probably know already. The plant, however, has magnesium at its core." Dr. Green explained to the growing group of students.

"What do the different 'bloods' do?" a nearby student asked.

"That's an easier explanation than you would think. Our red hemoglobin traps oxygen and moves water throughout the cells. Green chlorophyll traps sunlight and moves moisture in to the cells, blood being similar to sap in a tree. The biggest difference would be our blood circulates throughout our body, and plant's only comes in, goes through the leaf and evaporates out." Mr. Green gestured in a general direction towards his exhibit, "Now if everyone would follow me, we can answer the rest of you questions at my exhi…"

Just then, a blaze of smoke rose in to the air in front of me. The droning of my father's voice was replaced with the rippling of fire engulfing the building down the path from us. I see Ashlyn attempting to run towards the blaze, screaming Nola's name. Assuming Nola was trapped in the exhibit, I ran after Ashlyn.

I was starting to make headway in her direction when my arm was grabbed and my dad pulled me in to a bear hug, keeping me from helping my friends. A small wave of relief washed over me as two security guards pulled Ash out and away from the fire to a safe distance. At least she was safe, but…

WHERE WAS NOLA!?

I made eye contact with Ash from across the way. She was sobbing, tears running down her face, as she smeared black soot and makeup from her eyes. We looked at each other, fearing what may have happened, and only praying she was somewhere else, hiding from the mess she had made.

My dad hugged me tightly, "I can't believe my research…"

"I know dad, but Nola, she might have been in there!" My mind raced a thousand miles an hour.

"If she was in there, the security would have made sure she was pulled out. She must be elsewhere, but I can never replace the research project that I had in there. Your mom and I have worked endless hours combing through the DNA strands! I couldn't have done it without her knowledge and now I fear everything we have worked for is lost."

I can't believe my best friend is missing, a real human being, and he is worried about some gene spliced plant. I'm sure it shouldn't be THAT hard to replicate with a proper back up in his storage. Maybe the hours to produce the plant need an overhaul, but practice makes perfect right?

"What is going on with the fire? Is it over already?" Alicia asked. She was one of our classmates who rode with us on the bus. She pointed questionably at the ruins, now barely smoking.

I glanced at the smoldering grey tufts drifting out of the blackened windows. My eyes scanned the walkway for Ashlyn, not seeing her or the security guard. My mind was racing as I wondered where she had wondered off to. The smoke surrounding the building dissipated, leaving a charred husk.

BLACK. Ruin and rot.

Appearances were definitely off around me. I was taking a closer look at the research facility. My eyes may be deceiving me, but it appeared to be moving. This wasn't the disruption of a building about to crumble, no, it looked to be alive. Moving in a hypnotic snake-like pattern, black vines were wrapping everything in site, crushing what was left.

"Ow! Where'd this thorny vine come from!?" Alicia shouted, cradling her bleeding hand against her chest

"What the heck! It got me too!" Another student declared.

The shouts of my classmates occurred only a moment before the prick of my own finger. My attention veered to the vines snaking around the ankles of all the students. Some people were running, others were already being strangled as if by a Boa Constrictor, and even more, swallowed whole in burrowing cocoons.

Only in this second did I remember Lascella and her own disappearance from this very property. Was I to be just another name to be remembered? I struggled slightly, drowning as if in quick sand. Then, all I knew was Black.

BLACK. The color of Darkness.