Chris Mastree's Arc

Chapter 8 of 10

Chris knelt on the cold floor of the abandoned greenhouse and cleared away the ash. The fire had taken the walls, but the foundation remained. Brick corners still stood where the generator used to sit. Chris dragged broken boards outside and stacked them in the snow. They swept debris into piles with their branches. The work warmed their trunk. Each cleared space revealed more possibility. By afternoon, one corner was empty and clean. Chris set the seedling pot in the center of it. The tiny plant still lived, and so did they. Tomorrow they would rebuild the walls. Today, clearing the ground was enough. Chris walked through the snow the next morning, searching for pine cones. The healthy evergreens grew tall, their branches high above reach. Chris tried jumping but couldn't get close. They searched through the debris piles from yesterday's work and found a long metal shaft. One end had rusted claw-like fingers that opened and closed. Chris tested the grabbing tool on a low branch first. The metal fingers clamped tight. They moved to a tall evergreen and raised the tool up. The rusted claws closed around a fat pine cone and pulled it down. Chris collected six more cones, each one full of seeds. Back at the greenhouse, they cracked the cones open and counted forty-three good seeds. Enough to grow a small forest. Enough to keep trying. Chris planted three seeds in fresh soil beside the seedling. The rest they stored in a dry corner, protected and waiting. The wind picked up as Chris sorted through more debris. They found a monocle with rusted metal gears around the frame and a leather strap. Chris wiped the lens clean and held it up to examine the seeds closer. Through the glass, they could see which seeds had cracks and which ones looked healthy. They set aside the damaged ones and counted again. Thirty-eight good seeds remained. Chris propped the monocle against a brick to hold it steady while they worked. Their branch-fingers were stiff from the cold, but the monocle stayed in place, making the sorting easier. By evening, all the healthy seeds sat in one pile. Chris covered them with dry moss and placed a board over the top. The greenhouse had no walls yet, but it had seeds and soil and tools. It had a start. Tomorrow they would search for materials to rebuild. Tonight, they had done enough.