Trees

Posted on Wed Jun 9th, 2021 @ 4:53pm by Skylah McBride [Lalor]
Edited on on Wed Jun 9th, 2021 @ 4:54pm

Mission: Season 5: Episode 2: Operation Save Humanity
Location: Arboretum - multilevel
Timeline: MD5 - 11hoo
520 words - 1 OF Standard Post Measure

Skylah wandered the corridors of the USS Elysium. She should be in school, it was there where she had been taken by her Aunt not two hours before, but there was nothing there that interested Skylah. Not that she hated school, she was 5 and was bored with what was on offer currently.

This ship was so different to the Archeron. Bigger and more fun things to do. She walked to the lift and summoned it. When it arrived she ordered it to deck 4. She had heard about the Arboretum from other children in her class.

No one paid any mind to the 5 year old girl, hair in braids as she skipped into the arboretum. She looked around the area and grinned, it was way better than the school’s small play area. She took off down the path looking around as she did so. She didn’t know how long she had until the alarm was raised about her not being in school and she didn’t really care. Her Aunt was not that strict well she had not been since they had woken up.

Pausing by a small stream, Skylah considered it and shook her head. She knew better than to go into any sort of water without an adult with her. So she changed direction and headed deeper into the trees. Maybe there was a good tree for climbing here. At their new home in Montray there was a great big tree in the front yard. Her aunt had told her that if they got time she could get a tree house, but then time had run out and they had, had to go to the Elysium. But Maybe there was a tree here, one she could climb and explore, maybe she could pretend she had a tree house.

Her mother had died when Skylah was 3, but she remembered her mother saying that a tree house was something cool, and maybe one day they would have one… but she had died before they could even get their own place. Then Aunt Samaire had come and collected her. Her uncle had been there too but Skylah barely remembered him.

Pausing, Skylah looked around and then a bright smile wreathed the child’s face. A tree, it was perfect. She scrambled through chip bark and tall grass to the base of the tree. Looking up into its wide branches and leaf filled canopy Skylah gave a soft squeal. And then began to climb. She climbed slowly, carefully pausing every now and then to look around to see how high she was. Soon enough she came to a sturdy branch and she sat on it, her legs dangling on either side of the branch and her back against the trunk, It was the perfect spot. Smiling, Skylah rested her head back on the trunk and listened. She knew that the sounds she heard were artificial, fake bird song, and the wind she felt was generated by ventilation shafts. But for now, she was at peace. All was right in the world of the 5 year old girl.

Life was good. For now.

 

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