The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

24: Childhood Trauma and Evil Trees

A span of red pine and aspen towered above them. Their crooked arms of wood and branch held circular paper lanterns that bathed the area in a warm, buttery glow.

The distant cry of birdsong rang through the air. The tickle of the grass eased Ryan's senses, pulling her away from the chaos of the morning.

The lanterns danced in the wind. She released her grip on Zack, the cool breeze blowing through both their hair.

The smell of autumn was a familiar friend. By the time November came around, it was no longer autumn for Novis, winter always greeted them by Halloween, and trick-or-treaters were often decorated in parkas along with witch hats.

But she came to realize that the valley was forever autumn. In Novis, snow had blanketed the ground, decorating roadsides and rooftops. She always had trouble describing the wonder of mountain autumns to outsiders. The smell of the rain that kicked at the mulch, dew-covered rocks that reflected the warm colors of the trees, the warm tickle of coffee in the library that warmed her cheeks as the rest of the Klamath range faded into the horizon.

She crossed her arms.

No, Novis wasn't her home. It was where she was worthless and unwanted, she was nothing but a curse to those people, she was romanticizing the town because she wasn't there. It wasn't like she could remember half of what the town was like anyways.

Pixel mewed. She jumped off Zack's shoulder and bounced into the carpet of leaves blanketing the ground. Her paws made loud crunches as she pranced about, her tail hooked in the air as she bounded in front of them.

Ryan sighed and turned to Zack.

She wasn't sure if they were really friends or not. He was nice, that was for sure, but maybe he was too nice. What were the things she did wrong that he didn't want to tell her? What was he hiding?

He fidgeted with Liam's bag and walked forward, kicking at leaves as he walked along the dirt path that stretched before them, his gaze elsewhere.

She turned away. The rocks along the path suddenly seemed far more interesting. Had she said something wrong? Why was he suddenly so cold to her? What did she do wrong?

"Hey," She said, "Are you alright?"

Zack whirled back to her surprised.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just remembering the last time we were here."

"The last time...?"

Ryan looked to the trees, their branches sprawled over hefty piles of leaves, casting shadows that slithered along the ground like snakes, grabbing at their shoes.

Liam tripping over himself flashed in her mind. She could practically see Devany in front of them, a bright smile on her face as she extended her arm forward.

Ryan's hands trembled.

Devany. She'd been a complete brat around her, always ungrateful of what she had, and now Devany was dead. Ryan brought her uselessness onto yet another person, and now...

No. She could fix it this time, or at least it was worth a shot. The celestials would revive Devany and fix the lives she ruined. She was sure of it, after all what other option did she have? She had nothing left to lose.

Pixel rubbed against her legs and let out a purr. She threaded herself between Ryan's legs, her tail whipping around.

Ryan took a step forward, but stumbled and found herself rocketing towards the ground.

Zack caught her arm.

"Be careful!"

She pulled herself up and dusted herself off. Even a cat trying to support her messed her up somehow. She could never win.