Storia: Short Stories

Dahlia

"I don't think that's the best idea," Mary Lianna, aka Violet, my best friend, said. "Well, we don't have any other choice. We have to do this," I said. "Yeah. Just sneak in, get the crystal, and get out," Tony Racer, aka Toadshade, said. "Get ready, they're coming," Alpha Richi, aka Chia, said.

"Alright. Stay in touch, but don't communicate too much. We want to keep as much radio silence as possible," Chia said and we all nodded, "let's do this."

The four of us went our separate ways. Without wasting any time, I jumped up and clung onto a tiny twig. Thankfully, Iris was able to whip up a brand new kind of technology magic. With it, we can fulfill our objective and become small enough to enter the plant.

My task was to enter through the stomata, which was just as hard to enter as the rest. Sure, there aren't exactly any guards and workers up here, but shifting my density to match that of air is hard enough.

Gently, I shifted on the twig and tried to get closer.

"Ten seconds to daybreak," Iris said through the earpiece. But then, I noticed something that drove our plan sideways.

Down below, I could feel something move. I lowered my hand and gasped. Wind.

"Iris-"

"I know! Just try to get closer."

"No, not that, it's just-"

"Five seconds to daybreak."

"The guard cells are opening," I said. "Well then jump in!" Iris exclaimed and I quickly shifted my form into air and tried to control myself. I managed to blend in with all the other carbon dioxide diffusing into the leaf, but the effort to do that kept me concentrated. By the time I had entered, my head was spinning and my mind felt like it was going to split into two.

But I had a job to do, I traced my air fingers onto one of the guard cells and I managed to get a sliver of its power.

"Dahlia!" I heard the sound in my head. Realizing I was starting to lose consciousness, I quickly focused and felt the air around me. I was floating in the air spaces and getting closer to the spongy mesophyll cells or, as Toadshade likes to call it, spongy parenchyma cells, which, if I'm not mistaken, is where photosynthesis occurs.

Sometimes I regret not paying attention in 8th grade Biology.

The moment I touched the cells, I quickly changed back to my regular form and made my way through the mesophyll cells. It was tricky, but I had to get to the veins and eventually the midrib. But that would only be the beginning.

"Chia, change back!" Iris hissed.

"I'm trying!" Chia hissed back.

"Dahlia, get to Chia and help her," Iris said. "On it."

Carefully but swiftly, I made my way to the palisade mesophyll where I saw the auburn haired girl fighting for her life.

"Dahlia, be careful! They're coming," Chia nodded to her left and I saw workers getting closer. I ran to her and channeled some magic onto the chloroplast. The footsteps and voices got louder every second and so was my heartbeat.

Finally, we managed to pry Chia off the machine in one piece.

"Thanks," she said, then pulling me to a hiding spot.

The workers passed by and thankfully didn't notice us. "Come on. They must be from the vascular bundles. This way," Chia whispered and we maneuvered through the rest of the spongy mesophyll and chloroplast machinery.

"Ugh! we're so close!" Chia said and I turned my attention to where she was looking.

The veins were surrounded by tons of machinery and workers. Not to mention the guards guiding the workers too.