Greenhaus Part 1: A Storm Brews Read Online Free PDF

from the previous couple of days.
            “Elder Ashe, Elder Stone,” the young spotter exclaimed as she removed her mask, taking draws of clean air from an old salvaged oxygen tank during pauses between breathes. “Glass City will be cutting power soon, if they haven’t already. Now is the ideal time to mobilize and strike.”
    “ Yes, yes, yes my dear. Just as you reported twice last week,” replied Elder May Stone from behind her gray mask, painted to look like a rock. “And the week before that. Aaaaaand the week before that,” continued the small, impish woman, whose black hair had started to reveal streaks of white.
    “ And the week before that,” added Elder Derrick Ashe, the tallest member in the allied camp. “And every week since that young spotter Jesslyn Cloud was captured and you replaced her.”
    “ And every week you have gotten the same answer. And you will continue to get the same answer until the time is right,” politely explained Elder May Stone. “Attacking to simply attack is silly, and pointless. We will attack, when the time is right.”
    “ But they mock us with their laughter and our numbers are forever shrinking, I heard a great deal of moaning when I returned today,” a frustrated Ella yelled as she dropped her mask, clenched her fists, and slammed them on the top of the makeshift table, the old plywood top bowing as she did so. The tears of anger began to well up in her eyes before softly falling down her cheeks. She pulled her braided black hair while shouting, “We have to do something, we have to!” The strained lines and hard look of her face betrayed her youth, making her appear older. She might qualify to become an Elder someday, but few thought she would ever make it that long. The constant lump in her throat, the ever present anger and unquenchable thirst for revenge was killing her slowly. Misting blood when she coughed and sneezed be damned, Ella was hell bent on becoming Elder. She cared nothing for the plans fate had made for her, she was blazing her own trail.
    Elder Ashe turned to Elder Stone and said, “ I remember the rage of age nineteen, when you think the whole world is out to get you and in return you are out to get the whole world.”
    Elder Stone replied to Elder Ashe ’s statement, but clearly the message was meant for Ella, “Me too, and lucky for us we learned to harness the rage, for failing to do so will only expedite the Sickness and the impending end it brings to us all.” Then she turned to Ella and finished her thought, “Speaking of the Sickness, I see that you are already exhibiting symptoms. If I were you, I would learn to corral that temper, or you won’t be long for this place. If it gets any worse, we might have to look at giving you a new job in the camp.”
    Ella thought she was d oing a good job at hiding her symptoms, and seemed surprised anyone else paid enough attention to her to notice. “What’s the difference?” she snottily replied as another round of tears fell, “We all end up dead, why prolong the agony?” Switching topics quickly, but without recession of anger, Ella demanded answers, but fired the questions off so rapidly no time was given for reply. “So we sit here and do what? Nothing? How will that solve our problems? We sit and we rot, just like our world. Doing nothing… that is the best plan we can come up with?”
    Elder Stone ’s green eyes narrowed and focused her stare on Ella. It was disrespectful for Ella to speak to Elder Stone like this, especially in front of another Elder. Elder Stone tolerated it because she too was once young, impetuous, and quick to anger, so she gave Ella the benefit of the doubt in trying times. It was apparent that Ella had reached the end of the slack that Elder Stone was giving, so she backed off a bit. Ella owed her life to Elder May Stone, who saved a seven year old Ella out roaming the wasteland alone. If found by the wrong person or camp, Ella would have