Toni’s eyes were glazed over as she watched the orange flame lap away at her creations. The ivy withered as the tendrils reached its delicate leaves, a mere snack for this display of Nature’s wrath. A tear rolled halfway down her cheek before the extreme heat of the blaze wiped it off; an almost comforting gesture. Taking a deep breath, she remembered that it was Nature’s way to purge the landscape periodically.
A shudder ran through her body, but she stood strong; she wouldn’t let the mother’s anger get to her so easily. Her fists clenched beneath the sleeves of her coat in an attempt to control herself. Again, tear made a break for it, only to be erased by the heat once more. The dancing flames were reflected vibrantly in Toni’s green eyes. The off-white lining of her irises seemed to shrink as her pupils dilated; all seemingly, to her, results of her fight for control.
She continued to tell herself that this was just how life went; plants grew and then the slate was wiped clean. The corpses of the old used to sustain the new. Her vision began to blur and grow darker. As the last of her consciousness slipped away, she distinctly remembered something stop her from hitting the ground.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was surrounded by a thick layer of smoke. Almost like an encasement- a cocoon. She attempted to move, though she couldn’t bring herself to do so, no matter how she tried. Voices, she heard voices. She strained to speak, to tell them she was here. Her own voice failed her, as did those of the others; they seemed to grow distant the harder she tried to speak. Then they were gone. Tears rolled down her checks; this time, not deterred by the heat of flame.
Her tears seemed to clear her vision. Before long, the smoke dissipated and she found herself lying in a stark white room. With much effort, she sat up and looked around. There was a small pitcher of water on a table near where she sat. Slowly, she began to realize where she was. Though she wasn’t entirely sure, she pushed the possibility to the back of her mind and reached toward the water. As she did this, she noticed her arm. Her dark purple veins were visible through her now pale, white skin.
Ignoring the odd appearance of her body for the time being, she brought the glass to her lips. Tilting it up slowly so the water barely brushed against them. She set the glass down and ran her tongue over her lips lightly; glad she hadn’t let any down her throat. It was unfiltered tap water- she most probably would have choked on it.
Now that she had confirmed that her water source was unusable, she turned her attention back to the strange appearance of her skin. She’d never seen it do this before. Weakly, she moved her hand to her wrist- pressing down on one of the larger veins. Her pulse was faint and slow, but she was still living. At least she was still able to move.
A quick glance around the room told her the reason for her strange condition; there were no windows to let in sunlight. She turned her head up to looking into the bright florescent lighting that supplied only sight, not the nourishment she needed. A frown formed across her lips. She had never gotten this bad. How long had she been in here? Judging by the way the A.C. was blasting, it couldn’t have been too long.
A small noise alerted her to a visitor. She fell off the bed and onto the floor, staring wildly to the other side of the bed. Bright green pants leading into a pair of high tops greeted her. “Well, glad to see you’re finally up.” The owner of the pale yellow high tops cooed, reaching over the bed to help Toni up.
Toni’s variegated eyes were cold; she seemed to blame this person for her current state. Her stare went unnoticed at the young man looked her over. Toni allowed this only because she had not the strength to stop it. “Where am I..?” She finally managed.
“Underground, it’s a hideout of sorts.” The owner of the Converse smiled soothingly. “You look worse than when you were brought here. Smoke inhalation, we assumed, from the singe marks on your skin. Though, now it’s something differe—”
“I need sunlight,” Toni hissed, “and fresh water. State your name.”
“Oh, I don’t have a name.” He said, his smile never faltering. “We lost those long ago. We go by numbers, mine is Twenty Six. Yours is—”
“I refuse to go by a number. You will call me either Toni, or Miss Hedera. Take your pick.” Twenty Six stared at her, disbelieve spread across his face. “I need to get the surface- now!” He nodded and padded across the room, opening the hidden door with a tap of his finger. He glanced back at Toni in an almost pitiful manner, his oceanic eyes were calm. Upon looking into Toni’s eyes, full of her resolve for escape, his own changed from the green color of a harbor to the fierce blue of the deep, thrashing sea.
“I’m coming with you.”
This statement took Toni by surprise. Her eyes held an immense amount of doubt. After a long pause for thought, she shook her head lightly- only to be interrupted.
“Too tell the truth, I miss having your spunk. We’ve been here for so long, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to live with the dangers of the surface. I miss it.” Twenty Six closed the door with another tap of his finger, and turned back into the room.
Holding out his hand, he manipulated the water so it would send the glass it was in to him. He seemed to have a bit of trouble with it; the chemicals in the pure substance made it hard to control. Nevertheless, the glass made it safely into his hand. Without a second thought, he ran his finger along the rim of the glass, fresh water pouring into it from where his finger touched. When the glass was half full, he offered it to her.
“How can I be sure I can trust you?” She took the glass from him, suspicions filling her every pore. The smell of fresh water was too alluring, even despite her second thoughts. The cool, natural liquid was cascading into her mouth and down her throat before anyone could answer the question of trust. After a pause, she nodded.

“I refused to call you Twenty Six.” Toni hissed as they crawled along a damp passage way. He seemed assured that this was the only way out. “I’ll call you, Trident.”
“Sure, why not. May I ask why?” As he said this, he shook his hand to rid himself of a tangled wire. Toni somehow managed to spin around and grab his hand.
“One, it’s a mythology reference. You do have control over water, and one of Neptune’s primary symbols was the trident. Two, that’s a trip wire, from what I can tell. I suggest being more careful with untangling it from your hand.”
“G-got it. So, uh.. what’s the outside like?”
A grin curled the corners of Toni’s lips as she turned back to the light at the end of the passage way. “It’s… miserable, for the most part. The sky, though… sometimes, it can be amazing. Have you ever seen a sunset?” She said the last bit as she pulled herself out of the earth; the last rays of the sun being tucked away behind the horizon. Trident came out soon after, though the sun had gone away entirely by then. Toni took a deep breath. Everything around her seemed to dissolve into nothingness.
Trident watched as she sat suddenly on the ground. He rubbed his hands together lightly. “Does it usually get this cold?” Silence granted him no answer. A frown played across his lips. “Guess so…” Trident sighed and looked to the sky. A few scattered stars littered it; the smog blocking most of them out. The stars reminded him of the times he would crawl up that passage way and look out, wishing without hope that someday he might have the courage to venture out into the expanses of what was now unknown. He looked to Toni; the veins were slightly lighter, though it would apparently take more than the reflection of sun on the moon to rid her of the odd appearance.