A Budding Case of Teen Angst

Kai was wandering around lost in thought. Again. He seemed to be doing a lot more of that lately. For one who had no history of being angsty, his current exhibited the symptoms; a constant sullen demeanor and reluctance to talk to real people. While shy, he had never considered himself cold. That all changed several months ago when he had the strangest dream…

He was running, running for days without needing rest, sleep, or food. The land around him was illuminated by the soft green glow that his skin gave off. The surroundings were barren, completely devoid of all plant life. As he ran, the destruction spread and he keep moving to keep up. The plants ahead of him welcomed him even as their living energy was absorbed into his own. Their warmth blocked the sting of the cold Russian air.

Overhead there was a faint whooshing sound. The unmistakable helicopter sounds grew louder, but Kai kept running. He couldn’t stop now! Not because of the mission that he vaguely recalled, but because of the plants and the power! He bonded with them in a whole new way, protecting them from the dangers of the world and unstable environment, preserving their souls forever within his mind and their energy in his veins. And he needed to reach them all!

He first noticed that shots were being fired when one grazed his left arm. Mildly annoyed, he let a guttural noise rip from his throat and ordered his cells to replicate a new pattern. It would take a few minutes, but soon his skin would be covered with a protective layer of ironwood bark. Had he been thinking rationally, he would have noted the added benefit of the bark dulling the glow from his skin, making him harder to see in the darkness. As it stood, he was a beacon in the darkness, an easy target. A second shot hit him in the calf, and he stumbled for a moment.

“Сдайтесь!” Came a distorted voice over the whirring of the blades.

Kai ignored the voice, ignored the pain, and kept moving, though he had no sense of direction. The pain flared up sharply in the center of his back, forcing him to the ground. All he felt beneath him was bare soil. He was unprotected in the middle of a wasteland devoid of all plant life. The bark overgrew him, and Kai’s light dimmed…

This was the nightmare Kai now ran from. It was obvious to him that his powers, once a source of joy in his life, could be easily perverted. He barely talked to most plants now. Afraid of his power, afraid of plants. What a wuss...