Grave of Heroes 4 Chapter 4

Braden got up early the next morning. He didn't feel any different. Sighing, he got out of bed and got ready for work.

Orphans under the age of 12 were sent to group homes, but those over the age of 12 were already at the working age, so the government just gave them a stipend. It wasn't much.

Still, it was enough that he could afford to work part time and go to school.

Today was Saturday, so he didn't have school, which meant he had to go to work. After he got dressed and ate a brief bite of breakfast, some of the dehydrated food the government gave out as part of the stipend.

It wasn't the best tasting, but supposedly it contained all the nutrients needed for a person to survive.

He had his doubts.

Braden left his house, shutting the door behind him but not bothering to lock it. He didn't have anything worth stealing. Only the poorest of the poor at the dehydrated food the government gave out.

He saw street toughs on the corner again. There seemed to be more of them in the neighborhood these days. He wondered when they had started to appear and why.

Walking past them on the opposite side of the street he began walking towards the school.

That's right, the job he got was at school. He was lucky in that way, as it least it was close to his house.

As he walked, he relaxed. The sky was a beautiful blue, and a breeze stirred the trees, creating the whispering sound of leaves brushing against each other. He liked walking this road. As was his habit, he turned off down a small trail. It led to a fenced in area with stones of non-natural shape peeking out of the ground.

Looking closely he could see writing on the stones. Names. Dates.

He continued walking until he came to a familiar stone.

The name on it read Marisha Nolan, Loving Mother, She Will Be Missed. It only had one date on it. He'd never known when she was born.

"Hey Mom," He said as he took a seat in front of the tombstone.

"I'm nearly sixteen, now. Sixteen years since you gave birth to me. Three years since you died. Time really does fly."

He continued speaking to the stone for another hour or so.

Then he stood up and left.

He didn't know why he bothered really. It's not like she could hear him. Also, even if she could, it's not like she would be happy. His memories of his mother were scattered and few these days, but most of them involved her beating him.

The message on her tombstone had been the suggestion of the funeral parlor. He always felt it was ironic. She had been anything but loving. Still, she was his mother, and it was a harmless enough lie.

Braden continued down the road, heading back to the school. As he walked onto the campus a few guards nodded at him. They were low level Supers, those that couldn't make it into the Academy. These days, Supers like them were in high demand. One of them had shown off their powers to him once, after he pestered them for a month. She had reached out, grabbed a stone, and crushed it to pieces in front of him. Physical type abilities were the most common, and hers must have been weak if she couldn't get a better position than a school guard. Still, it was more than enough to deter the local gangs from acting casually. And if they did anything more serious the local military forces would get involved.

Braden walked to a shed on the edge of the school grounds. A man stood waiting for him. Tall, dark skinned, and muscular, he looked somewhat intimidating.

"Good morning Darvish," Braden said as he approached.

Darvish grunted. "You're late."

"Sorry."

Darvish didn't reply just held out a handaxe, almost a hatchet but slightly larger. Braden took it and then followed him out to the edge of the grounds where the forest encroached on the school grounds.

After the Outsiders came everything had changed. Not only had humanity mutated, but the other living beings on the planet had. As a result, plants and trees now grew incredibly rapidly. Landscaping became one of the largest industries.

Wielding the axe, Braden went and started hacking back the trees, bushes, and other plants. Truthfully the axe was less than ideal for a job like this, and many of the premier landscaping services offered either high tech solutions or brought on Supers with abilities related to fire or plants to better deter the growth. The school couldn't afford their services though. That's why Braden managed to get the job. He was cheap.

Taking a breath and wiping the sweat from his brow, Braden looked towards Darvish. He had multiple axes floating around him, chopping away. Braden sighed. Psychic type abilities like that were really rare. He couldn't help but feel envious.

He turned his mind back to the task at hand and continued to hack away at the monstrous overgrowth of plant matter.

Chapter end