What is best for you

A door closed and Ash looked up at the long haired Oliver who just walked in.  “Hey Oli, you have rounds tonight don’t you?  I really need to get out and stretch my legs.”

Oliver hung up his sweater and although not facing him, Ash could feel the eye roll.

“Why are you so obsessed with going out there?  You’re the only one who likes going out and who refuses to use drones for your rounds.”

“So what you’re saying is ‘Yes, I do have rounds and would love to let you go in my stead my dear Ash’ right?” Ash said with a face growing in brightness.

The corner of Oliver’s mouth twitched upwards as his eyes crinkled.  “If you wish to have my chores I certainly won’t stop you.”

 Ash grabbed a sweater from a kitchen chair, pulled it over his head, pushed his brown wavy hair out of his eyes and grinned.

“Want to walk me down?  You could pick up some meal packs for dinner later.  They might have that beef flavored one you like with the rice.  Would be nice to eat tonight.”

“Well that idea is hard to resist.” Oliver replied grinning as he picked up his sweater back off the hook and stepped back out of the apartment.

The two walked side by side down the long hallway in the living quarters.  Long vines with large green leaves hung along the walls above the doors.  They passed several potted plants in wall hangings with violet and blue flowers spilling over the edges.  Ash narrowed his eyes at these as they continued, pursing his lips.  A soft hand slid into his, and their fingers intertwined.

“They’re just flowers,” teased Oli, leaning over towards him.

“They are a sad imitation of something that no longer exists,” Ash said with more bite than he intended.

“They have been found to help people feel better, gives them some hope.”

“We manage to eradicate the planet of flora and fauna and I am supposed to feel hope by looking at imitations of what we have abolished?” Ash asked.

“If you’re going to be bull headed and rude then maybe you can pick up food and I will take my own rounds.”

Ash’s feet froze and his head whipped over.  Oliver raised his eyebrows waiting to see how Ash would play his next move.  

“I guess if they help most people then I can let them stay here in peace,” he conceded.

“Much better.  Now, how was your day?  Did the workovers go well?” Oli asked.

The two discussed their days as they walked to the research wing.  Passing several windows they say  the orange and brown swirl of the exterior.  These windows were several layers thick and were sealed in on all sides.  

As they reached the fork in the path, Oliver squeezed Ash’s hand, pulled him over before he could race off, and pecked his cheek.  A blush blossomed on Ah’s face as he paused his progress to watch a smirking Oliver waved and said, “Don’t be too late now.”

Ash walked to the end of the research wing to the transfer area.  He found some fresh coveralls and pulled his long limbs into them.  He added tall boots and a balaclava to his ensemble and tucked all the ends in.  Picking up a backpack and strapping it on, Ash found a face mask of his size and pulled it over his head.  Hooking up the tubes and pulling on some gloves, his heart started picking up it’s beats in anticipation of open spaces.  Ash picked up a few sample bottles, flicked on the breathing pack, and stepped into the transfer chamber.

As the exterior doors opened, Ash was met with a flurry of movement.  The whoosh of the swirling wind filled his ears as the dust danced around.  It moved as a drop of colouring spreads in water, billowing out.  A bright circle in the dust clouds could be seen.  Rays of light trying to shine through the everlasting haze, waiting for the day it will pierce to the surface as it once did.

Ash took a deep breath of mechanically purified air, similar to how people used to breathe when they stepped outside and pulled fresh air in.  As he walked along the current trails, his eyes built up images of rivers and forests over the endless rock horizon.  Pictures painted with sparkling blues, vibrant greens, soft colourful petals.  A world he knew only from books and images.

At the marked out locations, Ash bent down and scooped up a sample of dust and dirt into the small tubes and plugged the lids.  Turning back, he could just see the buildings that held one of the last gatherings of humans, continuously finding scientific ways to survive.  The numerous long and low buildings must be but a small spec on this planet.

Reaching the end of the current sampling path, Ash bent down to take a sample.  A tiny brown dot moved as he moved his hand.  Shock piercing through him, Ash snatched his hand back and froze.  As quickly as the shock had come, a flaming curiosity burned through him, bringing him on his knees, scouring the dirt. A rock.  Another rock.  Several more small pebbles.  Movement!  There was a small bug, frantically racing along.  Ash brought his nose down just over the bug and followed it’s progress off the path.  He watched as it’s tiny stick-like legs worked endlessly, bringing it over steep pebbles and onward.  Ash had crawled several paces before a new colour filled his view.

The reds and browns suddenly broke into green.  For the first time in Ash’s life - no, the first time in hundreds of years - the colour green occurred naturally.  Tucked in along the side of a rock, Ash had not been able to see it from the path.  His nose still inches from the ground, his eyes adjusted and traced along the green lines, over the leaves and up to small, pure white petals, lined up in a row around a circular center.  Ash stayed inches from the flower, frozen for an eternity, despite the howl of wind and dust in the air.  

He reached out his gloved hand as he looked through the plastic of his breathing mask.  His hand stopped at the brink of touch.  The two sides of his mind, recognizing each other, began to battle.  You can touch plants without hurting them, just reach a bit further.  Humans wiped out the earth once, you shouldn’t interfere.  I’m dying for just the smallest of touch, prove it is real.  A voice with tones of Oliver rose in the battle of Ash with a new question; What would be best for the plant?

As that thought surfaced, Ash withdrew his hand as his heart plummeted.  This time little flower, this human will try and do what is best for you.  He pulled out his last sample tube and found a dark reddish brown spot on the ground.  Digging the flaky rocks loose, he scooped them up in his tube and plugged it.  Oliver always said the darker samples had higher levels of toxins in them.  This should change our route for a bit, little flower.  Give you some time to grow and live.