Sprouting a New Superhero: Chloro Phil

Submitted into Contest #263 in response to: Write the origin story of a notorious villain.... view prompt

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Adventure Science Fiction

Journal Entry 236: Winter’s Day, 1347

I think that will do it. The last injection should be the correct formula to introduce plant cells into the human body. Hopefully this will allow me to use the infernal sun’s power as a food source to survive in this accursed winter wasteland.

Journal Entry 237: Winter’s Day, 1353

It’s been almost a week, and I’ve been terribly sick. I can definitely tell that the bio serum I injected myself with is working. It’s changing my very genetic structure. I’ve noticed that my eyes are turning yellow, and my skin has a green bioluminescence to it. I guess I should have thought about the fact that my skin would be the primary source of dietary consumption, if I really am turning into a plant. Does this mean I’ll have to walk around naked all the time? Good thing there’s no one else around to see my tree stump. Lol.

Journal Entry 238: Winter’s Day, 1354

First report of sun feeding: I’m totally sunburnt! I spent three hours topside yesterday afternoon, walking around in my birthday suit, and I’m burnt from head to ankles. I have a stupid tan line where my boots were, and there’s funky tan lines also where my backpack straps were. I’ve been lonely for so long that I never thought I’d actually be glad no one is around to see how stupid I look.

Journal Entry 239: Winter’s Day, 1364

It’s been ten days since my last report. I’m struggling to eat solid foods. The canned goods I have stockpiled in the bomb shelter are not staying down. I’ve had violent diarrhea every time I eat, and I’m manically thirsty. It’s like I’m addicted to water. I think I’ll try infusing water with fruit sugars for added nutrients. I feel like I have to start experimenting with plant fertilizer just to feed myself properly. This experiment is just getting weirder and weirder. 

Journal Entry 240: Winter’s Day, 1374

Another ten days. I’ve been spending significantly more time topside, naked. Emerging from the bomb shelter no longer hurts my eyes, but being inside actually does. I think my eyes have adjusted to the serum injection, and become sunlight dependent. It’s like my very eyeballs are sunglasses now!

Journal Entry 241: Sun Day, 1

I’ve pretty much stopped eating solid foods. My primary source of sustenance is now the blazing sunlight. I don’t even burn anymore. I can actually feel my body absorbing the sun’s rays, and there’s a tingling sensation after about thirty minutes walking around. I think I can actually feel the chlorophyll in my skin cells converting sunlight into energy. I think this mad scientist plan I had of turning myself into a plant has actually worked! I’m officially changing the name of my calendar system to Sun Day, as the nuclear winter is no longer a limitation for me! I’m restarting the number system of how I count days as well. 

Journal Entry 242: Sun Day, 10

Another ten days has gone by. I think I can officially say that I’m no longer reliant on basic human foods. I have the digestive system of a plant now, requiring only sunlight. I’ve decided to pack up my belongings and start searching for other survivors. The last survivor I ran into was two years ago, and they mentioned a settlement near Taos, New Mexico. I think I’ll head down that way and see what I can find. I’ll need to follow the river though to make sure I have water, but that’s good desert country and I’ll have plenty of sunlight for food. How neat to say that! 

Journal Entry 243: Sun Day, 16

It took about a week to finish packing, and I’ve been walking for a few days. I’ve walked about sixty miles, and it’s a barren wasteland out here. The city of Denver is still a smoldering heap of bombed concrete and ash, and I didn’t see or hear any survivors. Perhaps if I find smaller towns away from the major blast centers, I’ll have more luck finding survivors. 

Journal Entry 245: Sun Day, 30

Another ten days have gone by. I’ve walked a long way, and still haven’t seen anyone. Am I the only survivor? I have to believe that’s not the case. 

Journal Entry 246: Sun Day 36

I found people! I’m just outside Chama, New Mexico, and I found a small village that’s established like a trading post. I got some strange looks because it’s not everyday that A: a wanderer comes in from the wasteland, and B: wastelanders probably don’t stroll around wearing only a loincloth. I’ve even stopped wearing shoes because my feet are barklike now so I don’t even need any foot protection. And I’m overall just a green color now, so that scared quite a few people. 

But these folks, who call themselves Chamites, were overall hospitable. They don’t see me as a threat, although they were rightfully wary at first. I had a great meeting with a group of five townspeople- three women and two men, who gave me a bit of their history. They said they’ve been in Chama ever since the bombs went off. The bombs tended to hit any sizeable population center, or anywhere that there were military installations. So Chama was saved, as it’s always been a small crossroads between Colorado and New Mexico, and not deemed a military target. 

I spent enough time with the town council to understand that these are not war-like people, but they’ve been having trouble with a group of local raiders that are desperately trying to break into the underground quarters where the people are. Most of the surface level of Chama has been pilfered by this group of marauders, and they want my help as I seem to be the only one who can openly traverse the surface without suffering health consequences. I think I’ll help this group, and maybe they’ll let me stay on with them. 

Journal Entry 247: Sun Day 40

I’ve been out in the Waste for over a week, surveying the band of raiders harassing the Chamites. There’s about twenty of these scoundrels, but it’s hard to tell who’s who because they are covered head to toe in rags and gear to protect from the sun. They’ve got a cage of Chama captives sitting out in the sun, and they absolutely torment these poor people. The town council told me that I can bring the captives back to the Chama Underground if I can figure out how to spring them. 

Journal Entry 249: Sun Day 52

I got ahold of one of the smaller raiders, and stashed him in a pile of rocks outside their encampment. He was terrified of my green skin and thought I was an alien. I laughed at that, as Roswell isn’t too far away. But I realized that I have the power to make roots and plants grow now, and I used them to wrap this guy up. Pretty awesome superpower! I’m going to go into camp while everyone is sleeping and quietly wrap vines around the doors of their poorly built housing structures. I’ll free the captives, and come back for my prisoner tomorrow. As soon as the sun goes down and everyone is sleeping, I’ll make my move. 

Journal Entry 250: Sun Day 53

Last night was terrifying, but successful! I got rolling late, as most of the raiders stayed up drinking some kind of homemade moonshine. Most of them were drunk as skunks by the time they went to bed, so I didn’t have to be as quiet as I had thought. But, I was sneaky and silent, and terrified beyond anything I’ve experienced since the day the bombs fell twelve years ago. Heart thumping out of my chest, and skin tingling with anxious excitement, I made my move. 

I crept into camp, and tested my powers of growing plants. Reaching out my hands, I concentrated on extending my fingertips. Little shoots sprung out of the ground where I directed my focus, literally willing plantlife to emerge. These neophyte plants grew up, and I was able to use my mind to twist them all together. Once I had created a thick lattice work over the door of the first hut, I focused on hardening these green shoots and turning them into brambles. This made them thick and tough, almost like dead vines. And the beautiful thing is that this only took about a minute of deep concentration!

I moved from hut to hut, keeping a careful watch for any guard patrolling the camp. But these raiders didn’t feel the need to be cautious, convinced they were the only ones foolhardy enough to survive topside in the wastes. The sun is so strong on the surface that it burns anything in its view. So I quietly crept from one hut to another, closing off doors and windows. In about an hour, I had the whole camp on lockdown. 

Just before sunrise, I headed towards the cage holding the captives. There were seven of them, and looked almost dead. Skin burnt, hair frizzled, and dehydrated almost beyond salvaging. I quietly dispatched the lone guard, with the captives watching in wide-eyed fascination at this green plant-man. They had just enough strength to sneak back to my hideout in the rocks where I had left the last captive. We decided to leave him trussed up, either for dead or for finding by his comrades. 

It took us nearly three days to get back to the Chama Underground. I grew a crop of cactus plants, and cutting them open created enough fresh water to rehydrate the captives just enough for the journey to safety. The people of Chama were ecstatic that I had freed their family and friends, and regarded me as a superhero. They asked what they could call me. I said, call me Chloro Phil. 

August 12, 2024 03:49

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12 comments

Eliza Entwistle
22:31 Aug 21, 2024

Hi, I’m commenting as part of the Critique Circle. Thanks for sharing your story! I was enthralled reading about this apocalyptic world and the character’s transformation. The journal entry format seems like the perfect way to tell the story, and kind of gave me The Martian vibes with the Sun Day tracking. Very cool. I was thinking along the same lines as another commenter that the character didn’t really seem like a villain as the prompt implies - maybe corruption from his powers could have been an idea to explore, but the way it played out...

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Jeff Meade
00:44 Aug 22, 2024

Thanks for a thoughtful reply. I had planned to write about a villain, but the story took on a life of its own and I followed where it went. I was trying to develop the discovery of powers over time, but the story was getting long. There’s little snippets of discovery but I agree that I could draw that out more. I’m actually writing more chapters to this as it feels like a number of angles could happen. Thanks for commenting.

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Eliza Entwistle
00:59 Aug 22, 2024

That’s great that you’re continuing the story! Looking forward to it

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Jeff Meade
14:04 Sep 01, 2024

Hello Eliza, I’ve added a couple of new chapters on the Chloro Phil saga. I’m going to add a new chapter as part of each week’s Reedsy prompt. So I’m not sure where the story is going but I’m enjoying the uncertainty of it. In fact, I’m talking to one of the 9th grade artists that I teach to see if he wants to turn it into a comic book format. Who knows where this thing ends up?

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Yuliya Borodina
17:51 Aug 20, 2024

An engaging journey! The pacing and the world building are great; every journal entry added to the tension and plot. I expected Phil to do something abhorrent to the survivors, but he seemed nothing but helpful to the people of Chama. Do you consider him a villain because he killed the raiders? Or if Chloro Phil an existing character (eg. from some manga I am unfamiliar with) that becomes evil later?

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Jeff Meade
00:47 Aug 21, 2024

Thank you for a thoughtful response. I honestly wasn’t focused on the villain aspect, but rather seeing Chloro Phil as a crime fighter. So he’d encounter villains. This was my first superhero/apocalypse story, and I’m thinking of additional chapters of what happens next. I’ll post those for fun. Thanks for reading.

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Yuliya Borodina
05:33 Aug 21, 2024

I see, thank you for the clarification :)

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Jeff Meade
18:18 Aug 21, 2024

Thank you for asking thoughtful questions. Those kinds of inquiries help me think about the story and develop it further. Much appreciated.

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Trudy Jas
15:08 Aug 17, 2024

Isn't imagination a great thing? Great story, Jeff.

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Jeff Meade
17:02 Aug 17, 2024

Thanks Trudy! This one was fun to write. I’ve never told a story through a diary before, and have started a next chapter in 3rd person narrative, stepping away from the personal speaking. That gives it a Bird’s Eye view, and lets me tell more of a wholistic story. I’m trying to play between those two perspectives. I’ll post another chapter in the next day or two to add on.

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Timothy Crehan
18:45 Aug 22, 2024

Jeff, I particularly enjoyed the journal entry format, excellent means by which to say as much or as little as you want. And then, as the reader, ask myself what he's leaving out of his entries and why. I always appreciate writing that provides me with new possibilities. Thank you.

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Jeff Meade
11:18 Aug 23, 2024

Thank you for a thoughtful comment! I had never done a journal entry format before, and particularly liked how I could establish from a personal narrative standpoint how the story would flow. I particularly liked the ability to withhold information and spilllittke tidbits at a time. I’m actually writing additional chapters, and am playing with going back and forth between Phil’s diary and personal perspective, and then another chapter from 3rd person narrative that would be more traditional storytelling. In those chapters, Phil would just b...

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