And If Nature Hugged Metal

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of suicide, self-harm, and animal death.

Her digits cascaded down the ridges of the bark, and trailing behind the tips of her finger was a dark steel that made the once rich dark brown turn silver. Hazel eyes gazed at the iron ore as it strangled the tree until the warm wood was replaced with a cold metal mimic. She curled her arms around the now metallic tree. The ridges of the bark were still present, but the contrast between metal and wood could not be any clearer. Before, the wood had carried signs of life with warmth pulsing beneath its husk, a gift from the sun. The newly transformed tree was cold now, but it was already stealing the sun’s rays, turning the gentle warmth into a blazing heat. She kept her arms around the metal tree as her cheek rested on the bark, and she waited. When the heat caressed her skin, she melted into it, and as the heat started to burn, she let it.  

Eventually, she stepped back. Her pale cheek was red as she walked away. With every step, metal followed. It didn’t spread like it did on the trees. She never understood that. She didn’t get to choose how or when the metal fed on the world around her. She was just the catalyst, carrying out her mission.

The mission to reclaim earth for humanity.

A mission that started about 5 years ago.

She stood on the hill as her eyes soaked in the sight in front of her. The city that used to be here when human civilization thrived on Earth was nothing more than a small ant in the ever-imposing forest. The carcasses of once tall skyscrapers remained, causing beams and girders to reach out for the sky only to be overshadowed by trees on all sides. From this angle, she could barely even see the buildings that had loomed in the tales of the past. If she squinted, she could spot smaller buildings covered in vines sprinkled across the ground.

She had set up camp near the former city. The sun was still high in the sky; its beams caressed her skin. Even though she knew she should get going, her feet remained implanted in the ground. The wet dirt clung to her toes, shifting into ore. The sensation was never pleasant. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the fresh air, and ignored the site behind her for as long as she could. The only reason she had gone so far from the designated area was because she needed to do her monthly routine checkup, to make sure her abilities were still up to par as her old commanders would say.

There at the foot of the hill was a familiar white deer, standing alone like always and staring right at her. Over centuries, the fauna had lost all fear it once had for humans. They would learn to fear humanity when people inhabited the Earth again. It’s not a thought she wanted to dwell on, but it was the truth.

She turned away from the creature.

On the hill, where she stood, a sea of silver and bronze clashed with a sea of green.

The hill was the divide between her creation and mother nature’s.

She stared at her work and felt nothing.

***

If Earth was mother nature, the original home of humanity, then somewhere in space, amongst the stars that they now dwell in, humanity had given life to a daughter of metal.

She had been a blessing, a sign that times were changing, and there was finally a way to get rid of the wilderness that had run rampant on the planet below.

It was time for humans to return to Earth.

When she had gotten her powers, she was ten.

Her abilities, her blessing, had cost her far too much.

With arms wrapped around her, the ten-year-old felt water dribble down her cheeks as she couldn’t explain what was happening. The tears wouldn’t stop coming down no matter how hard her hands tried to rub them away. Hiccups stuttered out of her mouth in between sobs, and she couldn’t form words. She wanted to speak but her tongue was twisted in knots. Through the tears, she could see her mother, whose arms seemed to curl tighter around her despite what was happening to her.

Her mother was turning to metal.

Gold crawled up her arms and legs, and yet not once did she look at it. Her mother was entirely focused on her.

“It’s ok. It’s ok.” Her words whispered out, pushing through the pain that she was going through.

“It’s ok. You’re ok.” She could feel her mother’s warm arms rubbing her back in a soothing manner until they went stiff around her. Still, her mother found a way to comfort her. Her mother’s forehead pressed against her own. She rocked her head back and forth, a gesture that was meant to be soothing, and it was, for a while. Even as life was leaving her body, her mother kept rocking her forehead, causing her hiccups to die down. Her mother was calm, and even as her neck turned an ugly yellow, her face held nothing but pure adoration. With a smile, her mother uttered her last words.

“You’re ok my Marigold. I love you.”

A group of people would later find the mother wrapped around her child. The child wept for a cold statue.

***

Marigold’s eyes flew open, and she touched her cheeks, pulling away when she felt water. She didn’t have to worry about turning herself into an alloy. Unless she concentrated on that point of her skin, Marigold couldn’t turn herself.

She had tested it.

She had only been able to turn patches of skin into a thin layer of silver before it melted and returned to flesh. Like many things with her abilities, she didn’t know the how or why.

Her legs swooped down the side of the bed. However, when her feet brushed the floor, she immediately curled into herself.

The floor was cold.

Any remaining drowsiness that she might have felt had disappeared, leaving her with the bitter aftermath of her dream. Her arms wrapped around her knees, and she gazed down at her bed. The sheets were near the feet of the bed and were covered in a plastic wrap that was made of metal. The scientists from the mother ship had designed it for her; it was suffocating. The bed had also been adjusted for her needs. It was a flat metal surface over a metal bed frame. There wasn’t anything else they could have done, or at least that’s what they had said. She wasn’t going to complain though. Over the years, she had become accustomed to the hard surface even before she landed on Earth.

She waited a second before gathering a bit of courage and stepping on to the metal floor.

She quickly prepared for the day and headed out into the city. A part of her was hoping to leave the nightmare in her bed, and another part of her hoped that the dream would linger. That the memory of her mother would get her through the day.

When she stepped out of her camp and into the sun, for a moment she could almost feel the echo of a hug.

***

Her metal gauntlets and boots were useful. The gauntlets had been custom made so that she could easily move her fingers, and it allowed her to touch things for a brief period before her power would manifest through the gauntlet. Hence, why she was staring at the screen on the desk in front of her. The tablet sent messages from the mother base in space. As her finger quickly scrolled through the tasks assigned to her, a notification popped up. She lifted the tablet with her gauntlets to read the notification.

“Happy 5^th anniversary to the ROE project. The Renovation of Earth has been a daunting task, but it is one that we have gladly committed too. It has been a long time since humanity stepped foot on its homeland, and it’s about time that we returned. We will persevere through the tribulations and-” She didn’t bother reading the rest. It was always the same every year.

She waited for another notification to pop up.

She waited until she could feel that familiar prick that spread through her palms as if a thousand needles were stabbing her all at once, a side effect for when her abilities activated while she was wearing the gauntlet. She quickly placed the tablet on the table. The prickling sensation vanished.

She had already memorized her tasks, and it was best to start the day early. Although it was the project’s anniversary, she didn’t get a day off. Still, she turned and waited, staring at the tablet. A second later when nothing happened, she left.

She had been on this planet for 5 years.

Today, she turned 21. 

They had stopped wishing her Happy Birthday a long time ago.

The laser cut through the trees that had grown within the small art museum. She had looked forward to this task. When she had first seen a museum, she had been enthralled by the art of the past. It was no different now. Although, cutting down the trees and yanking down vines that grew along the walls was a bit tedious. The laser cut through a trunk, and she watched as the tree tumbled on to the floor. The trees in the museum were much smaller, so she was forced to use tools. Without the trees and vines covering everything, Marigold absorbed the room around her.

Marble statues were scattered across the floor.

She froze.

Taking a deep breath, Marigold stabilized herself. She weaved through the statues as the sun poured in from the open roof.

There was a statue with two young girls holding hands and giggling about some unknown joke that she would never be privy to. Marigold glanced down at their intertwined hands, and her heart curled into itself as it was suddenly strangled. The ache flowed through her chest, and for a moment, she felt her eyes become wet.

She looked away.

Her eyes wandered over to the other statues. The ache seemed to grow as she noticed how none of the statues seemed to be alone. Frozen in an eternal dance, two statues clung to each other with smiles etched on to their faces. Another group of statues were clustered around a bench, while they surrounded a guitarist, all of them were listening to a noiseless song. When she was cleaning the statues, she didn’t take note of how they looked. Now, she was faced with the truth. In a room full of still bodies, she was the one who felt completely lifeless.

Marigold couldn’t take it anymore.

The ache in her chest had turned into a bomb that was set to explode. Before she knew it, she was already out into another room. This room was still covered in vines. She hadn’t cleaned this area yet. With her metal gauntlets and boots still on, she hunched over. Her back hit something as she sat on the floor, clutching her chest. She inhaled and exhaled. Her breathing came out fine, and she knew it wasn’t a panic attack. That didn’t stop the throbbing pain in her chest. Her stomach lurched, and she felt like puking.

Tears dribbled down her face. She quickly wiped them away. There was no point in crying.

She took a moment to compose herself.

As she did, she finally took note that her back was touching something.

She turned, and in this room full of plants, she could make out a bronze statue beneath the vines. She rose from the ground, and she gently removed the greenery before she was met with a statue’s sad smiling face. The young man’s hand was held out, waiting for someone to hold it.

She took her metal gloves off.

Her hand traced the statue’s fingers, and like she had seen on the statues before, she intertwined their fingers. Bronze mingling with flesh. It was embarrassing, and yet her hands remained where they were.

She kept her hand intertwined with the statue’s and let the day fade to night.

***

Without humanity around, the night sky was utterly beautiful. Marigold never was keen on them though. They reminded her far too much of the space station she once called home, so she tried to avoid looking up. Nevertheless, there were moments like these where she lay on her back and stared at the vast beauty of the speckles of light splattered across a black canvas.

The rustling noises stirred her peace, and she looked up. The white deer stared at her and wandered into her camp site. There was no fear. Animals had truly forgotten the existence of humans. The deer in front of her was proof of that. It feared nothing as it carelessly explored her camp. Sniffing at the trailer that served as both her house and her mode of transportation. The deer had no qualms about her presence as it started to eat whatever grass remained in the area covered in minerals. As the deer stood closer to the fire, she noted how its fur seemed to shine reminiscent of snow. It hurt to stare at it, but it was still mesmerizing. Another thing that will disappear with the emergence of humans. Deer with different coloration than the ones in their history books would most likely be killed off. They’d be hunted for their pelts. It was something that she had come to accept. The deer walked towards her; she shifted away. There was no doubt in her mind that it was the same deer from earlier. No, it had been the same deer for as long as she had been in this area. She hadn’t seen any other deer this entire time, except this one.

It had become accustomed to her, and while that would prove fatal in the future, she had no intention of killing it. She was partially to blame for its naive nature. She had been feeding this deer. While wearing her gloves, she would toss apples to it. Something that had become a habit. She would imagine that this was what it was like to have a pet. She tried to maintain her distance in the past. Now was no different, except the deer was insistent.

She still sat near the fire, but every time she tried to scoot away, the deer would simply follow her, probably expecting food. It got to a point where she simply stood up. She walked into her trailer, put on her gloves and then tossed a couple of apples at the deer. She made sure to throw them near the forest so that it would simply leave when it was done.

The deer started to head towards the apples, and she moved back into her seat. When she settled down and looked up, the deer was in front of her. Before she could even move, the deer settled down and rested its head on her lap. She froze.

She had to move.

She needed to move, or the poor thing would end up lifeless.

Marigold stared into the deer’s eyes and found her reflection.

Was it abandoned by its herd? Even without humans, she supposed there were still other predators out there that made a unique coloration like its fur into an easy target. She could have just been projecting, but she recognized that look of longing.

The creature was going to turn to metal. There was no saving it. The second that it touched her, it was doomed to die.

She could at least try not to let it die in vain.

Marigold took off her gloves and placed it on the doe’s head. She slowly petted its head as it leaned into the touch. Cadmium climbed up the deer’s legs, but she ignored it. The deer didn’t seem to be in pain or if it was, it had accepted it. Its muzzle buried into her palm.

The soft fur against her skin startled her, and she briefly realized that this was the first sentient being that she had touched in a long while. Tears flowed down her cheeks; she had been crying a lot lately. She couldn’t help it though as she felt the life in the deer, her companion, slowly fade. The familiar ache from earlier was back except it was somehow worse because along with creating a lump within her chest, it was now accompanied by waves of grief and anguish. Pain from the heart spread to her limbs as she stared at the deer peacefully lying on her lap.

It didn’t deserve to be alone.

She didn’t deserve to be alone.

She wrapped her arms around the deer’s neck even as the metal had now reached its body. Her hands grabbed her arms, and as she hugged the creature, she knew that the deer wouldn’t die alone.

The pressure built along her hands before she felt a cold sensation creep along her arms.

She let her forehead brush against the deer’s and let out the words that had been implanted in her heart.

“It’s ok. It’s ok. You’re going to be ok.” She didn’t know if the deer could understand her, but she at least hoped it under the sentiment as she kept their foreheads pressed together. The deer eyes peered into her own. With a smile, she poured every inch of compassion into her eyes. Her arms had long lost any feeling. Somehow, even as she succumbed to lifeless metal, she had never felt so calm.

People would find her a decade later. They’d spot a woman of silver and a deer of white metal covered in flowers and leaves, embraced within Mother Nature’s arms.