Mia watched the sky darken to a surreal shade of grey from the back seat of Naila’s car. She’d seen this on TV, but never paid attention to how the surroundings dulled in color, how life drained from them.

“It wasn’t supposed to rain today…” lamented the driver.

“Mother Nature must’ve made her own plans.” Roxie remarked solemnly. She watched flags rustle in the wind. “California doesn’t get tornadoes, does it?”

“Not any strong ones.”

“Lucky~ Tornadoes are the worst.” What an eerily straightforward way for her to put it.

“They sound like it. I hope the weather clears up soon. There’s a lake close to where your crew is staying, behind all the trees.” Naila smiled to herself. “Skipping rocks there helps me destress.”

Roxie looked into the back seat, her eyes filled with the same excitement as Mia’s heart. “Mia, did you hear that? The wonders of nature are just beyond our reach! You can feast upon it with your very eyes!”

“I’d love to!”

“Then it’s decided!” She turned back around, folding her arms. “We’re going to the lake!”

Naila nearly asked something, but instead pulled over to the sidewalk and braked the car. “I just realized you’ll be closer to the barracks if I let you off here. Just go straight down that street,” She pointed at the corner they just passed, “make a right at McBeefy’s, and then go straight until you see a bunch of trees. That’s when you’ll know you’re there.”

“Thank you for the ride.” Mia struggled not to step on Naila’s backpack or her medical books as she exited the car.

Roxie simply hopped out. “And thank you for your knowledge of the lake!”

“No problem. Stay dry!”

“You too!” Only after the fact did Mia realize what a fool she sounded like. Naila had a car. The freckled ranger didn’t have enough time to fix her mistake before she drove off.

“Onward!” Roxie led the way, denying Mia the chance to dwell on it.

Mia caught up to her as she rounded the corner. To their left, a metal fence separated them from a field with a running track. How would it have felt to run with the wind at her back? “Does it feel nicer, running laps on Earth?”

Roxie tilted her head side to side as she walked. “That’s not as simple a question as you may think.” She wagged a finger. “We are always at the mercy of the weather here, my dear Wattson. Once you’ve experienced a training session in the blistering heat of a summer afternoon, you’ll know the sun’s full wrath. But don’t be fooled by winter. She’s just as harsh a mistress, her cold winds sending daggers into your lungs with every breath…!”

“Oh. What about weather like this?”

“This is fine!” She answered cheerily.

Darkened windows across the street reflected cars that sped by much faster than the 30-mph-limit. Mia saw her own reflection, and Roxie’s, alone on the sidewalk, so quiet compared to Lunaria.

She held her hands out. “It’s so empty.”

“No one walks in America!” Roxie explained.

“But,” Mia thumbed behind her, “so many people were walking around in that city we came from.”

“That’s because it’s a city. Us country folk have to fend for ourselves!” The shorter redhead stabbed a finger into her own chest. “Driver’s licenses are a necessity in the rural wilderness.”

“Don’t you have buses?”

“No. It’s drive or die!”

Mia smiled, then grimaced when her heel collided with something unexpectedly squishy. Her foot sprang up, revealing a tomato slice absolutely covered in pepper. Moving pepper. “...Are those ants?”

Roxie turned, then gasp. “What a feast! Their queen will be so proud!”

Mia studied the ants intently. They crawled along the sidewalk, with a trail leading all the way back to the fence. Along the way, grass sprouted from a crack in the sidewalk. “It’s weird that someone would plant this here.”

“No one planted it, silly!” Roxie’s laugh carried nothing but kindness. “Grass grows wherever it wants to.”

“I never knew a crack in the sidewalk could be so alive.” The freckled ranger watched ants carry tomato pulp back to their home. She could do this for hours.

“Waaaah, how cute~!”

“They are kind of cute in a way.” Mia never thought she’d be saying this about ants, but she never thought she’d see ants.

“I wasn’t talking about the ants.”

“Huh?”

Rumbling cut through the sky. It shook Mia to her core, but in an exciting way.

“Sorry Mia, but we’ll have to leave the ants to their work! Time is ticking until–”

A darkened spot appeared on the sidewalk, and more joined it. Something cold landed on the back of Mia’s neck.

“Gyah!” Roxie ran away. Her arms failed to protect her mass of hair. “My dye is under attack!”

Mia ran after her, taking off her uniform coat. She finally caught up at the corner across from McBeefy’s. “Here…” she wheezed. “W… We can…”

Instead of wasting precious breath to explain, she lifted her coat above herself and Roxie. Roxie held the side closest to her, allowing Mia to let go of it.

“Thankies!” Roxie’s round eyes looked up at her. “I could use my coat if you want.”

“It’s fine.” Mia strained. “Feels good!”

Rain sprinkled her left arm like freckles. She didn’t lie; it felt nice! Looking toward the sky, Mia couldn’t see any source of the raindrops.

“The water… It’s falling out of the sky.”

“That’s what rain is!”

“Yeah, but–,” Logistically, Mia knew this was true, but it might as well have been magic to her. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

“You have a lot to learn.”

“I can’t wait to.”

Mia continued with Roxie down the final sidewalk, watching rain fall into the open field across the street. Beyond them, the sidewalk would come to an end soon. All it lead to were grassy clearings on either side of the road.

“Didn’t Naila say there’d be trees around here?”

“There are!” Roxie pointed ahead. “See?” Mia’s eyes followed her hand to a miniscule forest in the distance. It had to be a mile or two away from the end of the sidewalk.

“We have to walk all the way there??” The younger ranger’s excitement proved to be too much for her body, because she launched into a coughing fit.

Roxie slowed down, worry clear on her face. “Mia, are you okay?”

Mia nodded anyway, too embarrassed to tell the truth. She never cared for running, but the short jog over to Roxie shouldn’t have taken such a toll on her. It hadn’t been that long since she last ran. She shouldn’t be this out of shape.

“You don’t have asthma, do you?”

She finally recovered. “Can you even get into the IF with it?”

“If it’s mild, yes.” answered Roxie.

“My breathing exams came out normal, so I don’t think so.” Mia tried to remember if there were any signs she might’ve been missing. “I dunno, I never had any issues with it growing up.”

“Roxie Safety Tip!” She pointed with her free hand. “If you have trouble breathing, let someone know.”

Raindrops slithered down Mia’s elbow. The sprinkling became a steady downpour, shrouding their destination in mist. At this pace, she didn’t know how long it would take them to get there, but she knew her coat couldn’t hold out for much longer. Even now, it sagged and dripped onto their shoulders.

“Um,” Mia looked behind, “do you think we should head back to McBeefy’s? We’re still close. Maybe we could call Emil to pick us up from there. I can’t imagine being out here is very Roxie Safety Tip of us.”

“You are correct.” Roxie lifted up the sagging section. “McBeefy’s is an oasis of warmth and acceptance, so long as we buy a combo meal for $5.99! A perfect place to retreat.”

The two turned around, only to be met with curtains of rain. Their surroundings became a blur that only the light of the McBeefy’s sign could cut through. Angus, the bull mascot, crossed his arms and smiled down on them. The yellow circle at his back shined like a halo.

“How much water can fall from the sky?” It amazed Mia more than it annoyed her, and getting soaked was not her usual method of fun. Lightning flashed. She couldn’t even show it to Roxie before it disappeared. Thunder roared so loud, it nearly drowned out the truck passing by. “You could make an ocean out of this…”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“That’s what we here on Earth call–My truck!”

“I don’t think that’s–” Before she could finish, Roxie sprinted away from McBeefy’s, waving at a familiar red truck with a familiar driver.

“Captain Galhardo! Captain Galhardo, it’s your faithful crew!” Roxie’s curls glistened in the rain. Grey splotches splattered her white coat. “Please don’t forsake us!” Her pleas continued in vain as the truck continued at a respectable speed. “Please! Captaaaain!!”

Image: Roxie chasing the red truck and Mia following. The McBeefy's sign glows in the background. [https://f2.toyhou.se/file/f2-toyhou-se/images/46465667_m7tCooh2tf8Y4Mv.png?1646816508]

Her calls went unheard. The truck passed the end of the sidewalk, where Roxie stood alone. Both her arms and voice lowered, defeated. Once again, Mia used her coat to shield her from the rain, but with how soaked it had become, the gesture meant little from a practical standpoint.

“He’s gone.” Roxie whined. She leaned her wet hair on Mia’s shoulder, and together, they watched the truck drive away… onto the side of the road?

It veered into the patch of grass beyond the end of the sidewalk, backing up carefully as to not hit the fence. Finally, it stopped a few feet from where Mia and Roxie stood. They huddled over to its side.

“You came back!” The driver’s window didn’t have a chance to come down before Roxie shouted her appreciation.

“The door is unlocked.” spoke Captain Galhardo.

Roxie practically hopped into the back seat, offering Mia a hand once she got settled. The latter wrung out her shirt before getting in. Both were too soaked for it to make a difference, but Mia figured she’d be polite.

“Thank you, Captain.” Mia smelled the leftover scent of chicken salad.

“We are grateful for your salvation!” Roxie took off her own coat, revealing a blue shirt much drier than Mia’s. “If I may ask, is it okay if we turn up the heat? I would like to protect us against hypothermia as much as possible.”

Without a word, Captain Galhardo turned up the heat dial. Roxie and Mia thanked him while he checked the road for passing cars. There were none.

He eased onto the road, looking warily at his passengers. “...What were you two doing on your own? Where is the lieutenant?”

“There wasn’t enough room in the other truck.” Roxie answered. “So we walked!”

“Why not wait for him to pick you up?”

“Ranger Basara was ordered to drive us,” Mia explained, “but she had duties to attend to, so she dropped us off halfway.”

“Interesting.”

Mia listened to the sound of rain pounding against metal. She found out during the picnic that cars come with built-in radios. Emil seemed particularly horrified upon finding out that his brother never turned his on, but she didn’t mind right now. The wind and rain provided its own tune.

Within minutes, they drove into the wooded area. The road turned, leading into a real life Earth neighborhood, where small, quaint, nearly identical houses were packed together. The blue truck could be seen sitting outside of one. It’s driver typed on his cellphone under a canopy. Around the same time, Mia saw a text he sent Roxie asking where they were. He watched as the red truck parked.

Roxie left the car after Mia, holding up her phone. “We’re here!”

Emil smiled upon seeing the two of them. “Heeeey, I was just coming to get you guys before you got,” his smile dampened, “soaked.” The captain caught his attention. “You’re back fast! Did you get everything set up with the spaceport?”

“I didn’t go.” answered Captain Galhardo. “We’ll need luggage, so I came back to take crewmembers to get theirs. I’ll be needing Rangers Summers and Kelly.”

“Leon went next door for something, ‘cause, uhhh…” many expressions of discomfort played out on Emil’s face. “Actually, why don’t you come in? It’s easier than explaining.” He opened the door. “Don’t bother taking off your shoes, you can’t do much more damage than what’s already done.”

“Damage?” The captain stepped in first. “Who caused damage?”

“None of us!” His brother held his hands up. “Trust me, we couldn’t get the chance.”

Mia entered the house last, stepping on a mold-green carpet, it’s furry texture an affront to hygiene. The smell proved just as much. A silver bug skittered across her path and along the cracked, textured white walls–at least the parts that weren’t stained. She could tell she stood in a combination living room/dining area, but from what decade, she didn’t know. Most of the furniture looked older than Lunaria itself, some older than her mother. She sneezed.

“This place looks very, um,” as she struggled to find a polite word, a spider attacked the silver bug, “very lively.”

Emil laughed. “Yeah, this house kinda developed its own ecosystem along the way. The living room isn’t that bad, though. A couple spiders here, a couple–” He squinted at the silver bug fight. “...What the heck is that? Anyway, it’s the rest of the place you should worry about.”

Roxie nearly sat down on a floral print couch.

“Woah woah woah there Roxie! We still haven’t got a verdict on the bedbug situation here yet–”

“I didn’t find any bedbugs!” Jun’s voice called from the hallway.

Roxie resumed sitting down.

“Did find cockroaches though. Lots of ‘em in the mattresses. Way grody.”

She immediately jumped up.

“How could any star ranger let a lodging facility come to this?” Captain Galhardo entered the hallway, inspecting a bunch of paper towels shoved under a door.

“Dunno if I can blame the cleaning crew. If I got assigned this place I would nnNOT touch that door!” Emil hurried over to him.

The captain drew his hand away from the doorknob. “What’s behind it?”

Before Emil could answer, the door behind Mia opened, hitting her in the back.

“Oh, sorry Mia, I didn’t know you were there!” apologized a lightly drenched Leon. He turned his attention to Emil. “The next door neighbors said they’d trade us wasp spray for mouse traps.”

“We don’t have any mouse traps.”

“We don’t have any mouse traps!” Leon relayed. Mia heard a door shut from outside.

“Aww, they have mice?” asked Roxie. “I wish we had mice.”

“Ranger Summers, I need you to accompany me to the spaceport.” ordered Captain Galhardo.

“Of course sir, I’d love to!” Leon stepped inside. “There’s a diorama back there that I meant to take a picture of, anyway.”

“Now where is Ranger Kelly?” The captain addressed his brother.

“Yoooo, this is a whole rainbow of mold!” echoed Aiden’s voice. “Jun, come check it out!”

“Do not check it out!” Roxie bolted into the hallway. “Check out of the mold room immediately!”

Emil faced the captain. “Hey bro, we should get hotel rooms.”

The captain crossed his arms. “Hotel rooms are expensive.”

“We can afford ‘em! Sure, we might get paid less than–”

Mia sneezed a few more times, interrupting. The captain seemed relieved at this. “Excuse me.”

“No prob. You okay?” Emil smiled when she gave a thumbs up, then resumed the other conversation. “Look, it’s not like we’ll be spending loads of money in space. Might as well use what we have now! Besides, imagine if we bring any of these little creatures home, and heaven forbid, they infest the new guy’s bed. He’ll think we’re a buncha slobs!”

His brother exhaled. “You’ve made your point. But we’re not getting hotel rooms. A different lodging facility should suffice.”

“I dunno.” He tugged at one of his curls. “If the neighbors were begging for mouse traps, we might be swapping one infestation for another. But anything’s better than the wasp nest room.”

“The what?” Captain Galhardo flinched away from the paper towel door. “You could’ve just told me–”

Roxie returned with Jun and Aiden’s arms hooked into hers. “We’ve returned, free of spores. I think.”

“Ranger Kelly, you are to accompany myself and Ranger Summers to the spaceport to retrieve your luggage, understood?”

“Understood, Captain.” Aiden sounded like he’d rather do anything else. He sulked behind the captain, following him to the door.

Leon opened it, and after the other two left, he turned to Mia. “I hope you’re enjoying Earth so far! Too bad I couldn’t see you experience it more.” How tragic. “Hopefully I’ll be back in time to see your reaction to–”

“Ranger Summers.”

“Sorry, sir!” He glanced back at Mia. “I guess it’ll have to be a surprise. Goodbye, everyone!” With a wave, the door closed behind him.

Emil re-entered the living room, along with Roxie and Jun. He lifted his arms. “Well, I guess it’s just us!”

“Cool.” Jun stood awkwardly with the others. “What do we do now?”

He grabbed a remote from the possibly-cockroach-infested-couch. “We could watch TV while we wait for the others.” Emil pressed the power button, but the TV didn’t turn on. He tapped it many times to no avail. “Huh. Maybe it’s not plugged in. Mia, can you check since you’re over there?”

Mia looked beyond the spider claiming its silver feast into a tangle of wires behind the TV set. She couldn’t hope to make sense of them even if she tried. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.

The TV turned on. Then off. Then on again, repeating the cycle rapidly until a loud pop sent Mia jumping away. The TV turned off again… along with all of the lights.

Emil’s jaw dropped. So did his remote, which he backed away from as if to avoid blame. “So. TV’s a bust. Annnd we’re stuck in a dark, musty, buggy house.”

Staying far from the TV, Mia walked around and over to tacky floral curtains. “We could open these. Then it wouldn’t have to be dark.”

“That’ll solve one problem!” Emil winked.

She cautiously parted open the curtains. The whole room carried such a diseased aura that she felt itchy just being there. Specifically on her right hand. A fuzzy spider happened to be crawling on top of it.

“O-Oh, hello there!” Had she flinched any more, it would’ve flown off her hand into who-knows-where. Her hand pressed against the curtain, and thankfully, it took the hint. “There you go.” Earth creatures didn’t respect personal space.

Now Mia could get back to her true purpose for doing this: watching the rain. It had mostly died down by this point. Still, watching raindrops merge into one another one the windowsill entertained her more than the cable network ever could.

Roxie joined her by the window, instead watching the spider. “Go free, fuzzy friend! Join your brethren!”

Mia glanced over to see it climb onto the window sill, filled with black, fuzzy things that didn’t quite look like spiders. Maybe they were eggs. “Do spiders normally lay that many eggs?”

“No, no, spider eggs don’t look like that. That’s…” Roxie’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “That’s mold.”

“Wh-Wha–? Whachoo! Achoo!!” A sneezing fit interrupted Mia’s question.

“Looks like it got in the air vents too.” Jun joined Emil over in the kitchen area. Above them, black speckles caked an air vent.

“Geez, no wonder Mia’s been sneezin’ up a storm!” Emil backed away from it. “Weeee should probably get outta here, huh?”

“Immediately!” confirmed Roxie. “This house belongs to the mold now!”

She took Mia’s hand and rushed out of the door. Jun and Emil followed. The four fit like sardines under the two-person canopy, but at least they weren’t getting poisoned!

Mia glanced back at the door. “I was really looking forward to seeing nature, but I think I prefer when it’s outside.”

Jun laughed. “Don’t worry, not all houses here are that gnarly.”

“We’re getting a better one if it takes all day.” Emil marched forward. He jingled his car keys. “No time like the present to get started.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jun walked with him and so did Mia.

Roxie, however, stayed behind. “Wait! This house may be claimed by pests and pestilence, but it has one good thing going for it!”

“What’s that?”

“Location! Legend has it that a lake rests beyond the trees.”

“Oh yeah!” Mia forgot. “Naila told us there’s lake nearby.” She reiterated to the others.

“We should let Mia see it before we leave. Pretty please?” begged Roxie.

“You don’t have to–”

“Who am I to refuse?” Emil shrugged. “Might as well view something worth lookin’ at after experiencing,” he grimaced at the house, “that. Where is it?”

Jun leaned over. “I think I see it behind the house.”

“Well then let’s go!” He waved an arm and changed direction. Roxie bounded past him.

Mia lagged behind the others, too busy watching the sky part, revealing a beautiful blue once more. Earth changed so constantly, she didn’t know what to expect. How could any of this be mundane to so many people? A surprise waited around every corner! Somehow, this didn’t scare her. It brought exhilaration.