Heaven No. 9

Chapter 2: Camp Eden

As the sun disappeared behind the northwestern mountains, Lou emerged from the giant sequoia forest, having had no luck hunting that day. The forest had yielded no rabbits, no edible plants - nothing. However, she was relieved to still possess her bow.

With aching steps, Lou trudged across the flat terrain to the east. The soil was barren and patchy, with short, fringed grasses and sharp spikes jutting up from the earth. She was familiar with this route and made sure to step on the dry ground instead of the grass, which felt like nails ready to pierce her shoes. Even the trees were twisted and thin, standing oddly crooked in the afternoon light. The elders had said that the vegetation suffered from groundwater issues, but Lou had never thought much about it.

As she walked, she noticed numerous box-shaped metal objects scattered across the patchy land. They varied in shape, but all shared a common structure. Lou had heard her grandpa talk about them - they were called cars, a popular mode of transportation in the Old World. Perhaps he was the only person in Camp Eden who knew how they worked.

Lou continued her trek, eventually coming across a massive metal block with a track and a cannon barrel - a tank. The colossal structure stood tall, covered in dry, thorny vines and the roots of twisted trees. Despite the growing darkness, Lou knelt before the rusty tank, as she always did after a hunt.

Lou uttered a prayer of gratitude to the Mech-God for sparing her life yet again:

"May God continue to protect me," - she fervently prayed. - "I swear I will sacrifice myself when I hear your voice."

After concluding her prayer, Lou hastened away, mindful of the fading sunlight. Roughly three hundred meters from the tank, she came across several towering buildings that were now dilapidated and choked with moss and vines. Lou wondered how people could have ever lived in such structures and understood the purpose of the red-yellow-green light box she had just passed. But her grandfather knew.

"Once, this world was called Earth," - he had recounted to her, - "and people lived under the protection of God. They lived in towering buildings, used cars for transportation, and countless machines for work - doing things that are now beyond our imagination."

Despite hearing this story repeatedly, Lou still felt a curious longing to hear more, with the exception of the absurd notion that humans had once soared higher than the clouds to reach the stars. She found that impossible to believe.

Lost in thought, Lou ran forward and almost collided with a four-story building. It was a crumbling structure, more than half destroyed, resembling a cake carelessly sliced. It was a relic of the Old World and was known in Camp Eden as the "Watchtower." Suddenly, a voice bellowed from the top floor, causing Lou to raise her head in alarm:

"Who's that? This is Camp Eden! We don't accept refugees or beggars here! Get the hell out of here!"

As Lou gazed up at the tall building, she noticed a few human shadows but did not recognize anyone. The Watchtower frequently changed guards, and with about five hundred people in the camp, it was impossible for Lou to remember or know them all. She shouted out:

"I'm Lou!"

"I don't know any damn people named Lou!" - replied a man from the building.

"Louise!" - scolded Lou. - "Louise of H.G. Workshop!"

These men conferred with each other. Lou was very confident. Perhaps many people didn't know her, but no one was unfamiliar with H.G. Workshop. Then one man asked Lou:

"Do you have proof?"

Lou lifted her forearm, revealing the clumsy tattoo of the word "H.G." surrounded by a mouth full of fangs. Only Lou and her grandfather possessed this particular marking. The men conferred again before answering: