Box City WIP: Book Snippet #1

Chapter 1, Scene 1

Hughes

Feb 26, 2026 · 2 min read

Please enjoy the first scene of Box City (tentatively named). This is a draft, please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors. I would love to hear what you think. I’ll definitely be coming back to flesh this scene out a bit more.

They call it Box City because it is the most lifeless place on Flower Planet. The architecture is the muted color of concrete. Everything is sharp edges and long lines. Everything reaches towards the sky, trying to touch the only beautiful thing that has not been tarnished.

In Box City, the people have learned to be lifeless too. Here is where The Destroyers rule from. They spread their influence all over Flower Planet over the decades. They spread death and replaced the beauty of life with artifice. They treated flowers like gardeners once treated weeds. Flower planet was once alive with the color of flora you could never imagine; now there is only monotony.

Different people will tell you different stories of how the flower fields dwindled. The Destroyers tell us it is all a result of ‘the blight.’ Many have forgotten the truth of The Destroyers, but The Seed Keepers hold the memories of history and are the key to ending The Destroyers’ rule.

“Maura has been arrested; they found her with the seed launcher,” whispers Callie.

“Was she successful?” Linden whispers back.

“Um, we don’t know,” says Callie, hanging her head.

“Cal will have to monitor the area for a couple of weeks to see if Maura was able to seed the area successfully,” Linden responds.

“We have to get her out of there,” Callie says with a fluster in her eyes.

“We will; the plan should work, and Maura is adaptable,” Linden says with resolve.

“Besides, we have Dima on our side,” he says with a smirk.

Callie nods impassively.

Linden’s face falls.

“You know I lo…” Linden begins.

“I know.” Callie interrupts.

“I’ll get in touch with Cal to make arrangements,” Callie says.

Callie takes the last sip of her wine and leaves Linden to his work behind the bar.