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There was no way to tell how long the bundle traveled, nor how far. There were no holes and no exit. I stroked my fingers across the ivy. If Lance and Lily hadn’t betrayed me, I wouldn’t be in this mess. We’d be back at the jet, safe and sound, unless they’d been planning to abandon me all along. I clenched my fists. Traitors. Lance and his swords. Lily and Lance. Neither of them cared for the Community or for what made it safe.
Worse, they had made me think they cared.
The bundle gently descended to the frozen ground. The ivy unraveled and the vines went limp, sending in a cold gust of snow. Before I could stand, the vines wrapped around my wrists and pulled me to the ground. I tried to unravel myself, but the vines forced my hands behind a birch tree, drawing my head back so I could barely move. More vines crept along the side of my throat, crushing my windpipes.
I swallowed hard, dizzy. I needed air...
Not for long, Sapling. I will free you from this feeble human body.
Terror crept along my spine. Was the telepath trying to kill me?
The vines loosened around my throat. Relax, Sapling. You will have a choice. I merely forgot how weak the human body truly is.
Precious air... I took a sharp breath, hyperventilating as green liquid burnt my skin, merging my hands with flesh and steel—
Such a crude, artificial memory.
The memory vanished, replaced with cold numbness. My lips tingled. My fingers tingled. My heart pulsed in my throat. Air... I could breathe, but my body wasn’t convinced of that. I shrugged my shoulders, but the vines held me in place.
Let me help you, and I will make you strong.
Fear spiked through me. I needed to get back to the jet. I needed to call Inese. Someone. Anyone. I jerked against the vines. No success. Where was I? We couldn’t have gone far. I blinked, the thick trees spinning in my vision. Needed to breathe, to think—
Wait now, Sapling. I will join you shortly. The voice was tender, caring...
I relaxed. I closed my eyes and took a deep, ragged breath. The wind cut my cheek. When I opened my eyes again, the forest was still, except for a shadow. Vines rose from the forest floor, pushing away the snow. Beneath them lay several bones and a human skull. The bones lifted, hovering via telekinesis like some sort of anatomy specimen. Ivy wreathed around the bones, wrapping them like muscle until the layers formed deep green tissue.
My blood ran cold. What was it?
The human-plant monster popped its shoulders, and then stretched its vine-and-bone arm toward a snowy mound. A wooden staff flew into the monster’s hand. It paused and examined the weapon: a long, straight piece of wood with a bleached skull strapped to its top.
I have been following your progress for some time now, Sapling. The monster stared at me with dark, empty sockets. It smiled, the vines wriggling away to reveal human teeth. I slouched against the smooth, icy tree bark.
My stomach lurched. Community—what was this thing?
The monster strode toward me, leaving lumpy footprints in the powdery snow. Do you recognize this skull?
I shook my head. I couldn’t look away from this grotesque thing.
“No,” I whispered. My arms shivered violently. “Should I?”
Of course not. The skull is insignificant to your journey, though not to mine.
“Journey?” My cheeks stung from the cold.
The ivy of its cheeks twisted into a proud, crooked smile. Yes, Sapling. I was in Guatemala, recently deceased, when I stumbled upon a small pack of humans being attacked by beasts. An image flashed through my head of Lance stabbing his sword through a beastie’s chest. Then the view turned to me, hiding in the bushes, staring at the fight with wide, brown eyes. Vines wrapped around my arms, a curiosity. Such incidents are common among humans and their creations. Then one girl targeted the beastmaster. The girl, with bleach-blond hair and plain, gray clothes, focused on a man at the top of the hill. She targeted the nearby vines, commanded them, and then took the beastmaster’s life. She had been afraid, but successful.
I swallowed hard, sick.
She strangled him with her vines. It was an inspiration. For no matter how powerful those rebels are, or how powerful the Camaraderie thinks it is, nature can defeat them. I decided then to build my own empire, one free of humans.
Goosebumps ran along my skin. I stared at the gleaming skull on the monster’s staff. Impossible. The skull belonged to the beastmaster I’d killed, and this monster had taken inspiration from me. I had sensed him before; I remembered it clearly. That strange bundle of power high in the trees... I closed my eyes, willing the nightmare to end.
I had to find you. An empire cannot be made of one spirit alone.
A spirit... he was a spirit.
The vines tightened around my chest. I gasped, struggling to breathe. There must be others with plant powers who see the terror mankind forges with their machinery. You saw the desolation of Australia. The cruelty within Singapore. The destruction of Japan. We can end mankind’s terrible reign.
A small tendril sprouted from the vine around my throat. It crept across my chin and caressed my cheek. I struggled, mentally, to take control of the vine, but it merely nestled against my cheekbone.
A wave of sadness punched me in the gut. I would never get to cuddle with Lily this way. Never hold her, or have a chance to know if we would have made efficient partners.
A soft chuckle reverberated in my head. Are your friends really the companions you thought them to be? They are only doing what comes naturally. I did them a favor. I enhanced their feelings for each other and removed the restraints that kept them from seeking one another, just as I can remove the restraints that keep you from me.
I gritted my teeth, anger and fear flooding through my veins like brain freeze. “Get out of my head.”
The vines closed tighter. My throat, my wrists... I couldn’t feel my fingers...
My body fell limp against the tree.
The monster smiled. Let go of your friends, Sapling. Let go of mankind.
A writhing bundle of vines and naked limbs swirled before me, laughing and moaning... Lance slashed through a Special Forces agent, who stared sightless at the winter sky... Lily demanded money from Pops in return for leaving my dad alone...
Are these really your friends? Leave them, Sapling. Help me gather the pendants and we will destroy the Camaraderie. We will create a garden that will spread across the Earth and bring peace to this planet.
Vines overgrew beastie tanks, shattering the glass with roots. Flames consumed transformation facilities and beasties vanished into smoke. Plants overtook the noisy cities, people running in fear until no one remained. The honking of automobiles faded to soft, chirping birds, which flittered across a bright canopy of leaves. Radiant sunshine spilled across the undergrowth, warming the mulch underfoot.
The monster stood in the graceful sunlight, his arms and leaves outstretched to the sky, and I stood beside him. Our powers radiated around us, reaching through the warm trees and the new life.
We finally had peace.
The image shattered, replaced with ice and snow. The monster’s leafy face hovered over me, concerned. This is why I need you. Why I need others like you. He lifted my chin with a hand made from vines. My body refused to respond, and my chest twisted with fear. Join me, Sapling. In time, you will have this power and, together, we will achieve this vision.
My heart thumped slower, quieter. My vision faded. The vine on my cheek crept around my ear and pressed against my skull, but the pinprick of pain was distant.
Give in to the darkness. I will help you let go.
Something was wrong. I felt like I was drifting at sea, lost.
Your body is a restraint. You can do so much more.
The ground reeled, a dazzling flash of white and dark green streaks. I drifted, falling into sleep. My eyelids closed. A calm peace flooded over me. My heart beat slower, slower, slower—
Something ripped inside my chest.
I screamed. Birds shot away from their roosts in the trees. The monster towered overhead, his hands gripping the vines on my shoulders. Pain seared through every part of me, as if my whole being was being pulled inside-out.
He was in my head...
He was a telepath. Telepaths could possess. And he had life-spirit. The drifting...
My eyes widened. He was trying to remove my spirit from my body.
“No!” I bucked against the vines. “Lance and Lily—”
Betrayed you.
The vines constricted around my throat. I couldn’t breathe. Lily would try to save me, I was sure, but...
No, she wouldn’t try to save me. All she wanted right now was what pleasure Lance had to offer. My resolve wavered. I wanted to stop the creation of beasts. This... monster... could do that. He knew how.
Join me, Sapling.
The desire to say “yes,” to take revenge on the Camaraderie, Val and Tim, and Lance and Lily, overwhelmed me, flooding my mind like tidal wave. Whatever this monster was, he could show me how to use plants in a way the Coalition never imagined.
The vines loosened. I fell against the ground. I took deep, shuddery breaths. Power tickled across my skin. His anger, his hatred... even his love enveloped me, leaving me shaking in the snow. Unlike Lady Winters, he wanted me to assist him as an equal. The pain of the lives he’d taken from worthless men and women like her radiated through the forest.
I couldn’t see. Couldn’t breathe. My heart pulsed. His thoughts tickled my mind. An image flickered in front of me: Inese, furious, holding Quin at gunpoint. Lily and Lance, locked in passionate embrace. Dad and Jack fighting each other for their lives.
This is the true nature of your companions. You cannot achieve your goal while you fear for them. They are inherently destructive. The monster knelt beside me, resting his hand on my back. You will only achieve your goal when they are gone.
I curled into a ball, gritting my teeth. My fingers clenched and unclenched, leaving ragged gashes in the snow. I wanted to protect the Community. They wanted to destroy it. They cared nothing for safety, security, or efficiency.
You’re beginning to understand. Let go, Sapling.
I relaxed, my breathing shallow. The monster smiled and gently stroked my cheek.
You do understand, don’t you?
I nodded, numb. The Coalition of Freedom would never destroy transformation facilities of their own accord. They were too concerned about restoring the chaos of a bygone era. The Camaraderie of Evil, the ones with power, were too interested in ruling humanity. The Oriental Alliance cared only for their mechs and power, not for the natural world.
A pang coursed through me. I was torn. Revenge for everyone’s crimes, a world that was truly safe, or...
I stared into the empty forest of frozen snow. The end of beast transformation was a means to an end. An end to the lies of the Camaraderie, and the beginning of true safety, security, and efficiency. That was my end.
The Community was safe. I staggered to my feet.
The Community was secure. I turned, staring at the skeleton and ivy.
Revenge wasn’t efficient.
I blocked the monster’s hatred, his thoughts, his desires.
This was my duty.
I bared my teeth. “You will not use me.”
I leapt at him. His vines weaved around my hands, yanking me against his chest. Ivy curled around my throat, pressing into the skin of my jaw.
You will never achieve your goals until you give up your friends. I will crush your remaining allies, and then you will see.
“You would do that anyway.” I continued struggling, but I focused on my vines. “I won’t take part in your massacre.”
I urged my vines to inch toward the pistol at my side.
Look.
I shut my eyes tight, trying to ignore the sounds crashing through the trees, and commanded my vines to remove the holster snap and release the safety.
See what humanity resorts to?
My eyes opened, though not by choice. Jack stood meters away, lunging at Dad with his claws extended. Dad dodged before Jack collapsed, unconscious.
They have been at this for a little over an hour. You would be surprised at how few restraints I had to remove from their minds.
I urged my vines to remove the gun and aim somewhere behind me in the mess of bone and plants. The vines pulled the trigger. The explosion kicked my back, echoing through the wood. The monster’s vines loosened. I collapsed. The gun fell beside me.
The gunshot echoed a moment longer, and then there was utter silence from the forest.
Too much silence.
WE ARE LEGION. The voices were more painful, hotter, angrier than before. They filled my mind with the desire to consume and destroy, to find what life existed and twist it into something utterly unrecognizable. And vengeance... vengeance would be ours—
“The skull, Jenna! Destroy the skull!”
I blinked, stunned from the shock of the Legion Spore’s voices. Dad ran toward me. I fumbled for the gun and held it up, aiming for the monster’s head where he lay on the ground. His dark eyes stared at the sky.
Sadness filled my brain. You will never achieve your goals until your friends are gone, Sapling. He cocked his head. As for the demon, you cannot defeat it, even if it dies. You thought I was evil? You know nothing.
I closed my finger on the trigger and fired.
The plant-form crumpled, its skull shattered. The ivy swooped at me in full fury. Dad lunged at the vines, his hands outstretched. The elemental power winked into oblivion. The vines collapsed, sending snow flying around them. Dad staggered to a halt beside me, his chest heaving. “Thank the Community,” he whispered, laying a hand on my shoulder. “You all right?”
I stared at the haggard lump of vines and bone. “Is it dead?”
Dad gasped for air, then murmured one of Jack’s curses. “Let’s not stick around to find out.” He stepped back in the snow, dazed, and stared at the lump of vines. The power was gone from them. “I actually did it.”
I frowned. “Did what?”
“I think I stole its spirit. It kept going back into those bones and taking control of me. But when you destroyed the bones, it couldn’t go back.” He winced and rubbed his chest. “I think I’ll avoid doing that in the future, though. Didn’t feel very good.”
I wrapped my vines between my fingers, my head throbbing. Which thoughts were my own? Had it been real? “Dad, what hap—”
Remain where you are.
I dug my nails into my palms as another memory attack formed at the edge of my mind. Beasties crawled toward me, screaming in pain—
I concentrated on Gwen’s circle and the darkness, and the splitting headache I had from dealing with that plant monster. The pain served me, forcing the memories from the Legion Spore to retreat.
Still, I had no clue what my emotions were at the moment, and now the Legion Spore knew where we were. “Any idea where the jet is?” I asked, keeping my eyes on the sky. No sign of the living airship, but it was too close for comfort.
Dad shook his head. “No, but I think it’s a safe bet that we don’t need to worry about radio silence anymore. I’ll call Inese and see if she can get me coordinates. Where’s Lily? Wasn’t she with you?”
I pursed my lips. “There were... complications.”
Dad frowned, but if his experience with Jack accounted for anything, we’d all been fighting each other in one way or another.
“Do you remember where she was last?”
I turned away, my chest tight. “Sort of. I might be able to sense the area.”
The endless forest stretched out before us, daunting. That monster had gotten so close to having me join him. He’d broken too many defenses. I wrapped my fingers around the flower charm. If I’d known how to use it better, more than how to sense emotions and stray thoughts, maybe I could have held him back and not given in to whatever tricks he had performed in my mind. I didn’t want to think about Lance or Lily, or where we now stood with each other.
I waited, my body still numb as I listened for the Legion Spore. But the only answer was a long-winded curse from Jack as he woke from Dad’s life-spirit induced coma.
I grimaced, and then mentally reached out for any familiar landmarks, any configuration of plants that didn’t feel natural. One way or another, I’d find what I was looking for.
We found Lance and Lily huddled in the collapsed remains of a vine bundle. They shivered, pale from cold. Their clothes were shredded around them and their belongings scattered. I stood back, my arms crossed, and let Dad take care of the situation.
He placed his hands on their shoulders. A bit of color passed into their cheeks. Lance stirred, murmuring and clutching Lily tighter. I gritted my teeth and looked away.
Had the telepath made them like each other? Had he made them desire to have sex in the middle of the forest without their knowledge? Or had he simply enhanced their feelings?
Jack knelt beside the two lovebirds, checking their hands and feet, though they were in such a tight ball that I didn’t see how he could check anything at all.
“Jenna—call Inese,” Jack said. “Tell her to have blankets and hot packs ready.” When I didn’t move, he narrowed his eyes. “Now, Jenna. Ron—see if you can get them to drink this. They’ve got hypothermia.” He pulled a water bottle from a pouch at his side and the two of them set to work.
I grudgingly removed the radio from my belt. Once the conversation was over—Inese sounded winded—Jack motioned for my attention. “Can you close the vines around them? The less exposure they have to the cold, the better they’ll be in the long run.”
I wrapped the vines in a bundle around them, grimacing at the image of the monster’s cocoons. I layered the vines like he had, though I wasn’t sure how much good it would do. They had been exposed to the cold without heavy coats for a while now. Jack prepared a couple instant hot packs, strategically placing the packs before having Dad continue healing them.
Once they finished the initial measures, Jack and Dad hefted the bundle of vines, then trekked as fast as they could back to the jet. I followed behind, carrying their discarded belongings.
I didn’t say anything. The telepath might have been manipulating our emotions, getting Lance and Lily to say things they didn’t mean, but it didn’t remove the seething anger at the pit of my stomach, the desire to simply turn away from them and leave them in the cold.
