Chapter 14

  We pushed through the fog, coming up to a dense line of thick-trunked trees, separating the outside world from this small park. As we moved through, I realized it was more like a garden. Occasionally I would see the edge of a bushel of flowers, peaking through the haze. Everyone moved quietly, the rustle of wind the only noise accompanying us as we moved. Maria was using her tremor sense, and I was on a constant swivel for any shift in the smoke. This time I made sure to include the ground we walked on. Christian eventually led us towards a paved walkway we could follow, which brought us past more trees, flowers, bushes, and other plants all maintained by the University.

  There were also a few smaller trees randomly growing throughout the gardens, like someone had dropped the seeds to plant them by accident. They had no leaves, and their branches were withered inwards, almost like the tree was hugging itself. Each one was around 5ft tall, the dark colour of the bark helping them blend into the smoke. There was even one half-submerged in a small pond we walked past, but none of the others seemed to pay it any attention, so I continued onwards.

  This was probably a nice place once. I wish I had been able to see it before…

  I’d only been to the University of California once. My sister needed help moving her bags to residency, and I was ‘good enough’ to help out, according to my parents. I was in remission, feeling about as normal as I would ever get, so we all packed up into the truck and took the 45 minute drive to UCLA from south L.A.. It was a large campus, rolling with the hills and surrounded by buildings with names of people who had died 100 years ago. There had been a campus tour, but even they spared the details of every wealthy alumni’s donation to the institution, which I was thankful of.

  Mckenna had always been the one to loop me into doing things for her. That had been nice, in a way. I had felt included in the family, not ignored in the home like some sort of ghost.

  My younger brothers were a different story. Caleb was the middle child, and the star athlete I wasn’t. He got my father’s genes and then some, playing for the UCLA Bruins as a 6 '4, 290 pound linebacker who decimated anyone thinking of tackling him or his quarterback. He also received my father’s wicked anger streak, so I learned to just let him be. That wasn’t hard. My siblings left me alone when they turned teenagers, for the most part.

  My youngest brother was the exception, and not in a good way. Unlike Caleb and Mckenna, Jaxton had been spoiled rotten by my parents as the ‘accident baby’. Nothing was ever his fault, and he loved to lie about how we were treating him for our parent’s reaction when we were kids. By the time high school rolled around, he had become a menace. Suspended multiple times for bullying on social media, and in person, but still graduating due to my parents threatening to sue. He didn’t have a job either, just made ragebait content for his influencer account, harassing and ‘pranking’ random people in public.

  Despite all that, I hoped he was at home when everything started. Not because I cared, but because I knew my parents wouldn’t be able to handle it.

  We travelled onwards for about 15 minutes, slowly walking and taking our time along the path. There were no signs of death or destruction like in the city we’d experienced so far, like the gardens had been protected from the invasion entirely. It made me uneasy, my new eye occasionally noticing a shadow disappear into the smog, or the unnatural movement of the branches and flowers. They either swayed in perfect harmony with one another, or remained completely frozen, rigid in place. But by the time I could focus on it, the garden returned to normal, and I was left staring at a small shrub like a dumbass.

  Something just felt weird about the whole area, but I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.

  Ahead of us, I could begin to make out a small building’s shape. It had an ‘A’ shaped roof, and I could make out the shadows of long, limb-like appendages inside. It was a greenhouse, entirely made of glass walls. The shadows filled the greenhouse like large veins, draping down from the inside of the ceiling.

  I also saw one of the glass panels had been shattered about 10ft in front of us, and instantly my heartbeat shot up. I tried to get everyone’s attention without getting too loud, my voice coming out in a harsh whisper.

  “Guys, wait. We should stay away from the greenhouse, something happened here.”

  Everyone stopped, Christian turning to me.

  “What do you mean? Are you talking about the broken window?” He asked and I nodded, hoping we could move off the pathway. Every hair on my body stood at attention, the adrenaline running through me ordering my body to high alert like a five-star general.

  “It's fine. I’d much prefer the cover to hide behind if something comes our way”. Christian said after scanning the ground in front of us. Before I could respond, he walked a few steps forward on the walkway towards the greenhouse.

  Unfortunately, Christian hadn’t seen the glass on the walkway, hidden under the black smog. The loud crunch of glass under his boot broke the silence, stopping us in our tracks. Christian reacted instantly, sharply exhaling as he stared down at the ground, his one knee now in the air. He turned to us and was about to speak when the garden came alive.

  Slow, menacing howling began to surround us, multiple depressed voices joining in to create a choir of wails. The screams were accompanied by the sound of broken earth, as if something was rising from the soil around us, hidden by smog. The voices were unintelligible and barely human, deeper and more gritty as the song went on, finally stopping suddenly as it had begun. The four of us, minus Christian, had grouped back-to-back without me even noticing, everyone on the lookout for whatever had caused the sound.

  Christian looked back at us, trying to keep his balance. There was a mix of worry and anger on his face.

  “Quick, we can go back!” He said, hobbling towards us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maria raised two shaky hands towards him.

  “Something’s coming, look out!” She yelled at the aid.

  He only made it a few steps before one of the smaller trees we’d seen before charged through the smog at Christian, who barely dodged out of the way as the two-legged figure collided with the glass panel behind him, spraying jagged glass over Christian and the surrounding area. He swore in pain, but seemed to be all right as he rolled away, quickly getting up and over to the group despite his injury.

  I received two messages at once, processing them both instantly with the help of the System’s user interface.

  Art: Kid, you need to get out of there, yesterday! You are in the middle of a Propagator nest! I’ve only seen them underground before, shit! Don’t let them seperate you, they’ll take you to back to whatever fucked up thing Graxis released, and make you into one of them!

  The second message was from the System.

  Child of the Overgrown, level 0

  Warning: This creature is a Graxis S.A.I.

  Class Type: Physical

  Strength: 15

  Dexterity: 7

  Intelligence: 3

  Spirit: 10

  Health: 5

  Luck: 15

  Propagators are some of the universe’s best mothers. They let you stay out past curfew, make sure you are always full of sustenance, and nurture you into the finest specimen she can imagine.

  Nature is her only guide, and the stoicness of the tree is her answer. She turns those with potential into her tree-like children, and uses the rest as fertilizer for her new flora family.

  Graxis has taken that beautiful mother and given her the frat-house party special, lacing the fertilizer with symbiote-enhanced drugs. The Propagator is turned into the Overgrown, whose new frenzied focus is to turn all creatures into her children. Good luck trying to stop her, she has the entire family on her juicing regiment.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  To quote Vin Diesel, “Nothing is stronger than family”, or whatever. These children have the strength of the forest behind them, and they love new additions.

  “Stay together!” I yelled.

  The five of us stood back to back, Maria taking one side as I took the other. The sound of heavy, thick footsteps thudded against the soft soil towards us, coming from all directions and getting louder and louder. It was impossible to know how many were coming, as the smog veiled their approach until the last moment. I heard the zap of building static electricity and the sound of a fire combusting around me as everyone activated their skills.

  Maria and I sensed it at the same time. I saw the shadow hurtling towards us as Maria raised her arms to the same area. We both shouted a warning to everyone as the first tree creature burst through, right in front of Zahra. The humanoid tree had a thick trunk for a body, with two large stumps for legs that shook the ground as it ran. Its branches curved inward like a ribcage, opening as it moved towards us like arms spreading out for a hug. The moaning and howling had come from a baseball-sized hole near the top of the trunk. The trunk’s ‘mouth’ was a dark abyss which no light could penetrate, sending shivers down my spine as it let out a crying shriek and attempted to branch-tackle Zahra.

  She didn’t give it a chance, dashing forward as soon as the creature was within 5ft, pivoting as it tried to grasp her in its lunge. She rotated her shoulders and raised a silvered leg, throwing a roundhouse kick that nailed it right in the center of the trunk. We heard the sound of wood splitting from the force of her strike, sending the creature back as it moaned in pain. Before it could recover, its chest crackled and sparked as a black flame with licks of purple engulfed it, Grasp of Hades activating from the strike.

  It tried to put out the flames, but it didn’t matter.

  A flash of blue light came from beside me, as a streak of lightning burst from Ritesh’s antlers. The bolt collided with the tree creature’s chest, breaking through the cracked wood and igniting it further. Charred bark and twigs fell from the creature as it broke in half, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

  “Very good! Keep going!” Ritesh yelled as static electricity pooled in the antlers above him, his skill recharging. There was a crazy smile on his face behind the tension.

  No one had time to answer as we were immediately bombarded by tree creatures from every side. I focused on the one in front of me, activating Density Shift as I cocked my fist back. Bark scratched my knuckles as I blew a hole through the side of the creature, sending sawdust confetti exploding into the air and my open mouth. I spluttered and coughed, trying to ready another strike to fell the tree.

  Unfortunately, it used that moment to stab me with its razor-sharp branches, piercing my leg and staining my pants with hot, silvery blue blood. My health went down about 25% and my leg shook and spasmed, the attack literally striking a nerve. It tried to pull the branch out of my leg and stab me again.

  You aren’t getting away, fucker!

  I grabbed the branch impaling me, preventing the Child of the Overgrown from moving as I swung with my right fist again, this time aiming for the center of its trunk body. I activated Force Resonance from the stab damage, and I felt power flow into me. I sent an uppercut ripping into the exposed trunk of the creature, punching through it and sending the upper half spinning into the air.

  As it landed 10ft. from us, I could have sworn I heard… something talking through the black hole in the trunk, not just moaning or screaming.

  “I just don’t understand… I studied so hard. That was nothing like the review.”

  I froze.

  A woman’s broken and crackling voice whispered through the hole, which slowly closed until disappearing completely.

  It’s just a monster, right? Graxis is just fucking with us, trying to make us crazy.

  Fuck them. Fuck this bullshit experiment.

  I couldn’t help the string of swears slipping from my mouth as the battle raged on around me.

  I watched as Maria baited a Child of the Overgrown into charging at her, only for the ground beneath it to crumble away, sending it into a pit trap. Others she sent flying through the air, the ground beneath them suddenly rising and catapulting them above us. One even landed in the greenhouse, crashing through more glass and groaning and mumbling a 'Shiiiiiiiiiet' from the fall. I froze at the sound, my brain putting it together.

  Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.

  The Children of the Overgrown had legs. A body. Even a ‘mouth’ which could scream out in pain.

  Pain they could feel.

  God damn it. God damn it all.

  I clenched my teeth until I could taste blood, attacking the next monster I could see. My regeneration popped the splinters out of my skin and mended my bones as I brawled. The pain mixed with their twisted forms, making it easier to clear my mind of distraction. The tree-people weren’t too tough, but they hit like a battering ram. I coated myself in the blue energy from Density Shift, moving it around to focus on protecting my arms, legs, and head as tree-trunk sized branches swung towards me and occasionally hit me.

  Similarly, the rest of the group was immersed in combat. Christian had restrained one of the creatures, a small rope magically flying through the air and wrapping around it. It set Ritesh up perfectly, who was firing off a bolt of lightning every 5 seconds. Maria was using her ability to move the ground to keep the trees away from her and Ritesh, who fired as she called out our enemies. It was going well, with Zahra and I taking the front and running interference for the team. I wasn’t able to dodge every strike like Zahra, but I was still holding my own.

  We wiped out the last tree in view, our breaths heavy and chests heaving. It looked like I was the only one who had any wounds, although my regeneration had already brought my HP back to full. The distant sound of moaning and earth breaking still annoyed our ears, but it was far away. I turned to the group, running my hand through my hair and raking out the dead twigs and bits of bark.

  “We need to get out of here, as soon as possible. What's the fastest way into the University?” I asked, opening my map. We were still about a 100-150 yards away from Bunche Hall, but we needed to get out of the gardens first. Multiple red dots littered the map, as enemies popped out of nowhere and began to slowly move towards the blue and white lights of our group.

  “This way!” Christian said, pointing past the greenhouse. We followed him as the moans and screams got louder. They were following us. Fast.

  Zahra tugged my sleeve, catching me off guard. Silver smoke cascaded from her ankles into the sky, and the smog covering her feet had a flickering purple glow. We were running at a fast pace, but she barely looked like she was jogging.

  “I’ll slow them down. Keep together and I’ll meet everyone outside the gardens!”

  “What!? No! Just stick with us-”.

  But she had already turned on a 90 degree angle, the tops of purple flames breaching through the smog as she ran. The others hadn’t heard her, and were running full tilt towards the exit through the smog. Maria was still using Tremor Sense to point out enemies, which Christian would use his rope manipulation to trip up or prevent from getting to us.

  The sound of fire exploded behind us, and I could see the purple lights flickering higher and growing brighter as the saplings ran into Zahra’s Hellish Procession. Even through the smog, I could make out their forms illuminated as they burned. I watched my map as Zahra’s blue light ran in a zig-zag pattern behind us, her steps igniting and laying a perfect trap for the clumsy wooden monsters. The screams turned into curses, more and more human. Maria and Ritesh ran with wide eyes and nervous glances to the smog around us.

  Christian didn’t look around or slow his quick pace.

  We ran past the greenhouse as the ground began to shake. Something massive was moving very close, and I couldn’t see where it was.

  We had only gotten about 10 ft. past the greenhouse when a massive roar burst through the smog behind us. Thankfully, Maria was still in range and felt the attack.

  “Something huge is coming, look out!”

  We all looked back, barely having time to get out of the way as a massive oak tree flew through the air, slowly spinning like the long hand on a clock. I activated Density Shift as the tail end of the trunk clipped me, dealing 30% of my health and separating me from the group as I hit the ground.

  “Get up, bro!” Ritesh yelled, a bolt of lightning flying past me as the smell of burned wood filled the air. It was suffocating, and I wheezed as I inhaled, pushing myself up to my feet as quickly as possible. The ground shook as whatever threw that attack prepared another, the sound of a tree being uprooted sending a shiver down my spine. I had to be ready to dodge the projectile, no matter how big. If it hit me head on, it would be bad, possibly deadly. I couldn’t rely on the group, they were too far away and hesitated getting closer.

  A message hit my textbox.

  Art: The Overgrown has sent her protector, you cannot take this thing on. This whole area must be under her control if she can transport it here quickly. Dodging a tornado of trees will be the least of your problems if it catches up to you. It has a Psychic Murmur skill that we cannot handle right now.

  Art: Go!

  The moment I slowed to process, nature’s stalker grabbed me through the smog. A Child of the Overgrown had caught up, and my hesitation left me open. Sharp branches dug into my skin, catching me off guard and restraining me against the thing’s trunk body. The branches were supernaturally strong and thick, not moving even after I reinforced my arm with Density Shift and pushed.

  The black hole swirled, speaking to me.

  “Go… Bruins.” It stated, weakly.

  “Fuck off! Let go!” I yelled, but suddenly my body froze as bark broke my skin. My head spun like I’d just spun around in a chair for half a minute. The vertigo was insane, and I threw up over myself and my attacker as the System notification made my heart sink.

  Warning: You have received the Stunned condition from Smog of the Swamp King. 4 seconds remaining.

  The screaming from the protector was deeper than that of the children, but it stuck in my head, making it impossible to think or move. It gave a final, victorious roar as I saw the shadow of another large oak catapulting towards me. There was nothing I could do. It was going to hit me square in the chest, crushing my ribcage into my heart and killing me instantly. I couldn’t speak, but my final thoughts weren’t worth saying aloud.

  I knew it was a waste for me to get any of this power. I’m still so weak, and now I’m leaving behind the person I want to protect, too. How pathetic.

  I hope she burns you all to the ground, Graxshits.