𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 | 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐣𝐢

𝐕𝐈. 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

Even though both of her children were young adults, that motherly instinct had taken control of Sarah. She gripped Robert and Roni each by one of their wrists, pulling them away from the walls as thin green sprouts crept through the fresh cracks that ran along the walls. Despite their complaints, she refused to hesitate. She moved them behind her as she rushed toward the front door.

Rogue had only taken a second to blink before recognizing that perhaps she'd been too quick to judge the Parrish family. Afterall, fear had a way of bringing out both the best and the worst in people.

The sprouts in the walls were growing thicker with each passing second and some had even grown buds that were beginning to bloom in flowers of assorted purples and blues.

Rogue's eyes widened before narrowing as she recognized these specimens. Dr. Oberon—Lizzy—had given a lecture on them at some point, explaining their medical pros and cons but the assassin-for-hire had simply found it easier to cut off their heads and move forward before their medic ended up poisoned or eaten.

A similar look entered Alan's eyes. He'd spent more than enough years in the jungle to know which plants were safe and which were life-threatening. None of those in his house now were the safe kind, and unfortunately it wasn't the first time they'd wound themselves around the support beams. Recognizing that he had to act quickly, Alan snatched up the boardgame and ran down the hall after his family. Rogue only followed once he had left.

As they reached the front door, they came to the same conclusion as the rest of the Parrishes: they were trapped. Several thick vines had wrapped themselves together around the front door, completely blocking it off.

Rogue pulled out her knife and began to cut away at the plants, but she looked back over her shoulder in frustration. "Find something to help me cut or watch my back... either way grab something sharp."

Robert and Roni sprinted off in opposite directions: one to the kitchen and the other to the living room. Although their parents protested, they both returned moments later, each holding their interpretation of something sharp. Robert held a steak knife while Roni wielded the stoker that normally leaned up against the fireplace.

"So what's the plan?" Roni asked, jabbing the stoker at the vines that blocked their path.

"Don't touch the purple ones," Alan warned. "They shoot poisonous barbs."

"And the yellow ones are carnivorous," Sarah quickly added.

Robert's brow furrowed as he whipped his head around. "Yellow ones? I haven't seen any—"

He was cut off as the sentient vines that had wrapped around his ankle made themselves known, dragging him across the foyer and toward the living room. His shouts only grew more panicked as the yellow petals erupted from the fireplace, reeling him in like a worm on a hook.

Roni's mouth tightened. "Looks like Robbie found a yellow one."

Her parents shot her a reprimanding look, but they didn't waste any words. They quickly rushed after their son—Alan scooping the fallen knife up from the hardwood floor. Together, they acted with a speed Rori hadn't seen since she was three or four years old when she had just learned how to climb the cabinets to reach the candy jar tucked away in the cupboards. Sarah reached out and grabbed her son's hands, pulling him away from the plant to provide Alan enough time to cut him free. The plant shrieked and withered away once the vine was severed.

"Away from the walls," Sarah repeated her earlier instruction, pushing the group back toward Roni in the foyer. She frantically looked around for an escape route since the door remained blocked. "Up the stairs. Move. Move. Move!"