The Apocalypse of Plants

Preston

Laina falls to her knees and tries to tear the vines off and I can only watch in horror as she fails and her eyes flutter shut.

"No!" Morgan screams. He runs forward with Tally's knife and slices through the vines. They try to throw him back like they did to Kenzie and I, but he dodges them easily with super speed. Is there anything he can't do?

Defeated, the vines slide off Laina and lie on the ground unmoving. Morgan sinks to the ground and pulls Laina into his arms.

"No," he sobs, feeling the pulse point on her throat. I stumble forward and fall beside them.

"Is she...?" Morgan just nods. Tears fill my eyes. "No. Not her too." I've lost Johanna, and now Laina. How? Why does this keep happening?

Morgan leans his forehead against Laina's. "I'm so sorry, Laina. Please come back to me," he begs. He presses a featherlight kiss to her mouth.

The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I can feel my internal canvas drowning in blue.

It's not fair. None of this is fair.

Laina's eyes flutter open. I choke on air.

"Laina?" Morgan asks. Tally, who was standing a few feet away hugging Scout in her arms, wipes the tears from her face and hurries over.

"Laina!" she exclaims, and throws her arms around Laina. Laina smiles weakly and laughs breathlessly. "You're alive!" She pulls away. "But you were dead. How are you alive?"

Laina shrugs. "I saw my brother. He offered me his hand. If I took it, I think I would have, you know, stayed dead. But I heard something. I heard...you," she says, and gazes at Morgan like how someone would look at a beautiful sunset. "And I decided to come back."

Morgan looks into her eyes and I can feel the rest of us fading away for them. He reaches out a brushes a piece of hair behind her ears. She leans forward and kisses him. Kenzie, who's beside me, stiffens. I turn to ask her if she's okay, but she plasters a smile to her face.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he murmurs once they've pulled apart. Laina smiles sadly at him.

"I know."

And then Scout barks from Tally's arms. The moment is broken. I feel a rush of relief that I don't have to watch them make lovey-dovey eyes at each other, but then I feel guilty. Laina just died and came back.

"Hey, do you guys mind giving us a moment? Alone?" Morgan asks, looking at all of us. He nods at me and I avert my eyes. Yes, I'm jealous. So what?

"If you insist," I grumble.

"I do," Morgan says. I roll my eyes and walk out of earshot. Tally and Kenzie follow, but Kenzie keeps looking over her shoulder at them. Tally sets Scout down on the ground.

"Will you stop looking at them every two seconds? They don't need your supervision," Tally finally snaps at her. I say a mental thank you in my head. Kenzie glares at her.

"I'm just making sure Laina doesn't fall down dead again or anything," Kenzie says.

"Oh, yes, because the first time Laina decided 'oh, I think now's a good time to fall down and die!' No, you idiot, she got attacked by killer vines! She had nothing to do with it," Tally snarls. I'd interfere if this weren't so entertaining. But it also seems a little strange and out of character for Tally to bark at Kenzie like that. I wonder what that's about.

"I'm just saying," Kenzie protests. "Maybe something will happen. Maybe she'll die again."

"Can we please stop saying that she died? I mean, she obviously didn't. She's still alive. So let's quit saying that, okay?" I ask. It's making me so stressed out that they're talking so casually about Laina dying.

"Preston's right," Tally says, shooting a glare at Kenzie, who sticks her tongue out.

My shoulders slump in relief.

"Ugh. Look at that," Kenzie says pointing to Laina and Morgan. I reluctantly turn around to find them kissing. They've obviously made up.

"How old are you?" Tally asks.

"Eighteen. Why?"

"You need to grow up," Tally advises. I bite my lip to keep from laughing at the expression on Kenzie's face.

Morgan walks over to us. "Okay, we're ready to start walking if you are," he says.

"Let's get out of here," I say, and breeze past him. When I walk by Laina, she offers me a half smile. I nod at her in return. Then I pull her into a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," I whisper in her ear.

"Me too," she mumbles. I chuckle and pull away. I touch her cheek and smile wistfully.

"Okay, how about we pair up? Like, a buddy system. Just in case we get separated from each other while we're walking," Morgan suggests. Laina nods. Of course she's going along with him. This is probably just an excuse for them to get some alone time. The others agree and look at me expectantly.

"Sure. What are the pairs?" Laina and Morgan are one pair, and Tally, Kenzie, and I are another. I'm calling it.

"I was thinking Tally, Laina, and then Preston, Kenzie and I." I do a double take. He's not pairing himself up with Laina?

And then I inwardly groan. That means I have to walk with him.

"Sounds good," Laina approves.

"Sweet," Tally says, sharing a grin with Laina.

"Fine," I grumble. Kenzie nods her head.

"Great. Glad you all like them," Morgan says, shooting a glare at me. "Are we ready to go?"

"No, we still have to pack up our suitcases," I snap. "Yes, we're ready to go."

Morgan regards me with cold eyes. "Alright, then," he says after a short minute of silence. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding. "Let's get going."

My group starts walking first because Kenzie's the one with the compass. Tally lets Scout down on the ground.

"Okay, Scout, you can walk but just stay by me," she says. Scout yips, overjoyed at being able to roam around.

"She is so adorable," Laina gushes.

"I know, right?" Tally says.

As we start walking, I'm still able to hear their voices behind us. It's sort of calming.

I start singing songs in my head to block out Morgan when he starts talking, and suddenly I realize that I can't hear the girls anymore.

I spin around and squint, trying to find them. But I can't.

The girls are gone.