And Then the Trees Came Knocking

Chapter 14

My companions came up with a plan. Leon, thinking ahead, had his car keys on him. He owned a pick up truck that we could climb onto, but it was at the parking lot near where the big bloodwood stood.

A burning sensation throbbed in my muscles. I wasn't sure if it was fear or fatigue. I took to the front of the group and led the way.

Emotions didn't register the same as before. I could feel the chemical shifts in my mood, almost like I was separate from it. Yes, I was afraid, but a different kind of afraid. An animalistic fear like a beast backed into a corner. An angry fear.

Once we hit the lobby, I turned to the humans and said, "You figure out what to do. I will clear the way."

They nodded and I headed off.

It was late afternoon now, when the sun made the sky reddish and drowsy. I found the gigantic bloodwood around the southern corner of the building, aimlessly drifting along the parking lot. Many of the cars were smashed and flipped over. Hopefully Leon's car was fine.

The bloodwood spotted me. There were no others in a detectable vicinity out here. I could smell the ones in the building. If I was lucky, they'd keep out of this fight.

In a split second, the bloodwood rushed towards me. Its huge roots clamored against the concrete. The vibrations compromised my balance. I braced my legs and jumped. This jump was higher than before, matching the bloodwood's height.

This creature was fast. It whacked me like a pesky mosquito, back down to earth. My entire body smashed into the ground. Pain ruptured from every inch of my skin. If I were still a regular human, this would have surely killed me.

Somehow I scrambled to my feet just in time to avoid being pounded by the branches. I jumped again, but aimed low. I managed to catch the trunk of the bloodwood, and scrambled up towards the crown of branches.

The branches thrashed at me with such violence, it damaged its own trunk with no regard. I stabbed my fingers into the firm outer covering and tore one of the branches off. 

The bloodwood hit me again and I went tumbling off. I managed to land on my feet and tackled the bloodwood again. I attacked the branches as before, ripping at them from the base. 

One of the branches caught my ankle and it flung me off, right into the building. I crashed through a window and tumbled into a couch. 

Breathing heavily, I took a moment. Fatigue pulled at my joints. My hands trembled. Something was wrong. My newly acquired muscles ached from a strange emotion. 

It took the bloodwood a few seconds to find me. I tossed the couch at it, which provided enough distraction for me to scurry to ground level. I ran in the direction opposite of the parking lot with the bloodwood on my heels. 

Air strained my lungs. The trembling now infected my knees and feet. I stumbled. The bloodwood stabbed its branches into me, right through my stomach.