The Last Colony

Part 50

Mark hefted Sean up in his arms better, staring at the plant with concern. The little plant sat back on Zero's chest, its attention turning to them. Nate inched closer to it slowly, extending a hand out to it. The flower tilted its pedal head, its long slimy black roots rising almost menacingly up around it. Mari lowered her sword only a little, upon asking Nate shakily. "Um... Nate? What are you doing?" Nate didn't answer, focusing on getting his hand within range of the flower. The second his fingers were in reach, the flowers roots shot out to wrap around his fingers. Nate flinched, softly telling them. "Ow... It's got a strong grip..." Mark shuffled his feet, telling Nate more cautiously. "Nate, I don't like this... What are you doing?" Nate raised his free hand to calm Mark, calmly replying. "It's alright... I've seen Lexi with a flower like this. And... I can hear it." Mark looked at Mari, before saying nervously. "You can hear it? You mean like it's talking to you?" Nate nodded, his eyes on the plant as he told Mark in a distracted tone. "Ya. It's weird. I feel... connected to it?"

Mari huffed, mumbling out. "Ya? Then what did it do to Zero?" The plants roots slowly pierced into Nate's hand, causing black veins to run down Nate's arm and up to his face. Mark stiffened as Nate's eyes turned pitch black. Mark hugged Sean to his chest tighter, getting ready to run. The plant began to slip under the arm of Nate's jacket, its roots still in Nate's hand. Nate straightened up as the plant settled on him, turning his black eyes to the door as he said in a distorted voice. "It's coming." Mark didn't get a chance to ask when the door was blasted off! The door came straight for Mark but Nate stepped into the path of it and raised his hand toward it. From Nate's black veiny hand, thin black roots shot out to stop the door in its tracks. Mari gasped, blurting out. "What the fuck?!" Nate moved his hand away and the roots threw the door aside safely. Nate locked his eyes on a large figure moving into the room. All around the building warning alarms were starting to blare as the speakers uttered out. "Subject one is out of containment! Warning! Subject one is out of containment!"

Mark and Mari stepped back slowly as the hulking plant wedged its way into the room. Mark gawked at its large size. It looked like a spider made of brown vines and weeds. Every single one of its many spider looking eyes was a human skull and on its back was a clear sack full of bright green liquid. Its mouth was made up of the halves of an animal's carnivorous bone jaws. From the creature's mouth, the same green liquid leaked down across the floor like thick drool. The creature snapped its bone jaws, but it was the human skulls in it eyes that seemed to speak in a distorted mix of voices. "There you are, Blood Orchid! Found your host, did you? I guess, that means I'll have to exterminate you both." Mari stepped in behind Mark, uttering out in a horrified voice. "Oh my god... It talks!" Nate's own distorted voice answered coolly. "You can try. But your plague is over." The large vine spider hissed menacingly; its eyes locked only on Nate. Nate strolled casually to the side, causing the vine spider to turn with him.

When its back was turned on Zero, Nate told both Mari and Mark. "Take Zero and go. I'll catch up." Mark nudged Mari toward the gurney, and she ran to it to wheel Zero out of the room. The vine spider briefly looked in their direction as they moved around him, growling out darkly. "I don't care about them. I only care about destroying the cure." Mark froze at the door, stating out in slight shock. "The cure? But I thought-" Mark looked down at Sean in his arms. Despite what was going on, Sean looked to be sleeping. Was he infected and not the cure? The small red eyes in the human skulls on the vine spider suddenly turned a large blazing red as it uttered out in disbelief. "Wait...? Why do I sense...? Is he another host?!" Nate's head jerked up more as he yelled out. "MARK RUN!" The vine spider began to spin around on its eight strong vine legs as Mark bolted from the room. His body was killing him, but his adrenaline was keeping him going. The vine spider got stuck trying to rush back through the door at an awkward angle but shifted quickly enough to chase him.