In One Fell Swoop, page 16
Chapter 63
Pete gave me a look. "I knew it," he said and slammed his hand into the wheel.
I defended myself while biting my lip. "I'm not laughing. I swear. I promised I wouldn't. So I won't. I am not laughing. See?"
He grunted. "You're smiling. That counts as laughing."
I exhaled. I really didn't want to hurt him. "Well, you've got to admit, it is a little out there, right?"
"It's a lot out there," he said. "Don't you think I know how crazy this sounds? I’ve lost my career over this, but I can't just sit here, especially now when my childhood town is about to be destroyed."
My eyes widened. "You think Webster will be destroyed?"
"It happened in Dakota, the small town just a few miles away, Cannan Ball vanished from the face of the earth within a week. The entire freaking town, taken down by trees and plants. People were killed. It was a massacre. The government got a few of them out of there and they now live in a protected facility, or a mental institution, if you like, where they pump them full of pills so no one will believe them, to keep them down. But I spoke to one of the eyewitnesses. Last month. He told me everything. Even the workers on the pipeline disappeared too. All of them. They were pulled underground. The pipeline sunk into the ground and they were all swallowed. Only one eyewitness, the guy I spoke to, survived to tell how he watched them be sucked into the ground one by one. Later, they found tree roots had grown in through the ground from all sides and caused the line to collapse, and I believe they pulled the workers down too. The officials keep claiming that it was a sinkhole, but I know it wasn't. They're still investigating exactly what happened, in silence of course, without any of the press knowing; the area is completely blocked off by the military now. You can't get in. The thing is, no one remembers there being any trees nearby. Not until the day when they started digging. Suddenly, there was a tree. Like it had grown out of the ground overnight. Then more came, and soon it was a darn forest. That's what the guy told me. The trees emerged overnight. The government is still trying to figure out what happened, but they can't really get in there and people keep disappearing. Last thing I heard, a troop was sent in right after it happened and they never came back out. Today, the area is all cut off by the military."
"Just like they did at our swamps?" I said.
"Exactly like it. If we don't get to the bottom of this, then no one will ever know what happened to Sam. It will just keep happening over and over again. We mess with nature and it messes back. Only we’re no match for her. We think we are with all our tanks and weapons and whatnot, but when she gets mad and unfolds herself, there’s no survival for us. See, the thing is, she doesn’t need us, we need her. And if she decided to get rid of us, well…"
"She can do it in one fell swoop."
"I always liked that expression," he said. "Shakespeare, right?"
"Yes. Macbeth."
"Well, in this case, the saying makes me shiver," he said.
"Same. So you're saying you believe Mother Nature has done this before? Like in the Everglades?"
"I think she is capable of a lot of things we never give her credit for. But lately, she is more pissed than ever and it has me worried."
"Wow," I said with a grunt.
"What? What's with the grunt?"
We were getting close to Webster now and Pete took the exit to get off the highway. I was looking forward to seeing my girls again but terrified of what we were returning to. Were my daughters okay?
"I was just reminded of the sign I used to have at my computer that said Warning: If you mess with my child, I will unleash my fury and destroy your world. Guess only a mother can understand that. I mean, Hell has no fury like a mother protecting her children, right?"
"That's what I’ve heard."
"But our dear Mother Nature must be reminded of one thing."
"And what's that?"
"I'm a mother too."
Chapter 64
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Billy backed away from the mayor. After walking for two more hours, according to Marty's wristwatch, he suddenly turned around and looked at Billy, his eyes blank and his pupils constricted, his eyelid twitching.
"Hey, man, stop it, it's freaking me out."
"We'll never get out of here," the mayor said. "You do realize that, don't you? Look down, look at the ground."
Billy looked down. He spotted two sets of footprints and recognized them as their own. They had walked in circles once again. He exhaled, exhausted, and looked up. The mayor had moved close to him and he looked straight into his face.
"Whoa," Billy said and took a step backward, but the massive wall of grass stopped him from moving any further. "Back off a little there, will ya'?"
Mayor Ingram stepped closer and had him pinned against the grass wall. "Why fight it, Billy? I’m bigger than you. And I am very hungry. We both know who is the strongest."
"You're sick," Billy said with a snort.
The mayor clenched his fist and slammed it into Billy's face. Billy screamed. His nose bled. Billy wiped it off on his hand. The mayor grabbed him by the neck. "Ever hear of survival of the fittest? Well, I am very fit, Billy. And I intend to survive. No matter how long I have to spend in this place."
"You're crazy, is what you are," Billy screamed.
The mayor looked at Billy's bare arm, then at his shoulder. Billy didn't like the look. The mayor gave him a strange smile, then bent forward and sunk his teeth into Billy's shoulder.
"Aaaargh!" Billy screamed and pushed the mayor away. His teeth had left a mark on the skin.
"Just trying to see what you taste like," he said with a grin. "You're salty."
Billy clenched his fist and slammed it into the mayor's face. The mayor fell backward, his jaw cracking when meeting Billy's fist.
"You might be bigger, but I know a little about fighting," he said. "Try to taste me one more time and I promise I'll give you a new face."
The mayor felt his jaw. He spat out blood. "Oh, what are we doing?" he asked. "Turning on each other when we need to stick together."
Billy was panting and tired. He scrutinized the mayor for a few seconds, then decided he had a point. Billy reached down his hand to help the mayor up. "You're right," he said. "This is not the time to fight."
The mayor wiped the blood away with the upper side of his hand.
"Let's just keep moving," Billy said. "I really don't want to have to spend another night in this place."
"You can say that again," the mayor said and let Billy go first.
Billy trampled down more grass in front of him and started to walk when he suddenly felt movement behind him. He turned just in time to see the mayor jump at him and grab him around the neck with his arm.
"What the…"
"I'm gonna kill you and eat you," the mayor said, strangling him.
Billy was fighting to breathe. "You…you…sick…bastard!"
But Billy had a trick up his sleeve too. Being not unfamiliar with the act of fighting, he backed up forcefully into the wall of grass, till the mayor was forced to loosen his grip, then he threw him around and onto the ground, where he jumped on top of him, held him down, and sank his teeth into the bare flesh of his throat. The mayor screamed, Billy roared, and a third voice said, "Dad? What are you doing?”
Chapter 65
We drove past Pete's place first, since it was right outside of town. The plants and trees surrounding it had definitely grown bigger, wilder, and more threatening, but the house itself seemed to be doing fine. We didn't go inside since I was dying with worry about my daughters, so once we had checked on it, we drove on to check on the rest of the town, and especially for me to find my girls. I felt sick with worry and my phone was still completely dead.
I was happy to see that the town sign was still there, even though most of it was covered in heavy vegetation. My heart was in my throat as we drove into Webster. I rolled down my window and peeked outside, and as I did I was certain I could actually hear the plants growing. Or was this the way they communicated like Pete had talked about? It sounded like a whisper in the wind, but there was no wind. Yet the treetops were moving, swaying from side to side like they were waving at each other.
There was no doubt that the city looked different. Even the asphalt on the street had cracked in maybe a thousand places where tree roots and sprouts were peeking up. The road was bumpy; the plants had turned it into an obstacle course.
"Oh, my God," I said and pointed when we passed the church. The steeple was completely wrapped in vegetation. "And look at City Hall!"
"It's going faster than I thought," Pete said.
He drove up my street and I looked anxiously at my house as it appeared in the distance. Then I breathed in with relief. It was still there, even though the plants and trees around it had completely overgrown the yard and made the driveway impassable. The porches were overgrown and the sides of the house entangled in vines and branches, but at least it was still standing.
Pete stopped the car in the street and I got out. I stared at my beautiful house.
"Let me take care of this," Pete said, as he went to the back of his minivan and grabbed his backpack. He pulled out the machete and got that look on his face again, like a madman facing his adversaries.
Pete took the machete to the vegetation and started to cut a passage through it, grunting and growling. It was fun to see him that way. Pete, the quiet, nerdy professor, who I never thought would be able to hurt a plant since they had been his best friends growing up, but apparently, that friendship had turned sour.
I followed him closely as he cut a way to my porch and soon my front door. I was so grateful, I gave him a kiss on the cheek before I stormed inside. Pete stayed on the porch, a hand to his cheek and a baffled look on his face before he finally followed me into my living room. As far as I could see, there had been no damage to any windows, at least not downstairs.
"Julia?" I called. "Are you here?"
I heard a gasp. It came from the kitchen. One second later, Julia came rushing towards me in the hallway.
"MOOOM!"
She threw herself into my arms. I breathed, relieved, and hugged her tight. She was, by far, the one I had been the most worried about. She sighed, then looked at me and I let her go. Then her expression changed.
"Do you have any idea how worried I have been about you?" she asked angrily. "You just disappeared? Out of the blue. I thought I had lost you too. Don't you ever do that to me again."
I grabbed her in my arms again. She was shaking and crying now. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry, baby."
"Why didn't you call again? I only got that weird call from you where you said you were in some sort of trouble?"
"I am sorry," I repeated. The wooden floors beneath us creaked. A window shattered in the living room as it succumbed to the pressure from the vegetation outside.
"I stayed in the house because I had no idea where else to go. Finally, the trees outside blocked the door, and when I wanted to leave, I no longer could. I thought I was going to die in here, all alone. What's happening, Mom?"
I shook my head and looked at Pete briefly, then back at Julia. "We don't really know. Pete has some ideas that I can tell you later. Right now, I need to get you out of here. This house is not safe for us," I said when the floors beneath us creaked and I heard a loud sound coming from below us.
"I think we need to get out of here," Pete said.
"What's he doing here?" Julia asked.
I sighed. "Long story. I'll tell you everything later. Can we stay at your place, Pete?"
He seemed to be in sudden discomfort. "Well…"
"We're not going to be there forever," I said.
"You don't have anywhere else?"
"Pete," I said.
"It's just that…well, I have things to do and…I’m not very good with guests and all their…you know…needs."
I looked at him with my, mother is tired of hearing you whining, so please just suck it up, look.
"You're stuck with us, Pete. Face it," I said, slightly annoyed. I had never met someone who could piss me off like he could. Stubborn old man. "Your house is one of the few that is still standing. We'll go somewhere else tomorrow if it’s such a big bother to have us."
He sighed. I got the feeling he wasn't as annoyed with this as he liked to pretend to be.
"Yes, well, you can stay with me. If it can't be any different. There are two extra bedrooms that aren't being used."
"Great," I said. "That's settled then." I looked at Julia. "Now how about Grace and Danielle? Are they safe?"
"Danielle's house is fine, at least it was when I spoke with her this morning. Grace and Steve had to flee their house last night when roots came up through the floors. They stayed at Steve's brother's small apartment, where they had to sleep on the floor. She called last night, but I haven't heard from her today."
"We'll grab them on our way and take them with us. Pete's house is big enough for all of us."
Pete rolled his eyes, but I could tell he didn't really mean it. "Great. There are more of you."
"Yes," I said with a chirp. "More of us to love."
We walked to the front door, Julia's arm around my shoulder. It felt like she never wanted to let go of me again. I never wanted to let any of my girls out of my sight either. Pete grabbed the handle of the door, but when it opened up, no sunlight was let in. Our way out was completely blocked.
Chapter 66
Allen couldn't believe his own eyes. What the heck is all this?
He had run outside, a whimpering Lisa on his tail. And that was when he saw it. Saw all the trees that had suddenly sprouted out of the ground. And they were everywhere, all over the place, covering everything, so he couldn't even see where they were digging for the pipeline, he couldn't even see any of their big machines; heck, he couldn't even see the protesters or the fence they were being kept behind.
"Are you seeing what I’m seeing?" he asked, thinking maybe it was just him. Maybe he had simply lost his grip on reality. Was he seeing things? Had he been working too hard?
He looked at Lisa like he wanted her to bring him an answer, and preferably a quick one, but all she could do was shrug with a small whimper. Her big blue eyes looked at him, frightened.
"Where did all those trees come from all of a sudden?" he asked anyway, even though he knew she had no way of knowing, but he had to blame someone, didn't he? Someone had to give him answers.
"I-I-I’m as surprised as you are," she said.
Of course she was. She had been inside the trailer with him while the trees magically grew out of the ground. And they weren't small trees. These were big and tall, their stems as thick as, well, as Danielle's mother's waistline, maybe even thicker than that. How was it even possible for them to grow out of the ground that fast? When he had arrived this morning, there had been no trees, no vegetation at all. Not a leaf on the dirt ground. Workers had cleared the area of any vegetation months ago. Removed every tree, every straw of grass. How was it back all of a sudden? How had it grown back in just a few hours?
"Do you want me t-t-to call someone?" she asked.
He didn't get to answer before he heard the first scream cutting through the forest of trees. It was a scream of pure terror so horrifying it pierced through every bone in his body.
Fear struck Allen and, once again, he looked at Lisa, who answered with an innocent shrug, like she felt that he was accusing her of withholding information or maybe even of planning all this herself.
"What do you think?" he said. "Bear or gator?"
She shrugged again, her eyes struck with terror.
Allen walked back inside the trailer and grabbed a hunting rifle that he kept there, standing behind his chair. He told people he had it in case a wild animal showed up on the grounds, but, in reality, it was to intimidate people when they entered his office. It especially seemed to prevent people from asking for a raise. Allen had hunted all of his life and knew exactly how to defend himself and anyone else, if it came down to that.
"Come on," he said, with a determined grunt as he came back outside.
Lisa looked at him with a gasp, just as another scream pierced through the dense forest. Once it stopped, another followed, and then yet another one.
"What is happening?" Lisa said with a whimper.
"Let's go check it out," he said while loading the rifle. He swung the barrel back into place and cocked the hammer.
"I don't care how many trees suddenly sprout out of the ground or how many animals attack us, I am building that pipeline. No matter what."
Chapter 67
They were carrying Harry. It was hard because Greg was hurt too and limping, so it was mostly Sam who had to carry Harry's unconscious body, and he had to basically drag him across the ground since he was so heavy. They had to stop every now and then so Greg could rest his leg and, finally, when they believed they were far enough away from the flesh-eating plants and in a small clearing, they decided to take a break. Sam put Harry down and felt his pulse. It was weak, but he was alive.
Sam felt so tired and so thirsty. It was a hot afternoon and the sun, even though it was blocked by the trees, was still burning down from above. And it was so humid he could hardly breathe.
Sam looked at his father, who was rolling up his jeans to look at his leg. When Sam saw it, a wave of fear shot through his body. It was broken and part of the bone was sticking out through the ripped jeans.
"Dad," Sam cried and ran to him. "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad?"
"It happened when I fell," he said. "I didn't want to worry you." Greg made a grimace in pain, then leaned back on the ground with a deep moan. "I don't know how much longer I can walk," he said.
"Don't say that," Sam said. "I’m getting you out of here, no matter what. You hear me? We're getting out of this place and never going camping again. We'll rest safely inside of our houses with AC on and no plants whatsoever, not even a fern."
