second thoughts [wrath]
Constant sunset. Everything seemed bathed in deep blood. The trees were alive--no, not merely safe and sane agriculture for the masses, but some Nexus-made nightmare that ate.
He watched it eat a bear.
It was a young bear, not one of the full grown monstrosities the rest of the group had encountered and defeated. Gabriel had been moving quickly, straying from the rest of them and had nearly tripped over the thing as it lazed in the last of the sun's rays. It had taken a swat at him with a huge, clawed paw, but he'd pushed back wildly and ran in the opposite direction.
As he passed a stand of the trees, the one nearest his flight lowered it's branch and he swore it had been a claw at the end of it. It had reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. In a panic, he'd grabbed hold of the branch--no, closer he could see it was a bone... appendage-- and with all his might he tried pulling free. His longcoat ripped and he'd ended up with a couple of deep gouges in his shoulder, but otherwise he'd gotten free just in time to hear the bear roaring behind him.
The tentacle wrapped itself around the bear just as it came within chewing distance of Gabriel and started to drag it away. More tentacles began snaking out, and that was enough for him to start running again.
Out of reach of the trees (he hoped), he sat down heavily, panting, and watched the tree eat the bear.
The tentacles whipped around it, the bear snarling and then howling as it was pulled to the trunk. An enormous, black-fanged mouth opened and the branch/appendages shoved the bear in. The howls broke off abruptly. There was the dry whisper of bone-on-bone as the tentacles withdrew and slipped back into the foliage. A crackle and scrape of bark, and the tree looked ... well, not correct, but less like a devourer of flesh and more like a tree again.
There were things hanging from the branches, chunks of something. He guessed it was a sort of fruit, but most looked too misshapen and irregular to be any sort of fruit he'd seen before; and then he realized one fruit in particular looked like a large bone, the shape of a human foot attached at the end.
Bait.
Perhaps it was time to find some other people.
He watched it eat a bear.
It was a young bear, not one of the full grown monstrosities the rest of the group had encountered and defeated. Gabriel had been moving quickly, straying from the rest of them and had nearly tripped over the thing as it lazed in the last of the sun's rays. It had taken a swat at him with a huge, clawed paw, but he'd pushed back wildly and ran in the opposite direction.
As he passed a stand of the trees, the one nearest his flight lowered it's branch and he swore it had been a claw at the end of it. It had reached out and grabbed him by the shoulder. In a panic, he'd grabbed hold of the branch--no, closer he could see it was a bone... appendage-- and with all his might he tried pulling free. His longcoat ripped and he'd ended up with a couple of deep gouges in his shoulder, but otherwise he'd gotten free just in time to hear the bear roaring behind him.
The tentacle wrapped itself around the bear just as it came within chewing distance of Gabriel and started to drag it away. More tentacles began snaking out, and that was enough for him to start running again.
Out of reach of the trees (he hoped), he sat down heavily, panting, and watched the tree eat the bear.
The tentacles whipped around it, the bear snarling and then howling as it was pulled to the trunk. An enormous, black-fanged mouth opened and the branch/appendages shoved the bear in. The howls broke off abruptly. There was the dry whisper of bone-on-bone as the tentacles withdrew and slipped back into the foliage. A crackle and scrape of bark, and the tree looked ... well, not correct, but less like a devourer of flesh and more like a tree again.
There were things hanging from the branches, chunks of something. He guessed it was a sort of fruit, but most looked too misshapen and irregular to be any sort of fruit he'd seen before; and then he realized one fruit in particular looked like a large bone, the shape of a human foot attached at the end.
Bait.
Perhaps it was time to find some other people.