Harry backed up, away from them. "We should get out of here, guys," he said, ready to make a run for it.

  "Now!"

  Sam turned his head and looked behind them. To say it was big would be an understatement. To say it was enormous would still be an understatement. There were no words for how ridiculously big the plant rising behind them was. No words. It had long tentacle-like suction cups, a tube big enough to swallow the three of them and still be hungry.

  "What…is…that?" Sam asked, his voice shivering.

  The plant slowly moved closer, reaching its tentacles out for them, making strange sounds as it squelched across the ground. It reminded Sam of Doctor Octopus, or Doc Ock, ranked as IGN's twenty-eighth Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time. In their first encounter, Doctor Octopus defeated Spider-Man, tossing him out of a window. Following this defeat, Spider-Man considered giving up his heroic career but was inspired to continue by the Human Torch, and ultimately defeated Doctor Octopus.

  Now is not the time for unusable knowledge, Sam.

  "I don't know, but I hardly think we should stay behind and find out," Harry said and approached Greg. He bent down. "Here climb on my back."

  Sam helped Greg get onto Harry's back, and they started to run. The plant was slithering behind them, the tentacles reaching for them, sucking everything up around them, rocks, tree stubs, branches. It was gaining on them quickly.

  "Hurry, faster," Sam yelled.

  Harry grunted and growled. "I can't go any faster," he said, sweat springing from his forehead.

  "Stop," Greg suddenly said as one tentacle slammed down next to them. "Put me down. I’m slowing you all down."

  "No!" Sam yelled. "We have to keep going."

  Harry stopped. "I'm sorry. Your dad is right," he said. "I can't carry him much further and then we'll all be dead."

  He put Greg down on the soil.

  "NO!" Sam yelled. "Pick him back up. Pick him up so we can run. Do it, Harry, do it."

  "It's the right thing to do, son," Greg said. "Harry will take you to safety. He knows the way out."

  Harry nodded. "If it’s the last thing I do."

  "But…but, Dad…."

  "Hush," he said. "Now go. Hurry."

  Harry pulled Sam's arm. "Come on, son. We have to get to safety."

  "But…I can't…leave him here… I just found you, Dad. It isn't fair!"

  "Just go," Greg said. "Remember. You're the boss. You are the boss."

  Sam yelped helplessly. "But you promised, Dad. You pinky promised! PINKY!"

  Greg opened his mouth to say something, but just as the first sound left his lips, a tentacle grabbed him on the back and pulled him forcefully backward.

  Sam screamed and tried to run towards his father, but Harry grabbed him by the collar. Sam screamed, but Harry held him tight and pulled him away while Greg disappeared into the tube of the plant.

  "Come on. We have to run. Don't let your dad's sacrifice be in vain."

  Part IV

  The one where Mama McGee sets things straight

  Chapter 71

  We drove up the small dirt road towards Pete's house and through the forest that suddenly made me very uncomfortable. The tall trees seemed to be looking down at us as we passed them, and I couldn't escape the thought that they could crash us and our car as easily as I killed a spider or a roach by stepping on it. If they decided to eliminate us, there was no way we could stop them.

  Pete parked the car in front of the house and we got out. We had picked up Grace and Steve on the way, and both she and Julia were clinging to me like I was some convict and they were scared I would escape.

  I didn't complain, though, since I had missed them terribly as well. I had called Danielle from Grace's phone and told her to meet us there too. She complained that Allen wasn't going to like it, but I told her I didn't care.

  "I almost died in the Everglades, I want to be with all my girls," I argued, then told her the address and to show up immediately or she wouldn't inherit any of my money when I died.

  That was the kind of language Danielle understood. Even Allen would since he was so obsessed with money. It kind of gave her an excuse too, because her husband was looking very much forward to inheriting my money. I knew that much. It wasn't like he was even trying to hide it. He always complained when I spent any of my money, like if I made changes to the house or bought a new car. I had started buying a new car every year just to bug him.

  The potted plants in front of Pete's house seemed to be normal and very much the same as when we left, but other plants, new strange ones had sprouted out of the dirt and were looking at us as we passed. One of them had a very beautiful almost pink rose-looking flower on it, and Grace touched it as we approached the front door.

  "Uh, pretty plant," she said. But as she reached out her hand, the plant suddenly moved and she pulled her hand away in a hurry. "Did that thing just snap at me?" she asked.

  Pete opened the door and we went inside. Normally, I loved it when people decorated their houses with plants and flowers, but today not so much. And his had a lot. A lot, a lot, a lot. Everywhere. It didn't bother me the first time I was there because he loved plants and was a botanist, I got it, but right now all I could see was potential danger. Every green thing in the house terrified me. Pete felt it too. But when we got inside and closed the front door, we realized something about these plants was different. None of them seemed to have changed while we were gone. The potted plants weren't snapping at us, it didn't feel like they were staring at us, and they didn't seem to be sighing loudly or even dangerous. Was there a pattern here? Were domesticated plants not a part of Mother Nature's revolt against humanity?

  "We need to treat that foot of yours," Pete said, as soon as he had thrown down his backpack.

  "You're hurt?" Julia asked.

  "Didn't you see how she was limping?" Grace asked, annoyed at her sister. "I noticed right away."

  "Are you okay?" Julia asked.

  "Of course she's not okay," Grace continued, as always not knowing when to stop. "She's not walking properly."

  "I'm fine. It's nothing," I said.

  Pete returned from the kitchen holding a first aid kit in his hand. "It's not nothing; it could get infected. And then you'll die," he said.

  "Always the optimist," I said.

  He pointed at the recliner I had sat in when refusing to leave his house. So much had happened since then it was ridiculous. I almost wished I could go back to being ignorant, to not knowing anything, but of course, then I would have to have the same strange look on my face as everyone else who didn't understand one bit of what was going on around them. I didn't really want that even if ignorance sometimes was bliss. Like with my kids. When they were teenagers, I had no idea what they were up to until they told me later on in life. I’m happy I didn't know what they had been up to back then; it would only have resulted in excessive worrying and me locking them up and throwing away the key. Now that I knew everything had turned out just fine, despite what they had been up to, I could laugh at it. Well, chuckle at least.

  "Sit still," Pete said and took off my sneakers. It hadn't really hurt that bad when I was still wearing the shoe, but now it was pounding painfully.

  "Ouch," I groaned and leaned forward.

  "Are you okay, Mom?" Julia asked.

  "It's quite swollen," Pete said. He sounded like he thought it was the most disgusting thing in the world, which I guessed he thought it was. I admired him for helping me anyway.

  He washed the wound carefully where the hook had gone through. The girls took their few belongings to the bedrooms and Steve went with Grace. "You know, you really don't have to do this," I said.

  "I know," he said.

  "It's weird. You really can be very sweet when you want to."

  He grunted for an answer. I closed my eyes for a second as pain shot up through my leg.

  "So, what happened to you?" I asked.

  "What do you mean what happened to me?"

  "I remember you like this. Sweet and caring, you know back when we dated and all. But now I see you again and you're all distant and grumpy, and all of a sudden you hate our town and don't want to stay in it, and you certainly don't want to talk to me. Plus, you are very rude. You could be grumpy back then, but not like this. What happened?"

  Pete looked up at me with a deep sigh. He rose to his feet, leaned over me, and kissed me.

  "Pete!"

  His lips left mine. "What? I thought that was what you wanted."

  I shook my head. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

  He shrugged. "All right, you caught me off guard; I didn't know what else to do to make you shut up."

  I grunted. "So you kissed me? To shut me up?"

  Pete gesticulated wildly.

  What does he have to be upset about? I'm the one who should be upset.

  "What else was I supposed to do? I figured you'd like it."

  "Well, I did," I said, offended. "So…so, do it again."

  Before he could say anything, I grabbed him around the neck and pulled him towards me till his lips once again landed on mine.

  Chapter 72

  It took forever for Allen to make his way through the forest. Trees had shot up everywhere and he hardly recognized the land. He couldn’t see any of the area where they were building the pipeline, not even one of the cranes. It was quite strange, he thought.

  Lisa followed in his trail and stayed very close, only making herself known by a small whimper now and then. He was glad she was with him, not just because he liked her, but also because if it hadn't been for her, he would have thought he had simply lost his mind.

  "A-a-are you sure we're walking in the right direction?" she said.

  "I have no idea," he answered, as he trampled and kicked a bush aggressively to make his way through. The trees were growing very fast now and it was getting darker inside the forest. Allen looked at his watch; it was still only four in the afternoon. There were a couple of hours till sunset. He looked at his cell phone, but had no reception, which was strange to him, since he usually had fine reception at the trailer, and they hadn't moved that far from it. Could the trees be blocking the signal somehow?

  Or maybe it was just the phone. It will come back.

  Above their heads, the branches were creating a dome, blocking out the last bit of sunlight, and thick Spanish Moss was dangling from them. Allen never liked nature much and the moss on the trees especially creeped him out. It made them look so gloomy, like in a horror movie or something.

  He didn't even want to know how the trees had managed to get Spanish Moss on them this fast after they had spurted out of the bare soil. There were a million questions that he knew he would probably never get an answer to, and he could live with that if only he could get to his men and tell them to start clearing the area of all this awful nature so they could continue. They were far enough behind as it was.

  If they're still alive. If the bear or gator, or whatever it is that’s making them scream, hasn't killed them all.

  Allen didn't like to think about it. He was angry. There was no stopping him now.

  "It's getting really dark, Allen," Lisa said. "Don't you think we should get back to the trailer?"

  Allen stopped for a second, wondering if she was right, that maybe it was the best thing to do, to just get the heck out of there while they still could, but he also knew a captain had to be the last to leave the ship. Besides, he had a huge bonus coming his way once they finished this part of the pipeline, one big enough to buy him that new Tesla Model X with winged doors. The ones that opened upwards. He had wanted that car ever since his brother got one six months ago.

  Another scream hurled through the forest and bounced off the trees, then came back, making it sound like the entire forest was in pain.

  Lisa's big eyes looked up at Allen. She was using her phone as a flashlight. The way the shadows fell on her face, he couldn't see her eyes, just two black holes. At this point, Allen was about ready to run away, but as he looked at the way back, it seemed even denser and more overgrown than the way forward. Besides, he had to admit he had no idea where they were going or what direction the way back would be anymore. He could hardly admit to Lisa that he was lost, now could he?

  "Oh, my," Lisa said.

  Allen lifted the rifle. "Someone needs our help. Come."

  She whimpered but followed him as they made their way through the trees. Darkness was completely surrounding them now, the trees moaning and sighing in the wind.

  There is a good explanation for everything, even for this, Allen kept reminding himself, but he had to repeat it over and over again because he really didn't believe it anymore.

  After about ten minutes more of walking, Lisa suddenly gasped behind him. She lifted her phone and the light fell on something. Allen's eyes grew wide in panic and terror. From a branch in the tallest of the trees, he spotted a set of dangling legs. The pants and the shoes, he recognized. They belonged to his foreman.

  The foreman's legs weren't alone. With the phone shivering in her hand, Lisa turned it and shone the light on the others and revealed the faces of the hundreds of dead men hanging in the vines.

  They were all his workers. Each and every one of them. Hung up in the trees, vines wrapped tightly around their throats. Eyes poking out, some looked like they were still screaming. Allen might not have been able to remember their names, but he sure was going to remember their faces.

  Chapter 73

  The second kiss was a lot better than the first and our eyes met when our lips parted. A second later, I blushed, just as my daughter Julia entered the living room.

  Pete pulled away rapidly and rubbed his neck anxiously, his eyes avoiding the both of us. He was shifting on his feet, waving from side to side, like he didn't know whether to stay or leave.

  "I should…we need to…I’ll go check what we have to eat. Aren't you guys hungry? I'm hungry…I'll go check what…yes."

  "You do that, Pete," I said with a smirk.

  Julia sat in the chair next to me, her anxious eyes resting on me. She didn't seem to notice our awkward little moment, or maybe she just didn't care.

  "So, how are you holding up?" I asked.

  She shook her head. "Not good. Not good. I keep thinking I’m going to see him, you know? That he's going to call or text any minute now."

  Julia grabbed her phone and stared at the display, her hands shaking, tears streaming across her cheeks, then looked up at me. I had explained everything to her in the car on the way to Pete’s, at least the little we knew…Pete's theory about Mother Nature and the plants and so on. Julia and Grace had filled in Danielle once she got there, but she didn't buy it, she said. Julia did. I could tell.

  "So, you really think he’s gone?" Julia asked, her lips trembling as she said the last word.

  I exhaled. "I don't know, baby. I usually wouldn't say so unless there was a body, but in this case, I’m not sure we'll ever know exactly what happened to them out there. It might be something we just have to learn to live with."

  "But I don't want to," Julia said, teeth gritted. "I want to know, dang it. I want closure."

  "Can't blame you, baby, but right now we have to focus on simply staying alive. We gotta stick together. Tomorrow, I say we leave town and go somewhere safe. This town is not safe for anyone right now and we don't know if it's just this town."

  "I checked the news and they have mentioned nothing," Danielle said, as she came out of one of the rooms. She approached us.

  I looked up at her. "They haven't said anything? At all?"

  "Nope. Not a word. They don't even talk about the missing campers anymore, not since the military showed up and blocked it all off."

  "That's odd," Julia said.

  "They're putting a lid on it," I said.

  "What do you mean?" Julia asked.

  "Remember the Dakota Pipeline?" I asked.

  "Yeah, they wanted to build a pipeline and everyone went nuts," Danielle said. "Protesters everywhere trying to stop it."

  "And then what happened?" I asked.

  She shrugged. "I don't know. They built the pipeline, people went home, I guess. Happy ending."

  I shook my head. "No. Not happy ending. Pete told me this happened there too. And they covered it up. No one mentioned anything about it again. The media stopped reporting about it, so people forgot and went back to business as usual, being pissed at the government for not protecting our waters or the Indians, but there’s nothing new about that, right? Except there was. Pete says they all died. All the workers at the pipeline. They still don't really know what happened. But the thing is, they covered it up. Just like they're doing here."

  Danielle's eyes grew wide. "Allen," she said.

  "What about him?"

  Danielle grabbed her phone and looked at it. "I called him earlier to tell him I was coming here. He didn't pick up. I left a message. It's past four o'clock. He always calls me at four to tell me to have dinner ready at six."

  "He only calls to check up on you and make sure you're at home, taking care of his house and things and not spending time on anyone else but him," Julia said.

  "He cares about me," Danielle said. "And gets worried. I think it’s sweet of him to check in on me during the day."

  I grabbed her wrist and made her look into my eyes. Then I lied, the best I knew how to. "I’m sure he’s fine. He works inside, right?"

  "True. He hates getting his suit dusty, so he rarely gets out of the trailer," Danielle said.

  "Then he is probably fine," I said, smiling.

  Danielle looked pensive, then grabbed her phone from her pocket again. "I'll just try and call him," she said and left us.

  "Now, I want you to get some rest," I said, turning to Julia. "Go into that room and sleep if you can. You need it. I think Pete might be making some food for us all. I'll call you when it's done."