Rise of The Fallen

–Kora–

Okay Kora, this is fine. Totally fine. I’m just in a creepy cave with no idea where to go, and my companion is missing, possibly being torn apart by some kind of bloodthirsty man eating plant! Yeah everything is fine!

I pushed to my feet trying to peer into the darkness around me. “Elazar?” I called out but got no response.

Shit.

How far had he been dragged down?

I spotted a decent sized branch lying on the ground a few feet to my left.

Grabbing it with one hand, I tore off the bottom half of my shirt with the other, using my knife to break off some of the dried sap on the branches, silently thanking Elazar for some of the survival skills he showed me, and for the flint he’d given me to carry around in my pack.

Sprinkling the dried pieces of sap over the cloth, I wrapped it around the end of the branch and grabbed a pile of dried leaves for kindling.

Using the knife and flint, I made a spark that caught flame on the dried leaves and burned them long enough to catch my makeshift torch on fire.

Relieved, I picked it up and used the torch to look around at the dark pit I was trapped in. Just ahead of me, where the cave went deeper, drag marks smeared the ground. I also couldn’t help but notice how much colder it was down here.

Alright you’ve got this, Kora. Nothing to be afraid of. Just a man-eating plant that dragged off a 7ft alien man twice your size.

Willing my nerves away, I moved deeper into the cave, spotting similar blue vines that had taken Elazar growing along the walls, many of them covered in razor sharp thorns. As I moved my torch toward them, the vines writhed, pulling away from the wall to reach for the flames.

You would think a plant would avoid the flames of a burning fire that could literally kill it.

I pulled the torch away from the vines as I continued through the cave, wanting to avoid getting too close to any of them. After a few more feet, the plant growth became thicker, and I could hear snarls and growls just up ahead.

“Elazar!”

I rushed forward, turning into a larger cave chamber, only to stop dead in my tracks.

The place was practically overrun by the huge tangle of thorny blue vines climbing all over the walls. They grew across the entirety of the cave, all over the walls and ceiling and all connected at one point on the other side of the room. A giant, pod-like growth stuck out of an outcrop on the other side of the room, each of the vines growing from it like ligaments of an animal.

There were at least several of these plants growing all over the cave, each one with vines littered across the walls and floor just waiting to latch onto any prey it sensed nearby.

My attention was drawn to the struggling figure in the dark just ahead, and I moved my torch in front of me to light up the area a bit more to see.

The vines were coiling and pulsating, entangling a struggling Elazar who had his knife dug into the ground, using it to keep himself from being pulled any closer to the giant pod at the center of the plant.

“Elazar!” I cried, both relieved to see him and terrified of the state he was in.

He tilted his head back to look at me while fighting for his life and snarled.

“Leave! Run!” he shouted, trying desperately to free his ensnared arm. The vines only continued to pull and squeeze him tighter, digging their sharp thorns into his skin even more, and drawing rivulets of blood all over his body.

A strange gurgling sound had us both looking over to the pod near the other side of the cave. It pulsed, cracking open along a flawless seam and spreading apart to reveal a giant mouth filled with hundreds of teeth. Only the teeth were hook-like thorns and this so-called mouth was more akin to a giant Venus-fly trap.

The vines restraining Elazar pulled taut, trying to drag him closer to the open maw at the center of the plant. He growled as they constricted around him tighter, and his grip on the knife started to slip.

Shit, shit!

I rushed over to his side, dropping the torch onto the ground next to me. I tried to cut the vines pinning him down, but they soon started clawing and grabbing at me as well.

“Kora! Leave now!” Elazar bellowed, his eyes wide with panic.

I ignored Elazar’s warnings, and the stinging pain across the palms of my hands as the thorns cut into my skin, continuing to slice through the vines with my knife.

“Kora–”

“Shut up! I’m not leaving you like this!”

A vine coiled around one of my legs tightly, and I shrieked in surprise as it tried dragging me towards a different pod from the one holding onto Elazar. I grabbed my torch, swinging it frantically over the vines to scare it off, but something else happened instead.

They relinquished their hold on me to reach for the flames, only to burn at the touch and recoil away. More and more vines all around me lifted from the ground as if in a trance of sorts, following the torch and reaching for it.

I stared in shock as the plants ignored my presence, reaching again for the flames. Only then did it click in my mind exactly what was happening.

Heat. It’s reacting to our body heat and touch!

Freeing myself from the vines by waving the torch around, I returned my attention to Elazar and started waving the torch wildly back and forth above him. The vines relinquished their hold to go after the heat of the flames.

Each outstretched vine that got too close was burned by the flames, recoiling with a sickening hiss as they slowly untangled themselves from the alien’s body.

Being able to move more freely, Elazar tore himself free from the loosened plants, rising to his feet. A vine shot out, grabbing onto the torch like it would any other prey. I struggled to pull it back, needing the light, but the vine began to tug on it. Another vine grabbed hold of the torch while a third latched onto my arm, cutting into my skin with its thorns.

Elazar used his knife to free my arm and the torch, but as more and more vines crept towards us, we were quickly losing the little bit of ground we had obtained. Using the torch to gain the attraction of the vines, I swung it around in a large circle before tossing it across the cave away from us.

Luckily, it worked enough to draw them away. We watched as they swarmed the fire, enthralled by its heat. Unfortunately, the torch only managed to distract a few of the plants, and the others that could still sense our body heat were creeping closer.

We need to get the hell out of here.

Elazar held his knife and tail readily as we stood back to back, surrounded by the snake-like vines creeping across the ground.

Shit, now what do we do?! I don’t have what I need to make another torch and we are surrounded by these things!

Frantically, I looked around for something else I could set on fire, but there was nothing else this far in the cave. A reflection of light out of the corner of my eye had me looking in another direction.

In the distance I could see the light from the torch flames reflecting off the surface of a pool of water, and my eyes widened. “Elazar we have to run!”

I grabbed his hand and he mumbled a curse under his breath. “Stay close!”

Elazar swiped at the vines rising off the ground in front of us with his spear, cutting most of them down and knocking the rest back. We then made a mad dash for the water, stirring up all the other plants we passed by.

Suddenly, the vines crowding around the torch caught fire, and a loud hiss echoed throughout the cave as the plant squirmed and flailed around wildly, unable to escape the flames consuming it.

Like a chain reaction, the others were attracted to the heat of the flames, and they started catching fire as well, spreading the fire further.

Mere feet from the water, a vine lashed out, coiling tightly around my ankle. I lost my footing and fell forward, shrieking as I landed atop a dozen other vines that had been lying dormant along the ground. Panicking, I tried to pry my ankle free. My movements stirred the vines beneath me awake, and they pulsated before reaching for me.

A blade slashed through the air beside me, cutting some of the vines off and forcing them to retreat. Strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I was hauled off the ground, Elazar’s hand going from my waist and clutching my hand in his as he kept pushing through the carnivorous plants.

By this point, several of the main pods had caught fire, the sounds of screeching echoing through the cave as they burned to crisps. The air grew thick as the cave filled with smoke.

Elazar cut through the last of the vines blocking our way, plunging into the water and bringing me with him. The tendrils we had riled up behind us struck out in an attempt to grab us once more.

I nearly screamed from shock as icy cold water surrounded me. Clasping Elazar’s hand tightly in my own, I used the other to keep myself below the surface. Looking above us as the ripples cleared from the splash, I could see the vines hovering over the water’s surface, seeking us out. Elazar was beside me, watching as we held our breath and waited.

The tendrils spread out, searching for any signs of heat. They poked at the water’s surface but didn’t go any further than a few inches.

My cheeks and lungs started to burn and my panic grew. I needed air soon. After what felt like forever, the vines finally receded. I quickly swam up, breaching the surface and gasping for air as Elazar followed suit.

I inhaled a lungful of smoke, coughing violently as I looked through thick layers of smoke to see nearly half the cave was ablaze. Shit, we have to get out of here before we suffocate!

I coughed again, blindly searching for the way we came in. I couldn’t see anything past the flailing vines that were on fire.

Elazar looked down at the water, releasing my hand and dipping back under as I struggled to get my coughing under control. But each inhale irritated my throat and lungs. The plants burning in this enclosed space were creating so much smoke it was hard to breathe.

Elazar popped back up beside me and grabbed my shoulder. “Kora! Hold! Menya!” I couldn’t quite understand what he was saying as I coughed more violently than before. His face twisted with worry, and he said it again before placing his hand over my mouth. “Hold menya!”

I did my best to fill my lungs with air, and he immediately dragged me under. Elazar held onto me as he swam down, moving deeper into the pool until the light from the fires above died, and I couldn’t see.

Panic rose in my chest, and I shook my head as darkness surrounded me. I grabbed ahold of his arm, trying desperately to make him retreat back to the surface.

Instead, Elazar pulled me deeper into the water. I struggled even more, wanting to go back to the surface. I managed to pull away from him but as I swam up, I didn’t find the surface of the water, only rock.

Absolute terror encroached on my mind as I felt around in the dark, looking for a way out. But there was nothing. No light, no surface. No Elazar. I was trapped alone somewhere in the murky depths of the pool, and my lungs were burning from the urge to breathe. A muffled whimper escaped me as I realized the mistake I’d made.

I’m going to die, I thought miserably. I’m going to drown down here!

I wanted to scream, terror making my heart pound loudly in my ears while my lungs felt like they might collapse any second. All sense of reason fled me as I struggled in vain to find something to save me.

No, no!

Just as fear and panic won over and I gasped for air, I was grabbed around the waist. I lost all sense of direction as water filled my lungs and I was yanked from the wall and into a warm, firm chest.

Water filled my mouth, my throat, everything as my body struggled to draw in any kind of oxygen it could. The horrifying experience was only made worse by the blackness surrounding me as I swallowed another mouthful of water until I couldn’t anymore. My entire body jerked involuntarily as if every muscle in my body was cramping and all my senses completely washed away.

That was the last thing I remembered before everything fell away into oblivion.