THIRTY-SIX

"Sky! Sky! " I called out as if calling her could do anything to help her.

"Hassan!" I yelled to pull him out of his sleep. His exhaustion was well justified.

From what he did he deserved a year's worth of sleep.

But we were in a dilemma and we needed his help which depended on whether he was or wasn't held back by the adhesive force.

His eyes shot open, wide and startled as if electricity had surged through them.

The abruptness of being torn from slumber was etched on his face;his features bore a mix of confusion and disorientation.

His muscles tensed as if preparing for an unseen threat... But as he tried to move he was drawn back by the adhesive force.

When he found out he was held down he tried again and again, refusing to give in to the unknown force.

Each time he tried he moved farther away from the tree trunk creating more space for me to see what it was that held us down.

On the tree trunk, there were a host of miniature plants with a dilated upper end that had pointy outgrowth that resembled tiny sharp teeth, surrounding the entrance of the dilated end.

The miniature plants clung tenaciously to every inch of Hassan's body.

Each of the plants riggled and wiggled when they lost hold of Hassan's body and immediately elongated, re-attaching their dilated ends to Hassan.

As Hassan drew his body upwards some of the weird plants were exposed showing a liquidy movement flowing down their miniature stems into the tree trunk.

As fluid from Hassan passed into the miniature plants, the stems seemed to shimmer with a faint, almost ethereal glow; a haunting testament to their parasitic nature.

The horrifying site sent a surge of adrenaline through me and I joined Hassan in trying to pry the miniature parasitic plants out of my skin, but I couldn't go far because of my limited physical strength.

When I turned to look at Sky, she was still convulsing but then she had that golden aura surrounding her.

This time it felt more dangerous than the other time it had appeared. It seemed like it was intended to do more harm than to shield her.

It grew wider and wider, slowly enveloping her as it expanded and as it grew its intensity burned brighter causing me to close my eyes.

Soon after I closed my eyes I felt a hot feeling envelope my body and moments later when the feeling was gone I opened my eyes...

I could then lift my back from the tree trunk. Looking backward I saw the miniature plants dancing around irregularly in the air as they slowly were absorbed into the tree.

They no longer bore their green color and were brown like burnt leaves.

Using the floor as a wedge I lifted my body and stood to go and hold Sky who lay still on the tree trunk.

The miniature plants were not done with us because I saw some coming out of the tree trunk surrounding Sky to go beneath the place she lay.

So I rushed over to her to drag her out of the tree.

"What are those things?" Hassan asked with a voice faint like someone completely devoid of energy.

His breaths came in short, surprised bursts, and his heart thudded loudly in his chest as if echoing the sudden jolt that had pulled him from his sleep.

"I don't know" I answered my attention on Sky, whose eyes still danced around in her eye sockets but moved slowly with each passing second.

"Sky!" My voice erupted in an outcry as I vigorously shook her shoulders, a desperate attempt to rouse her from her state.

Those plants ... I hadn't noticed their presence even though I was fully awake... How long were they preying on us? Sucking on our juices while we lay on the tree trunk... Was that why I felt so faint? I had attributed it to hunger and thirst not knowing the actual cause. Did they weaken my resolve causing me to harbor feelings of giving up on surviving?