The Wriggling Tree

"Hikk!" Tina's voice screeched in fear as she pointed her finger at the tree.

Hearing the voice made Alev look at her and look in the direction her finger was pointing.

"It's moving?" Alev said while he was narrowing his eyes seeing that.

Seeing the shadow of the tree growing bigger made him roll his eyes in surprise. Without thinking, He quickly grabbed Tina's hand and ran with her.

"Eh?" Tina sudden response, she surprised that she was being pulled by him.

Growaaar!

The sound of screaming that sounded so loud made them both look in pain listening to the voice that so close.

"Alev! What's that?" Tina said while pursed his nose, feeling in agony hearing that sound.

"Don't ask me! Because I don't know about it. But I have a hunch there was something's not right." He shouted at her while he narrowed his eyes with a frown on his head.

"Doesn't that mean the monsters in the story are true?" Tina said while she takes away her hand from his grabs and shook her head.

"This is not the time to think for that!" He replied and quickly grab her hands again, don't want to argue about that.

Alev didn't think that his bad hunch was right, he felt the strangeness when he found Tina, and just as he started to mark every tree he passed, Alev felt this forest shouldn't be as wide as what he saw and when he realized that he found a mark he made on the tree, he confirmed it. He suspect that something is wrong in this forest.

Feeling that he didn't hear the footsteps of that big tree, Alev looked back and saw the tree was actually moving after him, but the sight he saw really surprised him.

The tree that looks like an oak has cracks on it and that looks like a face that looks angry, not to mention he saw the bottom of the tree with its thick trunk he was walking with its roots wriggling on the ground rapidly.

Alev shook his head, "Hell no! That thing is disgusting," Alev said as he hissed in amusement at the sight.

"Hey! The roots. Is that his leg? It squirms like a snake." Said Tina while he looked back feeling curious too

The tree moved quickly so that it put them within its reach, the tree let out a root that quickly extended and caught both of their feet and made them both fall down due to their legs stopping suddenly.

Alev endured the pain in his hand from the impact on the ground that knocked him down.

"Ah! Let go! Let go of me!" Tina tried to grab anything on the surrounding ground, "Whoa! That tree is terrible." Tina said as she looked back at the scary-looking tree.

Meanwhile, Alev who was being pulled by the roots took out his knife and plunged the knife into the ground with all his might to stop himself from being pulled so quickly to give him a moment.

"Damn it! What should I do with this one hand?" Alev said, as his hand gripped the knife stuck in the ground from his face, he seemed to be thinking hard about finding a solution to it.

Alev quickly looked around, he saw Tina who was struggling to find something to hold and looked at the tree monster who seemed to be getting closer to them.

"Hey! Hey! Calm yourself! Listen to me, the moment I cut the roots holding yours, try to break free and run away from this place." Alev shouted at her while seeing her struggle next to him being pulled ahead of him.

"What do you want to do, Alev?" Tina shouted while she still panicked, pulling the grass.

Alev pulled the knife stuck in the ground and let himself be pulled by the roots as he passed Tina, Alev quickly rolled his body behind Tina and with all his strength he stuck his knife in the roots that pulled Tina.

"Argggh!" Alev shouted as he held the knife to keep it stuck in the root.

Growl!

The scream that came from the tree monster who seemed to feel the pain from Alev who was using him who was being pulled made him tear the root that caught Tina until the root split in two.

Tina felt that the tug of the root was so weak she felt, unlike before which pulled her strongly, Tina quickly did what Alev had previously told her, she woke herself up and tried to free herself from the roots that wrapped around her legs.

Seeing that Tina had escaped made Alev continue slamming his knife to the side with force causing himself to cut off the part of the root as he forced his broken hand to catch the half part of the root.

Alev turned his body back on his back, making him turn his head and see the tree monster clearly when he was pulled.

Huh! Why is this root already hard?" Said Alev who felt the root in his hand feel hard like never before, it looked soft before which made him think of using it as a rope for him.

But instead, it turned out to be a good thing for him, Alev bit into his knife, and with his left hand, he clamped the tough root in his armpit like a spear as he pulled forward brandishing the root.

"Eat this, you strange tree!" Alev said in an indistinct voice while biting the knife in his mouth.

With the right momentum, Alev stomped his feet, making himself float for a moment quickly and stabbed the root into the tree's body and made it feel pain from the impact which of course made Alev feel pain as well as holding the root in his armpit tightly.

"Groooowar!" The scream of the tree monster felt pain as it swayed left and right with its face facing the sky.

The roots that were wrapped around Alev seemed to loosen and stopped due to the attack which made Alev quickly release himself and run, leaving the tree monster still standing where it was moving strangely.

Tina was silent watching that with a stone in her hands and looked at Alev who was running towards her looking strange because he was seen running hunched over.

"Are you alright?" Tina said, while she was looking at him worriedly.

Not responding immediately, Alev put the knife back and ran closer to her with a look on Alev's face who was frowning and gnashing his teeth, feeling the sensation of pain in his body that he felt.

Alev walked slowly as he was in front of Tina, "As you can see! Well, good job taking the stone, we really have to make a fire to burn it?" Alev said while giving a sideways glance noticing the stone that Tina was holding.

Even though, Tina wanted to use the rock to throw it into the tree monster to help Alev escape.

"Eh? Ermm, yeah. We indeed need fire." Tina said while smiling proudly of herself.

Alev still walking until he passed to her, "But first we have to get away from that tree while it still doesn't move to chase us." Alev said as he walked through feeling the pain.