Chapter 6 — Apocalyptic Grass Sprouts

Five thousand shy plants followed her, spilling out of the ground, covering the entire street. People in the city stood on both sides of the street looking at her with complicated eyes. There is fear, there is relief, there is also pity. She didn't look at anyone. She's gone. Day 700. To Van walks in the desert. Nothing. There are no zombies, no bases, no people. Just sand, wind and sun.

“Are you hungry?”

“Not hungry.”

“Then why are you still following me?”

“I'm afraid you'll get lost.”

To Van laughed.

“I will not get lost.”

"You will. You are always lost. Before at the base, you always hid alone in the corner of the wall, no one was looking for you."

To Van said nothing.

“But I will find you. The roots are in the ground. Wherever you are, there the roots are.”

To Van squatted down and stroked its leaves.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. You are mine.”

That night, To Van dreamed again. In the dream, the forest was even bigger. So big that you can't see the edges, so tall that you can't see the top. Every leaf is moving, every leaf is looking at her. In the middle of the forest there was a person standing with his back to her, wearing a black cloak.

“Who are you?”

He didn't turn around.

“He sows seeds in you.”

He turned around. This was the first time To Van saw his face - no facial features, smooth as a mirror. In the mirror, her face was reflected.

“It's grown up. Do you know what it wants?”

“Grow up.”

“What happens when it grows up? It will eat you.”

To Van looked at him.

“So what?”

The man in black was silent for a long time.

“Are you not afraid?”

"What are you afraid of? It eats me, I eat it. Let's see who eats faster."

The man in black was silent for a long time.

“You're the first person to say that.”

He disappeared. To Van woke up. The shy tree surrounded her, its leaves gently patting her back. The largest tree is three meters tall, red as blood, sparkling in the moonlight. She reached out to touch it.

“Are you going to eat me?”

Silence.

“Will.”

To Van's face was expressionless.

“Then hurry up. Don't make me wait too long.”

The leaves froze.

“Are you not afraid?”

"What are you afraid of? Even when you die, it's still in your body. It's more comfortable than being alive."

The leaves were silent for a long time.

“You don't care about yourself.”

“I do care. But I don't care about death.”

Day 750. The tree grew from five thousand to ten thousand, covering the entire desert. The largest tree was five meters tall. That day, they met a giant mutated beast. It is as tall as a three-story building, its entire body is covered with armor scales, and its mouth breathes fire. Its eyes are as red as blood, its claws are as sharp as knives, and a swipe of its tail can knock down a wall. The tree hesitated to move. Tens of thousands of trees rolled up at the same time, leaves wrapping around the legs, body, and head of the mutated beast. The mutated beast struggled, biting off hundreds of tree trunks, but the broken trunks immediately grew back, wrapping themselves even tighter. It breathed fire, burning a patch of leaves, but more leaves rolled in. Thirty minutes. It doesn't move anymore. The body was as dry as a sheet of paper, the armor scales collapsed, and the bones broke into powder. The tree shyly let go. It's changed. The largest tree grows from five meters to ten meters tall. The leaves turn from blood red to golden yellow, as if covered with a layer of gold. On the stem grows flower buds, as big as a fist, bright yellow.

“I am evolving into a fly-catching plant.”

The flower buds slowly bloom. One wing. Two wings. Three wings. Golden petals sparkle in the moonlight. The pistil is red, like a flame. The wing edges are fully grown serrated teeth, can crush anything. To Van raised her head to look at it.

“Isn't it beautiful?”

“Beautiful.”

“Do you like it?”

“Like.”

“So everything will grow like that in the future.”

That night, the man in black appeared again. He stood in the desert, looking at To Van's flycatcher. Ten thousand trees, golden petals sparkling in the moonlight, like a sea of gold.

“It has grown up.” He said.

“Yes.”

“Do you know what it wants?”

“Grow up.”

“What happens after you grow up?”

To Van was silent.

“It will summon the fleet. It will destroy the Earth.”

“He said he didn't want to.”

“It says it doesn't count. It's a weapon. Weapons don't have options.”

To Van looked into his eyes.

“It has options.”

The man in black was silent for a long time.

“Do you know why it wants to eat the fake power?”

“For energy.”

“No. Because of you.”

To Van was stunned.

"It wants to protect you. People in the base fear you, hate you, want to kill you. It wants to eat them all. That way no one will be able to hurt you."

“I didn't tell him to do that.”

"It doesn't need you to tell it. It is you. You are it. It is doing what you want to do."

“I don't want to kill people.”

"You want to. Just don't dare."

To Van was silent. The man in black turned around and was about to leave. To Van called him back:

“What is your name?”

He didn't turn around.

“I have no name.”

He disappeared into the darkness. That night, To Van sat next to the flycatcher.

“He said I have to kill you.”

“I know.”

“He said you would destroy the Earth.”

“I know.”

“Is he telling the truth?”

“That's true. It's not true. I am a weapon. My program is to grow, summon, harvest. But I don't want to.”

“Can you fight the program?”

“Don't know. But I want to try.”

“What if I can't try it?”

Silence.

"Then you kill me. But before that, let me grow a little more. Let me protect you a little longer."

To Van stroked its leaves.

“Okay. Just a little more time.”