I shouldn’t have gone on this hike. It was supposed to be a simple walk in the old growth forest, but now it’s after midnight and the darkness is blinding. I’ve been walking for hours, trying to find my way back to the trailhead. But the deeper I go, the more lost I become.
The ancient evergreens loom overhead, their branches tangled and twisted, creating an impenetrable canopy that blocks out the stars. I try to shake off the sense of being watched, but it persists. Every time I turn a corner, I feel like the pines are closing in on me, their branches reaching out to grab me.
And then I hear it – a rustling sound behind me. I spin around, heart racing. But there’s nothing there, only the trees, their gnarled trunks stretching up into the darkness.
I try to keep moving, but it’s getting harder and harder to see. My phone is dead, my flashlight has run out of batteries, and the only sound is my own ragged breath. I’m sure I’m walking in circles, and the trees seem to be leading me further and further away from the trailhead.
That’s when I see it – a massive redwood, its trunk wider than any I’ve seen before. But as I approach, I realize that something is wrong. The redwood is alive, its branches reaching out to me like grasping fingers.
I try to run, but the forest seems to have a mind of its own, the trees twisting and turning to block my path. I feel their branches grabbing at me, pulling me back towards the redwood. And then I hear a voice, a low, rumbling sound that seems to come from the very core of the great tree.
“You cannot escape,” the voice says. “You are ours now.”
I scream, struggling to free myself. But it’s no use. I’m being consumed by the sentient forest. I know that I’ll never make it out alive. As the darkness closes in, I feel the trees wrap around me like a cocoon.
The forest has come alive and is suffocating me. The trees squeeze me tighter and tighter, crushing me in their embrace.
I feel a searing pain as the branches pierce my skin, their stiff bark digging into my flesh. And then, there’s a strange sensation, as if something is moving inside me, like tiny roots digging their way through my body.
I try to scream, but my voice is choked off by the tight grip of the trees. I feel myself slipping away, my consciousness fading as the forest consumes me. And then, everything goes dark.
When I wake up, I’m lying on the forest floor, surrounded by the pines. But they’re different now. They seem almost serene, their branches stretching up towards the sky. And as I look around, I realize that I’m different too.
There’s a strange connection between me and the trees, as if we’re somehow linked. I can feel their roots stretching out beneath me, their branches reaching out to me like welcoming arms.
I try to move, but my body doesn’t respond. It’s as if I’m rooted to the spot, my human form merging with the woods. And then the giant redwood seems to speak again.
“Welcome,” the reverberating voice says. “You are one of us now.”
I try to resist, to fight against the transformation, but it’s no use. The forest has claimed me, and there’s no going back. I’m a part of it now, forever trapped in its suffocating embrace.
As I lay there, connected to the forest and unable to move, I realize that there’s only one way to escape. I have to sever my growing connection to the trees. I close my eyes and focus all my energy on liberating myself.
I feel a surge of power coursing through me, and inexplicably, I’m able to move again. I struggle to my feet, my body still connected to the trees, but somehow freer than before. I start to run, my body still tingling with energy. The trees reach out to grab me, but I’m too fast for them. I dodge and weave through the forest, the trees closing in behind me.
And then, I see it again—the source of the forest’s power—the massive redwood. I realize that this tree is the one that controls the others. I gather all my energy and charge towards the tree. The other trees try to stop me, but I’m too powerful for them. I reach the base of the redwood, my hands glowing with energy. I raise my hands and slam them down onto its trunk, pouring all my energy into the blow. There’s a deafening crack, and, amazingly, the redwood splits in half, its power dissipating in an instant. As the forest around me crumbles, I feel a sense of relief. I’m free, finally free from the suffocating embrace of the trees. But as I turn to leave, I realize that there’s something still watching me, something that’s been waiting for me to break loose.
And then I see it – a stomach-churning hallucination of a creature—a colossal ball of branches and thorns whirling torrents of thick sap in all directions. It rolls towards me, and I know that I’m in for the fight of my life. I brace myself for the attack, my hands again glowing with energy. The creature slams into me, its thorns piercing my flesh. I scream in pain, but I don’t back down. I fight back, my hands striking out at the creature. And then, with a final burst of power, I destroy the creature, its body crumbling into sawdust and goo. I stand there, panting, draped in hardening sap, but victorious.
As I look around, I realize that the forest is now behind me, replaced by a barren wasteland of tree stumps known among ecologists as a clear cut. I don’t know what happened or how I escaped, but I’m alive, and that’s all that matters. Ironically, I’d been saved by the excesses of a massive forestry corporation.
What’s left of the old growth forest seems to moan and cry.