While the moon was high, the edge of the Scalded called to me. My stomach growled just as I reached it. It wasn't difficult to see the Scalded had expanded even more since the last time I visited. The city barricades were now part of the land with the blacken ground spread a few feet beyond them.

I scanned the area for anyone, surprised that all the commotion was a few meters away and around the corner where the remains of the melted woman lay.

I urgently dropped to my knees amidst the young roots to satisfy my hunger, filling up with as much of the bittersweet nectar and fiber that my stomach would allow. I couldn't help but feel like something was off, missing.

Lilac.

I pictured him crouched in front of me, swiping and tearing at the roots with as much hunger and fury as I. But he was gone. Wiping the image from my memory, and the feelings of sadness and guilt from my gut, I mentally erased him. Fought hard to keep him from reappearing in my mind.

The look of fear and then relief on Lilac's face right before the creature struck him with hot vomit caused me to hiccup and cough up what remained in my mouth. I couldn't even enjoy the sensation of swallowing the pulp before having a visceral reaction due to suppressing my emotions.

I emptied my mouth completely and stood, noting how difficult it had become to will my body to do the smallest task and stand, preferring to hunch forward which somehow eased the pain in my heart.

Wiping the remaining juice from my hands onto my shirt, I crept around toward the strobing red and blue lights that casted off the trees. After doing my best to imitate a tree and stand still, I allowed their lushness to shield me.

I was glad the tree's thistles resembled the hair atop my head and helped keep me hidden from the dozens of young men and woman who stood beyond the Scalded near the stained spot in the brittle dry grass. They were closer than the couple of parked police cars that police officers rested in or near.

The many young men and women lounged around, some divided into sections and talked amongst themselves, occasionally looking over toward the trees as if waiting for a show to begin, hoping to see something in the darkness scurry by, or a break in the monotony I guessed.

Some wore backpacks, others had water bottles equipped, and many were on their phones even as they talked and communicated with those in their group. Those with their phones out took snapshots of the dried, inky puddle behind yellow caution tape.

I stood motionless, watching, waiting just as they were. Finally, I spotted who I was looking for. Valerie and Noel within the largest cluster. They were looking at their phones, pointing at the trees, and talking amongst themselves.

I waited for several minutes, just staring out into the crowd as if they were in the spotlight and I were the audience. Until Valerie and Noel broke off from the rest to go toward the spot before the school, where we last met.

I followed, being quiet and stealthy as I learned because of the hunters. I snuck over to the spot where they spotted me immediately in the thinning sporadically growing trees.

"Kyla!" Noel seemed excited as he called my name. As if they brought good news.

I remained close to the tree in case others spotted me and I needed to quickly retreat. Using the tree as my shield, I greeted them with a nod.

"We brought some friends." Valerie's eyes lit up with joy.

"Friends?" I looked in the direction she pointed, toward the crowd of people.

"Yeah." Her eyebrows dipped. "Where's yours?"

I ignored her question. "Do you have any information?"

"Like news?" Noel pulled out his phone. "They're not saying much of anything right now. Just repeating things we already know."

"What about the explosions?" I gestured toward the direction of the billows of smoke.

"Oh, they arrested a couple of people trying to set fires and cause destruction," Noel explained.

"If that's all the news you have for me, you probably should leave now," I urged. "It's dangerous here."

"You wanted us to spread the word and that's what we did," Valerie pointed out.

"You're right, but I also don't want you guys to get hurt." I gulped. "There are hunters here, trying to harm us. Who knows what could happen to you and your friends if you stay get in the way."

The two looked at each other as if they've come to the realization. "Did something happen to Lilac?" Valerie tilted her head slightly.

"The hunters?" Noel nervously fidgeted with his fingernails. "The creatures?"

When I didn't answer immediately, Valerie gasped and brought her hand to her throat.

"No ... just." I huffed in frustration. "Just leave. Just tell everyone to go home."

"If we do that, they'll probably drop a bomb on this place." The look on Noel's face showed his seriousness.

"We can't let that happen, right?" Valerie nodded. "The creatures. They'll run rampant like you said."

"I—I don't know. I just don't want anyone else getting hurt." Which was the truth.

Valerie came forward, stepping really close to the young roots that stood up like fresh sprouts of oily grass. "We've been out here for hours already. The cops tried to make us go home but we have the right to protest, Noel's friend's dad is a lawyer and provided the proper permits for us to be here. Who cares if the police said it would be a security risk?"

"We're allowed to be near the crime scene and all," Noel added proudly.

"It's not a crime scene anymore." Valerie twisted her face at him. "After twenty-four hours the area returns to normal use. They're just lazy and never removed the crime scene tape."

"I'm sure it makes for a good photo op." Noel shrugged his burly shoulders. "I wouldn't be surprised if they started charging to view it."

Valerie drilled the toes of her shoes into the vines, examining it absentmindedly in the awkward silence that commenced. "So, uh. What happened to your friend? Is he ok?"

I shook my head, refusing to look up into her eyes and hugged the tree in front of me instead. "He's gone." Tears hovered on my eyelids, and I measured my breathes to try to keep from crying in frustration.

"It's ok." She dropped her shoulders in grief and moved closer by stepping a foot onto the vines.

"Valerie?" Noel tried to get her attention. When she glanced over her shoulder, he lifted his palms. "What are you doing?"

"It's ok," she assured. "It'll be ok, Kyla." She moved closer, steadily, cautiously. "I just want to comfort you. Is that ok?"

I didn't speak, only nodded. And when her arms went around my shoulders, I only thought of Lilac and how much I had let him down, putting him in harm's way, and contributing to his death.

Instead of breaking down in her arms like my body wanted to do, I sucked it up and envisioned the television in a dark room with the static from the screen being the only light source.

"Just take a deep breath," she urged. "In and out. In," she instructed by inhaling a slow, steady breath, "and out." She blew gently, causing the long straight strands of hair at my nape to blow in her wind. 

I followed her directions feeling myself become more at eased. Welcoming her gentle touch and soothing voice, I allowed the feelings of relief to overwhelmed me until every worry was washed away.

Noel knelt to feel the vines with his fingertips and the sound of his movements snagged me from my mediation. We watched him explore the tender tendrils and pull one from the ground.

Its dark nectar seeped from the jagged edge. He brought it to his noise and sniffed, twisting his noise to the smell. "You eat these?"

I nodded. "They've kept me alive for years. I crave nothing else."

He looked at it, examining it from every angle. Then he gave me the look as if to ask, "May I?"

I nodded, encouraging. "Go ahead."

He stuck his tongue out and dabbed the sticky edge of the vine to the tip. "Moving his tongue around in his mouth his face changed to several different expressions, finally raising his eyebrows in amazement. "It's good."

"Huh?" Valerie frowned.

"Yeah, it tastes like dark chocolate and dark roast coffee mixed." He nodded excitedly. "Like a burnt chocolate!"

"You're kidding me." Valerie kneeled to gather some in her hand. Her palm slick in its nectar, she first smelled it then placed a root in her mouth. She chewed slowly at first, her jaw trepid about crushing the specimen, but soon her chewing grew faster as she chomped on the remaining bits in her mouth. "They're juicy and sweet. What is it?"

"I don't know," I said, impressed with how fascinated they were with my nourishment.

"Where does it come from?" Valerie examined the vines. "It's so strange. Do ... they eat this too?"

"No, they don't eat." I shook my head.

"This is not really growing from the soil, is it?" Noel said, prompting Valerie to dig with the toe of her shoe. "It's as if it made its own foundation to grow from over the soil. Almost like it's not even interested in the earth."

"Yes," she said. "Like the trees. There seems to be a growth over what was already there and then where there weren't any trees it just mimicked or mirrored what was surrounding it. So strange."

"It changes too," I added. "During the day when the sun is high the plants become tough, dry and brittle. Then at night when the moon light shines it becomes the total opposite tender, juicy, plump."

"This place is really ... interesting!" Noel continued to examine the roots in awe.

Valerie nodded in agreement. "The only thing is the creatures. It'll be really bad if they overtook this place or worse wouldn't let you live how you see fit. Always controlling you. That's pure misery."

She didn't know it was already that way. Her statement couldn't be closer to the truth. If only I had the freedom.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out far within the center of the radius. The steady stream of rounds startled me. And I wondered who was shooting and what they were shooting at.

Valerie's eyes widened and she backed up, exiting the radius, instinctively wiping her hand on her jeans to remove any trace of sticky liquid. The gunshots seemed to have startled her too and broke her out of the trance the syrupy vines had casted over her. Without warning, she separated herself from the Scalded and any remnants of ever being involved in it.

The way they both seemed surprised by how far they had gone to explore the Scalded made my eyes widen even more than the gunshots. It was as if the area drew them in, engaged their imaginations and piqued their curiosity enough to transfixed them in its haunting beauty. Haunting enough to urged them to do the unimaginable and consume, much to their surprise.

~~~

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