It was too quiet, setting me on edge.
There were no animals or zombies.
I was five miles from my destination, and there was nothing except for trees. It had been that way for a while, at least five miles. If I were a different person, I'd chalk it up to coincidence or luck, but people who thought like that didn't live long.
Chances were high I was dealing with a predator. Its hunting range was at least ten miles, assuming the solar farm I was heading to was the epicenter.
I could see mountains towering in the distance. I didn't even want to think about what it could be if it lived there. That would make its territory over a hundred miles in every direction. A team of hunters couldn't take that on, much less me.
Driving along, I looked for any signs of what it might be.
There was nothing obvious, but that just made me wearier.
The Hummer ate up the miles, breezing over the uneven terrain. I'd been on the road for two months and hadn't seen or interacted with another human since I left the base.
It was interesting to know there was a point at which I craved human connections. I didn't have many friends. Heck, I didn't have any. Usually, I prefer being alone. I was mostly missing my family. I couldn't help wondering how they were doing.
The silence was starting to get to me.
My hand twitched towards the radio, a remnant of an instinct from before. The urge was always there, even though I knew the stations only played static, and the noise might attract something dangerous.
It was hard to imagine that the apocalypse only started three years ago. It was ironic. Everything humankind built over centuries collapsed in a few moments compared to the decades it took to create.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I sat up straighter, all stray thoughts leaving my mind.
I couldn't see anything, but there was something out there.
It was just my luck that whatever overlord used this area for hunting was in the general location of where I was going.
I needed those solar panels.
The base had a rolling list of high-priority items, but we'd hit our energy ceiling months ago. I wasn't the only person looking, but it wouldn't be enough even if everyone found a hundred working panels. Solar panels were the only thing on my mother's list that made sense. My storage space was full of various appliances and machinery she insisted I collect.
Two miles out.
Lovely. My luck wasn't the best today. I expected it, but it was still the worst. It was the chamber with the loaded bullet in my game of roulette. In the distance, a field of green undulated. Bits of metal reflected the sun, peeking out from vines that waved like tentacles. I preferred to fight a hoard of zombies over a single mutated plant. After a nasty run-in with a pepper plant, they starred in many of my nightmares.
I predicted that my death would be an anticlimactic affair with me getting eaten by something innocuous like a rose or sunflower.
It wouldn't be today, though. The wreathing expanse in front of me used to be an ear of corn. What it was after mutating was anyone's guess. It was using its multicolored spiked cobs as clubs and battering rams.
At least I was only dealing with a single plant. The main body sat in the middle of the field doing a parody of Jack's giant beanstalk with oversized tendrils burrowing into the ground. Crumbling walls jutting out represented the remnant of several buildings. I could see several barns standing at the back of the field, untouched.
Depending on how soon after the apocalypse started that plant mutated, refugees or hunters wouldn't have passed through this area on raids. There was nothing past here but mountains. Sensible people wouldn't come here if they could help it, sticking to cities.
Stopping the vehicle, I jumped out, putting it into my storage space. Plants didn't develop the ability to see, but their mutations capitalized on their body's sensitivity to certain stimuli. Those tendrils sensed vibration. If I got any closer in the hummer, one of those cobs would turn it into a pancake with me as the filling in the middle.
I could tell its attack radius from the state of the ground. There were cracks and craters in certain spots. Everything stopped about ten feet from the edge of the plant's body. It explained why there were no animals or zombies close to here. But that raised new questions, things I would need to be careful of and consider as they could affect the fight.
As a pro, the main body of the plant was far from the solar panels. I was here for them. It would be pointless if they got destroyed. As a con, it was hard to tell how much damage they'd already taken. Another was how massive the plant was.
I couldn't kill it. To do that, I would need to cut the stalk. Since it looked more like a redwood tree than corn, that wasn't possible. I didn't even know how I'd go about hacking through the twenty-foot diameter at the base of its stalk.
No, my best bet was to put the panels in my storage space while dodging the corn cobs of doom. The best scenario was that the solar panels were in series and still connected. I could put the whole thing away with one touch. With my luck, I would have to dance the 'avoid death' rumba while collecting all the panels as fast as possible, hoping they didn't get smashed.
"Come on, Blake. You've got this." I warmed up, springing from foot to foot. My eyes focused on the nearest panel. It was a twenty-foot dash.
Launching forward, I ran toward my goal. I stepped into the plant's sensory field, and something smashed toward me, whistling through the air.
I jumped to the side. The earth shook, and the sound made my ears ring.
I kept moving. I wasn't that heavy at five foot eleven inches and a hundred and seventy-eight pounds, but it noticed me immediately.
It smashed towards me again. I dived to the side.
There was the feeling that something was wrong. This attack method wasn't the type I preferred. I was more methodical, but the thought was fleeting.
Dust was starting to block my vision. My heart was racing. I dodged to the side just in time to see a black mass obliterate the spot where I was.
Ten feet now.
I was moving faster than was possible for a regular human, but It wasn't good enough to beat the plant's reaction time.
I was also getting closer to the main body. Free-moving vines cracked toward me, and the faster, more agile cobs replaced the larger club-like ones.
Bludgeoned or whipped to death. Those sounded like excellent choices.
A sword appeared in my hand. At the same time, I threw a grenade in the opposite direction I was going. The number of vines targeting me decreased.
I only had seconds.
Diving toward the first panel, I slashed the vine in my way, green sap splashing on my clothes.
My hand connected, and it went into my storage space. I sprinted off. Leaping, I threw out several grenades.
Landing on the top of a wall, I held still. The explosions sounded, and I waited to see if that would be enough.
I didn't even dare to breathe.
It worked.
The plant smashed into the ground randomly, but it didn't come close to me. The corn's receptor worked more like a seismic sensor than a motion detector or pressure sensor. It tracked things in motion from the vibration.
With the slightest turn of my head, I observed the location of the remaining solar panels. I'd gotten over half. The remainder were only a meter or so away. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.
I was about to move when my head started feeling woozy. I bit the inside of my cheek. The pain cleared my head enough to maintain my balance and not fall.
A clawing sweet smell clung to the back of my throat, fogging over my senses and mind.
Great.
It had powers. Pheromones were my best guess. That explained how it didn't starve to death, having hunted everything close to it. Most zombies and animals wouldn't approach it on their own.
My head was pounding, and I could feel my body going numb. I had the urge to go closer.
I couldn't hesitate anymore. Sprinting towards the panels, I sliced through vines and tossed out grenades at intervals.
At the back of my mind, I hoped the noise would attract zombies or animals that could distract the plant.
It was within reach. As my fingers were about to touch it, something connected with my side, tossing me into the air.
I slammed into the ground, pain radiating all over my body.
The pain cleared my head. Rolling along the ground, I dodged a club.
I sprung to my hunches, ignoring the aches. I dashed forward.
I couldn't help being thankful that it wasn't sentient.
Switching out my sword for an ax, I hacked everything I couldn't dodge. A vine swung towards my head. I ducked, throwing my weight forward.
My fingers touch something. On instinct, I put it away. Someone else would have to get any panels that were left.
I planned it out, gritting my teeth, already experiencing the pain. My consciousness was fading fast, and I was out of options. I was reckless, but there was nothing to do now. I avoided a few cobs until one followed the trajectory I wanted.
I threw myself toward it, protecting my organs as much as possible. The battering ram connected with me, launching me into the sky.
A triumphant smile curled my lips as I flew outside the plant's attack radius.