The soldier, his face slack and eyes unfocused, reached out and touched one of the pulsating tentacles. In an instant, the plant sprang to life. Thorns erupted from the tentacle, piercing the soldier's flesh and pinning him in place. He screamed, a sound cut short as the tentacle coiled around him, crushing his body in its vice-like grip.
The plant throbbed, the luminescent veins pulsing with a sickly green light as it absorbed the soldier's life force. We watched in horror, paralyzed by the gruesome spectacle. Then, with a sickening crunch, the plant retracted its tentacle, leaving behind only a mangled corpse and a lingering stench of blood.
"Attack!" Lucas roared, snapping us out of our stupor.
