(Carl's POV)
Carl gripped the earth beneath his fingers, crouching low, eyes scanning the forest for signs of the mutated bear. The air was thick with tension, the kind that only came when apex predators were near. He'd seen plenty of terrifying creatures since the apocalypse began, but this beast was something else. Its strength and speed were off the charts, even for a zombie-infested world.
Behind him, Jenna and her gang stumbled around, whispering and growling under their breaths. Carl shot a glance over his shoulder, watching as Jenna tried to look serious, her eyes darting between random patches of moss she thought were "rare."
"This is life or death, you know," Carl grumbled under his breath.
Jenna gave him a thumbs up, a smile spreading on her face as if to say, "I got this." Her gang, of course, echoed her with awkward thumbs-up gestures, their eyes glazed over in confusion.
"Stay focused," Carl ordered, then heard a low growl from up ahead.
There it was.
The bear crashed through the trees, its eyes gleaming with rage, fur matted with blood and dirt. The size of a small truck, it charged toward them with terrifying speed. Carl's muscles tensed, calling on his elemental power as fire flickered across his hands. He unleashed a torrent of flame, scorching the ground ahead of the beast.
Jenna, meanwhile, was still fixated on an old can of beans in the dirt, oblivious to the chaos unfolding.
"Jenna!" Carl roared, snapping her back to attention. She blinked, clearly confused, but with a flick of her wrist, she summoned her space ability, accidentally pulling her entire gang into her storage dimension instead of helping with the fight.
"Oops," she muttered, looking sheepish. Carl didn't have time to scold her.
The bear roared again, and Carl lunged forward, sliding under its massive paws, striking at its vulnerable underbelly. The fight was brutal, and Carl was doing most of the heavy lifting, while Jenna occasionally threw random objects from her space at the bear, like old chairs and kitchen supplies. One of them, a broken TV, actually knocked the creature back.
Finally, with a coordinated effort between Carl's flames and Jenna's accidental weaponry, the bear went down in a flurry of growls and fire. Its massive body collapsed, but just as Carl exhaled in relief, something unsettling happened.
Roots erupted from the ground, slithering like snakes toward the bear's carcass. They wrapped around it, pulling it under the earth in seconds, devouring it whole. Carl's eyes widened.
"What the—?"
Jenna scratched her head. "Uh, I don't think I did that…"
Carl's heart pounded. This was worse than any creature they had faced before. The mutation was spreading beyond the animals. Now, the plants were becoming predators too.