POV: Carl
Carl barely had time to register the tree-creature before it lashed out. Massive, branch-like arms swung toward them, smashing through the undergrowth and sending debris flying.
"Move!" Carl shouted, grabbing Jenna by the arm and pulling her aside. The ground trembled beneath them, and the gang of zombies stumbled awkwardly out of the path of destruction.
Jenna blinked at him, looking almost offended. "I can handle myself, you know."
Carl let go of her, exasperated. "I'm not saying you can't! I'm saying if we don't get out of here, we'll all end up as fertilizer!"
She rolled her eyes, but took his point, drawing her makeshift weapon—a sharpened stick. "What's the plan, oh fearless leader?"
Carl gritted his teeth. The thing towering over them didn't look like it was about to go down easy. He swung his sword again, hacking through a vine that tried to wrap around his waist. "We're cutting through it."
"Cutting through a giant tree monster? Yeah, that sounds foolproof," Jenna muttered, before adding more enthusiastically, "Let's do it."
They charged, Carl slashing at the branches as Jenna darted in and out, her zombies serving as cannon fodder. As clumsy as they were, they kept the creature distracted, giving Carl enough room to attack its base. He aimed for the glowing cracks in its bark.
With a final swing, Carl's sword connected with the core of the creature. The tree shuddered violently, and a sickly green light pulsed from the wound before it collapsed in a tangle of branches and roots.
Jenna, predictably, was already rifling through the remains. "Do you think we can use this for something?"
Carl shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "You're unbelievable."
As they caught their breath, the ground beneath the fallen tree began to shift. Roots, twisted and blackened from the creature's mutation, started creeping toward the carcass.
"What… what's it doing?" Jenna asked, stepping back.
The roots devoured the remains of the tree monster, dragging them into the earth in a grotesque display of nature gone wrong. Carl's stomach twisted as he realized this wasn't just a mutated plant—it was something far worse.
"We need to go. Now," Carl said, urgency in his voice.
For once, Jenna didn't argue.