POV: Jenna
Jenna trailed behind Carl, her eyes narrowing as they approached the glowing anomaly. The deeper they ventured into the forest, the stranger things became. The air was thick with tension, and even her zombie instincts felt slightly off-kilter.
"Don't you think this feels… wrong?" she asked, her voice low. Her zombie gang followed in silence, their usual groans muted as if they, too, sensed something unusual.
Carl stopped, glancing over his shoulder. "We've dealt with worse."
"Have we, though?" Jenna muttered, glancing around at the plants pulsing with life, as though the entire forest was breathing. The trees, the mushrooms, even the roots—all of it felt alive in a way that made her skin crawl.
Ahead of them, the glowing object flickered, casting an eerie light through the twisted branches. It wasn't large, no bigger than a person, but the light it emitted was hypnotic, drawing them closer like moths to a flame.
As they drew nearer, Jenna's unease deepened. The glow wasn't just light—it had weight. She could feel it pressing down on her, heavy and oppressive. Her space abilities, which usually felt fluid and responsive, now felt sluggish, as if something was resisting her.
Carl moved forward, drawn by curiosity, but Jenna hesitated. Her instincts, dulled by her zombie nature, screamed at her to stay back. "Carl," she called out, her voice tight. "We should be careful. This doesn't feel like one of those 'poke it with a stick' situations."
Carl glanced back at her, his expression unreadable. "We need to know what it is. Whatever's causing the forest to mutate, it's connected to that."
Jenna grimaced but followed anyway. "Fine, but I'm standing behind you when it blows up."
Carl rolled his eyes but said nothing. They stepped closer to the glow, and as they did, Jenna felt a strange pull. It wasn't just light—it was something more, something powerful. She reached out instinctively with her spatial abilities, trying to gauge its nature, but the moment she did, a sharp jolt of pain shot through her.
"Ow!" Jenna jerked her hand back, rubbing her temples. "That thing's messing with my powers."
Carl frowned, taking another cautious step forward. "It's like the forest is protecting it."
Before Jenna could respond, the ground beneath them rumbled. The trees around them groaned, their branches twisting as though they were being woken up from a long sleep. Jenna's eyes widened as vines, thick and dark, began slithering toward them like serpents.
"Oh, come on," she groaned. "Can't we just investigate something without the forest trying to kill us?"
Carl unsheathed his sword, eyes locked on the approaching vines. "We need to get to the source."
Jenna didn't respond. Her instincts screamed at her to retreat, but Carl was already moving toward the glow. The vines lashed out, but Carl was quicker, slicing through them with swift, calculated movements.
Jenna gritted her teeth, readying herself for another wave of attacks. Her zombies fanned out, forming a rough perimeter around her, their groans low and menacing. They weren't the best fighters, but they could at least hold the vines back while she and Carl figured out what the hell was going on.
As Carl cut down another vine, Jenna noticed something odd. The closer they got to the glowing object, the more the vines seemed to focus on them—as though the forest itself was trying to stop them from reaching it.
"It's protecting it," Jenna muttered. "Whatever that thing is, it doesn't want us near it."
Carl slashed at another vine, nodding. "We'll find out why soon enough."
With a final push, they reached the glowing object. Up close, Jenna could see that it wasn't just light—it was a stone. Rough, jagged, and pulsating with energy. The glow it emitted was rhythmic, like a heartbeat, and as Jenna stared at it, she felt an overwhelming sense of unease.
"This thing is alive," she whispered.
Carl approached cautiously, his sword still raised. "We've seen weirder. Let's—"
Before he could finish, the ground beneath the stone erupted. Massive roots shot up, coiling around the stone as though trying to shield it from view. The stone's glow intensified, and the energy it emitted became almost unbearable.
Jenna stumbled back, clutching her head. "It's too much!"
Carl wasn't faring much better. He gritted his teeth, trying to approach the stone, but the force of its energy was pushing him back. "We have to destroy it," he ground out, his voice strained.
"Yeah, good luck with that!" Jenna shouted, trying to maintain control of her space powers, which were flickering like a faulty lightbulb. "How are we supposed to get close to that thing?"
As if in response to her question, the stone pulsed again, sending out a shockwave that knocked both of them off their feet. Jenna hit the ground hard, the air knocked from her lungs. Dazed, she looked up to see the stone glowing brighter than ever.
This was bad. Really bad.
---
POV: Sarah
Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, Sarah and her group had managed to escape the worst of the spore cloud, but the forest was closing in on them fast. The trees bent and twisted, vines snaking through the undergrowth, reaching out to grab anything in their path.
"We can't outrun this," Sarah gasped, clutching her side as they ran. "It's like the forest is alive!"
Rick, still limping from his earlier injury, gritted his teeth. "We need to find cover—something that can protect us from the spores."
They stumbled through the dense forest, the ground shifting beneath their feet. The light from the glowing stone could still be seen through the trees, but Sarah wasn't sure if it was a beacon of hope or the source of their nightmare.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled again, more violently this time. The trees groaned, and the vines surged forward with renewed aggression. Sarah's heart pounded as she realized the forest wasn't just alive—it was furious.
"We're not going to make it!" she shouted, stumbling to a halt.
Rick turned to her, his face pale. "We have no choice. We have to fight."
As the vines closed in on them, Sarah raised her weapon, fear and exhaustion warring within her. But even as she prepared to make her last stand, her eyes were drawn to the strange, glowing stone in the distance.
Whatever was happening there, it was the key to everything.