Chapter Two: The Whisper Beneath the Bark
The forest had fallen into an unnatural silence. Not a bird sang, not a leaf stirred. Billy sat frozen beneath the ancient tree, its roots thick as serpents coiling into the earth. His fingers still tingled with that unearthly green glow, faint embers dancing beneath his skin as though fireflies had made a home in his veins.
He should have been screaming. He should have been running back to the safety of the bus where his classmates joked and laughed, unaware of the nightmare blooming in these woods. But something in the tree's voice had pierced him deeper than fear.
"You… are the one," the voice whispered again, though its lips were not human. The bark itself shifted, creaked, and groaned, shaping sound as if language had grown from its wood.
Billy swallowed hard. "What do you mean, the one?" His voice cracked — the same crack his bullies laughed at in school.
The branches above him twisted like skeletal fingers. "For centuries, I have held the root of life. I have watched empires rise, watched them crumble into dust. But I am fading, boy. The world has bled me dry. My successor must rise, or all will wither."
Billy's heart slammed against his ribs. "No… no, you've got the wrong person. I'm nobody. I can't even—" he bit back the words, but they stung anyway. I can't even defend myself at school.
The bark shivered, its cracks glowing faintly with the same green aura that now pulsed in Billy's palm. "It is not a matter of choice. The root has chosen. You are bound."
And then, before he could ask another question, the forest groaned with a sound that wasn't natural.
A heavy snapping of branches echoed in the distance — followed by a low growl.
Billy froze. The noise wasn't from any animal he knew. It was deeper, heavier, as if the very ground was warning him to run.
The tree's voice trembled. "It comes."
"What comes?" Billy asked, panic slicing through him.
The ancient trunk groaned as the glow inside it dimmed. "The rot… they have found me."
And then Billy saw it.
From the shadows of the forest, shapes emerged. Twisted figures, human but not human. Their skin was cracked like dried earth, black veins crawling across their faces. Eyes empty, soulless — filled only with decay. They dragged their limbs like puppets pulled by strings, their fingers sharp as broken twigs.
Billy stumbled backward. His classmates were still somewhere nearby — laughing, unaware. He thought of them, of how close the monsters were to the bus.
One of the creatures tilted its head at him, sniffing the air like a predator. Its mouth opened wide, not in hunger, but in hatred.
The tree's voice thundered inside Billy's skull. "Defend me. Defend yourself. Command the root!"
Billy looked at his hands, the faint light flickering in his veins. "I don't know how!"
The first creature lunged, faster than Billy could react. Its clawed hand reached for his throat —
And then something exploded inside him.
The green aura surged, bursting from his chest like wildfire. Vines shot from the ground, wrapping around the monster's legs and yanking it down with a bone-snapping crack. It screeched, its body thrashing as the vines tightened like chains.
Billy stared, his breath ragged. I did that.
The other creatures shrieked in unison, their cracked skin glowing faintly as if feeding on the darkness itself.
"More are coming," the tree warned. "If you fall here, the world falls with you."
Billy's fear hardened into something else — a trembling fury. His whole life, he'd been powerless. Every shove, every laugh, every insult from his bullies had taught him to bow his head and take it. But not here. Not now.
The ground trembled again as his hands glowed brighter. Roots ripped through the soil like spears, lashing out at the creatures. One was impaled clean through the chest, bursting into dust. Another was strangled by vines so thick they snapped its brittle bones.
But for every one that fell, two more crawled out of the darkness. The forest was alive with screeches, the night air splitting with their hunger.
Billy's chest burned. His body wasn't made for this — his vision blurred, sweat pouring down his face. He tried to summon another surge, but his knees buckled.
The dying tree spoke again, its voice weaker now. "You cannot fight them all. Take my heart. Run."
The bark split open with a sound like thunder. Inside the hollow, a glowing shard pulsed — green, alive, beating like a heart made of roots.
Billy staggered toward it. "What is it?"
"My essence," the tree whispered. "My power. With it, you will be hunted. But without it, there is no hope."
The creatures closed in, their claws scraping the earth. Billy's instincts screamed at him to run, to abandon it, to live. But his hand reached forward anyway.
The moment his fingers touched the glowing shard, the forest exploded with light.
Roots erupted outward in a wave, tearing through the monsters like paper. Screams filled the night — high, hollow, inhuman — before fading into silence.
And then it was done.
The light dimmed. The roots sank back into the earth, lifeless again. The forest smelled of ash and dust.
Billy collapsed to his knees, the shard now embedded in his chest, glowing faintly beneath his skin. He felt… alive. Too alive. His veins burned with energy, every heartbeat echoing like a drum.
But when he looked back at the tree, it was dead. Its bark turned black, its branches brittle. The voice was gone.
Billy whispered, "What have I done?"
Then he heard the sound of footsteps — not monstrous, but human.
"Billy?" a voice called. It was Jenna, one of his classmates. She sounded scared. "Are you out here?"
Billy's head snapped up. If she saw what had just happened — if she saw him — he didn't know if she'd run, scream, or worse.
But as he opened his mouth to answer, a new sound came. A faint crackle.
An earpiece. A man's voice, distant, sharp, authoritative:
"We've located the surge. Sending a Quinjet now."
Billy's blood ran cold. Whoever they were — they already knew about him.
And they were coming.