Cascade

Wilds And The Wildlife

After the cannibal left I had gone to retrieve my messenger bag before returning to the fountain and curling up on the ground beside it. The sky was dark and it looked to be some time in the early morning, not a very good time to attempt to escape. I lay there for a while, just breathing. I'd try to find another way out of the gardens when the sun rose. I closed my eyes and just let myself rest.

I drifted in and out of sleep through the course of the early morning. When I finally awoke, sunlight was streaming in through the roof and shining off the fresh dew that covered the foliage.

I slowly sat up, shivering from the damp feeling of my clothes from the morning dew. Cautiously, I glanced around, scanning the greenery for movement. I heaved a breath when I found nothing. The cannibal must still be wherever it ran off to. If I was lucky it wouldn't be back until sunset.

I hurriedly scarfed down another protein bar before climbing to my feet. I stumbled my way out of the green house and hurried toward the fountain with the lady. Once I reached its base I took off my shirt and gently removed the bandages from my shoulder.

I looked over the wound to make sure it hadn't gotten infected. It was still red around the edges, but otherwise appeared to be fine. I pulled my medical supplies out of my bag and once again dipped my cloth in the fountain. I hissed under my breath as I quickly scrubbed the wound clean before hurriedly treating and dressing it. I pulled my shirt back on and grabbed my bag before glancing around.

Yesterday I had gone past the second greenhouse so now I would head behind the greenhouse I'd woken up in. I walked around to the side of the glass building and walked alongside it for a while. And then I came to a halt before a vast thicket of thorns, their snarled tendrils clawing upwards into the sky and casting ominous shadows in the morning light. Its thorns were curled like talons, their edges gleaming in the light and trailing down to meet the tangled vines that were as big around as my arms. I paled as I noted the size of the thorns. They were at least as big around as my fist and they looked to be just as long.

Maybe I should have tried to head through the greenhouse? It didn't look like I could make it through the thorns without being torn up so I doubled back and cautiously entered the greenhouse. I stopped in the clearing beyond the door to glance around. Nothing moved, but the leaves and the only thing I heard was silence. Slowly I made my way back to the clearing I'd woken up in.

My boots echoed off the tile flooring as I made my way into the greenery on the other side. Nothing else made a sound and I felt my stomach tightening as I pushed through the greenery. Nothing was here, but I couldn't stop the feeling of dread that crept up my spine and made my stomach churn. I slowed my breathing in an attempt to calm myself down. There was nothing here, just me and the plants.

It helped and I slowly continued on through the overhanging branches and overgrown bushes. I passed through a sea of palm ferns and a thicket of towering hedges before I finally made it to a clear area at the back of the greenhouse. I trailed my gaze across the back wall until I found an open doorway that was flanked by twin towering palm ferns that looked to stand well over seven feet. I marched across the untrimmed grass of the clearing before brushing my way past the palm ferns and stepping back outside and into the sunlight.

I was met by the sight of a twisting brick pathway that wandered though what looked to have once been a rose garden. The bushes and vines had overtaken the beds and were now spilling out onto the path. I swallowed before slowly edging my way through the narrow areas between the thorny plants.

Thirty minutes later found me hissing curses under my breath as I tripped on a vine for the seventh time and sent myself into a pile of thorny brambles. This garden was like a maze and I swore if there wasn't a way to get passed the wall on this side, then I was going to try find another way to get back to the vine covered greenhouse. If there wasn't then I'd be staying over here. I'd like to see that cannibal try to get past this deathtrap.