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      "body": "CHAPTER 22\n\nThey followed the river bank for a mile, it was safer and easier than trying to cut a path through the creepers that had spread out for miles in every direction.\nHugging the bank Calvin still had to hack through vines crisscrossing their path or dangling from above, fishing for prey.\nVanessa was exhausted, every step was painful, she couldn’t imagine the agony her poor father and Calvin must be in. Neither of them ever complained. How much further could her one legged father go in his condition? A lesser man would have given up hours ago. “You holding up OK Daddy?”\n“I’m hurting, but I think I’ve a got another mile or two in me before I drop dead.”\n“Daddy, please don’t talk like that.”\n“Sorry honey, I’ll be OK, maybe we can take a break soon.”\nAhead a fish leapt, probably trying to escape a gator. Vanesa glanced in the direction of the splash and spotted a glint of metal on a sand bar. “What’s that up there in the weeds?”\nCalvin was spent, he’d burned though his reserve of endurance hours ago. He had been prodding forward on auto pilot, sword in hand, slashing at brush, weeds and creepers trudging forward knowing that soon he was going to pass out and crash face first into the mud. “Huh?” He hadn’t heard what Vanessa had said.\n“There Calvin, ahead. Is that a boat?”\nThat got his attention, he scanned the bank but didn’t see anything.\nVanessa pointed to it. “There by that big tree.” \nThen Calvin saw it too. It looked abandoned, was it sunk in the mud? All he saw was the bow. He chopped a path though some tall weeds and there it was a flat bottomed aluminum row boat. “Yea, it’s a boat, looks in pretty good shape.”\nVanessa was elated. “We’re saved!” She hugged her parents as relief washed over them.\nCalvin turned around and saw the hope on their filthy faces. “We have two problems: One no oars.” \nVanessa chimed in, “Cut a push pole or we can make a paddle?”\n“Yes but the other problem is it’s chained to this fucking tree.”\n“Oh.” The enthusiasm drained from her face.\nIt was a big dead oak over six feet in diameter, a thick chain was wrapped around it, secured with a rusty stout pad lock.\nCalvin was out of ideas. There was no way he could cut or break the heavy chain or bust open the lock. They all stood dumb founded, as their boat of salvation bobbed in the water, tugging at its steel tether as if it too needed rescue.\nA weak voice broke the silence. “I can open that lock.” Michael Fullbright hobbled forward. I had a part in a horrible B movie back in the 80s. Cell Block 13. I’m assuming you didn’t see it.”\n“I saw it.” Vanessa grinned. You played a thief who was a master at picking locks.”\n“Yes, and to make my performance more realistic, I hired an ex-con to teach how to pick locks.”\nCalvin didn’t look convinced. “Don’t you need a set of picks to open a pad lock?”\n“Valid point my boy, maybe I can make one. All I need is a thin piece of wire, a paper clip, hair pin. Look in the boat, anything there we can use?”\nCalvin climbed into the boat and almost lost his balance when it tipped to one side. “Wow. There wasn’t much here, an empty beer can and a broken bobber. He held them up.”\n“Let me see that bobber.”\nCalvin brought it to Michael.\nMichael snapped it in half. “This might work.” He took the center spring out and the copper clip that held the fishing line and bent it as straight as he could and ended up with a nine-inch copper wire. Then he quickly bent it back in forth until it broke in half. He stuck the end of one piece into a seam in the bow of the boat and carefully bent it 45-degrees. He took the other piece and bent it into a hook. The padlock was rusty, but Michael was determined he inserted the bent wire into the lock and gently pushed it to the right with his thumb. This one’s the tension bar, that’s the easy part. Next he inserted the hook and carefully raked the rusty pins inside. Thunk. The lock popped open and a huge grin of satisfaction spread across his battered face.\n“Yes!” Vanessa bounced with joy.\nCalvin shook his head in amazement. “Mr. Fullbright, sir. You just saved our lives. Brains trumps brawn every time.”\n“We’re a family Calvin. You got us this far with your strength and courage. I’m glad I was finally able to make a contribution.”\nCalvin lifted his sword and with one blow cleaved a sampling from the river bank. In seconds he had an eight-foot push pole.  “OK, let’s get the hell out of here.”\nVanessa and her parents piled into the boat. \nCalvin shoved them off the bank, jumped in and pushed off into the current. The river was only thirty to sixty yards wide with an average depth of five feet.\nMichael and Rosa feel asleep in the back of the boat and Vanessa sat in silence listing to the menacing calls of the malevolent jungle on both banks, drowning out the calm lapping of the river on the bow of the boat and the chirping of tree frogs unconcerned about them or creepers.\nCalvin stood in the center of the boat, piloting it with his pole when the current became too weak or they drifted too close to a sunken log or large rock.\nHours passed, Calvin had no idea how far they’d floated, he hoped it was ten miles or more: it was four.\nThe creepers were thinning out. Another hour of floating downstream and the foliage on the banks of the river looked normal. He saw an old boat dock up ahead and poled over to it. There was a yellow mobile home a dozen yards off the bank. It looked deserted. \nCalvin secured the bow to the dock with a length of old rope he found on the dock and then gingerly helped Michael and Rosa out of the boat, lifting them out like small children. \nVanessa was last, when he picked her up, his huge hands encircled her waist. \nVanessa looked up into his blue eyes, threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.\nHe held her in a gentle bear hug, then kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. “You have incredible parents. Your Dad is the toughest man I’ve ever met and I see you reflected in your Mother’s eyes. You have your Father’s courage and your Mother’s poise and beauty. FYI If we make it through this alive, I’m going to ask you Dad for permission to marry you.”\nVanessa kissed him gently while holding his handsome, battered face in her hands. “Aren’t you going to ask me first?”\n“Nope, rather take my chances with your Dad.”\nShe laughed and it hurt. “Well, FYI I would say yes if you asked.”\nMichael must have sensed he was being talked about. He yelled down. “Hey, glad you two are getting alone but it’s time to make camp. Let’s check this place out.”\nVanessa and Calvin made their way up the bank. The yellow mobile home looked like it had been there for decades. The front door was locked. Vanessa held back the screen door and Calvin hit the door with his shoulder, it didn’t budge.\nRosa walked up beside them. “Let’s try this key before you bust in the door. We might need it.”\nCalvin laughed. “Where’d you get that?”\nRosa pointed to a fake rock. “I saw them on the Shopping Channel, back in the 90s. Kind of obvious.”\nCalvin took the key and opened the door. The decor was trailer park, 1970s but tidy. Calvin flipped the light switch up and down. “No power.”\nRosa come out of the kitchen. There’s some canned peas, soup and pears. Salt & pepper and some spices, all decades past their sell by date. Good news, there’s water and a propane stove.”\nCalvin opened up a closet in the hallway. “Found some fishing rods and a tackle box. I’ll go down to the dock. Maybe I can catch some fish.”\nMichael Fullbright had collapsed on the plaid sofa in the living room. He was fast asleep. \nRosa decided to check outside and see if there was anything of use around back. There wasn’t much there, a garden hose and a few sheets of rotten plywood. She saw an old storage shed overgrown with weeds. She managed slide the rusted door open. Then she screamed.\nCalvin and Vanessa came running.\nRosa had stumbled back and fallen, too frightened to speak. \nVanessa ran to her mother and helped her to her feet. “What is it?”\nCalvin held his sword in his right hand and cautiously slid the dirty, white aluminum door all the way open and peered inside. He stepped back. “Jesus!” Inside a corpse was slumped back on a plastic lawn chair. A 12-gauge shotgun clamped between its bony legs. Most of its head was gone. Calvin figured the body had been there for years. “Looks like a suicide. But look what’s behind him. A generator. See that pipe. It must run on propane. That’s pretty big tank on the side of the house. Maybe I can get it running.”\nVanessa led her mother away. “Please try, it’s so hot inside. If you can get the power on there’s a window air conditioner and a floor fan we can use to cool it down. We all need a good night’s sleep.”\nCalvin found switches, a green one and a red one. He flipped on the green one and pushed a start button. The old motor wouldn’t turn over. He saw the problem, the battery next to the generator had probably been dead as long as the corpse in the shed. There was a pulley on the side of the motor, it looked like an old lawn mower pull-start. But there wasn’t a rope on it. He rummaged around in the shed and found an old coil of nylon rope. He tided a screwdriver to one end as a handle and wrapped the other end around the pulley. He jerked the rope, the motor turned over and sputtered. Spitting out a plume of blue smoke. He wrapped the rope around the pulley again and gave it another go. The motor sputtered then came to life.\n“Calvin! The power’s on!”\nHe ran back. The lights were on. Rosa turned on the air conditioner and Vanessa was switched on the floor fan. “It feels cooler already.”\n“Yea, feels better. Where’s you Dad?”\nRosa pointed to the door. “He woke up when he heard me scream. He decided to try his luck fishing while you were working on the generator. Why don’t you go take a shower and freshen up? You’ve done enough, we can take it from here.”\nThe idea of a cool shower sounded great. “Okay, thanks Rosa.” Calvin went into the tiny bathroom and turned on the shower. Nothing came out at first, then the shower head coughed up a trickle of brown water. Calvin figured the pump was busted or there was air in the pipes. He reached over to turn off the tap as it sputtered to life and a spray of cool clear water soaked his head. “Yes!” He undressed and had the best shower of his life. He didn’t even try the hot water, the cold was tepid. He closed his eyes, the water eased his pain. It took half an hour to scrub the blood, sweat and grime off his battered body. He got out and dried off with a towel that smelled surprisingly fresh. He looked at his pile of smelly, soiled clothes on the floor. He tested the hot water tap in the sink, surprisingly after a minute hot water sputtered into the sink. He washed his socks, underwear and what was left of his shirt one at a time with shampoo. His jeans were too big for the sink so he rinsed them off with hot water and soap in the shower. After wringing everything out he wrapped a towel around his waist gathered up his wet clothes and came out.\nHe smelled fish. Vanessa and Rosa were in the kitchen. Rosa had four fish fillets in the sink rinsing them off. “Look what Michael caught. The big one’s for you.”\nVanessa came up and kissed him on the cheek. “I was wondering what you were up to in there. Did you try and do your laundry in the sink?”\n“I had to do something my clothes were filthy and they reeked.”\nVanessa laughed, “There’s a washing machine and dryer in that closest. Give me those. I’ll put them in after our stuff and give them a proper wash.”\nAs Calvin handed over his wet clothes his towel dropped to the floor. Embarrassed he awkwardly tried to cover his privates with one hand and retrieve the towel with the other.\nEveryone laughed. Vanessa felt sorry for him. She could tell his was very self-conscious about his size and nudity. “Come with me dear. There has to be something here that you can wear until your clothes are ready.”  They went to the back bedroom and Vanessa began rummaging through the drawers of a small dresser. She assumed the clothes belonged to the body in the shed, unfortunately, he was a small man. “Here these white socks might fit you. T-shirts are all mediums. Oh, look what I found. She pulled out a Glock 9mm and held it up by two fingers as if it might bite her.”\n“Careful, it’s probably loaded.” Calvin took it from her, pulled back the bolt and a shell flew out. Yep, cocked and loaded. With a click the magazine dropped out, he picked up the bullet, loaded it in the clip and with one smooth motion replaced it.\nVanessa thought, He’s done this before. It gave her comfort that her man knew how to handle a fire arm when those things were out there hunting them. \nRosa called out to them. “Hey guys, dinner’s ready.”\nCalvin and Vanessa went back to the kitchen. Rosa had set the table and there with a platter of fried fish, that she’e battered with stale flour, salt, pepper and canned milk, ten years past its expiration date. She had made tea with old tea bags and stale sugar. It was warm but tasted good. She picked out the biggest fish and put it on a plate and handed it to Calvin. \nHe smiled. “Thanks, smells good.”\n“Please don’t judge my cooking by this meal. We had to make do with what we had. Hope we don’t all get sick.”\nCalvin took a bite of his fish and a smile spread across his face. “Rosa this is excellent!” And it was. They all dug in and picked the bones clean.\nCalvin finished first and looked over at his dinner companions. “Can’t believe our first dinner together and I’m sitting here butt naked.”  \nThey all laughed.\nVanessa was exhausted. “I’ll go put your clothes in the dryer then I’m going to take a shower. Then I think we should all try and get some sleep.”\nRosa got up and began clearing the table. “Good idea. You go on then your father and I will get ourselves cleaned up. You and Calvin take the back bedroom and will sleep in the living room. I think the coach is sleeper sofa.”\nCalvin got up. “Thanks for dinner. That fish really was delicious.” He tried to keep his towel in place as he followed Vanessa to the bedroom. He pulled off the dusty bedspread and tossed it on the floor. The sheets and pillows looked kind of clean. He stretched out on the bed and stuffed a pillow behind his head. “Wonder why he did it?”\n“Who knows, but he saved us. I hope he found peace.”\nShe unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it on the floor, unclipped her bra laid it on the dresser. Then she slipped out of her jeans and took off her panties. \nCalvin couldn’t help watching her. She was filthy, there were scratched and bruises all over her but all he could think was: My God she’s beautiful.\nShe found a flannel shirt in the closet and sniffed it. “Smells like moth balls but it’s clean enough. You OK?”\n He smiled at her, “Do you really have to put that shirt on?”\n“Men, you’re lying there half dead and all you can think about is . . . I’m going to get my shower now. When I come back . . . I’ll take the shirt off for you.”\nCalvin smiled, “Can’t wait. Vanessa?”\n“Yes.”\nI love you.”\n“Yes, I know you do.”\n“I love you too.”\n![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)",
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      "body": "CHAPTER 21\n\nVanessa was the first one out of the river. She ran towards Calvin dripping wet, she had seen every blow of his battle. \nCalvin heard her voice and the saw her running towards him emerging from the shadows like an apparition.\nVanessa threw herself into his arms and wept with relief. In that moment she realized for the first time what an incredible man Calvin was, a real hero better than any Hollywood creation. “I thought I had lost you forever and that we were all going to be killed by those things. You’re my hero! I love you so much.” \nCalvin held Vanesa tight breathing in her scent feeling the warmth of her body through her wet clothes. “I love you too, from the second I saw you, I’ve loved you. It’s going to be alright. We’re going to find a way to destroy them and the Creeper. Come on, let’s get out of here.”\nThe clear water and gentle current of the river had washed the blood and sand from Vanessa’s bruised body, feeling Calvin’s powerful arms around her holding her like she was a child made her feel safe and gave her the strength to face the challenges that she knew were ahead. Somewhere out there in the bush the creeps were plotting their next move. The warm water of the river had eased her pain, but she knew that there was a minefield of death between them and safety.\nCalvin Sat her down gently and kissed her forehead. “Okay no time to waste let’s get the hell out of here before they regroup and launch another attack.”\nHand in hand they walked back to the stream. They found Vanessa’s parents huddled together at the base of a cottonwood tree whose braches were bound in thick creepers. Michael didn’t look good. His ashen face was as pale as the moon above. His hands were trembling. What Calvin couldn’t see was the pain that Michael Fullbright didn’t want them to know about. His broken ribs punished him for every breath. And beneath his tattered clothes his frail body was covered with bruises from the beating. He tried to get to his feet as Calvin and Vanessa approached, but he failed in the effort. Rosa pulled him back to her and cradled his head in her lap stroking his hair. She looked up at her daughter and Calvin, and tears ran down her cheeks. “Thank God, we both still have our Champions. He’s hurt bad Vanessa. I don’t know if he, we can go any further.”\nMichael’s eyes were fixed and dilated but a glimmer of life remained, he regained his senses for a moment and tried to speak. “She’s right sweetheart, I’m done, you and your mother go with Calvin, make a run for it. Get as far from here as you can.”\nCalvin spoke up, “Well that’s not going to happen. Leaving you behind is not an option. Beat up you’re still twice the man as me. I need your help and advice. Together we will all get out of here and together we will destroy those green bastards.” Calvin went over to a sapling and with a single blow of his sword cut it down. He quickly peeled the bark off with his knife and rounded off the ends. He helped Michael to his feet and gave him the walking stick.\n“Thanks.” Michael took a few steps and forced a smile, it helps, if we go slowly I should be able to keep up. Breathing’s ![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)easier standing up. I’m pretty sure I have a couple of busted ribs.”",
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      "body": "CHAPTER 20\n\nVanessa came to with a jolt. The blood pulsing though her head a drum beat of pain. Nauseous and disoriented and it took her a few seconds to realize she was upside down, hung like a spider’s prize, her face so close to the ground that her strawberry blond hair splayed onto the sand. A bodice of tightly laced lianas was slowly squeezing the life out of her.\nTucking her chin she looked up and saw that she was suspended by a single vine from the dense canopy above. Time slowed, the seconds couldn’t keep pace with her pulse. How long have I been here? Where am I? She caught the scent of the sea on the weak easterly breeze that grazed her cheek. There was a dim glow in the sky. Is it dawn or dusk? She was on the verge of losing consciousness again, blood was pooling in her upper body and pounding in her skull. The living bonds constricted a notch with every breath. Tiny thorns scored her flesh with beads of blood. Something jerked her head. She screamed when she saw a green, ape like foot standing on her hair.\n“Finally you’re awake.”\nVanessa couldn’t see its face. All she saw were thick green legs with dirty ape like feet. “I can’t breathe.”\nRoundtree reached down, laced his fingers into the tendrils and lifted her up to his face as if she were made of papier-mâché. His breath reeked of rotten vegetation, damp earth and blood. He laughed. “You’re what they sent to stop us? How’s that working out for you Miss Fullbright?” He shouted to someone out of sight. Get her down. Throw her in the pit with the others. Tonight you feast.”\nWithout warning he dropped her, her face slammed into the ground, nearly breaking her neck, everything went black for a second, she bounced, blood dripping from her nose and mouth as she swung. Her hair swept the sand in lazy circles painting the ground with streaks of red.\nOn the slow arch of the third swing her body twisted to the right. She caught a glimpse of a man. He was sitting at the base of a tree. His arms bound and his legs splayed out in front of him.\nShe swung back and saw the two creeps walking away, “Aren’t they going to cut me down?”\nHer body swayed and turned back again and she caught another glimpse of the man’s ashen face he was covered in deep scratches and caked with dried blood and sand. His head hung limply on his massive chest. He didn’t seem to be breathing.\nAnother slow swing, as her vision cleared Calvin? Is that Calvin? Oh my God is he dead? She tried to call out to him, but her voice was too weak, she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs to scream and she was afraid the creeps would hear her. She risked it anyway. In a feeble voice she called to him, “Calvin, Calvin! Please God, don’t let him be dead. Wake up Calvin. Please Wake up. Calvin!”\nCalvin was closer to death than life. He thought he heard his name being called from far away. He looked up and a cloud of blue light materialized, an old man stood within it.\nA sense of peace washed over him, warm waves lapping at his body. Suddenly he was free and standing, he saw his father who’d died long ago, beckoning him. Calvin began floating towards him. His father was backlit by a pulsing rainbow of warm light. Again Calvin heard someone calling his name. The voice seemed familiar. In a somnolent state he turned to see who wanted him, wondering what could be so important. When he looked back he was astounded to see himself, bound to a tree. If that’s me . . . who am I? Not overly concerned but curious. Guess I’m dead. No surprise there. The concept didn’t bother him. Again he heard his name, the voice was female. He hadn’t realized that.\n“Calvin!”\nThere was a sense of urgency, but she sounded so far away. The voice echoed in his head, rolling around like a marble in his muddled mind before the words made sense to him. Remembering his father, he turned to ask him what was going on, surely he would know.\nHis father pointed, “It’s not your time Calvin. Save her son, you must save her.” Then he was gone like smoke in the wind and the pain returned.”\n“Calvin, please! Help me!”\nHis eyes fluttered open and the world spun. His chest was bound in green barbed wire. It took all of his strength just to lift his head. When his vision cleared he saw Vanessa hanging upside down. Suddenly the life force flowed back into his body like an injection of adrenaline. He struggled to break free but even in his prime Calvin wouldn’t have had the strength to break the sinuous strands that bound him.\nVanessa hung silently, shouting had caused her to pass out again. Her back was to Calvin, he couldn’t see her face and he didn’t remember if she had actually called out to him or if it had been a delusion. His head throbbed. The vines were so tight he could only manage shallow breaths. Like a thousand snakes he felt the vines constrict every time he exhaled, soon he would be unable to breathe. Slowly he was being asphyxiated. The cold blanket of death descended on him again and he lost consciousness, a blessing that would spare him the agony of suffocation.\nRoundtree had given orders to bash Calvin’s skull in if he came to. But he looked dead to the creeps who came for him. One ran its claws over the vines that bound him and they grew loose and fell away. The two creeps grabbed a leg each and dragged Calvin into the jungle, his head bouncing over rocks, roots and thorny vines. \nAt the edge of the Everglades they’d discovered another sinkhole, not as large or as deep as Newl’s but it would do. It was twenty feet in diameter and around ten feet deep with concave sides of crumbling sand, shaped like a fishbowl with two feet of stagnant water pooled at the north side. Several creepers hung a few feet over the edge heavy with blossoms. The bottom was limestone with a few inches of sand, leaves and dead things that had fallen in and drowned when the water was higher, hundreds of dead bugs floated on the oily surface, some dead some in the final throws of death. A few snakes lay coiled in the refuse, including an eleven foot boa that had survived for years living off of whatever fell in. The two creeps threw Calvin into the north end of the hole, he hit the water with smack, made a huge splash and went under hitting the sandstone bottom hard, he sunk beneath the water for a few seconds then slowly bobbed to the surface face up.\nMinutes later the two creeps dragged Vanessa by her hair with her hands bound behind her back to the edge of the pit screaming and struggling in vain. She had no idea what was in the hole. When they finally threw her over the edge it seemed like she fell forever, but it was only a second. She hit the shallow edge of the water with her left side absorbing the force of the fall. It took her a second to realize that the water was less than two feet deep. If she didn’t panic she wouldn’t drown. She twisted her knee badly and sprained her ankle in the fall, it was dark. Gasping for air she rolled onto her back and used her legs to push herself to the edge where she collapsed in pain and began to sob. She rolled over and saw Calvin floating just a few feet from her. She was certain he was dead but she called out to him anyway. “Calvin!”\n“Vanessa! Vanessa! Over here, we’re over here.”\n“Momma?” She rolled over and was stunned to see her mother huddled in the dark, her hands and feet wrapped in vines. Then she saw her father, his face and clothes covered in blood and sand. The lower half of his body was submerged at the far end of the muddy pool, he lay motionless face down in the sand. A snake was coiled next to him, licking the air with flicks of its tongue. Her father looked dead. “Oh, my god. . . Daddy! Daddy! How did you . . . is he?”\nRosa looked over at her husband and her eyes welled with tears. “He fought for me Vanessa, an old man with one leg and he fought for me. He was willing to give his life for mine. I tried to run, he told me to run, but I couldn’t leave him honey, I just couldn’t. It took three of them to subdue him. They beat him Vanessa, they beat him senseless and then they beat him some more. He hasn’t moved since they threw us down here, it’s been hours. I don’t think, he’s  . . .” She choked back tears. “Losing him like this is . . . but now you, my precious child. I can’t lose you too. They can kill me, I don’t care what they do to me, but not you, not you too, please God not you.” Rosa broke down under the weight of the catastrophe destroying her family. She knew the monsters above were not through with them. Soon they would come back and then  . . . . all she could do was sob.\n“Momma, please, we don’t have much time. We have to get out of here” In desperation she tried to break free but the more she struggled the tighter the vines grew cutting deep into her wrists and ankles. She fell over face down into the water again and had to roll onto her side to breath. She called out to the one person she knew could save them. “Calvin! Calvin please, I love you!”\nThe two creeps who had thrown Calvin into the sinkhole assumed he was dead or so far gone that he would never regain consciousness so like Michael Fullbright, they hadn’t bothered growing restraints around his hands and feet.\nCalvin had come to while they were dragging him but he’d played dead, it took all of his will to allow himself to be thrown into the pit but he knew in his condition it was his only chance, he was too weak to fight. So he made no attempt to break his fall as he plunged into the stagnant water. When he hit bottom the lights went out again.\n“In his fog of consciousness he heard, ‘I love you! It was like a shot of adrenaline, suddenly he gasped and filled his lungs with warm swampy air, his shoulders were partially propped up by a submerged branch, when he opened his eyes all he saw was a black sky filled with spinning stars. He felt like he was floating in the middle of a lake, his body rising and falling on gentle swells, the sky seemed to be getting closer, then he realized that it was he who was moving towards it. His body had no weight and he felt like he was lighter than air. It was peaceful and pleasant, he wanted to just keep floating up but then he heard his name again, annoyed he thought: What do you want? Just let me be! But the voice was persistent, and there was a sense of urgency and familiarity to it. Vanessa, it’s Vanessa! Calvin tried to move but he didn’t have control over his body, he thrashed around like he was in a nightmare. His body shifted and suddenly he rolled over face down in the stagnant water, he floundered and rolled onto his back gasping for air and sat up. He saw two older people, a man who appeared dead and a woman bound and crying. Then he heard her voice again. “Calvin!”\nAs his eyes slowly adjusted in the dark he pulled himself over to the edge of the pool and saw Vanessa bound and bleeding, lying in the sand, he crawled to her and held her in his arms. “Are you okay baby? I thought I had lost you forever. Let’s get these off you.” He tore the tangled vines from her ankles and wrists and wrapped his arms around her, still unsure of where they were and how they got there. He looked over at her mother. “Is that your mother? Mrs. Fullbright?” Yes, please help us.\nHe struggled to his feet, but collapsed in pain, his mind muddled, he crawled over to Vanessa’s mother. “Let’s get these damn things off you.”\nShe smiled at him through tears. “Thank you, I’m so glad to finally meet you.”\n“Me too, he turned and crawled over to Mr. Fullbright, Calvin placed two fingers on Michaels’s neck. “He has a pulse, but it’s weak.” \nRosa sobbed, “Thank God.”\nCalvin rolled Michael over onto his back and made a mound of sand to prop his head on. He dipped his handkerchief in the water and wiped the blood from his face.\nMichael Fullbright’s eyes fluttered open and he gasped when he saw the giant leaning over him in the dark. His arms shot up and grabbed Calvin’s shirt, ready to fight again.\nVanessa cried out. “Daddy no, it’s Calvin.”\n“Hey it’s okay, Mr. Fullbright, I’m on your side.”\nMichael released his grip, his eyes focused on Calvin’s face. His first thought was that Calvin looked as bad as he felt. He tried to speak but nothing came out. With great effort he managed a whisper. “Looks like you went a few rounds with those bastards too.”\n “Yea, but I don’t remember a thing, one second I was having ah. . . . dinner, with Vanessa and the next I was tied to a tree, feeling like I’d been hit by a train.”\nRosa crawled over to Michael and hugged him. “It’s going to be alright honey, I promise.”\nMichael patted her knee. “Yes, together we will get out of this mess.” He tried to sit up. Calvin took his arm and helped him to his feet. “Any ideas on how to get the hell out of here?”\nCalvin looked up and shook his throbbing head. The light was fading but he could still make out the rim of the sinkhole, four feet above his head. Then he glanced at his fellow captives. “There has to be a way.”\nCalvin thought that maybe he could get Vanessa out and perhaps her mother, but he and Mr. Fullbright were screwed. There was no way the women could pull him or Michael up.\nVanessa studied the far side of the sinkhole. “Calvin if you can lift me up on your shoulders I think I could grab a vine and pull myself up. Then maybe I can find something up there to lower down.”\nCalvin looked up and agreed the far end of the pit was their best chance, the rim looked a few feet lower and two thick creepers were dangling over the edge. “Okay, baby let’s give it a try.” He took her hand and led her over to the crumbling wall. Calvin leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips then he put his hands on her hips, on three, put your foot in my hands and I’ll throw you up as high as I can.”\nCalvin easily lifted her and in a smooth move she put her foot into his cupped hands. “Okay, one, two, three!”\nHe heaved her up as high as he could. He spun around, stepped back from the wall and when he looked up. She was gone. “Vanessa?”\nHer bruised but smiling face peaked over the side, “I’m fine, you almost launched me into orbit.”\nAs usual Calving didn’t know his own strength: he had easily heaved her out of the pit, she’d landed three feet from the edge. “Mrs. Fullbright, your next.”\nRosa got to her feet and came over she was wearing a dirty sundress and knew exposing herself was probably a given but she felt hopeful. Vanessa was out. She wanted to tell her to just run for her life and forget about the rest of them. If Vanessa could escape that would be the answer to Rosa’s prayers. But her woman’s instinct told her that this giant of a man might be able to save them all.\nCalvin put his hands on Rosa’s hips and smiled thinking Vanessa’s mother had almost the same figure as her daughter. He looked into her cobalt blue eyes and saw where her daughter got her strength, determination and beauty. “Okay, Mrs. Fullbright on three.”\n“Please call me Rosa.”\n“Okay Rosa. Ready to join the circus? One, two three!” And just as smoothly as Vanessa, Rosa flew up and over the edge. “Two out and two to go.”\nCalvin motioned to Michael, “Your turn.”\nMichael looked up, nice work Calvin, but I don’t think we can pull this off as gracefully as the girls. I only have one leg. Maybe we should just tell them to make a run for it.”\n“Look, I know about your leg and it doesn’t matter, how much do to weigh Mr. Fullbright?”\n“175 why?”\nI bench press 450, I curl 200 and I can leg press 600 so I’m pretty sure I can toss your scrawny ass out of this fucking hole. So get over here and let’s do this.”\nMichael limped over to Calvin and stood as he had seen Vanessa and Rosa, but he was weak and in terrible pain from the beating he’d endured. “I did some acrobatics in my youth, when I was in theatre and had two strong legs. Try not to launch me into space. I just need to make it to the edge. What about you? How are we going to get you out?”\n“I’m counting on the Fullbright Family to figure that out for me. By the way, I’m in love with your daughter. If I get out of this alive I’m going to ask her to marry me.”\n“Hell of a time to ask for my daughter’s hand in marriage son.”\n“Okay, on three, one two three!” Michael Fullbright’s launch was not as smooth as his wife’s, his one good leg bent when Calvin heaved him up, so he didn’t get enough momentum to clear the edge. He his belly hit the rim and he slid back before Vanessa and Rosa could grab him. As he fell he instinctively grabbed at anything. The only thing close enough was a creeper he caught it with his left hand, as he slid back the thin vine slipped through his fingers leaving a track of black thorns embedded in his palm. He hung on by one arm a foot below the edge of the pit his feet a foot above Calvin’s head.\nCalvin grabbed the foot of Michael’s good leg and shoved him up as high as he could. “Hold on, don’t let go.”\nVanessa and Rosa reached down and grabbed Michael’s wrist and together they managed to haul him over the edge and into a sandy clearing a few yards away where he lay gasping for air. He hadn’t told them that the creeps had broken two of his ribs. Every breath felt like he was being run through with a sabre. With the help of the women he got to his feet. So how are we going to get that giant of a boyfriend of yours out?”\nVanessa looked around in desperation, she knew the creeps would be coming soon. She spotted a fallen tree thirty feet away, it was a foot in diameter and about twenty feet long. “Let’s try and drag that dead tree to the pit, maybe Calvin can use it to climb out.”\nHer father agreed. “Worth a try.”\nThe three of them tried to lift it but it weighed more than they expected, they couldn’t even budge it.\nSuddenly they heard a rustle and raspy voices. Rosa whispered, “Oh God their coming.”\nVanessa panicked. She leaned over the pit and saw Calvin looking up, his eyes glistening in the moonlight. “Calvin, they’re coming back, what should we do?”\nHe didn’t hesitate. “Run baby run!”\nMichael leaned over the edge. “Calvin listen to me, play dead, when they come for you don’t move let them get you out of there. We’ll hide close by. If we run they’ll hear us.”\nCalvin’s first thought was to argue to tell Michael to take his family and run for it but something about his plan made sense. “Okay, hide.”\nMichael quietly led Rosa and Vanessa away. He saw the terror in Vanessa’s eyes. “Don’t worry baby, he’s going to make it. We’re not leaving him behind.” He picked his way through the jungle to a small river fifteen yards from the sinkhole. “Come on in the river we’ll keep our heads down and hide in those reeds over there. We’ll be able to see them, if we’re lucky they won’t see us.”\nVanessa didn’t like the idea. “What about alligators? \nHer father hadn’t thought about that. “Right now if I’m going to be eaten alive, I’d prefer to be killed by a gator than those bastards. I’ll go first.”\nWhen Calvin heard them coming he waded into the pool and lay face down with most of his body in the water and his head in the sand. He calmed his mind and slowed his breathing and lay still.\nRoundtree was the first to reach the sinkhole, he saw Calvin and assumed the others were down there somewhere hiding in the shadows. “Okay, get the ladder and get them out of there. I promised you a feast and tonight you’ll have one. Tonight we celebrate the defeat of our enemies by drinking their blood and feasting on their flesh.”\nFour creeps brought an aluminum ladder to the edge of the pit and lowered it down. Roundtree gave his orders. “You two get down there, bring the women up first. He swung Calvin’s sword in in the air. We’ll chop em up, so everyone gets a piece.”\nThe two put the ladder at an angle and made their way down into the pit. They looked around bewildered. “Roundtree, the women aren’t here, only the big dead one!”\n“What! You fools! I told you to bind them!”\nThe two creeps who had thrown Michael and Rosa into the pit came forward, the man was dead and the women were both bound, someone must have come for them.”\nRoundtree was furious and worried, had someone come for them? “The big one’s dead but he’s still food, you need your strength to fight. Get him up here. Feed quickly, then find the others, they can’t be far.”\nIt took the four biggest creeps fifteen minutes to haul Calvin out of the pit. He didn’t move, he barely took a breath, he was dead weight to them. They dumped him at Roundtree’s feet.\nRoundtree gave Calvin a solid kick in the side to make sure he was dead. He didn’t budge. The dozen creeps that were with him gathered around. Roundtree handed the sword to the one he called Gallum. Galum had been the one who’d knocked Calvin out when he and Vanesa were captured. \n“I’ll let you have the honors. Make sure everyone gets a chunk.”\nGallum took the sword, reached down, grabbed Calvin’s arm and rolled him over. He raised the sword with both hands and swung it down as hard as he could to sever the head in a single blow. But the blade stopped in mid-air. Suddenly he realized the big man was not dead, he’d caught him by the wrist. Before Gallum could react Calvin ripped the sword from his hands, sprung to his feet and lopped off the head of his would be executioner.\nMichael, Rosa and Vanessa watched the battle in the light of the moon, the creeps surrounded Calvin like a pack of wolves but every time one of them lunged for him they lost a limb in the effort.\nCalvin was a warrior, a UFC champion and even though he was beat up and hadn’t fought in years his training came back to him. His speed stunned them. Calvin slipped between them like a ghost, effortlessly slicing off heads and arms. In seconds five creeps lay dead on the sand, three others were bleeding out staring at their severed arms twitching in the sand. One survivor suddenly attacked Calvin from behind, wrapping itself around his back and trying to wrench the sword from his hand. But Calvin swung back with his left hand with a mighty blow, into the creeps’ open mouth, shattering its jaw then flipped the creature onto the ground and plunged his sword though its chest. Then he spun round and severed the head of another creep so cleanly that it took a few seconds for it to fall off into the hands of the victim who looked up in bewilderment at his headless torso before dropping to his knees still clutching his severed head.\n“Retreat! Back to the town now, run!” Roundtree didn’t wait to see how many were left. Fear was an emotion he still felt and the big man was terrifying. Only three creeps survived the attack they fled into the jungle and never looked back.\nCalvin was covered in sticky black blood that reeked of rotting compost. He stood alone in the clearing by the sinkhole, taking deep even breaths of the humid air, alert, ready for the next assault, for him fear didn’t exist. The two-hundred-year old samurai sword had come to life in his hands. He finally understood what the master had meant when he taught him how to fight with it not as a weapon but as a comrade.\n![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)",
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      "body": "CHAPTER 19\nHome Invasion\nVanessa rolled over and snuggled closer to Calvin as he slept. She ran her nails though the silky hair on his massive chest. It had only been an hour since they’d made love but she wanted him again. Wet with desire, she caressed the firm muscles of his arms, inhaling his scent. He stirred, she felt guilty, she knew he was exhausted and his body was covered with deep scratches. He looked like he’d been mauled by a lion. He rolled over and groaned softly, like a gentle beast, his blue eyes opened, he seemed surprised to see her looking at him. He kissed her forehead. “You okay?”\nShe kissed his mouth still minty from toothpaste. “Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you, I’m just, well . . .” She took his hand and placed it between her bare legs. He gently inserted a finger. “Your so . . .”\n“It’s sleeping naked next to you, turns me on. I want you so bad right now, can we?” She slid her hand down his body and was pleasantly surprised to find him as hard as she was wet.” Just once more, please.”\n“I’ll never say no to making love to you.\nShe laughed and mounted him.”\nSimultaneously without having to say a word Roundtree kicked in the front door at the exact instant that his two accomplices’ broke down the back door.\nBoom! Calvin couldn’t pinpoint the sound it seemed to have come from two directions. His reaction was instant, protect Vanessa. With one swipe of his powerful arm he swept her aside, leapt off the bed and tossed her clothes to her. “Get dressed.”\nHe grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. He heard them moving through the house room to room he snatched his sword from the floor grabbed Vanessa by the arm and shoved her into the closet just as two creeps kicked in the bedroom door. The only light was from the moon. Calvin’s eyes adjusted quickly to the dark but so did the creeps. They lunged for him, unaware that he was armed. Calvin threw a round house kick that dropped the first one, then he spun and hit the other with an elbow to the jaw, its head caved in like a rotten melon, as the thing dropped to its knees Calvin swung his sword with the dexterity of the Samurai who’d once carried it into battle, cleanly severing the creeps’ head, it bounced once as it hit the floor and rolled into the corner, its green eyes frozen in surprise. Sticky black sap spurted from the twitching body. Calvin lifted the sword and drove it into the chest of the other creep who lay stunned on its back impaling it. Heartless the creep twisted and convulsed violently trying to free itself until Calvin smashed its head with a mighty hammer fist. He was hunched over the dead creep with his back to the door as Roundtree walked in. He didn’t see him or the table leg he held in his left hand. The unchecked blow would have killed a lesser man. Calvin crumpled to the floor unconscious on top of the dead creep.\nRoundtree sniffed the air. “Ah fear, such a sweet aroma.” He lifted his club and tapped on the closet door. “Come out come out where ever you are. It’s time to meet your new friends Dr. Fullbright.”Roundtree yanked open the closet door.\nVanessa had her eyes squeezed shut like a scared child. When she dared to open them she saw Calvin lying unconscious face down on the floor in a pool of blood, then she looked up into the olive green face of the thing standing above her and she screamed. When Roundtree’s creeps came for her, mercifully she fainted.\n![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)",
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      "body": "CHAPTER 18\nCaptured\n\nMichael Fullbright drove north on 75 deep in thought, hoping to make it to Vanessa’s before dark. He had heard dire reports on the radio about the mutated weed and how it was spreading across the state like a virus spiraling out in every direction from its epicenter, just nine miles from where Vanessa lived.\nThey had left Key West early, as silent clouds drifted across a star strewn sky when the air was as cool as it would be all day. After hours of driving they were within an hour of Vanessa’s, it was 5:30 pm. The sun hung low in the horizon refusing to set, taunting him at eye level. He had a headache and the glare was making it hard to see the road.\nRosa shaded her eyes with her hand. “What’s that?”\nMichael took off his sunglasses and squinted, which didn’t help. “Where, I don’t see anything.”\n“Straight ahead Michael, in the middle of the road, don’t you see those flashing lights?”\n“Oh, damn, looks like another road block.” They had encountered three so far but the others had been unmanned so he’d just ignored the signs and driven around.\nHalf a mile ahead two Highway Patrol Cars were parked nose to nose in the middle of the freeway, their flashing lights a kaleidoscope of blue and white. Michael knew he wouldn’t be driving around this roadblock. The freeway behind the Patrol cars was barricaded too: huge orange barriers had been installed from shoulder to shoulder. There was no doubt: they would not be going any further. There weren’t any other cars in sight. Michael slowed to a stop and rolled down his window.\nA skinny officer with a puzzled look on his face ambled over. “Evening sir, how did you manage to get on the freeway? It’s been closed for 60 miles south of here for three days. Didn’t you see the warning signs and road blocks? Where’re you heading?”\nMichael flashed his warmest stage smile. “Immokalee, my daughter lives there. And yes, officer I admit I saw the signs and the road blocks but I drove around them. We’re desperate to find our daughter Vanessa. We haven’t heard from her in days. She’s not answering her cell, emails or texts. Her boyfriend has not seen or heard from her either. So we’re driving up to check on her. She’s a botanist, she was asked by John Martin the Lieutenant Governor to help the authorities with the infestation and try to figure out how to eradicate this weed and . . . .”\nThe officer cut him off. “Is her name Dr. Fullbright?”\nMichael’s face lit up. “Yes, yes that’s my daughter. Do you know where she is?”\nThe patrolman shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but I think I know who she’s with: Sheriff Musser. He was assigned as her escort and liaison with the police and state officials. Their names came up in a briefing we had a few days ago, in case we saw them driving through a restricted or quarantined area, like you’re doing.” He patted the top of their car.\n“Sheriff Musser is responsible for making sure nothing happens to her. That’s all I know. He’s a big, tough cop, used to be professional UFC Fighter, but he’s a good man. If your daughter’s still with him you can rest assured she’s safe. Thing is Mr. Fullbright, I should be citing you for being on this road, I won’t but I should and I can’t let you proceed. Two miles up, the freeway’s impassable, vines thick as fire hoses are crisscrossing it for the next fifty miles. You wouldn’t get far even on foot. You could try turning around and going south to Naples Park and cutting over to Immokalee, but I imagine the state roads are even worse. You can to turn around and cut across the median. I’m sorry but there isn’t anything I can do. I will inform our dispatcher that you’re trying to contact your daughter. Give me your cell phone number.” Michael gave it to him and his email address.\nThe officer jotted the information down in his notebook and then tucked it into his shirt pocket. “I’d call dispatch now but our cell phones aren’t working, radio’s out too. I wish there was more I could do Mr. Fullbright. This is more serious than the media is letting on, people have been killed, it’s dangerous out here. My best advice would be for you to head as far south as you can, going north even on the east coast isn’t possible.\n“OK I understand, thank you officer.” Michael’s hopes were buoyed knowing that someone might be looking out for Vanessa, but who was this Sheriff Musser? Why hadn’t Vanessa mentioned him? He was exhausted and didn’t know what to do next.\nRosa made the decision for him. “Let’s take his suggestion and try cutting over from Naples Park. Going home is pointless. We’ve come too far to turn back now. How are we on gas?”\nMichael glanced at the gauge. “Half a tank, enough to make it there.” He waved to the Highway Patrol Officers and cut across the medium and headed south. “Well at least the sun isn’t in my eyes anymore.”\nIt took them thirty minutes to drive back to the Naples Park Exit. As they turned off Michael rolled down the windows to get some fresh air and an eerie silence blew in with the warm breeze. They drove though the center of town and it was obvious everyone had left, there wasn’t a single car parked anywhere. The windows and doors of just about every business were shuttered or boarded up as if a hurricane was expected. The one traffic light in the center of town flashed yellow, powered they assumed by an emergency generator. It appeared that the power was off everywhere else. At the end of Main Street the road was blocked by a tangle of vines, it looked like they’d been growing for fifty years.\nMichael had gotten used to being able to Google directions on his phone, without it he had no idea where to go, forward was not an option. He made a U-turn and stopped the car in the middle of the road. “I have no idea which road leads to Imokalee. I assume we need to head east, but the sun’s almost down. I’m not sure which way east is. It might be that way, but I’m not sure.”\nRosa tried to sound up beat, as she opened the glove box. “I think there’s an old state map in here somewhere. She rifled through a stack of car warranty documents and old registrations. “Found it! 1993, we’ve had this map for four cars and I don’t ever remember using it. Glad we kept it, let’s see.” She opened it and tried to figure out where they were in relationship to Vanessa’s house. “OK, I think I got it. That’s Palm which runs north and south. And you’re right, we have to go east, looks like the only road that will take us to Imokalee is old route 82 East. Take a right at the second intersection. Look there’s a sign 82 East. Looks like Imokalee’s only about thirty miles from here.”\nMichael made a U-turn and drove slowly down the middle of the street hoping to see someone who had stayed behind but there wasn’t a soul in sight, Naples Park was a ghost town. How could Imokalee be any different? That’s where the infestation began. But his little girl was out there somewhere and all he knew was the last place she’d been seen was the little house she’d rented outside of Imokalee, so that’s where he would go.\nThey drove in silence as the sun set and a sliver of moon that had been there all along appeared in the horizon. The road was clear and then just as they were only a few miles from their turn off Michael spotted another road block. An old black Chevy and a Battered Red Ford F150 were blocking the road, their lights were off but someone had built a bond fire in the middle of the road. It was hard to see but Michael could make out half a dozen tall figures milling around in the dark. A tall man came out of the shadows and plodded forward as they approached. He waved a Coleman lantern signaling them to slow down.\nA sinister sense of danger gripped Michael as he rolled to a stop, something was very wrong.\nRosa reached out and touched his arm. “I don’t like this Michael, it doesn’t feel right. Maybe we should just turn around. Let’s get out of here.”\nAs the figure moved into the beam of their headlights it took a second for their minds to comprehend what their eyes were seeing. Then Rosa screamed and Michael reacted instantly, he slammed the shifter into reverse and stomped on the gas. The little Toyota’s front wheels smoked as the car skidded backwards then its four cylinder engine sputtered like it was about to stall.\nMichael hadn’t seen the three creepers who’d circled around behind him as they drove up until he hit one of them and it dropped beneath the car. There was a sickening thumpity-thump as he drove over it. But the thing clung to the car’s suspension and was dragged alone as Michael spun the car around, slammed the shifter into drive, stomped on the gas and glanced in his rear view mirror, to his horror he saw two creeps clinging to the back of his car. One of them hung on with one hand and began pounding on the rear window with its other, then the glass shattered.\nRosa tuned around and screamed as the hideous green creature climbed into the backseat.\nMichael slammed on the brakes and screamed, “Get out Rosa! Now run for it!”\nBut she was paralyzed with fear, it was too late by the time she started struggling with the door, when she finally managed to get it open a huge clawed hand reached in and snatched her by her hair. Then Michael’s window shattered and he was dragged out as his car was flipped over and set on fire.\n![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)",
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      "body": "CHAPTER 17\nStalked\n\nIt had been three hours since they had emerged from the spring, battered but alive. Calvin was exhausted, hungry and thirsty. Kim was even weaker, she stumbled behind him in a daze, constantly tripping over vines and falling. Her hands and face were scratched and smeared with blood. She kept her focus on Calvin’s wide back, his shirt was soaked with sweat and blood and his muscles bulged under the exertion of hacking his way through the endless jungle. The heat and humidity were brutal. It felt like they had been dropped on an alien world. Creepers big and small were above and below knitted together into a spongy mat, no matter what direction they looked it was the same, an overgrown, tangled, green, maze. \nCalvin raised his sword to strike another thick vine blocking their path and spotted the guard tower covered in vines like a Mayan ruin. “Look! We made it.”\nVanessa raised her head and tried to focus, all she saw was more jungle. “Where? I don’t see anything?”\nCalvin pointed with his sword. “There on the horizon. That has to be one of the guard towers of the prison. We should be able to get some help there.\nIt took another forty-five minutes for them get to the main gate, no one was in site. Calvin had never been to Imokolee he’d just heard about the place when it opened. The thirty foot walls that surrounded the twenty acre facility were overgrown one tower had collapsed. Calvin couldn’t imagine how that had happened. There were no vehicles in the parking lot and no sign of life anywhere. \nVanessa said, “It’s deserted isn’t it?”\nCalvin nodded, “I’m afraid so.” Calvin wiped the sweat from his eyes, they itched from the pollen and so did the scratches that covered his arms but the torment was less than it had been during his first encounter with the plant. “Is the pollen bothering you? Your eyes don’t look to bloodshot.”\n“A little but it I think I’m building up a resistance to it. These scratches itch like hell, but not as bad as that first night. I can’t go any further.” Vanessa wanted to just sit down and rest but there wasn’t an inch of ground in site that wasn’t covered in vines. The grounds were crisscrossed with them, some huge others string like. The larger ones had blossoms and more of the empty pods they’d seen earlier. They needed water but they didn’t see anywhere to get it.\nCalvin sheathed his sword. “I’m spent too, but we have to find some place safe. We have to try and keep moving. If we stay on the main road it should be easier going and we might come across someone who can help us or a house that still has running water, maybe even some canned goods. I want to stay out of the jungle, we’ve had enough of that. There’s a small town a few miles from here, Leigh Acres.”  **********\nThe sun was blazing and they were not wearing sunscreen, at least they were both wearing long sleeved shirts, it was there faces that were exposed. They set off on route 22 the road had a creeper growing across it every dozen yards or so but it was easy to step over the. For now the danger was the heat.\nIt took them two hours to reach Leigh Acres, the town looked deserted, which was what Calvin expected he knew it was on the evacuation list. The houses were all over grown, the 30 foot palms that lined the center of Main Street were alive but tightly wrapped in vines, the blossoms were in full bloom and their sickly smell hung in the humid air. “Let’s see what we can find in that house.”\n“OK, I can’t go much further, I feel dizzy.”\nCalving felt her forehead, it was hot and dry, Vanessa was on the verge of heatstroke, if he didn’t do something soon she could die. The front door to the house was locked and covered with a thin vines, pads the size of frog feet anchored strings of them to the door and frame. Calvin unsheathed his sword and easily sliced threw them, one kick and the door flew open. The interior was free of vines, it was unbearably hot inside. Calvin went to the kitchen and turned on the tap, clear cool water shot out. He got a glass from the cabinet, filled it and handed it to Vanessa. She gulped it down.\n“Easy baby, you’ll make yourself sick if you drink too fast.” He grabbed a dish towel soaked it under the tap and draped it around Vanessa’s neck. He made her sit at the kitchen table while he searched for food. “Jackpot!” There was an unopened box of granola bars in the pantry. He tore open the box and gave Vanessa one and opened another for himself. He found a half gallon of spoiled orange juice in the fridge, and dumped it in the sink. He rinsed out the jug and filled it with water. He went though the house looking for anything they could use he found a couple of baseball caps and a scarf. He fashioned a pack out of beach bag and filed it with useful items: a box of raisins, a can of nuts, a kitchen knife, all the matches he could find and a bottle of SPF 30 sunscreen. He returned to the kitchen. Vanessa had her head down on the table and was sound asleep. Calvin looked at his watch, 6:30 they still had a few hours of daylight. The house was sound, there was food and water, he thought: maybe we should just crash here and set off in the morning. He woke Vanessa and led her into the living room and told her to lie on the couch and get some rest. She was out in seconds. Calvin found half a dozen candles and placed them around the house for later when it got dark. He was thankful that there would be a full moon tonight. At least it won’t be pitch, black outside. While Vanessa slept he took a cold shower. There weren’t any clothes in the house that would fit him, so he washed his shirt in the sink and laid it on a chair in the sun room to dry. He felt better, he cracked the windows to let in some air and then laid down on the bed in the guest room, he was asleep in minutes, dead to the world. Several hours later Vanessa woke him. “Calvin, wake up.” He stirred, opened his eyes and saw her standing above him. She looked refreshed, she’d showered she was wearing a light blue blouse that had obviously belonged to an elderly woman but it looked good o her. The candle was lit next to the bed and another was on the dresser on the other side of the room. “What tie is it?” He answered his own question by looking at his watch. “Wow, 11:25. How are you feeling? Better?”\nShe sat down beside him and put her hand on his chest. “Yea, I’m sore all over and it hurts when I take a deep breath.”\n“You’ve probably still have some water in your lungs, it’ll pass.”\n“Are you hungry?”\nYea, starved, why don’t we order a pizza?”\n“Funny, but I did find a bottle of wine and there is a block of cheddar cheese that’s eatable, and I found a box of crackers. There was also a salami in the fridge, you think it’s safe to eat?”\n“It should be.” He lifted himself up and winced.\n“You OK?”\n“Just sore, every muscle in my body aches. I’m too old for this. Too bad I didn’t meet you when I was younger.”\n“You would not have had a chance Babe, I’m not into violent men, not even gentle giants who pretend to be mean. Age has mellowed and matured you. I don’t want a young guy. I want you. How old are you anyway?”\nHe smiled. “I thought you said it doesn’t matter.”\n“I didn’t say that, I said I liked you as you are.”\n“I don’t see the difference? I’m 48 how old are you?”\n“27.”\n“Great, now I really feel old.”\n“It doesn’t matter, if we don’t figure out a way to get out of here and kill these creepers we won’t live long enough for our age difference to become an issue.”\n“That’s what I love about you: you always see the bright side. Let’s eat.” Calvin picked up a candle and they went into the dining room, Vanessa had already set the table There was a plate of cheese and crackers another of sliced salami the wine and two glasses.\n“Can you open the wine, there’s a corkscrew on the bar.”\nCalvin opened the wine and poured, to better days.” They touched glasses and started on their meager meal. The salami was fine and they both had enough to it, the wine went down easy. The curtains billowed. Calving peered out. “A storm’s brewing, that’s good. Maybe it’ll cool things down.”![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)\nRoundtree and four of his minions couched in the shadows. “Give them another hour to settle in, then you two bust in through the back, we’ll take the front. I want them both alive, understand?",
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      "body": "CHAPTER 16\nThe First Assault\n\nThe mandatory evacuation of Lehigh Acres and Immokalee was spiraling out. Those who remained did so because of what happened the last time they were forced to evacuate: back during Hurricane Jenny. When they returned most of their homes were untouched by the storm but thieves had stolen everything of value, even their cheap lawn furniture and plastic flamingos.\nThe Army reserves had swept though as many communities as possible, trying to enforce the evacuation but pockets of resistors, fools and opportunists remained. The government was not prepared to drag seniors kicking and screaming from their homes, after all elections were coming up.\nThe initial story of a chemical spill had been believed for less than twenty-four hours, everyone across the nation had learned the truth about the infestation. The creepers had been the lead story on every news program in the nation for days. However the consensus across the rest of the country was still one of mild concern, as one sidewalk interviewee opined to a channel 4 Reporter in Denver: “How bad can it be? It’s just a weed, right?”\nThere had been talk of building a wall across the northern border of the state but the futility of the plan was quickly realized even by the bureaucrats pressing for it who had hoped to cash in by steering hundreds millions of dollars in contracts to their cronies. Every attempt at stopping the spread northward had failed. The state was about to be shutdown and those that refused to leave or were unable to, were shit out of luck, as the governor said in one last attempt to get them to leave. The point was made clear to Floridians: Get out while you can. If you don’t you’re two steps from becoming fertilizer.\nBill Robinson, Phil Thomas and their buddy Cap Ryan and their reluctant wives were the only residents left in the small retirement community of Easy Acres, a condominium complex of two level duplexes built in the 1980s. There had been 145 residents before the infestation. Now there were nine.\nThe last few days had been rough. In August Florida was hot, humid, a hellish place to be even if you were at the beach. Here fifteen miles from the ocean with the power out, no air conditioning, ceiling fans or even a trace of a tropical breeze it was unbearable.\nThe wives sat by the condo pool under a black and white stripped umbrella sipping instant, iced tea, minus the ice and cursing their decision to stay behind with their obstinate husbands.\nDorothy Ryan who had insisted everyone call her Dottie, from the day she moved into Easy Acres with her husband Cap, a retired UPS pilot pushed her glass aside with disgust, “Yuck.” No one had ever called her Dottie before. The self imposed nickname and her dyed red hair were all part of her ‘New Me’ phase, as she called it. After thirty years she had finally escaped Detroit and the dreary life she had endured there. She even wore poke-a-dot dresses to hammer in the point. Dorothy Ryan was dead, but Dottie was living the care-free life of a happy retiree in Florida, odd as it seemed it was a big improvement, now it had all gone to shit. Normally a chatter box she had kept quiet the last few days. She knew Loretta and Patsy were pissed at her for her tepid support of her husband’s plan to ignore the mandatory evacuation. Patsy had suggested they pack up and head north to Cap’s lake-house in Michigan were the three couples had spent the first two weeks of July every summer for ten years. The cabin was stocked with canned goods, had working utilities and today the temperature was in the low eighties with a cool breeze blowing off Lake Loraine\nPatsy broke the silence,” I can’t believe a plant is going to be the downfall of the United States of America. I thought it would be the North Koreans, the Chinese or the Russians or Internet porn, but a plant? ‘America Crushed by Creepers’ that will be the headline around the world.”\nLoretta was so hot she felt like she would swoon at any moment, at sixty-two, she was the youngest of the trio, but today she felt ninety. She longed to get into the pool and cool off but the water had turned scummy since the power went out and the pump stopped. She couldn’t see the mosquito larva twitching below the surface but she knew they were there. They would begin to hatch at dusk. Around the state thousands of other stagnant pools were also breeding millions of ravenous mosquitoes, notching up the misery for the fools who had stayed behind. Loretta fanned herself with a People magazine and said for the tenth time that afternoon. “I think we should just get in our cars and drive north, drive anywhere. We could go to the Walmart on 101, they must be open. Walmart never closes and at least our cars are air conditioned.”\nDottie lit another Salem and blew a cloud of menthol smoke at the flies that buzzed around her as if she were dead already. “The Walmart is closed Loretta, it closed four days ago. I told you before, the roads are all blocked by those damn vines and even if they weren’t none of our cars has more than a quarter tank of gas. If we ran out of gas miles from here there will be no place to fill up and we would be stranded. It’s just a plant, be patient they’ll find a way to kill it. All they need is industrial strength weed killer or something. We’re Americans, killing is what we’re good at.”\nLoretta chimed in, “Bet they got some weed-killer at the Walmart.”\nDottie ignored her and drained her glass of tea and got up. I’m going to go take a cool bath if the water’s still on. When Cap comes back tell him I went home.”\nCap was hunkered down with the guys on the side of the road in a webbed lawn chair he bought in 1992 beneath a party canopy he’d borrowed from a now dead neighbor back in 1998. Cap never threw anything away. The support ropes at the four corners were anchored with five gallon buckets of sand. Cap had saved the buckets for twelve years knowing someday they’d come in handy, and they had. He pulled the Colt 45 revolver from his holster and spun the chamber. “Yep, sure glad I kept this canopy and chairs from Patty’s wedding. Dottie wanted to give um to the church. That’s why I never listen to that woman, found those buckets in the lot across the street when they were building the new Dry Cleaners, got um free. Dottie wanted me to throw them out too.”\nBill took a swig of his hot beer and winced at the taste. “Well Cap, I sure wished you’d listened to her when she suggested we pack it in and go to Michigan. She was right about that. And quit playing with that damn gun, you’re goanna blow your balls off. Not that you ever get to use um anyway.” They all laughed at that except Cap, he spun the cylinder one more time for spite. After all he was the only one with a gun so he could do whatever the hell he wanted. He holstered the gun. “You’ll be glad I brought this pistol if a gang of looters shows up tonight. We’ll see who has balls then.\nBill grinned, “Shut the fuck up and have another beer. Sun’s going down we got through another day and I don’t think any looters are going to waste their time steeling your junk when there are millionaires’ mansions to rob just up the road. That wall of weeds is at least two miles away. We got nothing to worry about tonight but the heat, warm beer and those fucking mosquitoes.\nFrom the top of an overpass a quarter mile away Roundtree observed the men as they began packing up and getting ready to head home. He smiled and signaled his troops.\nThey moved slowly, keeping an unconscious rhythm with each other, one mind, one life form with many bodies. The only independent mind among them was Roundtree’s. Although possessed by the will of the creepers. He could think for himself and make plans and decisions but now he had uncontrollable urges, new instincts, needs that he could not explain or ignore. The others did not posses the quickness of men either in mind or body. They plodded forward without thought or ambition filling their brainless heads, they were merely an appendage of the plant, human in form only.\nRoundtree, like most rulers, was faster, stronger and had a mind of his own, a mind that was controlled by the creepers. Soon he would become the most dangerous being on earth.\nCap took a sip of his beer as he folded up his lawn chair. “Miller Lite sucks enough when it’s cold, but warm. . .  I’m switching back to scotch until the power comes back. I’ve had enough of warm beer.” He tossed the full can into the street.\nPhil said, “Well if you don’t like it, don’t waste it. We only have one and half cases of beer left.” He wiped the sweat off his wrinkled forehead and swatted a mosquito on his neck.\nClouds had formed in the eastern horizon and a welcome breeze billowed from it. Cap stretched and unconsciously caressed the walnut butt of his Colt. The breeze felt good he turned his face to the east to make the most of it. He sat down on the cooler and winced at the familiar ach in his bones. Then he saw them. “Who the fuck are they?\nPhil stood up to get a better look, his glasses were at home on the kitchen table, all he could see were silhouettes of what looked like a few dozen men ambling towards them. A big man was in the center of the group, he carried himself differently than the others.\nBill was wearing his glasses he could see clearly what was approaching. They were less than a hundred yards away. It took him a second to speak, his heart was racing and a sense of dread washed over him. He had a sick feeling of doom that he hadn’t felt since Vietnam. “Their naked and they’re . . .  green. Do you see that? Their fucking green!”\nCap pulled out his Colt, but it failed to give him the sense of protection he had expected, he had six bullets and there were at least sixty of them.\nTime slowed, the intruders seemed in no hurry. Cap saw that they were unarmed but once they got within twenty yards he too began to tremble. The creatures that were now within a stone’s throw were the most terrifying things he had ever seen. Their sinister, green faces were expressionless. Their ears long were pointed, leaf like. Their faces were the faces of the executed criminals who’s DNA was knitted into their own. For this reason, many were clones. Their long, joint-less, fingers were tipped with curved thorns. Their black eyes reflected no emotion. They lacked eyelids, their unwavering stares were unnerving.\nThe big one in the center, obviously the leader, appeared more human than the others. He crossed the street as his minions encircled the men.\nCap held his gun up but didn’t point it at the thing in front of him. He wanted them to know he was armed but he didn’t want a confrontation, he just prayed that they would back off. They reeked of composted weeds and dead flowers. They were close, a few feet. It was worse than a nightmare. Cap’s heart was pounding painfully in his chest. Without realizing it, he pissed his pants. Cap found his voice at last, “Who are you? What do you want?”\nRoundtree looked at the pathetic group of codgers. This one has a gun, but it didn’t concern him. “We are the future, the next advance in the evolution of life on earth. “Take them.”\nCap raised the colt and pointed it at Roundtree, his hand stopped shaking and he felt calm wash over him. “Back off! Back off or I’ll blow your fucking head off!”\nA Creeper who was the genetic progeny of a dead rapist, Garcia Gomez stepped in front of his king, two other creeps moved methodically towards Cap.\nHe looked into their black eyes, void of any emotion. He took aim at the closer of the two and fired, the bullet stuck the Creep in the left eye. Its head jerked as the back of it was blown off. It turned slowly, stumbled a dozen steps dropped to its knees and fell forward, the body twitched for a few times and then lay still. The other Creeps were undeterred several moved in for the kill. Cap shot the one to his right in the chest, it fell back dead.\nPhil was surrounded, he began begging for his life and pleading with his buddies to save him. “Please, just leave me alone, I’ll do whatever you say. Cap! Cap! Stop them! Please!”\nA cold hand snatched the back of Phil’s neck and lifted him up like a stray cat. He tried to twist free but the grip was too powerful. He looked into the eyes of the Creep who had him and pure evil starred back at him. It stood close to seven feet tall. The Creep arched Phil’s back and held him out as offering. Another Creep shorter but stocky ambled over Phil, its mouth opened and a reptilian tongue flicked out. It raised its clawed green hand to Phil’s throat.\nPhil screamed and pissed his pants as the claws punctured his carotid artery, blood spurted in an arch into the mouth of the Creeper and others staggered in eager for a taste. Phil’s eyes rolled back into his head and for him it was over.\nBill had seen enough he ran. He ran for his life. He ran as fast as a sixty-eight year old, fat man could. When he looked back he saw a dozen Creeps ambling after him. His heart was about to burst, after running twenty yards he was too winded to go on, he stumbled, fell, managed to get to his feet, took a few more steps and stopped. His left arm ached, his heart pounded with excruciating pain. He looked back again, they were closing in. A bolt of pain ripped though his chest, his eyes bulged and his breathing tapered off to little more than pants. His vision blurred as they reached him. One of them snatched him up by the scruff of his neck and lifted him off of his feet, but he was dead before they could kill him. His last moment of life held the relief that in a way he had escaped.\nThe Creeps closed in on the body like a pack of hyenas and ripped it to pieces. They grunted like feral hogs as they devoured the dead man, bones and all. Fifteen minutes later there was nothing left of Bill but scrapes of clothes and a red stain in the course grass.\nCap had witnessed the slaughter of his friends and knew he was next. He had no path of escape, he was surrounded, out of the corner of his eye he saw Roundtree. He knew he was the leader. Cap suddenly spun to the left and fired a shot between two Creeps, the bullet struck Roundtree in the right shoulder. He fell back from the impact of the slug. Cap fired again but missed the next shot hit a Creep who threw himself in front of his King. The bullet hit its open mouth and blew off the back of its head, the thing wandered around dead on its feet for several seconds before tipping over dead. One shot left, they were closing in, Cap knew it was over. He put the gun to his temple and fired, his head exploded in a spray of pink as the Creeps closed in to devour what was left of him. Then they marched on towards the houses.\nDottie heard the front door open. She was sitting in the bath her feet up on the edge a wet towel over her eyes. “Cap I’m in the bath! Be a dear and light me a Salem.” \nThe bathroom door creaked opened. \nDottie took the towel from her eyes, looked up and screamed.\n![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)",
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      "body": "Chapter 15\nResurrection\n\nCalvin fumbled with the quick release buckle on his weight belt, it dropped away. Still sixty feet down the buoyancy of his BC vest slowly lifted him towards the surface but then Vanessa’s limp body slipped from his grasp and she sank, at the last second he snatched her arm and used his last ounce of strength for a few weak kicks. As a certified diver Calvin knew that if you run out of air and try to surface while holding your breath your lungs will rupture. The compressed air expands as you surface. \nHis face broke the surface of a small spring. He gasped, filled his lungs with air and jerked Vanessa’s limp body to the surface. Calvin cradled her in his arms while clinging to a vine, opened her mouth and started CPR. After three breaths and no response, he laid her across a partially sunken log and began awkward chest compressions. “Come on baby, don’t leave me now.” He put his mouth over her cold, blue lips and gave her three quick puffs of air. On the third breath, her body jerked and she came to coughing, kicking and spitting up water. He shed his BC and empty tank, dragged himself from the pool and hauled her out by the back of her jeans.\nVanessa lay on the forest floor coughing up water. Calvin squatted beside her. “It’s okay baby, we made it.”\nVanessa rolled over on her back, caught her breath. It hurt to breath. She reached up and stroked his face. “I knew you would save me.” She coughed again, gagged then vomited water. “I’m never going diving again.”\n“That was close baby, too close.” Calvin scooped her up in his arms like a child and kissed her forehead. Then he surveyed their surroundings. To his horror he realized their situation had not improved. The forest was completely overgrown in every direction. The canopy was as high as six story building, above their heads menacing vines dangled, the ground was crisscrossed with thorny tendrils just waiting to snare their feet. Spaghetti thin runners were wound around every tree, plant, shrub and sapling.\nCalvin drew his sword. “We’ll head east, towards the prison. He lifted the sword, sliced through three thick vines in one swipe and they set of on another brutal trek.\nHours passed as Calvin hacked through every vine that crossed their path or dangled above their heads. Eventually they were deep into the thickest part of the jungle. Vanessa looked up and saw something very odd, huge empty pods. “What the hell, look at those? I’ve never seen anything like them. They’re enormous. We have to find out what was inside.”\nCalvin looked up, “I don’t know if we want to find out what was inside. If it was seeds they must have been the size of bowling balls but I don’t see any on the ground.”\nVanessa shook her head, “If it was seeds something must have clawed the pods open and ate them. Look how the husk on that one is shredded. What kind of creature could climb up there and do that?”\n“I don’t know and I don’t want to cross paths with it, come on were almost there. The prison should be about a half mile east of here. Let’s get moving, before it gets too dark. At least we have quarter moon tonight.”\n![20180327_141043.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZ8h7HUHuZPUNwxUHr67X3PUQgqRLfufYrzwzfs2VCe8/20180327_141043.jpg)",
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      "body": "Chapter 14\nThe Creepers\n\nThunder split the silence as another storm brewed to the east waking Roundtree from sleep as deep as death. He was alive but his mind had been possessed. In a few hours that he has been unconscious his body had rapidly mutated. Deep inside his mind a sliver of his soul survived imprisoned by a primeval intelligence. He was left with only an abstract, dreamlike sense of self. His thoughts and actions had been taken over by a parasitic plant driven by self-preservation, propagation and the destruction of its one and only predator: mankind.\nLike the coils of a python the creeper crushed his will as it it converted each cell in his body into a microscopic factory, beginning with the ribosome, than the nucleolus and every strand of DNA in his body, chloroplasts were added to capture energy from sunlight and fluid-filled vacuole that stored compounds. Within hours the mutation was complete. Communication with surrounding cells was now possible through cytoplasmic connections known as plasmodesmata. Roundtree tried to stand but he lost consciousness again. A few minutes later his serpent green eyes fluttered open to a new world, one in which he was irrevocably tethered.\nThe plant exploited inherited memories. Once, long ago, his ancestors had inhabited an unspoiled, unpolluted world. Then the Europeans arrived and for centuries did everything they could to wipe them out. In an instant, that had changed, suddenly he possessed strength, knowledge. It was his turn to have the power to destroy his ancestors’ enemies. It was his turn for his tribe to dominate the Earth and the planet herself was his ally. \nGenetic memories were read from his DNA: the slaughter of his ancestors, the destruction of their culture and the hatred they’d felt for the European invaders. These memories were tapped by the creeper and used to fuel a necessary rage needed to control Roundtree and send him willingly into battle on their behalf.\nSuddenly all Roundtree could think about was spilling the blood of his enemies, he lusted for battle. He wanted to sink his bare feet into soil drenched in their blood, wiggle his toes in sand soaked with it and savor the metallic tang of blood on his tongue. \nIt didn’t take long for the sliver of soul bound within his mind to flicker and go out, extinguishing a once proud and honorable man, all that was left was the fearless warrior that he had been though many lifetimes.\nHis wounds had healed but his human emotions were muted. In less than two hours he had morphed into another species. Somewhere his soul still existing within another dimension mourned.\nHe had no choice but to accept the new, botanically based life-form that the plant and his mind controlled. It had a lineage predating all other life on earth. Plants sunk their roots into the toxic soup of an earth nearly void of life billions of years ago and now their time to reclaim the Earth had come.\nSap coursed though Roundtree’s veins like pea soup, made of cells that contained strands of DNA that had survived on the planet when conditions were hostile to all other life, surviving for billions of years, giving birth to every species of plant that ever germinated, pollinated, sprouted, grew then withered and died or gave nourishment to countless species over eons, a life-force that eventually spawned fish, reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals and mankind. Nothing except its cousin bacteria had existed longer or had more influence on the planet. Now something new had evolved, a life-form perfectly adapted to a polluted world, resurrected inadvertently by the human enemy, born of weeds, toxins, pollution and the wanton destruction of the planet.\nRoundtree gazed up into the glorious canopy, thick with vines that looked like twisted green girders armed with hooked thorns and smiled. They were there, he sensed their presence, detected their woody scent, as his eyes adjusted he could see them camouflaged in the shadows, watching, waiting to be summoned. Like sloths they clung to the creepers, with hooked claws. With a mighty baritone, Roundtree bellowed. “Listen well. I command you, no one else!” Climb down and kneel before your King. With leafy ears they heard and obeyed. Soon the canopy was filled with Creeps. Many still slick with afterbirth they plodded forth on unsteady legs.\nRoundtree climbed up into a loop of vine the size of a sewer pipe. His body was still adjusting to the transmutation, his internal organs stabilized but his strength had yet to plateau. He stood, reveling in his new found potency. His botanical muscles bulged with power and his brain buzzed with information and insight. He clearly saw the lineage of his species. He could visualize the first germination taking place on the shores of a toxic lake. He understood his enemy too because their genes were mixed with his. Soon they would suffer the pent up wrath from their ages of abuse of the Earth and the species that made her their home.\nRoundtree and his army of Creepers’ mission was clear: rid the Earth of a pestilence that began 20,000 years ago when mankind acquired technology from the Gods.\nHe was a warrior for the creeper and in his mind, Protector of the Planet. His ancestors believed that the earth was a living, breathing divine being. It had survived meteor strikes collisions with asteroids and close encounters with comets that caused climate changes, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Earth had given birth to billions of species that swam, crawled, flew, walked or simply floated passively in primordial seas. And she had destroyed 99.9% of them. In her long life only one creature had acquired the power to destroy her and all of her creations: Humans.\nRoundtree felt his flesh graft to the bark of the massive creeper as he leaned against, he drew nourishment and downloaded information: every leaf, vine, thorn, and blossom was a docking station for him that could blast data into his brain. He sensed his enemies, as he spoke. He knew that the humans would not realize until it was too late that the jungle they sought to destroy had eyes to see, ears to hear and worse a brilliant mind that plotted their destruction.\nRoundtree knew they were going to try and destroy them. But he felt no fear, fear was an emotion purged from his mind forever.\nHe reached his hands to the sky and shouted. His voice had the depth and timbre of a God. “Come to me my fruit of the vine.”\nThe branches and vines above began to shake with life, huge leaves rustled as more and more creepers descended like cumbersome apes. Roundtree saw the faces of the dead in their eyes, the faces of murderers, rapists and terrorists, executed and buried without prayer, ceremony or tears. The creeper had absorbed their decaying bodies and used their DNA to resurrect pieces of their evil minds and produced a bountiful crop, a fearless, mindless army of non-humans. He saw half a dozen that resembled Carl Jarvis wandering with aimless looks of bewilderment on their olive faces. Jarvis had been executed last month for the gruesome killing of a family for their grocery money: eighty-two dollars.\nRoundtree clapped his hands and suddenly hundreds of beings bearing the faces of the dead fell to their knees before him. The dead had not only risen but multiplied. He remembered a prophecy about the dead digging out of their graves in the days before Armageddon.\nHis voice rang out with authority. “Arise and salute your master!\nThe Creepers rose to their feet, thrust their clawed fists into the air and grunted their first word. “Blood, Blood! Blood! Blood!”\nRoundtree’s voice thundered. “Silence! Follow me and you shale have buckets of it, an endless supply. The humans are nothing more than walking bags of blood. You will feast on them and grow stronger! You will destroy them. You will absorb them, and I will enslave them!”\nThe creepers, chanted in unison, “Kill, Kill! Kill!”\nRoundtree pumped his fist into the air. “Yes!” He knew there were hundreds of creepers spread across the state making their way to him. His army would swell with each sunrise.\nThey were part of a grand, cosmic scheme: a new species created to purify the earth. They would prepare the planet for an explosion life that had not been seen for millions of years.\nAs had happened many times, over billions of years, Earth was cleansing herself. She was going to wipe out mankind before he destroyed her. There was no malice in her actions, no anger to be felt. The evil of Roundtree’s troops was not planned. It was a chemical reaction to their deeds. The evil about to be unleashed was man made. God had nothing to do with it. Mankind was about to destroy himself with a planted assassin, perfectly adapted, grown by men for the task at hand. The creepers were not an evolutionary fluke. They were a conditioned response to the violation of Earth.\n![20180327_141043.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeZ8h7HUHuZPUNwxUHr67X3PUQgqRLfufYrzwzfs2VCe8/20180327_141043.jpg)",
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      "body": "This is a topic that I get asked about a lot. And after working on just about every major cruise line in the world for over thirty years I’ve seen a lot. \nI recently signed off the Seabourn Odyssey where I spent two and a half months sailing around South America. I had a brief love affair with a beautiful girl from Poland who worked in the gift shop.\nSo love, sex and hooking up on ships, well yes it happens on every ship. Women however have the advantage. There are far more men working on ships than women 70% men 40% women, of course it varies a bit form line to line but that’s about average. Many of the crew are married anyway. Especially the guys from India and the Philippians.\nThere are currently a lot of women from Eastern Europe, the UK and South Africa working on ships and most of them are single.\nAll of the big cruise lines: NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Holland America and Princess have regular crew parties and every cruise line has a crew bar, some have more than one.\nSo you will have the opportunity to meet officers, staff and crew from every department. And there are no rules about two consenting adults hooking up. The view on ships is very liberal, no one will judge you on your sexuality or on who you sleep with. \nThere are often over 30 nationalities living and working together on any cruise ship and everyone gets along. All races, nationalities, religions, gay, straight etc. no one will judge you.\nI’ve been fortunate in that in the many jobs I have held on ships I’ve always had my own cabin, on Sebourn I had a guest cabin. However most of you when you get your first job on a ship will have a roommate. Think college dorm room. So finding someone to hook up with is one thing finding place to be alone is another. \nIf you are an established couple: And you and your significant other have been seeing each other for a while and preferable are on your second contract you can request a couples’ cabin. Getting one all depends on availability but most Crew Pursers are willing to help you. All you have to do is fill out a request form and have it signed by both of your department heads.\nBack to meeting someone. Carnival in my opinion is the best cruise line for meeting and hooking up. They have what they call Red Light Green Light parties. They will close off a public lounge or bar for a crew party every couple of weeks with free food and drinks, they usually start late after 11:00 pm. And this is the fun part: at the door they give everyone a choice of stickers. A Red dot means you’re not interested in meeting anyone a Green dot means you are open to being approached and a Yellow dot means you’re gay.\nAnd if you’re wondering about hooking up with a guest, the crew calls them Cones after the Cone Heads on Saturday Night Live 1970s. If you get caught with a Cone it’s chicken or beef? Meaning you’re fired and on your flight home you get to choose chicken or beef for dinner. \nIt used to be when I first started working on ships in the 1980s all of the officers and staff hooked up with Cones every cruise. It was open season on them starting the first night of the cruise where officers and staff were encouraged to dance with single women. \nOnce I did a cruise on the NCL Norway that was chartered by student nurses. Guys were sleeping with two to three different girls per day!\nBut those day are over, now I keep it platonic with guests. I have dated a few women that I met on ships but only after the cruise was over and we were both on land but even that’s frowned on.\nThe other option that a lot of the male officers and crew indulge in is brothels. In many ports there are known brothels that cater to crew. Especially in Mexico and Thailand.  \nOf course the choice is yours. I’ve never heard of anyone having a problem going to a brothel.\nOn the other side of the coin in love, what if you fall in love with another crew member. This is where things get complicated. Let’s say you meet a girl or guy from Russia and you’re an American or British. What are you going to do when your contracts’ are up? You just can’t up and move to Russia and they can’t just hop on a plane and come to America or the UK. Also if you do meet someone it’s unlikely that your contracts are going to be the same length. For example: on my last ship the Seabourn Odyssey, the girl I met was from Poland and her contract was six months, mine was two and a half. When I signed off she still had three months to go.\nEvery turn around day crew sign off and new crew sign on and you will always see a tearful couple saying goodbye, usually they know they will never see each other again.\nThe career officers, staff and crew have learned to accept that it’s the price we pay for living the cruise ship life style. So we have what we call ship sex. It just means that when you hook up with someone you both know, but never talk about - that the relationship is just for as long as you are on the ship together and that when one of you leaves it’s over. \nThe crew medical center on every ship will have free condoms available 24 /7 in a discrete dispenser. So the cruise lines know what’s going on below decks. \nSure today we have Facebook, Face Time and Skype but usually what happens is even when you try to keep your romance alive after one of you has signed off the relationship eventually fizzles out. But I have seen a happily ever afters. It does happen, but it also usually means that they give up their jobs on ships and live on land.\nWorking on a big cruise ship that sails around the world is as close as you can get in our time in history to working on the Star Ship Enterprise. \nIf you have the right personality it can be a great life and Love is possible.\n![download.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVLnYwr6N2RoA7so9UNpFgon6eTopvYeirJAg2VQ3yLuC/download.jpg)",
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      "body": "Chapter 13\nFear and Freedom\n\nThe sun was devoured by a wall of irate clouds rampaging across the horizon. Violent flashes of lighting ripped the sky cuing cannons of thunder followed by another downpour, driven west by a ferocious wind.\nLeaves the size of elephant ears flapped madly before being ripped off to soar wildly above the trees like fugitive kites. Palm sized, white petals stripped from battered blossoms fluttered in the air like colossal snowflakes. \nWhen the storm finally blew itself out, dusk succumbed to a seductive night, black clouds parted and the naked new moon shyly revealed its self then boldly filled the sky like a giant pearl. \nIn the canopy, a hundred feet above the deceptive serenity, hundreds of ripe, seven foot pods began to bulge and sway. One by one the husks began to split. Black claws raked from within and then green arms frantically ripped the husks open. What emerged were unlike anything the universe had spawned in billions of years of species manifestation and transformation. These creatures physiology was stranger than anything that had ever mutated its way into existence. A wrong turn that God would never have planned, a diversion from the mythological line of gradual Darwinian evolution or experimental creations of the most devious of gods or men.\nExhausted, Roundtree plodded through the dense jungle, only weeks old. He sensed death lurking within every leaf, convinced something evil was close and tracking him he stopped and tried to calm himself. When the wind subsided the jungle grew silent. In the distance thumps of thunder and silent flashes of lightning from the passing storm lit the prison like a haunted castle.\nAt three in the morning, the clouds split once again and a slice of moon momentarily lit the sky so Roundtree began threading his way deeper into the jungle of gargantuan creepers. It was a place where only a condemned man would dare to flee. Hooked thorns ripped his orange prison jumpsuit to shreds and raked his skin as he pushed deeper in the depths of this alien world.\nHe tripped repeatedly over thick vines studded with thorns that pierced the soles of his prison issued sneakers. Too exhausted to run he stumbled on in a trance, lost but too terrified to stop.\nAn hour later his strength spent, Roundtree sank to his knees in despair, filling his lungs full air fouled by the overpowering fragrance of thousands of blossoms. He couldn’t slow his racing heart. He was soaking wet from rain and sweat and he was starving. Eventually he caught his breath and his pulse slowed a little, but a tingling ache in the back of his neck was growing more intense by the minute. He reached back to rub the source of the pain and jerked his hand away in revulsion, something was protruding from the back of his neck and it had pricked his finger.\nWhat he didn’t realize was that a sprout had bored into his neck and grafted itself onto him. While he had been running for his life tiny filaments had been trellising down his spinal cord. Suddenly he froze, his arms and legs went numb and he began to trembling uncontrollably. The night had taken on a luminescent green tint and within in minutes he was able to see like a cat. He tried to pluck the parasitic plant out but the attempt sent jolts of pain up and down his spine. His hands tingled, he examined them. Is it the light? His skin had turned olive green, but he thought: everything here is green. His mind was fractured as the blood in his veins slowly turned to sap. Suddenly he feinted. Just before he lost consciences he looked up into a tangle of thorny vines hung with beautiful white blossoms, reeking of death. As he slept the empty pods above him gently swayed in the tropical breeze. One storm had ended but another was about to begin.\n![20170808_110737.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmeonvqPCWQD6UAJpRZcNArfrnybnxN9MkK8iS1D18EH6N/20170808_110737.jpg)",
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      "body": "When do I think the Bulls are going to return? And when are we going to\n see the big influx of money and the big change in prices?  Why Bitcoin is up and down just about every day.\nWell Twitter has made an official announcement that they're going to ban cryptocurrency ads and obviously had an effect on the market today. So for a few days pretty much everything was down. Investors don't know what effect Twitter’s ban will have so they’re scared. I’ll bet some of you sold at a pretty big loss. And that's why there’s a lot the chatter online claiming that all cryptocurrencies are a scam.  \nThere's several reasons why this is interesting. I know who is still very big on cryptocurrency. He thinks that in the short-term ad bans are not the make-or-break for cryptocurrencies. So he’s too worried. I agree.  \nMaybe it's an opportunity to pick up your favorite altcoins at bargain prices. Take a look at the market - we had a pretty solid week last week.  The current atmosphere is nothing to panic about. \nThis takes me back to the early 1900s dotcom boom and bust. If you picked the right stocks back then: Apple, Amazon, EBay, Microsoft etc. you made a fortune. My advice: Do your research. Before you buy any cryptocurrency try to understand what it’s use is. And what it’s potential could be.\nThe current crypto market is presenting a lot of opportunities to pick up some coins that have true potential. \nIn America we are in tax season, in the US tax season prices usually go down. The government is bound to implement new crypto laws.  \nLike the stock market I believe you have to play the long game. If you try to time the market you’re going to lose.\n![images.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQ3wRnSGyR5F4wvuXy6DnkLJp6XRBMiymUzbm9bUsrS9e/images.jpg)",
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      "body": "I know a lot of friends who sold crypto last year, they did not save money for tax purposes, not they have to sell even more so they can pay taxes. For sure tax season is impacting cryptos.",
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      "body": "When do I think the Bulls are going to return? And when are we going to\n see the big influx of money and the big change in prices?  Why Bitcoin is up and down just about every day.\nWell Twitter has made an official announcement that they're going to ban cryptocurrency ads and obviously had an effect on the market today. So for a few days pretty much everything was down. Investors don't know what effect Twitter’s ban will have so they’re scared. I’ll bet some of you sold at a pretty big loss. And that's why there’s a lot the chatter online claiming that all cryptocurrencies are a scam.  \nThere's several reasons why this is interesting. I know who is still very big on cryptocurrency. He thinks that in the short-term ad bans are not the make-or-break for cryptocurrencies. So he’s too worried. I agree.  \nMaybe it's an opportunity to pick up your favorite altcoins at bargain prices. Take a look at the market - we had a pretty solid week last week.  The current atmosphere is nothing to panic about. \nThis takes me back to the early 1900s dotcom boom and bust. If you picked the right stocks back then: Apple, Amazon, EBay, Microsoft etc. you made a fortune. My advice: Do your research. Before you buy any cryptocurrency try to understand what it’s use is. And what it’s potential could be.\nThe current crypto market is presenting a lot of opportunities to pick up some coins that have true potential. \nIn America we are in tax season, in the US tax season prices usually go down. The government is bound to implement new crypto laws.  \nLike the stock market I believe you have to play the long game. If you try to time the market you’re going to lose.",
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      "body": "Chapter 12\nTrapped\nCalvin was dreaming, he was in the ocean, far from land, the balmy sea was calm. Effortlessly he swam alongside a sleek, white schooner, playful dolphins tagged along. The sun warmed his face. He could not remember a time in his life so filled with tranquility or such a sense of well being. He felt at one with the world. Normally he was a light sleeper, the slightest sound and he was awake, alert and ready for anything, but since Vanessa had began spending the night he had become so content that sleep had been a pleasant parallel journey filled with dreams of flying, swimming, making love, visions of beauty and wonder a reflection of his days with her. Calvin woke with the sun streaming through his bedroom window. Vanessa was snuggled up beside him, asleep, serine and so beautiful that she didn’t seem real. Had he actually made love to her for hours last night? He kissed her forehead gently and drifted off again. He was so relaxed that he didn’t hear the window shatter.\nVanessa did, she shook him from his dreams. “Calvin! Calvin! Wake up!”\nSuddenly he was awake, alert, on his feet in an instant ready to protect the woman he loved from the danger he detected in her voice. He saw the window, the glass on the floor and the knot of thorny creepers draped over the sill. He ran to the other window, he looked down to the pasture below and was stunned, everything was covered in ugly twisted green trunks, massive leaves, huge pods and hideous white flowers that filled the air with an overpowering, putrid fragrance. Creepers were coiled around every fence post, tree and structure in site. For a moment he thought he was having a nightmare. Then his heart sank when he saw his prized snow white stallion Ghost, ensnared in creepers. Bloody, the horse kicked feebly, thorn studded cables coiled around its neck, legs and body growing tighter by the second. The horse was several feet off the ground, upside down, obviously near death. Calvin stormed over to his walk in closet and emerged with a 3.06 rifle, chambered a round, smashed the rest of the glass from the window with the butt of the gun, took aim and fired two shoots in quick succession.\nVanessa twitched with each shot, naked, her bare back pressed against the wall, too terrified to speak. She could not imagine what Calvin had just shot.\nThe first bullet struck the stallion in the head, the second tore through its heart. Calvin felt sick to his stomach, he loved that horse. “Get dressed. We have to get out of here now.”\nVanessa, did not speak, she needed him to be a man, to take control, to protect her.\nCalvin threw on jeans, a long sleeved cotton shirt and hiking boots.\nVanessa slipped on a clean pair of white panties pulled up her kakis and grabbed a tee-shirt and trainers.\nCalvin tossed her a heavy cotton work shirt. “Put this on. You’ll need something to protect your arms.”\nThey went downstairs where Calvin methodically tossed supplies into a backpack. He rummaged through a closet until he found an inlaid wooden case containing a samurai sword, presented to him by a martial arts champion he’d befriended while on a wrestling tour in Asia. It was handmade from the finest Japanese steel and literally sharper than a razor. When Chow Lin had presented it to Calvin, he’d claimed the sword had a soul and had insisted on teaching him several fluid, ancient movements, so the weapon would not resent being given to him. He opened the silk lined case and removed sword.\nWhen Calvin tried to open the front door, it wouldn’t budge. It felt like someone with tremendous strength was on the other side holding it shut.\n“What’s wrong?” Vanessa asked. She had come down to see what he was doing.\nFor a moment all He wanted to do was kiss her, any other day he would have taken her back upstairs. “I don’t know. The door’s stuck.” Calvin was not used to being too weak to do things. He put his back into it and managed to open the door a crack, he slipped one hand onto the edge of the door while bracing his foot on the doorframe and heaved.\nVanessa stood back getting more anxious by the minute.\nCalvin put his back into it, the door creaked, there was a loud pop and it flew open, he fell back landing hard on his ass.\nVanessa gasped.\nCalvin sat staring in disbelief at the three, ten inch sucker pads adhered to the door, their snapped stems twitched like the bodies of severed snakes, dripping yellow sap.\nThe path from the front door was blocked, blocked by a tightly woven wall of vines. A child could not have squeezed through. Calvin got to his feet, ran to the back of the house threw back the drapes and saw that it was worse. Even the roof of the barn was completely covered every exit from the house was grown over. Red thorns glinted in the morning dawn like bloody knives. From the gutters huge white blossoms hung like Chinese lanterns, oddly they were beautiful. Every inch of his property was now nothing but a jungle of olive green vines, coiled around everything, runners snaked across his lawn, heavy vines lay over the tops of buildings and the creepers were sinking their roots deep into the sandy soil seeking water. It was the same as far as the eye could see in every direction.\nVanessa threw herself into Calvin’s arms and broke down. ”What are we going to do? We’re trapped!”\nCalvin stroked her hair, kissed her forehead, held her tight and tried to think as he soothed her. “I will not let anything happen to you. I’ll get us out, I promise.”\t\nHe threw open the front door. “OK, stay behind me, but not too close. I don’t want to cut you. All we need to do is make it to that shed next to the stables, see it? It’s only about twenty yards. We can do it.”\n“Why?” Vanessa asked.\n“Because that’s where my scuba gear is.”\n“What?” She blinked her eyes in disbelief.\nCalvin didn’t answer he yanked open the front door and confronted a maze of thorns, he plowed forward into a thicket of tangled creepers. He began hacking at the vines with smooth powerful blows, the hammered steel blade sliced through the vines with ease. Calvin was like a machine in swinging the blade in rhythm the sword felt like it was part of his body, still it took them fifteen minutes for him hack a path though to the shed. By the time they got there the thick muscles in Calvin’s arms were pumped and throbbing, he dripped with sweat and blood in the blazing sun.\nOnce inside the shed he yanked open a grey metal locker and began assembling his scuba gear. He had one air tank, a BC, regulator, weight belt, a dive knife, two masks, one pair of fins and an underwater flashlight. “You know how to dive?”Vanessa shook her head. “No. Why?”He turned to her, confidence etched on his brow. “There is a natural spring about fifty yards beyond that gate in the woods. Florida is honeycombed with underground aquifers they go for miles. We can’t drive or hike out of here and we can’t call for help so we are going to have to swim out.”Vanessa’s eyes widened with fear. “I told you I don’t know how to dive. I’m not even a very good swimmer. No, I can’t, underwater, in the dark, what if there’s no way out.”“But there is: three years ago some scientists from Woods Hole came through here. They were mapping the aquifers and testing the purity of the water. They dropped some sensors into my spring. They drifted with the current for a few miles and popped to the surface on the other side of Immokalee, just four miles north of the prison.”“But what if it’s too narrow for us? Or overgrown with roots underwater?”It was obvious that he had made his decision. “There’s a police station a mile from there, at least we will have a chance of finding help or at the least supplies.”Vanessa dug her cell phone from her hip pocket. “Let me try and get the governor’s office on the phone, maybe they can send a helicopter.” She found the number and pressed dial, nothing happened, then call failed flashed on the screen.Calvin shook his head. “The cell towers are probably overgrown, all it takes is one snapped line and we’re cut off from help. I’ll get us out of here Vanessa. Trust me.” He kicked open the door handed her the fins and masks to carry and secured the tank into the BC and strapped it in. He clipped the ten pound weight belt to his waist because that was the easiest way to carry it. He lifted the sword and turned to her. “OK, stay close.”They made very slow progress through the maze they had to pass by the dead stallion and Vanessa noticed that Calvin’s hacking became more brutal, as if he were trying to kill the thing that had attacked his beloved horse. Blood mixed with the sweat dripped down his wide back soaking his shredded shirt.At last they reached a spot in the overgrown woods were a pool of clear water appeared, looking out of place. Calvin wasted no time. He his muscles throbbed from carrying seventy pounds of scuba gear and hacking his way through the jungle and his skin, sinuses and eyes burned from the pollen and toxic sap but his strength was no where near spent. He had yet to tap into his reserve of will. He turned on the air and heaved the BC onto his back, clipped then tightened the nylon, Velcro straps and put the regulator into his mouth, took a couple of test breaths then removed it.Vanessa thought it made him sound like a machine. The fear in her belly began to swell.Calving dropped the regulator he saw the fear in her eyes. “There is no other way Vanessa. We have to do this.” He held up a second regulator. “This is called an octopus. It’s an emergency regulator, it’s in case your buddy runs out of air. With this two people can breathe off of one tank. The only problem is you cut your air supply in half. On one tank at the depth I’m guessing we’ll be, we might have twenty minutes. You have to try and breathe slow and easy. Our air will last longer that way. Here put this in your mouth and give it a try.”Vanessa put the regulator into her mouth and took a breath, it was cold and tasted of metal but it was not as difficult as she had imagined.“Ok, I’ll go in first.” Calvin took one of the masks from her spit into it, cleaned the inside of the face mask, slipped it on, put the regulator back into his mouth and without hesitation he jumped into the pool feet first. He plunged under water but bobbed back to the surface a moment later. He inflated his BC and leaned back floating. He lifted the mask from his face and looked up at Vanessa. “OK, give me the fins. She did and he put them on and tied his boots by the laces to his weight belt. “Ok, spit into your mask, it will keep it from fogging up and jump in.”\nShe did as she was told, the water was surprisingly cold for Florida: it was the temperature of cave water: 70 degrees. She was hyperventilating already.\nCalvin knew that if Vanessa didn’t get a grip that she would use up too much air and they wouldn’t have a chance. As it was, he thought their chances were slim. But he had told her the truth: there was no other way out. A thick root the diameter of a fire hose hung over the side of the pool and disappeared beneath the surface like a python. Vanessa was clinging to it to keep from sinking. “OK now listen carefully I’m going to do all the swimming. All you have to do is hang on to me and breath as evenly and slowly as possible. If your ears start to hurt from the pressure, pinch your nose in these indentations under your mask and blow. That will equalize the pressure. If you need me to stop or something is wrong, just give me a thump with your fist, OK?\nVanessa nodded but her heart was pounding with fear.\nCalvin held up the octopus and she put it into her mouth, took a couple of shaky breaths and pulled her mask down over her face.\n“Now hold on to me here.” He put her hand on the BC strap on his right side. No matter what happens don’t let go. OK?”\nShe nodded, Calvin held the release valve on his BC above his head, pressed the blue button, his BC deflated and together they sank beneath the surface. Instantly everything turned golden as the light from Calvin’s underwater flashlight punched through the darkness. The water had a copper tint due to the tannin dissolved from decaying leaves and other vegetation, though not crystal clear the water was actually drinkable.\nIt was like sinking in a well, the pool narrowed as they sank and Vanessa’s ear felt like they would rupture at any moment, she began to panic, suddenly the pain was unbearable. She pounded her fist on Calvin’s chest and began to thrash about. He held the light up to her face and she pointed at her ears in desperation. He put his fingers beneath his nose on his mask, reminding her that she had to equalize the pressure. She fumbled for a second, found the indentations and blew, there was a loud pop and an odd sound like air being let out of a tire but instantly the pain and pressure was gone. She calmed down looked into Calvin’s eyes and nodded. Once more they began their decent, every six fathom or so Calvin would stop and they would pop their ears together. Vanessa kept a vice like grip on the strap of Calvin’s BC. Her breathing had slowed and she did her best to relax. Just knowing that he was right there next to her gave her a sense of security.\nRoots from the creepers wove their way down into the depths, braided together, but they clung to the sheer limestone side of the pool and did not obstruct their decent. They sank feet first: Calvin knew it was easier to equalize the pressure in your ears that way. He checked his depth gauge, 60 feet. He looked up and all he could se was a tiny dot of light, like a faint star, that was the surface of the pool, then his feet touched bottom and a cloud of mud rose around them. He panned the flashlight in all directions and saw the cloud being drawn out in behind him. He floated down on his belly bringing Vanessa with him and through a small opening they saw a shaft no wider than a drainage pipe that sloped down several feet but they could not see where it led because the aquifer made a sharp left turn at the end. They had no choice, Calvin pointed into the tunnel, held her hand and together they entered. It was barely wide enough and at one point Calvin remove the BC from his back and the regulator from his mouth. He left the gear with Vanessa and swam though a tight opening to the other side then he reached through and pulled Vanessa through, grabbed his regulator and took a couple of breaths before putting the BC back on. They had used precious time and air in the maneuver. Calvin checked his air pressure, the tank was already half empty and they had just reached the bottom of the pool. He swept his light to get his bearing and saw that they were now in a long narrow cavern the size of the Holland tunnel. Roots trees and creepers hung from the roof of the cavern, when he aimed his light down the tunnel he could not see the end. Together they swam into the black abyss.\nVanessa tried to help by kicking her feet but the hiking boots she was wearing her heavy with water and cumbersome. Her body kept floating up buoyed by the air in her lungs she was wasting energy and air trying to keep level with Calvin. He was wearing ten pounds of weight and had emptied the air from his BC so he had zero buoyancy, making it easier to stay centered in the tunnel. He didn’t want to hit the roof or the bottom because that would send up a cloud of mud and make it impossible for them to see. As it was their visibility was only a few feet. He swept the bottom of the cavern with his light, there were sunken logs washed here who knew how long ago during storms and roots, rocks and boulders, some that had fallen form the roof of the cavern. He saw a small rock and dove down and scooped it up. He handed it to Vanessa.\nShe took it not realizing what she was supposed to do with it. Then she figured it out. The weight of the rock was just enough to keep her from floating up. She held it in her left hand against her belly and nodded.\nCalvin gave a few kicks and they moved off into the blackest place either of them had ever been.\nAfter a hundred yards Calvin noticed that the current, before almost unnoticeable had picked up. They were now being drawn into the tunnel, kicking was no longer necessary.\nEighty feet above them, through limestone and sand the weather had changed. A storm had blown in from the Atlantic and it was reaching hurricane force. The rain was coming down in barrels, streets, canals, creeks and rivers were swelling with runoff. And the aquifer below was receiving a massive injection of millions of gallons of water, causing the current below to increase from two knots to twenty in as many minutes. Calvin and Vanessa had no way of knowing what was transpiring above but he effects were dramatic below. The water quickly became clouded with sediment and they could not see more than a few inches in font of their face and to make matters worse the battery in the light was dieing. Calvin tired to maintain control but as strong as he was the raging water was more than his strength could conquer. The current had them in its grasp and they were being swept away like rats in a drain pipe. They spun as they shot down the tunnel with no sense of up or down. They held each other in a bear hug both knowing the end was only moments away, then suddenly they slammed into something. It was a boulder the size of a bus. The flashlight was knocked from Calvin’s hand and quickly disappeared down the shaft, its faint light gone in seconds.",
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      "author": "rosestar",
      "body": "Welcome to steemit\nYou can join this discord channel to be taught how to go about how to succeed on steemit and learn business,poetry,art,crypto and get motivated,taught how to make good posts and comment and non plagiarised posts\nhttps://discord.gg/WaeJXmE\nJoin the discord channel today and learn something in the academy of life",
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      "body": "Chapter 10\nThe Roots of Resurrection\n\nIt had been three days since Jomel Martinaz had eaten. And now the water was off in his sink. He considered the stinking brown water in the bottom of the toilet that would not flush. His mouth was dry as dirt. He had stopped sweating, his tattooed skin felt hotter than the vinyl seat of an old car left in the sun. Even though the humidity was eighty-seven percent the temperature in his cell had reached ninety degrees. The power in the prison had been off for days, so there was no air-conditioning, not a puff of fresh air anywhere, only a smelly, stifling quiet that was driving him insane. No one called out anymore, begging for help, no voices cursed guards long since fled. Death hung in the air like fog.\nIt was on the forth day that he saw them advancing down the floor of his cell-block, a foot or two per hour, growing into the locked cells of the condemned. At first a few tried to eat the stuff, they were the only ones who made any sound in hours, their raspy screams of agony echoed through the corridors as their mouths and throats burned and blistered from the plant’s toxins. Many of the prisoners were already dead or so far gone that even being wrapped in the coils of a botanical python failed to stir them.\nJomel had been standing for seventeen hours, his back pressed against the concrete wall of his cell watching the creepers slowly grow towards his feet. He stomped on the first one to reach him when its leaves unfolded against his leg. It coiled back like a wounded snake but the others continued climbing the wall on either side of him defying gravity as they spanned the ceiling. Eventually he was too weak to stomp them. First his legs became entangled then he toppled over face down into them. His dry screams for help went unanswered. Four hours later, it was all over.\nAxel Craven had been the last man to be executed at Imokolee before the guards and staff fled the infestation. His body had been dropped into a plywood box and buried in a pre-dug grave in the cemetery on the north grounds of the prison. His body joined those of three-hundred and forty two other men and women buried in graves laid out in neat lines, marked by nothing but flat numbered stone markers.\nThe plant never stopped evolving. It was not the same life form that had absorbed Newl Hogue weeks before. It was much more complex. Now for the first time in the history of life on Earth, a plant had human DNA incorporated into its genetic makeup. As bad as things were, they were about to get much worse. Before the creepers had no mind only a need for sunlight, toxins and nourishment in the form of soil, sand or souls and water but it did not have purpose. There was no evil plan on its part. It was only a plant, a super weed perhaps but nothing more. But that was changing now it was developing a sense of self. And with its sense of self came a drive for self-preservation, self-propagation and self-defense. But something else was happening, now it absorbed and used the genes of those it consumed, both living and dead. It was on a rapid upward evolutionary spiral.\nThe grounds of the prison were carpeted with vines, the walls and towers incased in them. The need for nourishment and water forced it to drill its roots deeper and deeper into the sandy soil. The cemetery was crisscrossed with thick vines, vines that sunk roots deep into the ground, deep into the soil and into the coffins of criminals. In Florida, the rains always came sooner or later and with them spectacular bolts of lightning. Guard tower number six was the first to be struck. The bolt shot though the lightning rod and its exposed copper cable buried in the sandy soil. The creepers had coiled themselves around that cable. The heavy metals in its cells, the water that clung to it and the sap that coursed though its capillaries like black blood increased its conductivity as millions of volts of electricity passed through several hundred feet of vine in a split second. The second and third strikes hit the north wall and south tower within seconds of each other. The damage to several acres of plant was severe but it did not kill it, it changed it. A root had bored into Axel’s coffin and had begun to absorb him when the lightning struck. Other tap-roots were in other coffins doing the same to other bodies in various states of decomposition. Jomel lay dead on the floor of his cell, his mouth a gape with a creeper the thickness of a strong man’s arm growing down his throat was one of them.\nIn the hours that passed after the storm the plant repaired itself and the change began. No longer did it feed on the bodies its roots had tapped into or its vines had snared. 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