Chapter 6: Stupidity and Fire

What is riskier than trying to kill the Crimson Tree? A group of Teens trying to kill the Crimson Tree.

This was probably the stupidest thing I had ever seen. Three teenagers were standing in the main square of the town which bordered the forest that the Crimson Tree lives in. Wearing bright red shirts that said Crimson Tree Slayers.

They were going to die for sure, the sheer stupidity of thinking that anyone, let alone a group of kids could kill the Crimson Tree would have been laughable. If not for the fact that they were going to be killed in the most painful way.

They were laughing and they had no weapons that I could see. Did they think this would be easy? Did they think that the Crimson Tree was just going to sit there and let them do whatever it was they were planning?

If they had ever actually come face to face with it, they would run in the opposite direction. Then again, who was I to talk? I lost an arm the last time I did this, and yet I was willing to find it again.

I wasn't going in with false hope this time. I just wanted Alex to be safe, I didn't care what kind of horrific torture the Tree had planned for me. I just wanted it to let my boy go. Please.

This is madness, why am I doing this, for Alex. I am not a coward. I will do whatever it takes. My knees shook more the closer I got to the forest border. I could barely see and there was sweat dripping into my eyes.

Sure enough, there was a faint flicker of red light in the distance. Which I followed as fast as I was able. Let him be safe, let him be alive, please.

When I felt like I could walk no further I heard it. The soft giggle of the Crimson Tree. I was blinded by the red light momentarily and felt roots snake around my ankles.

"No wait please! I-I'll stay, just let him go please!" I staggered as the roots climbed up towards my knees. There was only light and the Tree's soft giggle... This was bad, this was so bad, what would Lucy do if she could have seen me failing like this?

"Yes, you will stay and so will my new friend" from under where the light shone I head Alex let out a terrified scream. Tears rolled down my face as the roots wrapped around my waist.

"Alex..." I winced as the roots began to tighten, I tasted coppery blood in my mouth and knew it was running down my face. Time was running out for both of us...

"I'm sorry David if you’re there, but I don't have a choice" I had something that I'd picked up at Jim's before everything had gone to hell. In my pocket under the root, a lighter.

My hand was so, so close to reaching the lighter and flicking it on. I could burn the roots, maybe not the whole tree, but at least the roots that were wrapped around me.

Rip, I gaped at my good arm, no longer attached to me, but held in the grip of the roots. The pain hit me a moment later... My arm!

I collapsed on my knees and sobbed, now the Tree had taken both of my arms and there was nothing I could do. The roots were squeezing tighter and Alex and I were both going to die. My Lucy, I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

The Tree... Gasped? and then it began to scream, a high pitched blood curdling scream that made me want to clamp the hands I didn't have over my ears.

The light faded, the roots around me stopped moving and I heard voices that were not the Trees.

"Sir? Sir, it's alright, we have your son... We just need to get you back to town before you bleed to death... Sir?" Those bunch of kids... How? It was the stupid teenagers from before.

The three of them each held a lighter, they had burned the very centre of the tree. The man made of roots was crisped and black. A statue of what had only moments ago been killing me.

In the tallest boy's arms was my son. Dirt smeared and scratched, but alive and breathing. Watching me with those big blue eyes.

"Alex... Oh thank god, my boy!" I would have reached out and held him to me if I'd had my arms. Speaking of, the one that had just been taken was hurting quite a bit.

"Daddy?" I closed my eyes and smiled as I lay on the ground. He was alive, he was safe. I saved him Lucy, just like I said I would.

Author's Note

The Tree did like to take limbs. It made prey less able to escape if it happens to get free.