“Go on, boy. Speak your mind.” Offered Atticus.

  “I’ll use my gel.” Morell said as he fished his raspberry-colored globule out of his backpack.

  “Why it looks like the very thing we used to fly off the cliffs near Woodford!” said Loxo.

  “The very same. Gels have a great number of uses. Long before I met you, Hoxley and the others and I used our gels to protect ourselves from poisonous gasses in the underground chambers near Bohga’s cave. By covering our mouths and noses, the gels took in all the impurities that would be harmful for us to breathe and gave only fresh air in return. I think I can do the same with the bog water here to make it safe to drink!” Each man raised an eyebrow with curiosity.

  “Well, go ahead then.” Said Atticus. Morell went on to take Loxo’s canteen as well as his own over to the edge of the dry ground where a tepid pool of bog water waited. Morell first took his own canteen and held it just under the surface so that it could fill before returning to Loxo. He handed Loxo the empty canteen which he held out in front of him. Once there, he placed his gel, Jam, directly on top of the full one in his other hand. The purple-ish gel seemed to wiggle and smile for no reason. Once seated, Morell grabbed the gel and full canteen and flipped them both upside down to stand on top of the empty one the pirate held.

  “Now watch.” Said Morell. “The bog water will fall downward, pass directly through Jam, and empty out the other side into the empty canteen but Jam will stop anything not purely water from getting through.”

  “This is asinine.” Scoffed Loxo. “Do you really think this will work at all?”

  “Look!” pointed Atticus at the gel. “There it goes!” all three watched intently as the greyish water in the upside-down canteen began to seep out and fall down through the gel where a darkened mass began to gather. Morell had Loxo lower his hand. After he did, perfectly clear liquid continued onto pass though the bottom of the gel. where it emptied into the canteen below. “I don’t believe it.” gasped Atticus. “The gel is gathering the bad stuff in the water and letting the rest pass on.” Morell’s entire canteen emptied through the gel. And once there was no more to drip through, a greyish floating mass lay suspended within the purple glob. Morell spoke to the gel.

  “Jam, spit.” He said. “Loxo and Atticus’ eyes bugged as the gel’s tiny face made an exaggerated chewing expression before expelling the rest with a “pitu!” sound. “Good gel.” He said.

  “Did you see that?” the pirate asked the soldier. It obeys like Siouxsie’s little orange one does!”

  “There.” said Morell. “The water should be safe to drink.”

  “Should be safe, or is safe?” Atticus.

  “Quite safe.” Morell replied. He took the full canteen and turned it up without hesitation to begin gulping down mouthfuls. When sated, he smiled and offered it to Atticus to take most of the rest. Loxo took the last bit before they repeated the process. In the end, they each had drank their fill and had a fair amount left in their canteens.

  “How did you know to use the gel to get the water clean?” asked Loxo.

  “I use jam to clean my mushrooms of any dirt before I eat them. Gels like to eat dirt. They get rid of grime and leave things better than they found them.”

  “I feel refreshed.” said Atticus, pushing himself up. “I think it’s time we were on our way.”

  “But it’s just so very relaxing at this spot.” said Loxo as he stretched on the ground. “I’m in just no hurry to wade back into that wet nastiness,”

  “We’re not going to get out of this place by being comfortable here.” Said Atticus. Morell watched him. Unlike all the times before when the man would get off the ground, the soldier didn’t grunt or struggle to get up. He was quick and purposeful and was on his feet. Atticus miraculously no longer resembled the old man he’d met in the western castle. Something magic had enchanted him and given him his youth. It seemed too much to ponder so he continued to put things into his pack. Once finished, he gingerly struggled to stand on one leg when the strangest of sounds filled the air. So queer was it that all three of them turned at the same time to look where the sound seemed to be originating. It closely resembled the rustling of leaves and the bending and cracking of trees as they sound when felled by the strong winds of a storm. But therein was the problem; there were no storms, and the bog was as still as an undisturbed pond. The sound drew closer and closer until a monstrous silhouette of something twice the size of a human came into view through the fog. Towering, it didn’t stand on two legs but instead seemed to shift and move about atop a type of tumbling bush or small hill. To their left, between them and the frightening entity there lay a small berm. Atticus swiftly but quietly scooped up Morell and shoved him into the low “V” shaped hollow before tugging the pirate down into it as well. He took his shield and spear from Loxo, lying between the two with the long weapon at the ready and the large shield covering all three. None of them made a sound as the thing drew closer.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  As it came into view, the base was a tumbling mass of thick vines as big around as a person and covered in razor sharp thorns each as long as a dagger. It rolled slowly and purposefully, the thorns practically tilling the ground like farmers plow a field. So wicked and terrifying was the sight of the creature that no one dared speak a word or even breathe. Morell eyed the thing. The lower mass made up its legs, shifting and twisting upon itself. But above what would be its waist, six arms made of collected limbs waved and hovered. Atop it all, a huge flowering head as big as six men turned this way and that. The flowers blossom, covered in dark purple petals and splayed open, seem to pulsate and sway. It was looking for something…looking for them. For too long the plant creature stood unmoving, waving its leafy arms and hands and shifting its head without making the faintest of sounds. For the longest time the three lay without moving so much as a muscle. Occasionally one would shift their head to look at the others only to see the same horrified expression. No one knew what to do next. To make even the slightest of sounds could attract the thing and spell their doom. Morell began to wish that he hadn’t drank so much water as it had already passed though him and pressed upon his bladder.

  Between the fright of the beast, the excess water, and being unable to move, he had no choice but begin to piss himself. Atticus heard the trickle and looked him in the eye before glancing down at the widening dark splotch upon his pants. Seeing this, Atticus looked him in the eye again before giving a nod of understanding and turning his sight back upon the creature. Morell found the creature to be as fascinating as it was frightful. Every part of the thing was alive and moved on its own while serving the greater host. Vines as thin as spear staffs elongated themselves outward to touch the water. Was it taking in water for itself like roots of a tree? The trio thought they might be there forever until a sharp “snap” sound, like that of a fresh twig or branch echoed far in the distance. The blossom head turned in the direction of that sound before the twisting knotted vines that carried it began to roll and writhe again as wagon wheels spin. Onward it moved, the sharp thorns grinding and upturning the bog as it travelled. It moved further and further away until its entire mass vanished into the grey twilight on a cloud of “shlorp” noises. Assured that it was far enough away to move, Atticus sat up.

  “I told you strange things existed here.” Said the soldier in a hushed tone. “I knew it was real.”

  “What do we do now?” asked Loxo in an equally quiet voice. “How are we supposed to find our way out with one of those…those…whatever that is stalking about?”

  “What makes you think there’s only one?” asked Atticus which made the pirate turn a little pale.

  “Are there more?” Morell asked.

  “I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. But from here on out we need to move quietly toward finding an exit.”

  “Which is where, exactly?” asked Loxo.