No Pulse
Her lungs burned as she took in the stagnant air, the breath scraping its way down through the dryness of her throat.
It had an unpleasant taste — a mix of dirt and musk undercut by a tang of something vaguely acidic. She focused on swallowing down the bile that rose in response, wincing at the sharpness of the motion.
It didn’t help.
Spasms assaulted her empty stomach, a thin trickle of liquid escaping from her mouth as she heaved and retched. When she finished she turned from her side to her back, exhausted from the exertion.
She felt like absolute shit.
On an average day she would just assume she’s coming down with something. Not a pleasant experience, but also not that big a deal. Some rest and fluids and she would be back to normal within the week — a minor inconvenience at most.
A shame this was not that kind of day.
She had woken up in this unfamiliar chamber, flat against the ground with no idea how she had arrived. Her mind felt disconnected from her body, a thin veil hanging between herself and the sensations ravaging her.
Was it a concussion?
No, if she was concussed her head would be throbbing by now.
Damn.
Carefully lifting her torso, she rose from the ground to a sitting position. Her limbs groaned with the effort, the movement stiff and decidedly unnatural — as if she had been immobile for quite some time. How long had she been here? Long enough to get dehydrated certainly.
Had she been drugged?
Taken?
…No, that seemed unlikely.
The open doorway to her left was proof of that.
It must lead directly outside given the amount of sunlight streaming through — she could leave whenever she wanted. It would be stupid to keep her here unattended. Or genius. Lower her guard and…her breath caught, all her senses firing at once to search the room.
There was no movement save for the grass before her — its rustling providing the only sound that cut through the stifling silence.
“Fuck.” She whispered the curse under her breath, releasing with it some of the tension that had built within her shoulders.
Focus on facts, not speculation.
Taking a deep breath, she continued her scrutiny of the room around her.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the markings on the stone walls of the chamber.
Intricate carvings covered every inch of them, the images a massive collage of both flora and fauna embarking on some sort of journey to the back of the room. She followed them on their path, turning slowly so as to not injure her fragile body further. When she fully rotated, an involuntary gasp escaped her lips at the sight.
Before her stood the most stunning wood carving she had ever seen. A tree, dense in both foliage and root, stretched across the entire wall, providing shelter for all that gathered beneath. Vines descended from the canopy, their form elegant as they tenderly embraced both plant and animal without discrimination. All before it bowed in reverence, some even appearing to shed tears as their maws made contact with the ground.
For a moment she just sat there, unable to turn her gaze from the majesty of the tree. It oozed sanctity from every curve — she was never the religious sort, but even she could not deny the air of holiness in this place.
Why was she here?
She had no ties to any religious sect — especially not any that worshipped nature.
She gently chewed at her bottom lip, holding it between her front teeth as she rolled it back and forth. What should she do? She bit down harder, the jolt of pain centering her mind. Make a timeline. The last thing she remembered was going to sleep in her apartment. She thought back through the entire day: simulation labs, library, then home. Normal. So what changed?
What happened while she was asleep?
Next thing she knew, she woke up here, alone, in different clothing, with no phone or anything other than herself. She felt ill, like—
Wait.
She took a deep breath, completing the entire process with ease. She swallowed. No pain. She lifted her hand, inspecting it as she wiggled each finger. No janky movements.
A bitter cold settled in the center of her chest. She had been so ill when she woke up, at the very least severely dehydrated — she was certain of that. But now she was completely fine. That wasn’t right.
And her mind…it felt normal. Lucid and anchored within this now healthy body.
The room tilted. She focused again on her breathing, familiar with the signs of hyperventilation.
Calm.
It’s best to remain calm.
There must be a logical explanation somewhere. Regulate.
She took two fingers and set them on the side of her neck, seeking that rhythmic beat that always seemed to ground her in difficult moments. Closing her eyes, she waited.
Nothing.
The carotid was a strong indicator for pulse — she must not be pressing hard enough. She dug in harder.
Still nothing.
Her mouth began to go dry as she pressed hard enough to cut circulation.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
Her fingers slid to her wrist.
Nothing.
Desperate, she placed her hand over her chest.
Nothing. Nothing was there. She couldn’t find her pulse anywhere.
Her hands trembled. That thing that should be thundering in her chest right now…where the hell was it?
Sweat accumulated on her brow as goosebumps prickled her skin.
Even panic felt wrong. Without a racing heart, her body felt cold and still.
Empty.
Dead.
A lump formed in her throat as the tremble spread from her hands to her entire being.
“It’s fine. You’re fine. Everything’s fine.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, funneling her tumultuous emotions into the tight squeeze.
Calm down. All this can be explained.
Calm.
Down.
She tucked her chin into her arms, strengthening the self-soothing hug.
Maybe…she was hallucinating. Or having some sort of neurological event.
Yes, that’s it.
These sensations couldn’t be trusted. The mind was more than capable of fantastical things when unbalanced — she had seen it in a plethora of patients before.
Her case was just a particularly severe one.
She tentatively allowed her arms to fall away to her side.
Hospital. She needed to get checked out by someone before the situation worsened.
With great difficulty she rose to her feet, her disorientation becoming only more apparent with each movement. She needed to get outside, call for help. Yes, that’s it. Careful not to trip on any of the stones, she slowly made her way out of the chamber towards the light of the exit.
There was a short stone staircase leading out to the surface, just around ten steps. Despite stumbling once or twice, she managed to quickly ascend, bursting out from the doorway into the world above.
As soon as she exited she brought her hand up to her face, instinctively shielding her eyes from the brightness of day. She stood there for a moment while she acclimated to the light, anticipation coursing through her veins.
It was only when her eyes fully adjusted that she saw the truth, a hollow laugh escaping from her lips at the sight.
There, surrounding her on all sides, was a vast sea of trees.
They were tall things, hulking behemoths that stretched so high they obscured most of the sky. Any gap between them was filled with more greenery, a dense undergrowth that seemed to swallow everything in its path. Her jaw clenched as she turned, desperate to find any sign of civilization. There was nothing. No roads, no houses, no people — nothing.
It was all just fucking wilderness.
She looked back at the doorway she had just left. A stone archway covered in moss and vines stood there, stunning but lacking any distinguishing features that might help her determine where the hell she was.
She nibbled at her bottom lip. What now? Waiting would be useless — there was no guarantee anyone would show up. Or if they did show up, that they would be friendly.
Not to mention the…abnormalities in her body.
Dammit.
She took a cautious step, her bare foot sinking deep into the carpet of moss stretching across the ground.
Forward. For now she would go forward and check what might be out there. Maybe she would even get lucky and find a group of campers or nature enthusiasts to help her. It was something at least…and she could always turn back before nightfall.
The moss muffled her steps as she began to walk, her head on a constant swivel for any dangers lurking in the vegetation. It was a tranquil place, the only sound coming from the wind rustling the leaves of the canopy above.
Strange.
She would have expected to see a few small animals or insects in such a lush forest. And the plants were…well they were all somewhat unfamiliar, each exhibiting slight deviations from the norm. She may not have been the most experienced botanist but she still felt confident in her ability to recognize native species. Just how far was she from the city?
Lost in these thoughts, she failed to notice the object beneath her feet until it was too late. Her foot caught the edge and she stumbled, barely managing to regain her balance before she fully fell. What the—?
She turned back around, irritation flaring at her own carelessness — this was not the time to be so distracted. She glanced down towards her foot to confirm that it didn’t suffer an injury from the encounter. What she saw there instead surprised her.
Some sort of black sludge had transferred onto her from the object, thick and tacky against her skin. Definitely not something she would expect to see in a forest. Unnerved, she decided to take a closer look at what exactly had tripped her.
Her mind froze as soon as she pushed aside the foliage, momentarily unable to process what she was seeing.
It was a body.
A long dead, rotting corpse that oozed black fluid from every orifice.
Fucking hell.
Was this a hallucination too?
She felt a tingle in her skin where that same ooze sat, the sensation now causing her stomach to churn.
No, this seemed real…she had even tripped over it.
Flicking her foot aggressively to dislodge the fluid, she gagged as she hastily stepped away.
She didn’t have a phone to make a police report.
Should she leave?
How did it die?
Was she in danger?
What the fuck was she supposed to do?
Her body stiffened, rooting itself despite her mounting fear.
She needed to know.
Dammit, why did she always need to know?
Her eyes scanned the corpse before her, craving the answers hidden beneath the rotting flesh.
The body was in the mid stages of decay, exhibiting significant loss of mass and skin. Maybe a week or two postmortem? That made things difficult — she wasn’t experienced enough in pathology to determine much from a corpse that deteriorated. And there was something off about the body itself. Where was the smell? The insects? A body this decomposed should have both in excess.
It was at that exact moment she saw movement beneath the body’s flesh, a slight undulation characteristic of something burrowing within.
They were inside.
She watched intently as the skin began to bulge, the insects preparing to break free from the flesh prison.
The skin split and out emerged…green?
Her brows furrowed in confusion as what looked to be a vine slowly stretched upwards, its leaves unfurling before it reattached itself to another piece of skin.
Then came the pulsing. It was quiet at first, a soft beat like someone lightly tapping.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
With each pulse the sound grew louder, the vine swelling as the skin beneath it tightened.
It was…drinking. Greedily sucking all the moisture and nutrients from the corpse, growing ever more vibrant with each gulp.
She saw another vine break free from the flesh, quickly reattaching to a juicer spot. And another. And another.
There were dozens of them now, all pulsing together in a terrifying rhythm of absorption.
Her skin crawled as everything within her screamed escape. She began to slowly and deliberately back away, trying her best to draw no attention to her movements. On her third step she felt her weight shift, her foot slipping on the ooze she had flicked off just moments ago. She crashed down hard onto the forest floor, the pain radiating up through her spine. She had to bite back the cry threatening to spill from her lips, desperate not to make any more sound.
But it was too late.
The brief silence that fell was broken by a quiet pop.
Then the next. And another. A symphony of pops echoed as the vines detached themselves from their meal, angling themselves towards her instead. For just a moment both parties were still as they assessed the other.
The next thing she knew she was running. Fast. As fast as her body could take her. It was pure adrenaline and instinct, her flight-or-fight response screaming at her to go right fucking now.
Was this even real? Man-eating plants? It was insane…if not entirely impossible.
But still, she ran.
She had to.
No matter how illogical it all seemed, as long as there was a single ‘what if’ she would move.
She would never bet her life on anything less than certainty.
The rustling sound behind her grew steadily louder with her every stride. It was as if the forest itself had suddenly come alive, invigorated by the thrill of the chase. Her legs burned as she pushed them to their limit, desperation fueling each thunderous step.
Was this how she’d die? In the middle of nowhere, devoured by a plant? Or was this all in her head? What was—
Ding
It was soft but she still heard it — the clear chime of a bell.
A screen materialized right before her eyes, translucent and perfectly matching her pace.
In silver letters it read:
[Sound and movement increase probability of detection
Remain still
Control respiration]
