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M y first encounter with Ze was quite daunting. I had been out hunting and had been tracking a young buck for almost an hour. Unlike most hunters I know I stalk my prey; I see it as a test of my skills against those of my quarry. This makes hunting a sport for me. In my opinion sitting on your butt in ambush for hours on end is not sportsman like. I had sighted my quarry again as it stopped to feed in a small clearing where one of the larger trees of the forest had fallen a few years before. A bunch of smaller trees were fighting for the opened position and had almost closed the gap in the canopy above but there was still enough sunlight to allow grass to grow and the buck was grazing on this. As I moved in closer to the edge of the clearing I began to get an uneasy feeling, that sensation of ill ease that causes your neck hairs to rise. I could not put my finger on it, but I took my eyes from the buck and began to look around the area.

I had slowly moved a quarter of the way around the clearing as the breeze shifted, staying downwind of the buck. The feeling of unease faded as I moved and I once again let the buck take my attention. I had lined up a near perfect shot when I finally noticed something that was noticeably wrong. The vines in the clearing were entirely too thick. Many were of the size you would see hanging from the old giants of the forest, they looked too thick and heavy to be supported by these young trees. Distracted from the deer again I let my eyes wander over the vines, tracking their runs up through the branches; in the trees my eyes caught movement and it was bizarre. I could not quite see what was causing the sense of movement at first. It seemed that the something was moving through the vines on the branches.

Another movement caught my attention in the periphery of my vision and I turned to see something dangling from one of the branches a short way from the buck. At first I thought it to be a misshapen snake, or perhaps one that had just eaten. That was how it looked, a large head tapering back into a green body that went up into the tree and disappeared among the vines. I looked again and saw that it did not disappear into the vines, but rather it was the vine.

I let out a silent chuckle as I realized the head must in fact be a large fruit of some kind. It was a strange fruit no doubt, a dark green color with molted purple brown splotches on it making an odd pattern on its skin. I wondered why I had thought it a head and then it reminded me. It moved. It not only moved but did so against the light breeze that was blowing. It looked as if it were watching the deer, tracking its movement snake like.

I shook my head and blinked trying to clear my mind, deciding that I had been out here too long. I looked at the thing again and it once more resembled a pod or gourd, a very large one but nothing more than that as it swayed slightly in the breeze. I had been away from the town for about three weeks now, just camping out in the wilderness; no one around but me, myself and I. That was how I relaxed, how I got away from it all when I got too bogged down with work and civilization in general. After this hunt I would head back. I had skinned enough hides in the last two weeks and had enough jerky drying at the camp that I could make a pretty fair penny when I got back to the little town two valleys over.

Deciding this would be my last kill for this trip I got to it. I raised my compound bow, notched the arrow to the string and drew back. I took aim just as the young buck stepped towards a tree. That's when it happened. I gasped as a vine trailing down from the tree came suddenly and violently to life. It lashed out wrapping around the neck of the animal as other vines around it joined in. There were perhaps fifteen or twenty of the vines encircling the now thrashing creature, glistening in the dappled sun as they tightened their grasp on the buck.

As the things encircled the deer my initial thought was that they would act like a stricter and squeeze the life from it, but as the seconds passed they just held it entangled as it struggled. After a half a minute or so, one of the vines snaked its way up to the animal's head and, as it opened its mouth to gasp, the vine slid in. And it kept sliding in. The deer choked once but seemed to be breathing well after that. I saw a similar movement by a vine at the deer's hindquarters and as its hips jerked I realized that another vine must have entered the deer's anus. Within a few seconds of the two vines entering the animal's body it quieted and relaxed, sort of slumping in the grasp of the vines. I had no idea what it was doing or why but it was freaking me the fuck out. I was distracted from the vines activities as I caught more movement.

I glanced over and saw that the thing I had convinced myself was fruit a moment ago could no longer hold that title. As I watched the large pod slowly shifted closer to the hapless deer. It looked very snake like now as it stretched out from the branch it was draped down from, while at the same time forming an S like pattern just behind the pod. I suddenly came to the realization that there were a whole gaggle of the pods hanging in the clearing. Most had blended into the shadows their camouflage like skin matching them almost perfectly with their surroundings. The largest and closet pod, the one I had first seen, was perhaps four feet from the prone buck when it did something that made me shiver to my bones.

My eyes were good enough that I saw the dark line that suddenly formed along the horizontal access of the pod. The edges of what I at first thought of as the rind or shell of the fruit, curled up slowly, turning into what could not be mistaken for anything but a set of large purple-ish lips. The lips kept moving, pulling back and slightly up at the corner turning into one of the most disturbing smiles I have ever born witness too.

A smile doesn't always mean teeth but with this one... teeth was most of it. They ranged in width dramatically and none were less than an inch long. Pearly white little daggers of varying sizes, there seemed no real pattern to their placement. The mouth opened a bit as it came within a foot of the deer's head. It moved side to side slowly, like a person eyeing something from different angles. That was all unsettling enough but then the pod opened its mouth wide, wider then it looked like it should be able to, and inhaled. I know it inhaled because I heard the intake of breath. It seemed to be scenting the deer. The sun caught its teeth as it moved and revealed a second glittering row set just behind the first.

Without any other warning it struck along with the smaller pods, which I had not noticed forming up around the dear, biting deeply into the flesh of the deer and tearing out large chunks. I saw flashes of what seemed like multiple tongues within the mouths, helping to pull the meat deeper into the maws. I watched as little lumps formed in vines behind the pods, just like the meals of a snake. The things digested a damn site faster than a snake though; I watched the lumps moving back through the plant and the farther along the vine the lumps got the smaller they became until there was no sign of them. At the sites of the bite marks there was very little blood.

I looked back at the deer and realized it was still alive and now quite terrified. The calmness that had come after the vines entered it had fled with the first bites. There was nothing it could do about it at this point; I had not seen it happen but some of the smaller pods had apparently hamstrung and partially paralyzed the thing. This was obvious by the way the legs where hanging and the limp movements of its head and neck. As the buck tried in vain to thrash about the largest pod pulled back and seemed to look at the deer again.

It shifted its position, moving in close to its head. The mouth opened and I heard a sound like many people whispering at once. Then it pulled back, opened its mouth incredibly wide and struck with lightning like speed and force, clamping down on the neck of the animal just below its head. The force was great enough that I heard the buck's neck crack. It finally ceased all of its twitching; once more going completely limp in the things grasp as death mercifully took it. The whole event, from first strike to final blow had taken less than three minutes.

I then sort of came too. I realized I was holding my breath and I let it out in a rush. I also realized I was standing only a short distance away from a very strange and very dangerous thing. I suddenly became aware of the voice in my head that had been yelling at me to run since the first vine had struck. I have always had a problem where my curiosity gets the better of my common sense; though I am sure a bit of mental shock was at play at this point too.

I turned to run and stopped dead. There, directly in my path, was one of the pods. It hung from a branch above and had I been standing fully erect would have been right at eye level. I glanced up, following the line of its vine into the foliage above. When I found where it came from I felt sick. There in the trees above my head was a mass of interwoven, writhing questing vines, extending out through the trees around the area. Mixed in with the vines were a large number of pods varying in shape and size. It didn't dawn on me till much later what some of those pod's shapes resembled.

More than a few of the things were turned in my direction. My eyes returned to the pod hanging before me. As it split itself it two to revealed its sinister smile I realized one of the more unsettling things about its smile. That's all there was! It had a smile, a big, toothy, scary, adult Alien parasite like smile. No eyes, no ears, no nose, no real facial features to speak of, save for that smile set in a green and molted purple head.

At that moment I did what I think anyone would have done in my situation. I screamed like a little girl and flung myself backwards. Unlike others though screaming was not all I did. I found that I had not un-notched my arrow and so, as I fell back and away from the thing, I drew and fired. I heard sound like a hundred children screaming as the arrow slid into the head/pod and lodged, fletched end sticking out of the bottom jaw. I could see the point protruding from the opposite side as the thing began thrashing about. Thick blood like sap ran down the shaft, droplets flicking off in all directions. I was gone before the first drop hit the ground.

I had recovered from my fall, rolling upright and dashing past the thing giving one glance up as I went. The attention of all the pods above was now on me. This was decidedly not a good thing. As I turned my attention back to the path ahead I caught more movement, things slithering out of the underbrush. I dropped into a roll and followed that with a springing leap as vines lashed out at me. A thought in the back of my head sprung up; I had seen these strange vines as I walked by earlier. Though I had thought them a bit odd looking, I had paid them no mind. I promised myself I would never overlook the strange again as I slid my bow over my shoulders I pulled out my long blade.

My long blade as I called it is bigger than a knife, lighter than a machete and not quite a sword. It worked well performing all three functions though and I always had it with me on trips, strapped to my lower right leg. As another vine shot out of the brush at me I swung as hard as I could at the thing. I connected and nearly dropped the blade from the impact.

I succeeded in cleaving the thing in two, but the damn thing was deceptively fleshy looking. It actually had toughness akin to an old grape vine. This was also belied by the quickness and flexibility it showed when it moved. If my blade had been dulled at all I would not have cut it. Ready for the impact the second time I swung with both hands and lopped the end off of another vine. No more vines tried to catch me as I ran.

My camp was a good two-hour hike from where I had tracked the deer. I made it there in about a half an hour.

I am in good shape, I keep myself up and run three or four times a week, but I was shaking and exhausted when I reached camp. I dropped to the ground beside my tent for a minute just breathing heavily. I thought I heard a screaming noise far back the way I came. I wasn't sure I had heard it but the idea alone was enough to get me up and moving again. I sheathed my blade and glanced around the campsite. I grabbed my thigh packs and strapped them on both legs. I could do without the tent and other supplies; living was much higher on my list of priorities. I wanted to get to my car and fast, so I would have to travel light.

I again faced a distance problem as my car was what would normally be a four-hour hike away. That was if you took the nice easy route, leisurely switch-backing down the valley. I intended to take a more direct route. The only other gear that I grabbed was my flare gun which I holstered to an ankle. There was a radio down in the car but it was practically worthless in this valley, which is why I hadn't brought it with me. I had my GPS, compass, trail mix and water in my side packs. Fast equipment check complete, I started running.

I have run a few marathon races. This was nothing like those. It took me about an hour and a half to get down the mountain and I nearly killed myself a dozen times along the way. I managed to get the last half a mile or so to the car with a large gash on my leg. I call it a car because I don't think it deserves the title of truck. It was a little four-wheel drive 2015 Toyota Hybrid pickup truck, old but reliable. I keyed it open and tossed my stuff inside. I took a full minute to grab my full first aid kit out of the bed and triage my leg. I slapped a quick clot on it and it had stopped bleeding when I started the engine and took off down the road.

As I was speeding along I finally began to relax a little bit, the adrenaline beginning to wear off as I thought I was home free. I started to think about the events of the last few hours. I was a little worried that I had imagined the whole thing. I had been pretty stressed out the month before I left for this vacation and I thought that perhaps it was catching up to me. Or that I had misread my herb book when I picked those mushrooms for last night's dinner. Then I remembered the scream it had made after the arrow hit it and, as I shivered, I decided that it had been no dream. I had started fiddling with the radio and so I was not paying as much attention to the road as I should have been. I didn't see it until it was almost too late.

I glanced up when something in my peripheral vision caught my attention. I almost screamed again and I slammed on the brakes. There in the middle of the road was a huge mass of writhing vines. It looked something like a snake knot, but much, much bigger and a damn site more disturbing. From the top sprouted numerous thicker stalks each supporting a pod. Each of these pods was angled in my direction. I took all this in during the three seconds it took to stop.

In retrospect I probably should have just tried to plow thought it and hoped my car still ran afterward. Instead the little truck came to a screeching halt as I swerved sideways, sliding to a stop with my driver's side door facing the damn thing. The car took offense to this insane move and promptly stalled.

I cursed the things and the car as I tried to start it again. But it was already too late. The moment my car had stopped the mass moved in close, lashing out with its multitude of tendril like vines, wrapping around and holding my vehicle securely. As the truck started and I slammed the accelerator pedal down my tires squealed for a moment as they were held in place on the asphalt. Then the creatures actually lifted the truck off the ground. When I felt the whole thing lift into the air and I heard the engine rev as the tires lost something to grip I decided I was ok to panic.

I looked out the window and fought with myself to keep calm as the vines quickly engulfed the truck. The pods moved in close to the front windshield, the only glass left uncovered by the vines. They seemed to look at me, moving this way and that, observing me from different angles as they had the deer. A few of them were starting to form their horrid smiles. Panic gave way to frustration and I screamed at them, yelling some half intelligible curse and grabbed my blade. I shook the long piece of metal at the pods when they came close to the window. A couple of them actually jerked back at my threat; most however did not. Then I saw a familiar pod, its markings matching those of the first I had seen. It moved in very close to the windshield and grinned at me. Not a full, tooth filled smile, but nearly as disturbing.

It looked at me. Though it had no eyes I knew it was looking at me, I could feel it's "gaze" the way you feel another person looking at you, the hair on my neck rising. I felt the gaze shift away and after a moment I realized it was looking down into the cab, looking at something. It repeated this movement a couple of times and I finally glanced in the direction it was looking. Just starting to poke out of the vent on the passenger side were a number of thin green tendrils. I yelled at them and struck with my blade. They were yanked back before I could hit them. I looked quickly around the cab and saw more of the little tendrils poking out of the air-vents. I tried to hit them each time but they were continuously pulled back before my metal made contact. I was close to crying as I heard a noise and looked up.

The same pod was still looking at me. It looked down into the cab, pointedly shifting its "gaze" from one set of vents to the other. Then it looked up at me again and titled to one side. It was showing me that it could get at me and I came to the sickening realization that it was intelligent. It knew it could get in and that I couldn't really do anything to stop it, and it knew that I couldn't stop it and was demonstrating the fact. One vine reared up next to the pod and its tip began to move like a finger, beckoning me to come to it.

I tried to think reasonably, which at that moment was very difficult. It had indicated that it could get at me but it had not yet attacked. I took this to mean that, if it was indeed intelligent, it wanted something other than my immediate death. I couldn't quite believe that as I stared at that grin; fully revealed teeth or no it was a very unnerving sight. I thought about it for a minute and the pod just "watched".

I have always been a "If it's your time, it's your time" kind of person, even when I was a kid. Though I have also been a "Don't go without a fight" type of person as well and if all that that thing wanted was an easy meal it didn't have to work for, it had another thing coming. With that thought I shifted the blade to my left hand then reached down and un-holstered the gun sliding my fingers around the handle as I reached out and un-locked the doors with my left.

The vines that had been covering the door pulled away and I opened it slowly. The blade was still in my left hand and I used it to poke in the direction of any vine that seemed to stray to close. I looked below the cab door and saw the ground was clear of vines and in one quick move I hopped out of the truck and dropped to the ground four feet below. The old proverb "Out of frying pan..." came to mind as I stood up and looked around. The spot that I had dropped to was, as it had seemed, clear of vines. The area surrounding it for a good fifteen feet in all directions was covered in the writhing things.

I turned back and faced the truck, which the mass of plant-like life seemed to be holding up effortlessly. As if in response to my thoughts the vines settled the vehicle to the ground and the pods shifted a bit closer. A smaller pod suddenly darted out from the rest, its mouth opening wide as it seemed to aim at my head. With a yell and no hesitation I brought my hand up and fired one of the shots in the revolver style min-flare gun strait at the thing.

I apparently had the element of surprise. The things mouth snapped shut on the flare. I watched as it jerked backwards with the impact and reflexively swallowed the smallish magnesium pellet, a glowing lump forming in the connecting vine as the pellet fully ignited. Its mouth opened a little bit and acrid smoke poured out as the section of glowing vine began to blacken and smoke, the flare burning through. The vine jerked as the whole pod and a foot worth of vine dropped to the ground. The flare stuck to the end of the vine a moment longer before dropping to the ground.

All the pods had stopped moving, as had the majority of the vines and a low hiss filled the air. I was going a bit crazy, turning in half circles, my blade in one hand the gun in the other, trying to keep an eye on the whole thing which was proving impossible. The pod that I had recognized from earlier moved closer very slowly. It had closed its mouth, its lips only a thin purplish red line. It stopped about six feet from my head. It opened its mouth but in a way that partially covered its teeth, as if it was making an effort to hide them from view. Then it did something that shocked me to my core, though I thought I was beyond being shocked at that point.

Opening its mouth in this new awkward way the damn thing spoke. "I think perhaps we have gotten off on the wrong foot, err... appendage." I managed not to shoot the thing again, mainly because I had just gone numb. "We believe that you are under the impression that the intent is to kill and eat you. Normally this would probably be the case and you would be well within your right to try your damndest to kill us and get away." I caught a few of the closer pods nodding in the background.

"However, this is not the case amazingly enough; unless of course you persist in your efforts to injure me. I actually was hoping that we might sit down, have a bit of conversation, and perhaps discuss the weather, politics or the world at large. Maybe, and of course this is a big maybe, even attempt a little pollination, if you get my drift." At the last comment a number of the other pods seemed to snicker. I stood there still rather numb, and not really comprehending what was being said.

"You see," The things settled themselves into a less writhing mass as the largest one continued "I have been without the stimulation of another sentient mind for, oh about three months now. While we have the ability to split and discuss and even do things separately from ourselves, without another completely separate mind it gets rather dull." More nodding from the peanut gallery followed this. I had not yet noticed it but my small clearing was becoming much smaller as vines circled in, spiraling closer to me. I was caught it rapt attention by this strange talking plant. "It is partially my fault; I was totally engrossed in stalking and devouring that dear and did not even notice you until I was nearly finished. We should have realized you were there, you practically stepped on us a number of times!" The pod smiled at that and I had to concentrate on not shooting again. The pod twitched a bit, like it was glancing from my face to my gun hand.

"Let's get rid of that shall we?" As it spoke a number of vines lashed out, wrapping themselves around my wrists and weapons. One of the vines had managed some pretty good aim and had wedged in behind the trigger and almost instantly wrapped around to lock the hammer in place. The vines easily separated the weapons from my hands and then with an unexpected change in direction, they neatly dropped me onto the mass of vines that I failed to notice had bunched up behind me. All I managed was a quick "HEY!" because as I opened my mouth one of the damn things vines whipped around my head and gagged me.

The main pod moved in very close now, close enough to smell the sweetness and feel the coolness of its breath. "Ah good, I am pleased by your decision to stay." The other pods chuckled again. "Come along, we have so much to talk about. Don't worry too much; I will release you relatively soon. I promise you this. And a promise made by us is a promise kept by us." This time the main pod joined in with the chuckling. I tried to figure out what it thought was funny and realized there was something odd with what it just said.

I bit down hard on the vine in my mouth, which had just begun to grow a bit sticky as a sweet sap exuded from it. The vine twitched out of my mouth leaving a semi-sweet taste behind and the main pod turned in my direction. The whole mass of the plant began to move away from my truck and into the woods, lifting me into the air and carrying me with it. "You know, that really is bothersome, we do feel pain you know." The thing said as another vine moved to towards my mouth. Before it could gag me again I talked quickly.

"You are lying. If you want to talk fine but don't talk false truths!" I yelled at it. The pod tilted to one side and moved in close to me again before responding.

"Whatever do you mean my dear human?" I glared at it, as it's sweet breath washed over my face.

"You said ' I promise' and then you said 'a promise made by US is a promise kept by US', those do not mean the same thing. If you are going to eat me be honest about it." I was amazed at the calmness of my own voice considering the situation. My brashness also surprised me. I did not feel myself.

The thing seemed to ponder for a moment. Suddenly it smiled again. " WE like you very much. I think you will provide just the stimulation we are looking for. WE promise not to eat you, devour you, or in any way digest you, nor will we end your life. And as I said 'A promise made by US is a promise kept by US'." As it said this I felt our speed increase.

We moved quite rapidly through the forest. We were following what looked like a wide animal path, or perhaps an old over grown road. The thing suddenly plunged us into the thicker brush and we began to move up hill. I was rather amazed at how all of these vines and tendrils moved together so well, moving like a millipede that had tentacles instead of articulated legs. Or, more appropriately, like a dozen such millipedes moving together as one mass. From what I could see it just sort of flowed around objects in its way, which started me looking for some central grouping or body.

I was looking around at the vines that still held me and at the ones I was laying on. It had me in a sort of reclined position, facing the direction of travel. I had enough freedom of movement that I could get a good look at the thing itself. I could feel the vines moving under me, rubbing against me as the thing shifted its mass about. They seemed to move around regardless of whether they were needed for locomotion or not, constantly shifting, almost like a nervous person wringing their hands together. It looked rather like one of those snake knots that you might see on a nature show. Hundreds of the things all coiled and knotted together, all moving constantly. Except these snakes seemed to be all of one mind.

As far as I could tell the central mass I was looking for did not exist. There were thicker vines, some with what looked like scarred flesh covering the area connecting them to trunks. Attached to these thicker trunk areas were what looked like roots and rootlet tendrils, moving as the vines did but looking rather different. A number of strange tendrils sprouted and branched out from the large vines, some of which seemed to grow into the other rootlet sets. Even these were not constant though, as I watched a number of them separated as the parent vines shifted position. I began to piece together the reason for its jumping between singular and plural self references.

I blurted out "You have no body!"

The main pod seemed to be distracted with something and one of the smaller ones moved in close. "That is not true, we have each other!" That was followed by the other pods around me laughing. "Actually you are only partially correct; in actuality we have hundreds of bodies all of which are constantly linking and un-linking. We are all of one mind, most of the time. I am amazed that you are catching on so quickly. The last few humans we talked with were not nearly as quick." Another pod chimed in "But they were tasty!" A vine whipped out of the mass and smacked that pod.

"So you do eat humans?" I asked, knowing the answer already and not really wanting to hear it.

A number of the pods chuckled again. "My dear human we eat just about anything. And humans are not only tasty but can be quite... entertaining..." A couple of the pods looked at me and licked their lips and the vines on my wrists shifted a little higher on my arms. This did not comfort me in the least. The main pod turned its attention back towards me and the other pods shut up. The main pod grinned and chuckled. "Forgive us please. We are hungry for more than food of late and humans are our "sustenance" of choice in such matters. We will try and behave so as not to jeopardize the possibilities of conversation." With that it loosened the vines on my wrists and withdrew them. A sticky clear sap was left in their wake which quickly evaporated.

I began to feel more relaxed, the gentle movement of the undulation of the vines under me seeming to settle my nerves. I began to wonder why I was feeling so relaxed, it seemed very wrong. After all I was being carried I knew not where by a large creature I had watched easily dispatch an animal not six hours before. Thinking about that animal I remembered how it had suddenly gone limp and also remembered the vine that had gagged me. Anger and resentment flared up in my head but faded out as quickly as they had come. I spoke sluggishly to the large-ish pod that hung in front of me managing to put indignation into my voice. "You drugged me! That sap stuff on the vines! It's... it's some kind of suppressant or something."

A number of the pods turned to me and the smaller one spoke "You see! Quite intelligent! And very quick! Wonderful conversations we will have!" Then it turned to me. "We are almost there. It is a very pretty place."

My mind was becoming more and more sluggish as we moved through the underbrush, the vines that whipped out ahead of the mass parting the way. As I grew numb to what was going on around me I realized that my awareness of my immediate physical sensory perception was growing more acute. The feel of the vines as they slid over my body was becoming less disturbing and more... erotic, even arousing. This should have made me very upset, but I found I could not muster the anger and revulsion I knew I should feel.

Through my stupor I managed to ask where we were going.

"We are heading to what you might call our layer. It is a nice secluded spot where our conversation will not be disturbed. Talking to another being is so much more interesting then talking to one's self! It is so wonderful!" The few of the pods grinned at her before turning back to look in the direction the whole lot of them were traveling. I was going deeper into the forest, farther from my car and the road, and was becoming more and more aroused. Things were not looking good.