The Tree

A giant tree that towers over the valley as if it is the lord of the valley itself. And yet, although it towers over the valley, why do I feel like as if I never saw it before? But that should be impossible, as there is no way I would have missed such a ginormous tree.

This tree spanning high up, putting even the mountains nearby to shame, yet branches out, covering the entire area in shade. Its roots are large and imposing, spreading out and touching every part of this valley.

Even I can feel the cold aura emanating from this tree as I stand this close to it. This is the only thing that I can think of that brought about my death. Somehow this tree poisoned me with something and led to my death.

But how can I stop it? There is no way for me to kill it normally, as I have no weapon to cut the tree down, nor will I be able to escape from it in time. I can feel with every fiber of my being that whatever it was that was affecting me is already in my system and is slowly making its way through every part of my body.

I don't have much time left to stop this thing before I die once more.

And since there is no way I missed this tree the first time around, that can only mean my memories were somehow manipulated too. This tree is dangerous!

But think, Arthur, think! I need a way to kill it, fast!

What do I have on hand that I can use? Nothing. There is nothing for me to use. No weapons, no tools, nothing. Not even my physical strength is enough to put a dent in this tree.

What is a weakness of a tree? Think Arthur, think. And fast!

"Ah, Fire! I need fire! Now!" I yell out in a hurry. I rush to the nearest rocks I can find, tearing up the most brush that I could in a hurry as I layer it over some of the tree's roots.

And then I get to work, smacking the rocks together in a forward-moving motion to bring about a spark to make fire.

A spark alights, setting the brush that I had put down on fire quickly as it soon moves up to the roots of the tree.

But then my mouth goes agape at what transpires. The roots move, and not slowly.

They rip out of the ground in a flash, flying into the air at speeds faster than the eye can see. And not just the one that I had set on fire, but all the roots go up and out of the ground.

The flame is easily put out with the fast winds that cascade around the root as it alights to the sky. Yet that is not the end to this nightmare of a surprise, as the roots soon come back down faster than before.

Realizing that they are aiming for me, I quickly roll and dodge out of the way as fast as I could, barely making it out by a hairs breath, as the roots come slamming down onto the ground where I was.

They kick up dirt and earth as they slam into the ground, one by one. But they don't stop, knowing that I am not yet dead; the roots then move side to side in a quick motion.

This time with nowhere to dodge, I get hit. The root slams into me at full force, instantly splattering me into a red mist of blood and meat as my consciousness leaves me at that very moment.

My last thoughts were, "Shit."

I then wake up a few hours later, sitting up, leaning up against the very root that had killed me. Now though, they lay motionless, back into the ground partially.

I slowly and fearfully get up from the root, not wanting to draw its attention. I need a new plan.

I know fire is still the answer, but I need to avoid the roots. I have to set fire to the base of the tree itself. Hopefully, I can kill it before it kills me again, and if not, hopefully, the fire will still go on after I am dead.

And I need to move fast, as I can't wait to be affected by that poison again, which I guess is in the air around this valley. Some kind of spore is released by the tree into the air to cull its prey into a passive state until they starve themselves, and then it absorbs their corpses.

At least, that is my best guess as to what is going on here.

Using the same things as before, I slowly make my way towards the base of the tree, being careful as to not touch the roots. Luckily it does seem as if the tree either mostly sleeps or is just not fully cognizant, as it only reacts when touched or attacked.

So now I just need to get close enough to set fire to the tree itself and then try to survive. And to make sure nothing goes wrong, I am going to set fire to multiple spots.

Once I am within touching distance of the base of the tree, I gently set down the burnable brush against the base. Then with the rocks, I produce a spark that alights the brush, setting forth another fire on this tree.

It quickly takes over, growing in size and intensity. And then the tree awakes, its roots flying up and smashing down over and over as if in a panic.

It seems it struggles to bring its roots this close to its base as the tree tries to put the fire out. I don't give it a chance as I move around to the other side and repeat my actions to set it afire on both sides.

"KRRRRREEEEEEEECCCCCHHH" A loud piercing sound is heard from the tree, surprising me as I did not expect it to make a noise. But I grab my ears in pain as the screeching sound hurts my eardrums.

Its roots growing more frantic by the second, as they flaunt all about, causing massive destruction to the surrounding areas. Yet the fires only grow stronger and hotter by the second.

And this is where my conundrum comes into play, as I am now literally in between a hard spot and a hot one. On one side, I am starting to be burned by the very fire I started, and on the other, if I try to escape the fire, I will most likely be smashed by some tree roots.

"Fuck, even in victory, it looks like I might die again." I curse out in frustration.