An aerial view of the Scalded captured the screen of Noel's phone. Seeing how they had sent drones into the radius unnerved me. They even had footage of Knoques Hospital, labeling it the epicenter. My skin crawled with the thought of unknowingly being watched.

In the footage, the density of the black trees made the entire area look burnt and blackened like scorched earth. Then came interviews with our neighbors, people who had lived in the city for most of their lives, not any were familiar faces. Their voices overlay the footage of the inky forest.

"That place is a cancer. Someone needs to do something. We can't just let it fester."

A different voice chimed in claiming, "There are demons inside that hellhole. What if they come out and attack us all in our sleep? We need to tear it down ... now. Burn it all down. What are they waiting for?"

An older man was next to speak. Although unfamiliar, he reminded me of one of the Hunters by the way he spoke. "Those damn creatures took my brother. I've been telling the authorities, but they wouldn't do nothing without proof. Now those things went ahead and killed an innocent woman. Is that enough proof for ya?"

The news anchor took over, announcing, "The military has been called in after a group of local researchers, in accordance with Mayor McKinsely and other city officials, placed sanctions on the area to prevent destruction and damage of the area until they can properly investigate. Their hope is to understand enough about the zone and its inhabitants to see what it is and if it provides any benefits to medical and environmental progress, as they believe. However, the two-year protection of the blackened area is almost up. Will officials decide to demolish the area for the sake of city?"

Noel pocketed his phone. "We'll get out of here, but you guys should leave too."

"Get out to go where?" Lilac scratched his messy, stark white hair. "What other place would welcome us?"

Why even suggest we wanted to leave? I thought we had talked about this. I shook my head. "This is our home. There's no other place we'd rather be." I gave Lilac a look, hoping he saw my frustration.

"Well, your home is about to be toast." Valerie gestured to Noel's phone with a flick of her head. "You can't stay here."

Lilac lifted a finger excitedly, grabbing our attention. "I have a great idea. Why don't you help us?" He glanced back and forth between the two of them, waiting for a reaction.

Noel narrowed his eyes. "How do we do that?"

Lilac shrugged. "Maybe tell them to reconsider? To leave us be, as Kyla would say?"

Valerie successfully stifled a laugh, and it came out as a snort instead. "Us? Who are we to tell them what to do? They won't listen to us."

Lilac was on to something. Maybe he had this intention all along and only feigned ignorance. If we couldn't find numbers within the Scalded, search for strength in numbers beyond it. "Your voice is much more powerful than you think." I looked to Noel's pocket where his phone rested.

The wailing of sirens and the roar of a car engine from the far end of the tree line distracted us. We grew quiet, looking at each other with wide eyes before stealthily rushing toward the sound of police sirens.

Lilac was at my side, matching the pace of Valerie and Noel as they ran with us, only the line of demarcation separating us.

We picked up the pace, staying side by side, adrenaline and curiosity fueling us. I huffed and puffed; matching Lilac's breathes as he panted. Yet we all continued to keep each other's pace, side by side, a pair of curious strangers.

We came around the bend and peered through a series of tall inky trees at what remained of the woman. Only a large puddle of inky blackness pooled in that spot where she had fallen. It glistened and reflected the flashing red and blue lights of the nearby police cars. As the sun quickly set in the distance, the lights cast everything in the vicinity in an alternating red and blue hue.

Behind the cars were several vans with large poles extending from the tops and news station logos plastered on the side. The vans and their drivers stood beside the police cars, and yellow crime scene tape surrounded the shallow pool of solidifying black goo.

People came from the nearby houses and shops to gather around, watching the news crew set up cameras and equipment. More footage of the Scalded was going to be on the news. However, what would the narrative be?

Noel tapped Valerie's forearm and took a step toward the scene, but she grabbed his arm and tugged him back into the shadows.

"Where are you going?" She whispered, keeping her voice low. "Where's not supposed to be here. Remember?"

He gestured toward the police. "We can tell them to stop whatever they're about to do."

"We can't do that, and you know it." Valerie tossed her hands in the air. "They're investigating a murder."

"Murder?" My voice came out weak.

"I'm sure that woman didn't spontaneously combust and melt herself," Valerie said, matter-of-factly.

Noel shrugged. His broad shoulders heavy with brawn. "It could've been some sort of accident, who knows what kind of plants these are and what effects they have on people."

Valerie smacked her lips in annoyance. "So, you're gonna forget about the creatures everyone swears exists?"

"No." He rolled his eyes. "But also, scientists or whoever are trying to figure out what exactly is going on here. They study the plants and stuff, right? So, we can't rule anything out."

"Like murder." Valerie blinked, putting a period on her statement with an abrupt nod.

If they knew the truth, would they report me? Would Lilac and I become suspects? Would that be my moral justice, being sentenced or even executed for murder?

I shook my head at the thought and took a few steps back from the edge and further out of the line of sight of the police officers.

Valerie was the first to notice. "Where are you going? You need to get out of there," she said in a loud whisper.

I shook my head, fearful of what judgment awaited me. If only they knew. If only they found out that woman was killed because of me. This entire predicament was my fault. How could I face the city and let them see that I had created the Scalded?

I was about to take another step back, but Valerie surprised us all. She crossed the blackened line with a confident stride, braving everything to clamp her hand around my wrist and pull me onto her side.

Fear instantly seized me. I found myself in an unfamiliar predicament. Never in the two years have I wandered outside of the radius, always fearing the unknown, but also speculating nothing but danger on the other side of the Scalded. The side I was now on.

Instinctively I tugged back. "This is my home."

"They're gonna wreck your home with you in it," Valerie insisted, putting pressure on my wrist. "Come on, we have to get far away from this place before it gets totally dark." She pulled me further from the edge.

"No." I tugged back, ripping her hand from my wrist. But before I could protest any more, a tightness clutched my chest from the inside. I brought my hand to my ribcage in pain.

"What's happening, Kyla?" Lilac's voice was close, but not close enough. He still remained inside the radius feet away. However, when I turned and attempted to make my way back to safety, my breath caught and stopped in my throat.

My eyes widened as my breath caught in my throat like a fist clenching my esophagus from the inside. I couldn't even scream the way my body wanted to, instead I focused on the blockage in my throat. What was happening?

"Kyla?" Lilac's concern filled voice echoed from so far away. "What's going on?"

I couldn't speak to tell him that I couldn't breathe, and panic surged through my system, overtaking my logic. I couldn't find a way to communicate I needed help. I reached for Valerie who was closest to me, and she gasped yet took my hand.

No one knew what to do, not even me.

Out of nowhere, my skin seared with a sudden intense itch that I didn't have the knowledge to scratch. All that ran through my mind was to scream in fear and pain, yet nothing not even a whimper came out of my mouth.

I dropped to the floor, noticing thin black veins moving underneath my skin, quickly covering my limbs and turning my arms and hands the shade of night. My face burned with heat and my vision became blurry.

I managed to extend my hand toward where I had stood before leaving the radius. And the new growth of black roots and vines at that spot thumped and beat like a heart as they expanded toward me, growing under me, resembling a pool of dark liquid.

Valerie's scream rattled my eardrums. The sight of the new growth expanding beneath me, breaking free of the radius to protrude out like a finger amid a palm, alarmed me too. As soon as the inky growth touched my body it doused the searing pain on my skin and I finally inhaled.

Noel quickly wrapped Valerie in a bear hug to prevent her screams, but they continued to echo throughout the area.

Lilac grabbed me by my forearms and drug me along the black carpet-like protrusion back inside the radius. "The police are coming!" His voice was rushed and panicked. "We have to run. Are you able to run?"

The answer was no, but the only way I could communicate it was with a vigorous the shake of my head.

Noel urged Valerie to do the same. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

As they ran back toward the abandoned school building, I took another gasp and allowed Lilac to guide me deeper in the forest and through the trees that acted as our cover.

I stumbled behind him, nearly falling to the floor again. "Wait," I managed.

"We must keep moving," he insisted. "They have guns and will most likely shoot anything that moves."

As he pulled me back toward familiar territory, I questioned everything that just took place. "What was that? What just happened?" I coughed, tasting a hint of bittersweet root juice mixed with stomach bile. "I couldn't breathe as soon as I left the radius."

"It is strange," he panted, rushing forward through and around trees. "I have never seen anything like it. The roots were reaching for you."

"It has to mean something." My foot hooked onto a thick root, tripping me. I landed on my stomach with an "Oof."

Lilac kneeled to caress my shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." I pushed myself up and looked over my shoulder. Thank goodness the police officers weren't in pursuit. I glanced around at the dark forests that exuded so much life and energy. "This place is alive."

"Of course, it is."

"I mean, not only is it alive. It's keeping us alive." I looked into deep blue, concern-filled eyes. "It's keeping me alive."

~~~

Thanks for reading!