“You little… ARGH!”

  I really shouldn’t have entered this building.

  I flail my arm around, knocking both it and the Imp into the wall. The buggers bit everywhere, and it still fucking hurts. My sap is pouring from my right branch, system messages shooting off in my view.

  I press harder with my right root, pushing the second Imp further into the floor.

  My root finally makes the thing’s neck break, killing the Imp below me. One down, two more to go.

  A ding shoots off in my head.

  Turning around, pain spreads around my chest rapidly. My entire head darts down, the Imp clawing repeatedly at the bark.

  I grab the bugger with both of my hands, the thing still flailing at my chest. His claws nick some of my head vines, and I toss him away as hard as possible. It hits a wall and slumps to the floor.

  My left leg starts burning.

  “FUCK! SHIT!”

  I flail the cinders of my leg around, ashes mixing with the sap falling from the wounds. My head turns wildly as I try to spot the one who did this, my vision getting red.

  The Imp is standing on a shelf a few meters away, throwing small balls of fire at me.

  I take a step with my right foot and fall down, spotting that I now lack the roots of my left foot to keep balance.

  This screen flashes red briefly, before returning to blue, and makes a more ominous disruptive sound than the regulars. I try to not get distracted and reach for the Imp again.

  “COME HERE, YOU CRETIN!”

  The fire cretin jumps off the shelf, claws pointed at my face.

  I swing my right arm like a bat, swatting the Imp away. The bark on my arm shoots off with the Imp.

  The Imp is knocked down as it babbles things I assume are curses at me.

  I use my hands as a replacement for my left foot, crawling towards the Imp. The thing gets up before I manage to reach it, already moving towards me.

  With a dash of brilliance, I push off the ground with my arms, my right foot sending me in the air. The Imp stops, his head rising, his black eyes meeting mine. My body falls down on the creature, as the floor below me shakes from the impact. Or it could be my nose hitting the floor.

  “Damn it.”

  I barely manage to lift myself off, blood dripping from my nose, and black ooze spreading down from my chest.

  Grunting, I reach the last Imp, which hasn’t moved since hitting the wall.

  I hold my hand above my head and drop it onto the Imp like a sledgehammer.

  “Timber.”

  I need to work on my battle cries.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  My second battle complete, I slump against the wall, the meshed remains of the Imp next to me.

  My left leg is reduced to a stump, only one of the roots reaching its complete length. My right arm has sap oozing from it, which drips on the floor. My chest contains cuts, bruises and a small indentation from the Imp’s head.

  I heave for breaths as the fires around me slowly die down, the flashlight long since reduced to a piece of melted plastic. So much for nighttime exploration.

  The wisps of smoke exit through the broken windows of the building, as I ponder what came over me to think that going into a building at night would’ve been safe. I should’ve just stayed in my apartment, smashed wall or not.

  I wish the Imp corpses around me would dissolve like in games now.

  Status.

  I try to visualise any kind of a health statistic, trying to click on various windows that pop up.

  Sigh.

  I reach for the bag that somehow managed to not get ripped or burned. I should start wearing it, maybe its plot armour defends me as well then? I take out some water to quench my thirst, I’ve head enough heat for today.

  The bottle still in hand, my mind goes dark.

  -----------------------

  My dreamless sleep is interrupted by a familiar clicking inside my head.

  Ugh, my whole body feels like it’s made of wood. I open my eyes, remembering that it actually is.

  My chest is dyed black, cuts shining through with glistening brown liquid. My stiff neck creaks as I move my head around, examining the room I decided to go into last night, which turned out to be one of the worst decisions in my life.

  The most obvious change is the sunlight coming through what were once windows.

  The room itself is a mess, rubble and ashes dominate the scenery, the Imp corpses only adding to the eeriness. A crow pecks at the corpse next to me, removing bits of flesh with its beak, a mix of grey and black feathers on its body.

  So, I’m not even a threat to a crow now?

  I raise an arm to shoo it away, but the crow simply backs out of my reach and returns once I drop the arm down. Cheeky cunt.

  “At least you’re not trying to claw my eyes out.”

  The crow caws before returning to its feast.

  My head vines slowly shift around as the leaves move to take in the sunlight.

  My back suddenly bulges, pushing me off the wall. I twist my neck to its limits trying to glimpse at what is going on behind me.

  Two enormous leaves unwrap from the bark on my back, settling just below my shoulders and sprouting behind me. I use one of my arms to tap a leaf lightly, getting a small bounce in return.

  It’s… peaceful somehow. Serene. I enjoy the moments of silence, my leaves bouncing to the taps of my hands.

  I use my hands to push me off the ground, standing on my root and a stump, trying my best to not fall over while limping over to the remains of the window. I press my hands into the parapets, sticking my head out to look over the city in light.

  Ruined buildings and wrecked cars paint the landscape around me, only a few solitary birds flying around from time to time. I try to spot any evidence of other people, but nothing of the sort comes up, the buildings severely blocking my view.

  I turn back to look at the other living being in the room, the crow continuing to pick away at the carcas of my foe. I try touching it with my bark, but it hops away quickly.

  I don’t know what I expected.

  “See you around sometimes,” I exclaim to the crow as if expecting an answer to come back, and exit the room.

  It’s a brand new day, and I managed to survive my first night.