Within the highest spire of the Bastion, the only source of detoxifying sap in the entire city had stopped flowing a week ago. Selena, the Commander’s golden girl—his delicate, untouchable first love—was sobbing over the withered, Tier-9 mutant life-vine. Gary, the Commander of the Bastion, had put up a bounty: a golden ticket into the safety of the Vault in exchange for a cure. The city’s top botanists had tested the soil and the water, and all of them had come up empty. Now, the cold steel of a rifle barrel was pressed hard against my temple. Gary’s voice was as cold as the concrete floor beneath me. “Take this useless gardener out to the dead zone. Let the infected tear her apart as an offering.” Just as the guard went to drag me away, a voice echoed inside my mind. It was a tearful, pathetic little whisper. It was Clover, the vine. “Please, big sister, save me! I don’t want to die! That awful woman… she keeps pouring her cheap, toxic perfume onto my roots every single night. It smells like synthetic rot. I’m suffocating. I can’t breathe, let alone make sap!” I jerked my head back, forcing the heavy rifle barrel away from my forehead. Taking a ragged breath, I stared straight at Selena’s pristine, tear-stained face. “Selena,” I said, my voice cutting through her theatrical whimpers. “That rose-scented oil you use every night—you’ve been dumping it right into the planter, haven’t you?” … Selena’s crying stopped instantly. She looked up, her wide, innocent eyes flickering with a sudden, sharp panic. “What did you just say?” I wiped away the sweat and blood dripping into my eyes from a cut on my forehead. “The rose fragrance. The one you use for your nightly foot baths. You’ve been pouring the leftovers into the soil.” Selena’s face drained of color, and she immediately threw herself into Gary’s arms, burying her face in his chest. “Gary, she’s lying! How could she accuse me of something so horrible? I only want what’s best for the city!” Gary wrapped an arm around her waist, his gaze shifting back to me. The barrel of his gun aligned perfectly with the space between my eyes. “Wren, you have exactly three seconds to stop talking.” The guard captain slammed his boot into my lower back, pinning me to the floor. The hard plastic of a rifle butt cracked against the base of my skull. A sharp, burning pain flared, and a warm trickle of blood slid down my neck. I clenched my teeth, refusing to look down. I kept my eyes locked on Selena. “The bottle is hidden in your vanity, Selena. The second drawer, in the back. It’s black glass, and there’s still dried red chemical powder caked around the rim.” Selena’s pupils contracted. Gary noticed. He frowned, his grip loosening slightly on her waist. “Selena?” Selena shook her head frantically, her voice climbing an octave. “No! No, she’s making things up to buy time! Gary, don’t listen to her!” In my head, Clover’s voice whimpered louder. “She’s lying, big sister! She comes in every night at eleven when the guard rotates. She pours that foul, burning water right onto my main root. It hurts so much. It burns.” I swallowed the metallic taste of blood pooling in the back of my throat. “Commander, send someone to her room. It will take less than five minutes to prove who is telling the truth.” Gary remained silent for a long, heavy moment. Finally, he gave a brief nod to his men. “Search her quarters. Find the black bottle.” Two guards turned and ran toward the residential wing. Selena’s fingers dug into Gary’s sleeve, her knuckles turning white. “Gary, this is a setup. She’s trying to ruin me!” A dry, bitter laugh escaped my lips. “Ruin you? I’m a low-level laborer with a gun to my head. How exactly would I manage to plant evidence in the most heavily guarded room in the spire?” Selena opened her mouth, but no sound came out. The room fell into an uncomfortable, stifling silence. Five minutes later, the guards returned. One of them held up a dark, heavy glass bottle. “Commander. We found it exactly where she said it would be. Second drawer.” Red residue was clearly visible around the plastic collar of the bottle. Gary’s expression hardened. He looked down at the woman in his arms. “Selena. Explain this.” Selena’s tears flowed freely now, thick with desperation. “I didn’t know… I swear I didn’t know it was bad for the plant. It’s just a soothing oil for my insomnia. It has nothing to do with why the vine is dying!” I pushed myself up from the floor, shaking off the guard’s grip. “Then let the botanist test it.” Dr. Nelson, the lead botanist, stepped forward and took the bottle. He unscrewed the cap, took a quick sniff, and his face went pale. “This isn’t an organic oil. It’s an industrial-grade synthetic chemical. It contains high concentrations of acidic solvents. It would eat through any root system within days.” A collective murmur rippled through the room. Gary stared at Selena, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “Selena. Why?” “I didn’t do it!” she shrieked, pointing a manicured finger at me. “It was her! She must have snuck into my room and swapped my regular oil for this poison to frame me!” “And how,” I asked, my voice deadly calm, “does a kitchen-maid gardener bypass three biometric security doors to get into your private suite?” Selena choked on her words, her mouth working silently. Gary stared at the black bottle on the floor for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he looked up, his eyes resting on me. “Even if the oil is toxic,” Gary said, his voice returning to its usual flat, authoritarian tone, “that doesn’t clear you of negligence. You were hired to protect the vine. You failed.” He raised his pistol once more. “Take her outside. Executive order.” My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. The guards stepped forward, their heavy hands clamping onto my shoulders. Clover screamed in my mind. “No! No! Don’t let them take her! If she goes, I go! Sister, please, don’t leave me!” My mind raced, searching for a single thread of survival. There was only one card left to play. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I wrenched my arm free from the guard’s grasp, reached down, and snatched the combat knife from his tactical vest. I drew the blade across the skin of my own throat, just enough to draw a thin line of red. “Let’s play a game, Gary,” I gasped, my voice steady despite the blade resting against my jugular. Gary’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of game?” “Give me five minutes,” I said, staring him down. “I will make the vine secrete sap again.” “If I fail, I’ll open my own throat right here. You won’t have to waste a single bullet.” I took a slow breath. “But if I succeed… you give my brother a permanent residency permit in the Vault.” Selena gasped. “No! She’s stalling! Gary, shoot her!” Gary ignored her. He studied my face, measuring the desperation in my eyes against the cold reality of a dying city. “Fine.” “But if you fail, your brother goes over the wall with you.” My hand trembled against the hilt of the knife. But I nodded. “Deal.” Dr. Nelson let out a condescending sneer. “Revive a Tier-9 life-vine in five minutes? Preposterous. I’ve spent thirty years studying mutant flora, and such a miracle is biologically impossible.” Selena leaned back against Gary, her lips curving into a cruel, satisfied smirk. “Wren, you really are pathetic. Dragging your own brother to the grave with you.” I didn’t waste my breath on them. I knelt beside the massive stone planter. The soil inside was stained a sickly, dark crimson, throwing off a sharp, chemical stench that stung the back of my nose. I dug my fingers into the dirt, pulling away the top layers. Beneath the surface, the thick roots were black, mushy, and sloughing off at the touch. But deep down, near the core, there was a tiny sliver of pale, vibrant green. Clover was still fighting. “Sister… it hurts… the black water is eating me…” “Hold on,” I whispered. I bit the tip of my index finger until it bled, then pressed the wound directly against that tiny patch of green root. Selena yelled from behind me. “She’s performing some kind of witchcraft! Stop her!” She took a step toward me. I spun around, the bloody knife glinting in the harsh fluorescent light. “Take one more step, and I will put this blade through your heart.” Selena froze, terrified by the raw violence in my eyes. Gary reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back. “Let her finish.” I turned back to the planter and reached into my pocket, pulling out three small vials of neutralizing agents I’d smuggled from the greenhouse weeks ago. I mixed them in a small flask, watching the liquid turn a cloudy, pale green. I began digging out the poisoned soil, throwing the rancid clods onto the polished floor. Suddenly, a sharp pain exploded in my hand. Selena had stepped forward while my head was down, her heavy heel stamping directly onto the back of my hand. I heard a sickening “crack” as the bones in my knuckles shifted. “Time is ticking, Wren,” she whispered, her eyes dancing with malice. “Why don’t you just give up?” The pain was a white-hot iron sheet in my mind. I didn’t scream. Instead, I reached up with my injured hand, grabbed her ankle, and twisted with every ounce of strength I had left. Selena shrieked as her balance vanished. She fell backward, her head striking the edge of the stone planter with a dull thud. “Get away from me,” I growled. Gary drew his weapon, his face dark with rage. “Wren!” I ignored him. Grabbing the flask with my left hand, I poured the neutralizing mixture directly over Clover’s exposed root. Gary checked his watch. “Ten seconds.” Selena scrambled up from the floor, her hair wild, her eyes spitting pure hatred. “Ten… nine… eight…” The countdown echoed off the concrete walls. I placed both of my hands on the edge of the planter, ignoring the screaming pain in my broken knuckles. I closed my eyes and pushed my neural resonance outward, flooding the plant with every drop of energy I had left. “Three… two… one…” Gary’s finger tightened on the trigger. “Time’s up.” But before he could pull it, the withered, black main trunk of the vine shivered violently. A sudden, brilliant emerald light erupted from the center of the planter. Three thick, vibrant green leaves unfurled from the tip of the dead branch, spreading a soft wave of healing energy throughout the room. The oppressive, heavy air in the spire suddenly tasted clean, like rain after a storm. Dr. Nelson’s jaw dropped. “Impossible… how is this…” Selena stumbled back, her face utterly drained of color. Gary slowly lowered his weapon, his eyes wide. I stood up, my broken hand dripping blood onto the floor. I looked Gary dead in the eye. “I won.” “The Vault permit. Now.” Gary remained silent for a moment, then gestured to his lieutenant. “Issue the permit.” Selena screamed, “No! Gary, are you insane? She must have used some kind of illegal stimulant! The vine will die in an hour! She’s tricking you!” “Would you like to run a diagnostic, Dr. Nelson?” I asked, my voice dry. The botanist rushed over, his hands shaking as he pressed his scanner against the new growth. The display flashed a bright, steady green. “Vigor rating… eighty-seven percent. And it’s climbing. It’s healthier than it was before the drought.” Selena was completely silenced. I stepped closer to Gary. “My brother gets on the transport tonight.” “If anything happens to him, I will ensure this plant never produces another drop of sap for as long as you live.” Gary stared at me, a strange, unreadable expression in his eyes. “Understood.” I turned and walked out of the room. As I passed Selena, she glared at me, her teeth clenched so hard I thought they might shatter. “Don’t get too comfortable, Wren. This isn’t over.” I didn’t stop. “Keep an eye on the vine, Selena. It only answers to me now.” In my mind, Clover gave a triumphant little giggle. “Yes! We won! Tell that bad lady to stay away from me, or I’ll choke her!” An hour later, I watched the heavy transport truck rumble through the inner gates of the Bastion, carrying my brother Toby toward the secure sub-levels of the Vault. Through the reinforced glass window, his pale face looked small and frightened. He pressed his hand against the glass, and I pressed mine against the cold air in return. “I’ll see you soon, Toby,” I whispered into the wind. “Just hold on.” The truck disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel. For the first time in years, the knot of terror in my chest loosened slightly. I dragged myself back to my small room in the servant quarters and fell onto the thin mattress. But before sleep could claim me, the high-pitched shriek of the city-wide alarm shattered the quiet. The door to my room was kicked open with a deafening crash. Four heavily armed guards flooded the small space, their rifles pointed at my chest. Before I could move, cold iron cuffs were snapped around my wrists. “Wren. Get up. You’re coming with us.” My stomach plummeted. “What happened?” The guard captain sneered. “You’ll see when we get there.” I was dragged back to the top of the spire. When the elevator doors opened, a foul, metallic stench hit me like a physical blow. The glass enclosure that housed the sacred vine was stained a dark, greasy purple. Inside, the plant was unrecognizable. The leaves were covered in thick, black pustules, and the stems had rotted into a bloated, decaying mass. My mind went entirely blank. This wasn’t Clover. Selena was sitting on the leather sofa, her eyes red from crying. The moment she saw me, she leaped to her feet, pointing an accusing finger. “It’s her! She used a banned necro-stimulant to trick us! She killed the city’s savior just to get her brother into the Vault!” Dr. Nelson stepped forward, holding a tablet. “We ran a chemical analysis of the soil. The toxin levels are off the charts. It’s a classic case of cellular collapse caused by artificial growth hormones.” Gary stood by the window, his silhouette dark against the city lights. He walked over to me, his face a mask of cold fury. Without a word, his hand swung out, striking me hard across the cheek. The force of the blow spun me around, sending me to the floor. My lip split against my teeth, and the taste of copper filled my mouth. “You played me, Wren,” Gary whispered, his voice trembling with rage. I spat blood onto the floor. “I didn’t do this.” “The evidence says otherwise,” Gary cold-eyed me. He turned to the guard captain. “Intercept the transport to the Vault. Pull Toby out of the queue and throw him into the lower holding cells.” “No!” Panic tore through me, hot and sharp. “You gave your word! Leave Toby out of this!” Gary looked down at me, his eyes entirely devoid of mercy. “You lied to get him in. The deal is null.” Selena walked over, her lips curved in a sweet, victorious smile. “You thought you were so clever, didn’t you, Wren? Now you get to watch your brother rot in the dark.” She reached for a heavy glass syringe from the medical tray nearby. “But don’t worry. We aren’t going to let you go to waste. Dr. Nelson thinks a direct transfusion of your blood—since you have a neural connection—might stabilize the core of the vine.” The long, silver needle glinted under the lights. Two guards pinned me to the floor, their knees digging into my back. The needle sank deep into my vein, and my dark red blood began to fill the glass chamber of the collection tube. Selena knelt beside me, her voice a soft, mocking purr. “You should be proud, Wren. Your blood is finally useful for something.” I gritted my teeth against the cold wave of nausea washing over me. I shut out her voice, closing my eyes and reaching out with my mind, searching for that familiar, warm presence. “Clover! Clover, where are you?” There was only silence. No sweet, childish voice answered. The nausea grew stronger, but it wasn’t just from the blood loss. There was something deeply wrong with the energy in the room. This plant… it felt greasy. Violent. Just as my consciousness began to slip, a massive, jagged voice slammed into my mind. It was cold, wet, and dripping with malice. “Yes! Keep draining her, little monkeys! Drink! Drink!” “I am no pathetic life-vine. I am a Sanguine Creeper. I feed on flesh and bone.” “That stupid, vain girl cut off my thorns and shoved me into this stone pot! It hurts! I want to taste her throat!” My eyes snapped open. I stared at the base of the decaying black vine. There was a thin, neat ring of scar tissue around the lowest part of the stem—a graft mark, hidden beneath a layer of fake moss. It was a fake. Selena hadn’t just poisoned the vine; she had replaced it entirely. The guard reached down to swap the full syringe for an empty one. With a sudden burst of adrenaline, I kicked out with both feet, striking the metal stand of the transfusion machine. It crashed to the floor, shattering the glass tubes. The room froze. Gary drew his sidearm, the barrel pointed directly at my face. “Wren, I will end you right here.” I wiped the blood from my lip and let out a dry, rattling laugh. “Go ahead, Commander. Pull the trigger.” “But don’t you want to know…” I slowly stood up, my eyes locked on Selena’s pale face, “where Selena sold your precious Tier-9 life-vine?” Selena’s breath hitched. “What are you talking about? She’s insane! Gary, shoot her!” I pointed to the rotting mass in the glass case. “That isn’t Clover. It’s a Sanguine Creeper. A flesh-eating parasite. Someone cut its thorns, painted its stem, and grafted it onto the root base to make it look like a dying life-vine.” Dr. Nelson scoffed. “Nonsense. The genetic signature—” “Why does it have a graft scar at the base?” I interrupted, stepping closer. “And why does it smell like sulfur and rotting meat instead of fresh rain?” Gary’s gaze drifted to the planter, his brow furrowing. Selena scrambled to block his view. “It’s dying, Gary! Of course it smells bad! She’s just trying to confuse you!” I didn’t wait for them to argue. I reached down to my boot, pulled out a small utility blade I’d kept hidden in the lining, and sliced through the main trunk of the black vine. “Get back!” Dr. Nelson yelled. The moment the blade sliced the flesh, a thick, jet-black fluid sprayed from the wound. A few drops landed on Dr. Nelson’s bare forearm. He let out a blood-curdling shriek as his skin began to sizzle and melt, exposing the yellowed bone beneath. The guards scrambled back in horror. I wiped a stray drop of black liquid from my cheek before it could burn through my skin. “The sap of a life-vine is clear and sweet. The blood of a Sanguine Creeper is highly acidic.” I turned to Selena. “Now, Selena. Tell us. Where is the real vine?” Selena’s face was completely bloodless. She stumbled backward, her knees giving out, and she collapsed onto the floor. “I… I don’t know…” she sobbed, looking up at Gary. “It was Dr. Nelson! He said he could replicate the sap! He told me to do it!” Dr. Nelson, clutching his ruined arm, screamed in agony. “You lying bitch! You came to me! You said the Obsidian Coalition offered you a place in their inner circle if you brought them the vine!” The room dissolved into a screaming match. But I wasn’t listening. Deep down, beneath the floorboards, a tiny, shivering voice reached my mind. “Sister… it’s so hot…” “The bad lady put me in the furnace… it burns…” My heart stopped. I spun on my heel and bolted for the exit. “Stop her!” Gary’s voice echoed behind me. I didn’t look back. I threw my weight against the heavy glass window of the spire, shattering it. Grabbing the external drainage pipe, I slid down into the darkness of the lower levels, the wind rushing past my face. Behind me, the alarms began to wail once more.
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