The plants intelligence was extremely dangerous

It had sensed the wind so it searched for its prey, when nothing was found it reset its trap by closing the window again

If I wasn't careful I would undoubtedly be ripped apart by this plant

I slowly started backing away making sure not to make any loud noises so as to alert the plant

I used my right hand to feel the wall beside me as I took small cautious steps backwards using my feet to inspect the floor behind me making sure there weren't any obstructions that could cause me to trip or make a loud noise

Every second felt terrifying as I could only slowly back away not knowing if or when the plant would strike and kill me

It felt like I had been staring at it for an eternity before my fingers finally slid around a bend finding a corner

I quickly turned my head to inspect the end of the hallway before I quickly darted around it pushing my back against the wall hiding myself from the plant as if it had eyes

'Is there another window?'

I quickly looked around and found a window down the other end of the corridor, the only thing in the way was the hallway containing the roots

As I was about to head towards it I had a thought

'It looks like I need to break the glass, the plant doesn't have ears, right?'

I knew it was a stupid thought but one could never be too careful in this messed up world after all

Thinking for a moment I bent down and picked up a picture frame that seemed to have fallen off of the wall and been laying on the floor for a few years

Making sure not to accidentally grab a shard of glass and injure my hand I gently picked up the picture frame before standing in a stable stance ready to ditch the picture frame like a baseball

Winding up my arm I threw it with all my strength causing it to easily smash through the window

"Cashh!"

Glass shards flew out of the window in mass as a small gust of wind kept them close to the building preventing them from flying off

In only a few seconds roots ripped through the floor boards and stabbed, slammed and embedded themselves into everything down the corridor in such a fashion that it resembled a dense forest

They had shot out at such speed that the forest had already been formed before the wooden planks that created the floor touched the ground again

'... Thank god that wasn't me'

The roots speed, power, tracking and sharpness all horrified me to an unbelievable extent

I had become so afraid that I suddenly started imagining my corpse being punctured and desecrated by those roots in hundreds of different ways

It took a minute before I was no longer stuck in my terrifying imagination

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'What now?'

My only plan for escape had been stolen away from me right before my very eyes without a hint of mercy to my frail mindset

As my mind was trying to heal the fear that had been imbedded into it the roots started to relax and be drawn back into the ground as they felt around making sure their prey wasn't hiding right next to them

After the roots had completely vanished leaving countless holes all over the walls, floors and ceiling I turned around and carefully made my way deeper into the lions den hoping to somehow come out alive after this ordeal

My foot steps were light and careful as I repeatedly checked around every corner meticulously multiple times before finally walking past it and continuing on down the corridor

After awhile I finally stumbled upon the apartment door, the door that would lead me out into the main apartment building. Much deeper than I had been thus far

Before I approached the door I made sure to throw one of the miscellaneous items I had collected from the apartments floor into the door to make sure the roots wouldn't skewer me the second I let my guard down

After a few moments of silence I released a breath and walked up to the door before opening it and letting myself out into the main buildings corridor

It was a medium sized walkway with more than enough room for a group to walk side by side before touching the railing that was installed on the edge overlooking a large drop off

I carefully assessed both ways down the square shaped apartment building seeing some doors that had been caved in and others that had been overgrown and bent to the side by the very roots that had trapped my inside of this accursed building

As I was inspecting the floor I was on I spotted the stairs on the opposite side of the building, It wasn't too far away but it felt daunting knowing that the roots had imbedded themselves everywhere

A single attack could easily kill me after all and a sneak attack could come from any direction imaginable, above, below, my side

I kept imagining horrifying scenarios of my death, each time I died a completely different way resulting in hundreds of thousands of variations, each scaring me so stiff that I couldn't dare to move my feet at all

'A-am I going to be torn apart here? What has all this effort been for?'

I quickly fell into internal chaos unable to control myself

Before I knew it I was bidding Charlotte goodbye and apologizing to her for letting myself die here

My legs were shaking so much that I almost fell face first multiple times under the weight of my thoughts

'What do I do?'

I collapsed onto my knees with my head hung low

My will was breaking and I couldn't stop it no matter what I told myself. All I could see was my own death approaching me

...

I sat there with my back against the wall munching on a single piece of jerky as I stared at the railing across from me

I still hadn't mustered the courage to even go near it in fear of dying quicker than I already was

I only had twenty pieces of jerky left, it wouldn't last me for too long

My mouth stung from the dry jerky so I reached into my satchel and pulled out a water skin almost twice the size of my hand

After taking a big gulp of its contents I swished it around in my hand

'About half left? maybe more'

I was going to sit there and hope I was found before I died of starvation or thirst

'Haha. Fucking coward'

I was too scared to even attempt escaping by myself, I wasn't even brave enough to walk over and peer over that shitty railing

So that left me in this shitty situation, I was sitting there waiting

I tried not to move a single muscle scared it would cause me to die even faster

I sat there watching the sun fall trying not to think, trying not to feel

I sat there through the cold night awaiting the hot morning to greet me and my sore body

I sat there enduring the winds that pricked my skin and blew beneath my clothes

I sat there as the first rays of light flooded the building

I sat there until I could no longer bare it anymore, It was an excruciating form of torture that wore down my will, my body and my soul until all my fear had been cut out of me

"FUCK!"

I stood up and put the remaining jerky in my mouth before swallowing it along with most of my water

I made sure that I wouldn't chicken out again no matter what happened by getting rid of all my food, if I didn't make it out of this I would die from the mutant or from starvation

Now I needed to escape no matter what or only death awaited me

The idea was crazy and stupid but it definitely forced me to face my fears no matter what happened

I made my way over to the railing and took a deep breath

I made sure to calm my mind before I bent forwards and looked down towards the bottom of the building

The sight below made me instantly regret my decision to eat all of my rations and try to escape no matter what