Six months moved by in a blur, and soon, it was October. There wasn't a single moment spent idly.

My prized lemon trees developed beautiful flowers, and I made sure to pollinate them myself so they would turn into fruit. I collected their blossoms and leaves to make the most of them. I gave Adam lemon blossom cookies and other tasty treats on our almost weekly Friday visits.

My plant ability made strides forward in communication and control over plant life. My so-called ability of premonitions was as elusive as Adam's smile. I was likely never going to master that ability, but one day, I would start to tackle it. I had my hands full these past months with everything else. If I could take something off my plate, it would be that annoying power.

I did, however, make time to figure out the spacial ring. If only the damn ring came with a manual. Grandma Carol's books and sauces had yet to age a day while chilling in my pocket dimension. So far, that was a positive conclusion that time stopped indefinitely. I'd have to check in a few years and run more tests on the limits. I would need different stages and variables to be specific. I need to find out the rate of decomposition in the spacial ring. I would need to know of and understand what happened after they were removed from the space. So far, it all led to the same conclusion that they were not affected and would typically age once removed. Only time would prove that to be an absolute truth.

I grew and collected tomatoes, peanuts, lettuce, broccoli, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, corn, peppers, sunflowers, and more from the garden. This, of course, was not counting the herbs I planted and harvested. With the greenhouse up and running, while some plants slept for the winter, others could bloom. Of course, I had planted pumpkins, oats, and wheat. I had made enough to feed Grandpa Evans and myself during the winter.

I used Grandma Carol's book to can and create ketchup, veggie pickles, and sauces. Every other unused veggie and fruit, and of course, all of the blossoms, went into the space. It was better to preserve as much as possible and only remove what we needed when we did. I would use up all of the space food to add to the amount of ingredients we had. I slipped into a system where every other food item entered my spacial ring. It was lowkey hoarding, but I had dreams every night that there wasn't enough food. I had a lot of food in my pocket dimension, but still, I was haunted. After the car accident, I couldn't discount the possibility of it coming true.

I spent one day a week with Sumire, learning to care for the animals she would give me. I received three goats once she was satisfied and looked at where they would live. One was a mother, and she was still milking her babies. One of the babies was a boy, the other a girl. I had learned how to milk her and do essential grooming, and they loved all the space they had to run.

Sumire taught me how to use my quails and chickens to help me make compost; since hers were already trained, the rest fell on me. I now have ducks, quails, and chickens. Listening to them makes me happy, but it makes Grandpa Evans happier. He often holds the baby chicks I have stored in the home to stay warm. I watch him hum to them, and my heart pangs happily.

All the birdies love the pond, and there are blue Nile tilapia, frogs, and other little freshwater aquatic creatures. The filters keep the water going, and with the plants and bugs that go in, I never have to feed them. They feed themselves. It never gets overrun since the ducks chill in it, and I have found ways to keep the eggs safe so they can grow and have a chance. Of course, that pond pales compared to the size and greatness of the ten-foot by ten-foot rice paddy. That big baby of mine has freshwater shrimp in it. They keep it safe and running free of extra pesky bugs.

My baking and culinary skills grew thanks to Mary's teachings. I didn't end up seeking another teacher. Her teaching method suited me best; she had recipes that helped me think outside the box. I learned to make yeast, a sourdough mother, apple cider vinegar, and more! I could even make flour from wheat, but I found out that nuts can also make flour! This was good because the Unruly Forest had an abundance of tree nuts. I fell into the habit of scavenging around the forest for nuts on my daily walks.

Of course, I also prepped and did other things nongrowing. I spent every other day at Mary's using my super duper helpful bike to get there quickly. On Fridays, I visited with Adam and did my best to get him to loosen up. I was occasionally rewarded with a smile or a chuckle for my efforts, which only made me double down.

I found Old Tom, the Evans family cat. With him was his very pregnant girlfriend. I named her Lou. The two cats moved right in. I grew worried, however, that Old Tom only came back because he thought the new birds were easy pickings. When I voiced this to Mary, I got two shepherd dogs. One was full-grown and a trained shepherd dog. The other is still a pup that I was learning to train with Alyssa. The fully trained one was a beautiful Maremma Sheepdog named Molly. She only stayed outside since she was a working livestock dog. Nips, on the other hand, only slept in my room. And the puppy was an Australian Kelpie named Nips, for how much he loves to nip. He was a bright, happy boy who I was working hard to train while simultaneously learning to train dogs. A win-win.

The soft, fluffy dogs kept the birds safe from the cats and could scare off any nighttime visitors. With William's aid, the front and mud room doors had dog doors installed for convenience. Potty training was a nightmare, but Nips came almost trained, so it was a partial nightmare.

The best reason to get the dogs was for cuddles. They brought emotion into Grandpa Evans' eyes and loved on him in the absence of the baby chicks who grew up. We became a fun family of four at meals.

Of course, while bird protection and love were fantastic, we also needed protectors.

Someone was moving sneakily in the forest. The plants were disturbed and perturbed. They told me as such, but I could also see the damage from the intruders with my own eyes. These trespassers were likely charting and trying to figure their way through the forest. Naturally, with my past experience, I assumed the worst and took steps.

My family encountered this more often than I cared to admit in the real world. Knowledge is power, and people crave power. We not only stored lost knowledge, but our blood, on its own merit, was power. What we could do or know could change the course of wars and nations. This naturally put us on the wrong end of picking a side when all our family has tried to do is remain neutral. If people perceive you as a threat and you won't work with them…it can get ugly.

While I doubted it was as dire as that, I couldn't relax. I didn't want another taste of death. The most apparent reason was that someone wanted to rob us. Green's Mountain is a small town where word of mouth gets passed around quickly. All the work and new additions to my home were undoubtedly noted. With only an old man and a kid, someone could get it in their head to rob us.

With this in mind, I laid a trap and waited. I hoped I was wrong, but I was awakened by barking one chilly October night.

My eyes opened as my heart started racing in fear. I could tell Molly was the one barking, and given how well-trained she was, there could only be one reason.

"Intruder!" I could hear plants screaming, much like the dog barking. I hoped it was a furry one who could be scared away. We'd had more than one false alarm in the past week. That hope was quickly dashed by the plant's scream. This time, it was most likely a biped, not a four-legged fox.

I sat up and watched as Nips hopped on the window seat and started to growl. I couldn't see anything, but he must have picked up a message from Molly's barking.

I pulled off the covers and quietly walked to the mudroom. Molly, like Nips, was looking southward. I tried my hardest to gather courage as my heart picked up speed.

I slipped outside; Nips followed me and joined Molly. The two nudged each other before returning to protective stances. They were bristling even more. Molly looked like a beautiful, protective mama dog, with Nips a tinier but fiercer version.

"We can handle this," I told them, trying to inspire all three of us. I wanted to pet and hug them for comfort. We had to all stay alert and prepared, however.

The frost-covered ground was stiff and cold. The fall night stripped what heat I had left from my skin, and I shivered. I crouched on the ground and breathed heavily to calm my heart and mind. My breath bloomed around me, and once I had collected myself, I dug my hand into the ground.

Luckily, in the last six months, I wasn't idle. I didn't venture out into the forest just to scavenge. I created a surveillance network with plants and trees. I connected all of the plants in that network to our home plants. With one root, I could link all of them together. I could hear the plant's alarm in the forest because they could contact the lemon trees in my room. I needed to come outside at this stage and physically connect with the roots; I bound them together. When I became more powerful, I wanted to erase that step altogether.

It was a simple process that started with using the tree I first tested my powers on all those months ago. The Origin tree that I affectionately renamed Originis. It had the most energy and a protective personality and was perfect for crafting this system. I ended up creating a pentagram of trees that surrounded our home. The five of them, with their systems of plants, shrubs, and other odd life under them, created a mile radius of protection outside the property line. With this, I could not only spy but attack.

It took a lot of time and personal growth to accomplish this. The more I used my powers, the stronger they became. Although I could always get impressions and thoughts of plants, I wanted to be able to talk to them like I would people. How cool would it be if I could see the world through their eyes or have a full-blown conversation with a tree?

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

So, I began this process to test the limits of my power and then exceed that. Luckily, these experiments proved it was more than possible. It took me months to perfect and grow capable in this regard. I couldn't reach all the trees and plants in the forest from our house, so I supplemented it with this system until that day. I had more than enough to see around the forest. As I got stronger, I would see everything. For now, I just needed to ensure that the day happened and take care of the intruders.

I connected with my network and flinched as the images, owl calls, and other sounds flooded my brain. It took me a few minutes to adjust before finding what I sought. The dogs were looking south, so someone was approaching from that direction; all I had to do was look, too. I connected with the giant tree that stood guard in the south. I could see that there were five human intruders. Damn, there goes my hope of it being just animals.

"Does the Evans family have dogs?" A worried, high-pitched woman's voice whined.

"Don't worry, Lisa. I'll protect you." A patronizing man's voice laughed at her, but it comforted the woman.

"Are you sure we're going to find anything of value?" A doubtful third voice joined the conversation. Seeing the details in the dark was hard, but I could make out their shapes.

I scoffed at the sheer arrogance of them, thinking that they could come up to my home and steal my hard-earned shit. "Dumb fuckers." I muttered as rage replaced fear. The trees and plants in my network shook with my fury, further spooking the intruders.

"Fuck did you hear that?" The girl cried out, and she was comforted yet again. I urged a tree root up, and she tripped, and her scream pissed off the others.

"Shut up, we just follow the plan. It's an easy gig. There's only an old man and a child." A man scolded her as he helped her up.

I pursed my lips as I took a moment to decide how I was going to kick their asses. If I tied them up with roots, it would be suspicious, but it would tidy them up for the police. Could I rely on fear? If I scare them into leaving the forest, would that work? Or would they come back? There was no right or wrong answer. I only had one chance to get this right. That one thought actually scared me into further indecision.

I bit my lip as I could feel fear grow to crawl out of my stomach and grab me by the throat. This wasn't a book. I couldn't read it, knowing things were planned out right and I would be okay. I'm not the main character, and I cannot guarantee I will be fine in this world. I was just a dumb kid trapped in a book…

I could only hope that they simply came to rob us. But would they resort to violence? The trees had made note that they had tools. The crowbars in their grubby hands can break apart doors and bash heads in.

What should I do?

I went over all my options fearfully. I tried imagining all possible scenarios before settling on the most tiring one. A fearful maze of hell for them. The Unruly Forest had a reputation to uphold, and I could use these guys to prove it right.

I belatedly wish I had some dangerous plants that could give them hallucinations or something. In the literature I've read, plant manipulators could invoke various abilities. After tonight, I was going to practice more of that. Let's ensure they get lost until morning, and I can call the cops.

I took a deep breath, urged, and asked the plants to move and confuse the five intruders. I separated from the root connection for a few minutes while the plants implemented the plan. I ran back inside to grab a shawl and the satellite phone Adam gave me.

Officers must be more savvy to make their way quickly through the Unruly Forest. I memorized Mary's home number; her son knew his way through the forest. I could call them and hope they could lead the police through the forest and pick up the robbing bastards.

I settled into the cold ground and tapped back into the root system. Time to fuck up their night. If I wasn't going to have a peaceful night's sleep, they would suffer as well.

"Molly and Nip, calm," I commanded them. I needed to throw off the intruder's sense of direction for this to work. If they knew that we had dogs, they would follow the barks.

Molly went silent immediately at my command, but Nip took a minute to calm down. "I've got this handled. Good job, you two. Good job." I praised them and took a minute to remove homemade dog jerky from the space.

As they ate, I started to wreak havoc on the poor fuckers who thought this was an easy gig. I moved roots, branches, leaves, and any foliage within my grasp to scare the living shit out of the group. I could hear them screaming, moaning, and crying out in pain as they were hit, scratched, and overall beaten up. The plants were as vindictive as I needed them to be. I also needed to turn them around in their pain and occupy them for at least three hours. The sun wouldn't rise for a while, and the longer I could keep them entertained, the better.

I listened as the group descended into chaos, and they blamed each other.

"I told you this damn forest is cursed!" The woman screamed at the other four.

"If a fucking child can go in and out, so can we. Suck it up. It's not cursed; it's just a stupid forest." Another member yelled tensely at her. The trees did not like that comment, and the next time they tripped someone, they angled it so that the man hit his head on a tree.

"No! Ian's going to die! Let's go, guys." The woman was crying pitifully, and I could feel my eyebrows furrow. I wasn't trying to kill anyone, just keep them from robbing my family.

"It's just a head wound. They always bleed a lot. He might have a concussion, though." This was a new voice. The only one of the five that didn't scream, curse, or make a mess of themselves. Given the cold tone, it was safe to reason that they were more intelligent than the rest.

"Gavinnn." That annoying woman whined, and I watched through the trees as he stepped forward to check for a concussion. Once he noted that there was no concussion and the bleeding was just the head being extra, I started my attack again. I couldn't let him take control and keep the rest calm.

I directed the branches to shake their leaves and wished I had the confidence to go out there in a bedsheet. That would be enough if I could scare them with the shapes of ghosts. Taking the time to strengthen my plant powers paid off this night, as I spent the next three hours using fear to redirect the intruders. I could feel the toil on my body as exhaustion battled the energy drain. I shivered, and Nips laid on me, sharing warmth.

They were closer to the entrance of the forest than the house now. I even managed to have Gavin sweating bullets by this point. They were also no longer inside my system and thus out of my reach. I could push them out using this tactic, but they could always return. Now that they were outside and had time to regroup, I needed to up my game. Although they were long convinced that something was in the forest and it was messing with them. That could pass once I could no longer move things. I took a hand from the ground and dialed Mary's number with the satellite phone.

A very warm voice, Mary, answered the phone, and I took a heartbeat to marvel at how relaxed this woman was even though it was almost five in the morning. We are country folk, but who didn't dread early morning calls?

"Mary." Even if I wanted to sound chipper or like the kind bug Wendy I wanted to be, I was too tired. Exhaustion and leftover fear leaked into my voice.

"Wendy?" Mary's voice sharpened as she picked up on that.

"I woke up to the dogs barking. I heard people in the forest trying to reach my home. They say there's only a girl and an old man, so it would be an easy robbery. I'm so scared. They've started screaming odd things, and I hear shouting."

"I'll send Bill over with the police, okay? Give me a minute; I want you to hide somewhere safe under your bed and stay on the line."

It was hard to feel secure, but something about Mary's warm, protective energy made it possible. I nodded and said a shaky okay. I didn't move; I needed to stay out here to monitor everything. If they came back, I could be alerted, thanks to my system. I didn't tell her this because I didn't want to worry Mary unnecessarily.

What felt like an eternity, but I knew it was only a few minutes; Mary was back. "Bill is headed out, and the police will meet him there. Stay on the line with me, okay, sweetie?"

"Okay, I'm so scared." I was, in fact, still terrified. I managed to protect our home, but I was barely hanging on. I spent over three hours using my powers to monitor the intruders. I fed the plants in the system my energy and directed their actions. I was ready to pass out, but I needed to hold on for at least another hour.

"I know, sweetie. Hang on, it's almost over."

I shook as my body was ready to give out. Mary talked to me comfortably, and I made little noises. I barely held on; my body shook, and everything looked blurry.

After twenty minutes, as I feared, the robbers tried to make their way to the house one last time. "I can hear them," I whispered to Mary. I urged the dogs to keep calm, feeding more treats so that they would have as little direction as possible.

"Just give them a bit more time. Help is on the way, Wendy." Mary's loving voice soothed some of the fear but didn't help. After this, I needed to set up another system in the forest. I couldn't rely on having just a mile of protection off the house's fenced yard.

I could stay out here and implement the plant system again to attack and keep them busy. I was tempted to, but if the police came in while the group was trying to break in, it would be a slam-dunk case. It would be harder for them to worm out of their attempted crime.

I slipped inside, taking Nips with me to check on Grandpa Evans. I opened his door to peek at him and saw he was still sleeping. I closed the door and headed to the living room. It was strange to not see the TV showing some obscure show. "I'm going to be quiet now," I whispered to Mary. "I don't want to draw attention," Mary said, her approval, and I listened to her words. She was the only thing that kept me awake at this point.

I peeked out the window, pulling out another dog treat for Nips and a steaming cup of dark chocolate cocoa for myself. I watched for what felt like forever. The sky was lightening, but I could barely see anything as my breath fogged the window. I wiped it clean and sipped the hot drink. I didn't dislike chocolate, but it wasn't my favorite. Right now, it is an appropriate thing to warm up quickly with. I placed the cup in the space, preferring not to wash it. I couldn't leave it out for the dogs to lick, so the space was the easiest solution. My teeth stopped chattering, luckily.

My stiff, weakened body warmed up, but my knees quivered. I pushed myself far beyond my current capabilities. I just needed to hold on for a bit longer. I knew that they were approaching from a different direction this time. It was stupid because it was the same one the police would use to enter the forest; it was the only way to truly enter it. That led to the front door, but it would be a trap for them.

I heard voices shouting, and I ducked down to avoid being seen in the window. "I can hear yelling again."

"Breathe deeply, honey." I did as Mary instructed, but it was hard; my breath didn't want to extend.

The dumbasses were here trying to break in from the entrance this time. I narrowed my eyes. There were only four of them? What happened to the fifth member? I could make out details that I received from the plants; it was complicated by my dulled senses and the flawed system. The annoying woman was there, so it was one of the men. The smarter one. I tsked mentally. One asshat got away. "I see the people trying to break in; they have crowbars. They're arguing about going back since the sun is coming up."

"You're going to be fine. The police are near. Go back under the bed where they can't see you." I was relieved she didn't reprimand me for 'coming out from hiding because it wouldn't deter me. I needed to watch this go down to know for sure what the ending would be. I could see more shapes moving in the dark, coming up behind the intruders. The fact that the dumbass brigade didn't notice and was loudly shouting the best way to break in made this shit too easy. They were too frazzled and exhausted from the night shenanigans. I didn't have to do much to watch them fall apart.

"It's the police," I whispered to Mary, my words barely above a breath. "I think they heard them arguing about how to break in." There was a scuffle as the police made their presence known.

"I can see brown uniformed men cuffing four as-intruders," I told Mary.

"Wendy Evans, you shouldn't be watching this." I could hear Mary's stern lecture, and it was great timing now that the asshats were dealt with. I could feel the shaking come back stronger than before. The darkness at the edge of my vision grew, and I could hear myself say, "Shitballs."

Blessed, silent blackness greeted me next.