While Michael was changing the world around her in ways she could hardly understand, Gina felt amazing on the inside.

“Heal.”

Such a simple word. Such a simple idea.

Yet the moment Michael had said the word, her body had transformed on a level she couldn’t even begin to understand.

The stiffness? The aches? The pain? The age? The misery?

She had felt trapped. Chained. Defined by it all.

Yet the power behind Michael’s intent was even more defining.

Heal.

The wave of energy that had poured into her body felt… alive.

It had flowed through every inch of her. And then it had gone deeper.

Gina hadn’t understood it. Couldn’t understand it.

But it had dug deeper than her fur. Deeper than skin, flesh, and organs, deeper than bone.

Somewhere more fundamental. Somewhere more intrinsic.

For a moment, there had been silence. A pause.

And then it had come rushing back through her body. And it had transformed it.

Frail bones had strengthened. Stagnant organs had cleared. Rebellious flesh had surrendered. Dry, flaky skin moisturized. Dim fur shined.

The lump was gone. The pain was gone.

Gina was healthy and whole once more.

Life was perfect.

Yet Michael was angry.

So angry.

Gina remembered a few times when Michael had grown upset. His face would harden, his fists would clench, and yet… behind it, Michael had always smelled afraid. So afraid. It had almost felt as though the majority of the anger had been directed inwards rather than outwards.

Michael could never scare Gina. He couldn’t hurt anyone, even if he had wanted to.

But that was before.

Now?

Michael was terrifying.

She knew the anger wasn’t directed towards her. Knew that Michael wouldn’t dare touch her. Knew that in his arms, she was safer than anywhere else in the world.

Yet the anger was palpable. And Gina couldn’t smell a drop of fear to keep it in check. Without it, the raw emotion rolled off of him in a pure expression of energy that seeped into the world around him.

And the world responded.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Gina had always heard the whisperings. The little talk between the plants in the house. She had even seen them move ever so subtly now and then.

Yet in Michael’s presence… in his energy… their whisperings became a cacophony, their movement a storm.

Michael was angry. And the world was angry along with him. And that made him dangerous.

Gina tried to calm Michael. Tried to understand what was wrong.

They were healthy. They were whole. They were reunited. What else could be wrong?

Yet her attempts at calm only reached so deep. They failed to reach that level she had felt in herself earlier. The fundamental. The intrinsic.

But at the very least, it was enough to save the frightened couple standing across from them.

Now, Michael seemed to have finally calmed down. Meanwhile, the house she had grown up in was gone, replaced by a living Fortress. Gina shuddered at the sheer weight and presence of the conscious structure.

She would be sure not to nibble on even a single leaf!

Michael carried her towards the back of the Fortress, where an entryway opened.

“He’s taking Cinna-,” Gina heard the woman hiss behind them.

“Shhhh!” the man hissed in turn, muffling her voice.

Michael froze. And then he turned, staring down the couple.

Gina could see the anger rekindling in Michael’s eyes.

“Michael…”

Michael gazed down at her, staring into her eyes. Indecision warred in his features.

Then the Fortress trembled ever so slightly. Michael shook his head.

“There’s no time. Do not fear, I will not kill the couple. I will leave them be. More importantly, you must stay behind, Gina. Where I am going is far too dangerous.”

“You’re leaving me?” Gina trembled.

“No. I am coming back. But you need to stay here where it is safe. Don’t worry. No one will ever hurt or trap you again.”

Michael bent a knee and placed Gina down on the wooden floor. She then felt a connection between herself, Michael, and the living Fortress. Michael’s consciousness felt warm and soft. The Fortress’s felt heavy and foreboding.

“Protect and take care of Gina to the death. Sacrifice the house if necessary.”

A green pulse spread from Michael through the Fortress. It was quite faint. The faintest pulse that day. But the effect was dramatic.

The former heaviness and foreboding weight pressing on Gina’s mind disappeared, replaced with care, curiosity, and gentleness. A sprout of greenery suddenly burst in front of her.

“Lettuce!”

Gina sighed in relief.

“Hail Steward,” the Fortress replied.

Michael nodded in approval. He then massaged Gina’s cheeks with a smile. She chattered her teeth in contentment.

How she had missed Michael!

“I’ll see you soon Gina.”

He then turned his attention to the couple.

~

Henry held his breath, keeping Debbie’s face plastered in his shirt as the stranger turned his gaze on them.

“I’ll give you a choice,” he said.

Henry trembled.

“You can either stay in here quietly until I come back. Or you can leave and be free. What do you choose?”

Henry couldn’t say anything. Couldn’t believe what he heard.

“Choose, now.”

The crazy living room they were in groaned at the word.

“L-let us go! P-please.”

Henry held his breath.

“As you wish. Follow me.”

The stranger turned away from them, striding towards the open back entrance.

Henry couldn’t move, his muscles too rigid.

A hard poke scared him into motion. He swung his gaze to see what had done it, and found thick, powerful vines rising from the floor menacingly.

He walked forward as quickly as he could, dragging Debbie along with him until he was finally outside with the stranger.

The world he was met with was not the one he saw twenty minutes ago.

All his senses were assaulted.

The air was thick with the scent of smoke. Car alarms blared in various directions. The sky was dark with smoke yet glowed a reflective orange. People yelled in the streets. The ground trembled beneath their feet.

He looked behind him at their house, but found it swallowed up in a dome of wood, the entryway already closed.

A gasp from his wife, along with loud groaning and creaking brought his attention forward.

The biggest tree in their backyard, an old oak, was fully bent, leaning down towards them, almost like a catapult. The topmost branches of the tree reached the ground in front of them. They wove themselves into a circular cradle.

For a moment, Henry feared the stranger would force them to climb into it.

Instead, the stranger climbed into it alone.

“What are you…?” Debbie began.

Before she could finish, the catapult-like tree released.

It heftily snapped forward, throwing the stranger high into the sky, where he turned into a gliding blur.

Henry felt the last dregs of his strength disappear, falling flat on his ass as the stranger disappeared into the horizon.