Elias froze at the entrance of the Barclays Center, his eyes wide as the vines writhed around him like snakes waiting for the kill. I clenched my fists, still charged from the radioactive bear’s blood, and bolted down toward him. The guy still had my status board in his bag and I couldn’t risk him getting torn apart by that plant monster.

I was only a couple meters from the ground before a Venus Flytrap sprouted from the concrete and chomped down on me, trapping me inside its giant mouth. While the feeling didn't hurt me physically, the plant’s jaws still smothered me like two blocks of steel, restricting my movements. There was enough of an opening to see that the Type Two was approaching me through the air, standing on what I suspected to be one of the plants near the arena.

“You…are like me,” she said, her voice raspy and gravelly. “Are you…the daddy I’ve been looking for?”

So I was right! That voice from that SB call came from her. But that would mean that this zombie girl is like me! Is she attacking me ‘cause she thinks I’m just another unintelligent Type Two?

The Flytrap opened up some more and I got a better look at what the Type Two looked like. She had on a short dress of sorts. It was made of vines, tightly coiled around her feminine body with radioactive ooze as a replacement for hair. She didn’t have a visible skeleton like me as the entirety of her body was composed of that green ooze.

Well, I couldn’t tell if all of it was. Only her legs, arms and head weren’t covered.

“How long have you been like this?” she asked, tilting her head in curiosity. “I don’t remember…who I used to be.”

Memory loss? That’s weird. I know I had a bit of amnesia when I first became a zombie, but it wore off pretty quickly the moment I thought of Sunshine.

“I don’t know. I guess a couple of weeks,” I answered, trying to push my head out further. “What about you?”

“So…you’re not the daddy I’ve been looking for.” She sat down on what I now recognized to be a floating leaf. “I don’t know how long I’ve been searching. I’ve been like this for…so long.”

“Ah, that sucks,” I said sarcastically. “But don’t worry! Once I absorb you, you won’t have to be a zombie for much longer.”

She closed the distance between us and gave me a blank stare. “So, you want to…heal me? You don’t have to worry…about that. I need to stay as a zombie…to protect my daughter. From these humans. And this…world.”

I paused for a couple seconds, processing what she just told me. Then, I asked “You have a daughter too?”

Surprisingly, the ooze above her chin curled into an innocent smile. “Too? That word suggests that you have one as well,” she said, excitedly kicking up her feet. “Isn’t that just wonderful? What’s her name? I bet it’s a cute one.”

“Her name’s…Sunshine.”

“Wooow. That’s almost like my daughter’s name. Her name is Sunflower. Well, that's her new name. I got rid of her old name. It didn't really fit what I wanted her to be.”

“Can I just ask…do you know where a ‘Victoria’ could be around here? There was this man who I heard was with a kid when they were in that arena down there. That kid’s name was Victoria. I’m gonna hope she’s still alive so could you tell me where-”

“There is no…Victoria,” she interrupted, her voice growing angry. “I only have a Sunflower.”

“What do you mean there's no Victoria!?” I shouted, my tone tense. “Is she dead? Did you kill that little girl like you killed that man?”

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She clenched her head, seemingly in pain. “Her name isn't…Victoria. My daughter’s new name is-”

“There's a mother with us, hysterical, because her daughter went missing and you're probably the only one who can tell her what happened. And if she’s already dead…” The energy in my body started to burn. “I mean…Geez. You used to be a human. What kind of sick fuck takes a parent’s child away from them? Just ‘cause you turned into a zombie, doesn’t mean you gotta act like one!”

“Just…stop tal-”

“And you call yourself a mother? How would your daughter feel if she knew how much of a sick murd-”

Something heavy slammed into my body, pushing me down to the ground below whilst I was still imprisoned within the Venus Flytrap. I barely had enough time to think of my next move before a barrage of hits came raining down on my back, keeping me pinned. I scratched, clawed, and tugged at the Flytrap’s inside, but if it was unbothered by the beat down occurring outside of it, then what difference did I make?

It was too difficult for me to focus and charge up some big energy attack when it felt like a Gatling gun was firing at me—except instead of bullets, it was launching bombs that exploded the moment they touched me.

After what felt like an eternity, the onslaught finally ceased. The Type Two hovered back down, stopping just inches away from me. Her lifeless, black eyes stared into mine, as if I were gazing into two endless black holes.

“How…are you still alive?” she said, poking at my teeth. “I gave you everything I had.”

I chuckled. “Well, clearly it wasn’t enough. You forget I’m a zombie? I can’t die.”

“Oooh yeah…I faced that same problem too. But now that my Sunflower is back, I don’t need to die anymore. Isn’t that…” She sighed sadly. “Wonderful.”

I stuck my hand out of the mouth’s opening and touched the hair over her shoulder. “You’re gonna die no matter what you do ‘cause I need to absorb you for the sake of protecting my own daughter. And I need to make sure that woman’s daughter is safe from you.”

“I didn’t kill…I only took back what was mine!” , she yelled, slapping my hand away. “You know, if you…apologized to me, I’ll consider forgiving you. Oh, and…and you have to say ‘honey, I’m home’ for me too.”

Man, this lady is desperate…Didn’t she just want me dead!?

“Fine,” I muttered. “Come closer.” She brought the side of her head to my mouth, acting like it was an ear.

“You’ll never be…a true parent.”

Suddenly, a thick vine pierced through my torso with brutal precision. The Venus Flytrap disintegrated to dust as the plant lifted me into the air like a skewered doll.

While I was dangling in the air, I finally spotted Elias who had also been captured by the Type Two. Though, instead of being trapped in the mouth of a Flytrap, vines were wrapped firmly around his body. His mouth had also been covered so if he was crying for my help, I couldn’t hear him.

“My plants…don’t hurt you? But how?” she questioned, readying up another attack.

“I guess…you’re too weak too!” I shouted confidently, grabbing onto the vine.

From what I learned from my new body these past couple of weeks, normal things that cause pain to humans don’t hurt me at all. Which confused me since…aren’t giant plants that can be controlled by a simple gesture not normal at all!? This ability should’ve been in the same category as what those Radius use. Something about these plants had Radius qualities whilst retaining their normalcy.

However, I realized something once I shifted my focus to the vine. They were normal plants and yet, they were shrouded with a green aura.

An aura that I could absorb.

“What’s happening to the plant?” she asked, slowly spinning around the plant. “Power…is going down? No…being taken from me. What are you doing to it!?”

“This is your last chance, Plant Lady! Tell me what happened to that girl before I absorb you,” I threatened, feeling the vine becoming softer. “I’m gonna absorb you anyway, so you should do it before you die. If your humanity and parenthood mean anything to you still.”

The Type Two aimed her palm at the ground, her oozy hair ominously rising. “How many times…do I have to tell you? My daughter is not dead!”

“Grassland”

In that instant, a field of grass erupted from the cracked concrete, widening the cracks into deep crevices as every blade of green stretched skyward. I was just about to release my energy, but then something…unexpected happened.

The zombie lady let out a piercing scream, her body convulsing as her levitating leaf descended to the grass. The vine embedded in my torso withered away in seconds, and I began to plummet—until I activated my rocket feet technique, my wound closing up soon after.

I caught Elias before he could fall and noticed a spray bottle in his hand. “What did you do?” I asked him, flying back down.

Elias laughed, which seemed weird given the situation. “Gave that bitch a taste of herbicide!” he said, shaking the bottle. “It only took five sprays to do all this. Imagine what the whole damn bottle could do.”

“Wait…herbicide!? You knew the Type Two had plant powers and you didn’t tell anyone?”

We reached the ground and Elias jumped off of me. Instead of answering my question, he bolted towards the Barclay Center’s entrance, hopping over the twitching zombie.

“Elias, stop! If you knew the specifics of this zombie, then does that mean you didn’t tell-”

“Wait!” The Type Two raised her hand toward the giant rose at the center of the arena, and it rushed toward Elias, swiftly blocking his path. “The girl…is here!”

The middle of the rose opened, and to my surprise, an unconscious girl inside. She looked about Sunshine’s age and…was completely made of grass.