Cat stepped from the world of the waking in to the streets of the slumbering. She found them all almost instantly. She knew exactly where they were. Kass, and Sirius, and the only other living soul not yet sucked dry, the girl they had already found. There were only three, and all were close by.

She spoke to the girl first, seeing as she was the nearest. Got an estimate of how long she had been there. Cat found the girl surprisingly aware of the strangeness of her surroundings for one who was asleep.

Even before Cat had asked the girl’s name she had called out in a whisper, “Help me, please.”

Cat nodded. “I’m trying. What’s your name?”

“Agatha,” the girl replied.

Cat could see that she was weak and so she wasted no time in small talk. Once Cat had gleaned how long the girl had been there and that, despite her weakness, she wasn’t in any immediate danger, Cat told her “We’ll get you out of here very soon okay?”

Agatha nodded, obviously too tired for much else.

Cat turned, ready to find the others. She could feel them, off to the east, in the far room. The one that had been covered by vines. She was relieved they were not in the other darker room. She turned towards that direction now and froze. A giant transparent glob stood before her, the dreamweaver. It was here. But there was something wrong with it. Vines ran through it, holding it in place, but they also seemed stuck themselves, unable to move.

She circled the pair. The witch’s weep was here, half pulled into the dreamworld, and the dreamweaver was faded, half pulled into the waking world, intertwined together, locking each other in place. It was not obvious immediately, and Cat was certain if she had been further away she would not have noticed it. She never would have gotten so close to a dreamweaver intentionally, but now that she was, she could see that it was slowly dying.

She watched the plant struggling too. It sucked magic energy from the dreamweaver but it could not extract itself from the dreamworld, not while the dreamweaver was still alive. And the dreamweaver took energy from the bodies of the sleepers, it killed them faster, eating into the food supply of the plant.

Cat wasn’t sure who was winning, but from the looks of things she would have placed her money on the plant. What would happen once the dreamweaver died? While the plant was obviously restrained somewhat, Cat wasn’t sure how much movement they usually had. Once the dreamweaver died would the plant be free to seek out new victims? Cat was starting to question everything she knew about plants now. It was a question for Amanda.

The dreamweaver though, Cat knew they could travel. They weren’t so dangerous normally. Usually they stayed in the dreamworld, drawn to dreamers, but they would only siphon off so much energy. It took a particularly hungry dreamweaver to pin someone in the dreamworld permanently or a sleeper who was in deep already. But it did happen, and looking at this dreamweaver she could see it was hungry. But it wouldn’t try to leave while there was food here. Was it even aware of the energy the plant was taking? Their entanglement had weakened the both of them. At this point Cat wasn’t sure what the best way to extract them from one another would be or even if it would be a good idea. Probably best to just leave this place and not come anywhere near it for sometime. But how to extract the sleepers?

She started moving toward Sirius and Kass. The witch’s weep and dreamweaver were obviously not focused on her so she figured she had just enough time to check if Sirius and Kass were alright before pulling back out. Maybe she could even take a risk and wake them up from in here. Get it over with fast.

She was almost at them when she felt a sharp pain on her arm. It was a searing burning pain. Was it coming from the waking world? Sometimes Cat had trouble telling. What on earth was going on out there? Yes, someone was trying to wake her up. She winced as it burned hotter, and pulled herself back awake.

Cat blinked her eyes open. The world out here was very different than it had been in the dreamworld. She quickly found out that her assessment of the plant situation had been more than a little optimistic. The plant had not being paying her any attention in there, because all it’s attention was on her out here.

“Ow!” Cat pulled her arm out from Amanda’s grasp.

“Sorry, needed your attention,” Amanda replied as she turned and kicked unsuccessfully at a vine that was locking her feet to the floor.

Cat glanced down, and realised she was in much the same predicament. She reached for her knife on her belt and found it gone. She reached for the gun instead, then stopped. What was that even going to achieve? She settled for trying to extract herself from the plants with her hands. Unfortunately that didn’t work very well either.

“Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” Cat yelled at them, once she realised how out of hand the situation was getting. She watched in horror as one particularly large vine pulled Zephyr away towards a the back of the room.

“We were a little preoccupied,” replied Amanda, who fought hopelessly with fists like Cat did.

Coal was managing to hold many of the vines at bay, but it was a losing battle. He struck hard, wielding his sword with unparalleled precision. The other arm was now trapped, held tight by vines reaching up from the floor. He wasted no breath on talking. He gave not an moment to the thought of losing.

“What happened to my knife?” Cat cried, as she yanked a vine away, only to have two more try to grab hold.

“Indi must have taken it,” Amanda replied right before being pulled to the floor. She gave a cry of alarm.

“Where’s Indi?” Cat looked around briefly for her and couldn’t see her. But she was soon distracted by Amanda’s cry for help.

Coal managed to free his trapped arm, then he turned and sliced at the ones holding Amanda, bringing the tip awfully close to Amanda herself. But he seemed to know what he was doing, for he spared not a moment to check she was alright before turning back to fight off yet another grouping. Was the speed of the vines slowing? Maybe a little. Not enough though.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Coal stumbled back and got tripped up by a rising vine from beneath his feet. He tucked and rolled and was back on his feet fast but he lost valuable time. He struck some loose tendrils that were attacking Cat, but while he was preoccupied with that another started to drag Amanda away. Then there were the ones relentlessly attacking him. It was going to be a battle of endurance. Now there was no magic in use the plant was losing energy but it was already wrapping Zephyr in a cocoon of roots and each person they lost was one less fighter, and a little more energy for the plant. Amanda was being dragged to a similar spot near the wall, her arms and legs now well and truly bound.

Coal was doing his best but for how long could he continue?

Cat twisted and turned and ducked, and managed to rip a few away but she was mostly just distracting them from Coal who was the only one really doing any damage. She wished she had her knife back.

Her gaze found Zephyr’s dropped axe. She made a move for it, ripping herself forwards from the vines. She couldn’t get her feet out and she was forced to fall forward onto her belly, but it didn’t matter. It put her just within reach of the handle of the axe.

She grasped it and brought it up swinging, forcing Coal to have to dodge out of the way.

He gave her a furious look but it only lasted a moment before he was forced to attend to his own barrage of tendrils.

Cat brought axe down hard on the vines near her feet, severing then neatly in two. She scrambled back upright, but they caught her wrists.

Coal helped her out, increasing his own peril as he did. Vines grasped at his jacket and he shrugged the thing off in order to get free. He finished yanking Cat to her feet, then he turned and slashed at the ones that had taken his jacket, wincing slightly as the jacket was destroyed in the process.

Cat separated out, giving herself more room to swing the axe without hitting Coal, but she knew that meant she better not end up on the floor again. Coal was too far to help now, and busy trying to clear his own path. He was panting heavily. Cat felt like she was just getting started, but while she was a good hand at the axe she lacked the efficiency with which Coal swung his sword. How long would they last?

At that moment Indi returned to the room. She was wearing some kind of weird square backpack and holding a long metal nozzle, which was connected to the backpack via a flexible hose.

She came running in almost too fast. She careened to a halt just before reaching the limits of the creeping tendrils. Her eyes went wide at how much more greenery there was in here now.

She sprayed a vine on the floor with some kind of liquid from the nozzle. For a second nothing happened, and her face took on a worried look, but then it started to shrink back away from her.

With renewed vigor and a light in her eyes she pushed forward, spraying vines as she went. The witch’s weep retreated. Even the vines further away from where Indi was spraying pulled back.

Cat felt them release her. Even Coal stopped swinging his sword for a moment. Only for a moment though. Then he took every opportunity he could to reduce the remaining vines to shreds.

The effect of the spray was powerful. Indi could feel the pressure dropping from the nozzle as she reached where Cat and Coal stood. But it didn’t seem to matter. She stopped short of running out completely and watched as the plant continued with a full retreat, all but for the vines that held Zephyr and Amanda. Those were different, paler, smaller. They seemed to be for a different purpose.

The others raced to free them. Cat grabbed Amanda’s dropped knife and cut her friend free with it. Coal released Zephyr.

The fell out of their binds, coughing, and pulling sticky wet roots away from everywhere. From their mouths, ears, and even their eyes.

Amanda wiped her forearm across her face a few times. “Ugh, I can’t see.”

Zephyr, doing the same action mumbled, “Tell me this isn’t permanent.”

Amanda replied. “It’ll come right in a bit, just give it time. What happened?”

“Indi sprayed them with something?” Cat replied, trying to get a curious look at the thing Indi was wearing.

Indi turned and proudly displayed her contraption. “Weed killer. I remembered seeing a whole bunch of containers in that other room. Sorry, I took so long, I had to fill this one up first.”

Cat looked back at the darkened door, where the plant had disappeared. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

“What sort of weed killer is it Indi?” Amanda asked from where she still sat rubbing her eyes.

Indi frowned and glanced back at the backpack. “I dunno, it just had a picture of a plant with a circular cross through it. Universal symbol for plant killer. I figured that was a kind of plant, right?”

“Maybe it’s a home-brew,” Coal suggested with a frown, then he glanced at Amanda, “Unless regular weed killer would work?”

Amanda stopped rubbing at her eyes and shook her head. “I have no idea. Wolf might know. I don’t think anything outright kills it though. Is it dead or just resting?”

Cat glanced nervously toward the black room. “Just resting I think.”

Amanda rubbed her head and blinked a few more times, trying to clear the gunky fluid from her eyes. “It probably used a lot of energy on that attack.”

“It got a fair bit from your fire too though,” Coal replied with a firm edge to his tone.

“I was trying to keep them away from Cat.”

“Did you find them?” Zephyr interrupted, talking to Cat. He looked in the direction he thought she was. He could just make out her tall, darkly dressed shape.

Cat nodded.

Zephyr squinted.

“Will anything help with those eyes?” Coal asked.

Amanda nodded. “But you can’t summon it here. Just water would work, although I’m not keen on washing my face with that basement water. Anyway, it’ll clear in a bit.”

“You could try crying,” Coal suggested jovially.

Amanda gave a laugh a that. “Easier said than done.”

“Not, if I poke you enough with knife,” Cat replied teasingly, “I bet Zeph is easy to make cry.”

“Haha,” Zephyr replied dryly.

Cat reached down and helped him to his feet. Then she offered her hand to Amanda.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Here,” Indi held out Cat’s knife for her, once Amanda was on her feet.

Cat gave her mild look of indignation. “Thanks. I could have used this before you know.”

Indi dropped her head in apology. “I know, I’m sorry, you were out of it at the time though.”

Cat shook her head, feeling a little guilty. She hadn’t meant that to sound as harsh as it had. “It’s fine.”

Amanda blinked a few more times. Her vision was improving slightly. She could make out more features now. It was still largely a blur though. She turned to Cat. “Did you say you found them?”

Cat nodded again, which Amanda could just make out, and then she pointed to the far room.

“Alive?” Coal asked.

Another nod. “I think so, I mean I could see them in the dreamworld at least. How long does it usually take a Witch’s weep to suck someone dry?” Cat asked her question at Amanda.

Amanda blinked a few more times, then wiped her eyes again. The world shifted back into focus. “Weeks usually, can be months.”

“And Tony’s been missing what, a week or two. How long do you think he’s been dead for?”

“He looked like he’d been dead centuries,” Coal replied truthfully, not sure what she was getting at.

Cat rolled her eyes. “Okay, but it seems like it’s killing them faster than it should be right?”

Amanda frowned.

Coal glanced toward the room where Sirius and Kass were likely held. “We should get them out.”

“Hold up.” Amanda held up a hand. “They’re not in immediate danger, that other girl’s still alive.”

“Yeah, but for how much longer?” Zephyr shook his head, then finding he could mostly see again, walked over to check that life was still the case for the girl.

“It’s going to rest for a bit, we should get them out, while it’s still tired,” Coal said, still not understanding the delay. He’d been fine with assessing things properly up until the point that Cat had said the plant was killing them faster. Now he felt the time ticking.

“Alright, cut the girl free,” Amanda commanded. She was less worried about the immediate safety of the others, but that girl had looked pretty worse for wear and the plant was as dormant as it was going to be, plus it knew they were here now.

Zephyr raised his knife, ready to cut away the roots.

“Wait!” Cat blurted out.