Despite the mud and muck beneath its feet, the part-vine part-zombie moved with a fluidity that belied its decayed appearance.

Watching it effortlessly drag the deer with one hand, I gulped, realizing the sheer jaw-dropping strength I was up against. This thing was strong, I could tell that much. The muscles in my body tensed. I was nearly pissing myself, but without any other recourse I had to trust my instincts and the adrenaline coursing through me. If it was that strong, an up-close encounter would be a death wish, so my priority was going to be keeping as much distance between us as possible.

I took a step back, but the creature saw that as an opportunity.

With a sudden jerk, the vines writhing in and around its body shot out towards me. They moved faster than I could have imagined, cutting through the air with precision. Before I could react, one vine wrapped tightly around my arm, yanking my bore club from my grasp. The weapon clattered to the planks of the bridge as another vine ensnared my leg, pulling my feet from under me. The force of the pull was so strong that I was lifted off the ground momentarily before slamming backward and being violently dragged toward the creature.

Panic surged through me. The wood scraped against my back as I struggled, trying to free myself from the creature's grasp. The cold, slimy touch of the vines made my skin crawl, and I could feel them tightening, squeezing me. The thing's skin hung loose, but its blood-smeared mouth contorted into a grotesque grin. However, the closer I got, the tighter the skin stretched, straining over whatever was left underneath. Its eyes, bulging out of their sockets, looked ready to pop. The stink of its rotting breath filled the air, choking me.

Fear cut my breath short but desperation kicked in. With my free hand, I reached for the spear I'd fashioned out of the chair leg earlier, snatching it out of the belt-bandolier and drove the tip into the tendril. There was a screech from the main body, somewhere deep within, and the thing released me. I rolled to the side, slashing out wildly with the spear and racing back to grab my bore club.

In the precious few seconds I had, I tossed down the spear, dove, reaching the club and hefting its cylindrical weight. Just as I got to my feet, another tendril, faster and more aggressive than the first, shot toward me. But this time, I was ready.

“Fuck off!” I roared.

Using the club, I swung hard, battering the tendril aside. Another snakey appendage shot at me in the follow-up and I brought the haft of the club across my body to protect myself. But this only opened me up to a third strike, and I was struck in the shoulder. It didn’t pierce me—it was a vine—but it was able to wrap around my right arm and pull. The bore club tumbled again. Shit! This was going to get bad quickly, and I knew I couldn’t let this thing tangle me and drag me to my demise. I tried to resist the force of the pull, but one of the previously batted-away tendrils suddenly wrapped itself around my torso. I began to panic.

“No, no, no!” I hammered a fist on it, to no avail. That’s when I spotted my chair-leg spear. I let my body go limp just enough to fall to the ground and snatch it up.

“Take this you miserable sumbitch!”

I started stabbing.

Each puncture with the spear brought more screams from the main body of the beast, and it released my arm and torso as I plunged further pain into it. When it did, I moved, shoving the spear into the belt and diving again for the club just as another vine came my way. I rolled, narrowly avoiding another entanglement and pulled myself up using the weapon as a guide. The remaining tendril shot my way, but I was hoping for that. The sharp flat edge of the bore's end met the vine, pinning it against the planks of the bridge as I clobbered it with a downward swing. Then I smashed a foot down on top to keep the vine in place. With another forceful downward thrust, I severed it. A guttural scream erupted hauntingly through the swamp.

But apparently it wasn't done with me yet. Instead of retreating, the creature seemed to grow more enraged. The main body lunged from across the expanse of the bridge with a speed that belied its undead appearance. I barely had time to react as the heavy carcass of the deer swung at me like its own gruesome club. The impact was jarring. A sharp pain shot through my body as three-hundred pounds of dead animal flesh slammed me against the bridge's wood, the air forced from my lungs.

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I felt a crunch, an acute agony radiating from my side. A rib, likely several, were broken. The world spun, my vision blurring. Every breath was a knife twisting in my chest. The creature's hollow eyes stared down at me, the remnants of its last meal smeared across its face. For a moment, it seemed certain it had won, that I was just another meal to be consumed.

But in the pain, something ignited within me. I wasn't ready to be this monster's next meal. Pushing through the agony, I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding another swing of its powerful arm. Using the bore club as leverage again, I pushed myself up. I had to think rationally. If I was going to survive this, I needed to be smart, use my surroundings, and stay on the move. The creature might have had the strength, but I had…hopefully, some wits left about me. I could barely move now, and definitely wasn’t going to be doing any dodging. So, instead, I leaned against the barrier of the bridge and hucked myself over the side.

"May…the marsh,” I wheezed as I fell, “allow my—”

SPLASH!

I hadn’t had enough time to utter the whole incantation, and the water erupted around me as I entered it full speed. I accidentally breathed in a whole mess of water, and started coughing and retching as I forced myself to break the surface. Struggling, because of the clearly shattered bones inside my torso, I was able to get my mouth up enough to shout, “...PASSAGE O’ER FLUID TERRAIN!”

It only took a few seconds of panicked splashing before I realized that I was no longer sinking into the water. Instead, I was atop it. Waterwalking had come in clutch again!

I carefully slid one foot in front of the other, testing the surface. It held firm. "Well, that would've been a disaster mid-fall," I said aloud, relieved that I had not succeeded in casting the spell during my earlier descent.

But then a sinking feeling hit me. I glanced around, realizing that my bore club was nowhere in sight. It must've been lost in the water during our scuffle. I could feel the heat rise to my face, the frustration boiling inside. I’d only constructed it, what, an hour ago? Now, it was gone, probably sinking to the depths below.

I took a deep breath, trying to center myself.

"Focus, Leo. Ain’t no time for regrets," I whispered to myself. I began to move more confidently across the water's surface, wincing with each step due to the horrendous stinging blossom around my lungs.

From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I glanced up to see the zombie-vine creature staring at me from atop the bridge. Its grotesque, twisted form made my skin crawl. I couldn't help myself. Lifting my hand, I gave it a defiant middle finger.

“Yeah, fuck you, buddy,” I muttered.

The creature's vines began to wriggle and writhe, almost as if responding to my provocation. Then it grasped the sides of the bridge with the vines sprouting from its body, lifting itself up.

“Aw, shit!” I just had to open my big mouth.

For a moment, it looked like a scene straight out of a comic book. The creature, with its tentacle-like appendages, looked eerily like Doctor Octopus, carrying its decaying form over the side of the bridge. It began moving towards me, vines propelling it forward, reminiscent of a trap spider closing in on its prey.

I could feel the tendrils of panic wrapping around my heart. I needed to think fast. I recalled the new ability I’d learned. If I could obscure my position, I could evade the creature long enough to find an escape route.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, focusing my energy. If there was ever a time to not screw everything up, it was now. Desperation gnawed at me, but I knew there was a way out — the sequence the vision had broadcast into me. Mist Veil. The trick now was going to be recalling it under pressure.

"You got this, man," I mentally cheered myself. "You just got to remember, is all."

I began with my hands, quickly raising them together. Palms faced me, fingers spread wide, capturing the space in front of me. Was this right? The sequence was escaping me, like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.

A momentary doubt crept in. What if I get it wrong? What if this is all some ridiculous dance and I'm about to become vine monster supper? Or…if I do it wrong. Could that…injure me in some way? Kill me? Ah, cripes.

The absurdity of the situation wasn't lost on me, but I had to focus, so, somehow, I pushed the negative thoughts aside.

My hands dropped, cutting through the tense air, settling by my sides. The movement felt familiar, a beacon in my memory. My right arm, as if compelled by an unseen force, started its ascent.

That's it, I thought, trust the process. I didn’t know if there was a process, but it helped to alleviate some of the dread. My left hand joined the right arm, finding its place on my elbow. The grip felt foreign and yet strangely familiar. Was this part of the sequence? Doubt gnawed at me again, but I pressed on, releasing the grip and letting my left hand glide like a leaf carried by a gentle breeze like I thought I’d seen the man do in the vision. It came to rest directly in front of me. Meanwhile, my right hand descended, settling by my side once more.

The next step felt odd, almost…stupid. I turned my left palm upwards, fingers stretching out as if grasping for an answer in the vast expanse above. This feels fuckin’ goofy, I thought. I had no clue now if this was correct, and I was running out of time. I was just going to have to go for it. Taking a deep, steadying breath, I let my cheeks expand. As I blew out, I felt energy begin to radiate from the base of my skull.

It’s working! I thought. I think. Despite my reservations, I’d performed all of this very quickly. It took all of…maybe five seconds to do? In fact, I figured if we were grading on a Bell curve, I actually wasn’t doing too—

Suddenly, I felt the foundation of water beneath me drop away, and I suddenly plunged into its depths without warning.

That was when I learned an important lesson—apparently, I could only use one spell at a time.

Shit.