The sea of thick grass on either side of the road turned shades of yellow and purple as the carriage passed. It was a beautiful and moving scene of colors that hunted after the wheels. It was almost reminiscent of dolphins chasing along the sides of a ship. It was a chromatic masterpiece that left the off-worlders in awe. That was, however, because they did not speak plant. Unbeknownst to them, the dust the wheels kicked up agitated the local flora considerably. Anyone who can speak plant knows that grasses tend to be the most foul-mouthed and irritable of the lot, but this batch of Oni Tongue was particularly bad. They insulted the carriage, its makers and the passengers back seven generations.
Hayata Kinoshita pulled his cell out of a pocket and started to record.
“Damn it, put that away before anyone sees it!” Genzo barked as he slapped Hayata across the back of the head.
Hayata bashfully acquiesced, then hiked up his pack and looked at the trail ahead.
The party had gathered quite a bit of traveling goods from the temple turned mausoleum. Tim speculated that all these extra provisions were for the return trip. They weren’t really sure where they would be going, but based on the number of supplies it had to be within one week’s travel. And now that they had seen which way the carriage had gone, they had an idea of where to go. The situation no longer felt as desperate as before.
The group of nine walked down from the temple on the lonely hill. Small stone paths lead them in a zigzag down the hill. The grass grew taller the farther down they went. Soon the thick leaves reached up past their heads. It was almost like walking in a narrow tunnel, without the oppressive feeling. The gentle grasses turned deep blue and green as they passed by. McKenzie stuck out her hand and tickled the grasses along the edge as she walked. To her delight, they turned pink and silver and shimmered in rainbows. Unable to restrain herself, McKenzie dove into the grass and rushed around, leaving a trail of color.
McKenzie laughed. The others laughed. The grass laughed.
The previously somber outlook of the group was being washed away slowly. They were outside now, exploring their magical new environment. They were moving, feeling their new bodies, revitalized with the mana flowing through them. The air was fresh and clean. Little glowing sprites appeared and started to drift back and forth through the sea of grass. McKenzie laughed like a fool and chased them. It wasn’t long before her Jump skill reached level two.
Then Katsuki Nakamura casually broke off a leaf. Maybe he did it subconsciously, as something he did often as a child walking in his grandparent’s village. Maybe he did it out of boredom. He really couldn’t say. But in retrospect, he would say it was a very bad idea. The grass sensed danger and sharpened like a blade. The gash it left in Katsuki’s finger was long and deep.
“Yeowch!” He cried. Everyone stopped momentarily as he gripped his finger tight. “The stupid grass cut me.”
The broken leaf bent down and caught a drip of Katsuki’s blood. The red color of blood filled the plant and spread like a virus to the grasses all around. The gentle rustling of leaves grew eerily still. The sprites all disappeared. And for a moment everything was silent. Then slowly a cacophony arose. Like pieces of scrap metal banging on each other in the distance, the sound grew around them louder and louder until they wanted to cover their ears. It was the metallic sound of leaves grinding themselves sharper.
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“Run,” whispered Genzo.
The eight others turned to look at Genzo, while Genzo turned and ran.
“This way, we need to get to the road!” He bellowed.
Tim’s survival instincts kicked in and his feet found traction before he could think. He ran in the middle of the group and followed down a path that had turned blood red. Metallic leaves bent down to strike at them. Behind him, Yuma screamed. Verdures like knives scraped against his armor ripped into his clothes and cut his exposed flesh. They ran downhill through the tunnel of pain, while slowly getting minced. Just a little bit farther, Tim figured, and they should make it out soon. The ground leveled out, so they must be at the bottom of the hill. But they still hadn’t found the road. On they ran when McKenzie suddenly wove through the blades and off the trail.
“Keep on the path, stay out of the tall grass!” Warned Emi between breaths.
“It’s a trick, turn left, turn left! You’re running parallel to the road!” Screamed McKenzie.
“Clever girl,” commented Randal as he turned and pushed his way through the savage shrubbery.
Nine other-worlders lurched out of a field of blood red grass, covered in wounds. They stumbled into the middle of the wide dirt road and collapsed.
“Is everyone Ok?” Asked Ikko between pants.
Yuma sat on the ground and cried softly. Hayata sat next to her and very much wanted to join the waterworks. But, Genzo placed his hands on their shoulders and shook them gently. “Good work,” he said firmly. “Yuma, when you feel up to it, heal the others if you can.”
Yuma turned to look at him between the tears. His hand on her shoulder was soaked with blood from countless grazes and gouges. As she looked at Genzo, his eyes slowly closed and his grip on her shoulder loosened. He fell face first and landed unconscious in the dirt.
“I don’t think we are safe yet,” said Tim as he wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand. The grass shifted colors and now was drawing a vertical red line from the distance towards the group from both directions. The red color passed off from one plant to another in a wave. All the strange little birds flying overhead could see a giant bulls-eye being pulled tighter and tighter upon the off-worlders.
“What are we going to do?” Asked McKenzie.
Tim turned to look at Randal as if to defer to the captain.
Randal, in turn, looked at the lump of meat known as Genzo, passed out on the dirt. “Despite how I like him quiet like this,” Randal snorted “Yuma, can you heal him?”
“I think so,” Yuma sniffed.
“What about the rest of you? Are you all fit to move?”
“I think so,” replied Ikko who spoke for the group.
“Um,” muttered Yuma, “I healed the wounds, but he isn’t waking up. I think he lost too much blood.”
Randal pinched his eyes. “Ok, then we’ll do this: Ikko and Emi guard the front. Tim and Hayata you take the middle. And you get to carry the meat.” He gestured at Genzo. “Yuma, you stay with them in case he needs more healing. I’ll guard the rear with Katsuki. We will trade out with you if the meat gets too heavy. McKenzie is our floater.” He clapped his hands. “Alright, let’s move out!”
The group walked down the dirt road towards the setting sun. The targeted lights of the Oni Tongue grass followed them for miles. A few hours before the sun sunk beyond the mountains in the horizon the party of nine off-worlders left the vicious grass behind.