Day 397

Upon closer inspection the tree appeared to be breathing, its bark warm to the touch.

A sap sample was taken and came out a deep red and  ran sluggishly into the test tube.

As they left the wind blew through the branches, groaning in an almost human way.

They tried not to think of the rumours about the trees and failed.

The whole area was said to have once been a village until disease struck.

A doctor arrived a week after they'd sent a letter and never found anyone.

Where a village had apparently stood was now a forest of trees, trees of all ages and sizes.

Some said that clothing had been found around the bases of the plants.

They said that they grew through the old houses that were now rotted to nothing.

The sample they took of the breathing tree was exactly what they'd feared.

Human blood, male, aged somewhere in their mid thirties, A+, malnourished.

A return trip was scheduled, this time they were going to take a core sample.

The more suspicious of the lot wondered whether it counted as murder, if they were indeed alive.

They began to fear what the core sample would look like if the sap was blood.

Would they find wood or flesh and could the tree feel pain?

The day came when they would find out, their fears made all the more blatant in their silence.

It was easy enough to find their original sample tree, it was the only breathing one, near the river.

In their worried state they drilled the hole too large, thick sap poured out and the bark fluttered.

That was the only way to describe it, the small but sharp in-and-out movements.

The tree seemed to sag as more and more sap flowed, pooling at its base.

Everyone stepped back and watched as the bark stopped and the tree shrunk and changed.

They were frozen in place as the branches gradually moved down to form arms and legs.

There was a gaping hole in his side that was now oozing sluggishly.

The last thing to form was the head, eyes wide open and contorted in agony.

While they crouched to study this creature, this apparent human, they forgot to pay attention to the
rest of the forest as the trees that surrounded them began to lean in.
They were silent, focused, intent on their prey.

By the time they had collected their samples, taken their photos and generally disrupted the corpse,
they found themselves boxed in by the forest, trees barricading them beside the bloodied form.
Their roots uprooted the earth around their companion and slowly buried him.

The researchers watched in silent awe and fear, unsure of what to do next.
They expected the trees to stop when he was completely covered but instead their efforts increased.
Within minutes the team found themselves wobbling on steadily sinking soil.

They were digging from deep beneath, roots churning and scraping the dirt aside.
The researchers didn't stand a chance, a few tried to climb away only to have stinging nettles wrap
themselves around their eyes, blinding them and hurling them into the ever-growing pit.

By the time the forest was done a large patch of fresh soil sat still as a sapling crept over the top.
They resumed their former places among their homes, next to friends and neighbours.
There would be more researchers soon and the forest would feast on their rotting bodies.