Fragment 011

We headed off with Rocco leading the way. He was still adamant that he would not take us directly to the Boneman, insisting the entire idea was terrible. Still, at least we were moving, though my faith in him was growing thinner by the minute.

“I’m not going to take you to the Boneman,” Rocco muttered as he walked ahead of us. “I will, however, get close enough that you can find your own way.”

We followed the base of a towering cliff wall until the path split in two. The left trail climbed upwards, winding towards the top of the cliffs, while the right remained level and disappeared into a narrow chasm.

“Um, we need to go left,” Rocco said, despite already drifting towards the right path.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Obe asked cautiously.

Rocco scoffed. “Of course I’m sure. We need to get back up onto the cliffs. His lair is high up.” He said it with ridiculous confidence.

“But the path up is over there,” Obe pointed out. “You said left. This is right, and it stays low.”

“What? I wasn’t going this way,” Rocco snapped back immediately. “I said the other way. X started heading over here, so I was trying to stop him.” He gestured vaguely ahead of me. “You two really need to listen if you want my help.”

Obe and I exchanged a silent glance. Neither of us said anything, but we were clearly thinking the same thing. It might genuinely be easier without him.

“You know,” Obe began carefully, “if you already know where it is, you could just point us in the right direction. We’ll manage from here. I’m sure you’ve got better things to do anyway.”

Rocco immediately began stuttering. “Yes! Of course I do. Lots of important things. But no… no. I suppose I have some kind of obligation to guide you now.” He folded his arms defensively. “Not that I want to.”

I had no idea what was going on inside that little furry head of his, but we continued onwards regardless, climbing the steep path towards the top of the cliffs.

The higher we climbed, the steeper the trail became. What had first looked manageable quickly turned exhausting. Rocco’s short legs struggled with every step, occasionally slipping beneath him as he panicked about tumbling back down the slope.

Eventually, we reached the top.

“That… that was… a lot…” Rocco wheezed, bending over as he fought to catch his breath. “Much higher than I remembered.” Then, quieter, almost under his breath, he muttered, “I really hope this is the right way.”

He quickly straightened up and pointed off into the distance.

“That way.”

Obe and I shared another uncertain look before following him anyway.

As we walked, Rocco suddenly slowed.

“Hmm…” he hummed to himself.

Then again.

“Huh…”

“What is it?” Obe asked.

“Do you see those?” Rocco pointed towards the ground.

Thin brown vines stretched across the rocky surface, weaving in and out of the dirt like veins beneath skin.

“Yeah,” I replied. “So what?”

Rocco slowly approached them. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” He crouched lower, staring intensely. “This shouldn’t be possible.”

One of the vines twitched.

Then pulsed.

Rocco recoiled slightly.

“A living plant?” he muttered. “Is this… actually alive?” His paws rose to his head as he scratched nervously through his fur. “That can’t be right. We haven’t had living plants here for… many, many years.”

“Hey, look ahead,” Obe suddenly called out.

The vines continued stretching forwards, growing thicker the further they spread. More strands emerged from different directions, intertwining together as though converging towards something.

We followed them until eventually all of the vines fed into a single massive knot protruding from the ground ahead of us. The tangled mass shifted and pulsed unnaturally, as though something beneath the earth was breathing.

Something about it felt deeply wrong.

Cracks began spreading across the surrounding ground. The earth fractured around the cluster as though the very desert floor was collapsing beneath its presence.

Obe stared uneasily at the writhing vines. “Should we really be standing this close to something we don’t understand?” he asked cautiously. “This planet’s already hostile enough with those monsters X told us about. What if these vines attack us?”

Rocco froze.

“Attack us?” he repeated nervously. “Do you really think they would?”

His eyes darted around as he suddenly seemed to realise just how far the vines stretched beneath the ground around us. Slowly, he began backing away from the cluster.

Then his foot caught on one of the protruding strands.

“Arrgh!”

He crashed onto his back.

Instantly, the vines reacted.

They shifted.

Twisted.

Then began writhing violently across the ground.

“Uh oh…” Rocco muttered through clenched teeth as realisation hit him.

“What’s happening?” Obe shouted as the ground beneath us suddenly trembled.

Chunks of rock and earth began breaking apart around the vines. The desert floor cracked open in widening fractures, sinking lower with every passing second. The ground itself seemed to collapse inward, swallowing everything around it.

Suddenly, the earth beneath Rocco gave way entirely.

“Rocco!” Obe shouted.

In an instant, Rocco vanished into the collapsing pit below.

Obe lunged forwards towards where he had fallen, but before either of us could react, the ground beneath our feet crumbled away as well.