19 Mutant Tree (1/2)

”Damn it! What kind of creature produces such sounds.” I wasn't really expecting an answer when I said that, but Rahul gave me an answer anyway.

”A mutant tree.” He said.

”A tree is making those kinds of sounds?” I asked in horror. Since when did trees started howling and wailing.

”No. Not the tree. But the victims it caught.” Rahul said and bent down to take off his shoes.

”Wait! What are you doing?” I asked in confusion.

”I'm going to check the situation regarding the Mutant tree.” He replied and started taking off his socks.

”But. Why? And why are you taking off your socks.” I asked.

”Most of the Mutant trees release a pheromone that hypnotizes anyone that enters it's area and entices them to come toward itself. If you're not careful then once you get hypnotized, you won't even know how you died.” After that he wore both of his sweaty and stinking socks as a mask that covered his nose.

I wretched when I saw this. Although I had slept in a room filled with blood earlier, wearing my own stinking socks was still not something that I would be able to do. But his next words made me realize that I would have this experience soon enough.

”What are you staring at me like a fool. Take out your socks and do the same.”

I let out a tear in remorse as I took out my socks and wear them on my face. The horrible smell almost made me vomit but I bore with it somehow.

'I have no doubt in my mind that we look like fools right now. I hope Neha never learns about this. Or else she'll mock me to death.' Then I looked at Rahul who stood straight as if he had no sense of smell and shed a bit more tears.

'Damn it! Why don't I have a more sensitive brother.'

”Let's get going.” Rahul said and started walking toward the direction where all those horrible sounds were coming from.

'Isn't this similar to how the Side characters in horror movies goes on to check on the ghost and then dies a horrible death. I hope we don't meet a similar fate.' I gritted my teeth and followed Rahul without any delay regardless of my thoughts.

Halfway there, I suddenly smelled something sweet. I didn't knew what it was but I had a feeling that if crystals had a smell then they would definitely smell like that.

'Such a sweet smell.' I mused to myself and wondered what would be on the other side.

Although we're walking in the direction where all those horrible sounds were coming from, suddenly I realized that the forest had turned silent. And not the bad kind of silent, but the peaceful kind.

I walked on a little further and the sweet smell kept on increasing. I suddenly had an impulse and took off the socks from my nose. Immediately after that, a dense and strong sweet smell pervaded my nose as I felt a sense of euphoria.

For a moment, I felt as if nothing else in the world mattered except for this place and this smell.

I walked a little further and soon enough reached in a clearing and saw a majestic looking giant tree in front of me.

Looking at me made me realize it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.

If the god wanted to create a perfect being than it would look something like this.

The giant tree gave me a peaceful feeling, and I felt a faint sense of closeness to it. It was similar to what a child would feel toward his mother.

I faintly sensed that it was calling me in it's embrace. And I felt as if even if I had to spend the rest of my life in it's embrace, it won't be that bad.

I had a faint feeling in the depth of my heart that something was out of place here but I chose to ignore it and continued on walking toward the beautiful tree and at the same time, the giant tree moved it's branches and roots toward me as if to bring me in it's embrace.

All the worries about the world faded away. All of the memories of my past faded away. Everything else unnecessary faded away. Only me and the tree remained.

Until I was smacked heavily on the back of my head and fell head first on the ground.

The beautiful world faded away. The majestic tree faded away. The peaceful atmosphere faded away.

I suddenly smelled the stench of corpses pervading my nose which made me wretch a few times in disgust. It was not as if I had not smelled corpses before. But this time the stench was incomparably heavier than ever before.

In face the stench was so heavy that for a second I felt as if it would take a physical form.

I pinched my nose strongly and looked ahead and all the hairs on my back stood on their end. In front of me laid countless corpses of all kinds of mutant beasts.

The concussion from the heavy hit on the back of my head slowly faded away and once again I heard the wailing of tens of beasts that gave me chills back then. Just that this time, it was a lot closer and lot clearer.

'There must be hundreds of corpses here.' I thought but that was not the thing that horrified me the most right now. Instead what horrified me the most was the tree that stood in between all these corpses.

It had a thick trunk which would take more than ten men to go around it. There were countless cracks and holes in the lower part of the truck from which a thick gooey pus was constantly being emitted out.

It was not really as tall as it was thick which gave it the stature similar to a dwarf. But it's leaves and branches were dense and covered the whole sky. I squinted my eyes and saw countless birds and mutant bird caught in between it's leaves and branches.

Most of them had turned into skeleton and the ones that were still alive could only watch in despair as their skin, muscles and organs were slowly sucked out of their bodies.

The situation down on the ground was not any better.

Hundreds of large roots had spread out in all directions and had covered anything and everything on their paths.

The wailing sound I previously heard was emitted from the mutant beasts who still had a little life on them and had come out of the trance due to extreme pain.

I looked at one of the Mutant buffalo which was letting out the loudest wails.

It was caught in between two thick roots and had been rendered immobile. Numerous small roots could be seen coming out of the thick roots and entering all parts of it's bodies.

The small roots were acting like straws and after they entered it's skin, they started sucking all the blood, muscles and organs.

The Mutant Buffalo was being hollowed out from the inside and could only watch on helplessly as it's life was taken away with being able to fight in the least.

I looked at the few skeletons on the ground beside it and realized that after a few painful hours, it would probably come to a similar end.

For the first time in my life, I was starting to pity these mutant beasts.

Not only because of their pitiable fates. But because I had almost joined their ranks as well.

I looked at the tree once again. The upper part of the tree was covered with hundreds of eyes most of them were looking at my direction at this moment. It gave me the feeling that it would engulf me at any moment now. Fear pervaded my being as I realized that I didn't want to stay in this horrible place any longer.

TOCK!! Until I was smashed on the back of my head once again.

”Don't look in it's eyes.” Rahul's calm words came from behind me. ”If you look into it's eyes long enough then you'll get caught into it's illusion and will start to dread it.”

”It uses it's illusions to scare away any living creature that it's not able to put in a trance.” He calmly explained.

'Is that so.' I thought and suddenly realized that he was indeed speaking the truth. Because after I looked away from it's eyes, all the fear and dread I was feeling in my heart, vanished into thin air.

'Damn it! I was fooled by this tree not once but twice.' I cursed in my heart and looked at who was staring back at the mutant tree in a calm manner.

”Why does it not affect you?” I asked in confusion. 'Do I have some kind of fault in my body because of which I was so easily caught in it's deceptions. Or is it that Rahul's special.'

”Me? It's simply because I have a lot of willpower. Also long as you have that, you won't be caught in it's deceptions nor be deceived by it.”