3 Chapter 3 - Turtle Power (1/2)

The vines were creeping slowly towards the beast that was trying to have him for a snack.Dustin saw that the roots weren't going to hold for long, and looked around for a solution.Above his head, he saw that the core of the tree was actually hollow.Small blue fruits were growing, and tiny bugs swarmed over them.

Nope, not doing bugs.He looked around.There were other trees around, but he wasn't sure he could get to them before this thing took him down.He had no weapons, and his PED was currently busy.Okay, he could deal with this.Taking a breath, he prepared to act, when suddenly, one of the vines touched the monster's foot.

Within seconds, it slowed and fell to the ground.

Dustin didn't waste any time.If those vines could do that to such a huge creature, he wanted nothing to do with them.In fact, a few were already moving in his direction again.Climbing back out of the tangled mess of trees was a bit more difficult, but he managed.Once outside of their range, the vines went back to wrapping around the giant creature.

Even though his PED was busy now, didn't mean it would be in the near future, and he wasn't going to waste an opportunity like this.He snatched up a rock and chopped off a piece of its tail.He wasn't sure what he might get from its genes, but they had to help him survive a little longer.

Standing back, Dustin observed the vines.He figured most things probably feared this tree, so if he stayed near it while his PED was syncing, he would be relatively safe, and thankfully, that held true.

(INTEGRATION WITH HOST COMPLETE)

Finally, he shoved the piece of flesh into the port, and waited.

(GENETIC MATERIAL ACQUIRED.BEGINNING ANALYSIS)

He had seen countless types of birds and small creatures flitting about the trees around him, but none seemed interested in him enough to get close.Maybe he didn't want to stay by this tree for too much longer.

(AVAILABLE EVOLUTIONS: WATER RESISTANT FUR, ENHANCED SMELL, HEAT VISION, PHEROMONE CONTROL)

Dustin thought about that.They all sounded good.

”Initiate Evolution,” he thought to it.

(EVOLUTION INITIATED)

Dustin watched his skin changed from a pale clammy texture, to that of a soft dark gray colored fur.His vision also became sharper, and he could focus on the temperature of his surroundings.

Swallowing, he suddenly realized he was surrounded by creatures that were staying just outside reach of the tree's vines.They were huge, much larger than the one that had just attacked him.And as he looked at the tree before him, he saw that it had a huge heat signature just below the ground, under the main root section.