My breath came rapidly as I tried to calm down. I almost laughed at myself. I thought I’d be used to this by now. But this? It had shattered whatever notion I had about humanity persevering. What I thought might’ve been a bastion of survivors was nothing but deathtrap.

And there were people still stuck in there.

Something, however, made me stare at the skyscraper. Was it [Solo’s Instinct]? The vines and roots that entwined it, curling as if possessive, gnarled. From here, far away, yet close enough to see. A… creature, a being, moving and writhing, if only minutely. Like staring at the clouds and not realizing they had taken a new shape.

Suddenly, I felt small.

Field Boss: [Rootmother Hivemind]

An enormous organism that subjugates all life around it. It is native to humid environments and often operates from submerged caves, hollowed trees, or other large structures. Its roots can spread across an entire ecosystem, effectively dominating the land.

“What the fuck.” I breathed, realizing I was staring at a single living thing. One the size of a skyscraper.

I was out of my depth and the panic kicked in. A hysterical fear that I barely managed to squash on account of apparent immediate safety. Still, my hands were shaky as I stared at this thing. My eyes wide, my face pale.

A Field Boss.

Anyone who’d come anywhere near wouldn’t have stood a chance. It wasn’t fair. It was luring others, survivors who’d powered through the initial shock, only to end up here.

I watched mutely, helpless, as a group of people walked into the skyscraper. I—I couldn’t help these people. It was impossible. Unfeasible, even for someone like me. This was that obstacle, where multiple me’s were useless.

I wanted to turn around. Oh I wanted it so bad, to leave these people and condemn them to this hell, to just forget. But I couldn’t. I refused, not even daring to shift an inch in the opposite direction.

Could I ever look at myself again, if I did? It was Horace all over again, I realized.

“This time, if I save a single one, I’ll call it a win.” I grimaced.

I spent the better part of the day tackling the biggest problem. That weird insect that was no doubt the vector of this [Rootmother Hivemind’s] control. It took a careful clone to discover their nature.

They came from the pools around the skyscraper. They were wriggling right under the water, a few leaving every now and then, only to return back to the pool. I didn’t think they could leave for any long amount of time, not unless they found a host.

I read the description of the Field Boss again. “They like humid environments, right? Is this why?” Staring at the pools sent a shiver down my spine. It must’ve been thousands, just in a single pool, waiting for something to come close enough.

I could trace roots from the skyscraper plunging into those pools, spreading outward. An entirely different root system than the enormous tree in the center of it all. Smaller, if only relatively.

I climbed to a higher vantage point, on the edge of the immense clearing that the giant tree commanded. Far away from the Field Boss. From here, I thought I could see the difference in the root structure, the swamp tree’s roots were thicker and only thinned minutely as they expanded. The [Rootmother Hivemind’s] was still nascent, stemming from the skyscraper, and much smaller compared to the swamp’s. I perched there as my clones roamed below, safe as I could manage. Second stayed with me as Third and Fourth did reconnaissance.

I functioned as overwatch, noting the movements of those possessed, grimacing at the routine I saw. Third and Fourth heard snippets of the same conversations, saw the same movements. The people noticed me, I saw it in their eyes, but the [Rootmother Hivemind] did not.

I watched as Third and Fourth found someone fairly isolated, far from any pool of water, and subdued him. As soon as I knocked him to the ground, I spotted three other groups start moving toward him.

I flipped the unconscious man over, hand going for the sapling at his neck. And I hesitated. There were footsteps now, eerily silent despite the rush to their movements. I was running out of time. I barely had a minute to think.

“Fuck.” I grimaced, watching Third and Fourth abandon him.

“Can’t be sure it won’t kill him.” Second spoke from behind me, grave. He was leaning against the trunk, watching my back. “But if not that, then what?”

My eyes drifted to the skyscraper as my clones pulled out. The enthralled survivors swarmed around the unconscious man but made no move to follow me, if they even could. I frowned, regarding the swamp and began to make slow circuit of the pools.

I traversed the gnarled terrain with relative ease, climbing over roots that overlapped, twisted, and curled every which way. My aim was the side of the clearing closest to the skyscraper—to the rootmother.

Once I got there I had a better view. On the other side of the skyscraper, I found a parking lot full of cars. Employee parking. Vines grew over the entire thing, roots grasping at tires and trying to inch between car windows, breaking apart cement and bursting through any cracks.

Had the terrain been anything else, a car might’ve been useful.

I held both my palms up and boosted myself up to the next ledge. The clone reached down, pulling me up. Rinse and repeat. Here I was out of range from the thing, at least from its roots. [Low Profile] meant I didn’t have to worry whether or not it ‘saw’ me.

The building had a number of unobstructed entrances though just as many were blocked by the things tendrils. The pit in my stomach grew as I watched another group of survivors herded inside.

The door opened, people walked in, and I had the barest moment to witness something jerk all of them away before the door closed again.

Then something stupid crossed my mind. And damn it, I couldn’t ignore it.

My gaze drifted to the parking lot.