The group huddled together in our makeshift camp, faces lit by the strange glow of the luminescent fruits we'd gathered. I'd just finished explaining what the First Tree told me, and the silence that followed was heavy enough to crush coal into diamonds.
"Let me get this straight," Juan said, rubbing his temples. "We're trapped in a cosmic garden owned by some plant pervert who wants to wear one of us like a skin suit?"
"Pretty much." I leaned against a silver-barked tree, trying to look casual despite the fact that we were all on the menu for a body-snatching plant god. "Though I think he's more interested in our souls than our skin."
"Fantastic." Raphael punched the ground hard enough to send glittering sand flying. "So we're not just fighting for our lives, we're fighting for our souls too. Any other good news?"
I shrugged. "Well, the trees hate him, so at least we've got some allies."
