Barbara moved carefully down the hallway, the dim lights above buzzing as water dripped from the pipes. Puddles spread out across the cracked floor, reflecting her shadow as she kept close to the wall. Her breath came steady, but her heart beat heavy in her chest. Then she froze. Three sets of footsteps came from ahead, faster, heavier than before.
Three humanoid shapes stepped into view. Their bodies looked human at first glance but were twisted and warped. Thick branches stuck out from their upper backs, leaves shifting faintly as they moved. Their arms and legs carried wood grafts fused into flesh, bark stretched across muscle with vines twisting tightly around their joints. Most disturbing of all, circular tanks were bolted where their heads once were. Metal frames braced the back of each tank, while the front was clear glass. Inside, wild green plant matter writhed—flowers opening and closing, roots sliding, thorns pulsing. Water sloshed inside, spilling in trickles from valves at the top. Their rotting white shirts bore numbers: Seedling-23, Seedling-28, Seedling-29.
Barbara's lips parted as she whispered, "These aren't like the last one. He's been refining them." She narrowed her eyes, watching the way they moved. Their steps were quicker, straighter, arms lifting like trained monkeys. "These are later experiments," she muttered. "More responsive. More aggressive and more deadly."
Her gaze fell to her hands. Sparks of electricity crawled across her fingers, but doubt clenched her gut. "These electrical bursts from my hands aren't going to be enough to deal with them."
Her eyes moved to the side and caught sight of an outlet feeding power to the lights above. A sudden idea struck her quickly. It felt reckless, but possible. If I can draw electricity from the outlet and amplify it through my body…
She dropped to her knees and pressed her palm to the outlet. Electricity surged up her arm, hot and violent, but the nanites in her blood steadied it, shaping the charge until it flowed through her strong and controlled. Her body trembled as her other hand lifted, glowing with electricity. The air smelled damp and heavy, each breath heavy in her lungs.
The first Seedling lunged. Water splashed from its tank as its wooden arm swung forward. Barbara threw her arm out and shot electricity into its chest. The glass tank lit up bright, the Seedling seizing violently as sparks ripped through its body. Then, with a crack like splitting wood, the charge burst out of its back and slammed into the second Seedling. Its tank exploded in a spray of water, its vines writhing before the electrical surge leapt out again. The electricity poured from the broken tank and hurled into the third Seedling, striking it square in the chest. All three convulsed together, bodies jerking in unison, their tanks glowing before glass shattered and shards rained down onto the floor.
The Seedlings collapsed in a heap, smoking branches and vines twitching once before going limp. Barbara staggered back from the outlet, breathing hard, her hands still glowing faintly from the leftover electrical charge. She brushed at her clothes quickly, checking. "I have no burns. No tears in my clothing. No singeing in my hair either." A shaky laugh escaped her throat. "Nanites… you're saving my life."
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