They reached the old fire tower just before sunset.
Metal stairs spiraled upward into fog.
Rohan climbed first.
"If it can copy us, let's see if it can climb."
Bad idea.
Behind them, the monster touched the stairs.
Its fingers split into gripping shapes.
It learned immediately.
Metal screamed as it followed.
Halfway up, Aditi slipped.
Maya caught her wrist just as the creature's arm stretched unnaturally long toward her ankle.
Its skin rippled, reshaping for grip.
Rohan grabbed a flare gun from his bag.
"Hey, forest demon!"
He fired.
The flare exploded inside the creature's shoulder.
It didn't bleed.
It opened.
Inside were half-formed faces.
Eyes learning where to belong.
Mouths learning shape.
The monster shrieked with too many throats at once.
It fell backward, tearing branches apart as it crashed below.
They collapsed onto the tower platform, shaking.
Aditi cried.
"Is it dead?"
From below came movement.
Slow.
Rebuilding.
Maya whispered,
"No."
The forest replied with cracking bones.