Novels by CBangs

"Elena!" Adrian shrieked in absolute, raw terror, his body pinned flat against the freezing, thrashing giant's leg. "Elena, help! I'm stuck! The tree... it's fusing with me! I can't get off!""Adrian!" Elena's voice cut through the drifting soot, sharp and panicked. "What do you mean you're stuck? Pull your hand out! Just yank it!""Oh, wow, why didn't I think of that?" Adrian yelled back, his teeth grinding together as the emerald-green veins in his right arm flared with a blinding, bio-luminescent light. "Hey, great advice! Except for the tiny detail that my hand is currently becoming a literal branch! It is literally growing wood, Elena! It’s like the world's worst high-five and the tree refuses to let go!""Hold on!" Elena shouted. She scrambled over the shattered concrete planters, her boots skidding on the wet, mossy floor. "Marcus, get over here! Help me up! We need to pull him down before he gets dragged any higher!""Are you completely out of your mind?" Marcus's raspy voice

"What the hell was that?" Marcus whispered, his shotgun wavering in his hands as the echo of the crushed radio died away."I don't think that was one of your trucks, Marcus," Adrian said, his voice cracking as he gripped the rusted metal railing of the platform. "In fact, I'm almost positive it wasn't.""Shut up!" Marcus barked, spinning around to face the shattered western wall. "Just shut the hell up! You're playing tricks on me. What did you do? Is this another one of your plant stunts?""I wish I was that good," Adrian muttered, his eyes wide as he stared into the swirling grey smoke. "But no. This is definitely out of my league."The ground groaned again, a deep, rhythmic vibration that shook the dirt right out of the hanging planters above them. Then, the thick canopy of trees outside the dome parted like grass.A colossal, bipedal redwood hybrid stepped into the clearing, its massive form towering over the ruined street. It was easily three stories tall, a living fortress of an

"Run!" Adrian screamed.The word had barely left his lips when the world outside exploded.A blinding flash of orange and white light vaporized the darkness, followed immediately by a deafening, chest-rattling boom. The shockwave tore through the air, slamming into the dome with the force of a physical blow."Get down!" Elena yelled, her voice raw as she lunged sideways, grabbing Adrian by his jacket and dragging him hard to the tiled floor.A split second later, the sky seemed to fall. Several of the massive glass panels directly above them shattered under the pressure, raining down a lethal shower of jagged, glittering shards. The concrete platform vibrated violently, throwing a cloud of ancient dust and moss into the air."Are you okay? Talk to me!" Elena shouted, covering her head with her arms as the glass pelted the concrete around them."I'm alive!" Adrian yelled back, spitting out a mouthful of gritty soot. "But my ears are ringing like crazy! And oh, great, look at that!"Thi

"They found us," Elena whispered, her face hardening. "The corporation. They're here for the research.""And they brought enough guns to level this entire neighborhood," Adrian said, looking at Elena. "We've got company, and they don't look like they're here for a botanical tour. What do we do?""We need to move, Adrian," Elena said, her voice dropping into a sharp, urgent tone. "We need to find an exit. Now.""Exit? Elena, look at the screen!" Adrian pointed a shaking finger at the cracked glass of the monitor. "They've got the front blocked. They've got the sides covered. Unless you can dig a tunnel with your bare hands, we're stuck.""Then we fight," she said, checking her empty holster and cursing under her breath. "Or we find something we can use as a weapon.""With what? A watering can and some fertilizer?" Adrian let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Look at those trucks. Those are armored personnel carriers. And that logo... that's not some random corporate outfit. That's Marcus's

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Adrian whispered.The shadow in the center of the dome resolved into a massive trunk, but it wasn't normal bark. Strips of raw, red muscle and thick animal tendons were braided into the wood, flexing and pulsing like a biological engine. At the center of the trunk, two clusters of bio-luminescent red nodes flared like angry, unblinking eyes."Okay, okay," Adrian muttered, slowly raising his hands. "Nice tree. Good willow. Let’s just keep this civil. I’m a botanist, alright? We’re practically cousins. No need to get aggressive."The willow didn't seem interested in family reunions. A thick branch, reinforced with a braided mass of twitching muscle fibers, whipped through the air with a deafening crack, smashing a stone planter right next to Adrian into a cloud of gravel."Whoa! Hey! Missed me!" Adrian yelled, diving to the tiled floor and dragging Elena’s limp body with him. "Seriously? Is that how we greet guests? That is incredibly rude! I've had

"No, no, no... please don't do this to me..." Adrian muttered, his voice cracking as he stared at Elena’s limp form.She lay perfectly still, her face pale beneath the smudged soot, her breathing dangerously slow. The purple-feathered dart was still lodged deep in her right shoulder."Elena! Come on, wake up!" Adrian hissed, frantically tapping her cheek with his left hand. "This is literally the worst possible time for a nap. Seriously! We have angry scavengers, a giant root-monster, and my arm is currently trying to cook me from the inside out. Give me a sign here!"She didn't stir. Her eyelids didn't even flutter."Great. Just great," Adrian groaned, wiping a thick layer of sweat from his forehead. "Alright, dragging it is. You are way heavier than you look, you know that? What do they feed you in the military? Lead weights? It has to be lead."He grabbed her under the arms, his glowing green-veined right arm throbbing violently as he hauled her backward."Hey! Over here! I think I