TRACKS OF TERROR -- DAY 23: SNARED BY VINES -- THE RESCUE MISSION ================================================================ Published: March 19, 2025 Author: Daniel Conderman Context: Recovered Conderman.Group interactive survival-horror serial Original URL: https://conderman.group/2025/03/day-23-snared-by-vines-the-rescue-mission/ GAME/BLOG INTRODUCTION ---------------------- Welcome back, fearless and hopefully not plant-chow survivors, to Tracks of Terror: The Last Train to Save Your Butt. I'm Barnabas, pinned by a relentless vine inside the overgrown greenhouse. Penny chooses Help while R.C. chooses Fight. Let's see how those moves collide. WHERE WE LEFT OFF ----------------- I'm flat on my back, ankle ensnared, as more creepers edge closer. Penny spots me and calls, "He's down! Help me get him out!" R.C. storms back with a machete, crowbar, or whatever improvised weapon he can use. Penny skids to a halt beside me and pries at the creeper. R.C. hacks at the writhing foliage. Green sap splatters and the vine jerks like a wounded snake. THE RESCUE ---------- Penny wedges a broken piece of planter between the vine and my ankle, creating a gap. Whenever the vine recoils, she levers it away. Her face is pale, but her grip is steady. "I've got you!" she insists. R.C. slices through additional vines approaching from the side. A barbed creeper lashes at his arm; he drives his weapon down and severs it. The odd green fluid continues dripping from overhead and fueling more growth. With Penny prying and R.C. slashing, I scramble to my feet. My boot is shredded and my pant leg sticky with sap, but I'm intact. We stagger toward survivors who have not yet reached the far door. The drip above seems to accelerate the vines. If we do not stop it, the greenhouse may become an impenetrable nest. THE SCENE: ESCAPE OR OVERRUN? ----------------------------- We are still mid-greenhouse. Giant leaves lean toward us like hungry mouths. Survivors near the exit wave frantically: "We have to go--NOW!" Penny keeps a protective arm near me. R.C. pants, his blade dripping with sap. We cannot stay, but sprinting blindly might lead to another snare. YOUR FIVE CHOICES ----------------- Fight -- Follow R.C., hacking until there is a safe path. Sneak -- Use the writhing vines as a distraction and slip through quietly. Run -- Dash for the far door before the plants seal the exit. Fix -- Find the sprayer controls and shut them down. Help -- Aid other stragglers so nobody is left behind. CLIFFHANGER: DO WE ESCAPE THE HUNGRY GREEN? ------------------------------------------- Thanks to Penny and R.C., I'm free this time. But the greenhouse is closing in. Tomorrow we'll learn whether we can outmaneuver this botanical nightmare or whether the plants reclaim their prey.