Crystal hunters were easy to recognize because of all the ornaments they wore. Whether as accessories on their wrists and necks, braided into their hair, or sewn onto their clothes, most carried crystals at all times, to protect themselves from monsters that could ambush them at any moment. Life outside the safety of a human settlement was dangerous, after all.

Granted, a hunter could choose to hide the crystals from plain view, but it was considered a courtesy towards others, a warning sign, to say so, considering that hunters roamed the wildland searching for the sole thing that killed nearly three-quarters of the human population two decades ago.

One day, people from all over the world began noticing some trees were growing taller than normal. Closer investigation revealed these trees were forming crystalline structures in their roots and, once these complexes stopped growing and entered a degradation phase, they turned out to be poisonous for all life forms on the planet. Fungi, plant, or animal species were all affected by crystal by-products, with animal life, particularly human life, being the most susceptible.

Different trees produced different crystals, and the environment the specific tree grew on also seemed to have an impact on the crystal’s structure and effect, but regardless of the specifics, one thing was clear: they were all deadly. From mild tampering with DNA to full-on physical degradation in a matter of seconds, when a behemoth tree started developing, the area was no longer safe for people to live.

This near-extinction event was later called the Great Collapse, as it fundamentally changed human life and society.

Fortunately, although some debate the use of such a word, a small percentage of living creatures, including humans, turned out to be at least partially resistant to crystals. For a brief moment, humanity thought the nightmare was over, only for now other plant species begin to mutate. This time, the plants didn’t become particularly large; the second wave of mutation affected mostly smaller and medium vegetal species, which grew until they acquired shapes and structures that actively attacked animal life forms.

In a twist of fate, these new mutated plants retained the susceptibility to crystals of their original species. Eventually, people found out that, after some processing, crystals could be made even more poisonous than in their raw form, and that different monster species reacted differently to distinct crystal molecules, which are commonly distinguishable by their color. This was the origin of crystal weapons. And while their effect was as deadly to monsters as it was to other life forms, when handled using proper means or by humans who naturally possessed an out of the ordinary resistance to crystal poisoning, they were very effective.

The beads Rosario braided in her hair that morning were exactly that: an extremely potent amalgamation of crystals of different colors. In addition, the cartridges for her rifle contained high concentrations of self repelling crystal particles kept under pressure, making them especially effective against larger monsters. Because of this, she wasn’t worried about a plant of the kind that didn’t move.

But the possibility of a human being siding with the monsters was a different story.

“Who’s there?” she called to whoever was hiding behind the machinery. “I don’t know why you’re feeding this thing, but I have enough crystals on me to poison everyone here to death.”

She slowly circled around the turbines and the monster plant until she saw an emaciated fox partly assimilated by the plant. The poor beast was still alive, and its claws scratching the concrete made the sound she heard before. It had probably been unconscious, but the proximity of Rosario’s crystals was hurting it.

Wasting no more time, she aimed at the monster and shot. For an instant, its vasculature became bright with the effect of the expanding crystal dust, before it began shriveling and crumbling like a burned stack of paper. The fox and the remains of the deer suffered the same fate; even the moss growing by the entrance had disintegrated into a powder.

Perhaps the worst part of being resistant to crystal poisoning was that, for Rosario, nothing changed during that moment. But she knew from her life twenty years ago how painful it felt for the ones who didn’t share her luck… or curse. Back then, she had called it a curse.

Pushing away the memories, she looked around the machine room and noticed a closed door on the opposite end; it was unlocked and opened into some sort of control room. The place had been throughly cleaned; a table with some boxes and cooking supplies was set up near a control panel, and piled against a wall were three folding beds and some duffel bags. She also recognized the locked entrance door she had knocked before, and behind it hung some work coveralls and coats. After a quick inspection, she noticed some had names: Allen, H.R., and Nellie.

Rosario inspected the boxes and discovered small tools, a clipboard, and photocopied papers. Quickly going through them, she recognized these were instructions and manuals that showed the operation of different aspects of the power plant, including notes on what needed repair. So people were trying to make that place work again. Where did keeping a monster as if it were some workplace pet fit into all this?

Maybe she had been lucky; with the truck parked nearby and the door closed, it looked like they were out, possibly hunting for more animals to feed to the abomination.

A shiver ran down her spine and Rosario decided she had enough; quickly retracing her steps, she crossed the machine room and down to the pier, untied the boat, and pushed it away with an oar. She rowed around the fence and rushed back to the camper.

She didn’t want to risk becoming a target if the hunters happened to be on their way back while she was in the middle of the lake, but for such a large area, the only solution she could think of would be to poison the air with crystal particles. Using a modified old oil lamp, she filled it with the pink dust they had left, added a piece of fast decomposing yellow crystal to it and closed the system. The mild pressure inside the lamp was enough to send crystal particles through the glass and in all directions.

Any person or animal that wasn’t hidden behind a solid structure would be hit with these invisible particles and feel their skin burn. It wouldn’t be deadly, but hopefully they would see the camper with its warning signs on all sides, realize it belongs to a crystal hunter and, not knowing if the poisoning could be worse at closer distance, think twice before leaving the forest. It was a bet, but it was better than nothing.

With the wind still relatively calm, this might give her half an hour of relative safety. She went back to the boat and headed towards the valley.

*****

She rowed for a while, always keeping an eye on the shore when a movement alerted her: an insect-like creature the size of a large dog, with an elongated body covered in an exoskeleton, ran swiftly through the forest. It sometimes jumped up to the lowest branches of the trees, using its six limbs to propel itself with little effort from one branch to the next. It had a ferocious appearance, and while it seemed to not have eyes, its nostrils and jagged mouth filled with sharp teeth were enough to show its predatory nature. Not too far ahead from the monster were Stefan and Franziska, running as fast as they could over the slippery terrain.

Almost automatically, Rosario trained her rifle at a spot right ahead of the monster and shot. The projectile, made of compressed crystal dust, penetrated the creature’s exoskeleton and still expanded some three meters like a yellow and white firework. The monster began contorting and screeching, but if monsters felt pain, Rosario didn’t care.

She approached the shore, where the children waited for her. Before the boat had even stopped, Franziska jumped aboard and into her arms. Just as Rosario was about to speak, the girl looked at her with concern.

“Rosario, are you angry?”

“Hey, where did that come from? Why would I be angry? I’m just happy you’re okay,” she said, stroking her hair. “You’re okay, right?” The girl nodded.

“But you look serious, like when you’re angry.”

“It’s because the monster was going to hurt you. And also because I saw something bad on the way here, but first things first.” She gestured to Franziska to stay where she was and went to sit next to Stefan, who in the meantime had also climbed inside the boat but remained silent, avoiding her gaze. “You’re never too old for a hug, you know? Especially after escaping from a monster,” she said as she put an arm over his shoulders.

He felt embarrassed for not getting the crystals by himself, for putting his sister in danger and needing Rosario’s help, even if he knew humans were meant to work together. He sighed; Rosario never judged him, so this beating was all on him. He hugged her back.

“We got some crystals,” he muttered, as if to excuse himself.

“This is not a paid rescue, you know?”

He chuckled.

“By the way, we also saw something bad on our way here,” said Franziska behind them.

Rosario turned around.

“Worse than that monster?”

“Yeah… a lot more,” was Stefan’s response.

*****

Even with the storm on the horizon, they went back towards the valley, to do a closer inspection of the forest where thousands of cocoons grew. For as far as they could see, the same species of mutated oak tree extended as a dense forest into the valley, and every tree carried hundreds of cocoons. If the monster that attacked the siblings was representative, and the consistent size of the cocoons seemed to indicate so, the creatures had almost completed their development. It was only a matter of time for them to hatch.

“Say, for how long did the monster chase you?” asked Rosario, trying to focus on something practical.

The siblings explained as best as they could, and she estimated that besides the twenty-story crawl drown from the tree, it likely chased them for over a kilometer. Considering that by the time she shot it, the monster was running and jumping at full strength, its energy reserves were still intact. This was not good.

Despite their appearance, monsters produced by mutated plants were not a new life form. They lacked a functional digestive system and any capability of regenerating from injuries. It would be better to see them as an offshoot from the monster plants, one that was detached from the organism that generated it, but it was still a byproduct of it. While it was unclear why these creatures had come to exist, they were all aggressive towards other living organisms. Some had additional functions, such as dispersing seeds, or carry some form of nutrient back to the plant. Nevertheless, as soon as the monster ran out of the energy it came with, it died.

“We’re going to warn the town, right?” said Franziska. Rosario turned around and gave her an empty look, her thoughts still on the forest and the monsters incubating in it. “You said there was a town near here. The monsters are big, and maybe they can run all the way there.”

“Right, of course we’re doing that. That’s the right thing to do.”

Standing behind his sister, Stefan repressed a chuckle. He’d seen right through her.

A loud thunder reverberated in the valley; after being so focused on the forest, they didn’t notice the gray clouds that now covered the sky. So, the three went back inside the boat and Rosario began rowing.

“Where did you find this boat?” said Franziska, enjoying the ride. “Can we keep it? It fits on top of the camper.”

“I don’t think we should keep it,” responded Rosario, not wanting to sound as blunt as she did, but the proximity to the power plant was making her nervous. “I found it by an old power plant. I think people are trying to repair it because I saw a truck, so it probably belongs to them.”

“You saw people?”

“Not, I didn’t see any,” she paused and took in a deep breath. “Alright, listen… and keep your heads down. Hide under the seats.”

They reached the shore near the power plant around the same time she finished recounting what she had seen inside the building.

“And that was the bad thing I saw,” she concluded; Franziska and Stefan found nothing to say this time. “So… I was going to propose this: we get to the van as quickly as possible, drive to the town, warn them, and then we leave. I know I said on the way here that fringe towns often pay better for the raw crystals, but we can try another one.”

Without saying a word, the siblings nodded.

*****