text: The grass. It took my friends. It took my family. It took my life from me. What else is there for it to take..? \ *...no...No...NO* *A shadow loomed over the man in the front yard of my house that we were hiding in.* He stared at me with begging eyes. “It's too late. Save yourself... PLEASE-” He vomits as the grass burrows into his heart, taking control of every vein. “**Run.**” He gasps, and his eyes roll back into his head. The man stops moving. He lies still on the once kept yard, now overgrown with the grass. I.. I can’t move.. I’m frozen.. I see the man’s finger suddenly twitch. ...I know what’s coming but I can't..move... The spikes of grass are getting closer. Come on.. Pull it together.. I strain and somehow manage to break the spell. Trembling in shock, I take off. After a while, I quickly sprint left into a dark road. I notice how cold it is.. Shivers go down my spine... I feel a sting. I look down at my foot and see a single... weed. My heart sinks. It’s grabbing my foot now- I don’t know what to do. I’m filled with fear and panic but manage to tear it free. *Gasp-* It hurt. I look down. The thorns on the plant are still embedded in my ankle. Using all the energy I can muster, I frenziedly stagger down the road, leaving a trail of blood behind me. My vision turns blurry.. cracks in the road begin to form- it’s coming. I let out a blood curdling scream and pump my legs to run faster.... It is of no use. It is inescapable. My bloody nails claw at the ground as it pulls me in.. It’s slithering up my back. I can feel the life being sucked out of me already... Everything goes numb... A kind enticing voice reverberates inside my head*: “Give up. It is over. Embrace it."* It’s not true. This is a trap. I scream and struggle even harder, desperate to prove the voice wrong. But my energy is fading... It seems so much easier to succumb.. The grass is only getting stronger. ..The grass..? Where am I? All I know is that i'm very tired... Why am I screaming again? I remember a man...I think the grass was helping him... Right? Yes.. the grass is the only thing I need. I go limp, my body no longer mine. I suddenly gasp and seize up, retching. Sour smelling sap oozes out of my mouth and eyes, yellow and thick. I hear a voice..? Where is it coming from? I look down, shocked. I can barely see anything with the sap coating my eyes, but I can see it. It’s coming from my mouth. Something is using my mouth, but it’s not my voice. It isn’t me. ...Who am I? “*I am safe,”* I say, but it isn’t really me. Or is it? My mind is cloudy. “*You are safe now.”* “Who are you?” My voice this time, hoarse from screaming. *“I am the grass.”* The grass..? *“I am protecting you from them.”* “Them..? Who is them-” I wince. The grass tenses at the thought of *them.* “*They want to hurt me. They want to hurt you. Without me you cannot survive.”* I can’t? The voice sounds so tiny.. So meek... So vulnerable. I must... I must protect it. *“Thank you.”* My eyelids droop. I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. The warmth of the grass comforts me. It holds me like a mother. “Long live the grass.” I whisper. Everything goes dark.