Roots of Change

roots

November 19th, 2016

The lights in the sky were a diversion. We should have looked down.

November 20th, 2016

In a matter of days, the following terms will have meaning to everyone in the world:

That which grows through our heels.

That which tastes our skin.

That which fills our pores.

That which empties.

November 21st, 2016

Laura is dead. Gus is dead. Mohammad is dead. Nes is dead.

November 22nd, 2016

Where can one go when everywhere is a trap waiting to be sprung? I feel as if I’m navigating an endless minefield, with every step having the potential to be my last. Everyone is staring at the sky with hope in their eyes. Everyone is going to die.

November 23rd, 2016

We shouldn’t have gone looking for them.

November 24th, 2016

Roger is dead. He is standing right in front of me.

November 25th, 2016

That which grows through Roger’s heels has reached his calves and thighs. His neck is still craned skyward and his beatific smile has yet to slip. His death mask is one of hope and astonishment. His body is being digested as he stands.

November 26th, 2016

The last of our group received a message from the other side of the base. Everyone is still to remain silent. I refuse. Even if I’m dead by the time this is released, people can still say they had some warning.

It may be too late.

November 27th, 2016

Dr. Franklin is dead. He was taken while in the shower. I was called to officially verify the cause of death, as if it were possible to have been anything other than what was already obvious. He was rooted to the ground and they continued to grow through the tile floor. As I watched, his achilles tendons snapped and rolled up into his calves. He did not fall. The growths seem to be moving faster now. Their tiny tongues flick over his skin.

November 28th, 2016

Laura, Gus, Mohammad, and Nes have started to undergo phase two. Their pores are stretching. The stalks are starting to push out. We can see the entities moving throughout their bodies. How such enormous pressure can be contained by skin is a mystery I hope to die before uncovering.

Mohammad has connected to Gus. Laura and Nes are growing away from the cluster. Seabirds are dying.

November 29th, 2016

Roger has connected to Dr. Franklin across a space of 250 yards. There appears to be no material strong enough to block the connections once they’ve started.

Both Roger and the doctor have gone into phase two faster than any of the others.

November 30th, 2016

The eruptions from the ground are reaching into the sky to capture birds. It began with a few in the vicinity of the Laura/Gus/Mohammad/Nes cluster, but it has spread island-wide. The highest burst point appears to be 1200 feet.

December 1st, 2016

One of our watercraft discovered a blue whale five feet below the surface. The animal had been rooted. Further investigation showed a 200’ swath below the whale had also been rooted. Some of the affected had reached phase three.

December 2nd, 2016

All the dead on the island have entered phase three. The entities are emptying out of the pores and transforming the ground below. The birds which had been rooted mid flight are raining the substance onto the ground and water below. The new biology is beginning to take hold. It’s becoming harder to breathe.

December 3rd, 2016

The first report of rooting on the mainland came through overnight. There is nothing left to do but wait. If the lights give you any pleasure, just keep watching them. Just enjoy the moment for as long as you can. I’m sorry.

Back to story index.

8 Replies to “Roots of Change”

  1. Regina Pearson says:

    Your stories never cease to unnerve me. I love when you do the journal type ones. The author always trying to be objective, but you can still feel creeping horror.

    1. Thanks Regina! I like doing the journal ones a lot – maybe I’ll do a few more in the near future 🙂

  2. My god, that really scared me, and I am almost impossible to scare.
    Wow.

    1. That’s one of the best things I can hear! Thanks! 😀

  3. How long have you been writing? I’m an aspiring horror author myself but the exact words to express my ideas always remain shrouded. They’re so close too; they’re just on the tips of my fingers.

  4. Papa midnight says:

    Hey Max great work man would it be possible to get rights for the stories so that I could do them On my channel

  5. I’ve been reading your writing for a while and it’s always the body horror ones that stick with me the most. You have an absolutely amazing way of writing of the grotesque and sickening, especially regarding plant life and biological mutilation.
    I do some horror writing in my spare time, and your writing and the themes you cover (such as the strange sexuality that you seem to weave into your stories) are the polar opposite of anything I’ve ever written or read, and it’s honestly refreshing in an odd way. These stories have opened my eyes to a whole new type of horror and I’m definitely using your writing as an inspiration to create and improve my future writing.

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