Give In

Don’t go into the Walled Garden.

It had been one of the simple instructions she had been given and yet here she was, creeping towards the slightly ajar door of the Garden.

Well, Tina thought to herself. I already broke the rule about being here after dark so what the hell?

Even thinking that she still felt a ball of tension forming in her gut as she pulled the gate open and peeked inside.

The Garden on the other side of the gate looked, to Tina’s eyes, like a completely normal garden. Albeit one that is a little more overgrown that she would like. Long stalked plants grow tall along the side of the path, hiding most of the interior from her view.

Feeling slightly more bold Tina stepped further inside, looking at the plants in the gloomy half light. She noticed that these plants had a odd look to them and it took her a moment to realise what was wrong with them. These were all tropical plants, clearly meant for a swampy and humid environment.

She stepped close to one of the larger plants, It’s wide base seemed to be made of a thick bundle of roots that held the trunk of the plant off of the ground which told Tina this plant was meant for some kind of floodplain at least.

Reaching out she ran her fingers across the oddly glistening trunk of the plant and her fingers came away wet. Yet before she really had a chance to look at the fluid it seemed to dry up completely, leaving not even a slight residue on her fingers.

Before Tina had a chance to really think about that strange fluid she heard a sound from deeper in the Garden. A strange groaning sound that to her ears sounded like someone in pain. So, taking a deep breath and telling herself that she really should just turn around and get out of here, Tina headed deeper into the garden.