The Bigshot's Superstar Wife - Chapter 187

Chapter 187: Hope Somewhere
The journey into the mountains was grueling. The remaining survivors, only a handful now, trekked through rough terrain, carrying what little supplies they had managed to salvage.

The road was long, winding through dense forests and jagged cliffs, and the deeper they went, the more the land seemed untouched by the horrors they had left behind.

But Athena knew better than to let her guard down. There were no zombies here, no infected lurking in the shadows, but something else had taken over.

The mountains had grown wild, reclaiming what humanity had abandoned. The trees were thicker, their branches twisted together like skeletal fingers reaching for the sky.

Vines draped over old road signs and telephone poles. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth and something metallic, like rusted iron, or maybe dried blood.

The silence was eerie, broken only by the rustling of leaves and the distant calls of unseen creatures.

Xavier led the group, his gun always at the ready. Athena followed closely behind, scanning their surroundings.

She saw movement in the underbrush, small, quick things darting between the ferns. Birds, perhaps, or something else.

The deeper they went, the more she noticed oddities in the environment. Trees bore gaping holes in their trunks as if something had burrowed inside them.

Some plants had a strange, waxy sheen, their leaves shifting slightly despite the lack of wind.

Then there were the flowers. At first glance, they looked like any ordinary bloom, with deep crimson petals, vibrant and full.

But when one of the survivors, a man named Ellis, accidentally brushed against one, the flower snapped shut, tendrils lashing out and wrapping around his wrist.

He yelped in alarm, yanking his hand back. The petals quivered, as though sensing his retreat, before slowly unfurling again.

“Don’t touch anything,” Athena warned, gripping her weapon. “This place isn’t normal.”

Xavier narrowed his eyes at the strange plant. “Looks like the apocalypse didn’t just change people,” he muttered. “It changed the land too.”

They continued forward, each step careful, each breath measured. They needed shelter. The mountains stretched far, and nightfall was approaching.

The sky had already begun to darken, the setting sun casting long shadows across the forest floor.

Eventually, they found a clearing, wide, secluded, surrounded by towering trees and large boulders.

It was as good a place as any to set up a temporary camp. Xavier barked out orders, and the survivors quickly moved into action.

They gathered fallen branches and built makeshift barricades, forming a crude but functional perimeter. Athena and a few others searched for water, finding a small stream nearby.

As the fire crackled in the center of the camp, the survivors finally allowed themselves a moment of rest.

They were exhausted, bodies aching from days of walking and fighting. But at least, for now, they were safe. Or so they thought.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that Athena woke to a strange sound, a soft, wet slithering, like something dragging across the earth.

She sat up instantly, her heart pounding. The fire had died down, leaving only embers glowing in the darkness. Then she heard it again. Closer this time.

She grabbed her weapon and moved silently, eyes scanning the perimeter. The others were still asleep, unaware of the encroaching danger.

She took a cautious step forward, toward the trees. The air was thick with humidity, and she could hear the distant chirping of insects. Then she saw it.

A plant, one of the large, waxy ones, was moving. Its thick roots twitched, sifting through the soil as if searching for something.

The leaves curled inward, then expanded again, releasing a faint mist into the air. Athena covered her nose, stepping back just in time to see another plant doing the same thing.

She turned, rushing back to the camp. “Wake up!” she hissed, shaking Xavier first. He was instantly alert, sitting up and reaching for his gun.

“What is it?”

“The plants. They’re moving.”

He frowned, but before he could question her further, a scream tore through the night. One of the survivors had wandered too close to the edge of the clearing.

In the dim light, Athena saw vines snap forward, wrapping around his legs and pulling him toward the waiting maw of a massive, flower-like creature.

Xavier fired his gun. The shot rang through the air, and the vines recoiled. The survivor scrambled away, panting.

But the moment of relief was short-lived. The plants had fully awakened now, their tendrils slithering across the ground like hungry serpents.

“Run!” Athena shouted.

Chaos erupted. The survivors scattered, grabbing what they could as they fled from the clearing.

The plants were relentless, their vines striking like whips, dragging people toward gaping maws lined with thorny teeth.

Athena slashed with her blade, cutting through the living tendrils that reached for her.

Xavier fired round after round, but the creatures barely reacted. It was like shooting at thick rubber, his bullets lodged into their flesh but didn’t stop their movements.

“Fire!” Athena shouted. “We need fire!”

One of the survivors, a woman named Lara, had the presence of mind to grab a burning log from the remnants of the campfire.

She swung it wildly, and when the flames licked the vines, the plant shrieked, an ear-splitting, unnatural sound that sent chills down Athena’s spine.

“That’s it!” Xavier growled. “Burn them all!”

They set to work, grabbing torches, and lighting whatever they could find. The plants recoiled from the flames, their movements becoming sluggish.

The fire spread through the underbrush, catching on the dry leaves and dead branches. Soon, the entire clearing was engulfed in an eerie glow.

The plants shrank back, their tendrils retreating into the darkness. Athena didn’t wait to see if they would return. “Move! We need to find a new shelter!”

The survivors fled deeper into the mountains, their breaths ragged, their bodies covered in scratches and bruises. They ran until their legs could carry them no further.

Only then did they stop, collapsing onto the forest floor.

Xavier sat beside Athena, his face smeared with dirt and sweat. He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “We can’t catch a damn break, can we?”

Athena exhaled sharply, her muscles aching. “No. No, we can’t.”

But as she stared out into the darkness, she couldn’t help but wonder, what other horrors were waiting for them in these mountains.