Arborvoid

The forest felt different tonight. The wind, normally carrying soft whispers of leaves and distant wildlife, moved in a slow, unnatural rhythm. Emma's grip tightened on her detection device, its hum barely audible beneath the crunch of soil beneath her boots.

Chloe's voice crackled through her earpiece, steady but urgent.

"Doc, I'm picking up a strong energy spike near you. It's concentrated along that old logging road. Be careful."

Emma's breath was shallow as she stepped forward, her body tense. The trees, thick and unwavering, loomed around her like silent witnesses.

Then—something shifted.

At first, only shadows stretched across the clearing. Then the air flickered, distorting like heat waves over pavement. A camouflaged structure shimmered into view, revealing itself in slow, creeping pulses—a sleek, angular craft, half-buried in the earth, its surface pulsing with faint energy.

Emma's stomach twisted.

Zogarian infiltrators—disguises unraveling like peeling skin—moved in eerie coordination, loading massive wooden beams with disturbing efficiency. Their true forms were unsettling. Lean. Leathery. Eyes glowing like molten gold, cutting through the dark like blades.

Then one of them—larger, scarred, and radiating authority—turned.

The instant his gaze locked onto Emma, a guttural clicking sound rippled through the clearing. His words, though foreign, slammed into her consciousness with unnatural force.

"Intruder! Eliminate!"

Emma barely had time to stumble back before the others reacted.

"Chloe, they're here!" she hissed into her comms, pulse hammering. "They're not human! They're harvesting something… and they're fast!"

"Stay mobile!" Chloe's voice fired back, sharp with urgency.

Emma bolted.

Branches snapped behind her. The creatures moved like predators, their limbs stretching unnaturally, their glowing eyes cutting through the darkness in pursuit.

---

Emma burst into her lab, breathless, heart hammering against her ribs. The door slammed shut behind her, and she fumbled with shaking hands to lock it.

"They're real, Chloe. They're actually here."

Chloe turned sharply, her fingers frozen over her keyboard. Her face had lost its color. "Okay, Doc, I'm pulling up everything I can on interspecies contact protocols… which, by the way, are non-existent for this level of crazy!"

Emma tried to steady her breath, but the adrenaline refused to leave. "We need to warn someone." She ran a hand through her hair, eyes darting to her monitor. "Authorities. But… they won't believe me."

Chloe's expression hardened. "We have to try. But we need hard evidence. Something undeniable."

Emma's gaze landed on the wood samples on her desk. The glowing strands of energy deep within the grain pulsed faintly, almost aware.

Her fear twisted into something sharper.

Resolve.

"They're taking something vital." Her voice was quieter now. Measured. "Something they desperately need. And we're standing in their way. Chloe… this isn't just about trees."

Emma traced her fingers across the wood. Its energy hummed against her skin.

"This is about survival."