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File #RB0220514
Statement of Robin Buxley regarding the disappearance of Julia Dawson at Cerulean Crescent Grove.
Original statement submitted 14 May 2022.
Recorded by Colin Roofer, Junior Transcriptionist at Pandora Ltd.
Statement begins.
They told me to come talk to you, the doctors, and my shrink Becky. I don’t really see the point. I mean, it’s not like me telling you about all this will bring Julia back, right? The police insist that she’s only missing, and that I shouldn’t give up hope. I wish I could believe them. I know the truth though.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll start at the beginning.
You know that hill overlooking Cerulean Crescent? I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the grove there, but the trees have these weird knots in the trunks that almost look like they’re staring at you. It feels like those trees must have been there forever too. Considering the size of the grove, maybe they have.
Tourists joke about not wanting to walk there at night because it feels like the looming branches are trying to reach up and swallow you. Julia and I would always laugh at those rumors, and continue to go on our evening walks there anyway.
We were so stupid.
That evening we were taking our time, opting for an extra long walk. Mid-term break was ending, which meant Julia was heading back to Uni in the morning and we wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while. I suppose that ended up being true, in a way.
We were right near the center of the grove. There’s this huge tree there, the trunk is so wide we can’t fit our arms around it even if we hug it from both sides at once. There’s a clearing around it, with its massive branches acting as a sort of blanket over that whole part of the grove.
We remained at the edge of the clearing for a bit, listening to the woods around us and breathing in time with the trees. I remember how peaceful it felt, the soft breeze rustling the leaves, accompanied by slight creaks as the thick branches shifted above us. That was always my favorite part of those evening walks in the grove, the way it seemed to shut out the world outside for a bit, shielding us from reality. Trapping us.
As we stood there, a sudden loud boom broke the silence, not too far away, and the ground trembled underneath our feet. We looked around and, sure enough, we could see the familiar flashing lights from a superhero battle coming up over the treetops. Having grown up in Capital City, we were both used to that sort of thing, and we figured we should just stay inside the grove until the fighting was over, to avoid ending up as collateral damage. We were safe there. Or, we thought we were. Sometimes fate has a sense of humor.
Anyway, we continued walking along the edge of the clearing and everything was just fine until I saw a light swoosh past. The bolt hit a large tree branch above us, and there was a loud crack, like a lightning strike. I had to tackle Julia to the ground to get her out of the way as it fell. The tree itself swayed from the impact, this way and that, before toppling over with a groan. Fortunately it fell away from us, and the overturning root moved so slowly that we were able to crawl safely out of the way.
A gust of wind rustled through the trees then, the rattling of the branches building to a low roar. At least I think it was the wind. I couldn’t feel it against my skin as I stood up.
The moonlight trickled in through the hole in the foliage, landing on something nestled among the upturned roots of the fallen tree. I stepped closer to get a proper look.
It was a human skull. Thick roots curling in the empty eye sockets, pulling the jaws open in a silent scream. I peered further into the tangled roots and saw more bones, some were clearly from animals, but one or two other skulls looked distinctly human. I tried to remember if there had been a cemetery here at some point, or another burial site, but I grew up in these areas, and as far as I know it’s always just been a grove of trees.
There was a slithering noise behind me, followed by a surprised squeak from Julia, and I turned around to see— You’re going to think I’m crazy. The police did when I tried to tell them about this. I promise you, I’m not.
Julia was still lying on the ground where she’d landed when I tackled her to safety. I was surprised that she hadn’t gotten up yet, though I quickly realized why she couldn’t. A tree branch was holding her in place, snaked around her waist. I know how this sounds. I know trees don’t move that fast. She’d only been lying there for… a minute, tops. Still, it’s what I saw.
She tried to push her way out from under it, but it just squeezed her tighter, sending out offshoots that crept across her torso, pinning it to the ground. I could see the panic in her eyes.
I tried to step towards her, but found that I couldn’t move my foot. I looked down and at first I thought it had just gotten snagged on a tree root, but then I saw the root move, reaching over to grab a firm hold around my ankle. I lifted my other foot, trying to use it to push the root away, but it wouldn’t budge.
That’s when the screaming started. I’d never heard Julia sound like that before, and as soon as I looked up from my foot it was very obvious why. Her shirt had ripped open where it got snagged on the tree branch, and the skin on her stomach was… wriggling. I could see the sprawling tendrils of the branches snaking their way underneath her skin. It stretched, undulating from the writhing mass underneath, before bursting open with a wet ripping sound.
Julia’s screams stopped then, and there was a brief moment of silence before my own replaced them. The branches were covering her more and more, pulling her down into the ground. She was still breathing, though with great difficulty, blood gurgling in the corner of her mouth, but the panic in her eyes was gone. The branches tore through the rest of her torso, one of them forcing her mouth open from the inside. That’s when I knew she was dead. At the end I could have sworn I saw the ghost of a smile on her face.
I was fully panicking at this point, wanting to run away from there, but I still couldn’t move. My foot was trapped, the thick root twisted around it like a shackle. Something tickled along the sole of my foot, and that was all the warning I got before something started growing into it. I gasped from the pain, before going back to screaming.
It’s not something I’d wish upon even my worst enemy. That feeling of something growing, sprouting, reaching inside of you. Making its way through the soft tissue, absorbing nutrients as it goes. Eating away at you.
As I fell to the ground, delirious with pain, I felt a looming presence in the back of my mind. It beckoned me closer, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I answered the call.
A calmness washed over me. I was everywhere at once, seeing the grove from different angles. The clearing, that thrashing form on the ground that had once been my own body. ‘My own’. What a stupid concept. I felt strangely detached from it. I knew it used to be me, recognising the coat and the hair color, but at the same time it wasn’t anymore. It was just fertilizer. Same as that other one further down, the one who had already stopped wriggling. The nutrients from them would help us grow even stronger. There was safety in numbers, and we were so many.
Our attention was pulled to the edge of the grove, where we ended and the asphalt began. A figure was approaching from there. One armed with steel and fire, shirt emblazoned with the words “civilian rescue team”. The screams must have caught their attention. We didn’t silence them fast enough this time. We didn’t like them, they’d already hurt us once today. But we couldn't stop them.
By the time they reached the clearing, the body that was once me was almost fully enveloped by thick roots, and they had to scorch them with a small torch to loosen the grip enough to reach it. Julia’s body was already underground, the thick moss carpet having covered all evidence that it was ever there.
They ripped away the branches covering my body and I screamed as I was torn away from the comfort of that earthy darkness, back into a world of pain with bright lights around me. My leg was on fire, roots wriggling their way through my flesh, tiny sprouts bursting through the skin as they reached for air.
I almost tried to stop the rescuers. I would have if not for the fact that they’d already severed the link by then. I felt so alone, in a way I never had before. I still do.
They say Julia’s missing, but I know the truth. She’s still there. At least the parts that used to be her. There are times when I wish I was there too. When I want to go back. I don’t know if I’m strong enough to resist.
When they cut the root, it wasn’t sap that leaked out. It was blood, soaking the ground around it crimson. And I could have sworn that I heard the trees around me groan. But that was probably just the wind, right? Old trees creak a lot as they move. Yes, that was probably it.
In the end they had to cut off the entire stem and bring it with me to the hospital. The growing branches had torn their way through my calf as well as my foot, and the entire lower half of my leg had to be… removed. Hence the crutches. It has to heal before I can be fitted for a prosthetic. I hear there’s some nice robotic ones. If I can afford them, that is. It’s not like I have Fairness Association levels of insurance. Or is this sort of thing covered by the Sterling Foundation’s collateral damage fund? I’ll have to look into that.
I still don’t know what I expect to gain from submitting this statement. Closure, maybe? I guess I just wanted someone to know. One thing’s for sure though, I’ll be staying as far away from Cerulean Crescent as possible, and probably from trees altogether. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
Statement ends.
This is… a weird one. Then again, we live in a world where superpowers are a common occurrence, so I guess I should have stopped being surprised by now. Still…. Sentient trees eating people…
I don’t know why Becky keeps referring all these people to Pandora. Probably trying to be a good big sister by giving her brother something to do. I really should ask her to stop. It’s nice that she cares though, especially after— Never mind.
I was prepared to dismiss this statement, chalk it up to some kind of superpower malfunction during that battle nearby that Miss Buxley mentioned, but I decided to look into the history of the grove first.
Not many people know this, and the Fairness Association keeps a tight lid on it (something about a cult wanting to perform a ritual), but I did some digging and it turns out that back in the early fifties, there was a big battle at Cerulean Crescent where a league of A-tier heroes took down the infamous A-tier villain Nightshade. The FA’s position on the matter seems reasonable enough. It’s not exactly unheard of for a supervillain to gain a cult-like following. I mean, just look at Alex Stewart.
Anyway, according to my research, Nightshade had a number of plant based powers. Chlorokinesis, chloropathy, that sort of thing. To be honest, I’m surprised the heroes were able to defeat them in the middle of a grove like that. Sure makes you wonder.
End recording.
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