“Dad?” Sid said as The General inched closer, keeping his rifle level and turning from side to side.
Instead of rope, a leathery material that fell somewhere between the mucous membrane of a bat wing and grape leaves bound Sid’s legs together, while his arms hung loosely down by the side of his head, like a scarecrow that had been turned upside down. Collin could see there was something out of proportion about Sid, but it took him a moment to realize what was wrong. It was the leaves. They hadn’t grown in size, but instead of stretching from his feet to his knees, they now stretched from the top of his knee to his waist, as if they were slowly slurping Sid up, inch by inch.
“Sid, can you hear me?” The General said.
The General was close enough to touch Sid. He reached out, letting th
