The black van groaned so loud it sounded like some giant was crushing it with bare hands. The metal floor buckled under Maya, bending up. The stink of gas vanished. All at once, she could smell grass and wet earth, like she’d just stepped outside after rain. The silver seed in her palm pressed hard against her skin—hungry, alive, not just growing but starving for the world.
“Stop the van! Get her out now!” a man yelled from the front.
The back doors blew open. A soldier lunged in for Maya, but he didn’t find some helpless girl. He found a jungle. Thick, thorny vines burst from the van, wrapping around his waist and flinging him aside like he weighed nothing.
Maya climbed out of the wreck. The silver glow was gone. Now, her skin looked like polished green stone, smooth and shining. Her h
