Eva studied the odd-shaped congregation of plant life up ahead, and then her gaze drifted up to several birds circling a weeping tree adorned in long, droopy branches. At the center of the topmost bough was a bright object, which Eva concluded was some sort of fruit. She restarted Identicapture, in hopes of getting a better holo-scan of the birds, but then one of the birds alighted on the fruit. As fast as whips, all the dangling branches on the tree snapped up, muffling the bird’s cries as they smothered the animal.

“Agh!” Eva stepped back, horrified. “What is that?” She aimed the Omnipod at the tree and waited for the device to capture an image. A hologram model was rendered in vivid detail, rotating over the Omnipod’s central eye. Once again the device replied, “Kingdom, phylum, and species: unknown.”

“Unknown?” Eva asked, astounded. “How can that be? It’s clearly some sort of tree.” Her eyes were wide as she witnessed the tree devouring the bird.

“Its size, form, and coloration do not match any of my records,” the Omnipod reported in its chirpy tone. “If anything, its basic form and actions are similar to that of an animal from the genus Hydra—”

“So that’s what this is, then?” Eva stared at the hologram of a hydra floating over the Omnipod. Its thin wispy tentacles waved about in a free-flowing fashion over its tubelike body.

“However,” continued the Omnipod, “all species of this genus are miniscule. Most are microscopic.”

“That,” Eva said, pointing to the tree, “is hardly microscopic.” The tree relaxed its branches back to their original position. The bird was gone.

“Agreed,” the Omnipod said, “which is why I concluded it was unidentifiable.”

“But you said it looks like that hydra thingy,” Eva said. “So it must be an animal.” She watched more birds circle the fruit. She realized that the weeping bird-catchers were everywhere in the forest.

“Its coloration and texture are similar to a large group of plants called algae, but I cannot make a definite conclusion,” the device added. It now displayed various types of algae with arrows pointing to various ponds, lakes, and seas where the plants could be found. Another bird squawked in the distance as another tree ate.

What is going on? Eva wondered. Why didn’t I learn about these? They are more dangerous than the stupid holographic snake that bit me. She felt another wave of numbness chill her down to her legs. “I’ve got to get back to the Sanctuary.”

The Omnipod replied to Eva’s statement, “There is a Sanctuary entryway approximately five hundred and sixty-eight meters straight ahead and slightly to the south. I can synchronize the distance with your sneakboots if you like.”