Gallowsvine Spitter

The first pod hit the cart. Black sap and hooked seeds splashed over a wheel, and little vines stitched spokes to axle. The second struck Maren's coat. Hooks drew toward her throat, holding her for the roots moving under the clay.

The Spitter had looked like a tire rolled in kudzu. Three thorn mouths rose from it, and red roots dragged it out of the ditch. Its upper stems passed for roadside growth; underneath it was pale and slick. Salt freed Maren. The body retreated into a storm grate before we found the crown that had sent it.

These are hunting shoots of a larger gallows colony, reaching places the hanging loops cannot. They aim low at feet or wheels, then seed clothing to hold prey. They seldom approach a moving target until a pod lands. Several can fire from separate drains and retreat on one underground runner.

Black sap marks what they can sense. Throwing a coated object may draw the next volley. Exposed on pavement, a Spitter seeks a grate or curb crack, or the nearest kudzu, instead of holding its ground.