The Long Tale No. 44 - The Burning Disease

A flicker of flame. A tendril of smoke. That was all the warning that the man had before the forest fought back against the oncoming disease. The line of trees behind him caught alight and formed a ring of fire around the suffocating smog, choking the disease with grey, wooden smoke. The poison screamed, its cry resonating with the pain of all that it had killed. But still the forest squeezed. The blaze crept further towards the smog, spitting sparks at it in detest. Flames ran along the poison, burning it into oblivion. The forest was fighting back. And winning...