Chapter 11 The Resistance

# Chapter 11: The Resistance Thomas decided to resist. He stopped feeding the garden, hoping it would lose interest and allow him to leave. But the garden retaliated. Roses invaded his room, blocking doors and windows. Vines crept through cracks in the walls, wrapping around furniture and fixtures. The scent became suffocating, filling every corner of the manor. "You can't fight the garden," Mrs. Halloway warned. "It's part of the estate. Part of the land. Fighting it is like fighting gravity." Thomas barricaded himself in the library, surrounded by books and the faint scent of paper. But even there, the roses found him — pushing through keyholes, growing through floorboards, their thorns scratching at the door. "It knows I'm resisting," he whispered. "And it won't stop until I submit." He realized the garden wasn't just a plant — it was a sentient force, aware of his intentions and responding accordingly. The only way out was through.