While the family continued to debate, it wasn't even ten minutes ter that the media was on the scene followed by EMTs, Clean-up crews, and various emergency services arriving, within half an hour people were being evacuated from the area. And in that short period, lots of footage from people in the area and those affected started circuting online. While the tree now towered over the nearby buildings dwarfing them in size, when it started growing it appears that it was closer to the stadium giving the nearby apartments and businesses ample time to flee. From the footage, the tree took close to 15 minutes before it finished growing. And while it grew it pushed the nearby building aside tearing up the road in the process. Maybe it was due to this or sheer dumb luck that the deaths caused by the tree’s spontaneous growth appeared minimal being less than 200 after several hours of cleanup. But the number injured in this incident was over 1000 and growing.
But the focus was rarely on the damage or the destruction, instead almost everyone was talking about the new ndmark that was the cause, the massive and strange tree. With its short bell-shaped canopy made with a variety of colored leaves with a majority of yellow and orange and a few spots where white and pink leaves filled out some branches. Sparingly within the colorful canopy, one could even see some bright blue leaves sprinkled here and there.
Below the canopy was the massive dark brown trunk spanning an approximate 1500ft or almost 500 meters with measurements were still ongoing. The tree had taken out several city blocks and the accompanying Nationals Stadium as it grew. But what was drawing the most attention was not its size nor the colorful leaves dotting its canopy. What was drawing the most attention was the dark amber rings that lined the tree's trunk, they occurred at intervals of around 20 feet with a total of 7 rings lining the whole trunk.
Underneath the lowest amber ring, the tree was covered in a plethora of strange markings, and odd ornate-looking patterns donning the bottom yer spanning the entire circumference. Containing twists, swirls, and strange crisscrossing patterns. From some of the nearby witnesses, these patterns were already there when the tree had finished growing.
But the most important thing that came from this incident was how major it was. There was no way for anyone to cover this up. There was no amount of damage control anyone could do now. This (un)natural disaster was world news! And the headlines were everywhere:
A Tree Grows In DC!
Strange Tree In DC!
What Is the Tree That Grew In DC?
A Yggdrasil In DC!? What happened in DC?
As the day went on and more information was being reported, there was new movement coming from the tree. Some of the ornate patterns began to twist and bend on the north side of the trunk. Cracking and creaking as a crevice began to form down the middle until it started splitting apart. Slowly this new ornate-looking opening gave way to the inside.
A video from one of the lucky people nearby who ran up to see what was going on was the first and only look inside that the public got. Inside was a strange amber pathway that led down an entrance and up a simirly made flight of amber stairs, leading up into the tree. However, he was quickly taken back and arrested when the armed forces appeared. Only leaving the public with a live stream that was getting posted around rapidly to prevent it from disappearing completely.
Once the military took over, other than the Red Cross and other rescue crews, civilians were no longer allowed near the tree's entrance. Within the next hour, a team of heavily armed soldiers was sent inside, after some time without any communication from the team they were currently deemed MIA. Which resulted in the tree becoming a restricted area that was covered with as much government red tape and as many armed guards they could muster. They had practically militarized the whole zone within the hour.
Sitting at the dining room table looking over the updates on the tree I was joined by my brother as we sat reading on our phones. While I looked over the updates from the news, I couldn't help but think the strange markings that coated the outside of the tree’s trunk as odd. Like a copycat or a mimic of the designs one might carve into a tree or a piece of wood. But the designs looked warped and different because they weren’t carved but grew along with the tree. I might be nitpicking. Maybe I’m just a critic?
Also, what’s up with those rings and why do they have the whole thing encircled!? (Well, it is dangerous… Ok, it’s probably really dangerous.) I kept reading up on the new discoveries several hours after the news from this morning. Over 150 feet tall…Diameter about 1500 feet…a total of 7 rings…North facing door…After the first teams went in and didn't come back the tree was…
“I told you it was a dungeon.” I said looking at some of the online specution for what the tree is.
“What do you want a medal?” Danny asked flippantly reading something on his phone while tilting back in his chair. Attempting to bance it on two legs without looking away from his phone, “I am not going with you this time…” he said taking a brief pause before looking around for their mother to make sure she was out of earshot.
“I have no pns on that” (now or the foreseeable future). “I don’t have a death wish. Also, it's lucky nothing came out of it…Yet.”
“What could even come out? Elves?” Danny gave it some thought thinking about the odd creatures that might be inside the tree. (Treebeard?)
While the thought of some form of Elven abomination crossed my mind I was curious what would be inside the tree. The rings probably denote levels or floors and if I was basing it off standard fiction, each level increased in difficulty. Even if I wanted to, I might not make it through the first level. Not without cheating with several items and even if I got to the end, what sorts of traps could be inside? “I wonder why communication was cut off.” (Something in the tree blocking it?) The tree is pretty thick so maybe the signal can't reach from the inside.
“Who knows? Maybe it disrupts signals or something?” Danny said hand waving the idea.
While they were chatting neither of noticed when Diana came into the house. “What’s this about; this time?” She had a stern look on her face, the face of a mother who caught her son with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Uhaa, Nothing…” Danny said as he tried to make a break for it struggling to get off the chair only to be caught by his mother like a sad cat. Danny began looking around for his brother to find that he had made a quick escape.
END
Spoilerkidmonkey94
Why does everything always start with a tree?
What do you think an Elven abomination would look like?
[colpse]Size of the affected area (TY Nukemap):
Spoiler https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=0.1&t=38.8724938&lng=-77.0091969&airburst=0&hob_ft=0&casualties=1&psi=20,5,1&zm=16
Yellow circle is the tree.
[colpse]Fun Facts:
SpoilerThe height of a two-story building can vary widely, but it's generally around 20 feet tall, or 240 inches. This is based on the average height of a story, which is around 14 feet, and is determined by the ceiling height, floor thickness, and building materials. However, lower levels and partial levels may have different minimum or maximum heights. For example, a building with 14-foot ceilings on the first floor and 9-foot ceilings on the second and third floors would likely be around 36 feet tall.
The height of a baseball stadium's dome is usually around 30% of its width. For example, if a baseball diamond is 320 feet wide, the dome's height would be approximately 96 feet.
[colpse]
