7/29/2019 The Night of the Cholla http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-night-of-the-cholla 1/37 THE NIGHT OF THE CHOLLA “Good evening, everyone. I’m John Phillips with the News at Six. Here are our top stories! The Governor announced in Albany today that he will sign off on the widely talked about Nomad Project, scheduled to begin next month. The project, also supported by the mayor, is slated to bring hundreds of new jobs to the New York City area. Though lawmakers agree it would be a big boost for the city, many have protested the project saying that it jeopardizes the quality of life in the New York City area. “Project Nomad, the name chosen by the Corp of Engineers, will bring about the reopening of the old research facility in the Bronx that was closed in the Fifties. The facility, once used to test and house radioactive material, was deemed unsafe in 1957 and was immediately shut down by the Governor. “Since the closing of the Bronx facility, the New York Botanical Garden has played host to several major research projects which have helped fund the Garden’s popular exhibits and expansion plans. When the old facility is reopened, those research projects will begin operating from that research facility. This will allow nonprofit organizations to use the newly vacated space at the Botanical Garden. “In other news, the body of twenty-six year old botanist Karen Moore was discovered by her coworker sometime after five this evening at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s main greenhouse. Police officials have locked down the main greenhouse to gather clues as to what happened to the botanist. She had been struck several times about the throat and back, the apparent victim of a horrific– just a moment. 1
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“Were getting word that the police have discovered her alleged attacker is still in the
greenhouse. We go live to our field correspondent, Lisa Breslaw, on scene at the Brooklyn
Botanical Garden. Lisa, what can you tell us?”
“Well, John, police were inside the greenhouse gathering evidence when they say two of
their fellow officers were attacked from behind and stabbed repeatedly around the neck and
shoulders. Both officers were taken to Methodist Hospital. One died shortly after arrival. The
other officer is listed in stable condition. Their names have not been released at this time.
“The police have locked the building down and called for back up. An aerial unit was
sent up a short time ago, equipped with infrared, to see if police can pinpoint the exact locationof the assailant inside, but heavy amounts of heat and moisture are making it impossible to track
movement. Police units have closed off the streets leading to the gardens and surrounded the
building. It’s clear that whoever committed this crime, and the attack on the botanist, is about to
give the police a long standoff. We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops. Reporting live
form the Botanical Garden in Brooklyn, I’m Lisa Breslaw, back to you John.”
I got the call about the case several hours after the news report. I really wasn’t too
surprised when they called, given the recent events that had unfolded. When I first heard about
the individuals being attacked, I immediately thought that no person could have done it. It had to
be something else: something closer to nature.
I had worked cases where those attacked by poisonous and venomous creatures were
often found with small markings on them, with bites and sting markings clustered in multiples to
ensure the attacks would be lethal. Venomous creatures’ attacks were intended to kill when it
came to people. That seemed to ben the case with the three victims in the greenhouse.
“Well, if the other two victims were attacked the same way, I will need to look at the
bodies and see the entry points of the venom to determine what it might be. I do have some
expertise with that. So, detective, no one saw what attacked them?” I asked.
“No, and I refuse to allow anyone else in the greenhouse at this point until we’re sure
what it might be.”
“I see, well, I will need-”
“Yes, I know. That’s already been arranged.”
“It will take me about an hour to get down there.”
“Thirty minutes. A car is downstairs now waiting for you,” he said and hung up.I looked outside and sure enough there was the detective standing alongside his sedan and
a black and white waiting to take me to the ME’s office. Right then I knew this night was going
to be a hard one.
When I got to the ME’s office we got right to work. Dr. Kelley and I looked at the
wounds on the neck and shoulders of the victims. There were a lot of them: small round wounds
surrounded by swollen skin that had turned red. The area around the wounds was also inflamed
due to the distribution of the venom. She then showed me a tissue sample she had under a
microscope and I felt a chill go down my spine.
“Is this right?”
“Blood work hasn’t come back yet. But when we tested the skin, we found high
concentrations of that substance,” she said.
“But this couldn’t come from an animal or insect. I mean, there are species of fish that
are toxic but not even to this magnitude,” I replied.
“So unless it’s a walking fish, you have a major issue on your hands.”
“Yes, I do. Because this it isn’t venom, it’s poison,” I said.
“I told you that you weren’t going to like this,” she whispered to me. “I didn’t want to tell
him that until you got here.”
“I’m sorry, did you say poison?” Detective Elliot asked. He had been in the room while
we assessed the bodies.
“Yes, venom and poison are different. You see, poisons are substances that cause illness
or death by chemical reaction. It’s a biological toxin that is absorbed either through the gut or
skin.” I turned to look closer at the wounds on the bodies and waved him over. “You see these
holes? If you look around the edges of them, and over here, about a couple of centimeters, seethat red swelling? That’s where the poison was laid and absorbed.”
Detective Elliot still looked confused by what I was explaining to him.
“So these little holes here are not bite marks?”
“They look more like a puncture hole left by a thorn or a barb. Sea urchins, for example,
leave marks like this. But whatever made this hole must have had some kind of poisonous skin or
secretion that left this behind,” I said.
“So what’s venom then?” Detective Elliot asked.
“Venom is also a biological toxin but it’s injected. Nothing in the bloodstream means this
stuff attacked the skin and nerves. Death was painful,” I said. “Has anyone else gone into the
greenhouse since you came to me?”
“I left strict orders not to let anyone in there. What do you think did this?” he asked.
“I’m not sure, but we need to go down there. Tell them to get the head botanist and meet
me there. I need to ask some questions.” I turned to Dr. Kelly. “Find out exactly what kind of
“I know, but I need to be absolutely sure so I’ll know what to tell the area hospital to
have ready in case anyone else gets hurt. It will also help me determine what to look for. Let’s
get to the Garden. Time is of the essence.”
I grabbed the Polaroid camera off the shell and took some shots of the wounds. I would
need them for the botanist.
As we walked through the Botanical Garden I pondered what could have attacked the
cops and the botanist. With the type of poison I saw under the microscope, I couldn’t put a finger on anything. It would have had to be something of a considerable size. Not to mention it could
hide among the plants. Then, as I looked around, a funny thought entered my head. What if it
wasn’t a creature at all? What if it was a plant?
I knew very little about poisonous plants. Hell, the only poisonous plant I could identify
was poison ivy and all I knew was that it left a bad rash. Unless you’re allergic to the toxin, it
didn’t kill you. Besides, the wounds on the victims’ backs looked like attack wounds and plants
don’t attack people. At least I had never heard of plants attacking people. Was that even possible,
I wondered.
Detective Elliot walked beside me as we arrived at the greenhouse where there was a
large police presence on standby. He went over to a small command center that had been set up
where the Chief of Police and a short woman in glasses wearing a long coat were waiting. I was
introduced to the chief and then to the woman.
“This is Dr. Gloria Bennet, one of the head botanists here at the gardens,” the chief said.
“Were you able to determine what killed my men and that girl?”
“I can tell you that they were all killed by a highly potent poison,” I said.
“A poison? From what?” the chief asked.
“That’s what we need to find out.” I took the pictures out and showed them to the doctor.
“Dr. Bennet, these wounds were found on the victims. The ME confirms it’s poison. I wanted
you to look at this and tell me if it looks familiar.”
She took the pictures and looked at the wounds. I watched for her response. “I don’t think
I have ever seen anything like this before,” she said.
“At first I thought it was a reptile or animal of some sort but I have to ask, do you have
you any poisonous plants in there? Something with thorns or barbs that could do this?” I asked.“That’s ridiculous. Those people were attacked,” the chief said.
“I know, but I just want to be sure,” I said.
“Sure of what?”
Dr. Bennet shook her head after she thought about my question. “All our poisonous
plants are in another building. We wouldn’t put them in the main pavilion,” she said.
“What about weeds? Aren’t some weeds dangerous?”
“Hogweed is but only if you cut it. This doesn’t look like Hogweed did this.” She looked
at the pictures again. “The police say the individuals were attacked. Plants do not attack people,”
she said as she handed the pictures back to me.
I looked into her eyes and could tell that she wasn’t telling me the truth about something.
“Have you had any recent incidents around here? Minor ones, you know, with people
getting sick or anything?”
“Aside from an occasional allergy, no.”
“Well did you receive any new plants that would have gone in that greenhouse recently?”
“I understand that, but there is a chance something might have come with it. I had a case
once where a sidewinder stowed away in a crate of eggs. It happens,” I said.
Dr. Bennet thought for a moment. “I don’t recall anyone saying anything. But we got a
very nice cactus from Nevada about five weeks ago. We planted it on the second level. Other
than that…”
It was an answer I was hoping for. It quickly dispelled my thoughts of a plant and I
focused in on a more believable probability. “Desert, okay, now we’ve got something.
Greenhouse temperatures, poison secretions, small holes; it might be a lizard. It’s quite possiblethat’s what it is. There are some heavy enough to jump on someone and they do have small sharp
claws.” I took the picture from her and looked at it. “The wounds are spread out enough to be
claw marks and some lizards do secrete. Might have stowed away in the cactus and you didn’t
know about it. Okay, let me go inside and look around. I’ll need some gloves, goggles and
mask.”
“Hold on. I don’t think you should do that,” Dr. Bennet said.
“It’s okay. This is why he’s here,” said Detective Elliot, turning to me. “If your lizard
happens to walk upright and speak like a person I want you out of there fast.”
I agreed and prepped Dr. Bennet on what we were about to do. The idea was to go in and
see if I could locate the reptile’s hiding spot; then coax it out so I could get an idea of its size and
species. Once I knew that, I would come back out, get the proper removal equipment and go
back in to capture it. Most likely I would have to contact the zoo to take the reptile. And as fate
would have it there was one in Prospect Park right across the street.
the display. I picked the piece up and looked closely. Several more branches fell onto my head,
then I heard rustling. I froze and stared at the bush.
For a moment nothing happened. I continued to stay very still and waited. Then the heat
started to get to me, so I moved my hand against the floor to shift position. The leaves started to
shake. I immediately stopped and so did the shaking. There was something up there that was
watching me.
Carefully but quickly, I moved away from the crime scene and put some distance
between the bush and me. The bush continued to shake then I saw it start to split open, as if
someone was parting it. I moved out of the direct line of sight and the bush closed but keptshaking. I leaned over to see if I could tell what was making the bush shake but then it stopped. I
moved over some more and stood on my toes to get a better look. I could barely see behind the
bush. I decided to walk up to the display area while keeping my distance.
Suddenly, there was a noise that began to slowly resonate out of the silence. It sounded
like hissing at first but as it got louder it shook, making a rattling sound. It was too loud to be a
snake. It was more like a cicada, only louder.
I backed away again. The second I did, the hissing stopped and there was a muffled pop.
Something whizzed past my face and into the display behind me. There were two more pops and
I saw something silvery fly past my eyes. I wasn’t sure what it was so I got down low and ran for
the stairs. The hissing started up again but I didn’t stop. I took off up the stairs and stumbled out
the door.
“I don’t know what’s in there.” I started to take off the gear as everyone gathered around
me. “It sounded like a cicada but there are some reptiles that hiss to throw off predators or attract
circles spread out in a funny pattern in the sand. They were in various spots throughout, then
disappeared at the base of the wall. Something had crawled through it.
“It’s been out,” I said.
I knelt and put my finger inside of the print, measuring the depth of it to determine the
size of the creature with which we were dealing. They weren’t too deep, which made me guess
that it would be small in stature. Yet I couldn’t make out from the shape of the prints what I was
going to be dealing with.
“I don’t know what kind of creature made these prints,” I said.
“Maybe it went back into hiding. Where did you say you heard that noise?”I pointed to the bush. Dr. Bennet started to walk toward it but I held her back and led the
way. The sand crackled under our feet making it impossible for us to be quiet. We were only a
few steps away from the bush when that low resonating sound started up and formed into a
disturbing hiss. I told her to back up quickly and move out of the direct line of the bush. As soon
as we did there were repeating popping sounds from the bush and we saw something shootout
and strike the lower part of the display across from it. Then the hissing stopped and everything
went still. We carefully and quietly went to investigate what we saw come from out of the bush.
Along the base of the exhibit wall we found very sharp, large, silvery needles that were
dripping some kind of liquid. It was thick and oozed slowly down to the floor. The sight of them
made my blood run cold.
“What the hell is that?” I started to reach for them, but Dr. Bennet pushed my hand away.
“You stick to your field of expertise, let me stick to mine,” she said as she carefully
pulled a needle out of the wall and looked at it closely.
“I know,” she said as she turned it up to look at the tip. “I have seen some large ones
before but not like this.”
“I didn’t know a cactus could spit needles.”
“They don’t,” she said looking at me, “And they don’t secrete fluid like this from their
needles either.”
I stood up and looked at the bush. I didn’t want to move and make any noise, so again I
stood up on my toes to see if I could see over it to see the plant. I couldn’t.
“I don’t see anything back there. I’ve never heard of a spitting plant,” I said.“I don’t know of any plant that shoots needles,” she said. “I mean this looks like a cactus
needle but we don’t keep cacti down here. They’re all on the main level above us.”
I rejoined her and looked at the needle again. “Does the Garden have any poisonous
plants down here?”
“No, and nowhere in the garden do we have any with needles like this,” she said. “And I
can’t think of. . . .”
My phone rang, startling the both of us. I looked at the name on the screen and motioned
for Dr. Bennet to follow me. We returned to the upper level out of harm’s way and where my
reception was better.
“Hello?”
“It’s Dr. Kelly. You’re not going to believe this,” she said. “We just ran a test on the
poison; it’s got traces of radiation in it.”
“Radiation? Are you sure?”
“We ran it three times. Whatever you’re looking for is radioactive.”
I never finished the sentence. Hundreds of needles flew from the direction of the stairs
and struck Dr. Bennet. They pierced her suit and covered the side of her face. Immediately her
skin began to swell. She screamed and began convulsing as the poison entered her blood stream.
I reached for her as she started to pass out but her fingers slipped through my hand. When I
turned to look at the stairs a vine came swinging at me.
I ducked and started to run for the exit. I could hear the cicada hissing behind me along
with the sound of something dragging. I didn’t look back because I was afraid of what I might
see. Feeling the breeze from the swinging vines near the back of my neck, I ran in a zigzaghoping that would buy me some time. I was almost at the door when I tripped and fell on my
shoulder. Pain shot through my body as I rolled over on my back. I clenched my shoulder and
cried out in pain. It was then I saw my attacker, and my screams of pain turned to screams of
intense horror.
It was a large drooping cactus, using its roots to push itself across the floor. Standing at
roughly five feet it moved in a stop and start motion. Its spiny vines were draped down by its
sides, and the longest of the vines were scraping across the floor in a zigzag formation. The vine
passed within inches of my foot a couple of times, then it stopped.
I covered my mouth to muffle the scream, and the moment I did, the cactus stopped
moving. It brought the vines in closer to its body, except for the longer vines that rolled up its
ends, and exposed its larger needles. It was waiting for me to make the next move.
Behind me I could hear the police knocking on the door for me to let them in. But I
stayed deathly still, never taking my eyes off the plant. The cactus, however, responded to the
I cracked a smile at his sarcasm. “Simple. It’s protecting its territory.”
“I’m sorry. What do you mean it’s protecting its territory?”
“Okay, imagine for a minute you’re sitting at home relaxing then suddenly someone
comes in and tries to remove you from your living room. You would fight them off, wouldn’t
you? It’s the same principal here,” I said.
“I don’t think that’s the case,” Lieutenant Reynolds said.
“That’s because you’re looking at it from the standpoint of this thing being a plant. We
think of plants as inanimate objects, but don’t they grow? Don’t they need air and water to live?
They procreate don’t they? Some even eat insects to sustain life.”“That is true,” Dr. Baum said. “Even this species of plant attacks anything that gets close
to it.”
“And it keeps going back to the same area after the attacks. It’s not waiting in the
doorway or on the steps for anyone to come in. It thinks we’re a threat to its living space.”
“Here’s a crazy question, when and how did this particular plant gain enough self-
awareness to know when it was being threatened? I mean call me crazy,” Detective Elliot put his
hands out and shrugged his shoulders, “Unless you can tell me about another case where
something like this has happened–”
“That’s why I need to get a piece of the plant to study it. You have to let me go down
there and break off a piece to look at,” Dr. Baum said.
“You think that thing is going to let you touch it?”
“No one is going down there,” said Detective Elliot. “We’re staying the hell away from
This tainted water would be consumed and passed on to another plant during pollination,” Dr.
Baum said.
“You think that’s what happened with this Cholla?”
“It would explain the radioactive poison in the needles. But that doesn’t explain the
walking,” he said.
We sat there in silence for a moment. I thought back to my biology classes from college.
I remember having a class on cell structure. I tried to think of anything from that class that could
help me now.
“If I remember correctly, from my biology class, don’t plants move? Say if a house plantthat needed light was sitting in a dark corner, inches away from a window where sunlight was
coming in, couldn’t it lean over to get the light?”
“Not in the conventional sense you’re talking. They don’t move, but they will lean and
grow toward the light. This plant is moving up steps and crashing through windows. It’s like
something from another world,” Dr. Baum said.
“Well, this can’t be the only one like this. There have to be others. We should call
someone.”
Just as I started to suggest calling the military base in Yucca Flats, there was a knock at
the lab door. We looked up, expecting to see the police. Instead, there was a tall gentleman in a
suit and tie with two Army soldiers standing next to him.
“Dr. Baum?” he asked. “Which of you is Dr. Baum?”
“I am.”
The man smiled and entered the room. The soldiers entered with him carrying M-16’s
and stoic faces and behind them were several more people all wearing white coats. When they
When I opened my eyes, the soldiers were gone. I got up slowly and looked around to get
my bearings before going outside.
The second I stepped out of the building I could smell the gunpowder. The air was thick
with it. Walking down the path that led back to the greenhouse I was hit by a thin layer of smoke.
I felt something hard crackle under my feet. I looked down and saw bits of glass everywhere. But
I didn’t stop walking. I continued on the path and followed it around a turn.
There were shell casings from a machine gun, and several from shotguns, scattered
everywhere. I froze and waved my hand in front of my face to clear the smoke away. That’swhen they materialized into view: the bodies of police and military lay before me. They were all
lying on the ground face down, weapons still in hand. No one was moving.
Cactus needles were everywhere mixed in with the shell casing and glass. I knelt next to
one of the military men and turned him over. Needles were embedded deep in his face and neck.
His eyes were wide open and there was a look of pain frozen on face. I looked across at a cop
who was on his back; his throat was covered with needles. I jumped up and started to move
quickly through the bodies looking for a familiar face.
The bodies of the police officers present when I first arrived were scattered about. I ran to
the command center only to find it destroyed. There was no sign of either Dr. Baum or Detective
Elliot, or even the Lieutenant General. I cupped my hands over my mouth and got ready to call
out when I suddenly remember the plant moved toward sound, so I didn’t utter a word. Instead, I
ran to the greenhouse where there were more bodies, piled one on top of the another. It was like
“We can’t leave this thing in here,” Detective Elliot said. “More people will be killed.”
He was right. I started to think if there was any way we could stop it.
“How were they going to freeze it?” I asked.
“They had some chemical in a canister. I think it’s upstairs somewhere,” he said.
“I can go find the canister and toss it down here. There are no windows down here. That
might–”
“No,” Detective Elliot said. “There’s a safer way to kill this thing.”
“Really?”
“I’ve been going over it in my head since the Lieutenant General tried his stunt.”Detective Elliot nodded then he changed clips in his gun. He pulled the slide back and a bullet
slipped into the chamber. “This plant needs heat to survive. I’m going to deprive it of its need,”
he said and aimed across the room and fired a single shot at the wall.
There was a loud beep and then I heard a machine shut down somewhere in the building.
“What was that?”
“I may not be a scientist, but I’ve got some knowledge about places like this. That was
the heating unit.” He turned his weapon upwards and fired into a glass fixture in the ceiling that
allowed people on the first level to look down at the second level. “I’m going to let all the heat
out.”
The plant began to stir as Detective Elliot rose to his feet and headed back to the second
level. He ran to the next glass floor piece and shot down into it, then hurried to the wall and
destroyed the next thermostat.
I could hear the plant below us making its threatening sound. It must have sensed what
It rolled away from me, clanking all the way down the steps while the Cholla appeared
and swung at me. I rolled out the way and tried to get up but my foot slipped and my knee struck
the corner on the stair. Pain seared through my leg as I struggled to get back up again.
Detective Elliot started shooting. I heard him yell for me to get out of there but I turned
my attention immediately to the canister which was just inches from the Cholla’s feet.
“I have to press the button!”
“You’ll never do it without getting killed.”
“Shoot the roots.”
Detective Elliot took aim and fired three rounds into the roots. The Cholla respondedviolently, swinging its vines around and hissing at us. It moved forward to the canister, pushing
it off to the side as it climbed over it and started up the stairs. It started spitting needles
aimlessly, missing us by mere centimeters. I hobbled back up the stairs and Detective Elliot kept
firing but the Cholla kept coming. Dr. Baum turned to run but was hit in the neck by the needles.
He screamed in pain as he slipped on the broken glass and fell on top of some bodies.
“Detective, we have to get out of here!”
“No, it’s got to die!”
“You can’t–”
Detective Elliot slid the empty clip out and quickly slid a new one in and began firing.
The bullets left the weapon rapidly, tearing apart the fleshy parts of the Cholla’s roots. The
hissing started to sound like screaming as Detective Elliot walked toward it, firing with each step
until he was out of bullets.
The Cholla fell backwards off the stairs and down alongside the canister. Its vines kept
swinging but it couldn’t walk. Detective Elliot slid the empty clip out then reached for another,
but he was out. He looked around, spotted a dead officer and quickly grabbed the available
weapon and loaded the chamber. He took aim and fired.
The bullet struck the dial on the canister, popping it off. The canister whistled as the
pressurized contents shot out and began to spray the Cholla. He took aim again.
“Get down!” Detective Elliot yelled.
“I’m getting out of here!”
I turned to run as he fired. I heard these high-pitched pings as bullets struck the canister. I
heard Detective Elliot scream and then I felt a huge blast of wind behind me, and my body rose
off the floor. I flew over several bodies before landing hard on my side knocking the wind out of me. My face struck the floor and bits of glass pierced my cheek. A blast of cool air passed over
me as a high-pitched ring resounded in my ear. I closed my eyes and passed out.
When I awoke my face and body were numb. The ringing in my ears, however, slowly
started to dissipate and I could hear the muffled sound of a helicopter approaching. My back
muscles felt heavy and were not allowing me to stand so I rolled over and looked up at the
ceiling.
The searchlight from the helicopter passed over the greenhouse and shined down on me. I
struggled to raise my hand, hoping they would see that I was alive, when someone grabbed my
wrist. Then they began to drag me across the floor slowly.
I could make out voices protesting to the person who grabbed me. I felt them let go of my
wrist then faces came into view around me. Among them was Detective Elliot, half his face
blackened. The cold from the canister had burned his face.
“He’s alive. You need to get him to the ambulance.”
“Don’t worry, sir. We’ve got you. Are you in any pain?” the paramedic asked me.
“The canister exploded. We were both caught in the blast,” Detective Elliot said.
I tried to get up but everyone reached out and pushed me back down on my back and told
me to stay still.
“Where’s the Cholla?”
Detective Elliot looked toward the stairs. “It’s gone. Killed in the explosion.”
“Make sure,” I said.
“Will do. Now let these people take care of you. I’ll see you at the hospital.”
Detective Elliot disappeared and the paramedics and police went to work on getting me tothe hospital. They put me on a gurney and when they raised it so I could sit up. I saw Detective
Elliot along with firefighters pulling the remains of the Cholla up the stairs. A man dressed in a
silver fireproof outfit stepped up with a flamethrower and fired small controlled bursts at the
parts. Then he stepped back and they just let it burn.