Wildflowers are a common sight in wooded areas, attracting all sorts of insects and wildlife. In towns, people cultivate and care for flowers as if they were their own children. Clever people get scientific with flowers, crossbreeding them to see what new and exciting species they can create. Some flowers, especially fruit blossoms, produce intoxicating scents so irresistible that people travel for miles to be in their presence. Other flowers are regarded as weeds, and are removed as soon as they sprout.

These are the truths of flowers. In the sleepy town of Threed, all of these truths are witnessed.

Wildflowers of amazing colors sprout up along the outskirts of town near the woods, attracting bees, bugs, and children alike. People who live in town cultivate flowers in their garden, some selling them as attractive bouquets. A self-proclaimed horticulture expert's favorite activity is cultivating hybrid roses - she's even won a few prizes. Every spring, the apple blossoms attract people from neighboring towns to Threed's annual Apple Blossom Festival, enjoyed by folks of all ages. And, of course, no matter how hard people fight the dandelions, they still manage to annoy gardeners every year.

A rarity sprouts in Threed one late-summer morning. A single wildflower near the road. Just one. No brothers or sisters surround it. It managed to sprout in a patch of crabgrass, the bane of every gardener, as crabgrass chokes the life out of all other vegetation as it spreads its dreadful roots across the lawn. The flower is weeks away from blooming, but it grows at a steady pace. We'll soon see what kind of hearty flower could possibly thrive in such harsh conditions.

Summer slowly melts into autumn; bad news for any wildflower, as daily summer storms can no longer provide them with a much-needed drink. Most of the wildflowers near the outskirts of town begin to shrivel and turn brown. Their seeds will sprout next season and continue the cycle.

Our attention returns to the rarity in the crabgrass. Its bud is large and close to blooming. All it needs is a little more sun... but that's the day the darkness comes. The townspeople of Threed barely notice its arrival - they assume it's a normal overcast day. But the sun never breaks through the clouds the next day, and it remains dark the next day as well. Whispers of people acting strangely start to rumble through the town, and it's not long before everyone becomes suspicious of everyone else. Families refuse to leave their homes, and Threed is all but shut down because everyone is too afraid of being infected with whatever is slowly destroying their once-peaceful town.

Our little flower remains strong. Despite weeks with no direct sunlight, its bud is starting to open. It's a little weak and thirsty, but it's still more diligent than any other wildflower. One part of the flower's sepal spreads itself back from the petals, and we catch a quick glimpse of a dazzling purplish blue color inside. The exposed petal seems to glimmer and shine, as if the absent sunlight is coming from directly inside the flower itself.

As a second sepal begins to spread back, a grotesque hunk of flesh clunks down hard on top of our brave little wildflower. That hunk of flesh is all that's left of what used to be the right elbow of Threed's self-proclaimed horticulture expert. The elbow's previous owner continues to walk slowly down the road, not realizing that a piece of its body has just left it forever. The decaying elbow settles on the stem of our little trooper of a wildflower, hurting, but not killing it. This flower is determined to bloom.

A single petal manages to spread open, revealing a gorgeous pattern of blue and purple with streaks of red. It's unlike any wildflower on record; its beauty is captivating. As the rest of the sepals struggle to open, a stinking, slimy green liquid oozes out of the discarded elbow and covers our beautiful little flower. The liquid attracts a group of flies, who immediately get stuck and drown. This sticky gunk is too much for our little wildflower, and it finally succumbs to the darkness.