Chapter 15: Collecting Samples

Ferral swiped his right hand down at Atlas. In terror, he raised his arms to cover his face. Ferral stopped just before slicing through. Dr. Atlas opened his eyes slightly before seeing Ferral lowering his hand. He scoffed, sitting back down on his rock. Atlas slowly lowered his arms, confused.

“Why? Why didn’t you do it?” He questioned. “You’re not worth the effort.” Ferral replied, putting his attention back on the creek. Atlas was so confused. He wanted to ask again, but knew their time for conversation was over. So, Dr. Atlas walked over to a tree and rested against it. Taking out his journal, he began writing in it. Time dragged on once again.

During their wait, Atlas put away his journal and took out a small bug-like drone. It was scratched and slightly broken, but after fiddling with it for a minute, he got a video to project from its eyes. The footage was staticky, but it showed two people fighting. A woman with pure white fur and crystal blue eyes, and a boy with pitch black fur and one crimson eye. The boy was badly injured, missing the lower half of his left arm and his entire right eye. The boy was kicked through the window of a small shop.

“This fight is pointless.” The boy said, exhausted. Ferral’s ears twitched, but he kept his back turned. “Giving up, are we?” The woman taunted. “No, but if we keep this up, neither of us is winning. Look at us, battered and bloodied….” Dr. Atlas watched the footage intently, while Ferral carefully listened.

The woman growled, “Don’t humor me!” She lunged at the boy, ready to strike, and all he did was give a small grin. “It’s just like we promised…we’d always be together, right?” The body dodged the attack. When he turned around, the boy looked confused. The woman had stopped, her back turned and body shaking slightly.

Ferral clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “Shut up…” Both he and the woman muttered at the same time. Ferral picked up a rock from the ground, “SHUT UP!!” They yelled again simultaneously. Ferral threw the rock back, hitting the drone. Atlas yelped as the rock destroyed the drone, dropping the broken pieces. Ferral glared at Atlas before turning back around.

“That was you, right?” Atlas got up from the ground. “You used to hate fighting. Your voice sounded more hopeful, too. What happened to that?” Ferral’s ears twitched again. He turned and looked up, hearing the sound of a helicopper coming from afar. Ferral got off his rock and walked over to Atlas. “That boy died a long time ago,” He told the doctor. “Just like he said, neither of them won. I’m not him.” The rhythmic sound of the helicopter blades grew louder. Ferral and Atlas looked up as it flew over them and began descending. It touched down on the other side of the creek.

A soldier hopped out. “Come on, sir!” He waved for them, and the two jogged through the creek and onto the other side. The soldier let Dr. Atlas pass and climb inside, but stopped Ferral. The soldier stared him down, refusing to lower his arm. “Move or I’ll rip that arm out of its socket.” Ferral threatened. Atlas poked his head out, “It’s alright, he’s with me.” The soldier shook his head, annoyed, and moved his arm down. As Ferral made his way inside, he shoved the soldier to the side, almost knocking him into the creek. He sat on the opposite side from Atlas. The soldier making back inside and sat next to Dr. Atlas. “Alright! Let’s go!” The soldier signaled, and the pilot raised the helicopter into the air. It took off, blowing leaves and debris into the air.

No one spoke during the ride. Tension filled the air. Everyone besides Dr. Atlas stared at Ferral. Even this trip felt like it took an eternity. Atlas glanced up at Ferral, who was looking out the window. His face was upset, but it wasn’t anger. No, this look was a combination of grief and regret. Dr. Atlas wondered what he was thinking. Did that recording stir up unwanted memories? Maybe he was pushing too hard for Ferral to open up about his past. It was probably best if he stopped and let it happen naturally.

It had taken them about two hours to reach the western side of the continent. They landed on the shores of a beach; the area was dominated by a deep red. “It’s worse than I thought.” Ferral said. The soldier sitting next to Dr. Atlas handed him a hazmat suit. As he put it on, Atlas asked for one of the headpieces. “Mr. Ferral,” He tossed the headpiece to Ferral, and he caught it. “We don’t have a suit your size, but this should be good enough.” Ferral looked at the headpiece, then closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. The fur from his arms began to retract back into his skin, as did his ears and tail. His hair changed color, going from pitch black to a bluish-black, and his eyes were now an amber color. Ferral’s size also decreased significantly, shrinking by two feet.

He looked like a regular human. He stuck out his left hand, his arm littered with scars. “Hand me the full suit.” Dr. Atlas, still staring in amazement at Ferral’s detransformation, nodded and handed him the rest of the hazmat suit. They opened the door, hopping onto the sand. They already crushed some of the fungus that was beneath them. There was nowhere safe to step, so the group just had to walk through it.

“Alright, we’re going to need plenty of samples.” Dr. Atlas looked around at everyone, “So just collect as much as your bags can fit. And make sure they’re not damaged.” The soldiers nodded and began plucking the fungus from different areas. From the sand, on rocks, and even from trees. Ferral scooped some of it out of the sand and examined it. Atlas walked over him, crouched with the fungus in his hand. “This fungus is certainly interesting to look at.” Ferral said, looking back at Atlas. When not dead, the fungus looked like hands with their fingers curled. Its mycellum still looking like veins. “Yeah, but it’s nothing but a massive problem.” Atlas responded.

As the group finished up their collecting, they began heading back to the helicopter. Ferral heard a faint noise coming from the trees; something was stalking them. He stopped, darting his eyes around, trying to find the source of the noise. Dr. Atlas looked at him, concerned, “What is it?” “Get inside,” Ferral motioned for him to go. The noise got closer. “Get inside, now!” Then, from the bushes, a gigantic creature exploded out. It looked like a crocodile. Ferral had no time to react and clamped its jaws onto his torso. He screamed out, getting dragged toward the water. “FERRAL!!!” Atlas screamed out as Ferral and the crocodile went into the ocean.