Chapter 18: Examination

“MR. FERRAL!!!” Dr. Atlas cried out, scouring the water to see where the monster crocodile dragged him. There was nothing. Sweat started pouring down Atlas’s face. “Hey! Go in there and rescue him!” He ordered the soldiers. “Do we HAVE to?” One asked. “YES!!” Atlas barked. They all sighed before hopping out of the helicopter and walking toward the water.

As they moved closer, the crocodile burst from the water. It hissed, then charged at the three men. They screamed in terror, firing their guns at the beast, but had no effect. Its skin was too tough. The crocodile stopped, something keeping it going forward. The soldiers and Atlas looked behind the crocodile to see a hand holding onto the tail. Ferral emerged from the sea, transformed, and his suit and shirt were torn up.

He pulled the beast toward him, “GET BACK HERE!” He yelled, piercing his claws into its back. “DON’T START SOMETHING YOU CAN’T FINISH!” Ferral got on its back, wrapping his arms around its neck. Standing up, Ferral whipped his body to the side, throwing the crocodile against a large rock by the water. It recovered quickly and lunged at Ferral. He dodged it, ramming his left fist through its chest. When it did, a burst of red dust shot up from its mouth, and Ferral remembered the spores that the fungus would release. He quickly covered his mouth and nose with his right hand, taking out his left from the beast’s body. It fell to the ground, dying instantly.

Everyone stood in shock while Ferral killed the crocodile. He exhaled deeply, his mouth still covered. Ferral looked at his left arm, which was covered in blood. He quickly knelt by the water and let his arm be dunked, moving it side to side. After a few seconds, Ferral took it out and shook off some of the water. “Ferral!” Dr. Atlas called out, “Are you alright?!” Ferral gave him a thumbs-up. Atlas let out a sigh of relief. Ferral walked over to the crocodile’s corpse, grabbed its tail, and threw it over his left shoulder. As he walked back to the helicopter, one of the soldiers snapped out of his shock and stopped him.

“Just what the hell do you plan to do with that thing?” He asked. “Research.” Ferral responded, his voice muffled by his hand. He walked past the soldier, getting into the helicopter, and slamming the corpse on the seats next to him. He slumped in his seat, groaning slightly. He looked down at his shirt, teeth marks punctured through the fabric, and wounds marked his body. “You’re hurt.” Atlas walked over to him, concerned. Ferral shook his head, “I’m fine, they’re flesh wounds.” “Still, we don’t know the negative effects being bitten could have. This isn’t a typical bite either.” After the soldiers jumped into the helicopter, it took off. While in the air, Dr. Atlas and Ferral took care of the wounds.

Dr. Atlas looked at the massive crocodile. “How could this have happened?” Ferral turned to see it too, “I don’t know. But it’s definitely a product of this fungus.” Atlas nodded, “Yeah. But with the samples we collected, we’ll be able to figure out what happened and how to stop it.”

The helicopter stopped in the Dead Zone per Atlas’s request. The soldiers reluctantly left the doctor alone with Ferral. Once the helicopter left, the two walked off toward the village. Ferral carrying the crocodile corpse. “Why did you choose to stop here?” Ferral asked, “Wouldn’t it have been better to stop close to the lab?” Dr. Atlas shrugged his shoulders, “I just figured you wanted to let your family know you were okay before we started working.” Ferral didn’t respond, but started walking faster. Even speed walking, Atlas struggled to keep up. Once they got to the village, Ferral suggested that Atlas go on ahead without him to the lab so as not to draw so much attention. Atlas agreed, the two splitting off.

Ferral sped through the streets, keeping his eyes forward. He could feel some of the villagers’ eyes on him, but didn’t stop. He wanted to make this a quick in-and-out. Once he made it to the front door of the mansion, the guards bowed their heads. “Welcome back, Chief.” One greeted. “Morning. Look, I need you two to take this to my lab.” He held out the corpse with both hands. They nodded, one of them taking it. “There should also be a human making his way toward the lab. Give him a lift.” The guards looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Ferral and nodding. “Yes, Chief.” They both said before jogging off.

Ferral entered the building. He didn’t see anyone besides the housekeepers around. Ferral made his way through the halls before running into Reginald. “Oh, Chief!” He exclaimed. Reginald looked Ferral up and down, noticing the bandages under his ruined shirt and dampened clothes. “What happened to you?” He asked. “Nothing worth concerning over, Reginald.” Ferral responded, “Where’s Nia?” “Well, she went into the sparring room with a woman I’ve never seen before.” Ferral groaned in annoyance. He knew it was Leona. “Thank you.” Ferral walked off, heading to the sparring room.

The door opened, Leona and Nia walking out, seemingly in decent moods. Ferral noticed the two were banged up. “What the hell did you do to my wife?” He questioned. They were confused at first about who spoke, until they saw him standing in the hall. Nia instantly noticed Ferral’s bandages. “You’re hurt? What happened?” She jogged over to him, but his gaze was still on Leona. She shrugged, “She asked for it. So I kicked her ass.”

Nia saw the holes in his shirt before pulling up to see the bandages. “I’m fine.” He told her, “Just some flesh wounds.” She looked up at him, upset. “Don’t lie to me, Ferral. What happened?” He scratched the back of his head, “It’s nothing, I swear. Just attacked by an infected animal, that's all.” She pulled down his shirt and punched his shoulder. “That doesn’t sound like nothing. What if something bad happens to you?” He grabbed her shoulders and looked at her assuredly. “Nothing’s going to happen. Don’t worry.” She looked away, still upset, before looking back at him with a calmer face. “Alright,” She nodded. “I trust you. Anything else happen?” “We collected some samples. Atlas should be at the lab with them, so we’ll start getting to work.”

He gave her a comforting smile, and she couldn’t help but smile back. “Just stay safe from now on, okay?” Ferral nodded, “Of course.” He looked at Leona, who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, staring at the floor. Seemingly lost in thought. “I’m going to assume you’re staying here for longer?” He asked, breaking her out of thought. “Well, I’m pretty famished.” She sarcastically replied, “So, I was gonna go ask one of your servants to fetch me some grub. Maybe take a hot bath afterward, steal some of your clothes too.” Ferral rolled his eyes, “Just don’t make a mess.” Leona looked at him, surprised by his tame response.

He looked back at Nia. “Alright, I better be going.” She nodded, the two sharing a quick kiss before he turned and walked off. “Hey…” Leona called out as Ferral started leaving. He turned around, Leona pushing herself off the wall. “I want to talk to you once you’re done. In private.” It took him a second to reply. “I’ll think about it.” He turned back around and continued walking off.

Ferral made it to the abandoned facility, looking around to see if Atlas was waiting outside. He made his way inside, finding Dr. Atlas already examining the crocodile corpse on an operating table. Guess it didn’t take him very long to find where everything was, Ferral thought. He must feel right at home.

Ferral walked over to Dr. Atlas. He looked up and stuck his right hand out, holding a respirator mask and goggles. “Better put these on.” He said. “Safefy 101, you know? I’d give you gloves, but you probably don’t need them.” Ferral took the items and put them on, leaning over the sliced-open corpse. “What’ve you found so far?” “Nothing that I haven’t already seen from other victims. I’m just trying to find out how it goes this size and that strong.” Ferral picked at its insides, noticing the fungus’s mycelium spread inside the crocodile’s body. “Is this normal?” He pointed. Dr. Atlas nodded, “Yeah, but I’ve never seen it spread this far. I wonder if it reacts differently to certain animals.”

Ferral continued looking. Seeing the mycelium being attached to major muscles and organs. It was everywhere, but even more in those areas. “Even with experiments?” Ferral asked. Atlas looked at him, confused, “Well…to be honest, I’m not sure. The experiments we’ve had to put down, we never bothered doing autopsies on. We just assumed it would be the same as a regular human.” Ferral put his right hand over his mask in thought. “Well, you’re wrong.” He finally spoke. “Our anatomy is similar, but our DNA couldn’t be more different.” “Are you saying whatever happened to this croc is similar to what’s happened to the experiments?”

Ferral nodded, “It’s a possibility that this fungus is affecting more than its victims’ outer level. It could be changing their very DNA.” Dr. Atlas’s eyes widened, “It is a product of radiation, so that could be a possibility. But if that’s the case, we’re looking at a way bigger issue. I’ll have to have the lab back home send some photos of an experiment autopsy.” “Agreed. This could end up becoming more difficult than I thought.”