Chapter 21

Part 1

“Wait…can you repeat that?” My body tensed, every muscle! Suddenly cold sweat rolled down my face, and my heart skipped multiple beats, as I inquired about Anesha’s previous statement.

“There is…a possibility the Grand Witch’s Cabinet has found us.” So matter of fact, without any theatrics, no grandeur, and a stern face, Anesha spoke. It was chilling how straightforward she stated that our ‘worst case possible scenario’ had been realized. “My assumption that Lauritz appearing due to his talent for tracing and by chance; tragically, would seem to have been too hopeful.”

“Inevitable, yes, My Lady?” Bramble sat, scratching his floppy dog ears, unabated.

“Isn’t that supposed to be really bad?! Didn’t you put up a barrier or something around Graewood?!” I was near inconsolable! The idea of more magekin coming after us and knowing where we were, was horrifying!

“Calm yourself. The barrier remains active to my knowledge; lo’, it is also clear that a mouse has slipped through. I feared this, knowing that I am against the entire council of the most dangerous magekin this side of the planet…my former master included.”

“Uh…” Teddy chimed in, finally reminding me of our other situation! In a damp, chemically polluted underground, we stood before a gargantuan white fungus, pulsating throughout the walls and floors! The dwelling of the creature, known as a ‘Primal being’, the Sporusis, felt alive. It surprised me that my mind could’ve wandered with such a fantastical event ongoing in my life! “S-She says that t-the thing you’re l-looking for a-arrive a little b-before us.”

“Then a familiar, one would presume. As the Sporusis exudes massive amounts of mana, the dullard mistook it for the seed. I would venture to think there are many familiars, scoring the world for the seed, and should they come across a primal being, more than likely, could be distracted. How droll.” With fist clenched beneath her chin, Anesha pondered, muttering to herself.

Teddy turned back the wall and dug his fingernails into the thick, squishy white fungus. As he run his hand down the pale wall, more spores radiated from the quivering mass. “Anesha…is it safe that the air is basically filled with these spores?”

“…” She just remained silent, thinking.

“Do not worry, Young Fate. My Lady is quite adept in staving such things with magic, in no way would she be infected by this creature’s attempts to assimilate her, should they be made. As for you and I, we do not operate under such laws as normal living beings.” Bramble dissuaded some of my fears, but I was more worried about Teddy.

“…I mean, that’s nice for us, but…”

“Ah, your friend? He couldn’t hope to be infected. As My Lady mentioned before, he does in fact already have shared ancestry with the Sporusis; meaning he is already far closer to them in nature than an infected person.”

“That doesn’t exactly make me feel better.”

“Fine!” Anesha finally finished thinking! “We will work together. Though know this, creature, should there be so much as a single infraction, I shall incinerate you! Nay, should I even consider you to be untrustworthy for a millisecond, you and all life you’ve spread your fungus to shall be razed, every single being! Am I clear?”

“She under-stands…” Fear etched on Teddy’s face, he stammered out a response.

“…If so, then elaborate on your request.” Anesha crossed her arms, clearly pleased with herself, a tiny smirk drawn onto her face.

“T-the predators s-she was talking about s-started getting more active a-a few m-months ago.” Likely because of the seed, I guessed. “T-they’re…like h-humans? She s-says t-they in t-the swamp i-in an enclave. A lot of t-them have b-been h-hunting h-her for her mana.”

“The mana in the air is quite pungent. Should they find this location, they’re likely to consume this sporusis. Can you describe the creatures further? It will aid in tracking and eliminating them.”

“They’re green…have long heads…don’t wear clothes…h-have sharp t-teeth and are really s-small…F-Fate their…”

“Yeah! They’re melonheads!” I couldn’t hold back my excitement! “Holy shit! They’re really melonheads, or at least that’s what it sounds like! Teddy, can you believe it?!”

“N-No way! E-everyone is going to b-be so e-excited!” Our elation bubbled over, meanwhile Anesha looked on with disgust at our displays of enthusiasm. “O-oh, she says t-to f-find them a-as soon as p-possible s-since there’s a big n-nest of them.”

“Hmph! I will track down the pests with little issue, simply point me in the direction of this enclave and I shall annihilate it!” That didn’t sit right with me, just wiping out an entire colony of innocent creatures, but I couldn’t argue with Anesha at the time.

“S-she says t-they are t-toward…t-this way? Yeah, this w-way…” Teddy pointed off back in the direction we entered from.

“I see. Where is the exit? I do not wish to spend another second down here!”

“O-oh…she said t-to go ju-just beyond that w-wall and there should be another tunnel.” It was just as the Sporusis said. I could make out a tunnel hidden behind many large mushroom stalks and moss.

“Excellent! Let us make haste!”

Part 2

Fresh air entering my lungs was a welcome reprieve from the dank and musky forsaken lab, even if said fresh air was still tinged with warm swamp stink. Anesha, Teddy, Bramble and I departed the caverns via an old, half flooded emergency shaft blocked off by a pair of heavy steel gates, which I broke through with ease, returning us to the Jasontown swamplands. “It’s still pretty bright out, huh.” I’d completely lost track of time which wasn’t helped by the overcast sky completely blanketing the sun.

“Young Fate, I think it best you do something about your appearance before we return to the inn.” My chest drained of nyctophobia induced tension, recovery post transformation had completely slipped my mind. “Tis’ a bit monstrous.”

“…” The transformation wasn’t uncommon, but all my features that typically would change, had intensified more so than ever before! A river of silver locks flowed far down my back, disappearing from sight over my shoulders; animal like fangs had grown in replacing all the old human teeth. My slightly tanned skin was seared a vibrant brown, and the dim yellow hue of my eyes had become a strong, shimmering gold. The face gawking back at me from my phone screen was hardly recognizable. “…Uh…Anesha, what do I do about this?”

Anesha sat atop her broom, thinking silently. “Hm? Ah yes, come.” She gestured for me to approach. “Turn around.” A smile drew itself across her face, which scared me more than if she were angry. I followed instruction, and as I did so a quick flash burst forth from behind me, and all at once my head felt much lighter. “There…” Anesha had used her glowing saber to lop off the majority of my hair! “You’re to deal with your own fingers, however.”

Another addition to my change were the petrified, dense tree bark encasing my fingertips like talons. “These are new, by the way. Um…why did the seed make these?”

“One is to assume you were damaging your fingers, thus the seed endeavored to shield them.”

“That makes sense, I guess. Maybe I can just rip them off…oh, my chest has been getting really hot lately! Do you know what’s up with that?”

“Hot? An accumulation of excess mana? Knowing for sure whilst not witnessing it firsthand is impossible. For the moment, address your fingers, we shall return to the inn post haste! Lead the way, Fate!” We started the long trek back, which Anesha did without allowing her feet to touch the ground even once. I spent the whole time picking at the bark, only managing to dislodge some of the roots digging backwards into my skin.

Teddy had been totally silent since leaving the Sporusis’ lair. “Hey Teddy, pretty cool, right? We’re going to get to see melonheads! Oh…actually, I guess I’ll see melonheads…Perry will probably be mad.” Bringing along the others would’ve obviously been a bad idea. Every attempt I made in my mind to put a positive spin on the situation quickly fell apart with the slightest provocation. Ambling through the marsh, we came across rubble from the factory again. Debris piled on top of an indentation in the stone floor while swamp water seeped into the cracks. “Haha! Looks like I was on the right track after all! If we keep on this path, we’ll reach Jasontown soon!” I cheered, to which both of my cohorts ignored, unable to unravel themselves from their individual thoughts. “Ok…”

Despite my words going disregarded, eventually, the town came into view. The witch floated upward, escaping to the back of our motel, away from wandering eyes; meanwhile Bramble returned his face to that of a regular sharpei. I silently wished to myself I could just sneak past the townsfolk.

“Good lord!” Mr. Sander ran up, face filled with glee until he noted my appearance, pivoting to overt bewilderment. “Son…er…is that you?”

“Yup! Haha! Things got crazy down there, weird allergic reaction my skin is having, really weird!” My attempts to play it off were noted, but I doubted anyone believed me. Children began running up, so I hid my hands, still equipped with the stubborn remaining wooden talons. “The others are here, right? We’d better meet up and discuss some stuff!” Sander hastily followed behind us, pleading for us to not file a lawsuit, or report the incident online; we agreed and sped up to our room! “Hello~!” I said jokingly, hoping to get a relaxed atmosphere, only to be reunited with a worry-stricken Erna, Chester, Perry and Demica surrounding us immediately!

“Fate, you’re okay!” It’d been years since I’d last seen Demica look so frazzled. We closed the door and slowly relaxed. Anesha leaned against the wall nearest the back of room, still silently thinking to herself as a magical glyph circled her hand. “What the hell happened, guys? You…transformed again? Were you in a fight?”

“Slow down, Demica. It’s long a story…” We were granted time to explain our experience and new goal. The others listened attentively while my hair was trimmed by the surprisingly adept Erna. “So…we’re supposed to track down these melonheads and destroy the nest. Unless…Anesha can find that familiar.”

“Listen well, Fate! As I am well aware of your aversion to killing by now, lo’, you must realize that what we are to fight…are not humans.” A lecture. Her apathy for life, it was at the least consistent. “Assuming these creatures are what I believe, then they appear similar to humans. I can assure you, however, they lack any form of human intelligence. They may as well be animals!”

“Hang on, human? What am I missing? Melonheads…or at least what I know about them is that they’re supposed to be have been humans who were mutated because of toxic waste and they started breeding, incestuously in most cases.”

“Ho…” A face of genuine surprise and adulation from the witch, as she offered a small applauds. “Never had I thought humans would grasp mana corruption.”

“Mana? Everything I’ve ever read says it’s either toxic waste or science experiments?”

“Maybe some are, ‘lo this is standard for humans who aren’t acclimated to mana, yet remain exposed for generations. Most likely the people in this village and said creatures share distant relatives.”

“T-Then…”

“After so many generations of inbreeding, exposure to an abundance of mana, the aforementioned toxic chemicals, and possibly whatever human sciences, it is unsurprising this may be a result. Were you not expecting this?” It made some sense. The factory we visited had a pungent chemical odor. “…This swamp is having an adverse effect on my ability to locate the dastards!” Dispersing the glyph in frustration, Anesha began to furrow her brow. “…It’s possible that we could leave, abandon this charade of normalcy and return to your town, however-”

“Oh, come on!” Perry pipped up! “We can’t do that! We’ll probably never have another chance to get that footage now! If there are melonheads and that mushroom monster, wouldn’t it be better to-”

“I’ve had quite enough of your insolence!” Anesha stomped her boot, approaching Perry with a fierce glare in her brownish-red eyes! “You, for a man of such stature, act as if you were a mere child in these instances of adversity!” Though she was several inches shorter, Anesha made Perry look small the instant she chastised him. “I made this known before, my patience has all but withered away regarding your disrespects. Should this continue, a punishment the likes of which you have not experienced in your insignificant life shall be foisted upon you. Am I clear?”

“…Y-Sure…” Perry sat down, defeated, but Anesha’s eyes remained transfixed, not receiving the acknowledgment she wanted.

“U-Uh…Anesha…” Erna managed to break the tension. “Huhuhu…if we leave the swamp…or move too much, would the familiar…find us, because of Fate?” The whole time she cowered behind me, fingers dug firmly into my back.

“Yes. As was the point I planned to make before being interruption. We need to eradicate those vermin, post haste; have that Sporusis tell me the location of the familiar…and then torch the thing.”

“B-But Anesha!” Teddy cried out frantically! “I-I thought y-you said y-you agreed t-to not h-hurt her!”

“Has your brain been afflicted? That thing should not exist in this current world; it is a danger to all of us!” The haircut was finished, just then. Erna had done a much better job than I could’ve possibly expected, trimming the ends into a short and stylish silver mane.

“Good job, Erna.” A curly smile and flush red cheeks were slightly obscured behind her own hair. “…Anesha, I’m ready to go whenever you are. I’m pretty much healed up.” I finally managed to pick the last of the talons off, leaving my fingertips tender. “…Chester, you alright? You’ve been really quiet, man.”

“…” An amazing lack of outbursts from Chester fogged the air with discomfort. “…Aren’t the melonheads supposedly cannibalistic?” I nodded, forgetting that fact, actually. “Miss Anesha, uh…would it not behoove you to leave Fate here? If something were to occur and Fate be attacked while with you-”

“Nay! Better he remains in tow. Amid the veracious eyes scouring for Fate are dangerous beings, ones that will be drawn toward the mana he exudes. Should he stay here while those creatures were being exterminated, the possibility of that familiar finding him becomes higher, thus keeping him masked near me is within reason.”

“Right. Ok…” Chester sat down, dejected.

“We’ve got this, guys!” My shallow attempt to reassure seemingly fell on deaf ears. “Trust me when I say, I’m a lot stronger now! The seed gives me…power and I heal really quick too! I’m basically invincible!” The thought in the back of my head that kept me from fully committing to that bluster, my neck not healing, made me waiver in the delivery of that line.

The mood of the room spiraled downward significantly. Even if it wasn’t being stated, the worry and disappointment dimmed any type of enjoyment left in the trip. All our plans had to go out of the window again, because of me. More trouble again, getting my friends involved, ruining the outing, something we’d wanted to do for years, all my fault!

“Anesha…can I bring a camera? I promise I won’t distribute the videos or whatever!” A quizzical head tilt signaled Anesha’s confusion. “I can, you know, keep it off to the side so it won’t bother us! It’s just…we really waited a long time to do this and getting this footage would be really good for us. I can edit out stuff with you and me in it! Then, we can at least have stuff about the melonheads, which are technically not linked to you. People in our world already know about those.”

“If you must.” She said dismissively as I turned to other, expecting glee only get more perplexed looks.

“Trust me, I’ll get some good footage! Perry, let me borrow one of the lower grade cameras we have.”

Reluctantly, Perry handed over an old backup camcorder. “Don’t break it. That’s still our b-camera.”

“Of course!” I smiled giving a thumbs up, only to receive a glare. “O-Ok Anesha. Ready?”

Part 3

With the club’s assistance, we escaped the prying eyes of the townspeople, reentering the swamp once more. “Fate, make sure to stay near Bramble, also abandon that device should it hinder us, understand?” Camera in backpack and fat dogman Bramble occupying my arms, I was already at a disadvantage if anything were to come up on us. Anesha sat atop her broom, leading the way, purple glyph in hand.

“Can I assume you’re trying to track down the nest?” We were suddenly led toward a deeper part of the swamp. The boots I swapped out my sneakers for offered plenty of stability on the increasingly mushy ground, though with each step the mud would swallow up the rubber soles.

“This magic grants me the ability to isolate large mana sources.” Anesha lowered her hand, displaying what appeared similar to a globe shaped radar. “Large concentrations of mana will show up as bigger lights.” In the middle were three very small lights, ahead of them were a cluster of small signals and behind were a similar but weaker set. “We are in the middle, behind is the town and in front…is likely the nest.”

“OK. Uh…I promise to do whatever you tell me!” Reassuring Anesha was a weird feeling, as bittersweet as biting into a chocolate covered lemon. She, despite her insistence on beating me down verbally and mentally, was reliably powerful. If I wanted that nest gone and any time to spare for the trip, then I had to work with Anesha as best I could!

“Naturally. I’d expect no less.” Deeper into the dank, and humid swamp we ventured. Every so often a snake so large it could devour me in a single bite, or a crocodile that looked more like a dinosaur would appear; though they all cowered away instantly with a single glare from Anesha.

As the light faded from the gray sky, and cypress trees crowded our path, a creeping dread carried by darkness settled onto my back. The green water, coated in leaves, filled with algae, distinctly reflected the gassy, gray sky above. Branches clung to me, with rigid brown fingers as I brushed by; trying to best drag me off the path. Echoes called, enticing my ear with heavy splashing from beyond sight, like dumbbells being dropped into a lake.

“The sun is still up, right? I can hardly tell with the clouds.” The murky day reflected my thoughts. (I really don’t want to kill a bunch of…monsters. Even if they are cannibalistic, melonheads are supposed to be humanlike. Maybe I can communicate with them…well, no. No one’s ever reported talking with a melonhead.) I pondered ideas while Anesha had stopped, causing me to bump right into the end of her broom. “Sorry!”

“Shush! We have arrived.” A large tree trunk’s roots dug down into a cave before us. Moss coated the thirty-foot-tall dead tree’s exterior. The cavernous hole led downward into the swamp itself, boring well into the earth. Sprouting upward and outward, as if the environment housed something which exorcised itself from the swamp, breaking free from the earth itself, the cave was tunnel like. “Prepare yourself. I can sense there are quite a few of them.”

Part 4

In through the hollow cave entrance we trekked, immediately riddling me with anxiety. Bramble glowed, which alleviated my nerves, but it wasn’t needed for long. Just minutes into traversing the cavern yielded us the pit, shaded beneath a dome of tree roots crisscrossing overhead, drilling down across the brim. The spectacle was akin to looking out of a dead giant’s ribcage.

“Anesha, this place is…so cool!” I failed at maintaining my composure, again. Nearly tossing Bramble aside, I pulled the camera from my bag filmed every nock! The remaining light of the grey sky seeped in-between each intersecting root above casting slivers of shade down in the fanciful space. I scanned the camera about the pit until noticing a set of several holes opposite to us. They were some distance, but even with that, I could tell they were large enough to house numerous animals. “Uh…” Gargled, guttural hissing noises resounded from the holes’ confines, followed by glowing yellow eyes and shadows.

Emerging from within the divots climbed small, webbed, green hands. Countless clawed fingers were chased by veiny, sickly green, malformed arms. The hissing belched forth from deformed, fang crammed jaws adorning the lower half of bulbous, mishappen heads. The creatures – the melonheads with their vile yellow, hungry eyes stared at us from the other side of the pit. “…Grotesque.” Quickly, the diminutive melonheads charged us, leaping over the large roots, across the ground, the whole time wailing! “Honestly. Am I but a cleaner of vermin?”

Before one of the hands could reach Anesha, she severed it in a flash! Pulling forth her glowing saber, she cleaved a melonhead in half with a single swipe! The others halted in their tracks, fearing the witch who stood twice their size, armed with a magical sword still coated in their friend’s remains. The melonheads weren’t to be perturbed however, they again attacked!

“Repel, all those who wish harm me!” A blue glyph, one dissimilar to the others I’d seen, encircled Anesha. “Ensnare, all those who I wish held!” Crimson symbols then suddenly appeared and flowed backward through the glyph! With the flick of the wrist, I expected a fireball or a flood of acid, but a large, red bubbled expanded outward! The bubbled floated slowly in the air, garnering the melonheads’ attention, and mine alike. One of the melonheads quizzically poked the bubble, only for it to snatch the monster within a cascade of red strings!

Anesha unleashed one after another, each bubble lobbed toward individual melonheads! The little monsters scurried about, trying to dodge away from Anesha’s magic, screaming in terror! Anesha walked up to the bound melonheads, slaying them with her sword, coldly. She gracefully leapt off a bubble, bouncing to another, then kicked one in the direction of a melonhead, trapping, then cutting them down instantly! Quickly killing one, then killing the next, and then the next, she continued without missing a beat. Larger, more muscular melonheads charged Anesha!

I readied myself to jump to her defense, though it was pointless. Before the melonheads could reach her, she tossed her sword deep into one’s head, splitting it open! “Ignite!” Sending off a spark from her hand, with a snap, into the body of one of the large melonheads, I knew what coming next! An explosion rocked me, even from the other side of the pit! Yellowish blood and guts spewed, sparks were swirled and those thread bubbles danced, all circling Anesha! Her beauty was breathtaking, the mystique of her magic was enthralling, her movements were graceful and precise; she moved her hand in one direction killing a monster with a spark, grasping her saber in the other hand, as while twirling atop a crimson bubble and slaying weaker creatures.

Though I was so enraptured with her, I didn’t neglect to notice a small group of melonheads approaching me! “W-What? Oh no!” I backed up, preparing to place the camera down, looking to Bramble, who was busy watching Anesha himself. The melonheads before me were small, one with female characteristics, and carrying two smaller ones on her back. Another was a thin, but taller male, almost my height. Their glares, feral, yet meek, filled me with sympathy. Once again, I glanced toward Anesha, who remained distracted by the numerous attacking creatures, as was Bramble. (Better run while you have a chance!) I turned my back to the creatures but kept and an eye on them. The monsters took the opportunity to scale the tree trunk shaft to freedom! Warm fuzzies bloomed inside knowing at least some of the poor creatures could be allowed to live.

Earsplitting cries followed by explosions silencing them came from Anesha’s direction. When I turned again, she’d wiped out every single melonhead! Nothing was left but ashes, entrails, and scorch marks. She cut her eyes to me, as I cowered back. “You did nothing to assist.”

“…Oh…uh…” She frowned, squinting her eyes with disappointment. “I didn’t want to get in the way…” The most awkward chuckle escaped my lips. Anesha just continued to scowl.

“…Most certainly, you are a fool. All of that training and you manage to be useless, even now!” I could sense a browbeating incoming.

I got another look, noting how human the monsters appeared. “Ugh…” I held back vomit. Though Anesha said the melonheads weren’t human…they were only a few generations away from being people!

“…” Anesha suddenly fell silent, looking off into the distance. “That feeling…” Something was very wrong. “We need to go!” She spoke with urgency, storming toward the exit!

“Are we heading back to the town?”

“No. To the spoursis!”

Part 5

High above the tree line, in the quickly darkening skies, Anesha raced toward the spoursis! I held the back of her broom, warming my hand greatly from the glyphs as I struggled to keep my distance from Anesha, who sat toward the head. The stick wasn’t long, offering little room, especially while in the other arm I gripped the fat Bramble tight to my chest. “Anesha, what’s going on?”

“I…appear to have made a foolish miscalculation.” A rare moment of self-beratement. “I assumed razing the nest of those creatures could be used to draw the attention of the familiar, yet, suddenly a massive amount of mana began flowing toward the sporusis’s den.”

“A massive amount of mana?”

“Your senses must be sharp enough at this point, no? Focus them.” I closed my eyes and tried to feel the flow of mana. It was immediately evident, like I was thigh deep in a river, the current of mana was dragging me in! “The mana in all of the surrounding area began to quickly be swallowed up by that…thing! We must hurry…I know little of sporusis, yet-” Suddenly, something blasted us from the side! Bramble, Anesha and I were thrown from the broom!

“Ahhh!” We were so high in the air, I had time to right myself! Aiming for one of the many trees, sliding down the truck right into the swamp water, fortunately I landed without injury. “Holy shit! What was that? Anesha?! Bramble?!” Neither were anywhere to be seen! I tried to sense them, or more so their mana, but nothing; just the flow of mana beckoning me into the depths of the underground. Whatever it was that hit us, the only part I properly witnessed was a massive albino squid appearing from nowhere! “Anesha! Anesha!!” I tried calling out again to no avail.

The mana was being drew in one direction so drastically I found myself unintentionally walking ankle deep through swamp water toward the epicenter. Slogging toward the source for some time, before me was the emergency tunnel we’d used to escape just earlier in the day! Downward into the long, empty corridors, the darkness beckoned. My feet remained planted, unable to move forward, but the fleeting visage of a person which was swallowed up by the shadows reminded me far too much of one of my friends.

“Teddy?! Teddy was that you?!” My voice echoed into nothing, just reverberating on until it faded. There was no certainty, but the possibility swayed me. With my teeth clenched, I turned on my phone light and ran in! (That was him, right? I wouldn’t mistake that huge guy for anyone!) The unmistakably large frame and red tuft of hair atop his head, no doubt in my mind that it was Teddy.

The corridors stretched out into barren rooms, housing only dust, dirt, and discarded trash. I screamed again, not caring about anything else. I ignored my fears of the dark as a more prevalent one was being realized. Gripping my chest, I further descended into the lair. I continued to get closer to the main room, the pit where the sporusis’s main body sat; and with that, the attractor of all the mana.

A purple glow faintly shown from the room ahead of me. As I closed in, more fungi, moss and the smell of chemicals polluted the hall. A large gathering of mushroom stalks blocked my path. They were so thick, pushing through normally was impossible. With the seed’s power, I began tearing at them, ripping my way through! The rubbery mushroom was harder to dig through than before. Even with my full strength, I couldn’t manage to uproot them, nor tear apart more than one mushroom at a time.

“Damn…Teddy! Are you there? Teddy!” Without warning, the mass of stalks parted, wide, inviting me in. Hesitantly, I made my way into the confines of the sporusis’s lair. The room was so bright with purple, glittering lights. All the of the shadows were expunged, showcasing the many smaller mushroom caps, dancing from side to side. The stalks reaching higher than previously, up to the ceiling and against the wall, that squishy white fungus was once again being stroked by my friend! “Teddy! Thank God you’re alright!” Even with my body beginning to cool down, my instincts warned me otherwise!

“Fate…” Teddy’s head swiveled to look at me, but his eyes, they lacked focus. It was as if he wasn’t using his eyes to see. “Where’s…the witch?” His head turned left and then right, slowly.

“…What? She’s somewhere – whatever! That’s not important! You’re okay, right? Let’s get out of here! Oh, tell the sporusis we…destroyed the melonhead nest.” I grabbed Teddy’s hand, hoping to lead him away from the den, though he remained unmoving when I tugged.

“…There are still some of those melonheads alive…I can tell.” That cadence was totally alien to the Teddy I’d known for years, not even counting his sudden lack of stutter. “You do wish me harm, after all, wish to eliminate me. Humans are all the same, they fear joining us. We could make a single mind, one concession…”

“Teddy…” My instincts were right on the money, that fungi had gotten to my friend! “What the fuck di-” Again, before I could even think, something swatted me! It wasn’t like before, not something small jostling me, it felt like the side of a truck was slammed into me! My feet left the ground, my vison whited out for an instant, a wave of force shot straight from my left side through my whole body!

As I flew, I could see Teddy being wrapped into the grasp of that vibrant red hand. My concession drained quickly, then all at once blacked out, smashing my head into the hard concrete ceiling.

End of chapter 21