“In the middle of a battle.” I hop down the steps, charging toward the flatbed trucks. We can’t let them make that delivery.
Nate’s singing under his breath. “When there’s something weird in ol’ Shady Pines. Who you gonna call? Spore Busters!”
I shake my head. “It’s good to have you back.”
Jack and Zion are still loading crates into the back of the truck. We spray them, and they try to scutter away but we keep at it until they’re coated in drippy brown. I go to squirt some sludgy guano on the tires, but my blaster runs dry. “How much ammo do you have left?” I call.
Nate tugs on his trigger a few times. Nothing comes out. “About that much.”
The red-haired boy we just drenched trots our way. “Anything I can do to help?”
Nate and I exchange a glance. “How do you feel about bat poop?”
“Better than I do about fungus.”
Jack and Zion sit up. Jack wipes a blob of guano-coffee mix from his eyebrow. “We wanna help too.”
I tell them where to find more guano and they grab the buckets they used for picking mushrooms and jog out into the forest.
Ezra trots down the porch carrying the over-stuffed backpack. “You guys ready for a reload?”
“Perfect timing.” Nate and I scoop out a few grenades.
Ezra nods toward the back of the truck. “I’m gonna dump these cases of Vitaccino. Make sure they never get out.”
“Not so fast. That’s private property.” Lydia Croft steps out from behind one of the trucks. A star-shaped fungus pulses at her temple.
“Ah, man,” Nate says. “Looks like we have a Spore Queen in the works.”
“Not today, we don’t.” I fling two squishy grenades and pelt Lydia in the face.
She sizzles like the rest. “What’s the meaning of this? How dare you!” A dollop of brown goo drips from her nose. I hurl another grenade for good measure. She sinks to the ground, looking around at the dumped-out boxes and puddles of spilled Vitaccino. “All my work. Ruined.”
“You shoulda thought of that before you loaded your health drinks with mutant fungus,” Nate says, then launches a pair of grenades my way.
I spin around and catch Charles Croft creeping up behind me. Nate’s grenades pelt him, and Charles hollers and smacks at his skin. “Vitaccino’s been around longer than you’ve been alive. This is far from over.”
The wind howls and electric teal races up the trunk of every tree.
“I couldn’t agree more.” Albert Eldridge slinks out from the shadows.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Albert is completely covered in mossy white, except for two glittering emerald eyes. Thorny spikes sprout all over his body. Like a fungus porcupine. As he walks, the spikes fling off him.
“Don’t come any closer.” I lift a grenade.
A laugh bellows through the forest and Albert rises up like mist drifting just above the ground. The grenades burst on the dirt. “Fungus has one job in this world. Decomposing. Rotting. Devouring. Until nothing remains but it.”
“And that’s why nobody likes you.” Nate fires another grenade. This one zings Albert in the shoulder, knocking off a few white spikes and sending them flying.
The earth cracks and a fleshy blue fungus with octopus- like tentacles spurts from the crevasse. “Do you know what the largest living organism in the world is?”
Nate reaches for another grenade. “Why do I get the feeling he’s gonna say it’s a fungus?”
More dirt falls away from the crevasse, making the break at least three feet wide. It ripples with fluorescent light, and murky fog rises up. “What you see with your eye is only the tip of the iceberg. The rest lies deep in the earth. Waiting for the opportune moment to blossom again.”
“Well, that’s not gonna happen.” I shake the bag, pouring out more grenades. I look from Nate to Ezra. “On the count of three.”
The spore cloud plumes higher until the whole forest looks like a smoking volcano.
“One, two––”
Albert opens his mouth.
“Three!”
Our grenades soar through the air. The first hits Albert’s leg. It sizzles, but the cyclone of white keeps coming. The next hits his neck, then one to the cheek. His skin bubbles like a science experiment gone wrong. I hurl another. It soars directly into his gaping mouth. Brown explodes around his milky face. He staggers to his knees.
Another flurry of grenades zooms his way, and Albert howls. The trees join in, making the whole forest shriek so loudly I drop the grenade I’m holding and slap my hands over my ears.
Albert crawls toward the wide crack in the earth like a cockroach retreating from a can of Raid. “You could have been an ambassador between my world and yours, Magnolia Stone. The harbinger of a new species.” Albert’s white spiky stalks fizzle, then fall away. He stretches out a misty hand that’s nearly transparent.
“It’s like he’s nothing but spores,” Nate says.
Albert’s eyes flick from blazing green to pale blue to brown. “Say hello to your father for me…. He was a good man.” His words sound like moaning wind. There’s a sizzle and then the shape of Albert Eldridge puffs away entirely. A rain cloud chased back by the sun. The forest’s shimmering lights sputter then go dark. We stand in silence for several long, heavy minutes.
“Is he gone?” Ezra asks.
“I don’t know.” I creep toward the break in the ground.
Only the dark flesh of the mushrooms remains. They shiver then wilt in on themselves until it’s dry, crusted ground.
We slump to the dirt.
We did it.
We stopped the Spore King. I didn’t lose Nate or Ezra. Somehow, we all made it through.
“What about the rest of the town?” Nate asks. “We’re going to need a lot more bat poop to clean up Shady Pines.”
I nod and scan the crowd of newly cured workers. They hang around the field, blinking at one another. Kirby from the fire department leans against a tree, looking like he’s just woken up from a hundred-year sleep. I chew my lip. A guy with access to dozens of feet of hose and lots of big trucks could come in pretty handy about now. “We need to put them to work.”
“What do you have in mind?” Nate asks, and I notice he’s pulled out his camcorder and is panning over the crowd. He catches my eye and grins. “Never miss an opportunity for a great shot.”
The old Nate is back for sure.
I cut across the field to Kirby. “How you feeling?”
He rubs his head. “Been better.”
“I might know a way we can kill the rest of the fungi, but I’m gonna need some help.”
“Just name it.”
* * *
Moonlight spills over us as we arrive in the clearing. I turn to Nate and Ezra. “You think you can handle one more stop?”
Ezra reaches for his skateboard. “I’m pretty sure I owe you one.”
Nate and I exchange a knowing look as we hop on our bikes.
The Wormery’s windows are still coated in a film of white. I untie the knotted shoelaces holding the doors closed and pull the last two grenades from my bag. Nate and Ezra raise their blasters as we push through the doors. Bubba Bass flips his tail and starts to sing.
“Mac?” I call.
“You sure this is safe?” Ezra eyes the faintly glowing walls and knocked-over fishing poles.
“Not really.” The door separating the back room from the register creaks, and my heart hiccups.
“Can I help y’all?” Mac emerges from the workroom, his powdery stalk bobbing as he walks.
“Yikes!” Ezra jumps back.
I launch the grenades at Mac. “This might sting a bit.”
We coat Mac in goo and he hollers while dancing a wild jig. After a moment, he blinks as if seeing us for the first time. He rubs one hand over the back of his neck. The stalk crumbles and falls to the ground. “Magnolia? Is that you?”
“Hi, Mac.” I smile. “It’s good to see you again.”
Mac tilts his head, taking in his fungi-filled shop. “I got a feeling there’s a story that goes along with all this.”
I reach for my backpack and dump a load of guano pellets on the counter. “This’ll help with the cleanup. Kirby from the fire department can get you more soon.”
Mac lets out a low whistle. “You kids really are something else.”
* * *
When we reach our trailers, Gramma’s on the porch, cell phone in one hand and a butcher knife in the other. She squints at us, then drops the knife and races to me. She wraps me up in her arms and squeezes so tight I cough.
“I’ve been calling the sheriff and that Croft woman and anyone else in town I could think of. Nobody’s picking up.”
The first pink rays of dawn break over the trailer park. “It’s been a long night, Gramma.”
She sniffs. “What’s that smell?” She pulls back and runs her eyes from me to Nate to Ezra. My trash bag suit is ripped and I can feel all sorts of twigs and leaves in my hair. All three of us drip with liquid guano.
“Remember that fungus I was talking about? Well––”
“On second thought.” She runs a shaky hand over her mess of silver hair. “I think this is a tale that can wait till later. Showers. Hot ones. Then to bed with you all.”
Nate’s front door flings open and his dad sticks out his head. “Any news, Trudi?”
“They’re back!” Gramma calls. “They smell terrible, but they’re okay.”
Nate wriggles free from Gramma. “I think I’d better head back to my place. Dad’s probably got a couple of questions.”
We trot up the porch steps and open the front door. Pacing the floor is a scruffy-faced man in a park ranger’s shirt and khakis. When he spots me, he turns and closes the distance between us.
“Dad!” I stretch to my tippy toes, wrap my arms around his shoulders, and hold on tight like I’m freefalling and he’s my one parachute. “You came!”
“The taxi just dropped me off and I was about to run out the door looking for you all.” His cheeks are rough with stubble, and he smells like pine needles and shaving cream. For a moment, everything that happened in the forest fades away. “Sorry we got cut off earlier. Those flight attendants mean business.”
“You were right about the bacteria killing Ophio and the rats and Vitaccino and the Crofts. And Albert Eldridge… he wasn’t a man anymore, he was––” My voice breaks and a shudder runs down my back.
“It’s all right. I’m here now.” Dad hugs me tight. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
I press my face into the solidness of his chest, and tears I didn’t know were there start to stream down. When I finally pull back, my eyes feel puffy and my nose drips.
Gramma puts a light hand on my shoulder. Her eyes glisten. “I’m glad you children are all right. Now I need some time to talk to your daddy. Showers and bed. Tomorrow’s a new day. There’ll be plenty of time for telling stories then.”
Dad presses his lips to the top of my head. “I’m proud of you, Magnolia.” He looks to Ezra. “Both of you.”
Ezra dips his head and peers down at his feet. “It’s good to see you, Dad.”
“You too, Ezra.” I step back as Dad opens his arms. Ezra pauses for a second then takes the three steps to him. Dad pulls Ezra close and wraps him in a bear hug.
I smile and push a sticky bit of hair off my forehead. Things are going to be different. I don’t know how exactly. But the Spore King is gone, and Dad’s here. That’s gotta be worth something.
I head for the bathroom, but halfway down the hall, Ezra grabs my arm. “Wait up.”
“If you’re planning to call dibs on the first shower, you’ve got another think coming,” I say with a half grin.
“Shower’s all yours. I just wanted to say… thanks.” Ezra rubs the back of his hair. “I wouldn’t have made it out of there if you hadn’t come for me.”
“You’re worth it, I guess.” I smile and reach for the door handle. “But don’t go getting a big head about it.”
“A big head’s better than a spore head.”
I shudder. “Never say those words again, please.”
He gives my arm a little shove and grins. “I think I can manage that.”
EPILOGUE
Ezra’s getting stronger, but there’s still something a little different about him. Sometimes I catch him staring across the room with a daydreaming look in his eye. I think the forest took a piece of him, or maybe being part fungus for a while just sorta changes a person.
Dad had to fly back to Wyoming after a week, but he says we’re all going to live under one roof again soon. Before he left, he designed a contraption to help the fire department spray the guano mix around town and get rid of the rest of the fungus.
But his visit wasn’t all work. We also kayaked at Lake Williams, watched sci-fi movies, and ate junk food. Dad and Ezra even made a campfire and grilled hot dogs for everybody. We talked a lot too. Sometimes about science and sometimes about the things that science can’t really explain.
After the outbreak, Vitaccino was closed down for good. The news stations ran tons of stories about the Crofts, who had a few other shady operations going on besides breeding mutant fungus. And who are sitting in jail now, as is the rest of the board.
Gramma never did want to hear all the details about what happened that night. But lately, she’s cooking more than ever. Oodles of casseroles and unending puddings and pies. This morning alone she fixed pancakes, French toast, biscuits and gravy, bacon, and fruit parfaits.
As Gramma piles another stack of bacon on Ezra’s plate, the doorbell rings. I swallow a bite of strawberry. “I’ll get it.”
I push open the screen door and Nate waves. “Hey, Mags. You got a minute?”
“Always.” I step out onto the porch, and we sit on the bottom step together. Our legs stretch toward the weedy lawn. “How’s it going?”
He folds his arms behind his neck, looking supremely satisfied. “My latest video just hit ten thousand views.”
“The one about vampire robots from outer space?”
“That’s the one.” Nate grins. “I’ve made twenty bucks off ads already.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Yeah.” His eyes drift to the clubhouse and he sighs. We scrubbed it down with the bat guano solution, then soaked it in bleach. Even so, neither of us have spent much time in it since the outbreak. “You think you and Ezra might really move to Yellowstone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
I’m not sure what the future holds. But right now, the sun’s shining, everyone’s healthy, and there’s still a month of summer vacation. That’s enough for me.
Nate’s quiet a moment, then he turns to me with a sideways smile. “So, I was talking to Ricky this morning over Eggos. He saw something weird last night at the old roller skating rink.”
I chew my thumbnail, then glance out over the trailer park. Glory, Nate’s basset hound, snores on his porch. Splashes and squeals rise from the Marble Falls pool in the distance. I lean back against the step. “Tell me everything.”
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Like Maggie, I grew up with a scientist dad who often discussed bits of research or new discoveries around the dinner table. I didn’t follow in his footsteps and go to medical school or get a degree in biochemistry, but I did develop an interest in scientific happenings, particularly of the weird or unexplained variety.
While The Mutant Mushroom Takeover is fictional, a number of the details are based on real science.
For starters, Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is an actual fungus that was first discovered almost two hundred years ago infecting ants in tropical forests. As in the book, the fungus causes a stroma stalk to grow from its victim’s head. The fungus then takes over the ant’s brain, persuading it to bite down on a leaf near its colony. The stalk then ruptures, raining down infectious spores.
While in real life Ophiocordyceps doesn’t glow, there are more
than eighty species of bioluminescent fungi that can be found in forests all around the world. The chemical that causes the glow, oxyluciferin, is the same stuff found in fireflies and glowing underwater creatures. The mushrooms don’t just shimmer for kicks; the light also helps the fungus lure in bugs, which spread the spores to new locations. That sounds like a tactic Albert Eldridge would approve of.
Toward the end of the book, Albert alludes to another true-to-life detail––the world’s largest living organism, Armillaria ostoyae, also known as the Humongous Fungus. It’s located in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest, stretches 2,385 acres (nearly four miles), and weighs 35,000 tons. That’s as much as nearly 3,000 of the world’s heaviest elephants.
During their investigation, Maggie and Nate discover two curiously named species, dog vomit slime mold and stinkhorn mushrooms, both of which are real. I’ve encountered each of them in my own yard in Texas, and believe me, they deserve their names.
It’s also true that trees communicate with one another using a vast fungal network. While they don’t take down signs or fashion handcuffs out of their roots, they do occasionally sabotage enemy plants by releasing toxins into the earth. But generally, the fungi-tree relationship is mutually beneficial for all. The trees get better access to water and nutrient-rich soil while the fungi get to feed from the trees’ roots.
Hive mind is also real and exists in insects like bees and ants. Using their collective intelligence, the entire colony functions as a single entity, making the most of their resources and defenses, not unlike the zombified hosts in The Mutant Mushroom Takeover.
And finally, bacteria really can knock out some nasty fungal infections. For example, many bats infected with white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that’s killed millions of North American bats, have been saved by a remedy made from the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. Likewise, researchers discovered that Panamanian frogs infected with a potent fungus could be healed using the bacteria found on their own skin.
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