Fungal Tide

by Ian Woodhead

  Her fingers struggled with the lid but sight of more of the horrid stuff climbing up over the window outside the kitchen gave her the motivation to try harder. She yelled out in triumph when the lid flew off, filling the room with the sharp stench of chemicals. “Dilute one part to ten parts of water. Not a chance, you’re going on neat.” She picked the container off the top of the counter and held it tight against her chest, not noticing the contents splashing out and staining her clothes as she ran towards the door. Joyce ran into the hallway and almost dropped the container when she saw the stuff had filled the space with fibre. “Get out of my house!” she screamed, throwing the chemical across the ever expanding material.

  A hurricane force shriek blasted from the fibre when the chemical made contacts. Joyce dropped to her knees and slammed her hands against her ears. Despite the sound of that terrible noise driving nails into her brain and the hot blood gushing from her nose, the woman threw back her head and laughed as the white material shrunk back like cotton touching a naked flame.

  She saw the butcher’s face in several places along the two walls, each one displaying total agony as the fungicide ate into the material. Within two minutes all that remained of her intruder were the deep score marks left in her walls and a shredded stair carpet. “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” she snarled, making her way up the stairs. Joyce had to make sure that every piece was gone before she could continue with her day. After all, this interference had made her break at least two principles already. She nodded with satisfaction when it did appear that all trace of that stuff had indeed left the house. The damage caused would be fixed in time. It looked as though she now had a good enough reason to break into the trust fund that her mother had set aside for her. Joyce had one place to check before going back downstairs. She’d have to make breakfasts again, but at least this time her mother was already downstairs.

  The door swung open, giving Joyce another vision of hell. a thick black glutinous moving mass flowed across the bedroom floor, there were no faces this time, all she saw was her imminent death. She staggered back, tripping up over her mother’s Chinese rug. She crashed to the floor, smacking the back of her head against the wall. As the stuff changed its course and flowed towards the open door, Joyce heard the sound of the sea, as well as her mother shrieking. The noise cut through the daze, like a chainsaw. The urge to protect her mother overcame her own hurt and her frozen muscles. Yet as she attempted to pull up her legs, the black fluid shot forward, engulfing her left foot. Joyce screamed herself raw, the panic and sudden shock killing off every remaining barrier. Her eyes detected a yellow block obscuring her blurred vision but her mind had gone too far over the edge for the new shape to warrant any significance. Joyce found her eyes closing and some of the extreme emotions flowing away.

  Her body relaxed enough to allow her head to slide to the floor. Her eyes flickered open just long enough to see over a dozen yellow shapes now. The black stuff was retreating, sliding along her mother’s bedroom carpets, moving towards the window. Joyce lifted her hand an inch off the floor, intending to wave it goodbye but dropped the limb after the effort became too much. She really should have asked Jim’s son to help her carry mother down the stairs. He was here earlier, she was sure of it, or was it Jim who’s popped over … yeah, maybe Jim. He was such a sweet man.

  One of the yellow shapes turned and Joyce saw a young face staring at her through a faceplate. Were these council men? She wasn’t too sure of anything anymore, her head hurt. She couldn’t wait to tuck into her cornflakes, it had been such a long time since she and her mother sat down together.

  Jefferson Straus gently nudged the young man aside and crouched down beside the old woman. He shook his head in wonder, watching her fight the sedative. Man, how this girl had stayed clean astonished him. Not just her either, the old dear who’s almost ripped open his suit downstairs showed no sign of infection either.

  “Sir, she must have used this to clear the white carpet.”

  Jefferson stood up and took the container off the young man. “Interesting, we have used this before on all three species but it hadn’t cleared it like this. Take a sample and have it analysed. Make it your priority.”

  He watched the young man gently tread along the blackened path, sighing when he saw the white carpet had already begun to creep into the burnt area. He’d have to get the flamethrowers to push this stuff back before they left.

  The woman stirred in her drugged up state, muttering something that sounded like principles. Something told him that they’d get more answers from these two women than from the chemical. “Okay, chaps. Bag and tag our guests, we’d better get back to the church before the light fails us.”

  Jefferson walked across the bedroom and looked out of the window. Radfield no longer existed. This by-product now owned the town, and if he didn’t get this situation under control within the next few hours then the powers above him were more than likely to wipe this town and everything in it off the face of the planet. Jefferson Straus knew that included him and his team.

  11.

  Light at the end of the Tunnel

  Sick amber light threaded through a dozen narrow holes roughly hewn from the granite. Ryan bent his knees and placed his fingers against one of the cracks, trying to ignore the thin layer of freezing slime coating the rock. His first guess that he had found a way to the surface quickly left him when he discovered the light originated from down, not up.

  “I think I’ve just stumbled upon the entrance to hell.” Ryan couldn’t even find the energy or the wit to laugh at his weak joke. After what he’d been through there could well be a good chance that this light really did originate from Hades. The stuff on his fingers smelled like rotting cabbage. He hastily wiped them on the back of his already filthy jacket before forcing the aching muscles in his legs to move away from the glow. He couldn’t stay here, and even if he possessed a lump hammer, Ryan doubted he’d be able to smash his way through this rock. The darkness called out to him and he answered it’s calling. After all, it’s not as if he had any other choice.

  The black eagerly swallowed him as he reluctantly left the only source of visibility he’d found ever since fleeing from those nightmares. He’d barely noticed the cloak of darkness embracing his body. Hell, Ryan even welcomed it, believing that if he couldn’t see those armour plated killers, then neither could they find him. The surge of adrenalin blinded the rational area of his brain.

  The glow faded like the light from a dying torch, leaving him once more blind. This time Ryan refused to allow his imagination get the better of him. He placed his hands against the cave wall, glad that the slime hadn’t continued along the surface. The ever present engraved symbols were back as well. Over the length of his journey, Ryan had felt hundreds of them, and he now believed that he could differentiate some patterns. The meanings may have been lost eons ago but their beauty remained. Even without light, Ryan could still appreciate the art.

  The tips slipped into an engraving deeper than any other he’d found. Ryan moved closer to the wall and allowed his fingers to fully explore this new discovery. He knew he should continue moving but focussing on the engravings helped him not to dwell upon the possible meanings of his colleague’s words. It was so tempting to rubbish over Mark’s claims, to discard his words as a bunch of paranoid nonsense, brought on by panic and fever, but how could he do that, considering that was exactly how the establishment had always treated him?

  “What the hell is that?” he found what felt like a flat smooth rod, embedded in the rock. Ryan wrapped his fingers around it, crying out in shock has the rod moved of its own volition, slowly disappearing into the rock face.

  Dim blue light began to shine out from every symbol. The tunnel lit up, the illumination strengthening, bathing the area in a warm blue glow. He screwed his eyes tight, then pushed his hands over his face as the light intensified, he felt light he was looking directly at a cobalt star, even with his hands tight against his eyes. Ryan couldn’t
take it any more. He fell to the floor and pushed his face into the sandy soil, screaming.

  His voice abruptly left him when somebody pulled him back on his feet. He dared to open one eye, relieved to find the light had now dimmed significantly, leaving the area looking more like the light in the foyer of a cinema.

  “Have you quite finished showing yourself up, Ryan?”

  “I don’t believe it. Glenda? My God I thought you were…”

  She put her hand over his mouth. “Either dead or changed?”

  He nodded, looking down at both her feet. “Yeah, something like that.” He looked into her steel grey eyes, not noticing until now just how attractive she was. In all the time he’d known the woman, Ryan had never viewed her in that way before, only as a highly capable assistant. He closed his eyes and spun around. What the hell was wrong with him? This was the last thing he needed.

  “I see you’ve worked out the lighting system, Ryan.” She placed her hands on both of his shoulders. “I’m so glad that it’s you.” She leaned closer until the tip of her nose brushed through his hair. “I’ve not had the best of days.”

  The walls had lost their dryness, it wasn’t just light leaking from the symbols now, a thick black fluid gathered in the bottom of each symbol. Ryan backed away, his heart racing when he recognised the stuff. “Oh no,” he breathed. “Come on! We have to get out of here.”

  Ryan reached across, feeling his fingers slip into her warm palm. He squeezed tight and pulled, expecting the woman to follow him but instead, Ryan found his own momentum abruptly halt as she reeled him towards her.

  “It’s okay, Ryan. I know what you think it is but really, it isn’t the black slime.” She pulled him along the bright tunnel towards where the walls bifurcated. “I suppose it is a good job that I heard you. Choosing the left path would have taken you somewhere you really don’t want to know about.” Glenda tightened her grip and led him into the right tunnel. “Come on, there’s some people that I want you to meet.”

  The ambient light took on a darker tone of blue as they passed into the right tunnel. He swung his head from left to right, not understanding what he was seeing. The ever present symbols still decorated every surface but now a cyan liquid filled the indentations. The slight breeze rippled through the liquid. “That is amazing! I wish I knew how it stayed in the grooves.”

  Glenda shook her head. “No idea at all.” She giggled. “So much for Mark scoffing at your notions of these people having technology.”

  He kept his gaze fixed on the light, not wanting to tell her the bad news just yet. Ryan knew that once Glenda and Mark were an item. “Never in my dreams had I thought that they could have something equal to ours.” He pushed a finger into the liquid, it felt pleasantly warm. Ryan removed the digit, noticing his finger was still dry. “This scares me, Glenda. We don’t even have the capability to create that.”

  “What happened to Mark?”

  He spun around, her words blindsided him. “Wait, what are you talking about?” he spluttered.”

  The woman shut her eyes, reeling. “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “This changes everything!”

  Ryan now saw panic in her eyes, her calm allure shrugged off like an old coat.

  “These walls can amplify people’s thoughts. In this case, they latched onto your last emotional trauma and blasted it into my head, whether I wanted to see it or not.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “All in glorious Imax 3D, complete with surround sound.” Glenda stopped directly in front of him, placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him forward. “There’s twenty-five children down here with me, Ryan. All brought here by those green monsters. I thought they were rescuing them but they’re not are they? These poor kids are for provisioning.”

  A thousand unanswered questions engulfed his mind but his only source of answers had already left him, racing along the corridor. Ryan ran after her, not wanting the woman to leave his sight. The muffled sound of voices soon reached his ears and he slowed his pace down to a jog before finally stopping as the tunnel opened out into a wide, narrow-roofed circular room. Twenty young faces stared back at him. Despite their dire situations, he saw nothing but bafflement or mild joy in their tiny faces.

  “Now then, children. I want you all to say hello to Mr Bennett. He’s here to take us on an exciting field trip.” She clapped her hands. “Is all this exciting!”

  He stared open mouthed at his assistant. He had never thought that the woman would be so proficient with handling a bunch of kids. She smiled at him and gestured Ryan to enter the room.

  “There’s something in here that calms them down. You see the large boy at the back?” She pointed at a boy who looked about fourteen, wearing a dark green top and camouflage combat trousers. He looked the oldest; he was certainly the biggest. “I found him wandering the tunnel about ten minutes ago. Scared out of his wits. As soon as he saw me the lad lashed out, and luckily I’m fitter than I look and managed to jump out of reach from his big fists. Another boy helped me get him in here and the kid just stopped his struggles as soon as he entered this room, like it drained every bit of fight out of him. He’s been like that ever since.”

  Ryan nodded whilst looking along every wall. He saw no visible means of exit, which meant the only way out of here was through the other tunnel, the one Glenda warned him about. “Just out of interest, whereabouts is this fieldtrip? There’s no way out from the way I came.”

  “I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble here.” He glanced at the kids before turning back to the woman. “Whereabouts were you planning on having this fieldtrip, Glenda? The way I came was one way only.”

  The woman smiled, but under the expression, Ryan saw the deep worry etched on her face.

  “I know, the tunnels showed me you pushing your way through the white fibres and what happened when you attempted to return. Look, this stuff moves all the time, I’m sure it’ll be different now.”

  “I’m sure it will be,” he muttered, watching Glenda gather the kids together. “It’ll be a lot thicker.”

  “What other choice do we have? I was a fool to think the green things were benevolent.” She wiped away a streak of dirt on the lead child’s face. “We can’t stay here, that much is obvious.”

  Ryan vividly remembered the first thoughts slamming into his brain at the sight of those creatures advancing towards Mark, and in all those terrifying moments, he did not once think that those things were fucking harmless.

  “Anthony, come here, please.” Glenda walked over to the large child at the back of the room. “Would you mind leading the others?” She gently picked him up and brought the child to the front. The obedient boy staying completely silent as the woman brought him past Ryan.

  His perception of time ground into a lower gear as the boy brushed past Ryan. He watched the boy twist his head, snarl at him. Anthony’s jaw dropped and continued to stretch like warm toffee. An inhuman howl blasted from the boy. The other boys as well as Glenda joined in with the chorus, leaving Ryan watching the surrounding blue light grew in intensity. Ryan blinked and found his mind pulled out of his head.

  ***

  He ran faster than he’d ever run in his whole life. The branches and the long weeds whipped his legs and chest, but despite the aching pain, Anthony kept running. His blowtorched lungs were close to exploding, but he bypassed the agony and focused on the tall brick building, rising up past Radfield’s new shopping mall in the middle of the town.

  The police station was his last hope. He’d lost his mum, and his sister Christine; the green thing that was once his dad took care of them. Anthony cried out in shock when something solid crashed into his foot. The soft ground embraced his aching body as he fell.

  He got to his knees and dared himself to look back. Anthony cried out with relief when all he could see behind him was an empty street. The monster wasn’t following him after all. His chest kissed the crushed grass when a low trumpeting sound echoed between the houses. Tears flew freely, his poor jumbled thoughts f
elt like the ingredients in his mum’s cake mixing bowl. Anthony fought his traitorous body as it attempted to convince him that he’d better just lie here, hidden in the long grass. Nobody could see him; for the minute, he was safe.

  He jumped up. Nobody told him what to do, least of all his cowardly soul! Anthony checked behind him one more time before running over to a post office. He slammed his back against the wall next to a metal newspaper stand bolted to the wall and peered around the corner. It actually felt as if he was the last boy alive in this town. His guts clenched when that low trumpeting noise sounded again. Anthony took a deep breath before racing over the corner of the town’s new mall. He was nearly there, home free. There were bound to be somebody in there that could help him out. Anthony was sure of it.

  The boy’s bladder finally gave up and released its contents down both of his thighs when Anthony saw three thick, green yellow appendages wrap around both his legs and left arm. The creature lifted his struggling body off the ground while another, thinner probe slid out from the top of the monster’s body.

  Anthony screamed himself raw at the sight of the double hooked prongs at the tip, and a thin brown needle, dripping with blue pus, heading closer and closer to the boy’s neck. A heart-stopping agonising detonation of grinding pain burst through his body when the needle slid into the boy’s tender flesh.

  ***

  Ryan shook away the nausea and swallowed the taste of bleach while moving his eyes away from his filthy knees. Disorientation claimed him, giving Ryan a taste of dizziness, lovingly blended with a deep grinding headache. A blue glowing shape took up most of his forward viewing and it took a second for the shape of the now mute boy to solidify. Ryan blinked and saw –