To Be A Champion

Chapter 31: Live From The Underground

"This cave seems to go on forever, doesn't it, Callista?" Casper asks, his attempt to make small talk showing his nervousness. If the shake of his voice didn't give it away, its breathiness would, as would the sweat on his brow. "And is it my imagination or..." He swallows. "There are lots of red highlights on the walls."

I swallow back my anxiety. From the first glance of the caves being free of it, I'd hoped that there wouldn't be any red fungus here, but I was wrong. Janine voices it before I can.

"I believe Miss Dempsey's warnings were accurate, Mr. Braam. There are lines of red fungus on the cave walls. It's fortunate we thought to bring emergency hand flares."

"Yeah, except the orange glow adds to the creepiness," Sam says as he grips his flare tighter. I debate whether he would find it comforting if I grabbed his free hand since he's still upset with me. "Still, on the bright side, now that Frances has the password, she and Casper will be able to read through all Van Ark's research on the red fungus. And find a cure for Janine. Oh, and we found out that Mor Island is apparently where the red fungus comes from."

"And where Singer comes from," Nicole adds, making him frown. "Not that I doubt Project Feive, but the rest... From what you've told me, Van Ark sometimes wasn't the most reliable. So we need to keep in mind that we might not be able to trust everything on those computers..." She trails off as she looks at Casper. "Uh, are you okay there, Casper?

"I uh, yes, sorry," He says, wiping his hands on his clothes. They're still a bit damp from being doused on Moonchild's mind control drug. "Sorry, just a little breathless, is all. What about you, Janine? You've run ragged on Dearg. The longer it takes you to get rested and hydrated, the more damage the nanites in your system can do."

Janine's lips pinch together as the attention is brought to her, but she doesn't deny it as she speaks. "Indeed. Vision is a little fuzzy, but I'm calling on all my reserves."

Sam lets out a breath. "We just need to follow the tunnel. Like Frances said, it's supposed to lead straight to Mor Island."

"We must be getting close by now," Shona states. "I'll know my island when I see it."

Casper slows, a cough rattling from his lips. "I think-I just," He coughs. "Oh my God."

Sam's brows knit in worry as Casper keeps coughing. Heat rolls off him in waves. When I step toward him, Sam grabs my arm and yanks me back. My back is flush against his front, and I can feel how tense he is.

"Look at his arm," He warns. "There's something growing out of his skin."

I look, just able to see under the sleeve of his lab coat. The blood drains from my face.

It's red fungus.

"I don't understand," I say. "He was just dosed in Moonchild's mind control drug. It shouldn't have..."

"Five,

Five,

Five,

"Five," Moonchild is in front of me, her form transparent as always, just barely blurring out Casper's tangible form in front of her. "Five, you need to run now."

What-

"That wasn't my mind control drug."

It hits me like a truck. "Casper said it smelt of vegetables."

She nods. "Celery."

Sam sucks in a sharp breath, realization hitting him a second after my words leave my lips. "It was Moonchild's fungal accelerant. It'll have made the red fungus in his system grow incredibly quickly."