[PAN2014] Fungosis

Hi,

I don't suppose you know me, but seeing as I still seem to be able to feel my hands, I guess a little intro won't hurt, will it? (not that anyone's crossing my threshold, with the signs I posted to the door, but oh well). My name's Eric, and I was a scholar, back before it happened. I'm writing this out as a "last will" sort of thing, a memoir of a dying person.

No one knows where it started, but the internet was abound with theories. Some claimed it started in the dismal, foreboding swamps of the everglades, where such a monstrosity lurked. Other, more mythic, rumors came about: "It was from a tomb in Egypt; the dying curse of a pharaoh" some cried. "No it wasn't, it was a genetic experiment gone awry, accidentally released to our enemies!" others claimed (they never could accept that nature was to blame, could they?). My theory, which I hope will be reported throughout the years to come after my passing, was that it was a product of evolution; one that could be found lurking in the dark corners of us.

Everyone claims to have known the first victim, I doubt that; when they found the victim, it looked like they became part of the slime floating in that rancid pool it was found in. There was a body alright, but it took a strong stomach to process. Looked like a dead body decomposing in a swamp, mold & fungus already growing on parts of it, moss blending in with the slimy beard, giving the appearance of Cthulhu-esque tentacles, and frosted eyes with a glare that could have turned the nearest person to stone. Some details I will leave you to imagination only, for only the imagination can describe the uncouth horrors that greeted one's eyes; rather I go blind before seeing that again!

And then there was blackness, no, a halting of the media on the topic; it was almost as if the medical investigation team had been wiped from the earth. Nothing on the web, nothing on the air. Gone?!. Other strange things began to occur - The President actually stepped down from office, and leaders around the world seemed to be hunkering down. Had I of known why, well, I doubt I'd be telling this tale now.

The next 100 victims all bore the same symptoms; it started out as a small pinprick of dots, the size and scarcity of a pimple, in fact, you'd mistake it for a pimple, except that the white center would be stubborn, and refuse to pop; rather it, funnily enough, would seem to stretch out, as if taunting you "Ha Ha, you can't get rid of me!!!" (fire took care of that bugger - now look who's laughing!!). The next symptom was more...disturbing; the wound would start to appear like an eye - blue/white threads would weave its way from the wound, stretching ever outward like a spider web. You'd lose all feeling in that spot (I'd say why, but it might disgust you). All you could feel is a burn, then tingling, then numbness, then nothing but black.

Now, the media was in "everybody hold hands, and it'll be okay mode". They claimed that the disease was only minor, and that regular care would prevent it from spreading. They were wrong - This ebolic strain was both airborne, and waterborne. What's more: It didn't have a preference for a host; rats were discovered with it, dogs carried it, and people spread it like a wildfire. You couldn't eradicate every species of animal that flew, ran, or swam, it's not possible.

It didn't take long for it to take root in much of America - And no, there weren't hordes of people looting, nor were there zombies mucking about, but a lot of us realized that the only thing we could do was sit and die. For you see, scientists and the media got everything wrong about this. Of course there were symptoms, but the problem was the symptoms only showed after you were already gone. The spores, those cursed, Yuggothian spores, were already in our water supply and air, infecting us before we even had a chance; even the best filtering techniques at the time failed to kill the cysts. I mean, the scientists only now discovered the airborne strain after the plane filled with the mossy, protoplasmic bodies crashed into the ocean.

I had better let this tale subside, already I can see the spider veins, glowing white against this darkness (in my deluded sense, I'll swear the veins are glowing themselves; the pale, sick puke-green-white shade of the Morgul Vale itself). No!!! I will not let this conquer me, but alrea.y my stren.th wains; the place is filled with gasoline, so it's better to strike this one match, send this message to its fireproof safe, and not infect the world around me.

If you're reading this...tell them! Don't let the media claim this is nothing, lest the fungus evolve again, and find a better way to send forth its shielded, microscopic spor....


Editor's Note:

Why did I write the story like this? Because when you think of the word "Pandemic", it brings to mind zombies, man-made super bugs, and widespread killing. My advice is try not to think too hard on this story, because the more you consider the possibility that something like this could happen, the creepier it sounds when you read it again.

-fossilera

a reply to: fossilera

Great story Foss! You've earned my last S&F for a week. (I think)

Pretty creepy as I had dreams eerily similar when I was younger. So creepy that I still remember them.

Great Story.

I got something like that when I was staying in a cottage in the French countryside - the previous owner had kept farm animals in the bedrooms Fleas would hide in the floorboards, bites would start as small dots, expand outwards, and just get redder and deeper before oozing black blood. Treatment was something that dried everything up. Feet would burn like hell under the blankets.

a reply to: fossilera

It kept me reading. A dark tale.

Almost Poe-ish.

Please, Nevermore.

a reply to: fossilera

Nice one Foss!
Very descriptive.

Am I the only one who reads these stories then immediately feels the need for a hot shower??? LOL
Not that a shower would even help!!!!

ughhh!

originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: fossilera

It kept me reading. A dark tale.

Almost Poe-ish.

Please, Nevermore.

Shhh, stop spoiling my inspirations. Only joking - It probably didn't help that I read The Colour Out of Space by Lovecraft before writing this. However, Poe, Tolkien, Lovecraft, and the Year's Best Horror & Fantasy anthologies all haunt my reading bookshelf, so you weren't far from the mark.

I love short-story horror, and sometimes the most disturbing tales are the ones that literally grow on you. Even if I don't win the contest, I think I'll be submitting this one to an anthology collection (with ATS's permission, of course). It'd be neat if it got published somewhere.

@Gordi - Remember, showers won't help you in my universe; there's something (in my mind) particularly disturbing about spores having the ability to infect via water.

-foss

EDIT: stormcell , I wouldn't have stayed in that place...Yuck. I can write about gruesome events to no end, but there'd be a big "Nope" coming out of my mouth if It came down to sleeping with fleas vs sleeping in my car.

a reply to: fossilera

Now that story had FLOW! It just drew me in and dusted me with the miasma of contamination and other putrescent particles.

a reply to: fossilera


A Very Well Written Story Foss!! The Creepy Reality of this Possibility made it a Fun and Disgusting Read!!

Just the Kind of Story I Love!!!
A Well Earned Star and Flag from Me!!!

Star and flag! I'm sorry to be just now getting here to read this Will and Testament. It's true that nature has Plenty of (mostly horrible) ways to kill us without us having a word to say about it. Great writing!!

AB