Chapter 7: Koriv’n

 

I twisted my face up in disgust at the sight of the downy strands of fungus extending out from the building. I hadn’t expected the scourge to attempt to build a new nest so close to the one they’d just left. The swarms usually traveled farther, finding a place with enough food before settling down to create a new queen.

The reason for choosing this site was apparent however, even in the first wan rays of the early morning sun. The scourge were persistent and opportunistic, but we never said they were smart. They’d found food here—an entire group of fungally challenged humans.

I’d pulled us into a safe building the second I noticed the newly forming nest in our path. I had a strong urge to clear the forming nest now, but that was the engineered weapon part of me speaking. I was more than that now. I would come back to wipe this new nest out when I didn’t have Nikki in tow. Her safety was my priority. We would have to take a longer route and go around.

I recorded a few videos and images of the forming nest and sent them to the other hunters at the compound. Then I marked the location on the map.

“Why are they just standing there? Why don’t they run? And why don’t the bugs eat or kill them?”

Nikki’s eyes were round with horror as she stared out the window at the humans standing calmly in a neat group in the center of the spreading fungus. Some of the humans were missing limbs, the scourge having already devoured their fill. One was only a torso and a head on the ground. He was still alive; the toxins from the scuttlers’ claws sealed up the wounds almost immediately to keep the victim from bleeding out. It also had a preservative effect. The scourge liked to keep their meat fresh.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” She hugged herself, rocking back and forth.

Krux! I should have prevented her from seeing this. Alice, Kaj’k’s mate, used to wake up from nightmares from the things she’d seen. For hunters created to fight these monsters, sights like these were expected, but even we had bad dreams from them from time to time.

I pulled her away from the window, sat on the bed, and pulled her down into my lap.

“Tell me!” she demanded. “Why are they acting like that? They are all going to die, but they just stand there. Some of them could still run.”

“They are already dead. Their minds are gone from the fungus. The fungus controls them now. They believe the white of the mycelium is safety, and it’s too late to save them.”

“Oh, god.” Nikki made a retching sound.

She pulled up her shirt to cover her nose and mouth, even though the scourges’ stench didn’t reach us, and blew into it repeatedly. She closed her eyes tightly for a few seconds, holding her breath. When she finally released her top and opened her eyes, she looked a little less green.

I rubbed her back in calming circles, wishing I could take away all her fears. “This upsets you. We should not talk—”

“No, I need to know. This is my world now, and I need to know.”

I pressed my lips together. She was right. It was best she knew about the new world she lived in. Still, I hated the horror and disgust plain on her face. I pulled her to my chest, which started to rumble. Not the insistent vibration when I thought of her naked on my bed, but one meant to calm. She hadn’t pushed me away yet, and I appreciated that she let me comfort her.

“That’s the same disease, isn’t it? The one that makes people go mad and opens sores on their bodies. The idiots in that group thought people got it from touching women that had been intimate with a hunter.”

I grumbled, having heard it before. “The fungus work symbiotically with the scourge. They make the scourge the top of every food chain. Any animals that consume the scourge become infected.”

“That means…” Her face paled as the meaning filtered through.

“Yes, the males that were infected ate the scourge or food contaminated with scourge innards. You’re lucky the rest of the group did not become infected. Once the fungus crosses species successfully, it spreads to others of the same kind.”

“Our leader kicked them out the moment he saw symptoms. I think he’s seen others infected before. I think that’s the best decision he ever made. He’s an asshole, but without him, I think most of that group would be dead from idiocy, infighting, and cannibalism. He’s the big ass who keeps all the little asses in line.” She turned her head back to the window. “So the fungus immobilizes those that prey on the scourge. And then what?”

“The sores ooze a strongly scented liquid that calls the scourge to them. The fungus also takes over the brain, telling those infected that the scourge and the mycelium network of the nest is safety.”

“Lemme guess, they need to get back into the scourge to finish their life cycle. We’ve got parasites like that on Earth.”

I grunted an affirmative. “The scourge and their nest provide optimal fruiting conditions so the fungus can fruit and disperse their spores.”

Nikki looked toward the window again. “Those poor suckers. That explains their behavior.”

I took out one of the drones, opened the window, and sent it into the air. I needed to see the area of effect so I could mark a new, safer path for us. It would take longer to get to the house Nikki had selected, but we could still get there before the flyers started their daily search for food if we moved fast.

“Why are the scourge stopping here? And why is the fungus spreading?” Nikki asked, taking another ill-advised peek out the window. “I saw videos of New York, and the blocks around the nest entrance were like this.”

“These scourge must have been a part of the most recent swarm. They found a source of food and decided to start a new nest. It’s pointless to start a new nest so close to the old one and with such a small supply of food, but they are not known for their intelligence. The only scourge capable of thought is a queen, and they are creating a new queen now.”

“Is that what the big white lump is? A cocoon of some sort?”

My Nikki had good intuition. It helped that this planet had creatures similar to the scourge. Humans already had a baseline of how they worked. “When she bursts out of her chrysalis, she’ll see the lack of food and reject this site and search for a new location.

“We’ll need to loop around the forming nest.”

It was safest to leave a wide berth around the mycelium network. While the chances of the fungus hopping species without ingestion of large amounts of the fungus were low, it was still unhealthy to breathe it in.

Hunters were engineered to be able to recover from inhalation damage, but even so, we wore respirators when taking down nests. Our bodies were strong, but biology could only do so much, even when bolstered with genetic engineering.

Nikki was human and had no such genetic boon to aid her. We would need to make a large detour to keep her safe.

I could call for one of the hunters to bring us back by air. I’d originally wanted to travel with Nikki across town by foot, so she’d grow attached to me. But this nest changed things.

“I could call the compound and have one of the other hunters retrieve us with their shuttle. I prefer not to ask for help, but if you prefer, I can. It will be more comfortable for you.”

She fidgeted nervously with the hem of her shirt. “And you said there are humans at your compound?”

“Yes.”

She frowned. “I haven’t had the best experience with people since the world went to shit. Let’s just say I have trust issues. I don’t even know why I’m trusting you. I guess because no Xarc’n hunter has fucked me over yet.”

“The humans working with us are good people.” I knew they were.

We’d been working with some of the males all winter to keep the numbers of scourge down. They’d moved into the compound with us during late spring to prepare for the summer swarms.

“The only two males we had in our group who weren’t trustworthy were the two named Shawn and Benson.”

Nikki perked up, recognizing the names.

“They went to join the group you just left, but not before screwing us over.” I used the term I’d heard Jack and Noah use when referring to their deceit. “The rest of the permanent human members of the compound are good people.”

I couldn’t vouch for all volunteers from the group who previously called themselves New Franklin, but two of them had fought with me through the last swarm, and they were good males. I knew they’d done some house cleaning at the beginning of the hot season and had taken care of the corrupt hiding in their ranks.

“I’m sure they are, but I’m not ready to meet new people if I can help it.” She made a wry face and snorted. “The only reason I’m still alive is because I belonged to a group that forced people out of their food and supplies. It was ‘eat the food and deal with the guilt’ or starve and die. They aren’t even the worst of the lot. There are cannibals out there.”

“There was a known cannibal group in the area. Two of the females in our group had run-ins with them.” They’d targeted hunters as well, but I let that slide.

“I bet they were the same ones that broke off from the group we just escaped. It was one line some of the men there were willing to cross. The leader confiscated all their weapons while they slept and pushed them out, saying that if he saw them in the area again, he would shoot them on sight.”

Nikki was probably correct. The group had been on the south edge of Franklin, but not as far south as the building we’d just left and a little bit to the east, in Kaj’k’s old territory.

“They are gone now. They got desperate enough to eat the scourge.”

She laughed; it came out bitter and aloof. “You want to know the truth?” She didn’t give me time to reply. “The only reason I trust you is because everyone knows the Xarc’n hunters get their food delivered to them somehow. You guys eat your nutrition bars. I’m not your dinner. We’re told Xarc’n hunters want women for sex. That, I’m willing to trade.”

I made to protest, but she put a hand onto my forearm.

“I know. You don’t want it to be a trade. It won’t be. You’re a good guy. I think this is the first time I’ve had my hackles down in months.” She peered up at me through her lashes. “Thank you. I just want to travel with you a while, knowing I’m safe.”

I felt that unfamiliar tugging in my chest again.

“Then we will go by foot, and I will keep you safe.”