Annihilate

Chapter Two: The Expedition

-Undisclosed Location-

The twenty something biologist wasn’t afraid, she heard stories about this strange meteor that smashed into the ground, decimating the land around it, mutating everything in fifty square miles. She was intrigued by it, fascinated by the way it engulfed anything and everything. The walls around the site stood eighty feet high, a natural wall created by the mutation. It carried an oil like shimmer on its fungal branches and glistened in the sunlight, it was a beautiful sight to her. She knew the land itself didn’t infect people, it was the fungus-ridden humans inside, and that’s the only thing that made her uncomfortable, not knowing when or where her team would be attacked. Deep breath in, deep breath out, she holds the rifle in her hand tight, her finger hovering just above the trigger as the wall opens slightly, letting them walk through. She was curious how the government managed to keep everything a secret but she didn’t dare to ask, she was traveling in for one reason only…stop it before its too late.

The biologist tied her hair back into a ponytail; her thick wavy hair was starting to stick to the back of her neck, which was drenched in a layer of sweat. It was unusually hot in the place they called the “Beyond” but everything was strange in this place, so they didn’t think much about it. It was like stepping into a new world, everything was in a constant state of mutation, and she found it quite beautiful. She’d occasionally catch strange animals out of the corner of her eye, one in particular made her stop and admire its beauty, it was a squirrel dancing across the forest floor, multicolored flowers growing out of its thick fur that had the same oily shimmer as the fungus wall. When she was in deep thought, she found herself wondering if she stumbled onto a different planet. The world was strange and unexplainable here.
There had been no infected humans since the start of their expedition three hours prior, only the remains of people once sent in to investigate. Their bodies now wrapped in vines and flowers. The biologist found it slightly comforting; to see the land gave the dead flowers, it wasn’t all bad in the Beyond. She took samples of every new thing her eyes caught, it seemed like she was stopping every two seconds, it made the others restless. The biologist and her crew headed deeper into the Beyond, the mutations getting stranger and stranger. They stopped for a second to watch a two-headed dog dig their snouts into a dead animal, torn apart by something much bigger than the dog their eyes were focused on.

The air surrounding them blew with a brisk calmness, finally the temperature was starting to lower and it was manageable now. The biologist let her head fall back, letting the wind kiss her sweat soaked face. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood tall, she could feel a hot breath caress her skin. Her body stood frozen in time, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t think. Her eyes darted around, watching her colleagues aim their weapons at the creature standing behind her. She leaped forward, hoping to flee safely but that wasn’t the case. The creature grabbed her ponytail, yanking her head down, the pain was intense and her neck felt like it was going to snap at any moment.

The monster didn’t hesitate, it twisted her around and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing tight. Its eyes met hers but there was no terror in the creatures eyes, only hers. Its skin pale, exposed veins glowing bright purple, beautiful pink flowers budding from its arms, and fungus covering its head. The monster picked her up, her feet dangling in the air, the life slowly starting to leave her body. The creature tossed her to the side like a piece of meat. She hit the ground with enough force to knock the wind out of her body. She held her chest, coughing, trying to get the air back into her lungs. The group of scientists unloaded their guns into the monster, each bullet making it even more aggressive. It only took a split second for the biologist to know what to do, destroy the thing that keeps it going…the brain.

She reached for her pistol, unclipping the holster. Her shaky hands pulled out the weapon and aimed. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the trigger. The bullet flew from the barrel and blew a hole in the creature’s head. Its body falls lifeless into the dirt. She drops her head on the ground and inhales, finally regaining all the air in her lungs. Vines and flowers begin snaking around the dead body and eventually cover it like a beautiful fungal blanket. The biologist watched in awe as the Beyond made a burial for its dead.