Where the Dead Things Bloom. [ch 33, 34]

33: Slime-capture team

Krysanthea paced the length of the RV, her claws clicking with agitation against the crystalline-infused aluminum floor. Every few steps, she'd pause to glare at the expanded tree within the cracked container and the newly formed root pathway spreading up the wall or across the ceiling, her scaled hands clenching and unclenching with barely contained frustration.

"This is absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent unacceptable," she hissed, her feathers rising and falling with each agitated breath. "We've turned Alec grandfather's perfectly normal RV into... into a dimensional anomaly! In Ferguson! The town I've sworn to protect from exactly this kind of System corruption!"

Nessy lounge-sat on a pile of pillows, looking utterly unconcerned as she munched on an apple. She watched Krysanthea's distressed movements with the amused patience of someone enjoying a particularly entertaining theatrical performance.

"You know," the husky finally said, licking apple juice from her muzzle and furry hands, "you're acting like we've committed some terrible crime against reality, when all we've done is create a super-awesome magical house on wheels that's basically the coolest thing ever."

"The coolest thing ever?!" Krysanthea's voice rose to a pitch I hadn't yet heard from her. "There's a glass tree in here! We've created a spatial distortion that's literally rooting itself into our world! The integrity of Ferguson's boundaries could be compromised!"

“Not rooting out,” Nessy yawned with a too-wide mouth. “The crystal roots don’t extend out of the RV. Only the inside is affected.”

“FOR NOW!” Kristi growled.

Nessy sat up, setting her apple core aside with unexpected seriousness. "Listen, lizard-brain. You can pace and hiss and flap your feathers all day long, but it won't change the facts." Her blue eyes held an unusual gravitas. "Ferguson is dying."

The words landed like a stone in still water. Krysanthea froze mid-step, her amber eyes widening.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about—this island of normality in an ocean of chaos?" Nessy continued, gesturing toward the window where the seemingly ordinary forest of Ferguson lay beyond. "It can't last. Not forever. Not without help." She stood. "You and your family have been fighting to keep everything the way it was, but the world isn't that way anymore. We need new tools, new approaches. We need to embrace syntropic elements like our tree to have any chance of surviving what's coming. Everything is levelling up—not just us but our future enemies too..."

Krysanthea's feathers flattened, her posture stiffening. "You don't know that…. We… I…”

"I do know it 'cus can smell it," Nessy replied simply, tapping her nose. "Remember? Got my Scrutiosmia reloaded. I can smell the future crumbling at the edges. I can smell the entropy trying to seep in through every crack, every crevice. And I can smell that this—" she gestured around at our transformed RV, "—is actually helping. It's creating a pocket of helpful stability, safety. In fact, we need to do this to our entire town ASAP.”

“What?!”

“Yes,” Nessy said. “We need to enforce Ferguson as a domain of its people. Everyone must believe in Ferguson and love her as an idea to enforce local syntropy.”

“But…”

“Did you already conveniently forget that you’re Systemfall-infected yourself?” Nessy asked. “We need to give Ferguson stats, need to make her alive, just like this RV. That’s the only way we can save our hometown, Kristi. The only way Ferguson can avoid the fate of the Nameless City. Eureka doesn't sit around. It breeds, multiplies, spreads... devours."

For a long moment, Krysanthea stood motionless, the internal struggle playing out across her features. Her gaze wandered to the Bulwichu tree, its crystalline flowers and fruits glowing with gentle, rhythmic pulses that somehow felt comforting, stabilizing.

“Kris, I trust Nessy’s nose,” I pointed out. “She hasn’t steered me wrong yet. She brought me here. We can save Ferguson. We're building a foundation here, one that will help everyone survive.”

Kristi rubbed her scaled face.

"I don’t like it… and if this goes horribly wrong," she finally said, her voice low, "I'm holding both of you personally responsible."

"Fair enough," I nodded, relieved that she seemed to be accepting our strange magic Airstream bus.

"And I'm strapping C4 packs around the perimeter of this RV," she added, "just to be safe."

"I'm sorry, what?" I blinked.

"C4," she repeated matter-of-factly. "Plastic explosives. If this crystal-tree thing starts eating people or grows into the ground or does anything remotely evil, I'm blowing it to kingdom come before it can spread."

"Where would you even get C4?" I asked.

Krysanthea paused at the door, one scaled hand on the frame. "I already told you—my family raided the Fort Ashwood military base right after Systemfall," she explained. "Secured all their weapons. We have quite the arsenal stashed."

“I see,” I said.

"Honestly? I'm kind of impressed," Nessy replied with a wag of her tail. "Raptor mafia is planning way ahead! All of the shops smell like they’re packed full of fresh produce–how much stuff have you stolen from the Superstore beside the highway?"

“I don’t know,” Kristi said. “I was mostly handling town security before I went to find Alec. Katerina handled the food acquisition… still does, I suppose. Anyways… I’m going to the station to change—you should get dressed into non-sleep stuff too… be ready in 15 minutes for me to pick you up.”

We nodded.

I could see Krysanthea jumping into her cruiser and rapidly driving off towards the station in her car while yelling something into her phone, presumably arranging for the explosives she'd mentioned.

"Should we be worried?" I asked Nessy.

She shrugged, retrieving her half-eaten apple. "Nah. She's practical. She won't blow us up unless we actually start turning into blob monsters or something." She paused, considering. "We're not gonna turn into blob monsters, right?"

"I sincerely hope not."

"Good, 'cause I'd make a terrible blob. All my floof would get all gooey and gross." She bobbed. "Plus, you just brushed my tail."

"Uh-huh."

"I'll make you brush other things after our dungeon escapade tonight," she leaned towards me and whispered huskily into my ear, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

It was just past 10:30 AM when Krysanthea returned, now fully dressed in her ranger uniform, complete with utility belt, sidearm, and a ranger hat that cast a shadow over her amber eyes.

Her car was packed with several plastic orange swords, plastic buckets and what looked like hockey goalie uniforms.

"It's time," she announced. "Let's get to the ranger station to meet the others."

I picked up one of the buckets and uniforms as we shuffled into the car. "This is our high-tech slime-fighting equipment?"

"They're acid-resistant," the raptor-girl replied with a hint of defensiveness. "And yes, buckets are currently our most effective weapon against the slimes. They got good at eating metal ones. I expect them to struggle against plastic for a week."

"Genius in its simplicity," Nessy declared, picking up a bucket and placing it on her head like a helmet. "How do I look?"

"Like an idiot," Krysanthea said flatly, though I caught the corner of her mouth twitching upward slightly.

"A lovable idiot!" The husky stuck her tongue out at the raptor.

Krysanthea drove us toward the back of the ranger station, where a small crowd had already gathered. As we approached, I realized they were a mix of species – a few more raptors, clearly related to Krysanthea, alongside fox, wolf and dog pradavarians in various uniforms and a couple of humans.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Chief Ranger," called one of the raptors – slightly smaller than Krysanthea, with more blue-tinted feathers and glittering violet-gold scales. "We were beginning to think you'd been dissolved."

"Very funny, Kaledoniya," Krysanthea replied. "Everyone, say 'Hi' to Alec and Nessy. They'll be joining us today."

I felt the weight of several evaluating gazes, but none more intense than that of a raptor standing slightly apart from the others. Her scales were a darker emerald than Krysanthea's, almost black in places, with crimson accents along her neck and arms. She held an impressive automatic rifle with the casual comfort of someone who knew exactly how to use it, her clawed finger resting just outside the trigger guard as she methodically polished the barrel.

Katerina.

Katerina's golden eyes locked onto mine, her gaze so penetrating it felt almost physical. Then her attention shifted to Nessy, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

"Dog," Katerina acknowledged with a slight curl of her lip.

"Lizard," Nessy replied cheerfully. "Nice gun. Compensating for something?"

I subtly elbowed Nessy, trying to convey that antagonizing the heavily armed raptor might not be our best opening move. She responded with an innocent What? expression that fooled absolutely no one.

Krysanthea cleared her throat, drawing attention back to herself. "Let's focus, people. Alec, can you handle a firearm if needed?"

"My grandfather taught me the basics," I admitted. "Though it's been about four years since I shot anything, so I might be rusty."

"I can shoot!" Nessy declared, raising her paw. "Used to go hunting with my dad in the north woods. I'm pretty good at dropping rabbits at fifty paces."

"We're not hunting rabbits," Katerina said coldly. "And guns aren't particularly effective against slimes."

“Then why you got that big gun then, hrmmm?” Nessy asked.

"As a reminder to everyone–bullets pass through slime bodies without causing significant damage. However," Kristi added, retrieving a pistol from her car trunk weapons cache and handing it to me, "it's always better to be armed in case we encounter anything else in the caves. Systemfall has a habit of introducing new threats when you least expect them."

Like us, right, Alec? Nessy winked at me with a grin without actually saying it, but clearly delighting in our status as Systemfall "abominations" now fighting alongside the town's defenders.

I gave her an eye-roll, which only made her tail wag more.

Krysanthea continued her briefing, pointing to a map of the Birchwood cave system pinned to a board. "The slimes emerge from this chamber, approximately one kilometer into the main tourist route. We've tried sealing off the tunnels with dynamite three times, but they always dissolve through the rubble within days."

"Maybe you should try super glue instead of dynamite," Nessy suggested. "Or, like, really strong air fresheners. They might hate nice smells."

Katerina's eye twitched.

"Thank you for that insightful contribution, Whitepaw," Krysanthea said dryly. "Our actual strategy is containment and removal. We trap them in water-filled buckets, seal the lids, and run them to the lake. The water dilutes their acidity enough that they become manageable."

"By 'manageable,' she means 'stabbable,'" added a young wolf pradavarian with silvery fur. "Once they're watered down, you can just pop 'em with a pointy stick. Makes a really satisfying splortch sound."

"That's... graphic, Officer Grayfell," Krysanthea commented, "but accurate. Umm… right. This is Officer Tash Grayfell," Krysanthea continued, pointing to the silver-furred wolf. "And this is Deputy Howlish—" she indicated a stocky bulldog in a reinforced uniform, "—Officer Lavros—" a sleek, copper-furred female fox with alert eyes, "—and my sisters Kaledoniya and Katerina you've already had the pleasure of meeting today."

The two remaining humans were introduced as Ranger Wilson and Volunteer Michaels, both wearing the green-and-tan ranger uniforms with acid-resistant plastic armor modifications. They nodded politely, though I caught them exchanging curious glances at Nessy and me.

"And finally, our technical support today—Dr. Barksdale," Krysanthea concluded, gesturing toward an older retriever pradavarian with spectacles and a lab coat over his ranger uniform. He was fiddling with what appeared to be modified surveying equipment.

"Ye, ye," Dr. Barksdale muttered without looking up from his instruments. "If anyone's interested, my seismic readings indicate increased activity in the lower chambers. We might be dealing with more slimes than usual today. Or… something new."

“More target practice,” Kat clicked her beak-snout. “Sis, shouldn’t Alec and Nessy already know us, what’s with the introductions?”

Kristi blue-screened for a fraction of a second.

“It’s been four years, Kat,” she replied far too quickly. “Alec doesn't know everyone in town and It’s just in case he forgot things after university. Plus, Nessy is pretty dumb for a dog.”

“Hey!” Nessy growled.

Kristi sent her a ‘cooperate, you idiot’ glare.

“Fine, fine,” Nessy seemed to understand the implied look. “I am a total airhead with names, I admit. Thanks for the reminder, Kristi.”

Katerina looked only somewhat pacified at this explanation.

“Any other questions before we head out?" Kristi asked.

"Yeah," Nessy raised her white paw high like an eager student. "What do slimes taste like?"

"They taste like death and burning," Kaledoniya replied with a grimace. "Found that out the hard way when one splashed on my snout last week. Couldn't taste anything but metal for three days."

"Sounds like a dare to me," Nessy whispered, elbowing me.

"Please do not lick, taste, or attempt to befriend the acid slimes," Krysanthea announced to the group, though her gaze was fixed squarely on Nessy. "They are not potential pets, they are not misunderstood, and they are not here to make friends. They are hostile environmental hazards that have already caused significant damage to Ferguson's infrastructure and injured several citizens."

"So that's a firm maybe on the befriending," Nessy mumbled.

Krysanthea distributed more equipment—rubber gloves, protective plastic goggles, and what appeared to be modified fishing nets with plastic bits. Throughout the preparations, I noticed Katerina's gaze returning to me again and again, her expression unreadable but somehow threatening.

"Kat doesn't like us very much," I murmured to Nessy as we followed the group toward the trailhead that would lead to the Birchwood caves.

"Could be just her face," Nessy replied, though her own expression had grown more watchful. "Some prads just naturally look like they're plotting murder. It's evolution."

"I'm pretty sure in her case it's not just looks," I said.

The path to Birchwood wound through dense forest, climbing steadily upward along the flank of the mountain that loomed over Ferguson. The morning air was crisp and clean, carrying the scent of pine and wildflowers. It would have been a pleasant hike under different circumstances—without the looming threat of acid-secreting monsters and the knowledge that we were about to walk directly into their territory.

As we hiked, I found myself drawing closer to Nessy, taking comfort in her steady presence beside me. For all her husky energy and boundary issues, there was something reassuring about having her as my... packmate. Her blue eyes caught mine, and she offered a small smile that somehow conveyed both mischief and solidarity.

"Ready to be a hero, Alec?" she asked quietly.

"I'm just hoping not to get melted into a puddle today," I admitted.

"Oh, we'll do more than melt!" she replied, her tail giving a confident swish. "We're gonna kick some slimy butt, save the town, and make our green raptor admit that we're superrrr awesome! In that order."

"You're quite optimistic for someone heading into a cave full of acid monsters."

"Optimism is my superpower," she declared. "That and my incredible sense of smell. And my singing. And my irresistible charm. And—"

"I get it," I laughed softly. "You're a canine of many talents."

Ahead of us, the mouth of Birchwood Cave came into view—a massive opening in the mountainside, flanked by birch trees whose pale trunks seemed to glow against the shadows. A large wooden sign on the roadside proclaimed "Birchwood Caverns - Ferguson's Natural Wonder!" with a smaller sign beneath it reading "CLOSED DUE TO MAINTENANCE" hastily nailed below.

Krysanthea paused at the entrance, checking her watch. "10:45. We have a bit of time until they emerge. Let's get into position." She turned to face the group, her expression grim but determined. "Remember your training. No heroics, no solo missions. We work as a team or not at all."

Her gaze lingered on me for a moment. "Alec, if you get injured, do not hesitate to use your... ability. We need every advantage we can get."

Katerina's eyes narrowed at this exchange, her clawed finger tightening around her rifle. "What ability?" she asked sharply.

"Classified," Krysanthea replied without hesitation. "Need-to-know basis."

"I'm your sister," Katerina hissed.

"And this operation is under my command," Krysanthea countered smoothly. "Focus on the mission, Kat."

With that, she turned and stepped into the darkness of the cave, her scaled hand reaching up to switch on the powerful flashlight attached to her belt. One by one, the rest of the team followed, until only Nessy and I remained at the threshold.

"At least we're not bored, right," Nessy said brightly.

I took a deep breath, feeling the cool air flowing from the cave's mouth against my face. Somewhere in that darkness, things born of the Systemfall’s influence were waiting. And for reasons I couldn't fully articulate, I was more alive, more purposeful than I had ever felt ever in my entire life.

Perhaps it was because I had Nessy and Kristi to impress as my new friends. Perhaps, it was because it was harder for me to die permanently. Either way, my heart thrummed merrily for my first dungeon delving experience.

"Right," I agreed, stepping forward into the cave with Nessy at my side. "Let's go catch some slimes.

34: The Birchwood Dungeon

As we entered Birchwood Cave, the familiar sight of its cathedral-like expanse greeted us. Though I'd been here countless times during my childhood in Ferguson, its magnitude still impressed me. The massive entrance yawned wide, framed by twisted birch trees whose roots dangled over the lip like curious fingers.

Natural light poured in through the house-sized sinkholes in the ceiling, creating ethereal spotlights on the cavern floor. The lush greenery that thrived in these light wells seemed more abundant than I remembered—emerald moss carpets, ferns and even birch trees than I had ever seen here.

"Is it me or is the cave greener?" I commented, noting the difference.

"Yes. Systemfall did something to the growth rate," Krysanthea confirmed. "But the layout remains the same."

We followed the team down the wide stairwell carved for tourists, descending down the limestone stairs toward the underground beach I knew connected to Ferguson Quarry's inlet. The steps felt familiar under my feet, worn smooth by years of visitors and countless school field trips.

As we reached the sandbar, I saw a raptor lounging on a folding beach chair at the edge of the sand, surrounded by an impressive array of weapons. Unlike the professional setup of the team, she had the air of someone enjoying a day at the beach, complete with a cooler beside her chair and a colorful umbrella planted in the sand. A small group of teenage dog prads were sitting on the sand, facing away from us.

"Hey! Finally!" she called out, her voice echoing across the cavern.

"Kirra," Krysanthea acknowledged with a curt nod. "Status report?"

"All quiet so far, sis!" Kirra replied, bouncing to her feet with kid-like energy that belied the large guns sprawled around her. Her scales were a slightly brighter green than Krysanthea's, with turquoise accents along her neck. "No slime activity yet."

Her eyes landed on me, and her expression shifted from professional to delighted in an instant. Before I could prepare myself, she had launched forward and wrapped me in a tight hug.

"Alec! Oh my god, you're alive!" she squealed, squeezing me with surprising strength. "Kristi said you were back but I didn't believe her!"

"Hey... Kirra," I managed, trying to sound natural while my mind scrambled to place her in my memories.

Then it hit me—Senior year of high school, being cornered behind the gymnasium by Kirra a day after the formal. Her claws digging into my arm as she leaned in close. "Stay away from that stupid dog if you know what's good for her," she'd hissed. "My sister likes you. What Kristi wants, Kristi gets. That's how it works in our family. Capiche?"

The memory faded as quickly as it had surfaced, leaving me momentarily disoriented.

"That's enough fraternizing, Kirra," Krysanthea called, her voice sharp. "We're on mission, not at a social gathering."

Kirra released me with a dramatic sigh. "Always so serious, Kristi," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Fine, fine. But you owe me the whole story later, Alec!" She winked before skipping back to her post.

Nessy had pressed closer to me, her fur bristling slightly. "You okay?" she murmured. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Later," I whispered back.

Kirra’s head snapped at Nessy. The fuck she doing here? her eyes seemed to ask, while her mouth smiled wide.

Krysanthea quickly organised the team, setting up the operation. "Kirra, you'll coordinate the disposal team. Once we've containerized the slimes, the runners will bring them to you. Make sure they're all neutralized."

"No fret, I know my job," Kirra replied, a somewhat professional demeanor returning as she gestured to a group of seven volunteer teenage prad dog teens now holding what looked like wooden spears with plastic tips and plastic swords. "My execution squad is ready."

With the beach team stationed at their positions, the rest of us—Krysanthea, Katerina, Kaledoniya, Grayfell, Lavros, Dr. Barksdale, Nessy and myself—prepared to descend deeper into the cave system along the familiar tourist path.

As we moved away from the sandbar, following the narrow path that wound into the darkness, Nessy leaned close to me.

"So, what happened back there?" she asked quietly. "You had a weird look on your face when Raptor Barbie hugged you."

"I remembered... things," I admitted. "Kirra threatened me about hanging out with you. Senior year. Right after the prom."

Nessy's ears flattened against her head. "Those effin' lizards," she growled softly. "A whole family of bullies. I always suspected they were behind some of the... incidents."

"Incidents?"

"My bike tires slashed. My locker filled with rotting meat. An 'anonymous' tip to the school administration that I was cheating on tests," she listed quietly. "Started right after you danced with Kristi at the formal."

Before I could respond, Krysanthea's voice came from ahead: "Quiet back there. We're approaching the chamber."

The tunnel widened, opening into another vast cavern. Unlike the sun-lit entrance, this space was dimly lit by permanent battery-powered lamps installed along the walls—remnants of the tourist infrastructure now repurposed for slime hunting. The lights revealed strange, glistening patches on the walls and floor—areas where the stone had been eaten away, leaving smooth depressions like giant acid burns.

Dr. Barksdale stepped forward, his instruments beeping softly. "Seismometer reports movement down below."

A hush fell over the group, broken only by the distant drip of water and the soft beeping of Dr. Barksdale's equipment.

Katerina checked her watch. "11:08," she announced. "Three minutes."

"Positions," Krysanthea ordered.

Everyone moved about, taking up stations around a dark tunnel entrance at the far end of the chamber. Buckets were readied, latex gloves pulled on, goggles adjusted. Katerina and Kaledoniya flanked the tunnel, weapons raised, while Officer Grayfell and Officer Lavros positioned themselves with nets ready.

"What's our job?" Nessy whispered to me.

"Catch slimes, put in bucket, don't die," I replied, hefting my bucket.

"Got it. Solid plan," she nodded, her tail wagging slightly despite the tension.

Dr. Barksdale's instruments began beeping more rapidly. "Movement," he reported. "Approximately 30 meters and closing. Faster than usual."

A dull, wet squelching sound echoed from the tunnel, growing louder with each passing second. The acid smell intensified—a sharp, chemical burn that made my eyes water even through the protective goggles.

"Here they come," Krysanthea said, her voice steady. "Remember—containment first, extraction second. Work in pairs. Alec, stay close to me and watch the others for now."

The first slime emerged from the tunnel—a glistening, translucent blob about the size of a basketball, its surface rippling with iridescent patterns as it oozed along the ground. Then another appeared behind it, gliding slowly across the stone floor.

"Begin containment!" Krysanthea ordered.

The operation moved into action with the precise choreography of a well-practiced routine. Pairs of rangers advanced, using their nets to scoop slimes into buckets, sealing the lids with quick, efficient movements. The slimes offered little resistance, allowing themselves to be captured with surprising ease.

Volunteer runners collected the sealed buckets, jogging back toward the beach in a steady relay. From the distant sandbar, we could hear splashes and triumphant shouts. Half of Kirra's team yeeted the captured slimes from the bucket into a deeper section of the inlet from a stairwell that led to a viewing platform while the others armed with plastic weapons below dispatched the waterlogged slimes as they re-emerged on the beach.

"Aight, Foster and Whitepaws - start helping out," Kristi said as number of slimes increased slightly.

"Seems to be going well," Nessy commented as we successfully captured our third slime, passing the bucket to a waiting runner.

"Too well," Krysanthea muttered, her amber eyes narrowed with suspicion. "I don’t like this.”

As if on cue, the rhythm of slimes emerging from the tunnel changed. They began coming faster, larger specimens pushing their way through.

Dr. Barksdale's instruments started chirping wildly. "Increase in size and number!” He barked. “Something big is coming through!”

"Look," Kaledoniya pointed toward the tunnel entrance. "Something's different."

A massive slime, at least three times the size of the others, was squeezing its way into the chamber. Unlike the smaller ones, which were nearly transparent, this one had a pulsating core of vibrant purple that cast an eerie glow across its gelatinous body.

At the beach behind us, something was going wrong too. We could hear shouts of alarm, and then Kirra's voice calling out: "Shit! Some of them are coming dry out of the water! The dilution isn't working!"

I heard the sound of gunfire.

The massive slime paused at the tunnel entrance, its amorphous body rippling as if assessing the situation. Then, with deliberate slowness, it began to divide—breaking off smaller portions of itself that moved with coordinated purpose toward the ranger teams.

"This isn't normal behavior," Officer Lavros remarked, backing away slowly as one of the offshoots approached her. "They've never demonstrated this level of tactical awareness before."

"Fall back to defensive positions," Krysanthea ordered. "Containment protocol is suspended. Switch to direct neutralization!"

Katerina raised her rifle, firing a burst into the nearest slime segment and then at the large slime ahead. The bullets passed through its body, leaving momentary tunnels that closed almost instantly.

"Bullets still ineffective," she reported grimly. "We need a new approach."

In the confusion, I found myself slightly separated from the main group, backed against the cavern wall with Nessy beside me. Three smaller slimes were approaching us, their movements eerily coordinated.

"Any ideas?" I asked, glancing frantically around for an escape route.

"Hold on… I'm sniffing out their weaknesses,” she stammered out, nose twitching as she inhaled. “Shit.”

“What?” I asked.

“You aren't going to like this,” she stated. 

“Not going to like what?” Kristi hissed from where she stood.

“They can’t be stopped here,” Nessy said. 

“What do you mean they can’t be stopped?” Kristi growled.

“A quarter of them have developed water resistance,” Nessy explained quickly. “That big one is coordinating them. There’s more big ones deeper in. Something is coordinating them from below. They’ve been breeding. Waiting… playing with us. Fooling us. This place is… alive, it wants us dead!”

The rangers froze momentarily, exchanging wary glances. Katerina's golden eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, her grip tightening on her rifle.

"And we should trust the word of a dumb dog why, exactly?" she sneered. "How could you possibly know any of this?"

Officer Grayfell exhaled sharply. "Yeah, no offense Whitepaw, but that sounds like panic talking. These things don't have brains."

"They don't need brains!" Nessy insisted, her fur bristling with frustration. "There's a central intelligence coordinating them from deeper in the cave system. I can smell its control over them!"

"You can... smell control?" Officer Lavros asked skeptically, her fox ears flattening against her head.

Dr. Barksdale's instruments beeped frantically as more slimes poured from the tunnel. "Whatever the case, their numbers are increasing exponentially! We need to fall back!"

I watched Krysanthea's face as she processed Nessy's words. Unlike the others, she didn't dismiss the claim outright. Her eyes met mine across the chamber.

"Nessy can detect things others can't," she finally let out, her voice cutting through the skeptical murmurs. "I've witnessed it."

"You can't be serious," Katerina hissed. "Since when do you—"

"Since she tracked down Alec when I… couldn't," Krysanthea snapped back. 

The massive purple-core slime pulsed at the tunnel entrance, almost as if it were listening to our debate. More offshoots separated from its mass, gradually sliding with ominous purpose toward the rangers.

Krysanthea's gaze darted between the advancing slimes, the tunnel, and her team. Indecision flickered across her features as she calculated odds and weighed options.

"We need to retreat and regroup," Officer Howlish urged, his bulldog face grim as he backed toward the exit. "Fall back to the beach and reassess with reinforcements. Maybe blow up the tunnel again.”

A slime the size of a melon surged forward with sudden speed, catching a young volunteer off guard. The pradavarian wolf yelped as it touched his boot, the plastic immediately beginning to smoke and bubble where the acid made contact.

That single moment of genuine danger seemed to trigger something in Nessy. Before anyone could react, she grabbed me, lifting my entire body over her shoulder.

"No time!" she barked. "Alec, hold onto me!"

And then we were running—not toward the exit as logic would dictate, but directly toward the massive slime blocking the inner tunnel. Nessy moved with startling speed, dragging me behind her as she leaped over smaller slimes with preternatural agility.

"WHITEPAW!" Krysanthea's voice thundered through the cavern. "STOP!"

But Nessy didn't slow. As we approached the giant slime, she tightened her grip on my body. She picked up speed and ran sideways across the wall, past the large slime as I clung to her body.

We landed on the other side, in the tunnel beyond.

"What are you doing?!" I gasped as she sprinted down the narrow passage, the cave walls rushing by in a blur of limestone and shadow.

“If we don't stop the source, Ferguson's finished! There are thousands more waiting to emerge!"

Behind us, I heard Krysanthea's voice, closer than expected: "STOP, DAMN IT!"

Nessy skidded to a halt so abruptly I nearly crashed into her. We spun around to find Krysanthea standing just a few meters away, her sidearm drawn and pointed directly at us, her chest heaving with exertion. Despite her raptor physiology being built for speed, it was impressive she'd kept pace and somehow got ahead of us.

"What the actual FUCK do you think you're doing?!" she demanded, her amber eyes blazing with fury. "Running straight into danger like that? Abandoning the team? Are you trying to get yourselves killed?! Why don't you ever listen to me, paws?!"

"We're trying to save Ferguson!" Nessy shot back, her own voice rising with intensity. "Your plan doesn't work anymore, Kristi! The slimes have evolved—they've been letting you think you were controlling them while they built up their numbers! The whole 11:11 AM thing has been a trap! They’re going to flood the town… today from the quarry itself while everyone is distracted here!"

A flash of movement caught my eye, and suddenly Kaledoniya was there, materializing beside Nessy with supernatural speed, a wicked hunting knife pressed against the husky's throat. The youngest Strand sister's feathers were fully extended, her blue-tinted plumage vibrating with tension.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't slit your throat right now, dog," she hissed, the knife edge dimpling Nessy's fur. "You've just endangered my sister’s boyfriend and the entire team!"

Nessy didn't flinch, her blue eyes locked on Krysanthea rather than the knife at her throat. "Use the volunteers to lead the slimes away from town," she said, each word measured and clear despite the blade against her skin. "They follow the vibrations made by people—the largest group of boots on the ground will draw them. They're blind and stupid individually, but they're being coordinated from below."

“You’re… certain?” Kristi asked.

“Absolutely,” Nessy said with determined eyes.

“The fuck you talkin’ bout dog?” Kaledoniya growled.

"I can literally smell their weakness, their communication mechanism, the fact that they've been evolving down here for weeks," Nessy continued urgently. "There's something at the heart of this cave system—a core, a heart, a brain—whatever you want to call it. It's directing them, making them smarter. Without it, they will lose focus, stop melting people! Destroy the brain and save the town!”

Kaledoniya's knife pressed harder against Nessy's fur. "Cease your yapping. You are clearly delusional—"

"Kale," Krysanthea suddenly interrupted. “Put down the knife. This is an order.”

Something passed between the sisters—a silent communication born of shared blood and history. Kaledoniya's knife wavered, then slowly withdrew from Nessy's throat. Nessy lowered me to the ground.

"You believe them?" she asked, her voice edged with disbelief.

"I believe... that our current strategy isn't working," Krysanthea replied carefully. Her gaze moved to the tunnel behind us, then back to us. "And I believe that if there's even a small chance they're right about a coordinating entity deeper in the caves, we need to address it. Pass an order to everyone above to lead the slimes around the forest using large numbers of runners."

The distinctive squelching sound of approaching slimes echoed down the tunnel, growing louder.

"What about you?" Kaledoniya asked.

"I'm going deeper with Alec and... Nessy," Kristi replied, the slight hesitation before the husky's name barely noticeable. 

"What?! Why?!” Kaledoniya sputtered. “It's dangerous down there! Do you have a death wish or something? You’ve been acting weird since you returned, sis! Why do you smell like you've been sleeping with both of them?!”