"Okay, Callista, you're approaching Pittaway Farm. It was a fungus farm owned by Comansys, the company Moonchild used to run." Sam winces. "Yeah, sorry. With this and the Glass Protocol, it's bit like a revisit of your greatest traumas... Are you feeling okay?"

His question comes out hesitant, and I just shrug in reply. "I suppose. I feel better than I did two days ago. It's... hard to move on. Er-well, I guess, it's hard not to get pulled back into the cycle of not moving on, but I'm feeling a bit better. 'M gonna talk to Maxine about... some of it, like you suggested."

"And how do you feel from the... you know?"

"The nanites?"

There's a beat of silence. "Yeah."

"Honestly, like shit. Stupid things made sleeping impossible because of how much I ached. Doesn't seem to be messing with my performance though, so that's good, and it's obviously not hurting me because no ghouls have randomly shown up. I'm more worried about Nicole stealing that file of Pro. Feive."

He hums. "I don't know why she'd steal it, but we can't really ask her since she's very good at disappearing when you need to find her. She's already read the file. What more could she want? Not like she can tell her base much about it. That file only talks about Feive's failures."

"I don't know," I say with pinched lips. "Nicole wanted to report this back to the A.M.T.B., but I don't think she ever got the chance. I mean, there's not much she can report, and at the moment it's not like she has much proof to send in. Plus America's mostly worried about distributing the cure and making sure no V-Types manage to get there."

"Right. I suppose we've got other things to worry about right now too. Like you. Feeling okay still? No Moonchild echoing around in that pretty little head of yours?"

I laugh. "No, she's gone. Er, well, along for the ride, I guess. Haven't heard from her in a good minute. Maybe she's like, hibernating? Dormant? I don't know. If something triggers her, it'll probably be easy to spot."

Sam clears his throat, although he doesn't sound super thrilled about the fact that Moonchild could show up. "Yeah. Yeah. Uh, the farm-yeah. Amelia found it for us, actually, which is uncharacteristically nice of her. Maybe she's feeling competitive with Valmont. Obviously, I saw the presents he sent you, Five. Amazing! Heart's desire type stuff."

I grab my backpack strap. The clothing Valmont sent was nice, although I didn't exactly think it was necessary. He sent them as a way to say sorry, although I don't really think he had anything to be sorry for, besides giving A.N.N.I.E. access to the Glass Protocol ages ago. But he had no idea his AI was a nut case.

"Did you know he sent Janine Field Marshall Montgomery's actual desk to say sorry for rogue A.N.N.I.E.?" He continues with a laugh. "She can't fit it in her office, so it's sitting in the greenhouse now. A-Anyway, sorry. Yeah. Mission. Fungus farm. Comansys grew mushrooms there for medical research. As the Edda's still under a pile of molten rock and we don't know where to find that neutralizer Jones needs, we need something else to fight the V-Types, at least for now."

I nod, my eyes on the building. "Makes sense, and Veronica did say she thought it might be a fungal infection-the zombie virus."

"Correct! So we hope the farm as a really good fungicide. Uh, the door into the facility is that green one. Should be able to open it without a lockpick."

"Well, if not, I brought my handy-dandy one just in case... I think. Or was it in my other back-" I cut myself off when I grab the door handle and open the door. "Oh. Guess you were right."

I take a single step in and-

"Five, I never like to interrupt," Moonchild says, appearing beside me, and my eyes widen in shock. She doesn't notice. "I'm a very peaceful person, but-"

"Yeah. Yeah, that all looks pretty quiet, right, Love?" Sam asks. "But the office area is at least clean, and the lights are on. Um, are those UV lights on the ceiling fuzzy, or is it just my cams?"

I look up at them and frown. "They do seem a bit fuzzy, don't they? Also, Moonchild's here."

He chokes. "What?"

"Yeah, appeared a few seconds ago."

"Well, w-what does she want?"

Moonchild rolls her eyes, looking very unamused. "Those aren't UV lights. I know what they are." She sighs in annoyance. "I've been having such a nice time riding in your head, Five. Having adventures, listening to your thoughts. Perfect Zen, you know? Well, besides all the breakdowns you have, but I can tune those out. It was nice just being there, but now you're in danger."

"Callista, why is Moonchild here?" Sam asks again, while I stare at her in shock.

"I-she says-"

"Listen to me," She interrupts, her eyes narrowing. "Those lights are going to erase some of your memory. The bulbs burn out every six days, so someone else has set them up here recently. I don't live in your memory, so I can remember some of this for you for a while. I know how to get your memories back. There's a black gadget, looks like a torch, in the basement of these labs, so-"

"Oh, crap," Sam curses. "Five, listen, whatever reasons Moonchild is here, tell me why you're running. Three V-Types are approaching the building. You have to be quick, Five. And whatever Moonchild wants, remember the fungicide search comes first. Head left."

"No! Five, go right. Through those double doors!"

I hesitate, which only results in her glaring at me.

"Go!"

I take off running, heading right.

"No, Five! I said go left! Go-did Moonchild tell you to go right?"

I suck in a sharp breath before answering.

"Yeah, she-she said there's something up with those UV lights, that they're going to do something to my mind-my memory," I reply. "She knows this building, so she must... I don't know, she may know it a bit better than you do, and with the V-Type approaching she may know a quicker way through."

"Oh, right, yeah," He replies, a bit disgruntledly. "Well, she better know the way through. I don't have cam access in some of areas. I won't be able to see you, or-" Static crackles through my headset. "Damn it. Some.... building... signal's... If you aren't at the circular gantry in fifteen minutes, I'm sending the closest runners in the field after you."

I smile at his concern, although I'm unsure if he can see it as I climb the stairs, heading for another door up ahead. "I'll be okay. Moonchild knows if I die, so does she. I'll be fine-"

I head through the doors, but as soon as I go through them, I'm on the circular gantry, the same one Sam was telling be about literally two seconds ago. I look over my shoulder, then forward again.

What just happened?

"Oh. Wow. Uh, okay. Yeah. Well, you got to that circular gantry faster than I thought, Five. Guess Moonchild did know a shortcut." He laughs, but I don't. Something doesn't feel right. I mean, I was literally talking to him about this a second ago. How did I get here? "Just a sec. Was it a shortcut with-with Nerf guns?"

My eyebrows furrow. "What?"

"In your arms. You're holding an enormous AK-47-style nerf gun. I mean, it's awesome! But why did you grab it?"

I look down in my arms at the nerf gun, flinching and dropping it as if it burned me. When did I get this? How-

"Sam, how long has it been since I told you I'd be fine?"

"Uh, let me check. I had a stopwatch," Sam replies. "Uh, eight minutes, forty-seven seconds."

My jaw drops in shock, and beside me Moonchild sighs.

"Sorry about that, Five. When we get that memory retrieval device, you'll understand why you were holding it, and when you got it. I'd tell you now, but this is what happens when I try," She starts speaking, but all the words sound like distorted audio, as if her voice is playing backwards or something. Her jaw clenches in frustration. "See what I mean? And you can't ask Sam because he had no cams or audio in there."

"Hm, well I guess given that those are Comansys labs, and they were terrible hipsters with toys all over their offices, you'll probably find quite a few Nerf guns," He guesses. "I've got cams through most of the building, and there's an enormous LEGO model of the Tower of London on Level 4. It's covered in lovely translucent pink fungus."

I keep moving, slowing down when I see white fungus in the walls of some offices on my left. "Looks like there's an overgrowth in a lot of the building."

"Hm. Yeah. Kind of looks like they grouted the walls with cream cheese."

"Gross," I laugh, and he laughs with me.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess probably don't touch it? Still, they must have had fungicide here, just to keep all this in check." I hear tapping on the keyboard on Sam mutters to himself. "Fungicide, fungicide... where are you, fungicide? Alright. There are twelve levels on this building, Five, so head up, around the circular gantry and up the stairs. Go."

When Moonchild offers no objection, I obey. I feel bad for not outright trusting Sam, but I know there's something she knows that neither of us do. I've already forgotten something that she knows but can't tell me. She said I was in danger, and I believe her because I haven't seen her in months and she suddenly just decides to show up for no good reason? Doubtful.

And I know her reason for my danger can't be V-Types, because I've had many close calls with them already and she stayed silent. Plus V-Types don't change the lights of UV bulbs that burn out every six days.

Someone else has been here, and I need Moonchild in order to figure out who.

Although I'm not really sure how I can explain this all to Sam. It's all very confusing, sounding like a bunch of nonsense. But I don't have to worry about it too much when I reach the next floor. This one is very closed concept, but there are multiple windows that show into observations rooms, as well as something looks like a central well that's in the middle of the floor.

I swallow thickly.

"This is a weird place, Five," Sam says. "I feel like I want you to spend as little time there as possible."

I take a few cautious steps down the corridor. "Glad to know we're on the same page."

I look to my right, flinching slightly when I see six zombies in the observation room. There's a thick glass separating me from them, but I do know zombies can be persistent, so I slink to the side, peering over to watch them. None seem to be taking notice of me.

"They're staring through a window on the opposite wall into a pitch black room," Sam says, as if saying it will make it make sense, although it doesn't. "They're wearing white lab coats, so I think they were Moonchild's lab techs. Oh, bloody hell. Look, there're more in the corner."

I have to squint, but when I find them, I tip my head to the side in confusion. One is trying to eat a chair and the other picking and pulling the skin off its fingers.

Sam early gags. "Oh, God. That's-that's incredibly gross."

"I think they're tripping," Moonchild says in awe. "Look, there's a body in there. It's a zombie with fungus growing from its flesh. Hallucinogenic if I know my shrooms, and you know I do. Who would have thought a zombie could get high?"

She giggles, but I just roll my eyes. They widen when I notice one looking my way, and Sam gasps. Then the zombie just curls up into a little ball and rests its head up against the wall.

"Okay," Sam says with faux cheeriness. "Keep moving. This is getting too weird for my liking. Where to next?" There's the sound of papers shuffling. "Okay, Janine said to do a cursory inspection of these floors, as they're not likely to contain large amounts of toxic chemicals. Yeah. I can see that. She wants you to head down to-"

"Oh," I say.

"Oh, what? What's wrong?"

I've made it to the central well, and looking down, I can see something. I can't tell which level it is, but I can see it. There's a concrete floor, with pipes coming out of a blue container.

"Oh," Sam says when he understands. "There's-there's something dripping down there, isn't there?"

"There is," Moonchild answers. "Can you smell it, Five?"

I nod. It smells like celery.

What's down there?

"I mean-look, I-I get that Janine thinks the fungicide is most likely to be down there, but if there's been a toxic chemical leak... I-I just think that you should avoid it if you can, especially since you're-since you took Sage's treatments." Sam forces an optimistic voice. "We might find fungicide up here and not have to go to the basement. So um, yeah. Continue to circle that floor and-and go to uh, to Level 6."

Moonchild sends me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about this, Five. But you've seen things here that you don't remember. And I can't tell you. You want to see what's dripping down there. Sorry."

I stare at her. But Sam said-

"I know what Sam said, and he's saying it because he's trying to protect you, because he loves you. I'm trying to do the same. You need to know what you've seen here. I know a quick way down. Open the door to your left."

I hesitate, and then sigh. "I'm sorry, darling."

"What?" Sam says, then shouts in panic as I open the door on my left, which leads into a pitch black observation room. "No! Callista, go up! Don't go into that creepy observation room! I won't be able to see you! I don't know what Moonchild's telling you to do, but don't listen to her!"

"I'm sorry," I say, "but I have to go down to that lower level."

"Shit!" He curses. "No! Don't!"

I don't listen, my chest aching as guilt floods my body at the sound of Sam's panicking.

"I-I'm calling in Janine."

"Run, Five. Run!"

I start to run, and within a few steps of darkness I'm thrown into the light again.

"Oh my God," Sam sighs in relief. "Callista, don't you ever do that to me again!"

I blink, looking behind me. I'm in a different area, but I don't remember how I got here. "What just-how long was I..."

"You have no idea how scared you made me, but I have you back on cams on Level 1. You're okay. Still looking the same as when you went in that dark room. Beautiful as ever. Uh, beautiful and... sparkly? Is-is that glitter?"

I look down at my clothes, my skin, my hair. I'm completely covered in glitter. Why would Comansys just have glitter lying around?

"Uh, yeah, I guess so."

"How did you get covered in glitter?"

"No idea. Last thing I remember was stepping into that room. I told you those lights did something to me."

"Runner Five," Janine snaps, and I flinch. "Under ordinary circumstances, I would abort this mission. Zombies appear to be hallucinating, there is a fungal infestation in the building, you are ignoring instructions from your operator in favor of Moonchild, and Lord knows what you found in that room!"

I shrug. "The Lord does, but I don't. That's why I was heading to the basement. Moonchild says there's a device that I can use to get my memory back."

"Memory-shmemory," Sam mocks. "Moonchild's priority is that device, but mine is your safety. Janine, please tell me we're aborting the mission."

She sighs. "Runner Five has come this far. It would be a waste to do so. Five, I don't know what route you took to get there, but you are very close to the area where the fungicide should be stored. We desperately need it to fight the V-Types."

"Yeah... I don't want to panic you, Five, but something is really wrong here. Much more wrong than anything I ever did; I can promise you by all the cards in the Major Arcana. If you knew what you'd seen here, you'd want to remember it."

I gulp at that, but I hear a very loud, very close growl that distracts me.

"Crap," Sam mutters. "Janine, cams behind Callista. It's a V-Type, by the sound of it."

"We have to go down to the lower levels, Five," Moonchild insists. "To get the memory retrieval device."

"You must go down to the lower levels, Five," Janine says, "for the fungicide."

An uncertain noise comes from Sam's throat, but he agrees. "Uh, yeah. Five, that V-Type is blocking your route back upstairs, but there's an exit on the lower level. So down the stairs. Run!"

•

I burst through the door of a room in the basement, the faint echoing of the V-Types growling seeming a good ways behind me.

"You're outpacing the zom for now. Have a look around," Sam says, although his voice tense with worry.

"There are a number of large storage rooms off that basement area, Five," Janine says. "Search them methodically in turn."

"Yeah, except stay away from the end of the room, obviously. There's something dripping out of the pipes that lead from that big blue container."

I eye the puddle on the floor and sniff the air. "Doesn't smell chemically. Smells like celery."

"They left the celery smell stuff dripping," Moonchild says, and I raise a brow, glancing at her for only a second as I start to look around.

They?

"Well-" Her voice becomes distorted and not understandable, and she screams through clenched teeth. "Oh, for the love of Mike! Five, we need to get your memories back. You've seen such interesting things! Important things! I can't let you miss them!"

"I see what you mean, Mr. Yao," Janine says. "Yes. Runner Five, skirt around that blue tank, but look in rooms D, E, and F for that fungicide spray."

I head down the first tunnel, heading into the room and shutting the door, locking it.

"Good thinking," She praises. "That should buy you valuable time to search. Now, there may be fungicide in basement D."

I start searching for a can or a barrel with a label, and while I find some things, I don't find fungicide. I hear Sam gasp, and there's muffled growling outside the door.

"Look at-look at that zombie blundering around out there. I mean, I know they get more intelligent if there are more of them, but that one is still thick as two short ones," He mocks. "It's going to walk straight into that spilled liquid. Hey, maybe it'll be acid, and that'll sort everything out."

I look at Moonchild, flinching when I see the look of terror on her face.

"It's not acid."

"Come on, little zombie. Come on, into the nasty little chemicals you wander. Just like Mr. Blobby."

She looks at me. "Five, you have to be ready to run."

Fear creeps into my veins as I inch away from the door, frantically searching for fungicide. What's about to happen?

"Oh, I believe I saw Mr. Blobby on television once," Janine replies, almost excitedly. "You're right. That zombie's movement style really is similar to that character!"

"Five, you haven't much time left!"

"And there it goes, into the puddle!" Sam cheers, but it only lasts for a second, before a loud cracking, squelching noise comes from outside. "Oh, crap. Callista, you have to get out of there!"

"What just happened?" I ask, already sprinting towards the door on the other side of the room.

"The liquid has made a red fungus grow out of the zombie," Janine replies. "All at once! It burst through its chest and eyes and limbs, like a-"

"Like a really grim teddy bear with all of its stuffing popping out. That's going to give me nightmares," Sam shudders. "It's-it's flailing around. Oh, shit!"

"What?!" I scream, voice cracking.

"It tipped the entire blue container of liquid onto the floor! It's making the white fungus in the walls grow like whipped cream out of the can!"

"Five, the fungus is covering the walls and ceiling. It will burst through the door in seconds! Run!" Janine yells, and I'm already sprinting as fast as I can, running and running and running. I run through the door as the one behind me bursts open, white fungus going everywhere, growing and growing out of the walls, covering everything in sight.

My heart pounds and as I look behind me, I see a blur of red through the white.

Oh, God. Is the zombie still chasing me even now that it's becoming nothing more than a blob of fungus?!

Just about every curse word I know flies through my head as I keep running. My legs start to burn, and I try not to breathe in too deeply because heaven knows what could happen if I breathe in any of this stuff. It hurts but I keep sprinting.

But I'm not fast enough. The fungus is growing too fast, growing everywhere! Even in the next few rooms the fungus follows. I think it's spreading that celery accelerant, and when it touches the walls in other rooms it triggers the fungus in them to grow as well. It's going to overrun the entire building and take me with if I don't get out of here.

"Where's the exit?!" I shout.

"I-I-" Sam stammers. "I can't see. The fungus is everywhere. It's grown over all my cameras. We can't see you, Callista. Janine, I can't even tell which direction the exit is in."

"All of the cameras?"

"Most of them."

"Calm down, both of you," Janine demands. "The cameras that are overgrown are not overgrown completely. I can still see some imagery through them, but we only have seconds until we lose any visibility of Five we have."

"I'm sorry, Five. I wanted to get your memories back, but that fungus has blocked our way. There's only one voice you should listen to now," Moonchild says. "She'll know what to do."

She reaches forward and touches my head, and when Janine starts talking, it's like her voice is echoing in my head, every word drilling into my brain, burning into me. It drowns out all the other sounds.

"Runner Five, your only objective now is to escape. That white fungus has colonized the entire building. The liquid the zombie tipped down accelerated its growth exponentially. The building is becoming unstable. The V-Type is still pursuing you. It's a mass of red fungus now. We must find a way out. I am scanning the area," She says, and I realize Moonchild is making me focus only on her. Listening to her, doing what she says-it feels like second nature.

"There! By the blue lights in the corner of the room, there is an area where the fungus has not penetrated. Five, I can see the corner of a metal canister there. Pick it up. Use it."

There's the sound of the fungicide spraying a second later, and I feel like I've just been let out of a trance. I can hear other sounds again. I look down at the can in my hands as I spray the liquid at the fungus. I don't even really remember going to the corner and grabbing the can. The fungus in front of me turns brown and it starts to curl up, while Sam laughs in shock and disbelief.

"Crap, Five, that was fast. You did that almost quicker than Janine could say. And that stuff must be fungicide, right? Look what it did to the white fungus. Keep doing that and head in that direction.

"The V-Type is behind you, Five," Janine warns as a weird gurgling, growling sound reaches my ears. "Its tendrils of red fungus are reaching for you. Spray behind you now!"

I turn around and spray the fungicide, and the V-Type recoils back, stumbling with its now stumpy fungus legs into the white fungus that tries to consume it.

"Yes! It's killing the V-Type!" Sam cheers. "Wait, no. No, it's not. But the V-Type definitely doesn't like it. It's recoiled like a cat when you spray it with water. Good enough. Now, Callista, run!"

•

Sam's voice shakes. "J-Janine, the whole place has grown over and she's not out. I can't-Five, can you hear me? Runner Five, report!"

I try to speak, but it feels like all the air is being squeezed through my lungs as I keep inching forward. The pressure of the fungus is almost too much. There's just so much of it pushing into me, crushing me.

Just keep moving. Just keep moving.

"Runner Five, report!" He demands again, but I can't give him an answer. He chokes in disbelief. "We... we're too late. We've lost her. Oh, God. We've lost Callista!"

"Look," Janine says. "There's a tunnel in the fungus. It's narrow, but she may see the daylight."

I reach forward and grab onto the outer wall of the fungus, pulling myself out with a gasp. I stumble a few feet, breathing in deeply and dropping the can of fungicide as I fall to my knees.

"I thought I was about to be crushed," I wheeze as Sam laughs out in joy, although from how bad his voice is shaking, I think he might be crying and laughing.

"Praise God!" He cries. "I thought we'd lost you. Wait, it is that-"

I look up at the tunnel that's closing, the mass of red that is the V-Type trying to follow me, but it's engulfed by the white fungus. I'd honestly forgotten about the V-Type in trying to escape being crushed by fungus.

"I can't imagine it will escape that fungus quickly," Janine states. "Runner Five, that was excellent work. I am very pleased to see you."

"Thanks," I huff. "I'll be pleased to see you when I get back to Abel. Glad to know I'll be coming back to Abel."

"Never scare me like that again," Sam orders with a slight frown in his voice. "I know you just went through a thing where you kept thinking about losing me and everyone else, but that doesn't mean you can make me think I'm about to lose you."

The corners of my lips curl into a smile. "Noted."

"Keep hold of that cannister of fungicide. Even if it's empty, it may prove useful for Miss McShell to analyze it, as it was extremely effective," Janine says.

From the corner of my eye I see Moonchild staring at the building.

"We have to get back in there somehow, Five. There are important things you saw there that you need to know about."

"Yeah, well, one thing I guess we know for certain now," Sam says. "Veronica was right about the V-Types being a kind of fungus. And we know that fungicide at least makes them recoil like irritated cats."

"I suspect there is even more we can learn. We will work on it, Five, but in the meantime, we need to get you prepared."

I cock my head to the side in confusion. "Prepared? For what?"

"I just received a notification that in about two weeks' time there will be a very important event you must attend. The Exmoore Militia is about to take control of the UK alliance, and they want you there to celebrate."

A/N: Here you go, guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please be sure to vote and comment! Thank you and have a blessed day!