((Rescue mission!
364 words
Tw: themes of self sacrifice, and death))
[Everything was fine. Everything was perfectly fine.
Sure, their fingertips were tingly, they had to force their breath, but it was all okay. They could deal with it.
It's when they are hit with a wave of familiar shared pain. Sculk. All consuming. And they know what's happened immediately.]
No…
[Rushing up and ignoring calls behind them, Mother Spore rushes towards the city.
The twigs and sticks of the forest claws at them, transitioning to scraping of rough bricks once they enter the city.
But that pain is nothing compared to the distress signals of the mushrooms they've been nursing.]
I'm so sorry-
[They stumble to a stop when the familiar alleyway is revealed to be consumed by the dark shimmery substance they fear. Nearly fully consumed in the same spot as before, their kin.]
No… no… no-
[Pain radiates up and down their spine from the mushrooms calling out for sanctuary. And they realize there's only one thing they can do.]
It's okay- I-ll get you- it's okay.
[They rush forward, feeling the sculk squish under them, and it want to creep up them. They run and reach forward, noticing the body of a racoon nearby, and scoop up the mushrooms from the ground.
Sculk eats at their hands. It's pain, but it's not new.
They can handle it.]
I've got you now. It's okay.
[Turning on their heal they run back, running as far as their legs can take them, until they can't feel them anymore, and slump against the back of a building.
Their breaths shake them. For a moment, they allow themselves to wallow in their agony.
Before the mushroom tugs at their mind.
And so, they brush off the sculk from the mushroom, dumping it into a plastic bag nearby.
They set the mushroom aside, and brush the sculk off themselves.]
It's okay… we'll be okay…
[The words feel like a lie to them. But it's all they can say. It hurts.
With as much sculk off them as possible, Mother Spore can finally breath.
Grabbing the mushroom, they cradle it, allowing it to milk what little remains in their strength.]
We'll be okay…
[And they close their eyes…]
