Black Melt

by Indy McDaniel

  Zoey nodded. “Have been all my life. Does my weirdness bother you?”

  Felicia shook her head. “No, not really. It’s funny. You talk really fast.”

  “Accurate,” Zoey agreed. “Don’t know any other way to talk. Brain likes to run, mouth just tries to keep up.”

  “How does your mouth not trip?” Felicia asked.

  Zoey smiled. “Practice. Lots of skinned taste buds over the years. Eventually, got hang of it.” She finished snipping the holes in the sheet of plastic and held it up for Felicia to inspect. “Remember, plastic tears easily. Must be gentle when putting it on or taking it off bowl.”

  Felicia gently poked a small finger against one of the slits cut in the plastic. “Can enough air get through there?” she asked.

  Zoey nodded. “Enough for a Beta fish,” she said. “Just don’t try breathing through it yourself.”

  Felicia rolled her eyes. “I’m not an idiot, you know.”

  “No, suspect you’re not,” Zoey said, rising from the spot on the floor she’d been sitting. She made her way over to the fish bowl on the nightstand, stretching the plastic over the top. “Rubber band, please,” she said to Felicia, who handed over one of the rubber bands. Zoey stretched it around the circumference of the fish bowl’s lid and trapped the plastic sheet between the band and the glass. “There. Your new fish can hop out of the water all he likes. Will just bounce off the plastic. Just keep an eye on him when you remove it to feed and clean the bowl.”

  Felicia nodded. “Thanks.”

  Zoey smiled at the girl. “My pleasure.”

  * * *

  The tears flowed freely down Kari’s cheeks, but she found herself more baffled than upset. “This is fucking insane,” she mumbled. “You’re telling me that my sister was eaten by fungus from outer space? And that now that fungal infection has gotten out of the lab she was in and somehow her consciousness or memories or whatever might be part of the fungus now, so it’s heading here?” She shook her head. “That’s bullshit. It has to be. Shit like that doesn’t happen. It can’t.”

  “I know it’s difficult to wrap your head around,” Stark said. “If I hadn’t seen some of the things I have over the last couple days, I wouldn’t believe it either. I could show you those things, but I’d rather not. We don’t know for sure if the infection is intelligent and, if so, if it’s coming here. But circumstantially, it’s too strong a possibility to take any chances. I’m going to have two agents parked outside the house, just in case. Hopefully, they’ll get a chance to catch up on their reading and you won’t have to worry about any shady characters hanging about for the next day or so while Doctor Green and I chase this thing down on the other end.”

  “And what the hell am I supposed to tell Allen when he gets home?” Kari asked. “Or Felicia?”

  Stark sighed. “I honestly don’t know,” he said. “The truth. Or as much of it as you feel they need to know or can handle.”

  Kari managed to get her tears under control and wiped them away. She had quite the collection of crumpled up tissues in front of her. “I thought knowing more about Madison’s death would make things better. I was wrong. I’m even more confused now than I was before.”

  “I’m really very sorry about all of this,” Stark said. “But we’re going to do everything we can to keep you, your family, and everyone else safe. Those agents I told you about are outside now. Black sedan across the street. They’ll be discrete about their presence, but if anything happens, they’ll be quick to act. And if you have any concerns, don’t hesitate to let them know.” He pulled a card from his wallet and set it on the table. “Or call me directly.”

  Kari nodded and took the card. “Thanks, I guess,” she muttered. “I hope I won’t have any reason to call you.”

  “So do I,” Stark said.

  * * *

  “How’d things go with the kid?” Stark asked Zoey as they got back into the car they’d picked up at the Baltimore field office.

  “Quite well,” Zoey replied. “She likes me. Wants to know if you’re married.”

  Stark’s eyebrow lifted at Zoey’s statement. “Either way, I think she’s a bit young for me. Geez, I didn’t have more than four words with her.”

  Zoey giggled. “Didn’t ask for herself. Asked for me. Was worried I might be a home wrecker.”

  “And why would she be worried you’re a home wrecker?” Stark asked, already suspecting he knew the answer.

  Zoey looked somewhat embarrassed. It was a strange look on her, Stark had to admit. “Sort of told her you were a good kisser,” she admitted. “Slipped out. Didn’t mean to. Are you? Married, that is. Topic never arose during our previous session of small talk.”

  “Used to be,” Stark said. “Not anymore. Don’t worry. You’re not a home wrecker.”

  “Good to know,” Zoey said. “And how did Davis’s sister respond to the situation?”

  Stark sighed. “About as good as could be expected, I guess. I think she thought I was crazy. Hell, as I was telling her your theory, I thought I was crazy. She’s pissed off and upset and scared now. But I think she’ll be alright, as long as we keep any of those infected bastards from getting anywhere near her home.”

  “Road blocks set up, field agents and local police deployed, everyone on high alert and informed as to what to look for,” Zoey said. “What more can we do?” It was less an admission of helplessness and more a legitimate question. Unfortunately, Stark had no idea what more they could do.

  “Drive around and look for anyone with black shit growing on them?” he suggested. “This is my first time hunting down killer space fungus.”

  Chapter Seven

  Home Invasion

  “I fucking hate babysitting gigs,” Anders muttered as he flicked another spent cigarette butt out the cracked car window. If he’d bothered to look, he would have seen a nice little pile of them collected in the gutter outside the car. He’d gone through half a pack already and was glad he’d picked up an extra at the gas station on the way over to the house he and his partner sat parked in front of. His partner being a rookie, barely more than a kid, right out of the academy. They’d been paired up at the start of the day. Anders couldn’t remember the kid’s name. Not exactly. If he’d known he’d be spending countless hours trapped in a car with the girl, he would have tried harder to remember it.

  Agent Ellen Murphy wasn’t very fond of her older, more grizzled partner. He had a foul mouth and smoked like a fucking chimney. Both of which left Ellen feeling rather uncomfortable as she sat in the passenger seat beside him. She’d given up on any legitimate form of communication with the man. He clearly didn’t like her. Maybe because she was a rookie, maybe because she was young, or maybe because she was a woman. Or maybe a blend of all three. Or something else entirely. Ellen didn’t know and, the longer she spent around Anders, the less she cared. She, too, was wishing for an end to their assignment, although for somewhat different reasons. She wanted a new partner. And a car that didn’t reek of cigarettes.

  “Gotta take a piss,” Anders announced before opening the door on his side and sliding out.

  Ellen rolled her eyes, thankful for at least a few minutes alone in the car so it could air out a bit.

  * * *

  Benjamin and the flight attendant – searching through the muddied waters of the fungus’s connected consciousness told him the other man’s name was Luke – watched from the shadows as the older agent left the car, leaving the younger one all alone. Benjamin grinned. They were so close to their goal, they could almost taste it. Bring the male into the fold, the fungus hissed into Benjamin and Luke’s ears. Gobble the pretty young one down. Then we can take the house.

  With the other infected carriers spread out to cause distractions elsewhere, they needed the extra manpower. The girl in the car would be an acceptable snack before they could get to the main course within the house they’d travelled so far to reach. But the spread of infection would have to come first. Now, with the two separa
ted as they were, it was the perfect time to strike. Benjamin and Luke crept through the shadows to get to the bush the older agent was currently pissing into. They’d have to subdue him, keep him quiet until the infection took hold, but the fungus saw little trouble in doing that. It had grown far stronger since escaping the hellish pit of the lab.

  Benjamin crept silently around the bush so that he could come up from behind the pissing agent. Luke remained behind the bush, waiting anxiously but patiently until Benjamin was in place. The silent communication between the infected men was flawless. Luke sprang up from behind the bush, smiling at Anders as he shook his exposed cock at him. “See anything you like, lover boy?” he asked with a perverted giggle. Anders’ eyes went wide with surprise, but he couldn’t help looking at the flight attendant’s naked flesh. Benjamin moved up from behind him and clamped one hand over Anders’ mouth while wrestling the older man to the ground.

  Luke let out a delighted squeal of joy and quickly darted around the bush to join Benjamin and Anders. Without uttering a word to one another, the two infected coordinated their movements once again. Benjamin removed his hand from Anders’ mouth just as Luke dropped his crotch down onto him. The agent let out a muffled yell as the flight attendant’s erect member pushed through his lips and Luke let out a purr of arousal as he ground his hips forward, drizzling blackened juices down Anders’ throat. Benjamin kept the agent’s arms and legs pinned to the ground as Luke force fed him a mouthful of his infected cum. The spores filling his fluids would easily infect the man and bring him into the fold. All they had to do was wait.

  * * *

  Ellen Murphy screamed out in pain as she watched her left hand bubble and sizzle away into nothingness. The burning agony coursing up her arm was like nothing she had ever felt before. The attack had been so unexpected and so fast that she’d not been able to stop the mostly nude infected man from launching his stream of projectile vomit onto her hand. She’d managed to get out of the car and that small victory had saved her life, she knew. When Anders returned from his bathroom break, he hadn’t been the same asshole who’d stepped out of the car. He’d tried to pin Ellen to her seat and murder her right there, but she’d managed to knock him away and make her escape. That had been when the naked bastard had attacked. Holding her injured arm out from the rest of her body – not wanting to get any of the corrosive gunk on the rest of her – Ellen drew her pistol and leveled it on the man. She tried to push aside the pain to steady her aim and fired, nailing the man in his mold-covered chest.

  A gush of blood and black sludge poured from the wound as the man cried out and clutched his chest. He dropped down to one knee and glared up at Ellen. The rookie agent didn’t give the infected man a chance to do any more damage. She lowered her gun, re-aimed, and fired a second round. This one ripped through the former flight attendant’s left eye and blasted the majority of his brains out the back of his head. The nude man collapsed into a twitching heap and Ellen turned away. Her injured arm burned terribly. She glanced down at it and saw that her entire hand had disappeared. The stump that remained still sizzled and dissolved away. Anders was clawing his way out of the car to get at her and she saw a second man – as naked as the flight attendant – running towards her from behind a nearby house. With nowhere else to go, Ellen turned towards the house she’d been sent to keep an eye on and ran for it.

  * * *

  Kari heard the scream from inside the house. By the time the first gunshot sounded, she’d already collected Felicia from her bedroom. By the second gunshot, she was already fumbling Nicholas Stark’s card out of her wallet as she scurried for her cell phone, Felicia in tow. She dialed the number and put the phone to her ear. It rang once before the banging on the door began. She nearly let out a scream of fear but clamped her mouth shut tight. Whoever was outside, she didn’t want them to know she was home – although the lights were on and her car was in the driveway. When she heard the panicked yell from the other side of the door, she quickly changed her mind about keeping silent.

  “Miss Davis!” the female voice on the other side of the door called. “This is Agent Ellen Murphy. You need to let me in. There’s a situation out here.” It sounded like the woman was in pain. Kari wondered if she’d been on the receiving end of one of the gunshots she’d heard. She pushed Felicia behind her and went to the door, unlocking it and opening the door. The female agent pushed inside and it only took Kari an instant to see that her wound was so much worse than a gunshot. The agent pushed through her pain and slammed the front door shut and relocked it. She turned back to Kari, chest heaving and forehead drenched in sweat. “Kitchen?” she asked.

  “In the back,” Kari said, pointing the way. Her own breathing had grown heavy and her eyes were wide with fear. Despite the crazy story Agent Stark had told her earlier that day, she hadn’t really believed it was possible. Having an FBI agent pounding at her door with one of her hands melted off was certainly one way to get her to believe. As she thought of Stark, Kari remembered her cell phone. She put it to her ear to hear the agent already on the other end, trying to get her attention.

  “Miss Davis? Can you hear me?” Stark asked. On the other side of the phone, he sounded so far away.

  “Yes, I’m here,” she said, following after the young agent stumbling her way to the kitchen. “It’s here. All that fucked up shit you were talking about earlier. It’s here. One of the agents you left here is in the house with us, but she’s hurt. I don’t know where the other one is.”

  Getting into the kitchen, the agent went to the sink first but froze there for a moment as she looked down at her slowly dissolving arm. She set her handgun down on the counter and flipped the faucet on full blast before shoving her stump under the stream. A scream ripped from her throat as the water flowed over the raw nerve endings. Some of the black slop washed away and went down the drain but even after she got most of it off, the bits left were clinging firmly to her flesh and bone, slowly eating away at it. “Not enough,” she gasped, shutting the faucet off and turning to the stove. “Oh, this is going to fucking suck…” she muttered before stumbling over to it and twisting the nob to get the nearest burner on. She waited impatiently for the metal coil to heat up.

  “Oh my god,” Kari gasped as she stared at the agent. “What are you doing?” Stark was telling her something, but she couldn’t hear him. She’d lowered the cell phone as she watched with morbid, horrified fascination as the metal coil began to glow an angry red.

  Taking a deep breath, the young agent brought the end of her arm stump down onto the heated coil. The sizzling of her flesh was drowned out by the fresh scream of agony torn out of her. She held her arm to the metal as long as she could before yanking it away, leaving charred bits of herself clinging to the coil. The agent stumbled back away from the stove and fell to the kitchen floor, panting heavily and clutching her half an arm to her as she fought to stay conscious.

  Kari fumbled with her cell phone and put it back to her ear. “Where are you, Agent Stark?”

  “We’re on our way, but it’s going to take us some time to get there,” he said. “I want you to lock the doors and get to the most secure area of the house. Can I talk to the agent with you?”

  “Sure,” Kari said. “She doesn’t look good, though.” She held the phone out to the agent slumped on the kitchen floor. “He wants to talk to you.”

  Ellen took the cell phone from Kari and put it to her ear. “This is Agent Murphy,” she panted into the phone.

  “What’s the situation, Murphy?” Stark asked. “Miss Davis said you were injured.”

  Ellen held up her half-gone arm, giving it a dubious stare. “I guess you could call it that, sir,” she said. “Some freak puked on my arm. Sort of missing most of it now.”

  “Shit,” Stark growled. “Are you stable?”

  “Stable-ish,” Ellen replied. “Tried washing the shit off. Didn’t work, so I had to burn it off. It… it really fucking hurts, sir.”

  “Keep it togethe
r, Murphy,” Stark told her. “Cavalry’s on the way. For now, you’ve got to keep those civilians safe. What happened to your partner?”

  “Went out to take a piss,” Ellen explained. “When he came back, he was infected. Tried to kill me. He’s still out there. Took out the bitch that melted my arm off. Aside from that, saw one other.”

  “Still have your weapon?” Stark asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Ellen replied. “Down two shots, but I’ve got an extra mag with me. Extra ammunition’s still in the damn car, though.”

  “Conserve your ammo, bunker down, and stay breathing,” Stark told her. “We’re coming.”

  * * *

  After hanging up with Stark, Kari called Allen. He was still at work, but she didn’t want him heading home directly into the clutches of whatever horrors were lurking outside. She filled him in on the specifics, managing to remain mostly calm throughout. When the conversation came to an end, it was with the knowledge that both Agent Stark and Allen were coming to save the day. That knowledge would have put Kari more at ease if the danger wasn’t so unbearably close. If Madison’s consciousness really is rolling around in those things out there, why would she want to hurt us? She could think of plenty of valid reasons her dead sister might wish harm upon herself or even – maybe especially – Allen, but she doubted her sister would do anything to put her daughter in danger. It didn’t make any sense. But then again, nothing since Agent Stark had walked into her home had.

  Ellen managed to get back to her feet with a little help from Kari. The rookie grabbed her gun with the only hand she had left. “I seriously doubt it, but I’m gonna ask anyway,” Ellen said. “You don’t happen to have a panic room in this place, do you?”

  Kari shook her head.

  “Figured,” Ellen sighed. “How about a room with no windows and easily contained entry and exit points?”