Blood Moon

Chapter Twelve - The Future

Albie was not sure how long she had been wandering through the abandoned city. The longer she did though, the less and less she liked it.

At first, she had been walking around spinning, unable to take the magic of it all in at once. In every gap or space mushrooms had sprouted, a mad array of colours and shapes. Some were tiny and intricate but others rose as high as the buildings forming almost a forest. The city was dark and so the only light was from the fluorescent yellows, greens and pinks of some of the madder varieties. She couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of the fungi, how they had managed to weave through old paving stones but also hang from abandoned signs and balconies?

It was interesting as well the way the fungi whispered to each other, the songs they drummed and hummed adding to the tranquil atmosphere. Though she couldn't understand most of what they said, she could hear enough to tell a lot of it were old jokes.

The city became suddenly a lot less beautiful, however, when she began to notice the bones strewn across the ground amongst the huge mushroom trunks. Or that it was actually daytime, just that the sun was barely visible through the thick smog overhead. Finally, she realised the fungi were the only noises she could hear, there was not even any bird song.

That was until Albie heard the growl. Then there was no time to admire the scenery as she raced between the towering mushrooms. She hated the running dreams most of all - but who could turn and face their own death?