Fungal Farm

  "And that is why cordyceps are dangerous. Any questions?" Mrs. Green asked.
  I was sitting in Biology very ready for the bell to ring. Krys said she wanted to see me but I didn't know why.
  Krys was one of my best friends and I had been in love with her for two years. I heard the bell ring, gathered my stuff, then headed to the cafeteria. On the way, my other best friend sidled up beside me.
  "Hey Charlie," they said. Their name was Zee and they had the coolest mullet I had ever seen. I normally hated mullets but Zee was special. They were the only person I knew who could pull one off. That and they could rock any piercing too. They were covered in them.
  "What do you think Krys wants?" they asked. I shrugged. She has called on both of us, saying I have a fun idea, I'll tell y'all at lunch.
  "Knowing her she's either plotting a murder or wants to try a new brownie recipe."
  Zee squinted. "Fair enough, I guess." We walked to our usual lunch table where Krys was already waiting. She looked beautiful as always, with her crystal blue eyes and wavy beach-blonde hair. She looked like a typical love interest in a 2000s rom-com, except her personality was anything but.
  Most became intimidated because of how blunt she was. That was actually the thing that made me fall for her. The second we sat down, she grinned.
  "If it isn't my two knights in shining armor, coming to rescue me from this boredom."
  Zee raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Krys?"
  Her voice lowered to a whisper, which made it hard to hear in the bustling cafeteria. "What do y'all know about that abandoned farm near my neighborhood?"
  I tried to think. "Not much. All I've heard is that no one has ever seen the owners."
  Zee's eyes widened. "That's all you've heard? Dude, that place is insane."
  Krys nodded. "Exactly. At night, you can hear screams. Every time the police show up, though, there's no one there."
  The air became still for a moment, then I laughed. "Come on, it's probably just a bunch of idiots trying to start a rumor. It can't be anything more than that."
  "I dunno, dude. One time I was walking over to my mom's and I heard those screams. They didn't sound right. They sounded more like cries from torture," Zee said.
  I crossed my arms. "Alright, so why do you bring this up Krys?"
  A cold smile slithered across her face. For a moment, I almost felt scared. "We're gonna go to that house tonight."
  "Are you insane?" Zee asked. Krys laughed. "No, I'm curious. I just wanna check it out. I've decided to recruit the two of you for the job."
  Zee shook their head. "Absolutely not. I refuse to go anywhere near that place."
  "Come on, it'll be fun! Plus, Charlie's going," Krys said, grabbing my hand and thrusting it into the air. I felt my face heat up. If Krys wanted me to go...
  "Really, dude? You don't actually think this is smart, right? We're like those teens who get murdered in horror movies."
  I looked over to Krys, who was urging me on. She wanted me to go so bad. She could've picked someone else, but she picked me.
  "Let's at least check it out," I decided. Krys gave me a huge grin then looked over at Zee. They looked up at the ceiling and rubbed their forehead.
  "Fine," they muttered. Krys threw her hands up. "Great! I'll text y'all the info later. See you then." She winked at me, then left. My face quickly warmed.
  Zee looked over at me. "Dude, are you sure this is a good idea? I really don't like that place."
  "It can't hurt. We don't have to stay long, let's just appease Krys."
  They sighed and stood up. "Whatever, but if anything happens I'm blaming you."

 
  "Why the hell did I do this," Zee asked, looking up into the night sky. It was close to midnight now and Krys, Zee, and I had made it to the farm's fence.
  "Because you love us and know that nothing bad is going to happen," Krys said with a smile. Zee sighed.
  "So how do you want to tackle this? Are we just gonna check out the barn and then leave?" I asked. Krys laughed.
  "Oh, you poor boy. No, we're going to explore the barn and then try to find dirt around the rest of the property too. I wanna find out what's making those screams."
  Zee looked over at me anxiously. Their eyes seemed to say I thought we weren't going to stay long? I just shrugged at them.
  The three of us climbed over the fence and made our way to the barn. Even with our flashlights, the place still seemed so dark. It was almost like it was seeping all possible light out if the world. I could barely make out the moon.
  When we got to the barn doors, they were unsurprisingly locked. "Oh no, it's locked. Well this was fun guys but I think I'm gonna go. I promised my mom I'd help clean out the garage tomorrow," Zee said as they turned around.
  "Hold on, I learned how to lock pick," I said. They looked at me with pure annoyance. Krys looked at me with pure delight.
  I managed to pick the lock, which awarded me with a quick hug from Krys. The three of us made our way inside.
  I hadn't really been inside any barns, but this place still looked relatively normal. It was a little musty, but besides that I couldn't pinpoint anything strange. The only strange thing was the smell. It smelled like rotting flesh
  "Wow, nothing except for a god-awful smell," Zee said. They walked over to a dusty wooden pallet.
  Krys frowned and pinched her nose. "Man, this was a bust."
  I looked over and saw a strange lump under a tarp. "Not quite. Come look at this," I said.
  Krys and Zee made their way over. "What is it." Zee asked. I flipped over the tarp to see a completely mutilated cow.
  Its mouth was stitched at the sides and it's eyes were sewn open. It's stomach had a bunch of strange glowing mushrooms growing out of it. That wasn't even the worst part. It's spine had disconnected and was in a permanent arch outside the rest of the body.
  "Oh my fuck," Zee muttered, then promptly threw up next to me.
  "We need to call the police," I said. Krys nodded.
  "Do you think it was some kind of cultist or something?" She asked.
  I didn't say anything. I couldn't take my eyes off of this cow. This poor creature. I almost wanted to hug it. Whoever did this was a monster.
  "Let's just go," I said. Zee looked over and nodded. They didn't look well at all.
  The three of us turned around and started to walk out, when we heard a crunching sound.
  I slowly turned around to see the cow standing up on two legs. The spine was now snapping and moving like a tail. It's jaw fell off, revealing a long slimy tongue. It's glossy eyes looked directly into mine and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me.
  It's hungry eyes then fixated on Krys, who had started running in the other direction.
  Zee screamed and we all ran out of the barn. I started desperately running for the fence when I heard a blood curdling scream behind me. The cow creature had caught up to Krys. Even though it's mouth couldn't really open, it snapped the once seen back sides and started tearing into Krys's stomach. She screamed and tried to fight but the cow wouldn't stop eating. The cow looked up at me, and I could see Krys's eyes now glossed over. I never even got to tell her that I loved her.
  That was the least of my concerns. The cow slowly stood up, and I ran in the other direction. I kept running for miles, but I couldn't find the fence from before. I couldn't find Zee either. I hadn't heard anymore screaming, so I hoped they'd made it out alive.
  I finally started to see something in the distance. It had to be the fence. As I neared I came to a stop. That wasn't the fence. It was another thing.
  This one almost resembled a pig. It had eyes that were sewn shut. Its mouh had strange mushrooms growing out of the sides. It snapped it's head in my direction. I felt every hair on my body stand.
  I heard its mouth snap open with a piercing sound. It slowly rose onto two legs, and blood pooled on its tongue. I turned around and ran as fast as I could back to the barn. Maybe I would be safe in there. Maybe I could call the police.
  I turned the other way and ran as fast as I could. All I needed to do was the find the barn. I kept running, willing myself to look back. I finally saw the barn and then saw the mutilated cow form earlier running at me. I looked behind me to find the pig still chasing me too. I ran inside the barn and slammed the door in both of those creatures faces.
  I heard a screeching moo come from outside as I locked the door. I heard bitting and tearing. I could only assume the worst. I threw up next to me. I slumped and buried my face into my hands. I tried to catch my breathing but couldn't. Krys was dead. Those things out there, what the fuck were they? Who made them? Why would you make something like that?
  I felt tears sting my eyes. I didn't know what to do. I looked over and saw a faint glow. I slowly stood up and walked over. It looked like a trap door. Maybe Zee was down there. Had they made it out alive?
  I opened the trap door and descended down a wooden ladder. Everything suddenly got a lot brighter. Unlike the barn, this place looked like a hospital. Everything was clean and white. Both the walls and the floor were tiled. There was a small corridor, then another door.
  I took a deep breath then walked to the door. It was already cracked. I guessed Zee had made it down here. I sighed from relieved and opened the door, then stifled a scream.
  Krys's mutilated body laid on one of the two tables before me. The other one had Zee, who's lower half had been ripped to shreds.
  "No," I whispered. I looked around and saw other experiments around me. These looked far worse than that cow and pig. These almost resembled people, except they couldn't be.
  One of them had tall mushrooms growing out of its eyes and mouth in a ghastly expression. Another had it's limbs twisted like Samara from the Ring with the same mushrooms growing out of its ears.
  There were so many more, some in tubes, others in cages. One had beady black eyes that followed me wherever I went.
  What the fuck was this? I heard a banging noise behind me. I whipped my head around to see that the door had closed and locked from the outside.
  "Oh no," I muttered. I ran to the door and banged on it. "Please! I didn't mean to intrude just please let me go, I'm sorry please just let me out!"
  I heard a crunching noise behind me. I didn't need to turn around to know what that meant. "PLEASE!" I yelled.
  I slowly turned around. "Please," I whispered one last time. One of the creatures stood over me. It gave me a sickly grin, more mushrooms growing out of it's eyes, then bit into my face.