Two Wish

Chapter 4: The Fungus Witch and The Ant Queen

The window in front of Rita is huge and octagonal. The moon outside is so full and bright that it shines through the veneer of mold covering the glass, flooding the room with an eerie, green glow.

The space is large, and the furniture is sparse. It's wide and open, as if cleared for dancing. Perhaps a room used for parties? An elegant chandelier hangs above Rita, its former brilliance now marred by fungal overgrowth. Strings and sheets of it hang down and stretch out around her, like a canopy. It touches the ground and spreads in every direction covering each surface in mold and mildew.

Within Rita's organic tent, a ring of pale red mushrooms encircle her. The ants march past Noelle's feet and prowl the perimeter of it all, like tiny soldiers on guard.

Rita stands motionless in the middle, her back to Noelle. She's wearing the same outfit that Noelle had seen in all the pictures of her online - a white skirt and a red top. She looks ready to walk out on a tennis court.

Or, she would if it weren't for the fuzzy green that's growing up her legs and dotting her clothing. Her thick, brown hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, red mushrooms sprouting throughout it. The tennis racket that once belonged to Augur Samantha Cole - an auspice - hangs by her side, clutched in one hand. Noelle is stunned for a moment, trying to make sense of the bizarre and strangely beautiful scene and the fungus witch that created it. As she watches, Rita lets out a sob.

"Rita?" Noelle calls.

Rita turns quickly, her ponytail swaying. She raises the racket and fixes Noelle with fluorescent green eyes, tears pooling in them. "Who are you!?"

Rita really had 'gone green,' but what else did that entail? She was still Rita, right? Noelle moves inside the room, the door swinging closed behind her. "You talked to me online, I'm-"

"Can you help me?" Rita interrupts her, taking a few steps forward and lowering the racket. Her voice is desperate and pleading, her expression panicked. "Please, please I don't know where she is! I sent the ants but they can't find her!"

"Who?" Noelle asks.

"My-"

There's yelling in the hallway. The door's thrown open, hitting the wall with a bang. Felix, Claude, and Moldinator tumble inside, sprawled on the ground.

"Harold!" Rita growls.

"Harold?" Felix says, perplexed. Claude stands on his chest, carefully trying to avoid the mold on the floor, looking disgusted. His hackles raise at the green around him.

"Witch." Moldinator address Rita as he gets to his feet, his sunglasses still missing. He unholsters a water gun and aims it at her.

Rita raises the racket again. The mold growing around her legs climbs higher. "You're with him!"

"No, no!" Noelle tries to correct her, alarm spreading throughout her. "We've got nothing to do with him!"

But Rita ignores her. She points the racket at Moldinator. "Where is she! Did you do something to her? I swear, Harold, you'll lose more than an eye if you hurt her!"

Felix stands, Antgelina's pocket watch hanging from the chain looped around his arm. "Her who?"

The racket quivers. Mold sprouts from Rita's hands and crawls down her arms. "My GGF!"

"GGF?" Felix shoots Noelle a questioning look and turns back to Rita. "What, Giant Green Fungus? Cause, uh, I have some good news," he says, gesturing around the room.

"No," Rita says coldly, tears forming again in her eyes. "Ghost Girlfriend."

"Yeah, yeah," Moldinator says, gun still trained on Rita. "You and the Ant Queen: every exterminator's nightmare."