Fungus Stories

*Note: This is based off an old and discontinued story that had its outline scrapped and reworked to fit the prompts for the ONC. Essentially, a new book for this competition. Only the core concept, title and the protagonist's name are kept the same.* ----- A ribbon, a hair-clip, a pen, a notebook and a radio, held in the arms of a sixteen year old girl... ... It's been four hundred of years since The Rot ravaged the world and sent people downward with its decaying touch, four hundred years since humanity has inhaled even a breath of fresh air and twenty years since the first fifth-generation child was born in the shelters deep underground. And now, beneath the poisoned earth at the edge of the world, only six of them remain living in the last surviving shelter, the last surviving Lifelight illuminating a darkened board. For the rest were claimed by The Rot. Protected at all costs, older generations shields the worst of the consequences, the worst of the panic, but truth cannot be hidden forever. With increasing tensions and increasing crime, it becomes clear that there are only two outcomes: to die in strife or to die in silence. That is, until an inexplicable hope presents itself in the form of a radio transmission originating from the single most uninhabitable place on Earth, the surface. But it's too late, too late for most, other than the most protected, the youngest, the fifth generation. The waiting game is over and now it's a race against time. Before The Rot reaches them, before they run out of supplies, the handful of survivors must reach out and find the source of the transmission. From this, there are only two possible results: death or a secured future. *Cover done by the amazing @toruinagod*

It started with a discovery. Inside the secret GrimHaven Facility, a scientist created a fungal virus known as FGS-a mutation meant to heal the human body. Instead, it destroyed humanity. Within hours, the laboratory collapsed into chaos. Scientists died. Soldiers failed to contain it. And the infection spread beyond the facility... reaching the nearby city of BlackBerg. Now the streets are filled with monsters. Peter S. Estevan, a young soldier with only two years of experience, is one of the few survivors left. Haunted by the death of his comrades and his father, Peter believes he failed everyone. But survival means moving forward. While searching the ruined city for food and survivors, Peter encounters Natalie C. Harper, a mysterious girl with a pistol, a past she refuses to talk about, and trust issues that keep her constantly on edge. Together, they must survive a city crawling with infected creatures, uncover the truth behind the FGS Virus, and face the dark secrets hidden inside GrimHaven. Because the zombies... are only the beginning. And something far worse is evolving. In a world where humanity has fallen, survival is the only rule.

The worldbuilding of the TLO inspired me. But in this au there hasn't been solution yet against the fungus, and there is no immune "superhuman". On the other hand, the fungi is rapidly mutating and evolving, adapting to the environment and slowly gaining what can be labeled as- intelligence.

Just a mess of Harry