《Flesh Fungus》 Chapter 1 On a bright morning, a group of people are walking in the forest full of towering trees. All of them have one thing in common they were mycophiles before except Danny who is still into mushrooms. These groups of friends have known each other since childhood, they are Frida, Matt, Danny, and Danny¡¯s sister Rina. Ever since they were children, they loved hunting mushrooms, even if it''s a dense forest or they have to cross a deep river they will do it just to get mushrooms. Back then they almost spend their entire day doing it, particularly on weekends. They leave their house around seven o''clock in the morning and return home at seven o''clock in the evening. There are also times when they leave their house pretending to go to school but instead, they go straight to the forest and do their favorite hobby, until they don''t go to school anymore because of their hobby. This causes their parents especially Fridas¡¯ mom to move to a city far enough to prevent her from seeing her friends which would eventually followed by Matt¡¯s parent as they moved to other countries leaving Danny and Rina to stay in town. After many years, each of them had earned a college degree. Frida went on to work as a genetic engineer, Matt as a biologist, Rina as a nurse, and Danny, unexpectedly, became a mycologist after his parents failed to stop him from being obsessed with mushrooms. Finally after not seeing each other for so long the time has come to let them meet again as Frida¡¯s favorite auntie Jenna, her dad¡¯s cousin died, and not only that she was also the group''s teacher in science during high school. ¡°Since Both Dad and elder brother Frank are not here till Wednesday and Mom I know you are busy with our business, I decided to attend the funeral of Auntie Jenna¡± ¡°No, I will not allow you to attend the funeral, I''m sure your friends will be there, especially that crazy Danny¡± ¡°Mom, you know Auntie Jenna is my godmother, plus she is very close to me and we have a lot of memories together¡± ¡°I know you are worried that I might go back to my old hobby but Mom look at me now Mom I¡¯m no longer obsessed with mushrooms and besides friends have changed too including Danny¡± She added. ¡°No, I won¡¯t let you leave no matter how you beg,¡± Frida¡¯s Mom said before heading to her room. ¡°But Mom¡± Her Mom didn¡¯t say a single word instead slamming the door, leaving Frida standing and frowning. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Back to the present Frida and her friends had spent over five hours walking and suddenly got tired, so they sat in a nearby stump. ¡°We''ve been walking for a while now and still haven''t reached your cabin,¡± Frida said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Matt replied as he opened his bottled water and drank it. ¡°Danny, if you don¡¯t mind may I ask you a question¡± ¡°Sure what is it¡± Danny replied. ¡°How did you convince your parents to let you become a mycologist?¡± Danny not expecting Frida to ask that kind of question suddenly became serious, then turned his head upward and said ¡°Simple, whatever your heart says, follow it ¡± before glancing at Frida and smiling. ¡°If I only knew that you would answer my question with some flowery answer, I should not have asked,¡± She said surly. ¡°You¡¯re so sensitive, you haven¡¯t changed since then,¡± Danny said smiling. ¡°We are curious we just want to know why Danny and besides we are your friends,¡± Matt said with a dead serious face. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you all later as we reach the cabin¡± Danny suddenly started to run leaving his friends confused. ¡°Danny wait!¡± Frida said as she also started to run. Matt and Rina do the same. ¡°There is something odd with your brother Rina,¡± Matt said. ¡°If only you knew how stubborn my elder brother is¡± Rina replied. After a few minutes of running, Matt and Rina catch up with Frida, gasping as she sits in a tree''s root. ¡°Where¡¯s Danny?¡± Matt asked. Frida gestured to the wooden cabin in front of them, it was approximately a meter away from where they were currently, and it was also noticeable that the door was intentionally open by Danny.¡°He was there a while ago¡± Frida said. ¡°Wait, aren''t you running almost right next to each other when?¡± Confused Rina asked. ¡°He ran so fast that when I reached here, he was laughing by himself as he was holding a pot containing a strange-looking mushroom¡± Frida explained. ¡°I also noticed that elder brother is acting strange lately,¡± Rina said frowning. ¡°I hope you are not offended by this Rina, but I think Danny is a drug addict,¡± Matt said. ¡°I¡¯m also thinking the same, you should take Danny for a drug test sometime¡± Frida added. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, my elder brother had taken multiple drug tests a couple of times just to prove he''s not an addict¡± Rina replied. ¡°But why he''s acting like that?¡± Matt asked. ¡°I''m not sure yet but maybe he''s gone crazy from eating mushrooms¡± Rina replied. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous, I don¡¯t think consuming mushrooms can turn you crazy,¡± Matt said. As the trio continued to talk, Danny suddenly went outside the cabin and noticed the trio ¡°Oh, you''re all here. Come on in, let''s eat¡± he said. The trio follows Danny inside the cabin. The cabin is like any other, with a living room with four chairs, and an oval table made from bamboo, the two-bedroom room is located on the left, and on the right are the dining room and the kitchen. The trio went into the dining room, where they saw a beacon, fried chicken, roasted beef, and a mysterious soup that seemingly contained an orange-colored spiral shell of a snail that had multiple eyes on it with the addition of okra, squash, and tofu. Curious Matt asked, ¡°What type of dish is this?¡±. Chapter 2 ¡°Oh that¡¯s my specialty, I don¡¯t have a name for it yet and the snail-like thing in it is a mushroom, ¡± Danny replied. ¡°It is called snail cap mushroom¡± Danny added. Matt who took a bowl of the dish suddenly returned the dish and said ¡°I had an already on mushroom¡± before showing a crimson-like skin caused by too much scratching in his shoulder. ¡°Oh, when did that start?¡± Curious Frida asked. ¡°Since last year, it hasn¡¯t healed yet¡± Matt replied as he took some bacon and roasted beef in his plate. Frida took the bowl of soup that Matt returned and some fried chicken, bacon, and roasted beef while Rina took some roasted beef and bacon when Danny noticed her avoiding his soup dish. ¡°Hey Rina are you trying to avoid my soup?¡± Danny asked. ¡°No, I just don¡¯t like it¡± Rina replied. ¡°Why?¡± Danny asked staring at Rina. ¡°Na nothing¡± Rina replied as she took a bowl of soup while Frida and Matt looked at them. Danny notices that both Frida and Matt are looking at them ¡°This is normal for us siblings¡± he said before he smiled. Frida and Matt also smiled back at Danny as they continued to eat bacon and fried chicken when Danny suddenly asked Frida ¡°Why you haven¡¯t tried the soup yet?¡± ¡°Oh the delicious soup always reserved for last¡± Frida replied smirking when she suddenly felt something in her stomach ¡°This is bad where¡¯s the toilet here?¡± she asked. ¡°It''s outside, you can use that door to go there¡± Danny gestured behind Frida. Frida immediately stood and went outside leaving Danny, Matt, and Rina who enjoyed the soup. Matt who is secretly glancing at Danny suddenly notices something near the armpit of Danny¡¯s who is scratching it. It was a crimson-colored spiral shell of a snail with multiple eyes similar to what Danny cooked. Danny noticed him and asked, ¡°Is there a problem with what I cooked?¡± ¡°Ah nothing, it''s tasty¡± Matt replied smirking. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, by the way, I¡¯m going to get something outside, it may take me maybe an hour, enjoy yourself with the meal,¡± Danny said as he stood and started to walk outside. ¡°Oh before I forget, please don¡¯t go to the kitchen, my pet snake managed to get away from the cage and hasn¡¯t caught it¡± ¡°Understood¡± Matt replied. Danny headed outside the cabin leaving Matt and Rina who were eating the soup like a child who hadn''t eaten for days, curious Matt asked ¡°What¡¯s the soup taste like?¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°It tastes like beef but its tenderness is like pork¡± Rina replied. ¡°Just a while ago you were disgusted by its look and now almost had eaten the entire soup¡± ¡°Exactly, by the way, Frida hasn¡¯t come back yet¡± ¡°Yeah, let me check her¡± Matt stood and went outside the cabin. He was only a few steps away when he noticed Frida peeking into the kitchen so he immediately shouted at her ¡°What are you doing there, Frida?¡± Frida saw him and gestured to be silent as she called him to come, confused Matt approached Frida but before Matt could say a word Frida gestured him to look into the small hole inside the windowless kitchen, as Matt peeked in the hole he saw a stove my from cement and besides it is a storage of kitchen utensils made from bamboo, nothing unusual. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything unusual inside and besides Danny warns us not to get inside since his snake pet got away from the cage,¡± Matt said. ¡°Are you blind look to the left and you will see something unusual¡± Frida said frowning. Matt peeked again and turned his head sideways to see through the small hole, he was shocked at was he saw a strange mushroom its cap had the crimson-colored spiral shell of a snail with scales that looked like an eye blinking but the steam seemed to be nothing unusual and it was planted in a pot, after seeing this Matt suddenly said ¡°Oh shit, that¡¯s the one Danny had cooked¡± Frida tapped his shoulder and said ¡°Just lower your voice Danny might hear you¡± ¡°Also we should warn Rina to avoid eating the soup¡± Frida added. ¡°It''s too late, Rina has almost eaten all the soup and besides Danny is gone for an hour¡± ¡°Earlier, I saw something near Danny¡¯s armpit¡± Danny added. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It is similar to the mushroom cap we saw inside¡± Back in the dining room, Rina had eaten ? of the soup when she suddenly voices outside prompting her to go outside and check. As she went outside she saw Frida and Matt standing near the kitchen. ¡°You two what are you doing there?¡± Rina asked. ¡°Frida is curious why the kitchen does not have a window, I told her that Danny¡¯s snake pet is inside¡± Matt replied with a fake smile. ¡°I see,¡± Rina said. ¡°Guys, if you still want to eat there¡¯s more food left¡± Rina added before she went inside. ¡°Thanks, Rina,¡± Matt said. Frida asked in confusion, ¡°What the heck are you talking about Matt?¡± ¡°Before Danny left he told us not to go inside the kitchen due to his pet snake managing to get away from its cage¡± Danny replied. ¡°So what do we do know? Should we tell Rina what we saw?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, let¡¯s just see what happens later¡± Half an hour passed Frida, Matt, and Rina were in the living room sitting in the wooden chair as they awaited Danny. ¡°It¡¯s been a while and Danny hasn¡¯t returned yet,¡± Frida said. ¡°Yeah,¡± Matt agreed. ¡°Guys, I will be getting some water in the dining room,¡± Frida said to which both Matt and Frida nodded. As Rina leaves they hear someone whistling, Matt peeks out the window of the living room, it is Danny carrying a pot and instead of proceeding directly to the front entrance, he enters the kitchen through the side of the cabin. In the dining room, Rina finished drinking two glasses of water when she noticed that the door to the kitchen was slightly open, so she approached and grabbed the doorknob to open it when someone suddenly tapped her and said ¡°You know I haven''t caught my pet snake yet, don''t you? Did I not tell you not to go there?¡± Chapter 3 Rina was shocked to hear Danny¡¯s voice. ¡°The door was slightly open, and I¡¯m about to close it¡± Rina replied before turning to Danny. Danny gave her a half-minute-long, stared, and said ¡°It''s alright, thanks Rina¡± before smiling. ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°They are in the living room¡± Rina replied before they went to the living room. In the living Matt and Frida were having a conversation. ¡°I saw Danny carrying pot and went straight to the kitchen,¡± Matt said. ¡°Are you sure, I didn¡¯t see him?¡± Frida asked. ¡°Yeah Danny walked fast, that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t see him¡± ¡°Are you looking for me?¡± Danny said coming from the dining room followed by Rina. Matt and Frida turned, surprised to see Danny show up from the dining room along with Rina behind. ¡°Ah yes, we are about to say goodbye, we''re leaving now,¡± Matt said. ¡°How sad, I thought you were going to spend a night here,¡± Danny said as he sat in the wooden chair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry we''re planning to come back next year¡± Frida said. ¡°I see,¡± Danny said. ¡°It will take years for us to see the two of you¡± ¡°We never knew what was coming, it might be the last time I see you both¡± ¡°Be careful on your trip¡± Danny stood from the chair and started walking towards the dining room leaving Matt and Frida. Matt and Frida exchanged glances before nodding at each other. ¡°Hey Danny wait, Frida and I decided to spend the night here, we decided to leave for tomorrow,¡± Matt said. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, I¡¯ll prepare you a delicious dish for dinner,¡± Danny said before smiling while Rina smirked in the corner. It was seven o''clock in the evening, and the four friends were happily conversing while having dinner. Danny had prepared various food for dinner like sausage, adobo, sinigang, fried fish, fries, brownies, and hotdogs. Another thing to note is that, as far as we can tell, Danny doesn''t have any dishes that contain mushrooms. ¡°Matt do you remember when we pulled a prank on Mr. John¡± Danny said. ¡°Yeah, you stole Mr. John¡¯s whig while he was sleeping¡± Matt replied as he giggled. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Rina and I also became entangled in what you two did.,¡± Frida said. ¡°How did the two of you get involved in that prank?¡± Matt asked. ¡°Elder brother threw the whig to me then I threw the whig to Frida, then Mr. John suddenly woke up and saw Frida holding his whig¡± Rina replied. ¡°By the way elder brother where''s your special dish I thought you cooked it¡± ¡°Just as a minute ¡± Danny stood from the chair walk towards the kitchen, little did they know Frida and Matt were looking at him as he held the doorknob to the kitchen hoping to see what they saw earlier but unfortunately Rina interrupted them ¡°Why are you looking at my elder brother, is their any problem?¡± ¡°Ah you know, there''s a big mosquito after him, right Matt,¡± Frida said. ¡°Ah yes, I saw it¡± Matt replied. Rina is frowning at what the two are trying to say. Soon, Danny comes out of the kitchen with a cauldron with him. As he put the cauldron on the table a familiar dish could be seen, it was an orange-colored spiral shell of a snail with multiple eyes on it with the addition of okra, squash, and tofu. Rina quickly took some soup as if she hadn¡¯t eaten yet while Matt and Frida were staring to which Danny noticed them and said ¡°Oh Frida aren¡¯t gonna take some soup I made?¡± ¡°Ah no thanks, I¡¯m already full¡± A few minutes later, while the friends were having a conversation, Rina held her stomach and said ¡°I¡¯m going to the toilet¡± ¡°Would you like some juice?¡± Danny asked. ¡°Sure,¡± Both Matt and Frida said. Danny took a sachet of juice and ice from the cooler and put it in a jug Danny put some powder in the jug which Frida notices. Frida taps Matt to tell him but unfortunately, Danny is about to turn so she only says nothing as she keeps her composure. After that, Danny places the jug on the table and lets Matt and Frida take a glass of juice. Matt immediately drinks the juice while Frida leaves uneasy as she couldn¡¯t warn Matt about it. Moreover, Danny''s expression suggested waiting for her to sip the juice. With no other option, Frida drank the juice and held it in her mouth luckily Rina had already come back from the toilet which allowed Frida to have an excuse to go there as well, as she immediately ran outside pretending to hold her stomach. ¡°What happens to here?¡± Rina asked. ¡°Like you, it seemed that she experienced stomach ache as well,¡± Danny said. When Frida arrived at the toilet, she vomited the juice and gargled. After a short delay, she cleaned her face and returned to the cabin. As she came back, Rina told Frida about the room she would be spending the night in, which she would be sharing with Matt. Upon arriving at the room, she noticed Matt was sleeping on the floor on a mat. Recalling everything that had transpired, including the strange mushroom Frida had seen and the powder Danny had added to the juice, she sat in bed long after she fell asleep. Frida was sleeping soundly when she was woken by a scream ¡±Ahhhh ah¡±. Frida immediately gets up when she notices what happened to Matt, she is horrified at what she saw, frozen from where she stood and speechless. Matt''s body is decomposing; worms are all over him, and a snail cap mushroom has sprouted out of his eyes. Another scream can be heard coming from the kitchen, this allows Frida to move her body and quickly go to the kitchen without knowing the danger. As she opened the door to the kitchen she was met by four snail cap mushrooms with eye scales staring at her apart from that she also noticed Rina¡¯s body lying on the floor in a similar situation to Matt a snail cap mushroom had sprouted out of her eyes. Frida slowly retreated in fear, sadness, and disgust at what she saw. Suddenly she noticed that she bumped into a man it was Danny. Danny''s eyes came out and slowly turned into a snail-cap mushroom. Danny, still conscious, said, ¡°Nothing can separate us. We are friends, and we are together forever.¡± Before his body fell onto the floor, his eyes had fully turned into a snail-cap mushroom. ¡°Wa wa what are you? Wa what did you do to my friends?¡± With a tear trailing down her eyes, Frida inquired, her face terrified. ¡°I, ahh, I, ahh, am flesh fungus¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..End¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..