What follows is the ninth part of a collaborative story written by members of The Alliance. To catch up on the previous parts, click the links below:
Part 2 by grindan
Part 3 by enginewitty
Part 4 by wwwiebe
Part 5 by summertooth
Part 6 by slothlydoesit
Part 7 by bigtom13
Part 8 by willendorfia
Eventually the earthquake subsided, and Gnome-one spoke once again. Only, the voice emanating from his mouth was that of a young child.
"Gomebody knows the trouble I've seen. Gnomebody knows but Gome-one."
Gnome-one started to giggle. The childishness of the laugh making it all the more creepy. Fred and Nerffin exchanged uneasy glances.
"No more mushrooms for me," whispered Nerffin.
"No more mushrooms! No more mushrooms!" The voice mimicked Nerffin in a mocking way. "No more mushrooms for anyone!"
Gaining a shred of courage, Fred took a step toward Gnome-one, "That's enough, Gnome-one. We didn't come here to play games!"
Again, Gnome-one giggled like a child seeing their favorite stuffed animal. "Daddy, it's me...Gwen!"
"Gw...Gw..." Was all Fred could manage.
"I've made friends with the mushrooms. Daddy, they're talking to me. They're telling me things. And...now, I can talk to you."
"But...how?" Fred was still struggling to find his words.
"The mycelium fibers travel everywhere. Once connected to them, I could speak through Gnome-one. I could tell you about the Megaloroom!
Fred and Nerffin spoke in unison, "The Megaloroom?"
"I'll show you. Come sit next to me." With her one hand still fully embedded in the fibrous wall, Gwen held her free one out for the confused gnomes.
After a slight hesitation, they obeyed. There was no point in arguing anymore. All reason and logic, as his mother always said, had gone out with the dodo.
"For this to work, your minds need to travel to your happy places." This was no easy task in a place like the underworld.
Fred's thoughts wandered to his time back in school. The time when he first met Emma. How they had so much fun working on projects together. Like the time they successfully created a cherry/grape hybrid. Or, the wild adventure where they tried to get accepted into a family of squirrels. The scars from that one are still pretty fresh. Fred wondered if he would ever see Emma again. He quickly pushed that thought aside. He needed to focus on the happier ones. Like, the first kiss.
Nerffin's thoughts drifted to his days playing gnomeball for the Gnomeville Gnats. That's right, Nerffin played gnomeball. He was actually quite good at it, too. His finest moment coming in the championship game against arch rival Gnomegrove. Nerffin scored the game winning goal after a beautiful cross pass deflected off of his face and into the net. With a stinging nose and a shower of rose petals raining down from the stands, Nerffin was carried out of the Gnome Dome on the shoulders of his teammates. He can still hear the crowd chanting his name. Nerffin! Nerffin! Nerffin!
Seeing smiles on the faces of Fred and Nerffin, Gwen knew they were ready. "Both of you touch my hand." Fred slipped his hand under his daughter's. It felt like the hand of a stranger. Nerffin placed his hand on top of Gwen's. Almost instantly, the mens' minds were filled with a pleasant white light. As the light began to fade, an image slowly came into focus.
The image seemed to be that of a mushroom, though, neither gnome had ever seen one quite like this. It was monstrous. Bigger than any gnome home. It's swirling colors of purple, blue, and red danced across the surface of the formidable fungus. Spots all over the shroom appeared to glow, as if light by an internal source.
Then Gwen began to speak again. "This is the Megaloroom. This is the source of the blue goo that many of you have been smearing all over your faces. The Megaloroom is the cause of everything weird that's been happening. You must seek it out and confront it before it gets too big. You will find it somewhere in the forest that is dead but is not really dead. Here, wear these. They will protect you from the Megaloroom's hallucinogenic powers."
Gwen removed her hand from within the wall. When she did, the image of the Megaloroom quickly disappeared from the minds of Fred and Nerffin. In her now free hand, Gwen revealed two rings. The rings were made from the same fibers that made up much of the wall. Fred and Nerffin were each handed one and both slipped them on their fingers. The rings felt a little loose at first, until the fibers tightened around their fingers for a snug fit.
No longer under Gwen's control, Gnome-one stood there staring confusedly at the three others standing by the wall. While Gwen occupied his mind, Gnome-one was unaware of everything that happened. He had the strange sense of missing time.
Fred broke the silence. "Okay, we have to gather up all the supplies we can manage. There's no telling how long it will take us to find this giant mushroom. The forest is egnomous."
Nerffin had an idea. "Gwen, sweetie, could you maybe reach back into the wall and pull out a few more of these rings?" Unable to speak through Gnome-one, Gwen just giggled. "Looks like it's just you and me, Fred."
"Come on," Fred replied, "let's get out of this underworld nightmare. Gwen, take my hand." He noticed Gnome-one standing off to the side, perplexed. "Hey, Gnome-one!"
No response.
"Fa'Koon!"
Fa'Koon Gnome-one glanced at Fred.
"You coming with us?"
"No," Gnome-one managed to respond, "I'm going to stay down here for a little while. I feel a connection to this place."
Not wanting to stay down there any longer, Fred and Nerffin wished Gnome-one a hasty adieu and began making the nightmarish trek back to the surface with Gwen. Back to the world of the living.
But, what nightmares await them on their journey to find the Megaloroom? What nightmares await them if they actually find the substantial shroom? Does any of this even make sense? I don't know! What I do know is that my jar of blue goo is getting low. Thanks for reading!
PART 8 - PART 10
Wherever we are, we are surrounded by nature. It's always trying to communicate with us. Take time to notice. #NoticeNature.
All gifs and images are my own unless otherwise stated.
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