Then everyone jolted as a giant gasp broke the silence. Tom tumbled off the bed and thudded against the floor as Sean folded in two, chest and knees coming together like two sides of an accordion. He looked around the room, clearly not understanding what was going on. Leaping off the bed, he shoved Brett aside and turned a frantic circle in the middle of the room. “W-What’s happening? What’s going on?”
Ryan stepped back into the room, speaking calmly despite the fact his nerves were clearly shot to pieces. “Sean, it’s okay. You OD’d, but we got you back. Brett got you back.”
Sean’s hands trembled at his sides. Slowly, he turned to face Brett, fat tears brimming in his eyes. “Am I okay? Am I okay, Brett?”
Brett nodded. “Yes, you’re going to be just f…” His words trailed off.
At first, Loobey didn’t know what was wrong, but then he saw Sean’s naked torso and gasped. “W-What the hell is that?”
Tom was still on the floor, but he scuttled backwards on his hands and feet, clearly horrified.
Brett raised a hand, and placed it before him like he was trying to keep a dog from biting. “Sean, just sit down on the bed for me, okay? Take some deep breaths while I check you over.”
Tears ran down Sean’s cheeks. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong.” Brett swallowed and adjusted his glasses with a shaking fingertip. “There’s just something on you.”
Sean looked at himself, taking a moment before he spotted the strange growths all over his stomach. Patches of green fuzz had sprouted just above his belly button, forming a patchy line that disappeared beneath the waistband of his boxer shorts. A clump of it also covered the back of his right arm. And both hands.
Loobey shifted himself backwards on his bed, pulling his legs up. “What the hell is that stuff?”
Brett shook his head. “I have no idea.”
Loobey kept his legs tucked up on the bed, wondering if he was delirious from all the chemo. This couldn’t be happening, could it?
“What the hell is this?” Sean was pawing at himself frantically and tugging at the tufts of green fuzz covering his body.
“It looks like some kind of fungus,” said Brett. “Did you have it before?”
“Before when?”
“Before you got here.”
“I’ve ain’t ever seen it before, man. Just get it off me.”
Brett leaned forward and examined the tuft on Sean’s arm. “Just hold still, okay? Let me take a look.”
Sean tried to keep still, but he was trembling. Sweat soaked his face. Loobey felt sweat trickling down his back, but he knew he wasn’t an accurate gauge of temperature. It could be freezing in the room for all he could tell.
“It seems to have fused with your skin,” said Brett. “I can try to peel it off your arm, but—”
“Do it!” Sean nodded. “Get it off.”
“It’s the oil,” said Aaron, stepping back into the room. Ryan went to remove him, but he dodged and went over to Sean. “Look at the colour – dark green, just like the oil.”
Aaron was right. The green stains were all over Sean’s hands and sprouting green fuzz. When he moved them next to his stomach, the colour matched exactly. It was all connected.
“What is this stuff?” Sean demanded, starting to panic. “It’s a weapon like Aaron said, isn’t it? I’m gonna die.”
“Stay calm,” said Brett. “I still think it’s some kind of fungus. There’s all kinds of vegetation out here, and we’re just a bunch of city boys out of our element.”
“I want to see a doctor. Take me to see a doctor, Brett.”
“We can’t,” said Ryan. “Tom’s car won’t start, and it’s too late to walk.”
Sean grabbed his face and rocked back and forth with his elbows on his knees. Loobey pushed himself up off his bed, trying to hide how much of an effort it was. He moved over to Sean and put his arms around him, being careful not to let his bare hands touch Sean’s sweaty skin. “It’ll be okay, mate,” he said. “First thing in the morning, we’ll get you to a doctor. In the meantime, we’re all here for you, okay? Don’t be scared.”
Sean wrapped his arms around Loobey and Loobey tried not to flinch. Fungus was infectious, right? At least Sean’s hands were only making contact with his T-shirt. He swallowed and glanced at Brett. “What do we do now? Is this green stuff dangerous?”
“We have no reason to assume it is,” said Brett. “Sean, do you still want me to remove it?”
“Yeah! Get it off me.”
“Okay, I’m going to try to pull this patch away from your arm. It’ll show us if there’s any damage to the underlying tissue.”
Loobey held Sean tighter, still keeping his hands raised away from his skin. He turned his head so he could watch Brett work.
Brett asked for the first aid kit and waited while Tom fetched it. Then, he put on a pair of latex gloves and produced a tiny pair of steel scissors. Finally, he got started, snipping at the strange green fuzz and plucking at it progressively harder until the skin on the back of Sean’s arm was stretching out like a fleshy tent. “It’s not coming off.”
“What does that mean, man?” Sean’s voice was aquiver. Loobey gave him a reassuring squeeze.
“I’m not sure. Whatever it is, it must produce some kind of bioadhesive. Without the correct solvent, we’d be doing more harm than good by trying to remove it.”
Sean pushed Loobey gently away, then stood up and took a deep breath. “I’m going out me head ’ere, lads. What the hell is this stuff? You have no idea, do you, Brett?”
Brett remained sitting on the bed. “No, but that’s because I’m a vet and not a doctor. The worst thing we can do right now is panic. Panic helps
