Page 119 of Grave Matter

“I was in the tree, and she saw me get shot,” he goes on. “She knows what you’re doing to me.”

Everly snorts. “She doesn’t know shit. She never did. And we had such high hopes for her. But perhaps you’ll be our star pupil, Clayton. You’ve already died twice, and we’ve used the mycelia to bring you back. That’s never happened before.”

“Fuck you.”

She laughs. “See? Even your personality is starting to come alive. That means nothing was erased. This is a good thing, Clayton. You’re doing a good, noble thing. You’re sacrificingyour lives for science, for the greater good. It’s not enough that we can temporarily cure Alzheimer’s. We can temporarily cure death.”

My eyes widen at the truth of it all.

They’re using their fungi to bring back the dead. Those animals in the woods weren’t byproducts of the experiment; they were the whole point. That testing didn’t go wrong…

It went right.

I gulp, dread sticking to my throat, then freeze, afraid that she heard me.

But the machines drone on, burying the sound.

“Of course, we had to make some adjustments,” Everly goes on. “You weren’t good enough before, but you are now. We made you better, Clayton. The mycelia can have a mind of their own sometimes, but it just takes some corralling to get them to behave the way we want them to.”

Suddenly, her phone beeps, making me jump.

“I have to go,” she says tersely. “Try not to go anywhere, okay?”

Then she hurries out of the room. I don’t exhale, don’t move, until I hear the door slam shut and the sound of her footsteps on the stairs fade.

I let out a whimper and then stagger to my feet, my muscles cramping. I hurry around to Clayton’s bedside, staring at him in a different light.

He died.

He was dead.

Now, he’s not.

“I’ll get you out of here,” I say to Clayton, trying to undo the straps that hold him down.

But he shakes his head slightly.

I’m not alive anymore, Sydney, he says inside my head.But you are. You need to get out of here, now, tonight, before you become like me.

“I can’t leave you like this,” I tell him.

You have to, he says sadly.Or you will die, I promise you this. Please go. She’s going to come back any minute, and then you’ll be strapped down beside me.

Panic starts to claw through my chest. He’s right.

“Answer me something,” I say quickly. “Does Kincaid know about this? Is he one of them?”

He stares at me and blinks.Yes.

My heart sinks.

Now, go. She’s coming.

I swallow down my sorrow and fear and turn away from Clayton. I run through the lab to the door, opening it and expecting to see Everly on the other side. But it’s empty. I quickly rush up the stairs, then through the learning lab. I run along the windows, knowing that no one can see in, especially at night, watching for the signs of flashlights in the storm, but there’s nothing.

I open the door to the outside and start running.

Right to Kincaid’s boat.

---