The corpse lies propped up against a wall with its entrails spilling from a tear down its sternum, left by whatever killed it. The spores already find nests in its skin. Tendrils creep through the flesh like needles and wrap around the bone. They slide up through the marrow and across the organs, exposed to the sun, wrapping them up in a net of orange and yellow wires. The tendrils push into the brain cavity and prod the back of the sightless eyeballs. Then a twitch. The mouth coughs spores. The corpse falls to the side, then picks itself up.
Paddy Dobson
19th July 2021