Forest Shroomy's Arc

Chapter 3 of 6

The engine coughed once, then caught. Forest Shroomy's head snapped up from where she knelt in the dirt. Luke had restarted the machine. The blade arm began to lower again, its metal edge gleaming as it descended toward the main channel. She had seconds. The main channel ran beneath a thick exposed root shaped like a broken branch, split down its center from decades of growth. If the blade cut through it, the entire eastern network would collapse before the spores could take hold. Forest Shroomy sprinted toward the machine, waving both arms. Luke saw her but didn't stop. His hand stayed on the lever. The blade kept lowering. Forest Shroomy planted herself directly in front of the root. Luke would have to cut through her first. She held his gaze, refusing to move. The blade stopped three feet above the ground. Luke's jaw tightened. He pulled the lever back and shut off the engine again. This time he climbed down from the operator's seat. He walked past her to a wooden shelter at the grove's edge where he stored fuel and tools. Inside, he pulled a chain through the machine's wheel spokes and locked it to a support beam. Then he pocketed the key and walked away without a word. Forest Shroomy knelt beside the root and pressed her palm to the soil. Beneath her hand, she felt the first tiny mushrooms pushing through the earth where she'd planted the spores. The bypass was beginning. The machine was chained. She had bought the network time to heal, but Luke still had the key.