Forest Shroomy's Arc

Chapter 4 of 6

Forest Shroomy stayed beside the root for twenty minutes, watching the tiny mushrooms spread through the soil. They needed three more hours to establish stable connections. Then she heard boots on gravel. Luke was coming back. She stood and positioned herself between him and the machine. He carried a tool bag and the key. His eyes swept past her to the chained wheels, measuring his approach. Forest Shroomy calculated quickly. If she let him unlock the chain, the blade would tear through the bypass before it rooted. If she blocked him again, he might leave and return with help. Luke stopped six feet away and pulled the grease-slicked key from his pocket. "I'm not starting it," he said. "Just moving it off my land." Forest Shroomy glanced at the mushroom cluster pushing through the dirt around the root. The caps were barely visible above the soil, their threads still fragile beneath. She stepped forward and pointed at the ground, then held up three fingers. Three hours. Luke followed her gesture to the tiny mushrooms. His jaw worked. "Three hours and it's done growing?" She nodded once. He looked at the machine, then back at the mushrooms. Finally he dropped the key into her palm. "Three hours. Then I'm back for it." Forest Shroomy closed her fingers around the key. It was warm from his pocket and slick with oil. She had bought the network exactly the time it needed to root. When Luke returned, the bypass would hold. She knelt beside the mushrooms and pressed her free hand to the soil, feeling the threads beneath strengthen with each passing minute. The machine would leave, but the forest would survive it.