Forest Shroomy's Arc

Chapter 5 of 6

Forest Shroomy waited beside the bypass network, counting down the hours until Luke returned. The mushroom caps had spread wider through the soil, their threads growing stronger beneath. She held the machine key in her pocket and watched the eastern grove for movement. Two hours and forty minutes had passed when she heard voices. Luke appeared first, carrying a leather briefcase instead of his tool bag. A woman walked beside him wearing a bright cap with "SHROOM FOREST" stitched across the front. Forest Shroomy recognized the embroidery pattern immediately — it matched the signs at the forest's northern entrance, the ones placed by the conservation office fifteen years ago. The woman stopped ten feet from the machine and set the briefcase on a flat rock. She pulled out a pocket watch, checked the time, then looked directly at Forest Shroomy. "Two hours forty-seven minutes since he gave you the key. We're early, I know." Forest Shroomy stepped toward the bypass network, blocking their view of the mushrooms. The woman raised both hands, palms out. "I'm not here to move it. I'm here to measure." She opened the briefcase and pulled out soil testing equipment — the same brand Forest Shroomy used for pH readings. "Luke filed a land disturbance report this morning. Said someone planted an endangered species on his property line." The woman knelt near the edge of the grove, careful not to step on the new growth. "If these mushrooms are what I think they are, this whole area gets reclassified. No machines, no cutting, no disturbance for five years minimum." Forest Shroomy pulled the key from her pocket and held it out to Luke. He took it without a word. The woman collected three soil samples, labeled each tube, and closed her briefcase. "I'll have the lab results in forty-eight hours. Until then, nothing moves." She looked at Luke. "That means the machine stays exactly where it is." Luke nodded once and walked back toward the tree line, leaving the key in his pocket and the machine still chained. Forest Shroomy watched them leave, then turned back to the mushrooms. The bypass network had earned more than three hours — it had earned five years. She knelt and pressed her palm to the soil, feeling the threads pulse beneath her hand.