Judy feels better

"Judy, don't go too far, wait for us!" Ian cried out as once again the young Asian woman moved out of his sight. He shook his head, bewildered by her sudden recovery. Yesterday she was walking slowly, handicapped by her ankle, with a sad and sour mood. And now she was almost running in the dark tunnels in front of them. Judith, Finn and himself were behind their mood clearly not improving as they kept wandering into the underground maze.

Judy didn’t answer him. She hadn’t felt this good in ages. Her ankle was feeling great. No, her whole body was feeling great, stronger, tireless, more agile. She didn’t know if it was the mushrooms side effects but if it was then she didn’t plan to stop eating them. She was currently eating one while the others couldn’t see her. Its addictive nature making her wanting more and more.

“MMmhh, I wonder if the others would accept to try these,” she thought. “This is way tastier than our rations and we have a huge supply in these tunnels”. With that settled in her mind, she quickly started to pick up several mushrooms, putting them in her bag. She was too busy to notice how her skin gradually lost its naturally tanned complexion, getting paler while whatever hairs she had below her neck began to fall, leaving her entirely smooth.

*****

Ian, Serena and Finn were groaning and panting as the three exhausted crew members stopped into a small cave. These tunnels were clearly a maze and finding an exit will be more difficult than they thought. Furthermore, the lack of food will also be a bigger problem than they first thought. Less food meant less energy and less distance covered.

“We’ve made some good progress,” Ian said to the others, trying his best to sound comforting. But he knew they were in deep troubles.

“Come on guys, cheer up!” Judy exclaimed as she moved in front of them. “I have something for you” she added as she opened her bag, showing them several mushrooms of various size she had picked up during their walk.

“Mushrooms?” Serena said. “We said it’s not safe to eat them. They can be toxic.”

“You didn’t eat one of these Judy?” Finn asked her.

Judy shrugged her shoulders. “They’re not toxic for God’s sake. I ate a few of them, they’re actually quite tasty. You should try.”

“How many did you eat?” Ian asked as he picked up one mushroom, eyeing with caution the black and white dotted thing.

“Not much, one or two I think” Judy lied, in reality, she already ate four since yesterday. “Come on there’s six of these in addition to our rations. Try them!”

With some suspicion, each of her companions took a small bite. Soon, they started to devour them, each eating two mushrooms, leaving nothing for Judy.

“You”re right, they're very good”, Serena said, licking her lips. "Oh, you didn't get any! I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry, I'm gonna find more for myself," Judy interrupted her, before leaving them. "I'm going to find more." Her growling stomach wasn't the only one needing more, she felt as if her whole body was craving these. She ran toward a dark tunnel, not bothered by the fact that her vision was now sharp enough to let her navigate into the pitch-black cavern. She could smell mushrooms nearby and she really wanted to eat a few of them before bringing more to the others.