A Hike Gone Wrong Ch. 04

Phoebe's eyes opened effortlessly, in stark contrast with the last time she woke up. "Ugh... Where am I again?" the girl asked, but no answer came. Without lifting her head, she turned towards the bedroom's door, or rather its opening. The glow from the small mushrooms illuminated the room as if it was a fairytale. If she didn't know she was underground, the blonde girl could almost believe she was lying in a mystical forest, inhabited with magical creatures such as centaurs or unicorns. Well, knowing how existing unknown creatures have treated her, maybe an empty forest would be better.

As she was rubbing her eyes, she tried remembering anything from when she was asleep. No dream, unlike last time. Maybe it was for the better. After all, seeing the people you miss so much every night wouldn't do any good. Phoebe was now staring at the ceiling, her eyes wandering aimlessly, sometimes stopping to examine the surface of the black slime. For an underground facility filled to the brim with nightmarish fauna and flora, everything was eerily quiet; no howls, no roars, no buzzing insects. "Insects..." she thought.

The plants here had all kinds of flowers, surely there must be some sort of insects pollinating them, no? And what type of insect does this job on the surface? After realizing this, the thought of honey filled her mind. Its sweet taste and aroma also made her remember the last meal she ate. Immediately she cringed in disgust. Yes, it might have tasted -- and smelled -- almost the same, but the texture was completely different, same with its origin... The young woman expected to get hungry as honey filled her thoughts, but the gourmet meal she ate seemed to last her longer than she first expected. At least this meant that she won't have to do it again soon...

She didn't care how long she had slept. Time was meaningless here; all that mattered was if she felt tired or not, and right now, she didn't. Without further ado, the blonde girl got out of the bed and headed towards the showers. "Ahhh..." she sighed, enjoying the hot water flowing down her skin. What a blessing to have this here. The relative safety of the tiled room let her mind wander. For once, her focus wasn't just surviving; she could enjoy the moment. "That plant, it let me use it without trapping me. It seemed to respond directly to my behavior." When Phoebe thought it couldn't get any weirder, it did. "It let me please it in exchange for its semen, and with how enthusiastically the second vine entered my mouth, it visibly wanted me to drink its seeds..." she pondered deeply. "Its seeds..." as this thought crossed her mind, something clicked. She must check something after this shower.

What about the octopus' cum? She wondered back there if it could impregnate her, but nothing has happened since. "Better not to think about it" she concluded, probably out of fear of what could happen. Though, she couldn't shake the fear of something growing inside her womb... It simply terrified her too much to think about it clearly. Plus, there was no way she could get pregnant from such a genetically different creature, right?

She swallowed nervously and turned the water knob shut; it was time to go back into the dangerous outside. The naked girl shivered. Compared to the boiling hot shower she just took, the ambient air felt cold. Fortunately, it wouldn't stay like that forever. As she walked out, she visualized her mental map of the facility, and debated where to explore next. Other than the stairs, only one corridor remained. "Please let that be the way out" Phoebe prayed to whatever god would listen to her. The last thing she wanted to do was go deeper into this hell. Right before leaving, she went into the toilets and drank from the sink. "Maybe I shouldn't have dropped my bottle" she thought while gulping water from her hands. Now she was ready.

Before exploring the corridor, she needed to verify something. "This trap-plant, how does it reproduce?" she thought, anxious to find out. The young woman quickly walked over to the plant, but without getting too close. "Not this time, monstrous plant." She examined her surroundings, looking for something. There. She found what she was looking for. Now kneeling on the ground, she slouched over the spot where she puked some time ago. A tiny, thin stem could be seen emerging from the slime, with a leaf at its tip. "Haha..." a nervous chuckle escaped her mouth. What she had eaten was... its seeds, literally. That thing used its victims to spread its seeds through their bodily functions. The girl was taken aback. What a sick way to reproduce. It was too late to vomit, and she needed to eat anyway. But to think she could propagate this plant everywhere she went... At least, it shouldn't grow inside of her. With this new information, she followed her original plan: exploring the last corridor.

As she returned to the main room, she felt something was off. Even though the environment didn't change, something inside her did. The flowers, the hanging and climbing plants, the myriad of mesmerizing colors... All were still present, but Phoebe didn't feel the same about them. So alien, and yet, they started to feel familiar. There were no doubts: she was getting used to this place. Nope, there was no way she'd stay here long enough for all this to become ordinary. She'll find the exit in a few hours, and everything will be back to normal. This was the only way. The poor girl could talk herself into being this confident, but the worried look on her face told a different story. What if she had to go down? Beads of sweat were now rolling down her forehead as she got closer to the corridor. She went past the staircase, not even giving it a look.

There it was. The blonde girl stood in front of the corridor. She could see a good 50 meters ahead, but not enough to catch sight of its end. The flora lit it nicely, but some sort of dark haze in this place prevented her from seeing farther. "Here we go..." she whispered as she resumed walking. Even though nothing set this hallway apart from the others, it frightened her the most. Anxiously, the young woman pushed on. But right where she expected the next room to be, something blocked her path. Probably from geological phenomenons and wear, the roof had collapsed. A pile of rocks and rubble stood between her and whatever was on the other side; large rocks she couldn't even dream of moving. This exploration ended there, and so did her hopes.

Phoebe stayed silent. She didn't scream out of anger, nor cried; the corridor was devoid of any sound. She sat against one of the boulders, its hard surface made bearable thanks to the black slime. It wasn't unlike when she found the door to the surface shut, the biggest difference being she now maintained her composure. All the hardships she faced here had toughened her up quite a lot, even though she wasn't happy about it. The once light-hearted girl had turned into a wall of brick. Inside, she wasn't sure how to react. She had been worried about this exact situation and yet, she could only feel a mild feeling of disappointment.

The blonde girl picked a flower growing next to her right leg. With her head on her knees and an indifferent expression, she examined it closely. Its shape reminded her of the gorgeous edelweiss that can be found high in the mountains of Europe. How ironic to find such a similar plant under the surface. Its petals were timidly glowing a ghostly green, slowly turning a shade of dark purple the closer they got to the center. There, the pollen had a warm, bright pink color, most likely to attract pollinators. She spent some time staring at it, amazed by how such a pretty flower could grow on this disgusting surface. Maybe, just maybe, what's down the stairs could be this enjoyable?

She put the flower down on the slime, which instantly began consuming it. Now staring into the darkness, Phoebe had no other choice. She must go deeper. As she reluctantly got up, the girl let out a defeated sigh. "Whatever happens, happens." She turned to go back the way she came, heading towards the dreaded staircase.

What could lurk beyond the shadows? As the young woman stood before the first step, she expected a primal terror to overwhelm her, paralyzing all her muscles and rendering her incapable of any complex thought. She could visualize herself being in this state, and almost feel it as if it happened. But there was nothing. She had dreaded this moment since she discovered these stairs. Why didn't she feel anything? Of course, she felt uneasy, fearful of the things she would find deeper, but not more than usually.

"Anything to get out of here" Phoebe confidently thought, right before climbing down the first step. She stood there, waiting. No creatures, no tentacles... Now the second one. Still nothing. The girl continued at a normal pace, carefully looking where she was stepping, so as to not slide on the slime. A fall like that could easily cripple her and leave her defenseless. Not that it would really change anything in her current situation.

The closer she got to the end, the better she felt. Dark green ivy was covering most of the walls and railing. Vines were meandering on the stairs, making each step more dangerous than the last. More and more specks of pollen were filling the air. "Could I be allergic to those?" she wondered. How far down did this staircase go? Twenty, thirty, maybe fifty stories? When counting the first stairs, she estimated to be at around a depth of four hundred meters. A frightening thought, that's for sure. What kind of military base could be buried this deep underground? It seemed like a research center, but what was its purpose?

In reality, the blonde girl knew what type of research was conducted here; there could only be one thing worth building such infrastructures. The black slime, along with the strange flora and fauna, must have been here long before the facility. Still, where were they coming from? There must have been a source, a place where it emerged. Phoebe had been a curious person her whole life, which eventually morphed into her love of exploration. Even if her main objective didn't change, her inquisitive nature needed to know more about all this. If, along the way to the exit, she could find some answers, she'd happily take them. After all, if the creatures here can get so intimate with her, it is only fair for her to learn more about them.

The young woman finally reached the end of the staircase. A door-sized opening led to the rest of the facility. While the humidity, coupled with the warmer air, helped turn the facility into a jungle, what really sold this fact was the surprising flora. Various new plants replaced the usual flowers and mushrooms. Black ferns with glowing turquoise lines of dots on their leaves were covering most of the ground, littered with miniature red versions of the magnificent tree found above, breaking up the monotony of the sea of dark leaves. Clusters of flat mushrooms were growing on the walls, similar to those found on trees.

This new environment and its change of scenery, while pretty to look at, meant creatures could now easily hide under the vegetation. Phoebe grimaced at the thought, and right as she was doing it, something crawled over her left foot. As she felt the unpleasant pinches of an insect's legs on her skin, she instinctively shook her foot in the air. She briefly saw it being thrown away into the ferns but couldn't identify it. Despite her love of hiking and nature, Phoebe profoundly hated insects. Spiders included. She couldn't help but cringe at the thought of a bug, especially one from this place, crawling on her. "Now I have to worry about them too..." she whispered, even more terrified.

As scary as it sounded, she couldn't help herself but wonder what was lurking under the thick layer of ferns. Against common sense, the naked girl got on all fours and peeked under the vegetation. "Wow!" she said out loud. Unlike what she initially thought, the usual flowers and mushrooms didn't disappear, they just got covered by the new plants, thriving better than on the upper level. In this miniature bio-luminescent forest, she could see the silhouettes of rodent-like creatures racing between the stems, occasionally stopping for a few seconds to scan their surroundings. Unfortunately, a multitude of creepy-crawlies also inhabited this place. Fighting against her urge to get up and leave, Phoebe spent some time examining these brand-new creatures she'll have to live with. Unexpectedly, most of them were almost identical to those found on the surface. Spider, ants, centipedes -- she hated centipedes with a passion -- and... crabs? Numerous gray and blue crabs roamed the mini forest. In fact, most of the insect-like lifeforms were crabs. "Huh... Interesting," she thought.

But, among all the creatures, the young woman found one in which she took great interest. Bees. Plenty of them. The small flying puffballs were happily buzzing from flower to flower, covered in a fluffy layer of pollen. All she needed now was to find their hive and collect their delicious honey. To hell with stings, she'd do anything to get her hands on real food.

Having inspected every new plant and creature in this room, it was finally time for Phoebe to get to the heart of the matter. Without further waiting, she got up and left the staircase room. Thanks to the regular passage of large animals, a path had been traced right through the thick ground-level vegetation. "Convenient." But this meant there were large creatures down there, and likely more than one big reptile. Keeping this in mind, the blonde girl carefully made her way down the huge corridor. Numerous flowery bougainvilleas grew on the walls and reached the ceiling. Most of the flowers were a striking deep, dark blue which, paired with pure-white, sparsely spread-out flowers, transformed the ceiling into a breathtaking recreation of the night sky.

This spectacular sight made Phoebe think, for less than a second, that she was outside, peacefully stargazing. For an instant, she had forgotten all her problems. Of course, the awe-struck expression on her face didn't stay for long, and soon, she was back to her stern, vigilant self. For all she knew, something could jump from the bougainvillea's leaves and attack her. No matter how calm and gorgeous this place was, it stayed filled with dangerous lifeforms. As she walked, she spotted fireflies dancing in the air.

She continued her exploration under this mesmerizing fake night sky, sometimes abruptly stopping as she heard animals rummaging in the ferns. The blonde hiker soon arrived at the first intersection. The vegetation was lush, and with the elevated roof, trees could grow here. Not regular trees, rather giant ferns with a trunk; thick vines were dangling from tree to tree. Fruits were abundantly growing on each trunk, with many falling on the ground. Seeing these, Phoebe was reminded of the drawings of prehistoric forests that were in her schoolbooks. Combined with everything she encountered, it wouldn't have surprised her to meet dinosaurs. Hopefully they wouldn't eat her.

While she hoped she wouldn't get eaten, the young woman was delighted at the sight of those fruits. Food, real food. Finally! It's been days since she last had a real meal, not cum from a vicious plant. She made her way through the thick fern layer, often feeling the sensation of a bug being squished under her soles. She winced as more and more bugs died under her steps. "Please don't be venomous. Please don't be venomous..." she chanted in her head as she arrived under one of the trees. Touching its trunk confirmed it was as hard as real wood; maybe it could be useful to her. The girl crouched and rummaged through the leaves, picking each fruit she saw on the ground and keeping the best-looking ones. After confirming none had worms or other bugs in them, she was left with dozens of delicious looking fruits. Their appearance strongly reminded her of dates, which she adored eating on her hike. Densely caloric, they were the perfect food during prolonged efforts. "Here goes nothing" she said as she threw one inside her mouth.

The first bite felt divine. Its soft texture made for a pleasant chew, while the sweet and rich flavor assured her a quick boost of energy. She spat the remaining pit on the ground. Holding them against her tummy, Phoebe returned to the pathway and resumed her exploration, often taking one and enthusiastically eating it.

While she expected to find the same rooms as above, what she was met with instead was much more intriguing. A massive room, not unlike the one with the octopuses. Fortunately for Phoebe, this one resembled more a jungle than a nest. The vegetation was the same as outside, but denser. Fireflies and other flying insects were buzzing around everywhere, often indistinguishable from the pollen floating in the air. The chirping of critters under the ferns could be heard throughout. The blonde girl had no words; she was left speechless by the sight. An underground, alien forest. "This couldn't get any weirder" the girl thought, dumbfounded. "I'll have all the fruits I need, now" she joked.

Going from a forest, into an underground facility, back into a forest. This was unbelievable. Lone slugs were enthusiastically eating away at the ferns, leaving nothing after them. "So this is where they went." Tranquilly grazing on the leaves, they strongly reminded Phoebe of cows. As she followed the path towards the other side of the room, Phoebe noticed a glass pane above the entry. She couldn't see what was behind, but it was most likely some sort of observation post. What were they observing? She shrugged it off but still learned something useful: the slime doesn't grow on glass either. "I could break it and use a shard as a weapon..." The girl wouldn't be as defenseless like that, but how could she get to the observation post? The entrance wasn't in this room, that was for sure; another thing on her to-do list. And even if she found the entrance, breaking the glass could seriously harm her. She had to find a safe way first.

The path carried on beyond some sort of airlock, with tiled walls, floor, and ceiling. This was clearly made as a barrier for the black slime. However, most of the floor tiles had been shattered, and their pieces thrown to the side. Something -- or someone -- had deliberately broken these to make a passageway for the goo. What laid beyond this barrier was most likely where the slime originated from, its natural habitat. Phoebe's hair raised as she realized this. Looking back at the pile of debris, there could be something useful inside. After rummaging through it, the girl discovered exactly what she needed; a piece of ceramic sharp enough to cut flesh. Thankfully, the way it broke formed a safe handle so she wouldn't cut herself open when using it. "Hahaha... Let them come now!" she smirked.

Now armed with what she could call a weapon, an idea came to her. Since the slime couldn't grow on ceramic, maybe cutting it with this makeshift knife would work? The idea seemed logical, and if it worked, it meant she could free the door through which she entered. She could leave right now, but before going all the way back there, she needed to see if that theory was even true. Standing in front of a wall, the blonde girl anxiously lifted the knife and cut a square in the slime. "Please work..." she begged. To her surprise, the knife could indeed cut through the goo, but it wasn't any use. Seconds after making the cut, the slime had already healed itself. "As expected," she thought, disappointed.

After this small experiment, the girl thought about what to do next. One thing was sure, she wouldn't enter a potentially more dangerous environment than the facility, not unless it was her last resort. Thus, she began retracing her steps, but soon stopped right in her tracks. Something was different. Under her soles the slime started squirming more and more. The last time this happened was... "Shit, shit, shit!" Panicked, she swiftly laid down and crawled under the ferns, trying not to flatten too many. She could now hear the loud steps of multiple beasts coming her way. Five, eight, a dozen? It was hard to distinctly hear the individual creatures, but she was certain a whole pack of them was approaching. Under the ferns was the last place she wanted to be, but the dense sea of leaves offered an almost perfect camouflage. She waited. As seconds passed, the sounds became louder and louder.