Chương 145: 144: Control

The apartment was small, but it was home. Shamira Bekele stood at the window, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her dark eyes fixed on the chaos unfolding in the streets below. Jakarta had become a war zone. Skyscrapers that had once pierced the sky now leaned at impossible angles, their shattered windows reflecting the hellish glow of fires raging unchecked through the streets. Cars lay overturned, their metal frames twisted like discarded toys.

The air was thick with smoke and dust, heavy with the metallic tang of blood. Rhizome sat in the centre of the room, her eyes closed, her body perfectly still. Her crimson dress was immaculate, the delicate violet flowers embroidered across its surface catching the dim light. Her bronze skin glowed faintly, while her honey-coloured eyes remained hidden behind closed lids. Tiny bioluminescent spores drifted from her body in a constant, gentle stream, flowing through the open window and into the chaos beyond.

Shamira watched her for a long moment before speaking.

"Rhizome." No response.

"Rhizome, what's going on?" Still nothing. Shamira stepped closer, her voice rising.

"Rhizome! Talk to me!" The Spore Mother's eyes opened slowly. They were distant and unfocused, as though she were looking through the walls of the apartment and into the heart of the battle itself.

"I am fighting," she said, her voice calm and measured.

"My spores are spread across the city. I am controlling thousands of nightmares, using them to defend against the fresh ones pouring in." Shamira's eyes widened.

"You're controlling them?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"With my spores." Rhizome's expression remained serene.

"They are inside the nightmares now. I have taken control of their bodies, their minds, their instincts. They fight for me now." Shamira stared at her.

"That's… that's incredible."

"It is necessary." Rhizome's gaze drifted back toward the window, her eyes unfocusing once more.

"More are coming," she said quietly.

"They are everywhere. Hundreds of thousands of them." The streets of Jakarta had become a nightmare. The nightmares poured through the ruined city like a tide of grey-brown flesh, their elongated bodies slithering across the rubble, their cobalt eyes blazing with hunger. Rows of jagged teeth filled their mouths, snapping and chattering against one another in rapid, piranha-like bursts. Click-click-click-click. The sound echoed through the ruins.

They tore through buildings, crushed cars beneath their weight, and devoured anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. Their teeth snapped through limbs and flesh with terrifying ease, their jaws opening and closing in frantic bursts as they fought over anything that moved. A family huddled in the ruins of their apartment, their faces twisted with terror. The father clutched his daughter against his chest, his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for the inevitable.

"Tuhan, tolong kami," he whispered. God, help us. His wife pressed both hands over her mouth, stifling a scream. The door exploded inward. BANG! A nightmare lunged through the opening, its elongated body whipping across the room, its jaws gaping wide. Its teeth snapped together. Click-click-click! The father threw himself in front of his family, his arms spread wide.

"LARI!" he screamed. RUN! The nightmare's claws raked across his chest, hurling him against the far wall. He struck with a sickening crack and crumpled to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. His wife screamed. His daughter sobbed. A second nightmare appeared behind the first. It was larger than the others, its body covered in thick, armoured plates. Vines grew from its flesh, winding around its limbs like living weapons. Its eyes glowed with iridescent emerald light. Unlike the others, it did not move blindly.

Every movement was deliberate. It lunged at the first nightmare. Its claws tore through the creature's throat. The nightmare shrieked, its teeth snapping wildly as black fluid sprayed across the walls. The armoured creature wrenched its claws free. The nightmare collapsed, its body dissolving into black smoke. The armoured nightmare turned toward the family. Its eyes were empty, but its movements were deliberate. It stepped between them and the shattered doorway, guarding them, protecting them.

The father stared at it, his breath shallow.

"Apa… apa itu?" he gasped. What… what is that? His wife stared at the creature, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"It has plants growing out of it," she whispered.

"It's like… it's like someone is controlling it." The armoured nightmare remained still, watching. Another nightmare appeared in the hallway beyond. Its jaws opened. A frenzy of teeth snapped together. Click-click-click-click! The armoured creature lunged.... In the streets below, the battle raged on. A nightmare the size of a bus slammed its hand into the ground, its claws carving a deep trench through the asphalt. BOOM!

The impact sent shockwaves rippling through the block, collapsing buildings and flipping cars into the air. A group of civilians screamed as they fled.

"LARI! LARI! LARI!" The nightmare's head turned toward them. Its cobalt eyes locked onto the fleeing civilians. Its mouth stretched open. Rows upon rows of teeth began snapping against each other. Click-click-click-click-click! It lunged. Before it could reach them, another creature intercepted it - a nightmare covered in thick, armoured plates, its limbs wrapped in twisting vines, its eyes glowing with iridescent light. The two creatures collided with a deafening roar.

The armoured nightmare drove its claws into the creature's side. The nightmare twisted violently, its jaws snapping inches from its attacker's face. The armoured creature seized its head and slammed it into the pavement. CRACK! The nightmare recoiled, thrashing wildly. Its teeth snapped over and over as it tried to bite through the vines wrapped around its neck. The civilians scattered, their screams swallowed by the chaos.

A military convoy came screaming down the street, armoured vehicles tearing through the smoke as mounted weapons opened fire on the horde. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Tank shells slammed into the nightmares, tearing chunks from their bodies, but the creatures barely seemed to notice. One nightmare turned toward the convoy. Its jaws opened.

"TEMBAK!" a soldier screamed. FIRE! The tanks opened fire. Shell after shell slammed into the nightmare's face. BOOM! Explosions engulfed its head. When the smoke cleared, it was still standing. It hadn't even flinched. The nightmare lunged. Its claws tore through the first tank as though it were made of paper. Metal shrieked beneath its grip. The second tank fired desperately. The nightmare swatted it aside, sending the vehicle tumbling through the wreckage. The third tank tried to reverse.

It never got the chance. The nightmare seized the vehicle by the barrel of its main gun. The tank hung helplessly in the creature's grasp. The soldiers inside screamed. The nightmare twisted its massive body and hurled the tank with all its strength. The armoured vehicle sailed through the smoke, spinning end over end before disappearing between the skyscrapers. A distant explosion erupted several blocks away. BOOM! The remaining soldiers stared in horror.

"SELAMATKAN DIRI!" a voice shouted somewhere in the chaos. SAVE YOURSELVES! The soldiers scattered, abandoning their weapons as the convoy was torn apart behind them. The nightmares surged forward. Their bodies slithered over the wreckage, jaws snapping hungrily as they descended upon the fleeing soldiers. The ambulances were everywhere, lining the streets with their emergency lights flashing through the smoke while their sirens wailed over the distant roars of the nightmares.

Medics rushed between the wounded, their faces grim and their hands stained with blood, desperately trying to treat as many people as they could before the next wave arrived. A woman lay on a stretcher, one leg crushed beneath a collapsed section of wall, screaming until her voice was raw.

"ANAKKU!" she cried. MY CHILD! WHERE IS MY CHILD? A medic pressed a hand against her shoulder, trying to keep her still.

"Dia baik-baik saja. Dia selamat," he assured her. Your child is safe. He's safe.

"Apa kau yakin?" she sobbed. Are you sure?

"I'm sure." Her screams slowly broke into helpless sobs as the medic moved on to the next casualty. Nearby, a man knelt beside his wife, her body broken and motionless beneath a bloodstained sheet. He clutched her hand against his cheek, tears running freely down his face.

"Maafkan aku," he whispered. Forgive me. She didn't answer. She never would.... Back in the apartment, Rhizome remained perfectly still, her expression calm, almost serene, despite the devastation unfolding beyond the window. Shamira watched her with her arms folded tightly across her chest, but the desperation in her voice was impossible to hide.

"How many of them are there?" Rhizome's eyes remained distant.

"Many."

"And you're controlling them all?"

"No." Shamira's brow furrowed.

"I am controlling enough of them to make a difference," Rhizome continued.

"The rest I am directing away from the city, leading them into the countryside where they can be hunted more easily." Shamira shook her head.

"That's insane. You can't possibly control that many—""I can." Rhizome's voice remained soft, but there was absolute certainty behind it.

"I am the Spore Mother. My spores are everywhere. They are inside the nightmares. They are in the air. They are in the soil." She closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed as she reached farther into the network.

"I can feel everything." A faint tremor passed through her fingers.

"I can see everything." Her brow tightened.

"And I can control everything." Shamira noticed the sweat beginning to gather along Rhizome's brow, but before she could say anything, Rhizome spoke again.

"But Jakarta is no longer enough." Her eyes opened. A faint iridescent glow pulsed behind them.

"My spores must spread farther." The first spores drifted beyond Jakarta, riding the wind and clinging to vehicles fleeing the city. They settled into fields, forests, roads and rooftops, slipping through cracks beneath doors, floating through ventilation systems and taking root in the soil. Little by little, they moved outward. Bandung. Surabaya. Semarang. Yogyakarta. Medan. Makassar. City by city, the spores spread. Rhizome reached farther. And farther.

Her spores slipped into every place they could find, clinging to the bodies of fleeing nightmares and settling across the land. Every new cluster connected to another, and every connection strengthened the next, until a living network began to form beneath the country. Invisible threads of fungal consciousness stretched across highways, through forests and beneath sprawling cities. Rhizome could feel it happening. One city became two. Two became five. Five became dozens.

The distance between them slowly disappeared until, little by little, her spores linked together across the entire country. Indonesia became her territory. Her senses expanded with it. She could feel footsteps in distant streets and sense nightmares moving through forests hundreds of kilometres away. She could feel the panic of civilians hiding beneath buildings, the vibrations of vehicles speeding along highways and the movements of creatures tearing through settlements far beyond Jakarta.

Everywhere her spores had taken root, the nightmares began to change. Thousands of the creatures turned. Their cobalt eyes dimmed as an iridescent light replaced them. Vines erupted from their flesh, winding around their limbs and torsos while armour hardened across their bodies. They became her puppets. They stood in the streets, guarded evacuation routes and hunted the nightmares that refused to submit. Across Indonesia, Rhizome's army continued to grow, and for a brief moment, it seemed to be working.

The tide was slowing. The nightmares were being pushed back. People were escaping. Rhizome exhaled shakily.

"Good…" Her voice was barely audible.

"We're holding them." A distant scream echoed from somewhere outside the apartment. Rhizome's eyes snapped open.

"No." Shamira looked at her.

"What?" Rhizome stared toward the window, her expression changing as she felt something moving through the network.

"They're different." Something new had entered the country. They emerged from the smoke in flashes of teal and yellow, their elongated bodies covered in mottled brown spots, their wet flesh gleaming beneath the burning city lights. They were nightmares. But they were nothing like the others. They moved several times faster. One vanished from the street, only to appear a heartbeat later halfway up the side of a building.

Another crossed an entire intersection in the blink of an eye, its serpentine body twisting through the wreckage with unnatural speed. Their mouths opened. Rows of needle-like teeth snapped together with vicious speed. Click-click-click-click-click! Electricity crawled across their bodies, blue-white arcs jumping between their claws, dancing along their spines and crackling from their jaws. A soldier raised his rifle. The creature disappeared. A flash of electricity illuminated the street. The soldier collapsed.

Another nightmare seized a fleeing civilian by the leg and dragged them across the pavement, ignoring their screams as its teeth snapped inches from their face. The creature jerked its head back and forth, deliberately keeping its prey just out of reach before finally biting down. A second creature struck a car, its electrical discharge passing through the metal frame and into the passengers inside. Their bodies convulsed as electricity surged through them. The nightmare watched. It seemed to enjoy their terror.

These creatures didn't simply kill. They hunted. They played with their prey, chasing people through the ruins, cutting off escape routes and circling them before striking. The old nightmares had been ravenous, driven by hunger and instinct. These were sadistic. And there were more of them every second. Rhizome felt them. All of themó Her face went pale.

"No…" She reached farther into the network, and her spores surged outward in response. Thousands of controlled nightmares reacted at once as armoured creatures emerged from buildings and vine-covered nightmares surged through the streets. Entire packs turned toward the new arrivals. Rhizome forced more power through the connection. Her puppets became faster. Stronger. More coordinated. She pushed harder, pouring more of herself into the network with every passing second. More power. More control. More.

Her body began to shake. Shamira immediately moved beside her.

"Rhizome." No response.

"Rhizome, look at me." Rhizome's jaw tightened.... Across the country, thousands of nightmares fought simultaneously, and the teal-and-yellow creatures tore through her puppets with terrifying speed. One of her armoured nightmares was ripped apart, while another lost both arms before being overwhelmed by a swarm of the smaller creatures. Three more were struck by arcs of electricity and collapsed into the street. Rhizome gasped. Shamira grabbed a cloth and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"You're burning up."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine." Rhizome's breathing became ragged, and sweat poured down her face as her fingers trembled violently.

"I need more," she whispered.

"What?"

"Power." Her eyes glowed brighter. Throughout Indonesia, thousands upon thousands of bioluminescent particles pulsed in unison as the spores responded to her command. Rhizome forced more energy through the network, and her controlled nightmares rose again. Across the country, they surged toward the new creatures. The battle intensified. Buildings shook as bodies crashed through walls. Roads collapsed beneath the weight of the fighting, while electricity tore through the streets and illuminated the smoke.

Nightmares ripped one another apart amid clouds of dust and debris, their teeth snapping and claws tearing through flesh as Rhizome struggled to maintain control over all of them. Rhizome cried out. Shamira grabbed her shoulders.

"Stop! You're going to kill yourself!"

"I can't." Rhizome's voice trembled.

"If I let go, they die."

"You're one person!" Rhizome looked at her.

"No." Her voice was weak, but there was still determination behind it.

"But I am the one standing between them and everyone else." Another tremor ran through her body. Shamira wiped the sweat from her brow again, but more immediately gathered in its place. Rhizome closed her eyes. She could feel the entire country. And somewhere in that vast network, another teal-and-yellow nightmare tore through one of her defenders. Rhizome's eyes snapped open. Her bioluminescent spores surged. The armoured nightmare rose again. The fight continued.

Shamira stared at Rhizome, fear tightening her chest.

"You don't have to pretend," she whispered.

"It's affecting you." Rhizome said nothing. Shamira could see it now: the trembling hands, the strain around her eyes, the sweat running down her face and the shallow, deliberate breaths she took to keep herself steady. The sheer exhaustion was etched into every feature. Rhizome looked toward the window. Beyond it, Jakarta burned beneath a sky filled with smoke, electricity and drifting iridescent spores.

"Ya," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Astaga... it is taking everything I have. But I will die saving as many as I can." Shamira's expression hardened.

"You'd better not." Rhizome gave her the faintest smile.

"I'm not planning to." Shamira shook her head, stepping closer to the window and staring out at the ruins of her country. The sight was overwhelming. Buildings that had once stood tall now lay collapsed like the bones of fallen giants, their steel frames twisted and smouldering beneath a sky choked with ash. Flames crawled through the streets, casting long shadows that seemed to dance with every explosion. Ambulances screamed through the ruins. Soldiers shouted at one another as they formed desperate barricades.

Civilians ran, fell, or simply stood frozen, unable to process the terror unfolding around them. It looked like the end of everything.

"I still don't understand," Shamira said quietly.

"Why are you fighting so hard? You could have run. You could have hidden. You didn't have to stay." Rhizome's eyes remained closed, but her lips curved into something that might have been affection.

"Because I am an Abomination, Shami. I have done terrible things. I have killed, manipulated, erased memories, and walked away while others burned. I will carry those sins until the day I die. But this... this is my home. These are my people. Mudah-mudahan, if I cannot protect them, then what was all of it for?" Shamira turned toward her, her voice cracking.

"You're going to exhaust yourself." Rhizome's smile widened faintly.

"Mungkin. It is possible."

"You'll die."

"Mungkin juga. Also possible."

"Rhizome." The Spore Mother opened her eyes, and for the briefest moment, Shamira saw something raw beneath the calm. Exhaustion. Fear. Grief. Loneliness. It was there and gone in an instant, replaced by that familiar, steady warmth.

"I am still standing, Shami. That is what matters." Outside, the nightmares screamed. The armoured ones answered. The civil war continued, and Jakarta continued to burn. A tremendous crash echoed from somewhere nearby, and a building collapsed in a cloud of dust and fire. Rhizome's expression barely flickered.

"Hati-hati," she murmured, more to herself than to Shamira.

"Be careful. There are still people in those buildings." Her spores were already flowing toward the wreckage, searching for survivors, guiding the armoured nightmares toward those who needed protection.

"Saya tidak bisa berbuat banyak," she said softly, a rare note of frustration bleeding into her voice. I cannot do much. But I can do this. Shamira watched her for a long moment, then knelt beside her.

"Then I'll stay with you." Rhizome's eyes opened, and she looked at her friend with something that was almost surprise.

"Ya?"

"Ya. A faint smile crossed Rhizome's lips.

"Astaga... you are stubborn, Shami."

"I learned from the best." Rhizome laughed softly, the sound fragile but genuine.

"That is not a compliment.

"It is from me." Rhizome closed her eyes again, and her spores continued to spread, and Jakarta continued to burn, and somewhere in the chaos, hope refused to die. The armoured nightmares clashed with the fresh ones in a constant tide of violence, their bodies tearing into each other, their roars echoing across the ruined city. Shamira watched them through the window, her hands pressed against the glass, her breath fogging the surface.

"They're everywhere," she whispered.

"I know," Rhizome replied, her voice distant, already lost in the work of controlling thousands of creatures at once.

"But so am I." —