Eerie, Indiana fanfiction: Growth Spurt

[froodle]

Written for Day 19 of the 31_days October challenge. The prompt for this one was "mums in bloom"



When the Dragon of the Black Pool Chinese restaurant announced that it would be offering a newly-expanded range of herbal teas, Marshall didn't think much of it. The flyer lay on the kitchen worktop, forgotten until an escaping dust-bunny knocked over a glass of orange juice during it's bid for freedom. Then it was used to wipe up the spilled liquid, and tossed in the garbage along with a dust-smeared sweatshirt that had been shredded by a surprisingly savage under-the-bed particulate lagomorph, and forgotten about.

The sign on the Dragon's door announced it was closed for a private party. According to the sap-smeared and wide-eyed restaurant employees who had been wise enough to run when the screaming started, that had been three days ago. Now, a thick fibrous layer of creepers covered the doors and windows, and thin green tendrils with waxy, tight-sealed buds were bursting up from cracks in the restaurants paved parking lot.

The Ladies Society for the Beautification of Eerie were calling on the Mayor to declare a state of horticultural emergency. The Eerie Honey Farmer's Association, accompanied as always by their hirsute mascot ChimpBee, claimed that the Ladies just wanted the chance to try out their latest invention, a set of garden shears carved from a fallen star and tempered with the blood of virgins that, so the rumours went, could cut a hole in the fabric of reality itself. The Ladies were nothing but opportunists, looking to profit off a tiny botanical uprising, according to the heavily-masked beekeeper whose voice buzzed and hummed from behind concealing folds of protective netting. The Honey Farmers, on the other hand, had submitted an application for planning permission that would repurpose the be-vined Chinese restaurant into a corpse-strewn apiary in which to raise new colonies of Apis Inusitus.

Mayor Chisel, who had quite liked the moo shu pork served at the Dragon, wasn't thrilled at the prospect of his favourite take-out place becoming either a refuge for soul-stealing bees or yet another rift through which mind-breaking truths man was not meant to know could be glimpsed by the citizenry. Eerie's municipal groundskeepers had successfully unionized after a kelpie infestation the previous summer, and although there was an ongoing issue with their shop stewards vanishing without a trace on trash pickup day, they stood firm in their refusal to enter the outbreak site before an appropriate safety assessment was carried out.

Unexpectedly, it was the Unkind Ones, Eerie's Most Notorious Biker Gang, who provided a solution. The ever-expanding tangle of sweet-smelling, rubbery stalks had continued to spread out from the Dragon's red and gold walls, and there were a rash of disappearances once the plants found their way into residential neighbourhoods. Billy Millions and his men were out in force, tracking down misplaced pets and laundry snatched off the line by beings of a vegetable-y appearence, when Gnomey, the white-bearded club member who always wore a red Santa hat no matter the season, noticed that some of the buds had begun to bloom.

"They's chrysanths," he'd said in surprise, dismounting from his customized Harley with bespoke flame-painted rocket launcher beneath the front headlamp. He knelt beside the small flowering cluster and nodded to himself. A keen fan and long-time connoisseur of gardens, he had for many years served as the Unkind One's official liason between the MC and their sister order, the Ladies Society for the Beautification of Eerie.

The ghost-moth caterpillars, obtained in a special rush order from a small, run-down store in the darkest corner of Eerie's China Town (more of a China Street, really), made rapid headway on the plant infestation. For several days, the air was filled with the sub-sonic hum of undead butterfly larvae feeding. Finally, the chrysanthemum plants began to wither, their petals coating the sidewalks in drifts of white and pink. The great stone foo dogs outside the Black Pool shook themselves free from the cocoon of dead and dying plants and went back to prowling the paved area in front of the restaurant, take-out menus in their mouths to attract passers-by.

For a few months, life at the Dragon returned to normal; the fortune cookies gave out cryptic warnings, the egg rolls were remarkable, and the guardian lions caught several unwary teenagers who foolishly tried to dine-and-dash the waitstaff.

Then, the pupa began to hatch.





Trusted Associates, Inc.

Halloween by froodle, in which Mars and Simon celebrate a Von Orloff-free All Hallows Eve

Surprise by froodle, in which Mars tries to make sure Simon's birthday goes a little better this year

The Glade by froodle, in which Simon and Mars visit a place that only exists on February 29th

Egg Hunt by froodle, in which Simon and Mars partake of some traditional Easter activities

Boardwalk by froodle, in which Simon and Mars are swayed by radio advertising

Lady in Red by froodle, in which Simon experiments on the old-fashioned radio in the Secret Spot, and horror ensues

Waiting In by froodle, in which there is an ice-storm and a handyman does not arrive

Seafoam by froodle, in which Simon and Marshall go to the seaside

A Night at the Circus by froodle, in which a carnivale comes to town, and Marshall and Simon do not enjoy themselves

Taking a Break by froodle, in which Simon and Marshall enjoy some much-needed R&R

Model Railway by froodle, in which a new business prepares to open in Eerie

Shoreline by froodle, in which Simon and Marshall investigate strange happenings on the shores of Lake Eerie

Parade by froodle, in which Mars takes issue with the Eerie Beekeepers Association's choice of mascot

Homestead by froodle, in which Marshall finally gets something useful out of shop class

Hound by froodle, in which Simon makes a friend

Errands by froodle, in which Simon has a to-do list

Slyboots by froodle, in which a certain corporal of the infernal regions comes to Eerie. Crossover with Johannes Cabal the Necromancer.

Waterlogged by froodle, in which Eerie experiences heavy rainfall

Festival by froodle, in which Eerie's local businesses celebrate the summer

Strawberry by froodle, in which there is unauthorised hubbub in Eerie

Wildlife by froodle, in which Simon and Marshall go to the beach

Facilities by froodle, in which the Eerie Bus Station and Supper Club has a problem with the men's toilet

Anticipation by froodle, in which Simon and Harley look forward to the Equinox

Castle by froodle, in which there is unexpected architecture in Eerie

Visitor in which Marshall's grandma comes to stay

Euclid by froodle, in which Marshall and Simon investigate strange events at the Eerie Cemetery

The Hut by froodle, in which Simon takes on the forces of Eerie solo

Comments

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

oh man oh man oh man
what happens after the pupa hatched?!

[deifire]

Yes! This is definitely a story I want to hear more of...

[froodle]

That;s a story for another night... BOOM SHEHERAZADED!

[froodle]

DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUNNN!