Story 1256: Parasite Bloom

The warning came too late.

As the echo of Experiment X faded and Juno regained her breath, alarms erupted from the walls of Vault K-0. But not the usual metallic wail.

This one was organic.

A low hum, like something growing.

Shade helped Juno stand as spores began seeping through cracks in the floor—glowing faintly, pulsing with every heartbeat in the room.

“What the hell is that?” Shade muttered, stepping back.

H-13 crouched near one, scanning. His face went pale.

“It’s the Bloom,” he said. “Stage Six of VIREX’s worst-case mutation sequence. The parasite was supposed to be a control agent—something that made carriers more compliant. But it evolved.”

The screens blinked on in rapid succession, showing test subjects thrashing in containment. Flowers—sickly and luminous—blooming from their spines. Not beautiful. Violent.

WARNING: PARASITE BLOOM CONTAINMENT FAILURE

Status: Sporecloud Active / Hosts Unknown