andlie Williams: Now hold on! This is a Yellowstone National Park Giftshop, right?
Chase Martin: Technically... It's more like a Yellowstone National Park Outlet Store. The real one would probably be in Yellowstone itself... Rumor is, the weather over in Yellowstone can change in an instant... Bet that's where that Shambler came from... Why?
EW: Well, I'm sure that there's at least a few things in here that I'd like to take.
CM: When you're done, we should get to the mall's security office. It's on our floor, so we can still search the upper floor for whatever scavenge you want... I might as well browse with you.
EW:[Browsing] Good call on turning on the lights & sound system. The Clickers were completely lost & that Bloater didn't know up from down...
CM:[Browsing] And the Shambler?
EW: Yeah, I kept away... Their eye might be shit, but any sight is sight I'll avoid.
CM: Agreed... I always just shoot them with a WP. The heat evaporates their acid. Thankfully, the vapors are neutralized by their boiling blood... Doesn't make it any better to smell though...[Opening a box] Hey! Look at all these
shot glasses. They look nice... I think I'll take a few of them.
EW:[Browsing] Save some for me...[Showing it to you] Check out this
mug. Look a lot like the shot glasses you found.
CM: Yeah, I guess companies back then would sometimes reuse designs for their stuff. If you find another one, let me know. Helena would love it.
EW: Helena... Is she your girlfriend?
CM: No, she's the Cutter Captain in charge of the Troop here in Cody... We've known each other for years though. She one of my oldest friends, and by that, I mean we've known each other since we were... Like, 5.
EW: So you two never were in any sort of relationship?
CM: We dated years ago, but I couldn't make it last... I, uh... I'm not exactly the the best at romance. Especially since my PTSD can be a bit much for most people...
EW: I hear ya... I'm sort of in the same boat.
CM: I mean, therapy & meds help, but they can only do so much... For the longest time, I felt alone, despite not being actually alone. I've got family & friends, but... I don't know... Ever since I've been discovered to be immune, I've felt like a black sheep... I heard rumors that there was another immune person, but they went cold years ago... I've lost tons of friends to CA. Sometimes the CBI Treatment won't work, sometimes it would kill them... I feel like my strain is a failure.
No cure. No inoculation. No way to combat the Myconaut Infestation on safe, large-scale way...
EW: So, that's it?
There's no way to save the world, even with someone who's immune?
CM: Unless we come across another Sym, it can take decades before the CARD team could come up a way to save the world.
EW: What would another immune person do to make a difference?
CM: Assuming they too have a different, unique strain of Cordyceps Anthropos that's either benign or beneficial, the geniuses of CARD could crossbread a new Cordyceps that could be not only be an inoculation for CBI, but also could make it so everyone also repels myconauts like me. Best of all, they could possibly do it before 2050.
EW: Oh... That's... Interesting...🔦 Hey, I see a lot of earrings here... Ooo, I like
these. Definitely trying these on.
CM:[Coming over] Hmm... I can see my mom loving
these... Her birthday is coming up soon.
EW: Good call... Actually, maybe I should give
this pair to our leader in Jackson. She's the closest thing to an aunt I have.
CM: What do you mean?
EW: I'm an orphan... My mom died the day after I was born, and I don't have a single clue about my dad... Could be dead, could be alive. I have no fucking clue... The only thing I have of my mom's is this switchblade... [Showing the blade to you]
CM: Damn... I'm sorry... I can't imagine growing up like that...[Struggling] I lost my dad over seven years ago... He died saving my life...
EW: I'm sorry for your loss... I lost someone three years ago...[Struggling] He... He was the closest thing to a father I had... And I... We didn't leave off on the best circumstances...
CM: I'm so sorry... How long did you know him?
EW: Since I was 14... At first, we had a strictly business arrangement... But as the months go by, we had a father-daughter relationship slowly develop... He saved my ass so many times, but I saved him a few times too... If I could go back, I'd have done things differently... Maybe I could have saved him from those assholes.
CM: "Assholes"... That implies they weren't myconauts.
EW: What even the fuck is a "Myconaut"?
CM: It's what the scientists from CARD call the Cordyceps Anthropos fungal structures that control the Infected... Some argue they
are the Infected, so that's what some of us started calling them... technically speaking, a leper could be called "Infected", since they're suffering from leprosy, so we call them myconauts to clarify.
Besides, if someone shouts, "It's infected", some people would assume it's CBI instead because instead of staph infection, so...
EW: Hmm... Well, when you put it that way, it makes sense... So is Cordyceps Anthropos what the scientists called the fungus that causes Cordyceps Brain Infection?
CM: Yep!... I bet you don't know what caused the Outbreak.
EW: Crops from South America got tainted, spreading it globally.
CM: Okay, that's my bad... What I meant to ask is, "Do you know how Cordyceps Anthropos came to exist?"
EW: You got me. I don't really have a clue.
CM: 27 years ago, a meteorite crashed into South America, on the western border of Brazil, close to several other South American countries. Nearby were several sugar & grain factories. The meteorite in question had high deposits of uranium, so a lot of environmental groups came together to deal with it & checked to see the impact the radiation had on the local flora, fauna & funga.
CARD's Top Mycologist, Doctor Gloria Santos was put in charge of studying the local funga, or fungi if you prefer...
Dr. Santos discovered that the local Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis has been mutating at an alarming rate.
EW: I heard about that... That's the one that targets ants back before Cordyceps fucked the world over... That makes sense... It must've mutated to infect humans.
CM: That's only part of it. It also mutated some of the local Paecilomyces Variotii, a mold known for it's heat resistant & notorious ability to infected people, animals & foods. Dr. Santos found the unholy spawn of both fungi...
By the time they found out, it was too late... She & her husband fled to the US for asylum, an were sent to the CDC in the old Atlanta QZ... That was years ago, back when I was transferred with my mom, uncle, and the rest of my family to Atlanta...
Now FEDRA is all but the husk of a failed government, so a bunch of survivors banded together to form an association to rebuild America... Maybe even the world...
Just a few years ago, we got an expedition to the Caribbeans... We made contact with the people of Puerto Rico...
After we established them in, we developed a trading line with them.
We give them supplies, they give us tropical crops.
Long story short, we've now got a supply of fresh coffee & chocolate.
EW: Ooo! Now that sounds incredible... I bet it tastes better than 27-year old candy bars & coffee.
CM: You kidding?
Everyone lost their mind.
There was a chocolate & coffee festival held in all of our major cities.
Hershey has been pumping out chocolate like there's no tomorrow ever since.
EW:[Holding a jar] I bet
this would be good with toast & coffee.
CM: That has got to be the cutest jar I've ever seen! My aunt would love that for jarring... Hello...[Grabbing a bag] I just found some
Huckleberry Gummy Bears... I got some Buddy Bears for you to make friends with...
EW: Buddy Bears?
CM: Edibles... Ever had weed before?
EW: Yeah... I only smoked it before.
CM: Then you'll definitely love edibles... I bet we could take one each, clear out this mall, head west to the dam & be stoned by the time we're eating breakfast.
EW: Let's do it then.
CM: Alright...[Grabbing it from your pack] Maybe we should eat them with these bears I found.
EW: I'm game.
You both pop a huckleberry & cannabis gummy bear each, chewing them both up.
CM:[Chewing] Yeah... That huckleberry one is definitely harder to chew than the bud bears... Still pretty good though.
EW:[Chewing] Is it supposed to taste like blueberries?
CM: Pretty sure... Ooo!
Chocolate covered huckleberries.
EW: Hand me some.
You pour her a handful.
EW: Alright...[She tosses one into the air & fails to catch it in her mouth] Ouch.
CM:[Cracking up] Did you hurt yourself with a huckleberry?
EW:[Embarrassed, chuckling] Shut up Sam...😳
CM:[Suspicious about the familiar name] W-why did you say that name?
EW:[Flustered] I-I meant to say Chase... Here, catch![She throws one at you]
You catch it with your teeth effortlessly.
CM:[Eating it] Mmm... Not bad...[Swallow] C'mon... If we waste too much time in here now, we'll start trying to hug Bloaters or something like that...
EW: Alright... Time to wrap up this
shopping spree.
After the both of you nearly finish browsing the entire store, you were only left with the Sale Rack.
EW:[Analyzing] Hmm... This
hat really speaks to me for some reason... A bit too hot to wear in the summer though...[She put it into her pack]
CM:[Holding two in hand] Now
this is more summer appropriate... Plus you can wear it so many ways, so...
EW:[Grabbing one from you] Nice... You think Old Faithful is still active?
CM: If it lives up to the name, I'd think so... I'd actually like to see the Steamboat Geyser go off. I hear it's 3-4 time a bigger eruption. Actually, it's the world's tallest geyser if I remember...
EW: How often does it erupt?
CM: Somewhere between three days to 50 years.[You put the seamless bandana on, wearing it as a neck gaiter]
EW: Fuck that shit... Oooh! Look at
these here... Now
this is a cool ass neck tube...
CM: Whoa... Now
that's a fucking amazing design... I can totally gift these to some friends... Oh fuck, check out these
Monopoly Board Games...
EW: How to hate your friends in fifteen minutes, am I right?
CM:[Agreeing] Absolutely.
EW: Still fun as fuck to play when you're drunk with everybody.
CM: Hell yeah...[Looking at another clothes rack] Now what do we have here?... Hats & Tees all in combos... They have some size & color options too.
EW: Oh yeah... This is my
color right
here...[She grabs the combo off the rack]
CM:[Grabbing a combo] This
one speaks to me... Part of me doesn't want to wear this now, but we do have some portable laundry machines, so we don't really have to worry about staining them with blood... Plus the color I chose will blend in to mine's, so...
EW: The fuck do you mean? Mine's is red, yours is grey.
CM: Yeah, but blood doesn't stay red... It eventually turns blackish-gray... Yours might blend in at first, but it eventually will stick out...
EW: Alright... Doesn't change the fact it's my favorite color...
CM:[Grabbing an item] If that's the case, you might like
this one.
EW: Yeah, I love it!... Maybe you should take
this one here.
CM:[Grabbing it] Nice... Alright, let's get going already...