Monster- Shawn Mendes ft Justin Bieber.

NEW YORK; 2023.

JULIENNE WAS FAMILIAR with the phenomenon, when time seemed to slow down and everything around you froze. It was something that had happened to her upon her sister's death. However, it had never occurred once since then.

Until that moment.

She became unaware of everything around her. Of the white walls of the underground bunker, or the mahogany wood furnitures. The soft rug that sat in the middle of the short hall that led to the toilet on which she was currently standing upon or the sharp sun ray that pierced through the slight cracks in the walls above, casting a warm yellow beam on the adjacent wall by her side.

She became unaware of everything and anything and remained speechless as shock hit her like a wrecking ball. Her last memories of the person who bore that name were not good ones and if truly the man who stood in front of her was him then...

No, it couldn't be. Asher was dead.

"You're lying." She muttered, unable to believe his words.

A part of her knew that this was Asher but somewhere deep inside her, she wanted so badly to believe it wasn't. Not because she wanted him dead but because she needed a reason to justify his sudden departure all those years ago. She wanted to believe he hadn't just left her for no reason, she wanted to believe he hadn't just abandoned her.

But his appearance now changed all of that. He had abandoned her. When she had no one else but him, he had left. She finally began to slowly snap out of her trance. He was here, he was alive. He hadn't died, he had left. Although she was glad he hadn't actually died, it still hurt.

Scorn settled in her heart as it became stone cold. She decided then and there that she hated him. She hated him with every atom of her being.

He shook his head and approached her, giving a soft look that she did not return. Her face was empty though her eyes were spiteful.

"I'm not, it's me, Ash." Curse him for using that nickname she had given him. It made her eyes soften for a split second as she remembered the times they had as kids. The times they had spent playing away their hours and laughing like there was no tomorrow. The times when they both found comfort in each other when no one else in the world could offer it. Her best friend. Her only friend.

Her eyes filled with hate once again and she fought the urge to smack him right across the face. He deserved it. Matter of fact, he deserved way more than a smack.

She rolled her eyes at his words and walked away towards the door of the bunker. She grabbed the knob and opened the door hoping he'd get the hint and leave. But he didn't, instead he walked towards her board and examined it. She became even more irritated. No one was allowed to look at her board.

"Leave." She commanded.

"I will." He replied almost immediately.

He turned to look at her table. The light bulb fixed directly above the table shone a dim light on the square surface of the mahogany desk. Small pieces of paper and opened books littered the table and it looked really messy. Files containing info on her suspects also occupied the table and those were what he picked up.

"I said leave." She said, her voice coming out harsher and higher. He looked up from the files he was studying and met her gaze with a daring look. He didn't care that she was pissed, he had come for a reason and he planned to complete his mission.

"And I said I will." He could literally feel her anger emanating from her features in waves. He had never seen a woman so engrossed in wrath and to be quite frank, it was the scariest sight he had ever witnessed but he wasn't going to give up. Not when he had come so close to finding out the truth.

"Finally discovered who killed her?" He asked, casually scrolling through the pages of Richard Thompson's file. He smiled once he saw his picture and Julienne couldn't help but roll her eyes. If he thought for one second that she was going to condone his presence here then he thought wrong.

"I want you to leave now." She let out through clenched jaws and gritting teeth. He looked up and met her eyes and her light eyes were now dark with anger. He understood his actions were inconsiderate but he had to leave and he couldn't have risked taking her along with him. It was just too dangerous.

If only the woman would just let me explain, he thought in exasperation.

"Look," He started.

"No, you look," She interrupted.

"This is my bunker and I make the rules and I say, leave!" She finished and he just couldn't help the smile that tugged at the edges of his lips. He missed her. He missed her a lot, even though she was being a pain.

"Can I at least explain why I left, at least allow me grant the closure I owe." He pleaded and she eyed him. He felt her eyes scrutinize as she scanned him like prey.

Jesus Christ, he thought and released a breath once he saw her lips part.

"Fine but only because you owe me." He smiled and closed the file, dropping it on the desk and clasping his hands together as he sat and waited for her to take the sit opposite his. She sat and gave him a blank, indifferent expression. He coughed lightly and got ready for a very unpleasant conversation ahead of him.

"Been a while." He said with a smile.

"Get to the point." She replied, coldly.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. It was only his guilt that kept him from getting really pissed off as well at her snappy attitude.

"Well, I left to investigate my family's death." He said and her eyes immediately softened. She knew the topic of his family was a sensitive one and she suddenly understood his desperation to leave. He needed answers just like she did.

But, couldn't they have gotten them together? She blinked and nodded, giving him the go ahead to elaborate.

"I had heard of a national agency dedicated to studying the existence of certain...beings." He said and her eyebrows furrowed. Beings?

"Beings as in, fungus infected humans." He said. Her first thought was,

Huh?!

She didn't even know that was possible, she had always been under the impression that fungus was unable to inhabit human beings but she was wrong. Even if they could, wouldn't it just lead to some curable disease just like with viruses?

"I don't understand, fungus can infect human beings?" She asked and he gave her a nod.

"And how exactly is that possible?" She asked. He let out a breath and remained thoughtful for a moment. She thought he was remembering unpleasant memories and so this was a sensitive topic but instead he was thinking up ways he could explain in baby language so she would understand what he was about to say.

"Look, even we don't know how they evolved and that's exactly what we're tryna figure out. But there's an issue." He said and she shook her head, waving her hands in the air to pause his explanation.

"Wait wait wait, instead of investigating the reasons why it's evolved shouldn't you guys be searching for a cure? And what is this agency anyway?" He sighed. This was going to be one very long conversation.

"Like I said, we're a national agency formed by the US government dedicated to investigating and terminating those creatures. FEA, Fungi Eradication Agency." He explained and she nodded. (A/N: this is not a real life agency, it is fictional).

"And to answer your other question, if we find the cause of their evolution we'd probably be able to create a vaccine and from there we'd be able to build up a cure." He stated and she nodded once again as the information slowly began to sink in. The gravity of the situation was more than she had initially thought.

This could become a global issue.

Another pandemic.

Oh no.

"So, what's the disease like and how do you know if you've caught it?" Julienne questioned, throwing a glance at the melted ice cream that sat on her table. Water dropped slowly from the container forming a small puddle on the table that would soon pour over the edge. She sighed and stood up to get a rag. Asher's eyes followed her as he talked to her. He smiled at her small physique once again.

"Well, it's not exactly like your usual diseases." He said and subconsciously picked up the pencil on the table, twirling it between his long fingers.

"What do you mean?" Julienne asked. She walked back to the table and wiped the puddle of the table with the burgundy coloured rag. Asher watched as the small cotton cloth absorbed the liquid. Julienne walked away and joined him shortly after.

"It messes with the brain and also affects the entire state of being in the sense that it takes away their intelligence, completely disabling their ability to think for themselves until the only thing they want to do is infect and spread." Julienne could do nothing but stare in confusion and shock as he explained.

"It also affects their bodies; the eyes become dim and yellowish, the skin becomes grey and parched, some skin may even peal off, the hair falls off and fungi grows on them. It also usually takes up to five minutes to transform after you've been bitten." He finished and leaned back into his chair with a tired expression on his face. Julienne blinked and her jaw dropped. It felt like he was speaking a foreign language and the only thing her brain could come up with in response was

Huh?!

What the actual hell was going on in the scientific world?! What-

"I know you're confused but trust me, this is all happening." He said but the issue wasn't even trust, Julienne had pretty much believed everything he had said but it was all just so...crazy and kind of gross.

"So... why are you telling me this because this is all probably classified information, am I right?" He nodded.

"Like I said, we have an issue. We had managed to confine the fungus to New Orleans by surrounding the city with a sort of wall made up entirely of insanely hot particles that the fungus was yet to evolve to. When I say heat I'm talking as hot as boiling lava." He said and Julienne's eyes widened. This just kept getting more and more interestingly scary she thought.

"However, it would seem the fungus may just end up evolving and breaching that wall and it's evolving alright, pretty fast too." He said and threw his head back, running his hands through his already ruffled blonde hair. Julienne could see where this was going. If that fungus somehow managed to break through that wall the world...

...would end.

"Damn." She muttered as the true gravity of this situation began to reveal itself. This was no small case, the lives of billions of people were on the line and it was the job of some organization to save it. She got confused. Where did she fit in?

"Um...how do I," He interrupted her.

"We would have to eliminate them from inside, burn everything to the ground and eradicate every trace of the fungus. We need to trace the reason why it evolved, make a vaccine and then kill it. We'd have to go to New Orleans but since not a lot of people know about this...issue we don't exactly have a lot of back up so we've selected a small team." Julienne only stared at him skeptically. She wasn't sure she liked where this was headed.

"I need your help Julienne, the world really needs your help, like really bad. So whaddya say huh, will you join my team and save the world?" He asked suddenly sitting up and giving her an expectant expression with a pleading look in his eyes.

Oh hell naw.

That was like asking a baby to walk into a volcano. First off, the baby can't walk and even if it could it'd be walking to it's death. How was she to go to a place with a bunch of what seemed like human zombies and do the one thing she couldn't do. Fight.

Nope. Definitely not happening. No way. Uh uh. Nah. Nada. NO!

"Oh...Kay."

A/N