KATIE MARIE

“I think it’s beautiful, but some people must be afraid of it. I’ve never known the town or the supermarket so quiet. I barely had to queue.” Sue continued. “It smells so sweet, like jasmine.” Her enthusiasm dropped. “But the coastguard was spraying it with something, chemicals probably.” 

The pictures on her phone were of the pink coral. It covered the town. Some buildings right on the harbour were so covered that you wouldn’t be able to get in or out.  

“This grew overnight?” my mouth was dry. Sue nodded. 

“Amazing isn’t it.” 

“I don’t think so.” My hands were shaking.  

“Oh, don’t be such a party popper.” Sue laughed at me. How could she see this and not know it was wrong? A marine invertebrate had swarmed the damn town in a few hours. “I’m taking Peter down to see it.” She turned and went to go upstairs. “I’d invite you, but you’re afraid of plants.” 

“Coral isn’t a plant,” I muttered. “If it even is coral.” 

I disappeared down a rabbit hole in my computer. One of those deep dives where you lose track of yourself and time. It wasn’t until my stomach became uncomfortable that I realised I’d been reading about several types of coral for five hours. The sun was going down, and the house was empty. 

“Sue?” Nothing. I tried to call her, but her phone went to voicemail after nine rings. I tried again, more voicemail. I snatched the car keys out of the bowl and drove down the hill. Panic coiled in my chest. I kept telling myself I’d see them on the road home. Every bend was hiding them. But somehow, I knew I was lying to myself. Cold spread out from my gut, slithering through my nervous system, making my hands and toes numb.  

I drove into town, heading to the harbour, where Sue had said she was taking Peter. But the road was impassable only a few feet into town. Pink coral covered the road, making it sharp, brittle, and impossible for my little Nissan to navigate.

What the hell happened? 

Getting out of the car, the silence seeped into my bones. I started walking, my footsteps loud on the brittle coral. Walking on coral is difficult, my progress was slow and painful. But I made it to the harbour. Here there were people. Among them were three individuals, dressed in coveralls and masks. One of them was Frank Johnson, who ran Johnson’s Pharmacy. He was stumbling like a drunk towards the beach where the wreck was still squatting under a mound of coral. 

“Frank.” I ran over and took his shoulder. He didn’t react to me. I turned him forcefully.  

His eyes were white, his skin sallow, his mouth agape. I flinched back on reflex and watched rooted to the spot as he shuffle walked down the beach to the wreck. As he drew close, something dark, alive, and lightning-fast lashed out from within. Frank was gone in a heartbeat.  

“Hey, hey!” The shortest of the ‘coastguard’ men rushed over to me. I recognised him as the man who’d given me a mask yesterday. “You’re alive!” he sounded surprised and excited. “Did you wear the mask? You’re not wearing it now.” 

“Where are my wife and son?” I couldn’t take my eyes off the wreck.  

“Oh, um, oh dear.” He flustered and stumbled over his words. “You should come into the van.” 

“What the hell is going on?” I resisted as he put a hand on the small of my back and tried to push me. I tore my eyes from the wreck. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where Sue and Peter are!”  

“Oh.” He couldn’t meet my gaze. Heat flushed through me; my face burned. “Well, you see.” He was looking at the wreck. Oh god. My legs went out from under me. I landed hard on the coral, and my jeans tore. “I told them we should have evacuated the moment we knew it was here…”  

He kept talking, but my ears were ringing again, drowning him out. I looked back at the wreck. The other two ‘coastguard’ men were approaching it with what looked like flame throwers. They’d known. There was a monster in my town, and they’d just left it here. Now the town was silent and still. We didn’t even get time to know something was wrong. Less than 48 hours and everyone was gone. But not me. Why not me? 

“Tell me, do you have any allergies? It’s slower to affect people with nasopharyngitis, congestion and whatnot.” Sue and Peter had gone into the wreck.  

“I had radiotherapy,” I answered without thinking. “It did something to…” I gestured at my nose. “Nerve damage. I haven’t been able to smell anything for years.”  

The flame throwers ignited, engulfing the wreck and the creature inside. As it burned, the surrounding coral turned black and shrank, disappearing beneath me. A shrill cry spiralled up from the wreck and echoed through the town. But it was too little too late.