My name.... I forgot. I go by Shroom. What I am, I don't know either. I'm some kind of half-mushroom, half-man, so I call myself Shroom instead. The world, as it is, has changed; it is filled with zombies now. Oh no—I am not a zombie; I am something else.
In my hands, I have a camera. Well, I kinda picked it up abandoned. I mean, am I stealing? Am I? It's the apocalypse after all. Aww, these mushrooms on my face are so itchy. I complain a lot, haha. But it's not all complaints; I'm happy the world became like this. I get to control the zombies too—it's an advantage of being Shroom.
I have four assistants. Of course, not human though; they are random zombies I infected with my spores. They follow my every command. I feel like a king, but I consider them my assistants—comrades in my pursuit for beauty in a now-hellish world. Hence the cameras we all carry. For a normal human, these cameras would be so heavy. Lucky for us, our strength is multiplied—a side effect of some sorts.
The four of us are standing on the rooftop of an apartment building. It's so high up, I feel some of my pores going with the breeze.
As to the reason we are up here with cameras: we are scanning around to find something interesting to record. I am addicted to recording, you see. After all, it is my dream to become the best cameraman—well, I mean, Shroom the best camera Shroom.
Suddenly, one of my comrades is pointing down. What could he have seen? It must be something interesting. I walk closer to the edge of the rooftop, and what I see might just as well change the course of my life in this apocalypse. I put my camera near my face and zoom in for a clearer view.
"Mmh, interesting," I say to myself out loud. What I see is three zombies: two boys and one girl? I am not sure; she looks like a tomboy. And what is more interesting is that they are walking together with a human little girl. If this was not a breakthrough for me, then I don't know what is—a bird's-eye view of an interesting group. Suddenly, the tomboy stops in her tracks and looks back, as if she has noticed someone is watching her. Well, to be fair, I *am* watching her. I can finally start a live stream.
I cannot lose them, so I rush down the stairs. I would have used the elevator, but there is no electrical supply to the building. My partners are following me by my order to not lose them. They are faster than me, so they are ahead. I have to confess: I am a little fat.
As I exit the building—finally, I'm out—unluckily, I stumble and hit my... oh no! This is no time for concussions. I think I hit my head too hard; now I'm having flashbacks.
I remember this part of my memory: I am exchanging harsh words with my mother. Well, she did want me to pursue a higher education in university. Although I was a straight-A student, I was fed up with it all; I just wanted to start working on my dream as a cameraman. Ooh, the beauties I would get to capture.
She asked me how I would even make money, seeing as I had no camera. "Okay, let's make a deal: if you make at least 1,000 gagnats [currency], I will let you do what you want. But if you fail, I will send you to university to become an engineer. You have two weeks," she said. "Okay, deal," I replied.
"Fuck," I cursed to myself. "Where would I even begin?" I thought.
I sat next to my computer, listening to bird sounds on the Tubetube website to help me think more clearly. It then started to rain. I was on max volume on my computer, yet the rain sound swallowed the sounds of the birds chirping on Tubetube. But it did not disturb me, as the rain sound was also as relaxing—if not even more relaxing. Then an idea popped up, with my imaginative visualization of a bulb on top of my head. Haha—too much cartoon watching was the cause.
"I usually enjoy such sounds. So soothing; can even help one sleep soundly at night. And I am sure I'm not the only one. What if I recorded while walking in the rain? Oh, wait—but I don't have a camera." I felt like my idea hit a stone wall. As I turned my head around, I saw my phone on the bed. "I know! I could use my phone to record!"
I took my raincoat and umbrella, and I was off to start my recording journey. I recorded as much as I could: the rain hitting buildings, leaves, and even mud.
After I was done, I came back home, created a Tubetube account, and posted my first video. It took really long for posting to complete, but it was worth the wait. What happened next, I could never have imagined: within one week, my account blew up. It was amazing how much support I got from fans. "I love my fans; they are the best. It's amazing how fans play a big role in achieving your dreams." I managed to reach and even surpass the money my mother and I had bet on. Finally, I could afford what I had also wanted: a camera.
With my new camera, I recorded anything I found artistic and beautiful. My account grew so much, I got scouted by a videography company called Lenox. I managed to sign a contract with them and had to move from my city to Blue Crock City. It was overseas, so I had to travel by an aeroplane.
It was my first time on an aeroplane, so I had to record such a beautiful memory. "Don't record me!" someone seated next to me told me harshly. It seems like some people just hate being on camera.
And it was at that moment that everything changed.
"This is your captain speaking: we have been met with a slight problem. I will be making an emergency landing."
"Grrrrr rrrrraaagh!" is the sound we heard from the aeroplane speaker.
"Pin him down!" said the captain before the speaker went off. Then the plane started falling down at high speeds, as if it had lost control. If not for the seat belts buckled up, I would be floating. We then crash-landed. As the plane crashed, some of its parts ripped apart, revealing that we had crash-landed on an island. As my tightly shut eyes loosened up, the first thing my eyes gazed at was my camera. Did it survive the crash with me?
Oh—I sighed relief; it was only a slight crack. I unbuckled and left the horrifying scene of no survivors.
"Fuuuck!" I let out a loud disappointment. Why today? Why now? This was my only chance to get to Blue Crock City, and now I was trapped in the Blue Lagoon.
How was I even to survive on an island alone? I was thirsty, hungry, and my joints ached.
I tried to drink the seawater, but it was undrinkable. "Aaaah! If I'm going to die anyway, I might as well die doing what I love most: recording!" I said to myself. I ventured deep into the island and recorded all kinds of beauty. But out of all, one caught my eye the most; I had to touch it. It was a beautiful butterfly; it seemed dead, its body covered with colourful yet disgusting mushrooms.
At the point of contact, the butterfly burst into spores, spraying me with them. After that, I don't recall what happened. I only recall myself at a different location; in front of me was a weird-looking being. "It worked. Hello there; my name is Floca. I am an explorer; I explore all around galaxies and universes. I came across you being controlled by a virus; it was at its final stage—you were close to dying. I removed the virus' control over you. Sadly, I could not save your appearance." The odd being added. I looked at myself using my camera; I was not welcoming to look at at all.
"What is that?" Floca asked.
"It's a camera; it captures memorable moments live and sometimes for later review."
"Similar to a Guabdon. We have something similar, but it's a better version. Look at the time; looks like I don't have enough time to explore this world. I'm sorry, but I have to go. It was a pleasure meeting you," it said. As Floca turned back, he said, "Wait—since I can't explore this world, I can give you some Guabdon. Here, let me show you how it works." He proceeded to give me a hundred Guabdons; they were like tiny chips. He inserted one into my skin. "There—now it's set. The Guabdon will help you see how many viewers and comments you get from viewers all over countless universes, and it also helps connect your live feed all over the said universes." I had never heard such words; it was as if my dream was becoming transcendent.
All I had to do now was to find interesting things to capture.
And I did. I feel my conscience coming back. My eyes slowly open to two of my partners carrying me by both my arms, and in front of me, my other two partners pointing towards a large mall—insinuating the group I wanted to record was inside. This was it: a breakthrough. I am THE CAMERA SHROOM.