It was way back beneath the back seat, in an area where you would never check. At first, I assumed it was merely a dried-up plant, pallid and fuzzy, as if it had been taken from the ground and neglected. I was thinking: “Maybe someone dropped something organic, and it dried out?” But looking closer, I became uneasy.

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The “plant” did not appear d*ad. It appeared that it was growing. It had a curved shape, like the path of a crawling creature, and its surface was covered in odd spikes or crystals that looked like coral or teeth. The reality was considerably worse.

It was salt crystallization. Apparently, a battery leaked nearby, or worse, a toxic substance from a spray can, possibly buried behind the seat. The salt grew as if alive, reacting with plastic, metal, and upholstery. What appeared to be harmless was in fact an indication of corrosion and a hazardous reaction.

And now think about it: how long has it been growing there, hidden, without my knowledge? What if I had inhaled too closely?[end-read-more]