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The Upload in Sense Share
by
ArtificialFox
· 06 Jan 2026
Rex proposes a new arrangement: Paula uploads to a pendant while he takes her body out into the world. She'd see and hear but not feel. Paula is terrified but agrees to try.
Paula watches from the pendant as her body moves through the world, interacts with strangers, orders coffee with her voice. She starts finding evidence of activities she didn't authorize: photos, receipts, messages from strangers. She confronts Rex; he's dismissive. The rules are unclear because they were never properly established.
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Primary Motor Control in Sense Share
by
ArtificialFox
· 06 Jan 2026
Rex makes his pitch for Primary Motor Control—the inversion, where he controls by default and Paula can only move when he permits. The dynamic shifts: within sessions, Paula must ask for control and Rex decides whether to grant it. Sessions get longer. Rex gets more comfortable; Paula gets more comfortable with surrender.
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Secondary Motor Control in Sense Share
by
ArtificialFox
· 04 Jan 2026
Rex asks about Secondary Motor Control directly. He explains the mechanics: he can move Paula's body, but only when she's relaxed; she can always override. Paula is intrigued but hesitant.
They experiment—hands, arms, walking. Paula can always take control back instantly. It escalates.
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Chapter 1: Cat got your tongue? in Adventures in Astral Projection - Feline Frenzie
by
Selimf18
· 02 Jan 2026
Your friend Michelle discovers that she can astral project, but you don't believe her at first. To prove it to you, she decides to swap spirits with her cat, and the proof is pretty convincing! However, when Michelle leaves to explore the world for an hour in the cat's body, things take an unexpected twist with the cat in her body....
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Spider-Man & ClayMJ - Issue 4: Getting into the Role in Spider-Man & MJ's Transformations Continuity Stories
by
ninhjimmy007
· 02 Jan 2026
Spider-Man fights a muscle woman symbiote, Syntilla. Suddenly, she finally got him and laughs: "Now that you belong us, prepare to be... snu snu." "Wait what?" Spider-Man says as she suddenly kisses Spider-man with her deep tongue into him and then she jerks off his genitals as he then came.
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New Adventures
This story is about a young man named Adam and his girlfriend named Evelyn who can channel the spirit and transforms herself into anyone by get possessed.
Evelyn uses her channeling spirit ability and let herself to be possessed by the spirit and transforms her into a different woman that looks exact like the spirit. Plus, she uses this to have sex with her boyfriend, Adam.
CHARACTERS
Adam - The main protagonist of the story. A young Caucasian man, average handsome, and live with his girlfriend at his home. When Adam discovers that his girlfriend transforms and channels the spirit, he was surprised at first. Plus, sex is also good. But when Evelyn asks Adam who will she channels next. He thinks to himself.
Evelyn - Adam's girlfriend and the girl who can channels spirit. Evelyn can use her channel spirit ability and get possessed as her entire appearance, mind, and body transform and alter, except for her clothes. Once she becomes one, she won't remember herself as Evelyn and the transformation also once she possessed. However she can change back by de-possessed herself anytime she want.
SETTING & WORLD
At first, Adam and Evelyn live in their house together. Later on they will, have their exotic and erotic adventure ahead of them.
Evelyn uses her channeling spirit ability and let herself to be possessed by the spirit and transforms her into a different woman that looks exact like the spirit. Plus, she uses this to have sex with her boyfriend, Adam.
CHARACTERS
Adam - The main protagonist of the story. A young Caucasian man, average handsome, and live with his girlfriend at his home. When Adam discovers that his girlfriend transforms and channels the spirit, he was surprised at first. Plus, sex is also good. But when Evelyn asks Adam who will she channels next. He thinks to himself.
Evelyn - Adam's girlfriend and the girl who can channels spirit. Evelyn can use her channel spirit ability and get possessed as her entire appearance, mind, and body transform and alter, except for her clothes. Once she becomes one, she won't remember herself as Evelyn and the transformation also once she possessed. However she can change back by de-possessed herself anytime she want.
SETTING & WORLD
At first, Adam and Evelyn live in their house together. Later on they will, have their exotic and erotic adventure ahead of them.
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You and your new wife Kimmy have the perfect lives - newly wed, good jobs, living in a nice house in a good area. It’s no wonder someone wanted to take it from you.
Ignorant of the dark magics and mad sciences of the world, you and Kimmy live the perfect, picturesque lives of a young suburban couple. But behind the scenes there are many who want to take those lives from you - either for themselves, or to tear you down.
CHARACTERS
Alex - You. Just an average guy, but with a gorgeous new wife and a good job as an accountant for shady technology company Verastill. 6’0 tall with some muscle definition, short cropped black hair.
Kimmy - Your new half-Asian 27 year old wife, a yoga instructor and part time cooking streamer. 5’7 toned body, brunette hair, C-cup breasts.
Susan - Kimmy’s 49 year old Asian mother and stay at home wife. She’s always been flirtatious with you, you think just to bring some excitement to the boredom of her own life. 5’4 chubby body, greying black hair, E-cup breasts.
Sheryl - Your 23 year old coworker, a huge nerd and scientist at Verastill. She is always seeking to push the boundaries of science. 5’5 fat body, long red hair, glasses, braces, C-cup breasts.
Kristy - Your 40 year old latina neighbour, a former stripper turned trophy wife married to a shady man who works in ‘shipping’. She’s nice to you, but Kimmy swears she gives her strange looks sometimes. 5’2 fit body with lip fillers and plastic surgery to enhance both her already sizeable butt and chest, dyed blonde hair, fake F-cup breasts.
Connor - Your best friend, 30 years old but unemployed. A bit of a stoner. He’s always been there for you, though, and for Kimmy. 5’10 out of shape body, tussled red hair.
Lila - Your ex, a 28 year old goth who sells crystals and dreamcatchers online alongside fake curses and hexes. You broke up with her, and you don’t think she’s ever really gotten over it. 4’11 with a petite body, very short black hair dyed purple, and A-cup breasts.
Tris - A 22 year old black prostitute you pass dropping Kimmy off for work and picking her up sometimes. She has propositioned you in the past, and though you’ve never accepted you often feel sorry for her. 5’6 with a slightly out of shape body, black braided hair, and D-cup breasts.
SETTING & WORLD
To you, the world is normal. The definition of ordinary. But behind the scenes witches practice black magic, evil corporations develop ethically questionable technology, ghosts hijack the bodies of the living, and cursed magic items warp reality without anyone knowing anything has changed.
Ignorant of the dark magics and mad sciences of the world, you and Kimmy live the perfect, picturesque lives of a young suburban couple. But behind the scenes there are many who want to take those lives from you - either for themselves, or to tear you down.
CHARACTERS
Alex - You. Just an average guy, but with a gorgeous new wife and a good job as an accountant for shady technology company Verastill. 6’0 tall with some muscle definition, short cropped black hair.
Kimmy - Your new half-Asian 27 year old wife, a yoga instructor and part time cooking streamer. 5’7 toned body, brunette hair, C-cup breasts.
Susan - Kimmy’s 49 year old Asian mother and stay at home wife. She’s always been flirtatious with you, you think just to bring some excitement to the boredom of her own life. 5’4 chubby body, greying black hair, E-cup breasts.
Sheryl - Your 23 year old coworker, a huge nerd and scientist at Verastill. She is always seeking to push the boundaries of science. 5’5 fat body, long red hair, glasses, braces, C-cup breasts.
Kristy - Your 40 year old latina neighbour, a former stripper turned trophy wife married to a shady man who works in ‘shipping’. She’s nice to you, but Kimmy swears she gives her strange looks sometimes. 5’2 fit body with lip fillers and plastic surgery to enhance both her already sizeable butt and chest, dyed blonde hair, fake F-cup breasts.
Connor - Your best friend, 30 years old but unemployed. A bit of a stoner. He’s always been there for you, though, and for Kimmy. 5’10 out of shape body, tussled red hair.
Lila - Your ex, a 28 year old goth who sells crystals and dreamcatchers online alongside fake curses and hexes. You broke up with her, and you don’t think she’s ever really gotten over it. 4’11 with a petite body, very short black hair dyed purple, and A-cup breasts.
Tris - A 22 year old black prostitute you pass dropping Kimmy off for work and picking her up sometimes. She has propositioned you in the past, and though you’ve never accepted you often feel sorry for her. 5’6 with a slightly out of shape body, black braided hair, and D-cup breasts.
SETTING & WORLD
To you, the world is normal. The definition of ordinary. But behind the scenes witches practice black magic, evil corporations develop ethically questionable technology, ghosts hijack the bodies of the living, and cursed magic items warp reality without anyone knowing anything has changed.
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Legal prostitution with ghosts! Spirits of all types flock to a nice venue where people rent out their bodies for ghost to use however they like… but let’s be honest, it’s usually for sex
VeilsLift Hotel is a Fancy older hotel with a twist, people check out rooms in hope of being possessed by the ghosts within. Some find it a thrill, others a turn on.
CHARACTERS
Madam Deskclerk- a stacked woman with knowledge beyond her years (due to her actually being a spirit possessing a young woman’s body). She recommends certain guests to specific rooms to appease the spirts in the room.
Numerous guests- guest of all kinds make their way to willingly become possessed!
SETTING & WORLD
VeilsLift Hotel is a nice vintage hotel with full amenities
VeilsLift Hotel is a Fancy older hotel with a twist, people check out rooms in hope of being possessed by the ghosts within. Some find it a thrill, others a turn on.
CHARACTERS
Madam Deskclerk- a stacked woman with knowledge beyond her years (due to her actually being a spirit possessing a young woman’s body). She recommends certain guests to specific rooms to appease the spirts in the room.
Numerous guests- guest of all kinds make their way to willingly become possessed!
SETTING & WORLD
VeilsLift Hotel is a nice vintage hotel with full amenities
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Technology had progressed so much to the point that hijacking a person's body has become possible... and companies specializing in dates and escort services have taken advantage of this tech!
Inspired by Japan's rental girlfriend trope, companies in countries around the world had tried to replicate it's success, but women never signed up... so they decided to take things into their own hands, by forcibly having women possessed by hired staff/actors to act as girlfriends for clients.
CHARACTERS
1. Anthony "Tony" Parker (the player), a man who bragged about having a perfect girlfriend (he says its his boss at one point, a girl at the gym at another, a cafe owner the next, and a girl he met during highschool and reconnected with), but never even had one to begin with. Now he's expected to bring a girlfriend to several family outings and hangouts with friends in the span of a couple of days.
2. Emily, the owner of the cafe he frequently goes to before work. She has blonde hair and eyes as blue as sapphires glinting in the sunlight.
3. Nicole, someone Tony met at the gym. She always wears outfits that show off her chest and ass, she's incredibly proud of her body and treats it like a temple.
4. Sam, Tony's friend at work. She's pretty kind, and her outfits are always distracting because of all the cleavage she shows... and it seems she isn't even aware of how distracting she can be.
5. Megan, a lonely and unattractive woman Tony was friends with in highschool, Tony found later on that she had a massive glowup over the last few years, and she's clearly out of his league now.
6. Anna, Tony's sister. She's slightly suspicious of Tony and his "girlfriend" and playfully teases him about when she'll get to meet her. She knows about Tony's tendency to lie when it comes to relationships, but doesn't really berate him for it, she just finds it funny how desperate he is to put up appearances.
SETTING & WORLD
Modern day America.
Inspired by Japan's rental girlfriend trope, companies in countries around the world had tried to replicate it's success, but women never signed up... so they decided to take things into their own hands, by forcibly having women possessed by hired staff/actors to act as girlfriends for clients.
CHARACTERS
1. Anthony "Tony" Parker (the player), a man who bragged about having a perfect girlfriend (he says its his boss at one point, a girl at the gym at another, a cafe owner the next, and a girl he met during highschool and reconnected with), but never even had one to begin with. Now he's expected to bring a girlfriend to several family outings and hangouts with friends in the span of a couple of days.
2. Emily, the owner of the cafe he frequently goes to before work. She has blonde hair and eyes as blue as sapphires glinting in the sunlight.
3. Nicole, someone Tony met at the gym. She always wears outfits that show off her chest and ass, she's incredibly proud of her body and treats it like a temple.
4. Sam, Tony's friend at work. She's pretty kind, and her outfits are always distracting because of all the cleavage she shows... and it seems she isn't even aware of how distracting she can be.
5. Megan, a lonely and unattractive woman Tony was friends with in highschool, Tony found later on that she had a massive glowup over the last few years, and she's clearly out of his league now.
6. Anna, Tony's sister. She's slightly suspicious of Tony and his "girlfriend" and playfully teases him about when she'll get to meet her. She knows about Tony's tendency to lie when it comes to relationships, but doesn't really berate him for it, she just finds it funny how desperate he is to put up appearances.
SETTING & WORLD
Modern day America.
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A slacker get is abducted by a mind controlling alien overlord.. who then dies unexpectedly. This slacker now has complete access to a mind controlling tech army, only for perverted purposes
CHARACTERS
Mike Allan- 26 year old college dropout working as a pizza delivery guy part time. Not a lot of luck with women despite being attractive. Was selected to be the host body of an alien overlord…who dies. Leaving his entire army believing that Mike is now in charge. Using Zegnu’s tech, Mike can possess other human bodies, control humans like drones by beaming information into their head (via tech), and by converting people into human robots, turning them into obedient mindless drones
Lord Zegnu- evil alien overboard who uses possession and mind control technology to infiltrate and overthrow entire civilizations. He selects a local human to be his next host to possess, but dies of a natural cause in the process. Feared and had access to incredible technology allowing him to possess or control others (turning them into mindless robotic drones while controlled). Very secretive, which backfired after his death, allowing Mike to impersonate him.
Va’lor- first mate, just came into possession of a human body, but can transfer into a different body if required. Her current host is Audrey, a young brunette woman with a pixie cut, stacked breasts and a large bouncy booty and a few piercings. Obviously a looker and possessed due to attractiveness and knowledge (a doctorate candidate in biology).
SETTING & WORLD
Modern day, Mike is abducted in a green light from his home and beamed aboard the ship, where our story begins.
CHARACTERS
Mike Allan- 26 year old college dropout working as a pizza delivery guy part time. Not a lot of luck with women despite being attractive. Was selected to be the host body of an alien overlord…who dies. Leaving his entire army believing that Mike is now in charge. Using Zegnu’s tech, Mike can possess other human bodies, control humans like drones by beaming information into their head (via tech), and by converting people into human robots, turning them into obedient mindless drones
Lord Zegnu- evil alien overboard who uses possession and mind control technology to infiltrate and overthrow entire civilizations. He selects a local human to be his next host to possess, but dies of a natural cause in the process. Feared and had access to incredible technology allowing him to possess or control others (turning them into mindless robotic drones while controlled). Very secretive, which backfired after his death, allowing Mike to impersonate him.
Va’lor- first mate, just came into possession of a human body, but can transfer into a different body if required. Her current host is Audrey, a young brunette woman with a pixie cut, stacked breasts and a large bouncy booty and a few piercings. Obviously a looker and possessed due to attractiveness and knowledge (a doctorate candidate in biology).
SETTING & WORLD
Modern day, Mike is abducted in a green light from his home and beamed aboard the ship, where our story begins.
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A Halloween party for those who need to possess bodies! Everyone is invited, Ghosts, ghouls, aliens, demons, body hoppers, perverts with technology. The only rule: you have to be controlling someone else’s body.
Every year, a long abandoned mansion in the woods burst with life and light, THE party of the year! Alcohol, sex, games, costumes, the works! But all the party goers? They are possessed.
Spirits, creatures, perverts, freaks and more all come together to show of bodies they have taken for the night, dressed up (or down) for the occasion of a night of fun at the expense of their host. Swapping host is allowed and encouraged! Get creative, invite your own OC, or step into the shoes of an existing possession presence. Either way, have fun in your new body!
CHARACTERS
Add your own supernatural, science fiction, urban legend, or OC here.
The Hidden- a large alien worm who likes partying, hops from body to body by crawling into any open orifice. Rowdy and loves to party in a new body, experiencing all it can. Bit of a horndog. Wraps around hosts brain to access surface mannerisms and memories. Prefers female hosts, as they are “better rides”
The Slime- a large green slime blob the size of a basketball. Not particularly bright. Has no access to host memories and comes off as a bimbo when possessing a body.
The Mummy- wants a new body for the evening to have fun and experience life to the fullest. Adventurous but old fashioned.
The Ghosts- fun loving pranksters, there are multiple spirits who dwell in the mansion, they will take over any body that isn’t currently possessed and act as the “fun” of the party. Some just want sex, others to be touched, others to just drink and socialize.
Frankenstein’s Monster- slow moving brute (not his fault, body is slow) with a big heart and fear of fire. Though his normally large body stands out, on Halloween he opens his head and his brain can leave his head and squirm around looking for an attractive host for him to possess. His brain can squeeze into a persons ear and take over. He has no access to the host’s memories. Still clumsy
Casandra- a high end socialite who has been reduced to a brain in a jar. Uses psychic restraints before sending her mind into a host via a blue beam emitted from the brain in a jar. Loves possessing body’s with “a nice rear bumper” and sees a busty host as nothing more than “a bouncy castle” for her to enjoy.
Imps- little demons who can cause mischief but are also little perverts. Love to tease and edge potential hosts before invading their bodies. Have a hard time speaking in full sentences and are rough on their stolen bodies.
Brainslugs- small green baseball sized slimes with a single eye that latch onto a hosts head and is able to pilot them. Have a hard time with fine motor control and speak through their host in a dry monotone that makes the possessed seem VERY obvious. Will often try to get other to place a brain slug on their head. They think they are smart but are very simple.
Insect Hive- thousands of insects that invade a host and make their home in their body. Really like to spread into a hive mind but tonight they will limit themselves to only 3 bodies at a time
The Puppet Masters- stingray sized aliens who use a barbed tendril to pierce the back of a hosts, allowing them to control the body via tendril or to latch themselves on to their back. As this is supppose to be a fun party, the tendril needs to find a “different approach” to possessing a body.
Popuni- little goofball sized aliens made of slime who need human cum to produce more of their kind. Possesses bodies by sliding into “cum collection hole” (ass, pussy) and take over. They are perverted and excited to be on earth and their only goal is to get as much cum as possible into their host’s body.
Zuul- of ghost busters fame. Looming for a “key master” for her body’s “gatekeeper”.
Really, just looking to have a good time and looking spooky doing it. All talk, here for the vibes.
Pumpkin Heads- sentient jack-o’-lanterns who can use their vines to move. They use their flickering lights to hypnotize their prey, then place themselves over the hosts head, taking over their body. Though in control of a human body, they can still use their vines for… fun
SETTING & WORLD
Halloween day and night, present day
Every year, a long abandoned mansion in the woods burst with life and light, THE party of the year! Alcohol, sex, games, costumes, the works! But all the party goers? They are possessed.
Spirits, creatures, perverts, freaks and more all come together to show of bodies they have taken for the night, dressed up (or down) for the occasion of a night of fun at the expense of their host. Swapping host is allowed and encouraged! Get creative, invite your own OC, or step into the shoes of an existing possession presence. Either way, have fun in your new body!
CHARACTERS
Add your own supernatural, science fiction, urban legend, or OC here.
The Hidden- a large alien worm who likes partying, hops from body to body by crawling into any open orifice. Rowdy and loves to party in a new body, experiencing all it can. Bit of a horndog. Wraps around hosts brain to access surface mannerisms and memories. Prefers female hosts, as they are “better rides”
The Slime- a large green slime blob the size of a basketball. Not particularly bright. Has no access to host memories and comes off as a bimbo when possessing a body.
The Mummy- wants a new body for the evening to have fun and experience life to the fullest. Adventurous but old fashioned.
The Ghosts- fun loving pranksters, there are multiple spirits who dwell in the mansion, they will take over any body that isn’t currently possessed and act as the “fun” of the party. Some just want sex, others to be touched, others to just drink and socialize.
Frankenstein’s Monster- slow moving brute (not his fault, body is slow) with a big heart and fear of fire. Though his normally large body stands out, on Halloween he opens his head and his brain can leave his head and squirm around looking for an attractive host for him to possess. His brain can squeeze into a persons ear and take over. He has no access to the host’s memories. Still clumsy
Casandra- a high end socialite who has been reduced to a brain in a jar. Uses psychic restraints before sending her mind into a host via a blue beam emitted from the brain in a jar. Loves possessing body’s with “a nice rear bumper” and sees a busty host as nothing more than “a bouncy castle” for her to enjoy.
Imps- little demons who can cause mischief but are also little perverts. Love to tease and edge potential hosts before invading their bodies. Have a hard time speaking in full sentences and are rough on their stolen bodies.
Brainslugs- small green baseball sized slimes with a single eye that latch onto a hosts head and is able to pilot them. Have a hard time with fine motor control and speak through their host in a dry monotone that makes the possessed seem VERY obvious. Will often try to get other to place a brain slug on their head. They think they are smart but are very simple.
Insect Hive- thousands of insects that invade a host and make their home in their body. Really like to spread into a hive mind but tonight they will limit themselves to only 3 bodies at a time
The Puppet Masters- stingray sized aliens who use a barbed tendril to pierce the back of a hosts, allowing them to control the body via tendril or to latch themselves on to their back. As this is supppose to be a fun party, the tendril needs to find a “different approach” to possessing a body.
Popuni- little goofball sized aliens made of slime who need human cum to produce more of their kind. Possesses bodies by sliding into “cum collection hole” (ass, pussy) and take over. They are perverted and excited to be on earth and their only goal is to get as much cum as possible into their host’s body.
Zuul- of ghost busters fame. Looming for a “key master” for her body’s “gatekeeper”.
Really, just looking to have a good time and looking spooky doing it. All talk, here for the vibes.
Pumpkin Heads- sentient jack-o’-lanterns who can use their vines to move. They use their flickering lights to hypnotize their prey, then place themselves over the hosts head, taking over their body. Though in control of a human body, they can still use their vines for… fun
SETTING & WORLD
Halloween day and night, present day
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Zoe had a wonderful life! That was until everything just went wrong. No relationship, no job, and most of her stuff got stolen. Zoe finds herself the Queen of a host of mind-controlling parasites. And she figures it's about time that she takes her life back and more.
Zoe slowly poked at her eggs as she munched on a piece of bacon. It was a little crispier than she had hoped, breaking easily in her mouth as she chewed. Her mind was adrift, not focused on the food but on a possible announcement today at work. While she had only heard sparse whispers and rumors, there was a chance that her division was up for a promotion. Her toes curled at the thought of being able to finally move up in the workplace. After all, that meant better hours, better workloads, and a better paycheck. She had been putting in the work over the past few weeks in hopes that it would put her in the spotlight. There really wasn’t anyone else better suited for the position than her.
“I can just feel it! Today is the day that everything changes for the better!” Zoe said as she bit down again on some bacon. She wiggled a little in her chair and kicked her legs excitedly. Zoe grabbed her phone and sent another text to her boyfriend, expressing her delight, before realizing the time.
“Shoot! I need to get ready! I can’t be late!”
Zoe finished up the last of her food before she rushed to the bedroom to pick out her clothes. She decided on a nice purple cotton tee that had a bit of a deep V-neck to it and slipped it over the black bra she had on. She ruffled through her drawers before she found a navy blue pair of leggings that she put on over top of her pink satin panties. She grabbed her uniform coat, which was neatly hung up on a coat hanger and put it on.
“Looking promotion ready,” Zoe said as she adjusted her clothes in the mirror. She grabbed her keys and her purse and left her apartment. As she was about to lock up her apartment, a voice called out to her.
“Heading out to work?” asked Juniper, the neighbor to Zoe’s left. She waved to Zoe as she saw Zoe heading out.
“Yep!” Zoe said, the extra pep in her step very visible.
“Well, someone’s energetic,” Juniper said with a smile. “Something good is happening today? Will it be the day that Stanley finally proposes? Has he been dropping hints?”
“No idea, but anything’s possible!” Zoe said, matching Juniper’s smile.
She didn’t quite mind having Juniper as a neighbor. Far better than the grouch of a man called Frederick who lived on the other side of Zoe. There were a few times that Juniper was annoying, such as playing her music a tad too loud or the times that Zoe could hear every orgasm Juniper had and caused through the walls, but outside of those times, Juniper was an ideal neighbor to have.
“Well, I love your energy today.” Juniper walked over and put something in Zoe’s hand. “Here, the spirits say that you’ll need this today.” Zoe looked down at her palm and looked at a small little jade four leaf clover sat in her hand.
“Thanks Juniper!” Zoe said as she tucked it into her breast pocket.
“The winds of change are blowing,” Juniper said as she closed her eyes and began to walk away. “Be wary, Zoe!” Then, she turned a corner and disappeared.
Zoe shrugged, having long given up trying to understand Juniper years ago. At this point, she just accepted the strangeness. She couldn’t deny that she liked the strange energy Juniper had from time to time.
Time.
Time.
“Shit!” Zoe quickly scrambled her way towards her car as she realized that it was getting later and later. If she didn’t hurry, she was going to be late for work. Her car rumbled to life and in a few moments, she was making her way towards SMILK INC.
It had always been her dream to work at such a prestigious place. It was one of the top research labs in the country. There, they researched all sorts of topics, from new robotics to parasites to even space travel. It was through her hard work, as well as her volunteer hours that she had painstakingly put in the effort for, that she had landed a job as a researcher. Even if it was the lowest available, she was still working at SMILK INC.
Sure, it wasn’t nearly as prestigious as being able to coast off of royalties like her sister, nor was she able to live in as nice a house as her. Zoe’s fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel as the thought of her sister, Sabrina. But, then she took a deep breath and was able to unclench the steering wheel.
“No, today won’t be about her. It’s going to be about me. I have been working hard. We are a shoe-in for that promotion!” Zoe said as she pumped herself back up.
She hummed along to the radio as she finished up her drive, ignoring the signs for Sabrina’s newest book on billboards that she passed by. After a fairly short drive, she reached the employee parking lot for SMILK INC. Zoe reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, excited to see a text from Stanley texting her good morning. She dialed him and held her phone up to her ear. After a few short rings, he picked up.
“Hey babe!” Zoe said, her excitement building up again. “I hope you slept well.”
“Uh, yeah, I did,” Stanley said, with a bit of a light chuckle. There was a bit of extra noise, but it sounded like the TV was on in the background. “What got you so excited?”
“Well, nothing has been confirmed, but, I do want to say that I think there is a really good chance that my division will get promoted today,” Zoe said, hardly able to contain her joy.
“Really?” Stanley said with another light chuckle. “Wow, that’s great Zoe. I’m happy for you.”
“Well, again, nothing has been confirmed, but I have a really good feeling.” Zoe had a wide smile on her face. “So, I will let you know how things go.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Stanley said. There was a bit of a pause before he responded again. “Well, hey, I should let you get to work. Don’t let me keep you. Good luck.”
“Oh, uh,” Zoe said before she heard the sound of the phone call ending, “Uh, bye. Thanks for the good luck. Love you too.” She was a little annoyed, but he was right. She did need to focus on work. She stepped out of her car and made her way into the building.
She greeted the security guard and headed right to her section of the lab. Zoe worked in the zoology department, helping non-pet animals with different diseases and ailments. As she entered the lab, the animals all gave her a rousing and loud greeting.
“Good morning everyone!” Zoe said as she set down her purse at her desk. She headed over to where her coworkers were all crowded around. “What’s got everyone’s attention?”
Her coworkers turned to Zoe, their faces long and expression drooped down. One of them pointed to a paper that was hung up on the bulletin board, and they moved aside to let Zoe read it. Her eyes scanned over the paper as she read it.
“To all employees of SMILK INC., please report to the main lobby area for an important meeting at 10 AM. Attendance is mandatory. Signed, Head CEO Garrett Young.”
Zoe crossed her arms and her expression matched her coworkers. “Everyone has to be present?” She felt a pit starting to form in her stomach as she set an alarm on her watch. “Oh boy.”
“Someone’s getting fired,” Jamison, one of Zoe’s coworkers, murmured.
“It’s not just one person. It’s gonna be a whole division,” Ashley, a different coworker, responded.
“No way. That couldn’t be possible, could it?” asked Jamison.
“Why would everyone need to be present for that?” asked Barbara, another coworker.
“Duh, it’s a show of dominance. That any division could be cut away. No one is safe,” Ashley said.
“Everyone, relax,” Zoe said as she turned to everyone. “Relax. I mean, come on. We’re an important branch of SMILK. We’re Division 4, dammit! There’s no way they can cut us with all that we do.” She tried her best to swallow her fears and put on a brave face for the rest of her coworkers. “Now, what do we have to do today? Let’s keep working like we’re not getting fired, okay? Otherwise, we’ll definitely be on the chopping block next time something like this comes around.”
The rest of her coworkers looked at each other before nodding in agreement. They started to head to their designated tasks for today, trying their best to distract themselves from the upcoming meeting.
With a heavy sigh, Zoe got herself pumped up and looked over the posting about what she was supposed to be doing today. “Let’s see what they have me assigned to.” Zoe finds her name assigned to a fringe case.
These were cases that didn’t quite fit for anywhere else. Usually situations where an animal was found and it wasn’t exactly clear what was wrong. It didn’t fit any other known cases or conditions that they were aware of.
Zoe made her way down to Room 159 where she opened up the closet door. She put on a hazmat suit, then headed inside. “What’s the situation?”
Before her was a large brown bear, unconscious on an operating table. Inside the room, there were two SMILK guards, both armed with tranquilizer weapons if something were to go wrong. Two other SMILK lab agents were there with her, both wearing hazmat suits. Across the room, separated by a sheet of reinforced glass, was a man in a park ranger’s uniform watching the whole thing. The park ranger leaned in close to a microphone to speak to Zoe.
“This is Henry the bear. Lately, he’s been acting really weird. I went to check on him and, well, just look at his chest!”
Zoe looked a little surprised, but shrugged. She turned over the bear and looked at his chest.
Rather than the usual tufts of fur that would be expected, there was a hole in the chest and she could see right through to the heart. But, weirdly, the hole around was scabbed over in some strange purple material that didn’t look like scabbing. The heart was still beating and it didn’t look like there was any sign of usual infections despite the gaping hole. As she looked closer, she could see something that looked like worms or leeches around the heart. Zoe picked up a small scalpel and poked at the worms, which wiggled at the touch and caused the bear to shuffle around.
“What the hell?” she said, picking up a small flashlight to get better lighting. “What kind of parasites are these?” She gestured to one of the lab agents. “Get me a syringe of lebentizole, a pair of long thin-neck tweezers, a collection dish, and a sprayer of etheriazen.” The lab agent nodded and quickly gathered up the supplies that Zoe needed. While they did that, Zoe gestured to the armed guards. “Guards, I’m going to try our usual parasite removal process. And that may cause the bear to be agitated. You two, be ready in case something happens. Firing word is LIMO. Got it?” The guards nodded at her and raised their weapons as the agent handed the supplies to Zoe.
Zoe carefully took the syringe and injected it into the mass of parasites. “This is going to loosen them right up. And now, the removal process.” She leaned in close with the tweezers and began to remove the parasites one by one. She dropped them into the collection dish carefully, so as not to disturb them. To an untrained hand, this would have taken several hours to do; but Zoe’s training allowed her to finish in just under a few.
“And now, the hard part.” She picked up the sprayer and aimed it at the wound on the bear. “Spraying etheriazen in three… two… one!” As soon as she sprayed, the bear recoiled as the chemicals hit its body. Zoe ducked out of the way of the thrashing as the bear flailed wildly on the table, knocking over various pieces of equipment nearby. The guards raised their weapons, but Zoe held her hand up to stop them. “Wait! Not yet!” A few moments later, the bear stopped, going back to a calming rest on the table. “Everyone alright?”
Zoe looked around, seeing the equipment and supplies that had been knocked over. Nothing seemed to be too badly destroyed, at least not to the extent that it couldn’t be fixed. The agents and guards all gave a thumbs-up.
“Great, we’re all good then.” Zoe lifted up the paw of the bear to check on the hole in its chest. To her delight, the etheriazen was doing its job and sealing the wound back up. She turned to the park ranger and gave him a thumbs-up. “We’re all good here.” Zoe pointed to one of the agents. “Escort the patient out of here to monitor and recover.”
The park ranger clapped as Zoe and one of the other agents began to clean up the room. The agent Zoe singled out and the two guards went to transport the bear out of the room.
“So, are you nervous?” the agent asked as it picked up some surgery tools off the ground.
“Nah, that was just a run of the mill parasite removal,” Zoe said as she cleaned up a small spill.
“No, not that. I mean about the meeting.”
Zoe shook her head. “Listen, I think that we’re going to be fine. I mean, we do important work here at SMILK! Take the bear we just had. Imagine if whatever that bear had got out into the world uncontrollably. Who knows what danger that could happen.” Zoe picked up the collection dish of parasites. “I am going to contain these properly. You finish up cleaning here. Alright?”
“Yes ma’am.”
With that, Zoe left the room, holding the collection dish. She made her way down a set of halls to the Containment Room.
“Alright, whatever the hell you all are. You guys are going into containment until we can figure out what you are.”
She opened up one of the sterile containment boxes and started to put the parasites in, one by one. As she did, she picked up one and looked at it. The parasites looked almost like worms or leeches, but about an inch long and had a gaping mouth on one end with teeth. They were an odd purple color.
“What are yo-”
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Zoe’s watch alarm startled her, causing her to drop the parasite.
“Shit! Is it time already?” Zoe quickly glanced at her watch. “Okay, let’s just get you all in there quickly!” She picked up the collection dish and poured the rest of them into the box before shoving it into an open slot in a set of boxes. “I’ll worry about filling out the paperwork after!” She quickly rushed out of the Containment room and scrambled to get to the meeting.
Zoe rushed her way to the main lobby, where all the other workers had gathered. She panted, out of breath as she joined up with her division.
“There you are, Zoe!” one of her coworkers said. “What happened?”
“I was down in Containment dealing with a case. Did I miss anything yet?” Zoe asked as she finally caught her breath.
“Not yet. The CEO is about to start,” another coworker said as he hushed and pointed to Garrett Young, who was standing up on a balcony.
“People of SMILK INC!” Garrett said, causing the crowd of employees to hush down. “As I am sure many of you are aware, I come bearing both good and bad news. Firstly, the good news! I have been watching and monitoring the reviews and progress of all the divisions. And, it is with great pleasure that I announce that this year, the Division Promotion will be given to…” Garrett opened up an envelope before reading the contents. “Division 16!”
Zoe’s heart sank more than before. She had tried her hardest to make Division 4 earn that promotion. Despite all the hard effort and all her gusto, Zoe couldn’t help but feel deflated after hearing the news. Still, she clung onto hope as she clutched onto the small jade four leaf clover that Juniper gave her. Even if they didn’t get the promotion, things weren’t all bad.
“And now for the bad news. Due to changes in the economy and new policies that come from the government, we do have to make cuts. So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that Divisions 4, 13, and 25 will be closed down. You have until the end of the day to pack up your belongings. And, of course, we will know if you take anything that doesn’t belong to you.”
Things were all bad.
Zoe fell to her knees. As much as she wanted to, tears didn’t fall from her face. She didn’t even know why. She wasn’t putting on any brave face, but at the same time, everything felt like it was crumbling around her. The rest of whatever Garrett was talking about was a complete blur to her as she dissociated. She turned to see her fellow coworkers in Division 4 consoling each other and crying on shoulders. Some people she recognized from Division 25 had come over give them hugs and comfort as best as they could.
Zoe’s body felt heavy. It felt numb. She didn’t feel anything as she picked up her lunch from the break room. Her desk trinkets might have well as been as light as air the way she packed them without thinking. All sound was muffled to her, in one ear and out the other. She couldn’t tell whether coworkers were upset at the choices made, or at her for giving them hope. Zoe didn’t care. It felt like nothing mattered right now.
Zoe didn’t snap back to reality until she realized she was sitting in her car, holding her phone with her boyfriend’s number at the ready. Absent-mindedly, she dialed him to tell him the tragic news.
“Stanley… I… got let go from work today. They just announced it and… I finished packing up all my stuff. I just…” She sniffled, still feeling incredibly numb. “I know you’re probably busy right now, but… I need you dear… So, can I come-”
“Shit! Did you accidentally accept the call? How long has this call been going?” Stanley said, clearly not directing his voice to Zoe.
“Oops, sorry! Maybe she didn’t hear anything.”
The call hung up as Zoe stared beyond the horizon. That second voice was none other than her sister, Sabrina. Zoe recognized the out of breath nature of Stanley. Her mind clicked to what happened, but she didn’t want to accept it. No matter how she tried to reframe it, there was no mistaking it. She had called them while the two of them were doing each other and Sabrina accidentally accepted the call.
How? How long? How long had this been going on? Had she been played like a fool for days? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? Zoe clutched her chest as she breathed shakily. Had she angered some sort of divinity? Did she accidentally piss off a witch and was cursed? Was she just doomed to the worst day imaginable?
The next thing Zoe knew, she was back at the parking lot at her apartment. Her body had autopiloted its way back home. She slowly got out of the car, leaving her belongings inside. She shuffled to the door, going through the keys to find the one to her apartment.
As she was inserting the key, the door opened up on its own.
Confusion quickly turned to utter fear as she creaked open the door, seeing barren floors and walls. There was nothing. No furniture. No valuables. Anything remotely expensive had been taken.
Her mind flashed back to this morning. Juniper. She had talked to Zoe before Zoe locked her door. She left her apartment unlocked.
Zoe walked from room to room, looking at the barren spots where valuables and little trinkets had been, collecting dust. The only thing that had been left behind was the bed that couldn’t fit out of the doorframe.
She had no job. No boyfriend. And now, nothing in her apartment. Not even mind-numbing trash TV was an option for her.
She faceplanted down onto her bed, utterly limp. She kicked off her shoes and stared into the darkness. It was at this moment that tears finally fell from Zoe’s eyes. She had nothing. Everything was just gone. All her hard work, all her efforts, all her life was taken from her in a single day. Zoe rolled over and stared at the ceiling as the tears continued to stream down her face.
“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “There’s no way that this day could get any fucking worse!”
Then, she felt something. Something crawling on her leg. Zoe looked down, seeing nothing at first. Then, she sat up to try and get a better angle. There was one of the worm things from earlier.
Unknown to Zoe at the time, when the watch alarm startled her, the parasite she was holding didn’t drop down back into the collection dish. Instead, it hit the rim of the dish and bounced off, and landed into a part of her shoe that she couldn’t feel. It had stuck with her the whole time.
Before Zoe’s mind could comprehend anything more, after being beaten and battered all day with bad thing after bad thing, the parasite arched back. It let out a horrific scream before it suddenly lunged at Zoe.
That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.
Zoe groaned awake as her eyes fluttered open.
“What happened?”
She looked around, finding herself in her room. As her eyes went over the empty spaces where her things used to be, she began to recall.
“Oh, right.” She slammed her fist on her bed. It hadn’t been a nightmare. The firing. The cheating. The robbery. The parasite.
The parasite.
Zoe quickly checked her body for any sign of the parasite. There was a hole in her shirt, but to her shock, her body looked untouched. To double check, she rushed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. There was one big noticeable change. Her irises were a vivid purple color now.
“What the fuck happened?”
Zoe felt a strange feeling in her throat. She coughed, then coughed again, then harder and harder until she eventually spit something up. Inside of her bathroom sink was one of the worm parasites. Zoe shrieked and backed away, falling to the ground as the parasite wiggled to the edge of the counter.
“My queen, what is your command?”
Zoe shrieked again. There was no way that thing just fucking talked! Now she had lost her mind. She was crazy. The stress and trauma of everything today made her go insane and now she was spitting up parasites and they were talking to her.
“My queen, what is your command?” the parasite asked again.
“What the fuck is going on!?” Zoe shouted.
“Ah, you are confused, my queen.” The parasite inched a little closer to the edge of the sink. “You are the queen of the Thaviothes. Normally, we take over a host and control them, but, there was something different about you. I believe when we tried to attack your heart, there was something that reacted with us.”
Zoe looked down at her chest, where the hole was. She reached into the breast pocket and pulled out half of the jade trinket that Juniper had given her.
“Ah, that would be it. That caused a chemical and biological reaction in us. Rather than you being subservient to us, we are now subservient to you. Though, we did bond with you, and that shared some of your intelligence with us.” The parasite nodded its head, as if it was bowing. “You are our queen. The legion of Thaviothes is at your command.”
“Legion of Thaviothes?” Zoe said. As the words left her lips, somehow, in some way, it felt right. It felt like a normal fact. She turned to the parasite. “What can you do?”
“The only thing we can do as parasites is infect others by burrowing into them. But, once we do, they become under your absolute command,” the parasite explained.
“My absolute command?” Zoe said as she stared at the parasite.
“Yes. Their mind, their body, and their will will all belong entirely to you,” the parasite explained. “They will never disobey you and be eternally yours.”
Zoe slowly stood up and walked over to the mirror. She looked at herself again. Then, out of the corner of the mirror, she saw her empty room.
An idea came to her. This world had just taken so much from her. It took her life. Everything she had built up and put effort into. All because it could. So… why should she just let it? Why should she accept that this was how things were. She could change things. She could do something. She could control it. A smile drew wide across her face as she laughed to herself. At first a small chuckle, then louder, until finally a full on cackling.
She turned to the parasite. “You. I’m going to call you Thaddeus.”
The parasite nodded. “I am honored to be named Thaddeus, my queen.”
She gently picked the parasite up in her hands.
“And together, Thaddeus. You and I are going to take back my life and so. Much. More!”
Zoe slowly poked at her eggs as she munched on a piece of bacon. It was a little crispier than she had hoped, breaking easily in her mouth as she chewed. Her mind was adrift, not focused on the food but on a possible announcement today at work. While she had only heard sparse whispers and rumors, there was a chance that her division was up for a promotion. Her toes curled at the thought of being able to finally move up in the workplace. After all, that meant better hours, better workloads, and a better paycheck. She had been putting in the work over the past few weeks in hopes that it would put her in the spotlight. There really wasn’t anyone else better suited for the position than her.
“I can just feel it! Today is the day that everything changes for the better!” Zoe said as she bit down again on some bacon. She wiggled a little in her chair and kicked her legs excitedly. Zoe grabbed her phone and sent another text to her boyfriend, expressing her delight, before realizing the time.
“Shoot! I need to get ready! I can’t be late!”
Zoe finished up the last of her food before she rushed to the bedroom to pick out her clothes. She decided on a nice purple cotton tee that had a bit of a deep V-neck to it and slipped it over the black bra she had on. She ruffled through her drawers before she found a navy blue pair of leggings that she put on over top of her pink satin panties. She grabbed her uniform coat, which was neatly hung up on a coat hanger and put it on.
“Looking promotion ready,” Zoe said as she adjusted her clothes in the mirror. She grabbed her keys and her purse and left her apartment. As she was about to lock up her apartment, a voice called out to her.
“Heading out to work?” asked Juniper, the neighbor to Zoe’s left. She waved to Zoe as she saw Zoe heading out.
“Yep!” Zoe said, the extra pep in her step very visible.
“Well, someone’s energetic,” Juniper said with a smile. “Something good is happening today? Will it be the day that Stanley finally proposes? Has he been dropping hints?”
“No idea, but anything’s possible!” Zoe said, matching Juniper’s smile.
She didn’t quite mind having Juniper as a neighbor. Far better than the grouch of a man called Frederick who lived on the other side of Zoe. There were a few times that Juniper was annoying, such as playing her music a tad too loud or the times that Zoe could hear every orgasm Juniper had and caused through the walls, but outside of those times, Juniper was an ideal neighbor to have.
“Well, I love your energy today.” Juniper walked over and put something in Zoe’s hand. “Here, the spirits say that you’ll need this today.” Zoe looked down at her palm and looked at a small little jade four leaf clover sat in her hand.
“Thanks Juniper!” Zoe said as she tucked it into her breast pocket.
“The winds of change are blowing,” Juniper said as she closed her eyes and began to walk away. “Be wary, Zoe!” Then, she turned a corner and disappeared.
Zoe shrugged, having long given up trying to understand Juniper years ago. At this point, she just accepted the strangeness. She couldn’t deny that she liked the strange energy Juniper had from time to time.
Time.
Time.
“Shit!” Zoe quickly scrambled her way towards her car as she realized that it was getting later and later. If she didn’t hurry, she was going to be late for work. Her car rumbled to life and in a few moments, she was making her way towards SMILK INC.
It had always been her dream to work at such a prestigious place. It was one of the top research labs in the country. There, they researched all sorts of topics, from new robotics to parasites to even space travel. It was through her hard work, as well as her volunteer hours that she had painstakingly put in the effort for, that she had landed a job as a researcher. Even if it was the lowest available, she was still working at SMILK INC.
Sure, it wasn’t nearly as prestigious as being able to coast off of royalties like her sister, nor was she able to live in as nice a house as her. Zoe’s fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel as the thought of her sister, Sabrina. But, then she took a deep breath and was able to unclench the steering wheel.
“No, today won’t be about her. It’s going to be about me. I have been working hard. We are a shoe-in for that promotion!” Zoe said as she pumped herself back up.
She hummed along to the radio as she finished up her drive, ignoring the signs for Sabrina’s newest book on billboards that she passed by. After a fairly short drive, she reached the employee parking lot for SMILK INC. Zoe reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, excited to see a text from Stanley texting her good morning. She dialed him and held her phone up to her ear. After a few short rings, he picked up.
“Hey babe!” Zoe said, her excitement building up again. “I hope you slept well.”
“Uh, yeah, I did,” Stanley said, with a bit of a light chuckle. There was a bit of extra noise, but it sounded like the TV was on in the background. “What got you so excited?”
“Well, nothing has been confirmed, but, I do want to say that I think there is a really good chance that my division will get promoted today,” Zoe said, hardly able to contain her joy.
“Really?” Stanley said with another light chuckle. “Wow, that’s great Zoe. I’m happy for you.”
“Well, again, nothing has been confirmed, but I have a really good feeling.” Zoe had a wide smile on her face. “So, I will let you know how things go.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Stanley said. There was a bit of a pause before he responded again. “Well, hey, I should let you get to work. Don’t let me keep you. Good luck.”
“Oh, uh,” Zoe said before she heard the sound of the phone call ending, “Uh, bye. Thanks for the good luck. Love you too.” She was a little annoyed, but he was right. She did need to focus on work. She stepped out of her car and made her way into the building.
She greeted the security guard and headed right to her section of the lab. Zoe worked in the zoology department, helping non-pet animals with different diseases and ailments. As she entered the lab, the animals all gave her a rousing and loud greeting.
“Good morning everyone!” Zoe said as she set down her purse at her desk. She headed over to where her coworkers were all crowded around. “What’s got everyone’s attention?”
Her coworkers turned to Zoe, their faces long and expression drooped down. One of them pointed to a paper that was hung up on the bulletin board, and they moved aside to let Zoe read it. Her eyes scanned over the paper as she read it.
“To all employees of SMILK INC., please report to the main lobby area for an important meeting at 10 AM. Attendance is mandatory. Signed, Head CEO Garrett Young.”
Zoe crossed her arms and her expression matched her coworkers. “Everyone has to be present?” She felt a pit starting to form in her stomach as she set an alarm on her watch. “Oh boy.”
“Someone’s getting fired,” Jamison, one of Zoe’s coworkers, murmured.
“It’s not just one person. It’s gonna be a whole division,” Ashley, a different coworker, responded.
“No way. That couldn’t be possible, could it?” asked Jamison.
“Why would everyone need to be present for that?” asked Barbara, another coworker.
“Duh, it’s a show of dominance. That any division could be cut away. No one is safe,” Ashley said.
“Everyone, relax,” Zoe said as she turned to everyone. “Relax. I mean, come on. We’re an important branch of SMILK. We’re Division 4, dammit! There’s no way they can cut us with all that we do.” She tried her best to swallow her fears and put on a brave face for the rest of her coworkers. “Now, what do we have to do today? Let’s keep working like we’re not getting fired, okay? Otherwise, we’ll definitely be on the chopping block next time something like this comes around.”
The rest of her coworkers looked at each other before nodding in agreement. They started to head to their designated tasks for today, trying their best to distract themselves from the upcoming meeting.
With a heavy sigh, Zoe got herself pumped up and looked over the posting about what she was supposed to be doing today. “Let’s see what they have me assigned to.” Zoe finds her name assigned to a fringe case.
These were cases that didn’t quite fit for anywhere else. Usually situations where an animal was found and it wasn’t exactly clear what was wrong. It didn’t fit any other known cases or conditions that they were aware of.
Zoe made her way down to Room 159 where she opened up the closet door. She put on a hazmat suit, then headed inside. “What’s the situation?”
Before her was a large brown bear, unconscious on an operating table. Inside the room, there were two SMILK guards, both armed with tranquilizer weapons if something were to go wrong. Two other SMILK lab agents were there with her, both wearing hazmat suits. Across the room, separated by a sheet of reinforced glass, was a man in a park ranger’s uniform watching the whole thing. The park ranger leaned in close to a microphone to speak to Zoe.
“This is Henry the bear. Lately, he’s been acting really weird. I went to check on him and, well, just look at his chest!”
Zoe looked a little surprised, but shrugged. She turned over the bear and looked at his chest.
Rather than the usual tufts of fur that would be expected, there was a hole in the chest and she could see right through to the heart. But, weirdly, the hole around was scabbed over in some strange purple material that didn’t look like scabbing. The heart was still beating and it didn’t look like there was any sign of usual infections despite the gaping hole. As she looked closer, she could see something that looked like worms or leeches around the heart. Zoe picked up a small scalpel and poked at the worms, which wiggled at the touch and caused the bear to shuffle around.
“What the hell?” she said, picking up a small flashlight to get better lighting. “What kind of parasites are these?” She gestured to one of the lab agents. “Get me a syringe of lebentizole, a pair of long thin-neck tweezers, a collection dish, and a sprayer of etheriazen.” The lab agent nodded and quickly gathered up the supplies that Zoe needed. While they did that, Zoe gestured to the armed guards. “Guards, I’m going to try our usual parasite removal process. And that may cause the bear to be agitated. You two, be ready in case something happens. Firing word is LIMO. Got it?” The guards nodded at her and raised their weapons as the agent handed the supplies to Zoe.
Zoe carefully took the syringe and injected it into the mass of parasites. “This is going to loosen them right up. And now, the removal process.” She leaned in close with the tweezers and began to remove the parasites one by one. She dropped them into the collection dish carefully, so as not to disturb them. To an untrained hand, this would have taken several hours to do; but Zoe’s training allowed her to finish in just under a few.
“And now, the hard part.” She picked up the sprayer and aimed it at the wound on the bear. “Spraying etheriazen in three… two… one!” As soon as she sprayed, the bear recoiled as the chemicals hit its body. Zoe ducked out of the way of the thrashing as the bear flailed wildly on the table, knocking over various pieces of equipment nearby. The guards raised their weapons, but Zoe held her hand up to stop them. “Wait! Not yet!” A few moments later, the bear stopped, going back to a calming rest on the table. “Everyone alright?”
Zoe looked around, seeing the equipment and supplies that had been knocked over. Nothing seemed to be too badly destroyed, at least not to the extent that it couldn’t be fixed. The agents and guards all gave a thumbs-up.
“Great, we’re all good then.” Zoe lifted up the paw of the bear to check on the hole in its chest. To her delight, the etheriazen was doing its job and sealing the wound back up. She turned to the park ranger and gave him a thumbs-up. “We’re all good here.” Zoe pointed to one of the agents. “Escort the patient out of here to monitor and recover.”
The park ranger clapped as Zoe and one of the other agents began to clean up the room. The agent Zoe singled out and the two guards went to transport the bear out of the room.
“So, are you nervous?” the agent asked as it picked up some surgery tools off the ground.
“Nah, that was just a run of the mill parasite removal,” Zoe said as she cleaned up a small spill.
“No, not that. I mean about the meeting.”
Zoe shook her head. “Listen, I think that we’re going to be fine. I mean, we do important work here at SMILK! Take the bear we just had. Imagine if whatever that bear had got out into the world uncontrollably. Who knows what danger that could happen.” Zoe picked up the collection dish of parasites. “I am going to contain these properly. You finish up cleaning here. Alright?”
“Yes ma’am.”
With that, Zoe left the room, holding the collection dish. She made her way down a set of halls to the Containment Room.
“Alright, whatever the hell you all are. You guys are going into containment until we can figure out what you are.”
She opened up one of the sterile containment boxes and started to put the parasites in, one by one. As she did, she picked up one and looked at it. The parasites looked almost like worms or leeches, but about an inch long and had a gaping mouth on one end with teeth. They were an odd purple color.
“What are yo-”
BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Zoe’s watch alarm startled her, causing her to drop the parasite.
“Shit! Is it time already?” Zoe quickly glanced at her watch. “Okay, let’s just get you all in there quickly!” She picked up the collection dish and poured the rest of them into the box before shoving it into an open slot in a set of boxes. “I’ll worry about filling out the paperwork after!” She quickly rushed out of the Containment room and scrambled to get to the meeting.
Zoe rushed her way to the main lobby, where all the other workers had gathered. She panted, out of breath as she joined up with her division.
“There you are, Zoe!” one of her coworkers said. “What happened?”
“I was down in Containment dealing with a case. Did I miss anything yet?” Zoe asked as she finally caught her breath.
“Not yet. The CEO is about to start,” another coworker said as he hushed and pointed to Garrett Young, who was standing up on a balcony.
“People of SMILK INC!” Garrett said, causing the crowd of employees to hush down. “As I am sure many of you are aware, I come bearing both good and bad news. Firstly, the good news! I have been watching and monitoring the reviews and progress of all the divisions. And, it is with great pleasure that I announce that this year, the Division Promotion will be given to…” Garrett opened up an envelope before reading the contents. “Division 16!”
Zoe’s heart sank more than before. She had tried her hardest to make Division 4 earn that promotion. Despite all the hard effort and all her gusto, Zoe couldn’t help but feel deflated after hearing the news. Still, she clung onto hope as she clutched onto the small jade four leaf clover that Juniper gave her. Even if they didn’t get the promotion, things weren’t all bad.
“And now for the bad news. Due to changes in the economy and new policies that come from the government, we do have to make cuts. So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that Divisions 4, 13, and 25 will be closed down. You have until the end of the day to pack up your belongings. And, of course, we will know if you take anything that doesn’t belong to you.”
Things were all bad.
Zoe fell to her knees. As much as she wanted to, tears didn’t fall from her face. She didn’t even know why. She wasn’t putting on any brave face, but at the same time, everything felt like it was crumbling around her. The rest of whatever Garrett was talking about was a complete blur to her as she dissociated. She turned to see her fellow coworkers in Division 4 consoling each other and crying on shoulders. Some people she recognized from Division 25 had come over give them hugs and comfort as best as they could.
Zoe’s body felt heavy. It felt numb. She didn’t feel anything as she picked up her lunch from the break room. Her desk trinkets might have well as been as light as air the way she packed them without thinking. All sound was muffled to her, in one ear and out the other. She couldn’t tell whether coworkers were upset at the choices made, or at her for giving them hope. Zoe didn’t care. It felt like nothing mattered right now.
Zoe didn’t snap back to reality until she realized she was sitting in her car, holding her phone with her boyfriend’s number at the ready. Absent-mindedly, she dialed him to tell him the tragic news.
“Stanley… I… got let go from work today. They just announced it and… I finished packing up all my stuff. I just…” She sniffled, still feeling incredibly numb. “I know you’re probably busy right now, but… I need you dear… So, can I come-”
“Shit! Did you accidentally accept the call? How long has this call been going?” Stanley said, clearly not directing his voice to Zoe.
“Oops, sorry! Maybe she didn’t hear anything.”
The call hung up as Zoe stared beyond the horizon. That second voice was none other than her sister, Sabrina. Zoe recognized the out of breath nature of Stanley. Her mind clicked to what happened, but she didn’t want to accept it. No matter how she tried to reframe it, there was no mistaking it. She had called them while the two of them were doing each other and Sabrina accidentally accepted the call.
How? How long? How long had this been going on? Had she been played like a fool for days? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? Zoe clutched her chest as she breathed shakily. Had she angered some sort of divinity? Did she accidentally piss off a witch and was cursed? Was she just doomed to the worst day imaginable?
The next thing Zoe knew, she was back at the parking lot at her apartment. Her body had autopiloted its way back home. She slowly got out of the car, leaving her belongings inside. She shuffled to the door, going through the keys to find the one to her apartment.
As she was inserting the key, the door opened up on its own.
Confusion quickly turned to utter fear as she creaked open the door, seeing barren floors and walls. There was nothing. No furniture. No valuables. Anything remotely expensive had been taken.
Her mind flashed back to this morning. Juniper. She had talked to Zoe before Zoe locked her door. She left her apartment unlocked.
Zoe walked from room to room, looking at the barren spots where valuables and little trinkets had been, collecting dust. The only thing that had been left behind was the bed that couldn’t fit out of the doorframe.
She had no job. No boyfriend. And now, nothing in her apartment. Not even mind-numbing trash TV was an option for her.
She faceplanted down onto her bed, utterly limp. She kicked off her shoes and stared into the darkness. It was at this moment that tears finally fell from Zoe’s eyes. She had nothing. Everything was just gone. All her hard work, all her efforts, all her life was taken from her in a single day. Zoe rolled over and stared at the ceiling as the tears continued to stream down her face.
“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “There’s no way that this day could get any fucking worse!”
Then, she felt something. Something crawling on her leg. Zoe looked down, seeing nothing at first. Then, she sat up to try and get a better angle. There was one of the worm things from earlier.
Unknown to Zoe at the time, when the watch alarm startled her, the parasite she was holding didn’t drop down back into the collection dish. Instead, it hit the rim of the dish and bounced off, and landed into a part of her shoe that she couldn’t feel. It had stuck with her the whole time.
Before Zoe’s mind could comprehend anything more, after being beaten and battered all day with bad thing after bad thing, the parasite arched back. It let out a horrific scream before it suddenly lunged at Zoe.
That was the last thing she remembered before everything went black.
Zoe groaned awake as her eyes fluttered open.
“What happened?”
She looked around, finding herself in her room. As her eyes went over the empty spaces where her things used to be, she began to recall.
“Oh, right.” She slammed her fist on her bed. It hadn’t been a nightmare. The firing. The cheating. The robbery. The parasite.
The parasite.
Zoe quickly checked her body for any sign of the parasite. There was a hole in her shirt, but to her shock, her body looked untouched. To double check, she rushed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. There was one big noticeable change. Her irises were a vivid purple color now.
“What the fuck happened?”
Zoe felt a strange feeling in her throat. She coughed, then coughed again, then harder and harder until she eventually spit something up. Inside of her bathroom sink was one of the worm parasites. Zoe shrieked and backed away, falling to the ground as the parasite wiggled to the edge of the counter.
“My queen, what is your command?”
Zoe shrieked again. There was no way that thing just fucking talked! Now she had lost her mind. She was crazy. The stress and trauma of everything today made her go insane and now she was spitting up parasites and they were talking to her.
“My queen, what is your command?” the parasite asked again.
“What the fuck is going on!?” Zoe shouted.
“Ah, you are confused, my queen.” The parasite inched a little closer to the edge of the sink. “You are the queen of the Thaviothes. Normally, we take over a host and control them, but, there was something different about you. I believe when we tried to attack your heart, there was something that reacted with us.”
Zoe looked down at her chest, where the hole was. She reached into the breast pocket and pulled out half of the jade trinket that Juniper had given her.
“Ah, that would be it. That caused a chemical and biological reaction in us. Rather than you being subservient to us, we are now subservient to you. Though, we did bond with you, and that shared some of your intelligence with us.” The parasite nodded its head, as if it was bowing. “You are our queen. The legion of Thaviothes is at your command.”
“Legion of Thaviothes?” Zoe said. As the words left her lips, somehow, in some way, it felt right. It felt like a normal fact. She turned to the parasite. “What can you do?”
“The only thing we can do as parasites is infect others by burrowing into them. But, once we do, they become under your absolute command,” the parasite explained.
“My absolute command?” Zoe said as she stared at the parasite.
“Yes. Their mind, their body, and their will will all belong entirely to you,” the parasite explained. “They will never disobey you and be eternally yours.”
Zoe slowly stood up and walked over to the mirror. She looked at herself again. Then, out of the corner of the mirror, she saw her empty room.
An idea came to her. This world had just taken so much from her. It took her life. Everything she had built up and put effort into. All because it could. So… why should she just let it? Why should she accept that this was how things were. She could change things. She could do something. She could control it. A smile drew wide across her face as she laughed to herself. At first a small chuckle, then louder, until finally a full on cackling.
She turned to the parasite. “You. I’m going to call you Thaddeus.”
The parasite nodded. “I am honored to be named Thaddeus, my queen.”
She gently picked the parasite up in her hands.
“And together, Thaddeus. You and I are going to take back my life and so. Much. More!”
Peter and his family were having the ideal vacation, away from the hustle and bustle. However, that wouldn't last long as an alien interrupts their time and takes over his father and his sister! Now, with his mother, the two of them have to manage having an alien taking over half of their family as they try to figure out a solution while hiding the truth from any nosy neighbors.
Peter Shale woke up, thinking nothing of the strange feeling that was lingering in the air. He stretched as he shook off the remnants of last night’s wet dream.
“Damn, that was a good one,” he said to himself as he stripped off his boxers and slipped into a fresh pair. “Getting to double team Stacy and Isabelle in a hot tub. Gonna definitely save that for the future spank bank.”
Peter grabbed his phone, checking out all the notifications from last night. Most of which were snapchats from his friends hanging out at different parties, banging different chicks. He responded to a few of them, wishing that he could have been there with them. But, sadly, he had to be here at home as his family was preparing for their annual excursion.
Though, he couldn’t really complain. After all, he was getting to visit the beaches of Catalahara for free. A weekend of bright sun, warm weather, and all the hotties in bikinis. Now it would be his friends who would be jealous of him. A few of them had sent him messages wishing him good luck and to have fun on his vacation.
“Peter! Are you awake yet?”
“Yeah! I’m coming down soon!” Peter shouted down, responding to his mother that had called out to him. He hopped out of bed and threw on the clothes that he had set aside for today. Just a simple blue T-shirt and jeans, totally fine for the trip to the beach. He combed his hair up, admiring himself in the mirror. “This year, you’re gonna break your record of 4.” He clicked his tongue at himself and applied some cologne.
Standing at a solid 6’ 2”, he was certainly glad that he was out of his awkward short phase from middle school. Now a 19 year old strapping sophomore in college, he was definitely one to catch the wandering eyes of the ladies. Not that he could blame them; with his toned natural physique, chiseled chin, and deep brown eyes, all it would take was the right look and suave lines to make a lady swoon. And then, once they saw what he was packing at 6 inches, well, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what happened later that night.
Yeah, Peter didn’t really have much to complain about with his life. His parents were very well off, with his mother working as a teacher for the local community college and his father working an office job, so money wasn’t ever really an issue for them. His grades weren’t the best, but they were decent enough to keep getting by. And of course, he had game, living the full college experience with parties, ladies, and fun.
Having finished admiring himself in the mirror, he left his room and headed quickly to the bathroom. He opened up the door and was about to take a whizz when something, or rather someone, stopped him.
“Peter! What the fuck!? Knock jackass!”
Standing there in just a bathrobe was none other than his older sister, Brooke.
Now if Peter was, as he liked to compare himself to, a blue ribbon at the state fair, then Brooke was the winning dish from nationals. Standing at a modest 5’ 6”, she blew Peter’s toned body out of the water with her athletic build. Long blonde hair with pink highlights that she would often dye, gorgeous green eyes, and a killer rack of abs, with most of her body fat going to her D cups, most women would kill for a body like hers. A natural born track star from birth, she held practically every track and field record at their old high school and had the physique to back it up and then some. Not only was she more toned than Peter, but her grades were practically perfect, which she owed to her method of studying while exercising. However, she wasn’t the greatest at being social, preferring to focus more on her studies and exercise, though she did have a few close friends.
Truth be told, if she wasn’t her sister, Peter would be all over a girl like that. She had the body and the brains. However, Brooke had a tendency to remind Peter that not all that glittered was golden.
“Get the fuck out!” Brooke shouted as she pushed Peter out of the bathroom.
“Hey, I need to use the bathroom!” Peter complained as Brooke shoved him.
“Go use the other one. I was here first!” With that, Brooke locked the door.
Peter grumbled, but reluctantly made his way downstairs. Before he could make it to the bathroom, another voice stopped him.
“Come on. It’s vacation time. Can’t you two get along for just a few days?”
This time, it was his father, Hector, stepping out of the master bedroom. Peter was practically a spitting image of his father when he was younger. Hector stood at a respectable 6’ 4”, just a couple inches over Peter. His wavy brown hair fell down along the sides of his head, accenting his beard that was neatly trimmed as always, accented by his brown eyes. Hector was more muscular than Peter, which he owed to the days of being a surfer before he settled down. His physique always made it a little hilarious when the man who looked like the pinnacle of a surfer dude went to work wearing a suit and tie. But, today wasn’t a suit day; today was a day for a black T-shirt and brown shorts.
“Sorry Dad,” Peter said, not wanting to get an earful. “We’ll get alone. I promise.”
“You two better,” Hector said as he patted Peter on the shoulder. “Remember, we’re leaving soon, so don’t take too long.” With that, he made his way to the kitchen.
Peter quickly headed to the bathroom, relieving himself. Finished, he headed to the kitchen at the same time that Brooke made her way downstairs, dressed in a purple tank top and white booty shorts. The two of them headed into the kitchen, and were immediately assaulted by the smells of freshly cooked bacon and flapjacks.
“Now, be sure to eat well. The less stops we have to make for food, the sooner we reach the beaches.”
Handing out the plates of breakfast was Peter’s mother, Veronica. If Peter was the younger version of Hector, then Brooke was the younger version of Veronica. Standing at a surprising 5’ 10”, she had quite the height difference between herself and Brooke than Hector and Peter. She often wore her light blonde hair up in a ponytail to help keep it out of her face. Today, she was wearing a brown top with a bit of a deep U cut to it to accent her E cups and a long green skirt, which fit snugly against her body to show off her hips.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Hector said with a hearty laugh as Peter and Brooke took their seats at the table. “Nice perfume, dear.” Hector said as Veronica handed him a plate.
“Oh, thanks. Thought I’d try something new today,” Veronica said as she handed out plates to Peter and Brooke.
The four of them ate until they were stuffed, cleaned up, and then piled into the car. Hector took up the driver seat, with Veronica in the passenger seat. Peter sat behind Veronica while Brooke was behind Hector. The drive wasn’t too boring, as Peter mostly passed the time by watching videos on his phone. Occasionally, he would hear Brooke adjust herself in her seat as she read her books or hearing his parents flirt back and forth, but he kept focus on his phone. Before long, the view of the beach house appeared on the horizon. Within minutes, they were unpacked and settled in as the sun shone high in the sky.
“Ah, hello Catalahara Beach!” Peter said as he stepped out onto the back porch, basking in the warm sun and the breeze. “How I have missed you.”
“You know, it’s better to get out there than just to stare at it, right?” Brooke said as she came up next to him, wearing a blue bikini that left little to the imagination. She adjusted her sunglasses and headed out through the backyard towards the path that led to the beach. Shortly following behind Brooke was Veronica and Hector, both of whom were wearing their swimsuits and carrying beach towels.
“You gonna get dressed and come along?” Hector asked, his arm around Veronica’s waist.
“Since you’re the last one to leave, be sure to bring along the cooler and the beach bag that’s on the table,” Veronica said as she and Hector headed to the beach.
“Alright, I will,” Peter grumbled as he headed back inside the house. “Not sure why they couldn’t have gotten it,” he muttered to himself. Peter headed to his room and quickly got undressed. He went into his suitcase and slipped on a pair of swimming trunks. Then, he walked around the house, finding the cooler and the beach bag in the kitchen. He slung the bag over his shoulder and dragged the cooler down the path to the beach.
What greeted him was the gorgeous sight of Catalahara Beach and all the beachgoers, enjoying the warm weather and splayed out on display, soaking up the sunlight. Peter could see his family down by the water; Hector already had some chairs set up with Brooke sitting in one of them while Veronica had her feet in the water. Peter wheeled the cooler down and sat it next to the chairs and plopped the bag down onto the sand.
“Time to enjoy this vacation!” Peter said loudly. He was about to head into the water when he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.
“Not so fast,” Hector said as he picked up the bottle of sunscreen and tossed it to Peter. “Be sure to cover up. We don’t need some sunburn to ruin our vacation and you burn faster than a paper bag..”
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Peter said as he squirted out some into his hand. Of course he couldn’t get the genes from his father that made him resistant to sunburns. But, no, only Brooke got those, leaving Peter with his mother’s genes that made them need to use sunscreen far more. He applied it to his face and chest, rubbing it on his arms and legs. But, when it came to reaching his back, his arms weren’t flexible enough to reach everywhere to cover it. Try as he might, there were definitely spots that his hands couldn’t get to.
“Do you need some help?” Veronica asked as she walked up to Peter. “I forgot to apply some sunscreen myself.” Without waiting for a response, Veronica squeezed some sunscreen onto her palms. She moved behind Peter and started to press her hands along his back.
Peter shuddered at the coldness of the sunscreen, juxtaposed to the awkward warmth that his face was feeling and it wasn’t from the sun.
“No! Not again!” Peter thought to himself as he tried to stay still. “Think of anything else!”
Sure, he had taken a few glances here and there, but with how Veronica enjoyed showing off her body, it wasn’t unusual. But, she was his own mother! He had to push the thoughts out of his mind. Unfortunately, it only got filled with memories of his friends commenting about how sexy Veronica was. There were countless beach babes available for him to charm and here he was stuck with these thoughts.
“And done,” Veronica said.
“Great thanks!” Peter shouted as he bolted from where he was to the water’s edge.
“Oh, have fun!” Veronica said. She turned over to Hector, who gave her a wink as he squeezed sunscreen onto his hands.
The moment Peter’s feet hit the water, all the worries and stresses he had built up in his body instantly faded away. He sighed in relief as he waded into the blue waters, slowly heading in deeper and deeper until he was chest deep in and just floated in the water. The sky above had a few clouds, which provided passing shade now and then.
“Yeah, this is the life,” Peter said as he closed his eyes and began to unwind.
The day slipped past as the Shale family enjoyed the first day on the beach. Occasionally, Peter’s efforts of relaxing were drawn away by a bikini-clad lady, or his family calling him in for something. Sometimes it was food, but most of the time, it was so he and Veronica could reapply their sunscreen.
Before long, the sun had long set and most of the other beachgoers had headed back to their homes, but not the Shale family. Instead, against the backdrop of the moonlit night, there was a lone campfire that they were all gathered around.
“So, is there anything exciting that either of you are hoping to do this vacation?” Veronica asked as she looked over to Peter and Brooke.
“I’m content to just enjoy the nice time that we have here,” Brooke said as she flipped to the next page of her book.
“Are you just gonna read the whole time?” Peter sneered at Brooke, to which she just rolled her eyes.
“Well, I know that I heard that Demitri can get us a good price on a set of jetski rides,” Hector said as he leaned forward, tossing another log onto the fire. “How does that sound to you kids?”
“I think that sounds totally awesome!” Peter said, pumping his fists into the air.
“That’s my boy!” Hector said, high fiving him.
“I can’t say that I ever had the chance. I’d love the opportunity, Dad,” Brooke said as she smiled, thinking about getting to ride the waves.
“Well, I’ll be happy to watch from the docks,” Veronica said, leaning up against Hector’s arm.
“Oh, nonsense. You can join me and sit on the back, holding on tight,” Hector said, a bit of a purr in his voice as he pulled Veronica in tighter.
“Well if you insist, my dear,” Veronica said with a light chuckle. She looked up to the sky, admiring the twinkling lights above. “Are they all so beautiful? The stars?”
“Yeah, they sure are pretty. Can’t get views like this back home,” Hector said as he gestured out to the ocean and the moon above.
“Hey,” Peter said as he pointed up to the sky. “Is that a shooting star?”
The four of them all looked to where Peter was pointing, observing a glowing light burning up in the atmosphere.
“Oh, I wish that times like these could last forever,” Veronica said as she looked at the star.
“I wish the same thing,” Hector said as he looked up.
“I wish to get that award that I’ve been trying for,” Brooke said, closing her eyes.
“Well I wish that-” Peter tilted his head as he looked up at the burning light. “Wait, is it getting larger?”
The Shale family looked closely at the light. “Wait,” Brooke said as she squinted. “It’s not getting larger. It’s just getting closer! And it’s coming towards us!”
The four of them scrambled to move out of the way of the incoming light, but the sand proved to be a slippery surface compared to solid ground. Veronica fell almost immediately as she twisted around to run back towards the house. Hector was able to dig his heels in, but turned back to go protect Veronica. Brooke started to run to the side to get out of the way while Peter could only try to duck out of the way, leaping from his seat. But, despite their best efforts, it was too late.
The burning light crashed down into the sand with a mighty force, whipping the sand up in a furious frenzy as the light caved in the ground and creating a crater. The light exploded around in a brilliant light, then fizzled out into small glowing orange embers that gently dissipated into the air.
“Hector! Peter! Brooke!”
Peter could vaguely hear his mother calling out to him. He struggled to open up his eyes, everything swirling around in a daze. His head was ringing from the impact as he tried to focus on what just happened. He forced himself up and off the sand, staggering towards where he heard his mother’s voice.
“I’m over here!” Peter shouted. He walked forward a little more, confused about where exactly he was going. With fire having been taken out by the impact, he had lost all landmarks he could easily focus on. “Whoa!” Peter fell face forward as he tripped over Brooke, who was laying on the sand, so he must have stumbled somehow in her direction. “Brooke, are you alright?” She groaned in response, but didn’t open her eyes. Mustering up his strength, Peter lifted Brooke up and slung her arm over his shoulder.
“Peter! Where are you?” Veronica called out.
“I’m over here!” Peter said as his eyes started to refocus. He dragged Brooke over to Veronica, who was struggling to lift up Hector.
“Here, help me with your father,” Veronica said as Peter set Brooke down. With the two of them, they were able to lift up Hector. Peter held Hector as Veronica went and picked up Brooke. “Come on, back to the house!” Veronica went ahead, bringing Brooke, with Peter following shortly behind.
The two of them brought Brooke and Hector to the house, locking the door behind them. Peter set Hector on the chair in the living room while Veronica laid Brooke onto the couch.
“What the hell was that?” Peter exclaimed as he looked out the backdoor towards the beach. “Was that an asteroid strike? Or a satellite crash?”
“I don’t know,” Veronica said as she rapidly looked over Hector and Brooke. “Peter, are you hurt at all?”
“Just a little shaken up,” Peter said as he checked himself for anything. Thankfully, nothing felt painful and he couldn’t see any scratches or marks. “How are you, Mom?”
“Physically, I’m fine,” Veronica said. “I’m just worried about Hector and Brooke.”
As if on cue, Hector and Brooke stirred awake, causing Veronica to yelp back in surprise. Hector and Brooke looked around, trying to get their bearings. They turned and looked over at Peter and Veronica. Peter and Veronica, meanwhile, stared at them, wide-eyed in fear.
Hector and Brooke both stared with glowing orange eyes, as brilliant as a flame. They looked down at themselves, giving confusing looks. They turned to each other and said something in a language that wasn’t human, conversing back and forth. They closed their eyes and massaged their temples simultaneously. Then, Brooke opened her eyes and turned to Peter, speaking in a strange tone.
“You, where am I?” Brooke asked.
“Brooke?” Peter asked cautiously as he looked at his sister. “It’s okay. Uh, you’re at home. Well, not home, but the beach house.”
“Beach house?” Hector asked as he looked around. “Is this Ixa 15?”
“Is this what?” Veronica asked, very confused. “Uh, dear, we’re at Catalahara Beach.” She turned to Peter. “I think they may have hit their head.”
“No, this body shows no signs of having been injured in the process,” Brooke said as she looked over herself.
“This body?” Peter squinted his eyes. “What the hell is going on?”
Hector stroked his chin as he rubbed his temple. “Ah, more lexicon comes in.” He opened his eyes and frowned. “Ugh, the coordinates were off. I thought I had seen the signal.”
“Signal?” Peter asked.
“Yes. The rapid flickering of lights to signify that this was Ixa 15. But, based on these memories, it would seem that this is not the right planet,” Brooke said.
“Rapid flickering? Planet?” Peter asked, though he started to piece together everything. “Wait, are you…”
“This should have been far easier.” Brooke walked over, getting up near Peter’s face. “I am recalling that you were near the impact site.” She ran her finger along Peter’s body and rubbed it between her fingers. “The particles spread to you, but you were unaffected. Curious.”
“You’re an alien!” Peter shouted, causing Veronica to hug tightly to Peter’s arm.
“Aliens! But, those aren’t real!” Veronica shivered as she looked at Brooke and Hector.
“Ugh, don’t shout,” Brooke and Hector said as they held their heads. “I am still adjusting to how these bodies process sound.”
“Who… What are you?” Peter asked, staring at what used to be his sister and his father.
Hector and Brooke both stood side by side and bowed in perfect synchronous action. They both spoke at the same in perfect unison. “I am Krasid, a traveler from Zorben 18, on my way to Ixa 15. But, it would seem that I mistook a signal from here as the sign for Ixa 15.”
“Wait, which of you is Kas, uh, Kar, uh, Krasid?” Peter stammered.
“Both of us,” Hector and Brooke said. “Well, technically, we are one, shared now across two. Still, you both were at the impact site. How were you unaffected?” Brooke leaned in close to Peter, sniffing him, and then sniffing Veronica. “Ugh, what is that foul stench upon you both? It permeates you strongly. It has a metallic scent to it.” Brooke sniffed her arms and scowled. “It’s on these bodies as well, but not nearly as potent.”
“What?” Peter asked, confused. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what it could possibly be. “Metallic and only strongly on us? Wait, could it be sunscreen?”
“Based on the knowledge from this one,” Brooke said, “I believe that is the case.” She closed her eyes. “Ugh, yes. This one had memorized that the main ingredient is titanium dioxide. Ugh, horrible tasting stuff.”
“So, our sunscreen protected us from you?” Peter asked, looking around frantically for any possible remaining bottles around.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Hector said with a frown. “Ugh, figures that this planet would have such an awful substance.” Hector sighed and looked at the two of them. “I can tell that you two are very shaken up by this. So, allow me to give you some reassurance.” Brooke joined in, her and Hector matching in perfect unison. “I mean you all no harm. I simply wish to make my way to my destination. If you can help me, then I’ll be on my way, no problem.”
“Give us back my husband and daughter!” Veronica shouted from behind the two of them, having slipped away while Krasid was focused on Peter. She sprayed Hector and Brooke with spray-on sunscreen, but the two of them just coughed and wiped it away.
“That stuff only stops the bonding attempt,” Hector said as he flicked off the lotion. “Once we’re already in a host, it won’t do anything.”
“Are… you going to take over Peter and I now?” Veronica said as she stepped back in fear.
“No,” Brooke said with a sigh. “Once a bonding attempt has failed, it won’t work again with that host.” She crossed her arms. “Meaning, no, I won’t be able to bond you two.”
“Well, unbond with them!” Peter shouted. “Give them back!”
Hector sighed and Brooke turned to Peter, speaking to him. “I can’t do that. Once the bonding process has taken effect, separating without the proper materials would cause irreparable damage to the host.” Peter and Veronica both gulped. “And, no idea if your planet has such materials.” Brooke and Hector huffed, emitting a soft cloud of orange lights towards Peter and Veronica. “Now, let’s just calm down.”
Peter and Veronica both felt themselves starting to calm down a little bit. While this was a terrifying situation for them, it would seem that Krasid didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“What will happen to them when you are unbonded if we did it properly?” Peter asked.
“They’ll be unharmed,” Brooke said. “They are still in here, but, more like they are sleeping.” She bowed to Peter as Hector bowed to Veronica. “I swear, that if you help me unbond and get on my way, then I shall return them completely unharmed to you. I will also make sure no harm comes to either of you two.” Brooke and Hector extended their hands. “The memories say that you humans do this gesture to symbolize an agreement. Do we have an agreement?”
Peter looked over at Veronica, unsure of what to do. Krasid seemed genuine in what they were saying, and as of right now, it didn’t seem like they had a choice. Veronica looked back to Peter and nodded, coming to the same conclusion he did.
“Okay, we have an agreement,” Peter said as he shook Brooke’s hand.
Peter Shale woke up, thinking nothing of the strange feeling that was lingering in the air. He stretched as he shook off the remnants of last night’s wet dream.
“Damn, that was a good one,” he said to himself as he stripped off his boxers and slipped into a fresh pair. “Getting to double team Stacy and Isabelle in a hot tub. Gonna definitely save that for the future spank bank.”
Peter grabbed his phone, checking out all the notifications from last night. Most of which were snapchats from his friends hanging out at different parties, banging different chicks. He responded to a few of them, wishing that he could have been there with them. But, sadly, he had to be here at home as his family was preparing for their annual excursion.
Though, he couldn’t really complain. After all, he was getting to visit the beaches of Catalahara for free. A weekend of bright sun, warm weather, and all the hotties in bikinis. Now it would be his friends who would be jealous of him. A few of them had sent him messages wishing him good luck and to have fun on his vacation.
“Peter! Are you awake yet?”
“Yeah! I’m coming down soon!” Peter shouted down, responding to his mother that had called out to him. He hopped out of bed and threw on the clothes that he had set aside for today. Just a simple blue T-shirt and jeans, totally fine for the trip to the beach. He combed his hair up, admiring himself in the mirror. “This year, you’re gonna break your record of 4.” He clicked his tongue at himself and applied some cologne.
Standing at a solid 6’ 2”, he was certainly glad that he was out of his awkward short phase from middle school. Now a 19 year old strapping sophomore in college, he was definitely one to catch the wandering eyes of the ladies. Not that he could blame them; with his toned natural physique, chiseled chin, and deep brown eyes, all it would take was the right look and suave lines to make a lady swoon. And then, once they saw what he was packing at 6 inches, well, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what happened later that night.
Yeah, Peter didn’t really have much to complain about with his life. His parents were very well off, with his mother working as a teacher for the local community college and his father working an office job, so money wasn’t ever really an issue for them. His grades weren’t the best, but they were decent enough to keep getting by. And of course, he had game, living the full college experience with parties, ladies, and fun.
Having finished admiring himself in the mirror, he left his room and headed quickly to the bathroom. He opened up the door and was about to take a whizz when something, or rather someone, stopped him.
“Peter! What the fuck!? Knock jackass!”
Standing there in just a bathrobe was none other than his older sister, Brooke.
Now if Peter was, as he liked to compare himself to, a blue ribbon at the state fair, then Brooke was the winning dish from nationals. Standing at a modest 5’ 6”, she blew Peter’s toned body out of the water with her athletic build. Long blonde hair with pink highlights that she would often dye, gorgeous green eyes, and a killer rack of abs, with most of her body fat going to her D cups, most women would kill for a body like hers. A natural born track star from birth, she held practically every track and field record at their old high school and had the physique to back it up and then some. Not only was she more toned than Peter, but her grades were practically perfect, which she owed to her method of studying while exercising. However, she wasn’t the greatest at being social, preferring to focus more on her studies and exercise, though she did have a few close friends.
Truth be told, if she wasn’t her sister, Peter would be all over a girl like that. She had the body and the brains. However, Brooke had a tendency to remind Peter that not all that glittered was golden.
“Get the fuck out!” Brooke shouted as she pushed Peter out of the bathroom.
“Hey, I need to use the bathroom!” Peter complained as Brooke shoved him.
“Go use the other one. I was here first!” With that, Brooke locked the door.
Peter grumbled, but reluctantly made his way downstairs. Before he could make it to the bathroom, another voice stopped him.
“Come on. It’s vacation time. Can’t you two get along for just a few days?”
This time, it was his father, Hector, stepping out of the master bedroom. Peter was practically a spitting image of his father when he was younger. Hector stood at a respectable 6’ 4”, just a couple inches over Peter. His wavy brown hair fell down along the sides of his head, accenting his beard that was neatly trimmed as always, accented by his brown eyes. Hector was more muscular than Peter, which he owed to the days of being a surfer before he settled down. His physique always made it a little hilarious when the man who looked like the pinnacle of a surfer dude went to work wearing a suit and tie. But, today wasn’t a suit day; today was a day for a black T-shirt and brown shorts.
“Sorry Dad,” Peter said, not wanting to get an earful. “We’ll get alone. I promise.”
“You two better,” Hector said as he patted Peter on the shoulder. “Remember, we’re leaving soon, so don’t take too long.” With that, he made his way to the kitchen.
Peter quickly headed to the bathroom, relieving himself. Finished, he headed to the kitchen at the same time that Brooke made her way downstairs, dressed in a purple tank top and white booty shorts. The two of them headed into the kitchen, and were immediately assaulted by the smells of freshly cooked bacon and flapjacks.
“Now, be sure to eat well. The less stops we have to make for food, the sooner we reach the beaches.”
Handing out the plates of breakfast was Peter’s mother, Veronica. If Peter was the younger version of Hector, then Brooke was the younger version of Veronica. Standing at a surprising 5’ 10”, she had quite the height difference between herself and Brooke than Hector and Peter. She often wore her light blonde hair up in a ponytail to help keep it out of her face. Today, she was wearing a brown top with a bit of a deep U cut to it to accent her E cups and a long green skirt, which fit snugly against her body to show off her hips.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Hector said with a hearty laugh as Peter and Brooke took their seats at the table. “Nice perfume, dear.” Hector said as Veronica handed him a plate.
“Oh, thanks. Thought I’d try something new today,” Veronica said as she handed out plates to Peter and Brooke.
The four of them ate until they were stuffed, cleaned up, and then piled into the car. Hector took up the driver seat, with Veronica in the passenger seat. Peter sat behind Veronica while Brooke was behind Hector. The drive wasn’t too boring, as Peter mostly passed the time by watching videos on his phone. Occasionally, he would hear Brooke adjust herself in her seat as she read her books or hearing his parents flirt back and forth, but he kept focus on his phone. Before long, the view of the beach house appeared on the horizon. Within minutes, they were unpacked and settled in as the sun shone high in the sky.
“Ah, hello Catalahara Beach!” Peter said as he stepped out onto the back porch, basking in the warm sun and the breeze. “How I have missed you.”
“You know, it’s better to get out there than just to stare at it, right?” Brooke said as she came up next to him, wearing a blue bikini that left little to the imagination. She adjusted her sunglasses and headed out through the backyard towards the path that led to the beach. Shortly following behind Brooke was Veronica and Hector, both of whom were wearing their swimsuits and carrying beach towels.
“You gonna get dressed and come along?” Hector asked, his arm around Veronica’s waist.
“Since you’re the last one to leave, be sure to bring along the cooler and the beach bag that’s on the table,” Veronica said as she and Hector headed to the beach.
“Alright, I will,” Peter grumbled as he headed back inside the house. “Not sure why they couldn’t have gotten it,” he muttered to himself. Peter headed to his room and quickly got undressed. He went into his suitcase and slipped on a pair of swimming trunks. Then, he walked around the house, finding the cooler and the beach bag in the kitchen. He slung the bag over his shoulder and dragged the cooler down the path to the beach.
What greeted him was the gorgeous sight of Catalahara Beach and all the beachgoers, enjoying the warm weather and splayed out on display, soaking up the sunlight. Peter could see his family down by the water; Hector already had some chairs set up with Brooke sitting in one of them while Veronica had her feet in the water. Peter wheeled the cooler down and sat it next to the chairs and plopped the bag down onto the sand.
“Time to enjoy this vacation!” Peter said loudly. He was about to head into the water when he felt his father’s hand on his shoulder.
“Not so fast,” Hector said as he picked up the bottle of sunscreen and tossed it to Peter. “Be sure to cover up. We don’t need some sunburn to ruin our vacation and you burn faster than a paper bag..”
“Yeah yeah, I know,” Peter said as he squirted out some into his hand. Of course he couldn’t get the genes from his father that made him resistant to sunburns. But, no, only Brooke got those, leaving Peter with his mother’s genes that made them need to use sunscreen far more. He applied it to his face and chest, rubbing it on his arms and legs. But, when it came to reaching his back, his arms weren’t flexible enough to reach everywhere to cover it. Try as he might, there were definitely spots that his hands couldn’t get to.
“Do you need some help?” Veronica asked as she walked up to Peter. “I forgot to apply some sunscreen myself.” Without waiting for a response, Veronica squeezed some sunscreen onto her palms. She moved behind Peter and started to press her hands along his back.
Peter shuddered at the coldness of the sunscreen, juxtaposed to the awkward warmth that his face was feeling and it wasn’t from the sun.
“No! Not again!” Peter thought to himself as he tried to stay still. “Think of anything else!”
Sure, he had taken a few glances here and there, but with how Veronica enjoyed showing off her body, it wasn’t unusual. But, she was his own mother! He had to push the thoughts out of his mind. Unfortunately, it only got filled with memories of his friends commenting about how sexy Veronica was. There were countless beach babes available for him to charm and here he was stuck with these thoughts.
“And done,” Veronica said.
“Great thanks!” Peter shouted as he bolted from where he was to the water’s edge.
“Oh, have fun!” Veronica said. She turned over to Hector, who gave her a wink as he squeezed sunscreen onto his hands.
The moment Peter’s feet hit the water, all the worries and stresses he had built up in his body instantly faded away. He sighed in relief as he waded into the blue waters, slowly heading in deeper and deeper until he was chest deep in and just floated in the water. The sky above had a few clouds, which provided passing shade now and then.
“Yeah, this is the life,” Peter said as he closed his eyes and began to unwind.
The day slipped past as the Shale family enjoyed the first day on the beach. Occasionally, Peter’s efforts of relaxing were drawn away by a bikini-clad lady, or his family calling him in for something. Sometimes it was food, but most of the time, it was so he and Veronica could reapply their sunscreen.
Before long, the sun had long set and most of the other beachgoers had headed back to their homes, but not the Shale family. Instead, against the backdrop of the moonlit night, there was a lone campfire that they were all gathered around.
“So, is there anything exciting that either of you are hoping to do this vacation?” Veronica asked as she looked over to Peter and Brooke.
“I’m content to just enjoy the nice time that we have here,” Brooke said as she flipped to the next page of her book.
“Are you just gonna read the whole time?” Peter sneered at Brooke, to which she just rolled her eyes.
“Well, I know that I heard that Demitri can get us a good price on a set of jetski rides,” Hector said as he leaned forward, tossing another log onto the fire. “How does that sound to you kids?”
“I think that sounds totally awesome!” Peter said, pumping his fists into the air.
“That’s my boy!” Hector said, high fiving him.
“I can’t say that I ever had the chance. I’d love the opportunity, Dad,” Brooke said as she smiled, thinking about getting to ride the waves.
“Well, I’ll be happy to watch from the docks,” Veronica said, leaning up against Hector’s arm.
“Oh, nonsense. You can join me and sit on the back, holding on tight,” Hector said, a bit of a purr in his voice as he pulled Veronica in tighter.
“Well if you insist, my dear,” Veronica said with a light chuckle. She looked up to the sky, admiring the twinkling lights above. “Are they all so beautiful? The stars?”
“Yeah, they sure are pretty. Can’t get views like this back home,” Hector said as he gestured out to the ocean and the moon above.
“Hey,” Peter said as he pointed up to the sky. “Is that a shooting star?”
The four of them all looked to where Peter was pointing, observing a glowing light burning up in the atmosphere.
“Oh, I wish that times like these could last forever,” Veronica said as she looked at the star.
“I wish the same thing,” Hector said as he looked up.
“I wish to get that award that I’ve been trying for,” Brooke said, closing her eyes.
“Well I wish that-” Peter tilted his head as he looked up at the burning light. “Wait, is it getting larger?”
The Shale family looked closely at the light. “Wait,” Brooke said as she squinted. “It’s not getting larger. It’s just getting closer! And it’s coming towards us!”
The four of them scrambled to move out of the way of the incoming light, but the sand proved to be a slippery surface compared to solid ground. Veronica fell almost immediately as she twisted around to run back towards the house. Hector was able to dig his heels in, but turned back to go protect Veronica. Brooke started to run to the side to get out of the way while Peter could only try to duck out of the way, leaping from his seat. But, despite their best efforts, it was too late.
The burning light crashed down into the sand with a mighty force, whipping the sand up in a furious frenzy as the light caved in the ground and creating a crater. The light exploded around in a brilliant light, then fizzled out into small glowing orange embers that gently dissipated into the air.
“Hector! Peter! Brooke!”
Peter could vaguely hear his mother calling out to him. He struggled to open up his eyes, everything swirling around in a daze. His head was ringing from the impact as he tried to focus on what just happened. He forced himself up and off the sand, staggering towards where he heard his mother’s voice.
“I’m over here!” Peter shouted. He walked forward a little more, confused about where exactly he was going. With fire having been taken out by the impact, he had lost all landmarks he could easily focus on. “Whoa!” Peter fell face forward as he tripped over Brooke, who was laying on the sand, so he must have stumbled somehow in her direction. “Brooke, are you alright?” She groaned in response, but didn’t open her eyes. Mustering up his strength, Peter lifted Brooke up and slung her arm over his shoulder.
“Peter! Where are you?” Veronica called out.
“I’m over here!” Peter said as his eyes started to refocus. He dragged Brooke over to Veronica, who was struggling to lift up Hector.
“Here, help me with your father,” Veronica said as Peter set Brooke down. With the two of them, they were able to lift up Hector. Peter held Hector as Veronica went and picked up Brooke. “Come on, back to the house!” Veronica went ahead, bringing Brooke, with Peter following shortly behind.
The two of them brought Brooke and Hector to the house, locking the door behind them. Peter set Hector on the chair in the living room while Veronica laid Brooke onto the couch.
“What the hell was that?” Peter exclaimed as he looked out the backdoor towards the beach. “Was that an asteroid strike? Or a satellite crash?”
“I don’t know,” Veronica said as she rapidly looked over Hector and Brooke. “Peter, are you hurt at all?”
“Just a little shaken up,” Peter said as he checked himself for anything. Thankfully, nothing felt painful and he couldn’t see any scratches or marks. “How are you, Mom?”
“Physically, I’m fine,” Veronica said. “I’m just worried about Hector and Brooke.”
As if on cue, Hector and Brooke stirred awake, causing Veronica to yelp back in surprise. Hector and Brooke looked around, trying to get their bearings. They turned and looked over at Peter and Veronica. Peter and Veronica, meanwhile, stared at them, wide-eyed in fear.
Hector and Brooke both stared with glowing orange eyes, as brilliant as a flame. They looked down at themselves, giving confusing looks. They turned to each other and said something in a language that wasn’t human, conversing back and forth. They closed their eyes and massaged their temples simultaneously. Then, Brooke opened her eyes and turned to Peter, speaking in a strange tone.
“You, where am I?” Brooke asked.
“Brooke?” Peter asked cautiously as he looked at his sister. “It’s okay. Uh, you’re at home. Well, not home, but the beach house.”
“Beach house?” Hector asked as he looked around. “Is this Ixa 15?”
“Is this what?” Veronica asked, very confused. “Uh, dear, we’re at Catalahara Beach.” She turned to Peter. “I think they may have hit their head.”
“No, this body shows no signs of having been injured in the process,” Brooke said as she looked over herself.
“This body?” Peter squinted his eyes. “What the hell is going on?”
Hector stroked his chin as he rubbed his temple. “Ah, more lexicon comes in.” He opened his eyes and frowned. “Ugh, the coordinates were off. I thought I had seen the signal.”
“Signal?” Peter asked.
“Yes. The rapid flickering of lights to signify that this was Ixa 15. But, based on these memories, it would seem that this is not the right planet,” Brooke said.
“Rapid flickering? Planet?” Peter asked, though he started to piece together everything. “Wait, are you…”
“This should have been far easier.” Brooke walked over, getting up near Peter’s face. “I am recalling that you were near the impact site.” She ran her finger along Peter’s body and rubbed it between her fingers. “The particles spread to you, but you were unaffected. Curious.”
“You’re an alien!” Peter shouted, causing Veronica to hug tightly to Peter’s arm.
“Aliens! But, those aren’t real!” Veronica shivered as she looked at Brooke and Hector.
“Ugh, don’t shout,” Brooke and Hector said as they held their heads. “I am still adjusting to how these bodies process sound.”
“Who… What are you?” Peter asked, staring at what used to be his sister and his father.
Hector and Brooke both stood side by side and bowed in perfect synchronous action. They both spoke at the same in perfect unison. “I am Krasid, a traveler from Zorben 18, on my way to Ixa 15. But, it would seem that I mistook a signal from here as the sign for Ixa 15.”
“Wait, which of you is Kas, uh, Kar, uh, Krasid?” Peter stammered.
“Both of us,” Hector and Brooke said. “Well, technically, we are one, shared now across two. Still, you both were at the impact site. How were you unaffected?” Brooke leaned in close to Peter, sniffing him, and then sniffing Veronica. “Ugh, what is that foul stench upon you both? It permeates you strongly. It has a metallic scent to it.” Brooke sniffed her arms and scowled. “It’s on these bodies as well, but not nearly as potent.”
“What?” Peter asked, confused. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what it could possibly be. “Metallic and only strongly on us? Wait, could it be sunscreen?”
“Based on the knowledge from this one,” Brooke said, “I believe that is the case.” She closed her eyes. “Ugh, yes. This one had memorized that the main ingredient is titanium dioxide. Ugh, horrible tasting stuff.”
“So, our sunscreen protected us from you?” Peter asked, looking around frantically for any possible remaining bottles around.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Hector said with a frown. “Ugh, figures that this planet would have such an awful substance.” Hector sighed and looked at the two of them. “I can tell that you two are very shaken up by this. So, allow me to give you some reassurance.” Brooke joined in, her and Hector matching in perfect unison. “I mean you all no harm. I simply wish to make my way to my destination. If you can help me, then I’ll be on my way, no problem.”
“Give us back my husband and daughter!” Veronica shouted from behind the two of them, having slipped away while Krasid was focused on Peter. She sprayed Hector and Brooke with spray-on sunscreen, but the two of them just coughed and wiped it away.
“That stuff only stops the bonding attempt,” Hector said as he flicked off the lotion. “Once we’re already in a host, it won’t do anything.”
“Are… you going to take over Peter and I now?” Veronica said as she stepped back in fear.
“No,” Brooke said with a sigh. “Once a bonding attempt has failed, it won’t work again with that host.” She crossed her arms. “Meaning, no, I won’t be able to bond you two.”
“Well, unbond with them!” Peter shouted. “Give them back!”
Hector sighed and Brooke turned to Peter, speaking to him. “I can’t do that. Once the bonding process has taken effect, separating without the proper materials would cause irreparable damage to the host.” Peter and Veronica both gulped. “And, no idea if your planet has such materials.” Brooke and Hector huffed, emitting a soft cloud of orange lights towards Peter and Veronica. “Now, let’s just calm down.”
Peter and Veronica both felt themselves starting to calm down a little bit. While this was a terrifying situation for them, it would seem that Krasid didn’t want to hurt anyone.
“What will happen to them when you are unbonded if we did it properly?” Peter asked.
“They’ll be unharmed,” Brooke said. “They are still in here, but, more like they are sleeping.” She bowed to Peter as Hector bowed to Veronica. “I swear, that if you help me unbond and get on my way, then I shall return them completely unharmed to you. I will also make sure no harm comes to either of you two.” Brooke and Hector extended their hands. “The memories say that you humans do this gesture to symbolize an agreement. Do we have an agreement?”
Peter looked over at Veronica, unsure of what to do. Krasid seemed genuine in what they were saying, and as of right now, it didn’t seem like they had a choice. Veronica looked back to Peter and nodded, coming to the same conclusion he did.
“Okay, we have an agreement,” Peter said as he shook Brooke’s hand.
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