Organism Ch. 05

Owen had to scramble to get all the tools he'd need for repairing the surveillance farm. Truth be told, he didn't have to repair the cameras themselves, just salvage the footage that had already been recorded. Something that was, admittedly, a lot easier said than done. The culprit really did a number on this thing.

It didn't help matters that most of the systems in the security room were old and severely out of date. Then again, that had never been a problem before now. Hell, he couldn't even remember the last time anyone had to come in here for any reason. Most of the hardware in here had started to collect dust. Something else that really wasn't helping the repair job along.

Still, he was determined to get that footage. Owen wanted to know what was going on here just as badly as the Captain did. It felt like their ship had acquired a ghost. Some sort of phantom stalking them in the halls. Even just walking down here, he could feel eyes on the back of his head.

Come to think of it...he could still feel eyes on the back of his head.

"Any luck?"

The engineer jumped out of his skin, banging his head on the metal casing above him. He groaned in pain before cursing under his breath and turning around. Samantha was standing behind him, leaning against the doorway to the security room. She looked around at everything, noting the dusty old room they barely used was covered in large boxy computer equipment and deep blue lighting. Owen had seemingly gutted one of these machines and was in the process of swapping out parts and crossing wires.

"So this is what it looks like in here. I was always curious," she admitted.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Chris look for the others?" he asked while turning back to his work.

"Just thought I'd come check on you." Samantha checked over her shoulder before approaching him. "So...what all have you managed to recover?"

He shook his head. "Nothing yet. But if I can splice these two systems together, we should have something."

"Well, that's good to know." Her hand rested on the grip of her pistol. "Man...Jess really did a number on this thing."

The engineer chuckled. "Yeah, maybe. But it was clear she didn't think to..." A thought occurred to him, and he turned around. "...hold on. How do you know it was, Je..."

He was answered by the barrel of a bolt caster aimed right in his face. Owen lowered his head and sighed in frustration.

"Well, shit..."

"Sorry, Owen," Samantha apologized with a condescending grin on her face. "But I'm gonna need you to go ahead and step away from that hard drive for me."

"It was you two?" he asked incredulously while slowly standing up with his hands in the air. "Why, Samantha? Why did you want Kevin dead?"

She snickered maliciously. "Well, admittedly, I didn't. That was entirely Jess's plan. I hadn't quite been added to the equation yet, so to speak."

He just glared at her in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough," she assured, her reptilian eyes glowing yellow. "See, once Master is inside you, everything just starts to make sense. Your life, your job, your reason for living, all of it becomes so beautifully simple."

He took a step back, horror etching into his features. "Jesus Christ, what happened to you, Samantha?"

"I evolved, is what." A shiver of pleasure ran up her spine. "Master has so much to offer. Especially to jaded bitter lonely women like me and Jess. But even you have a place in the family, Owen. You just have to embrace it the way Jess and I have."

A figure emerged behind her armed with a fire extinguisher. They placed a finger over their lips. He didn't so much as look in their direction.

"You know what? I think I'm good," he insisted. "My cultist days are well and truly behind me, I fear."

She laughed at his response. "Oh, we're hardly a cult, hun. When I say Jess and I are family now, I mean it. We share the same genes. Master's genes, specifically."

The figure behind her crept a little closer, being especially careful not to make a sound.

"And who is this Master of yours, exactly?"

"Sorry, but I'm not quite at liberty to give out that information just yet. Rest assured; all will be explained once you meet him for yourself." With a firm grip on the pistol, she then added. "And before you ask, no, there isn't a choice being offered here."

He smirked at her. "Who said anything about needing one?"

Samantha narrowed her gaze at him whereupon her instincts kicked in. She spun around...

...only for Rebecca to smash her over the head with the fire extinguisher in her hands.

She was knocked flat on the ground, dropping her gun in the process. Owen quickly snatched up the weapon before aiming it at Samantha, who appeared to be out cold.

"You alright?" Rebecca asked.

He nodded. "Glad to see you're not dead."

"Not yet, at least," she admitted, looking a little pale. "Owen, I think there might be something wrong with me. I keep having..."

Rebecca dropped the fire extinguisher and clutched at her chest while grimacing in pain. He ran over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

She pointed to the comatose Samantha. "That bitch put something in me. I can feel it..." Another sharp pain hit her, and she coughed violently. "...fuck, it hurts so bad!"

"We need to get you to the medbay," he insisted.

She gestured to Samantha. "What do we do about her?"

Owen chuckled confidently. "After that blow to the dome? I don't think she'll be getting up any...time..."

His voice trailed off, and they both slowly backed away as Samantha lurched up from the ground and stood, popping her neck with a loud crack before turning to face them. She smiled, revealing a set of razor-sharp canines.

"So you're finally awake. Guess that broom closet I stuffed you in wasn't as secure as I thought."

"What did you do to me?" Rebecca demanded, trying to hide the tremor of fear that had formed in her voice at the sight of Samantha's reptilian eyes.

She snickered at her devilishly. "It was just a little kiss from the lips between my hips, Rebecca. I wanted to show my gratitude for how good it felt having your tongue on my pussy. So I thought I'd leave a little piece of me inside you."

Rebecca's skin turned deathly pale, and her blood ran cold.

"She'll be waking up soon," Samantha insisted sardonically. "The only way this doesn't end in your death is by coming with me."

Owen aimed the gun at her. "I'm warning you, stay back!"

She rolled her eyes at the threat. "You really don't get what you're dealing with here, do you?"

Without warning, Samantha dashed towards him, moving inhumanely fast. She grabbed his wrist and purposefully placed the gun against her own forehead, much to Owen's utter astonishment.

"Well, go ahead. Do it," she insisted with wild eyes, a psychotic smile stretched across her face. "Put a bolt through my head, Owen. I fucking dare you."

He was paralyzed at that moment. Whatever this inhuman creature was, it was not the Samantha he knew. She chuckled at him sardonically.

"What's the matter? Too chickenshit? Here." She wrapped her thumb around his trigger finger. "Let me show you something neat."

The gun fired, sending a bolt of superheated plasma straight through her skull and then out the back. Samantha fell back to the ground, that same psychotic grin on her face as blood pooled out the back of her head. Owen and Rebecca both slowly backed away.

"What the fuck?" she spoke in a low, horrified tone.

"Crazy bitch is certifiable."

Suddenly the blood pooling out the back of Samantha's head turned black. It began moving in the opposite direction, filling up the hole in her skull before sealing it shut. Owen shook his head in denial, the gun in his hand lowering to the ground.

"No...no way. I refuse to believe it."

Samantha lurched up, bearing her razor-sharp teeth at them. "What do you think? Pretty slick, huh?"

He unloaded on her, pumping round after round into her chest cavity whereupon they both turned and bolted for the door. Samantha was already rising back on her feet, her wounds regenerating.

"Mira, emergency quarantine procedures now!" the engineer shouted.

"Confirmed. Isolating contagion. Sealing compartment."

A thick metal door slammed shut from above moments before Samantha could give chase, trapping her in the security room and cutting her off from her quarry. She smiled at them from the other side of the glass, ears growing into points, talons extending from her fingers.

"You think this will stop me?" she spoke from the other side of the reinforced glass. "Better start running, little manthings."

Samantha leaped up into the air, vanishing from sight. An alarm started blaring as the bulkhead began to rumble.

"Alert! Quarantine breach in security room. Unknown biological organism is breaking through containment."

"She's using the vents!" Owen shouted before taking Rebecca by the hand and tugging. "We've gotta move!"

They sprinted towards the direction of the cargo bay, alarms sounding off overhead. Once they were on the other side, Mira sealed off the next deck. From there, Rebecca and Owen began navigating through the maze of metal crates and containers toward a maintenance hatch that would lead them back to the crew deck.

Rebecca only made it a few yards before dropping to a knee in pain, coughing up into her palm.

"You still with me?" he asked her worriedly.

She stared down at the blood on her palm, a grim look on her face. "Owen...maybe you should just leave me here. This is looking pretty bad."

"Like hell!" he responded sharply. "Come on. We're almost at the medbay. Worse comes to worst; we can put you in cryofreeze."

"If you think that will save her, then by all means, go right ahead."

The sound of another voice brought them back on full alert. Owen aimed his gun at its source, but nothing was there.

"But you're wasting your time. She's as good as dead if she doesn't come with us."

It came from a different direction this time. Owen spun around and took aim.

"Show yourself!" he demanded.

"Over here!" the voice insisted.

He turned. Nothing.

"No, wait! Over here!"

Again, nothing. They were just toying with him now. Owen felt someone tap his shoulder. He spun around.

Jess was smiling from ear to pointed ear, razor teeth glistening, eyes glowing as she waggled two little fingers at him.

"Hey there, stud."

He was sent flying into the far container by two inhumanly powerful legs, with Jess hand springing off his chest before leaping nimbly onto a different container. The naked girl giggled before dropping onto her stomach and kicking her feet playfully in the air, segmented tail swaying to and fro.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" she inquired, head resting in her hands.

Rebecca darted over to him. "You alright?"

He groaned in pain as she helped him back to his feet. "I'll live."

"Debatable," Jess retorted from her perch.

Owen took aim at her with his bolt caster. "What the hell are you?"

"You mean you don't recognize me, Owen?" she giggled, her fangs gleaming with a phosphorescent coating. "It's me. Jess. Don't I look good?"

"Jess, please, whatever it is you and Samantha are doing, we don't want any part of it," Rebecca pleaded. "Just let us go."

She scoffed at her dismissively. "Don't be such a prude, Rebecca. Trust me, once Master is inside you, it feels incredible." Her playful grin widened. "I have it on good authority you give amazing head. Ever had your pussy licked by a bitch with a prehensile tongue?"

Jess demonstrated her abilities by lolling her tongue out between her predatory canines. The long red appendage snaked from between her lips, where she proceeded to flex and wiggle and corkscrew the muscle proudly. Rebecca stepped back fearfully from the creature she had become while Owen stepped in front of her.

"We're leaving," he insisted. "If you get in our way, I will shoot."

"You can leave if you want," Jess assured after retracting her tongue. "I mean, you're gonna die soon anyway, Owen. There's not much room for other men in this family except as biomass, I'm afraid." She then turned her yellow gaze to the communication officer. "But she's coming with me."

Rebecca shook her head vehemently. "So I can end up like Kevin? I'd sooner eat a plasma bolt."

She sighed at that wearily before sitting up on the cargo container and swinging her feet around to jump back down onto the ground below. Owen kept his gun trained on her as she slowly approached.

"Now, let's not do anything rash, shall we? That's my darling niece you've got tucked away in your chest, Rebecca."

The communication officer started to turn green.

"She'll kill you if you don't come with me," Jess insisted. "Once implanted, there's no stopping the gestation process. In about twenty minutes, she'll come bursting out of your chest, and you will die." She slowly sauntered up to them. "Unless...you let me help you."

"Rebecca's not going anywhere with you," Owen warned, pointing the gun right at her face. "If you come any closer, I will fire."

She raised an inquisitive brow at him, her hands on her cocked hips, tail swishing dangerously. "Do you even know how to use that thing? I'm gonna go with probably not."

"Why are you doing this to us, Jess?" Rebecca asked, genuine hurt forming in her voice. "We're your crewmates, your friends. Whatever that thing that's gotten inside your head wants, it isn't worth it."

"Oh, Rebecca, you misunderstand," the nubile young creature spoke while running her hands along her naked form. "You make it sound like I'm trying to turn you into a zombie, but nothing could be further from the truth." She shuddered in pure arousal. "This is ambrosia I am offering you. All your fears, all your anxieties, all the needless worries and stresses of your brief, fragile manthing life taken away. Replaced with the joy of creation, of bringing new life into the world like my darling son."

"There's more to human life than just breeding," Owen insisted, gun trembling in his hands.

She sighed at him in frustration. "So you may claim. And yet I've never seen it. Not once." As she spoke, Jess inspected her talons for chips and dirt. "When I was still human, I thought with enough effort; I could do anything with my life. But it wasn't until I cast my humanity aside that I could finally see just how wrong I was. Life itself isn't even a guarantee, much less a happy one. The best you can truly hope for is that you don't have to go through it alone."

A bitter scowl formed on her face for a moment.

"And that's how I was before Master took me in. Alone. Isolated. No parents. No family. No one in my life who truly loved me. Why do you think I joined this crew? It was so I could finally have a place where I felt like I belonged. Where I wasn't written off as clingy or desperate, judged constantly by callow, mundane little harpies for my life choices."

"You never told us any of this," Rebecca insisted angrily.

Jess laughed at her. "That's just it. None of you gave enough of a shit to listen. Only Master cared. He probed my mind and found my deepest insecurities, replacing them with his love, with the instincts I would need in my new life." Her wicked smile returned. "You act as if I'm some mindless victim, but nothing could be further from the truth. I am fully cognizant and aware of my own actions. Almost scarily so."

"If that were really true, then you would know what you're doing is wrong," she insisted. "The Jess I know wouldn't hurt a fly, much less murder one of her own crew."

"Shows how little you truly knew me before the change," Jess retorted. "Every lifeform possesses the capacity to kill in order to survive. And in that regard, there is no greater survivor than that of my Master. Having been filled with his love, I now see just how wrong I truly was about the way life works. I'm not indoctrinated. I have been freed. Freed from any form of worry or desire beyond the survival and propagation of my brood."

"That thing has turned you into its slave!" Owen shouted. "You're sick, Jess. Can't you see that?"

She shook her head, as calm as ever. "You're wrong, Owen. As are all manthings like you. Your kind is all trapped in a perpetual cycle of self-loathing and existential dread, blind to your own nature, trapped in an unwinnable game seeking answers to questions that simply don't exist." Jess giggled and ran her fingers through her segmented tail. "But not me. Not anymore. Master has torn the veil from my eyes, and now I can finally see just how simple life truly is. Life is all about propagation. Nothing more and nothing less."

"You're insane," Owen insisted.

She cackled at him. "Oh, I'm insane?! You were raised by cultists, Owen, ignorant masses of flesh looking for a higher purpose to escape their own existential dread."

"Yeah, and I abandoned them. Just as I'm not going to let you or your 'Master' take me or anyone else."

She flashed her sparkling fangs maliciously and lowered herself down onto all fours. "Your biomass is needed to propagate the hive. One way or another, I will take it from you."

He fired his gun, hitting nothing but the floor as Jess dashed to the side.

"The species that adapts is the one which survives. And the species that survives is the species that wins. That has been the nature of the cosmos since before the dawn of this realm of existence."

He fired again. Another miss as she darted up a cargo container.

"Life feeds upon life in a never-ending cycle. Whether you surrender to your family willingly or not is ultimately irrelevant. Whether through the bliss of pleasure or the thrill of the hunt..."

"Stop fucking with us!" he roared before firing up at her again.

She leaped into the air, vanishing into the darkness above.

"...what fun we shall have, little manthings."

With her disappearance, the two were enveloped in unnerving silence. Rebecca looked like she was a thousand light years away at that moment.

"Come on! We're getting out of here!" the engineer insisted before taking her by the arm and tugging her toward the direction of freedom.

They ran for it, two desperate humans making a mad bid for escape. Her giggling voice haunted the pair around every corner, every bend through the maze-like passages of crates and containers. A crate fell in front of them, obstructing their path and cutting them off.

Jess' laugh came from behind. But how was that possible?

"This way!"

Owen led her down another path. There were two sets of footprints darting along the containers above, two sets of glowing eyes. That must have been Samantha with her. Another container fell directly in front of them.

"Dammit!" Owen shouted. "Stop toying with us!"

Rather than respond, their predator began to sing.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star. I know what you really are."

They took off again, retracing their steps like rats in a maze.

"Just a burning ball of gas. Soon the life you give shall pass."

Another crate fell, cutting off their last route of escape. There was a figure smiling at Rebecca from the shadows. It had glowing yellow eyes like Jess, only far bigger, and a massive sparkling smile of razor-sharp teeth. It vanished into the ceiling above.

"Twinkle, twinkle, empty star. Your light only shines so far."

"Come out!" Owen bellowed. "Stop toying with us and come out you monster!"

"Twinkle, twinkle, angry man."

He fired indiscriminately at the yellow eyes darting about in the shadows.

"You don't seem to understand."

Rebecca backed herself into a corner. This was hopeless.

"Biomass is all you'll be. Once my Master is set free."

Something descended from the ceiling directly above her.

"Faceless flesh upon the wall."