Organism X Ch. 09

"The Professor is finishing up now," she said. "It's a fascinating creature, whatever it is."

"I just want them gone," Haley said.

Molly nodded.

"Yeah, that's fair. It seems they've caused a lot of harm already."

"So, you believe us now?"

The teaching assistant smiled and pulled up a chair next to Haley.

"I believed you guys from the start. After all, it was Melissa and her friend who helped me bring those eggs over in the first place. I mean, for God's sake, we found them all over some poor RAs room. By the way," Molly turned to Melissa. "Where is Erin?"

Melissa's head shot up and her eyes bulged.

"No," she whimpered.

"She got turned," Haley said.

Molly's entire face fell.

"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry."

Melissa's face was turning bright red. She quickly looked away from Molly and put her head back down on the table. Molly, clearly feeling awkward, turned back to Haley and forced a smile.

For her part, Haley felt like a rubber band being pulled to the breaking point. Her chest felt tight and she could feel her blood pumping in her right temple. Where were all these nerves coming from suddenly?

"Your name is Haley, right?" Molly asked.

Haley nodded.

"Yeah. So how long have you known Professor Pierce?" Haley hated small talk, but she didn't know what else to do. Her friend was melting down next to her and there was an alien autopsy going on in the other room.

"Just since freshman year. She took me under her wing, but she does that for most of her students."

"That sounds nice," Haley said. "To be honest, I've felt kind of lost since coming here. It would be nice to have a mentor."

Molly casually patted Haley's back. Her touch was gentle and reassuring, full of warmth and sisterly support. It was enough to lift Haley out of her gloom a slight bit.

"Well, if you're going into bio, Pierce has you covered. She takes care of everyone in the program. Hell, she is the program! Did you know she's the youngest department chair in the history of the school? For any program!"

Haley could see why. Having only known Professor Vanessa Pierce for a few minutes, even she could see the rabid zeal Pierce had for her subject.

"Actually, I'm an English Major. I'm really not a science person."

Molly let out a short, high pitch laugh reminiscent of a small dog's yip. It didn't match her at all.

"I said the same thing. Then I got roped in," the teaching assistant ran her hand through her short, chestnut colored hair and flashed a bright smile.

"Yeah, I guess anything is possible," Haley said.

At that moment, the door to the lab flew open and the professor stepped into the classroom wearing a triumphant look on her face. Bethany huddled behind her, her eyes wide with awe.

"She's so cool!" The girl mouthed at Haley.

"Come on, you three. I wanna show you something," Professor Pierce said.

They followed her into the lab, seeing the messy, dissected remains of the worm laid out on a steel tray next to a microscope and a beaker filled with bits of green flesh. The strange, sweet smell in the room was even more pungent now, causing Haley to scrunch up her nose as it hit her.

The four of them formed a semi-circle around Professor Pierce, who hunched over the microscope. The professor adjusted the view several times before her face lit up. She popped her head up and pointed at Molly.

"Take a look. Tell me what you see."

Molly peered through the lens and furrowed her brow. Then, after a few seconds of looking, she gasped.

"What is it?" Haley asked.

This whole experience was becoming exasperating. She just wanted Professor Pierce to find a cure and draw a curtain on this nightmare. Instead, the Professor and her assistant seemed giddy like kids on Christmas morning. They clearly did not understand how dangerous these creatures were.

"From the looks of it, this sample has a mix of what look like human muscle tissue cells, earthworm cells, and something else I can't identify. I've never seen anything like this."

Professor Pierce nodded; a big, dopey smile spread across her face. She removed the slide from the microscope and replaced it with another one.

"Now take a look at this," she said.

Molly looked and shook her head.

"I don't know what I'm looking at. Seems like the samples Hunter and I retrieved from the meteorite."

Pierce grabbed the tongs and lifted a bulging sac of green fluid from the worm corpse.

"What you were looking at is this stuff," she said. "When I first looked at the slide, I noticed several single-celled organisms floating around. The usual: paramecium, bacteria, a couple of amoebas. Did you notice any, Molly?"

Molly shook her head.

"Exactly! They all got processed into that green soup. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen. It wasn't so much that it ate them. No, instead it seemed to repurpose them into its own structure. It makes me wonder what this stuff would do to a macroscopic organism."

Haley glanced over at Melissa and noticed that the girl starting to turn green around the gills. Melissa's eyes were fixed once more on the squirming creature trapped beneath the overturned terrarium. It seemed to be the only thing that interested Melissa.

"Now girls," Professor Pierce said, her voice suddenly stern. "In science, there are strict codes of ethics and procedure. These are in place for safety and moral decency." The Professor paused for a moment. ", I'm about to break some of those codes, so, um, don't tell anyone."

The girls nodded and Professor Pierce practically skipped over to a tank at the far edge of the room. Haley could see small, tubular forms swimming around within. Pierce snatched up one of these creatures with her tongs, held it up to the air, and then brought it back over.

As this was happening, Haley took a moment to tap Melissa on the shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Melissa twirled around and fixed her wide, frightened eyes on Haley. For a moment, the two women just stared at each other. Then, Haley watched as Melissa's eyes glazed over again. Melissa turned back to the worm in the terrarium without another word.

Haley didn't like that at all. The itchy sensation in her brain was getting worse. Melissa seemed to be getting worse too. The girl had been captured. Had the turned girls done something to Melissa? Could she be turned, and they didn't realize it? That seemed unlikely to Haley, but it was hard to make sense of anything anymore.

Pierce returned to her makeshift operating table and plopped the creature down in front of her. It was a black, slimy worm with a flat body.

"This is a leech from the river," Pierce said. "Erpobdella punctata to be exact. It's a simple life form. We already dissect and kill these suckers on a regular basis, so this shouldn't be too harmful of a test."

"That seems a little callous," Bethany said under her breath.

Pierce smiled and shrugged.

"It's for the greater good."

Pierce reached inside another cabinet and pulled out a syringe. She tore off the plastic packaging from the instrument and dumped it on the floor behind her. Molly swooped in and grabbed it, disposing of it in the nearest trash can. Haley wondered how often Professor Pierce's adoring students cleaned up after her messes.

What happened next alarmed Haley greatly. Professor Pierce took the syringe and jammed into the bulging green sac, drawing out a healthy dose of the fluid within. Outside of the sac, the fluid glowed a bright green color.

"Wait, are you going to inject that into the leech?" Haley asked.

Pierce nodded.

"But you don't know what it'll do to that thing!"

"That's why we're doing an experiment, dear."

Haley couldn't believe it. Was this woman insane?

"What if it's dangerous?" She said.

Molly, sensing the brewing argument, jumped in.

"I'll grab a bucket in case things go south. That way we can trap it just like the other one. Besides, that leech is tiny, and it can't survive for long out of water."

"Fine," Haley said. "Just be careful. These things are a lot more dangerous than you think."

Professor Pierce flashed her a patronizing smile and then turned her full attention to the wiggling leech on the table. The Professor, with startling grace, managed to slide the needle into the middle of the leech's body. Then she pressed down on the plunger, pumping the green fluid into the creature. Immediately, the leech began to writhe violently. Haley watched with mounting terror as the creature's body swelled as more and more of the viscous goo filled its body.

Pierce pulled the needle out and stepped back, putting her hands out as if to invite praise.

"Now we wait and see what happens."

Professor Vanessa Pierce stepped forward and assumed a mature, lecturing tone.

"You see girls, sometimes you have to take a chance. That's what science is about. We might be on the brink of an incredible discovery here!"

Meanwhile, Haley's eyes were fixed on the writhing leech on the table. With horror, she watched as a network of glowing green veins weaved across the animal's body. These veins pulsated and thickened, seeming ready to rip the creature apart. Then, as the pressure built to a maximum, Haley watched as the leech began to expand in size. Right before her eyes, it seemed to quadruple in size. Its shape changed as well, its head thickening into a mushroom shape.

"I know you all have probably been through a lot," Pierce continued, blissfully unaware of the growing monstrosity behind her. "But I'm sure whatever these organisms have done to your friends can be reversed or treated. But in the process, we've discovered a new life form!"

The transforming leech rolled over, and Haley saw its sucker mouth. Half a dozen small tendrils wiggled from the opening. By now, the creature was nearly the size of the worm trapped behind the glass of the terrarium.

Haley looked at the other girls and saw that they all shared her horror and disgust. Molly especially looked repulsed, holding the bucket at the ready like a weapon.

Noticing the girls' reactions, Professor Pierce finally stopped bloviating and turned to see her monstrous creation. As she did so, it raised its bulbous head at her and seemed to sniff the air. The tendrils hanging from its gaping mouth vibrated, creating a high pitch buzzing sound. Then it shot at the Professor with lightning speed.

Professor Pierce screamed and ducked, barely dodging the hideous leech-thing. Instead, the creature plopped down on the floor, its body shook violently, and then it turned over and immediately started slithering towards the other girls.

Everyone backed away in panic as the creature approached. Everyone except for Melissa. The chubby Asian girl simply looked down at the approaching leech with glassy eyes. As Haley glanced at her friend, she felt the same itchiness as before magnified a thousand-fold. The sensation was so intense, it almost made Haley double over.

By now, the leech-thing was only a couple feet from Melissa. It would not be long before the creature was wrapped around the girl's leg and working its way relentlessly towards its target.

For Haley, time seemed to slow down. She could practically see what came next. The leech-thing forcing its way between Melissa's legs, using its mouth tendrils to shred her panties before slipping effortlessly into her opening. Then what? Would Melissa become a monster like the rest of the girls? It seemed likely. That could not happen.

Haley screamed and snatched the bucket out of Molly's hands. Then she lunged forward and slammed the bucket down over the leech-thing. For a few seconds, the creature violently slammed its body into the side of the bucket, trying its hardest to get out.

"Get me something heavy to put on top of this. Do it now!" Haley screamed.

Molly, who until that moment had looked completely shell-shocked, broke out of her funk and ran to grab a couple of textbooks. She piled them on top of the bucket, but the creature continued to pound against the plastic surface.

"I'll grab more," the teacher's assistant said.

Eventually, Haley and Molly managed to stabilize the bucket, sealing the mutant leech inside. They stepped back and watched as the bucket vibrated from the creature's blows. This continued for another few seconds before the assault ceased.

The group was silent for over a minute after that. Finally, Professor Pierce spoke up.

"I should probably be a little more careful next time."

4

The hallway was deserted by the time Jessie, Eliza, and Penny reached it. Penny stepped up to Cece Ramirez's door and tapped lightly. When there was no response, Eliza pushed her out of the way and pounded on the door with all her strength. The door never opened and not a peep came from the other side.

"Maybe she's at class," Penny said.

Eliza shook her head.

"She's turned, I just know it."

"Oh, don't say that Eliza. We can't give up hope."

Jessie weighed the available facts in her head. This girl Cece was keeping the worm as a pet. Given what Jessie had seen of other worms, this one would not hesitate to turn any girl close to it if it got the chance. If the thing had managed to get out of the cage at all, there was a good chance it was now deep within Cece Ramirez's body. That all being said, the room seemed empty. No shuffling from the other side of the door, no voices, nothing. Turned or not, the girl did not seem to be in there.

Suddenly, Jessie got an idea. She pushed her way between Eliza and Penny and reached for the door handle. To her surprise, the handle turned easily. She pushed the door open, revealing a dark, cluttered room with a damp smell. The sound of bubbling water filled the room.

"Shit," Eliza muttered under her breath.

She immediately joined Jessie in entering the room, but Penny waited outside. She looked nervous.

"I don't think we should break into her room," Penny said.

Eliza spun around, her short hair flapping around her head like the wings of a cardinal.

"Come on, this is an emergency. Don't be such a rule follower."

"But it's wrong!"

Before the argument could escalate, Jessie flipped on the light. What she saw caused her to gasp.

The room was filled with several terrariums and aquariums of varying size. On the desk to Jessie's right sat the largest of these containers, filled to the brim with water and housing a troubling specimen.

It was certainly a worm, and it was huge. Jessie had only seen one other worm as big the night her RA, Felicia Owens, had been turned. She shivered as the memory washed over her.

"Well we know she isn't turned," Jessie said.

Eliza came to stand next to Jessie. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her sockets.

"Jesus Christ! It wasn't that big yesterday," Eliza said. "Penny, come take a look!"

Penny shook her head and remained in the hallway.

"It's wrong! We shouldn't be trespassing."

"It's for Cece's own good!" Eliza responded. "Stop being a baby."

"Just leave her be. Besides, it's probably better that we all keep our distance," Jessie said.

Her eyes were fixed on the worm in the aquarium. Not only was the creature bigger than the average parasitic worm, it also had a different shape. There were two fins, one on the top and one on the bottom of the creature. Bright green veins striated the body of the creature, pulsating with an unnatural glow. The thing was an abomination.

However, the worst aspect of the creature was the way it thumped its bulbous, phallic head against the glass of the aquarium rhythmically. It pointed its head directly at Jessie, clearly recognizing her presence.

"What do we do?" Eliza asked.

"I don't know. I hadn't thought that far ahead."

"We should destroy it," Eliza said, stepping forward.

Jessie barely managed to hold the girl back.

"Are you crazy? You let that thing out and one of us is likely to get turned. We need to come up with a plan."

"You had the entire walk to come up with a plan. Besides, aren't you the one with experience with these things?"

Jessie and Eliza began to bicker. In the heat of the moment, neither of them paid any attention to Penny, who was still standing in the hallway. It was only after nearly a minute that Jessie glanced over and saw no one standing outside the room.

The two girls looked at each other with confused expressions before calling Penny's name. There was no response. They stepped into an abandoned hallway and heard a loud thump from around the corner. Cold panic set in and the pair began to sprint down the hallway.

5

In the excitement, it had slipped all three girls' minds that the hallway they were in was also the home of one Lindsay Maycomb. In fairness to Penny Atwood, she rarely saw her roommate even before the worms had gotten involved. It was only once Penny felt a strong hand close over her mouth and heard the soft, hoarse whisper of Lindsay's voice in her ear that she remembered.

"Hey there, roomy."

Penny froze as Lindsay held her from behind. She knew she needed to break away and warn the others, but she couldn't move.

Before she knew it, Penny felt Lindsay's other hand snake under the waistband of her skirt. Lindsay's touch was frighteningly skillful, her fingers running over Penny's soft, warm flesh. Each touch was accompanied by an electric tingle that made Penny weak at the knees.

Lindsay moved quickly, slinking her fingers under Penny's panties and finding the girl's pussy. With the sudden, invasive touch, Penny let loose a weak, choking sob that was muffled to nothing by Lindsay's hand. As she felt prying fingers rub her pleasure bud, Penny felt her mind go blank.

Penny soon had the vaguest sense that she was moving, but she didn't much care. The tingling between her legs had intensified and was now turning into a blazing fire in her entire lower half. After a while, she felt herself spin around. Then a pair of soft lips met her own.

In the back of Penelope Atwood's mind, she realized she was experiencing her first kiss. It was sweet and soft. A sweet smell filled the girl's nostrils, causing her to become even more lost in the moment. She felt Lindsay's body press up against her - felt full, perky breasts rub against her chest. The contours of Lindsay's body felt incredible against her.

In that moment, Penny felt a deep sense of yearning. She wanted what Lindsay had. Beauty and power and sexual magnetism. Having always been the chubby one, the nerd, the loser, Penny desperately wanted to be more.

As if she could read Penny's thoughts, Lindsay began to speak to her between kisses.

"If I had one, I would plant it inside of you. I know you want it deep down."

Penny looked into Lindsay's blazing green eyes, becoming lost in their hypnotic glare. She felt Lindsay's hands caress her small breasts, pumping that mysterious, electric energy into them. Immediately, her nipples stiffened.

"You know," Lindsay said. "I really ought to thank you guys. You have been so helpful, leading me right to another worm."

Lindsay stepped back, allowing cold horror to replace arousal in Penny.

Penny shook her head and focused on her roommate. In that moment, it sank in that she was alone, separated from her friends, and at Lindsay's mercy. She felt the urge to scream, but before she could act on it, Lindsay reached out and touched her forehead with her index finger.

For a split second, Penny felt a blast of sexual pleasure so intense, it made her knees buckle. Then her mind went blank and she fell to the floor.

When Penny came to, Eliza and Jessie were standing over her. Jessie was desperately shaking her shoulder, trying to get her to wake up.

Penny struggled through the murk and confusion and tried desperately on what her friends were saying.