Organism X Ch. 13

The boy was stiff and lifeless. A vague look of pain was the only expression on his face. Talia wanted to scream, but instead only managed a low, keening moan.

"Wake up! Stop messing with me! This isn't funny!" Talia began to sob.

Deep inside Talia's body, something twitched. She became aware of another presence, set on the periphery of her consciousness. Like a twisted version of pregnancy, Talia's body had become host to new life. Her womb was gestating a little monster that would bring with it corruption and wickedness.

"They didn't tell me about this," she cried. "I never wanted to hurt him!"

Talia Maroney collapsed on the lifeless body of her lover and sobbed uncontrollably. She could feel the evil blooming inside of her. Even as sorrow consumed her, strange instincts began to drive her brain in new directions. Brandon was gone, but other students remained. There were so many nubile potential hosts for the monstrous child she and her lover had conceived.

It was just like the stories, Professor Maroney reflected. Eternal life never came without a price. Her second lease on life had come at the expense of her humanity. She was a monster now and this was not her happily ever after. This was merely the prologue of her downfall. If this was anything like the classics and myths, Talia knew she was helpless to stop it.

8

Another day in the lab was wrapping up. Sarah Decker would soon arrive to work on her unfortunate senior project, so everything had to go away. The girls busied themselves putting away glasses and jars and vials and all kinds of other brikabrak. Melissa, for her part, volunteered for specimen duty.

Today was wonderful, but also exhausting. She woke up with a fresh pair of eyes, seeing the world in bright, vivid colors for the first time in over a week. There was a skip in her step and a tingle in her chest. The world was full of possibilities. And temptations.

Of course, the temptations were different than before. Back then, she still saw herself as one of the good guys. This patchwork friend group had been her family before last night, but now Melissa belonged to a grander family. For now, she was an adopted sister, but that would change sooner or later. It was only a matter of time.

Melissa held up a jar containing a specimen and saw that it was the leech from Professor Pierce's first experiment. She watched it twitch and wiggle, wishing desperately that she could unscrew the lid and let it take her.

Careful. You'll blow your cover.

Emily Bloom was back with a vengeance. Melissa welcomed her with open arms. She craved the buxom redhead's touch and wished she could just get the whole infection thing over with. Still, Emily was right. Now that she had officially switched sides, she would have to play things safe. It wasn't just about infecting herself. There were seven other girls to infect counting the professor and Molly.

Melissa broke out of her funk and put the specimen away before locking the cabinet. Things were so controlled right now. It was suffocating. Something had to give.

Be patient, young grasshopper. Keep your eyes open and tell me everything.

It's hard to be patient when those damn things are so close by! Melissa answered back.

You won't have to wait too much longer, love. Things have changed with the sisterhood. Something big is about to happen.

Something big? That sounded thrilling.

Melissa turned and saw that Sarah Decker had entered the room. The senior looked a little like a ghost with her pale skin and sunken eyes and colorless hair. She was skinny as a rail, too. This project seemed to be killing her. It was a miracle the girl had not set the lab on fire in her exhausted state.

Now there was a possibility.

Melissa stretched and let out a loud, contented sigh. The world was bright and full of possibilities.

"You seem cheerful today," Haley Lewis said, noticing the broad smile on Melissa's face. "Whatcha thinking about?"

Melissa shrugged and played dumb. "Just daydreaming."

Melissa's daydreams were filled with the screams of her friends. One by one, the screams turned to pleasured moans. One by one, Melissa's friends fell to the worm.