Dark Metamorphosis

by John Coon

  For the first time since leaving Earth, Calandra feared for her own life.

  20

  Norah’s head still throbbed when she cracked open her eyes. The entire room swam as sedatives lingered in her system. She squinted and clenched her teeth. Her throat had grown dry and scratchy. The inside of her mouth had become dried out like someone stuffed it full of cotton while she slept. Norah licked the roof of her mouth, trying to stimulate saliva.

  “Good God! What have these bastards done to you?”

  A hand tenderly touched her shoulder. She glanced over at the gloved hand with half-closed eyes. Cliff stood at her bedside, hunched over her with an angry frown plastered on his lips.

  “What’s going on?”

  Norah barely mumbled the question before stopping to clear her throat. Both wrists ached. Her eyes drifted downward. A thick gauze bandage covered the puncture wound on her right wrist. Jutting out below the gauze, a narrow bulge had formed on her forearm. Norah snapped her head over to the opposite wrist. A similar sized bulge had formed in a corresponding spot on the underside of her left forearm. Both wrists ached in the area around each bulge. The bulges were hardening like stones beneath her skin and pressed against her wrist bones.

  Her hands were in no better condition. Fingernails on both hands had grown oddly elongated and misshapen. Each one resembled animal claws more than human fingernails. Norah’s hands started to tremble while she stared at them.

  “What’s wrong with my arms?” Her voice cracked as she shifted her gaze upward. “What’s happening to me?”

  Cliff stared straight ahead at her. He visibly strained to keep his worried eyes from drifting down to her arms. His face grew flushed.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll find a way to fix whatever’s wrong. Whatever’s infecting your body, we’ll undo the damage. I promise.”

  His trembling lips shined a light on Cliff’s hidden thoughts. She must resemble a ghoulish monster to him.

  Disgusting.

  Frightening.

  Already, Norah sensed changes in her body not limited to her arms. Her fingers traced over the lines and contours of her face. It did not feel how a face should feel. Her back and legs also felt different. Her teeth felt different. Some had grown tight and uncomfortable like when she wore braces. Others were loose. Norah’s first instinct was to find a mirror and see what was wrong. But she dreaded uncovering whatever changes a mirror would reveal to her.

  Norah closed her eyes and shook her head.

  No. This was a sick nightmare.

  She was still Norah. The same woman who spent summer days going on long bike rides down colorful nature trails. The same shy girl who curled up on her couch with an engrossing mystery novel while sheltering from rainstorms pounding her Louisiana home.

  I am still human. On the inside.

  Norah clung to that thought. She treated it like a life preserver keeping her from sinking beneath turbulent waves forever.

  “I undocked our deep space vessel from Phobos Station.” Cliff cast a nervous glance over his shoulder as he shared this news. “I know the Magellan’s still an untested prototype, but it’s also our only feasible option for getting back to Earth in a workable timeframe.”

  Norah also peeked over his shoulder. No sign of Sam anywhere outside the room. She wondered what became of him. Judging by his agitated body language, Cliff did not have permission to travel home.

  “Where did Sam go? If he discovers you breached quarantine—”

  “Sam Bono doesn’t need to know anything. That bastard tried to lock you away from me. I love you way too much to sit above that damned moon and do nothing.”

  Cliff removed one of his gloves and caressed her cheek. Norah pinched her eyes shut for a moment as tears rolled out. She clasped his hand, mirroring the gentle touch imparted to her. His devotion touched her deeply. A relationship first blossomed when they started this colony together. But now those feelings seemed deeper, more real than at any other time.

  “Let’s get you out of here,” he said. “We’ll find a doctor back on Earth who can help you. And who is willing to help you.”

  Cliff marched over to the doorway and peeked around the wall down into the corridor. Norah swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood on her feet. A wave of dizziness smacked her. She blinked rapidly, pressed her hand against her temple and drew in a deep breath.

  “I think the coast is clear.” Cliff cocked his head back at her. “Grab your suit and helmet. If we hurry, we can reach the Magellan before Sam discovers what we’re doing.”

  Norah slipped into her spacesuit and fastened her helmet in place. Sudden sharp pains burst through all four limbs. The medicine Sam gave her earlier had worn off. She formed both hands into fists and cried out. Norah squeezed her fists tight and drew in a deep breath.

  “I’m not changing,” she whispered. “I’m still human. I’ll stay human.”

  Norah forced herself forward, joining Cliff outside her sleep quarters. They attacked the corridor at a brisk pace. Her natural heel to toe rhythm felt different now. It had become virtual leaps off her toes, her heels barely touching. Cliff raised his hand when they reached the communal area at ground level, signaling for her to halt before anyone spotted them. Before they saw her. Norah watched anxiously as he peeked around the wall. Cliff glanced back at her, nodded, and motioned her forward. She let out a relieved sigh and they dashed toward the door leading to the airlock.

  “What do you think will happen when we reach Earth?” Norah asked between breaths. “If Sam contacts the Earth Defense Bureau and reveals my condition –”

  “One problem at a time,” Cliff said, interrupting her concerned scenario before she shared every worry swimming in her head. “As the old saying goes, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  Norah clenched her teeth again. Sharp pain overloaded her nerves. Her heart pounded and her throat tightened. She panted after the pain subsided.

  “I hope the bureau doesn’t blow up that bridge before we reach it.”

  Cliff shot a concerned glance back at her as he turned the wheel to unlock the door. Those bleak words unnerved him in a visible way that matched her own emotions. Norah wanted to believe everything would work out right in the end. Her frightened mind and her changing body told a different story.

  At once, metal creaked from a door cracking open. Norah’s heart thumped faster. Her throat cinched tighter, and her legs grew as rigid as wood posts.

  Cliff had not popped open the door leading into the airlock yet.

  “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Norah turned and faced the door to the tunnel linking the habitat units. A scowl adorned Sam’s face, perfectly matching the angry tone present in his voice.

  “I’m doing what needs to be done to help Norah—unlike you.”

  Sam shook his head and planted himself directly between Cliff and the airlock door.

  “You can’t break quarantine just because you feel like doing it. These rules are in place for a good reason.”

  “I’m taking her somewhere else where she’ll be safer and still get the help she needs.”

  “And where exactly is this safer destination?”

  Cliff crossed his arms and glared at him.

  “It sure as hell isn’t this god forsaken planet. Who else is still alive down here besides us?”

  Sam shook his head and glanced over at Norah. His eyes widened as soon as they settled on her.

  “Your face … has changed,” he stammered. “What’s … happening to you?”

  Sweat beaded on Norah’s brow. Her heart raced like a distance runner unleashing a final lap kick. Changes occurring in her body were growing increasingly visible to others. If she let Sam have his way, she would never return home. He seemed more concerned about covering his own mistakes than do
ing anything to help her.

  Cliff was right. She had to flee Mars before it grew too late to fix the damage to her body.

  “Get out of my way.”

  A low growl followed Norah’s words. Sam held up his hands, forming them into a makeshift shield in front of his throat and chest. He drew in a deep breath.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Norah.” Sam adopted a soothing tone. It did not fully disguise the trembling in his throat. “I want to flush out whatever alien pathogen is messing with your body. You want the same. Stay calm.”

  Norah heard more footsteps. She snapped her head toward the tunnel door. Two more people entered the room, both dressed in odd looking spacesuits. Each pointed a strange weapon at her.

  That told Norah all she needed to know.

  “Don’t tell me to stay calm!” she snapped, looking back at Sam. “You’re planning to kill me!”

  Sam cast his eyes back at the tunnel. When he saw weapons pointed at her, he frantically waved a hand.

  “Are you two out of your minds? Don’t shoot her!”

  Neither weapon budged an inch. The person nearest to her tilted their head at Sam.

  “Don’t be a fool. Your fellow Earthian poses a serious danger to all of us.”

  Earthian? Norah never heard that word in her life before that moment. Why did they use such an odd term to refer to her and Sam? Were they not from Earth?

  They must be different aliens.

  Yes, they were aliens.

  Norah stared at the one who backtalked Sam. A woman. She resembled a human with stunning violet eyes. Did her human-like appearance mean these aliens disguised themselves to deceive them? Did they bear responsibility for planting the creature here who killed so many colonists and injured Norah herself?

  Her fear only intensified as these questions flooded her mind.

  “Please let me handle this situation.” Sam turned around and faced both aliens. “Norah needs our help. Threatening her life isn’t doing anyone any good.”

  “You don’t understand.” The other alien, a man with deep blue eyes, spoke this time. “You can’t undo the changes happening to her. Neither can we. She’ll become like the other hybrid who attacked you.”

  NO!

  That was a lie.

  Norah gazed at Sam and Cliff and pleaded for help with her eyes. She was human now and forever. Not the first stages of some awful humanoid creature like these aliens claimed.

  Cliff fixed a hard stare on both aliens.

  “If you harm one hair on her, I’ll make sure you won’t leave this colony unharmed.”

  Adrenaline pumped through every blood vessel. Norah clenched her teeth and breathed hard. She was fleeing Mars and going home, Sam and his new alien friends be damned. She charged forward and pushed Sam into the aliens’ path. He collided with the male alien. Both tumbled to the floor. Cliff clotheslined the female alien with his left arm and knocked her weapon from her hand. It slid across the floor.

  Norah plunged headfirst inside the airlock. Cliff followed behind her as both aliens scrambled to their feet. The female alien sprinted toward her weapon, scooped it up, and fired at the closing inner door. Norah flinched at the noise and backed up against the outer door. The inner door’s metallic shell prevented any weapons fire from breaching the airlock.

  Cliff popped open the outer door. He grasped Norah’s hand and helped her to her feet.

  “Let’s hurry before they can catch us.”

  Norah sprinted side-by-side with Cliff toward the Magellan. The weaker Martian gravity made it easier to cover ground at a faster rate than running the same distance on Earth. Instead of struggling to keep up, she found herself edging ahead of her larger companion. Her helmet partially blocked her peripheral vision. Norah dared not look back to see if anyone had followed them out of the habitat unit yet. Her thoughts focused on running forward.

  Reach their deep space vessel.

  Take off from Mars.

  “Halt!”

  A rock exploded into jagged shards on her right side. Smoke and dust climbed from the remnants. Norah glanced back over her shoulder. An alien ran in full stride a short distance behind her and Cliff. He dug into a pouch on his belt, wound up his arm, and hurled what resembled a smooth round stone in their direction. The object sailed over Norah’s head and landed between Cliff and the Magellan.

  A sudden bright flash enveloped her face.

  Norah shrieked and pressed her hands against her protective visor. Cliff let out a pained shout at the exact same moment. She stumbled and dropped to her knees. Open or closed, nothing except a blinding whiteness invaded her eyes. What sort of weapon did the alien use on them? Norah panted and lowered her head, fearing it had permanently blinded both her and Cliff.

  Sight seeped back into her eyes with a gradual grainy focus. When she pulled away her hands again, a hand wrapped around her elbow and yanked her into a standing position.

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  She ripped her arm away and wheeled around. The alien had caught up to them. It aimed an odd-looking pistol at her chest.

  “This is Ryollo.” The alien spoke in a gruff deep voice. “I captured the Earthians outside their spaceship. Bringing them back to our ship now.”

  Norah clenched her teeth and unleashed a fearsome shout. She tackled Ryollo and knocked his weapon out of his hands. The alien landed face-first on the ground. Norah grabbed the back of his helmet and slammed Ryollo’s head into partially exposed rock. The protective visor covering his face cracked like an eggshell from the force of impact.

  “Help!” he shouted. “One of the Earthians—”

  Norah mounted his back and wrenched the helmet off his head. Ryollo started gagging uncontrollably upon exposure to the carbon dioxide filled air. She wrapped her gloved hands around his neck and squeezed tight. Norah bared her teeth. A front tooth fell out inside her helmet and a partially exposed new fang peeked out from the empty socket.

  Ryollo flailed his arms and hunched his shoulders. He tried to buck her off his spine. Norah tightened her grip. Blood dribbled through his teeth and out of the corners of his mouth. Gurgling noises followed. The alien’s eyes grew glassy. His arms and torso stopped thrashing.

  Norah finally relaxed her grip. Ryollo slumped to the Martian soil. His now empty eyes fixed on partially exposed regolith a few inches from his bloodied mouth.

  She instinctively pressed her fingers to her visor. The loose tooth rattled around inside. Other teeth had grown loose in her gums. Soon, they would suffer the same fate. Tears splashed down from her eyes. Norah wanted to hide herself from everyone—including Cliff.

  How could anyone look upon her now and see anything besides a monster?

  Monster was an apt descriptor now. She choked the life from that alien to avoid capture. Norah had never so much as hurt a bug in her whole life before that moment. But a feral rage seized her once she felt threatened. It first set upon her when Sam treated her puncture wound. Only strong sedatives subdued that awful feeling. Her animalistic rage and strength grew more pronounced as her body kept changing.

  “This isn’t me,” she whispered. Norah tried to calm herself with deep calculated breaths. “This isn’t me. Oh God. I need help. I need help.”

  “What in the hell happened here?”

  Norah cast her eyes upward. Cliff stood on his feet again, shaking his head. She did not know where to begin explaining the full story.

  “The alien tried to attack us. I fought him off and removed his helmet.”

  Shock enveloped Cliff’s face.

  “You killed him?”

  “I was defending myself.” A trembling lilt infused her words. “I thought he chased us down, so he could kill us. I didn’t mean to do it.”

  Cliff extended his hand. Norah grasped it and he pulled her up from the ground.

&n
bsp; “Let’s get inside the ship before anyone else catches up to us out here.”

  Neither one looked back or said another word about the dead alien as they climbed aboard the Magellan and started the engines. Nothing needed to be said. Norah kept reassuring herself she killed the alien in self-defense. She told herself she was no monster.

  Not while she still had her mind and soul.

  21

  Xttra tumbled to the floor as Sam fell backward into his chest. Another thud against the hard floor greeted his ears. He cocked his head to the side. Kyra grasped the side of her helmet and shook her head. She pulled herself up into a kneeling position. Her speargun lay on the floor a short distance away. It popped out of her hands after Cliff knocked Kyra flat on her back when he leveled her with his forearm.

  Sam groaned. Xttra shoved him off his chest and scrambled to his feet at the same time as Kyra. She dashed over to her speargun and scooped the weapon off the ground.

  “Don’t let them get away,” Xttra said.

  He scoured the floor for any sign of his eliminator. It flew out of his hand when Norah shoved her fellow Earthian into him. Two blasts rang out in quick succession. Xttra snapped his head toward the airlock. The Earthians had sealed the inner door behind him. Neither spear head Kyra fired penetrated metal, even with aid of laser reinforced cutting edges.

  “That’s reinforced steel,” Sam said. He sat upright and drew in a deep breath. “Your weapon isn’t punching a hole through the door.”

  Kyra shoved the speargun back inside her holster and stamped her foot.

  “Wonderful. Those two have a head start on us. If they reach that ship before—”

  “Does your prototype Earthian vessel possess hyperlight engines?” Xttra cut off Kyra in mid-rant. He wheeled around and faced Sam again. “Can your ship attain faster than light speeds?”

  A worried frown crossed Sam’s lips.

  “We haven’t field tested the technology on a manned vessel yet, but the bureau engineered the Magellan with the same capability for generating an artificial wormhole as the probe we sent to your planet.”