Leech

by Ellie Douglas

  “Listen to me. It doesn’t feel like gallstones, man. This feels different. Even my flippin’ ears are on fire. Everything feels hot.”

  The doctor walked to a set of stainless-steel drawers and opened one. He pulled out a thermometer and hummed to the tune of ‘Home on the Range’ while he took Nico’s temperature. He abruptly stopped humming. Liam reset the thermometer and took Nico’s temperature again. He got the same result. 107.9 Fahrenheit.

  “Seems you are running a fever,” Hodges said, while putting the thermometer back. He walked to the same bench, but this time opened a glass cabinet above it and took out some pills. He grabbed a water bladder from the small glass fridge and gave them both to Nico.

  “Just rest. I’ll come back and check on you in an hour.” The doctor put the rest of the pills away and left the sickbay.

  Nico nodded. Even that was unbearable. His mind felt like a prison. His vision blurred as the pain intensified throughout his body. The pills did little to help.

  The storm had fully passed, and John waited for Athena to report in with an updated damage assessment.

  “Systems check,” Athena said. “The fire is out, but it has damaged part of one engine and is dumping fuel from another. We have been knocked off course by 18,000 feet.”

  John leaned back in his seat and looked out the window. Despite the violent storm that had just passed, the galaxy looked beautiful once again, like a bag of diamonds tossed onto black velvet. Everything glistened with brilliant, various colored sparkles. His thoughts were interrupted when Lucas’s voice hissed over the radio.

  “All clear here. We’re heading to the engine room.” Before he could say any more the intercom died again.

  John briefly wondered if Sam would have time to fix the intercom system. It had been erratically turning on and off. John unbuckled his belt and stepped out of his chair.

  First Mate Bridgette Stiner returned, soot-covered and smiling.

  “What are you smiling about?”

  “We’re alive. That always makes me smile.”

  “We’re off course, stuck in space without warp drive and we’re leaking fuel. Yet here you are smiling? I admire your optimism, as weird as it is.”

  “One of us has to,” Bridgette said, with a hint of sarcasm. “If I let all the worries that you have on your shoulders consume me the way they do you, I’d be a blubbering mess on the floor.” She sat down, flicked a few switches, and put Athena in full charge of the craft, freeing John from piloting the ship.

  Bridgette turned her chair to face Roger when he returned. “I need a coffee. Maybe some food too, depends on what Paul is cooking. You need it too, by the looks of you. Are you coming?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Roger answered. “What about you, John?”

  “No. I’ll stay here for a bit longer.”

  “Lucas and Travis have everything under control in the engine room,” Roger informed John.

  “So, Captain, you coming?” Bridgette stretched her long legs before rising to follow Roger out.

  John looked up from the floor and made eye contact with her. “Not this time, Bridgette. Maybe a little later.”

  Bridgette and Roger headed for the breakroom. The maze of corridors were painted white and had a clinical feel to them. Bright lights led the way. They walked in silence, the only noise was the soft humming of the ship and the echo of their boots. In the breakroom, Paul was busying himself in the kitchen area.

  “What’s on the menu, Paul?” Bridgette asked.

  “Well, you have a choice. Pureed beef strips with carrots and peas, or pureed pork and rice.” Paul winked at Bridgette before removing his chef’s hat, revealing oily, thinning, dark-blonde hair. Bridgette watched in disgust as Paul ran his hand through it before putting his chef’s hat back on.

  “Wink at me again and I’ll remove your eye with my spoon,” Bridgette said, snatching a tray of food and coffee from Paul. She then walked backward toward a chair so that Paul was still in her sights. She slowly unwound her middle finger and flipped him off before turning and taking her seat.

  “I love it when you speak dirty to me,” Paul said, while rubbing his hands across his apron, then handing Roger a tray of food. Roger looked down at the meal and instantly lost his appetite. The look of the pureed beef reminded him of Nico’s puke.

  “Paul, there is a pile of sloppy, regurgitated crap on the floor of the control room. You know the drill,” he said, after taking a seat beside Bridgette.

  “Sure, great, get the cook to clean up vomit. I might just scoop some of it up and serve y’all later,” Paul retorted, with a laugh. He grabbed a mop and bucket and exited the kitchen.

  “God, he’s such an idiot. He is a womanizing, sleazy, disrespectful turd. He has absolutely no respect for rules regarding sexual harassment in the workplace.” Bridgette said.

  “He is and has always been that way,” Roger said. “You’re the only woman member of our team, I’m not saying it should happen. I’m just saying his flirting is innocent. I think if you didn’t bite back, he’d leave you alone. Wouldn’t you agree?” Roger looked Bridgette up and down before fixing his eyes on hers.

  “Yeah, well... he’s been trying on every damn flight. He won’t be getting into my pants. He just isn’t my type.”

  “Really, Bridgette? You have to know at some point he isn’t serious. He’s just messing with you.”

  “All the same, I don’t like it. I’ve never liked it. He never just backs off. I’m so over his behavior and if it doesn’t stop, I will report him.”

  “Gee, you aren’t normally this sensitive. I overheard you giving John a pep-talk ten minutes ago. You were so upbeat in the control room. What happened to that strong, optimistic woman who got me to take a break? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you can tell me... is it that time of the month again, huh?” Roger leaned in with both elbows resting on the table. He was inches from her face.

  Bridgette shot out of her seat faster than Roger could blink. He flinched when he saw her fisted hand rise up, but not before taking a shot to the back of the head.

  “Well now, I have to say you hit more like a man,” Roger said, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. His face kept a gloat on it that Bridgette did not find funny. She growled at him like an angry dog. “You’re pathetic and give men a bad name!” She picked up her tray of food and stormed out of the room. She knocked elbows with Paul as he was returning to collect his cloth and disinfectant spray.

  “What’s ya hurry, hot stuff?” Paul asked, as he narrowed his beady eyes toward her breasts.

  Bridgette stopped abruptly, swiveled on her heels, and faced Paul. He rested the bucket on the floor and leaned the mop against the wall. He stuck out his tongue and flicked it back and forth while gyrating his hips. That was enough to rile Bridgette. She hurled her tray of food at him. He ducked out of the way and the tray bounced off the wall and onto the bucket before crashing by his feet. The remaining food went flying in all directions. In shock, he watched her storm off.

  “You should see your face,” Roger said, as he walked by, carefully stepping over the spilled food.

  Paul could hear him laughing even after he’d left the breakroom. “That little witch. She could have taken my goddamned eye out,” Paul said, aloud to himself, while he cleaned up the mess. He grumbled and moaned about it. “She must really love me,” he laughed until tears rolled from his eyes. “Yep, she really loves me.”

  The Beginning of the End

  Sam Garnet, was an ugly man with a crooked nose and thick arms that bulged from beneath his overalls. He stood five feet, seven inches and had the body of a weightlifter: thick like an old transport ship. Which helped him greatly to get Nico to Medical, by himself. When Nico couldn’t walk Sam effortlessly carried him. When he got him there, he left him on a cot and didn’t think twice about where Doc was.

  “Liam shouldn’t be too far away. You’ll be good here, Nico.” Sam said, as he exited Medical.

  Not long after Sam left,
Liam arrived and assessed Nico. He gave him some pills with instructions that he would return in an hour. Shortly after he left, Nico stumbled off the cot with severe stomach cramps and headed straight for the bathroom. His gut erupted like a volcano with potent flatulence, followed by a bout of diarrhea and more vomiting. He picked himself up, but his body stayed bent forward with the pain. He was left to do a standing crab crawl. Nico practically crawled out of the bathroom and back to the cot. His body ached everywhere. His condition went from bad to worse as it turned into a series of convulsions in response to the discomfort that seemed to attack his joints, heart, brain, and muscles. Every single inch of him screamed in agony. He felt as though his insides were disintegrating. His eyes frantically searched the open space of the med bay for the doctor.

  Until now, Nico had never noticed the ship’s engine noise, or the ventilation system, or any of the noises that surrounded him. Now, they alarmed him as they sounded louder than ever before. He grew more irritable, scared, and confused with each passing minute. He started to hallucinate. First, he saw himself as a young boy kicking up stones in the school car park. Those stones grew bigger until they were the size of the tallest mountains. With gnarly teeth, like giant stalactites, in an enormous mouth that opened wide and started to eat him. He could feel the gnashing of his bones. He wanted to scream, but his voice was no longer there. He blinked rapidly, trying to rid himself of the visions only to be taken into another hallucination. He could see and hear his parents arguing; they suddenly turned to ash right before his eyes. He felt dust particles hit his body like shards of glass. Uncomprehending what had happened to his parents, he blamed himself, opened his father’s alcohol cabinet, and took out the vodka bottle. After removing the lid, he put it to his lips only to be sucked inside the bottle. He felt his body slamming into the glass and being drenched in vodka. He tried to swim to the top, but the bottle neck kept closing in and he saw himself slowly drowning. He squeezed his eyes tightly and was taken to another memory of his younger years. He remembered stealing money from his mother to get a serpent tattoo on his right forearm. Just after the tattooist inked him, the snake came alive, coiling around his midsection. Then creeping slowly up toward his face. He could see the outline of its powerful jaws as it flicked its tongue inches from his nose, before it dove into his mouth. He could feel his throat tighten until he was choking. He coughed and spat out what he thought was the snake.

  He was suddenly thrown into another memory, something darker, more hellish. He saw himself free-falling from a high cliff, when a powerful, jerking motion pulled him back. He felt the chute behind him. He landed in unknown territory of some planet he’d never been on, right into the middle of an alien battle. They were using peculiar guns, unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He could hear the shouting and feel the fire of those powerful weapons. Suddenly, he looked down and saw a hole in his chest the size of a bowling ball. He didn’t feel any pain. There was no blood, no organs; nothing but an empty hole. He shook and fell off the cot onto the cold steel floor.

  His eyes betrayed him as he opened them and saw a tall figure looming over him. He blinked, and the thing was gone. He opened his mouth to scream. A dark, thick substance spewed out and dropped to the floor, slithering away. He no longer knew what was real and what was a nightmare. Nico moaned and grabbed at his head. His brain felt as though it was being dipped into a fat fryer. When he lowered his hands, he freaked. His palms were covered in handfuls of his hair tangled between his fingers. He took a few steps toward the polished silver counter and looked down to see his reflection. A scream bubbled up in his throat. The skin on his face had turned to a waxy consistency, like a melting candle. But his flesh felt taut as though it were being stretched. He felt as though his body was readying itself for something.

  His eyes had changed color, from blue to almost red, and his once full head of auburn hair had almost vanished, leaving a few wisps dangling from his aching scalp. His eyes blinked in rapid succession and he looked harder at his new image, studying himself with uncertainty and shock. Then his eyes traveled back to the bed. His hair lay plastered all over the pillow.

  Nico let out another scream, this time long, loud, and inhuman. Liam had returned to check on him. He hadn’t heard Nico’s screams until he opened the door, then it was like a slap in the face. He almost tripped on his own feet as he hurriedly exited, locking the abomination that used to be Nico in his room. Nico charged at the door and slammed a hand on the glass. His delicate skin erupted when it hit the glass, leaving smears of blood. His eyes met Liam’s, who watched from the safety of the door between them. Liam was stunned at Nico’s transformation. He noted how his skin had become so tight that it looked almost translucent and ready to split. He also noticed how drenched in sweat Nico was and the discoloring of his entire body, and the loss of hair.

  “What the heck, man? Let me out!” Nico didn’t even recognize his voice. It sounded like he was talking through some kind of voice changer. Ignoring it, he continued to pound on the door and yell at the doctor.

  Liam pushed a button beside the door and spoke into the intercom. “I can’t hear you. You have to push the button if you want to talk. Nico, I’m sorry, you might be contagious. I need my suit. Try to stay calm. I’ll be right back.” Liam sounded an alarm and waited farther along the wide corridor out of sight from Nico. Liam could feel his nerves taking over and felt an episode of anxiety fast approaching. He leaned against the wall, crossed his feet at the ankles and anxiously waited. He wasn’t sure what was happening, being a medical research scientist, he was used to cleaning cuts and stitching, mending broken bones and administering pills. He wasn’t equipped to handle whatever Nico had, and it terrified him. He uncrossed his ankles and made his way to the sickbay to observe Nico. He froze at the sight before him.

  Nico didn’t believe the doctor, not when he saw the hazmat suits hanging on the hooks in the far corner of the room. He grew angrier and threw his hands to his aching head before falling to his knees screaming in pain. As if it accompanied the pain in his head, his skin in various places started to rupture into holes the size of matchboxes. Nico looked down at his arms, legs, and stomach, and watched in horror as thick, sharp black stumps began growing out of those holes. He rubbed his fingers over one and sliced the tips deeply.

  Nico was frantic with fear. He felt every one of those black things push their way out of his body, leaving behind a slimy substance. He watched as each of the dark inky things sprang to life, just like the thing that slithered out of his mouth. They moved fast and with purpose, scurrying up the walls and vanishing into the ventilation vents. He counted at least eight. Nico had no idea what they were, or how they moved with no visible feet or eyes.

  Suddenly, his body convulsed in agony and jolted violently as though he was being stunned with a stun gun. He screamed out in pain. He could barely sustain a single breath. He felt as if he was dying. Nico’s eyes began to shut, and he took one last breath. He keeled over, face-planting on the cold steel floor. Blood pooled under his lifeless, deformed body.

  Doctor Liam stared in disbelief. He had not had a panic attack in five years. He felt one fast approaching, furthering his anxieties. He hummed a tune to himself and tapped his feet in uncoordinated and erratic steps. He had to do everything to keep from having a panic attack. His legs shook. His heart raced. His hands grew sweaty and he could feel his mouth drying up. The tapping and humming helped to keep him calm. He hadn’t seen the creatures, but he could see Nico’s body had erupted into a patchwork of bloody holes. John appeared at his side. The alarm went silent.

  “What the hell happened? Doc!” When Liam did not respond, John shook him. “Dammit, are you even listening to me?” John snapped.

  Liam felt his entire body shake, he quickly gave his attention to John, “Yes... Sorry... I... I... I don’t have any answers for you, man. I’ve never seen this before.”

  John looked through the glass at the prone figure of Nico on the floor, blood oozin
g across the steel below him. “Dear God... What’s going on? We need to get in there and help him.”

  “We can’t,” Liam said. “He’s already dead. Besides, he might be contagious!”

  “What do you mean dead? How? Why? What the hell, Liam, can’t you get in there and find out?”

  “John, you know my medical limitations. I’m not the right person to be asking this. I’m only able to speculate until I can do some research.”

  “If you can’t get in there, how do you know he’s actually dead?” John pressed his face to the glass and stared in disbelief. He could feel throbbing in his neck.

  Liam clasped his hands behind his back and lifted his head. “I’ve seen enough dead bodies to know when someone’s dead. That much I can confirm. Whatever happened to him has killed him. Painfully.”

  “What do you think it could be?” John felt his hands ball into tight fists, he wanted to hit something. He breathed faster, fogging up the window. He looked at Liam with an expression of pain and anger.

  “At this point, I would say at a guess that he has picked up some kind of alien host. Almost like a leech.”

  “Based on what?” John said, sternly, not wanting to believe an alien did this to his best friend.

  “Well, the skin eruptions, for one. The fact that it happened extremely fast. At first, I thought it was gallstones, but what you see there sure as hell isn’t gallstones. The holes in his skin also point to an alien. All that hair loss. The discoloration of his skin.”

  “Start at the beginning, what exactly did you see, Liam?”

  “When I left him, he had a high fever and severe stomach cramps. He had diarrhea and vomiting. All symptoms of gallstones. I left the room and when I returned, he was highly aggressive. I’ve never seen him angry before, not ever, and to see him pounding on the glass like a gorilla. He was incapable of talking normally. It really took me by surprise. He then collapsed and stopped moving.”