Invasive Species

by Cassandra Chandler

  Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud.

  Three beats?

  Panic surged through him, electrifying his system further. He had to get out of the car, had to get away. What the hell was happening to him?

  He reached for the handle of the door and pushed it open. Tires screeched and the car lurched to a stop just as he stumbled out onto the street.

  “Kyle, what are you doing?”

  He didn’t know. He just needed space. Openness. Air.

  He opened his eyes to see a kaleidoscope of color. The sky rippled with moisture patterns he…wasn’t sure how he could sense. He reached his hand up to touch a particularly dense patch, his skin tingling as the moisture clung to it.

  As he watched, his skin turned from a weird ashen-gray to a deep olive green with darker mottled patches here and there. He extended his fingers. Slight translucent webbing spread between them.

  “Look out!”

  Tracey’s scream brought him back to his surroundings. He felt a displacement in the air, sensed the humidity patterns changing as something barreled toward him, and then he leapt out of the way.

  The ground pulled away so fast and far. His vision filled with cars and sidewalk and blinding panic. He flailed his arms and legs, reaching for anything that would stop his descent as he started to fall.

  Something caught. His hands and feet were on a rough surface, clinging to it. He looked around and saw that he was on the side of a brick building.

  Twenty feet off the ground.

  “Kyle?”

  He looked in the direction of Tracey’s voice. She was standing in the street next to her car, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

  He needed to get to her and let her know everything was okay. If only he could convince himself first. And figure out how to let go of the wall…

  Suddenly, his hands and feet stopped sticking to the bricks. He let out a yelp as he fell to the sidewalk, but he landed on all fours instead of his face. He wasn’t sure how he’d managed that—or any of this.

  The impact hadn’t hurt. In fact, now that he thought about it, he didn’t hurt anywhere anymore. No burning throat or eyes. No itching mouth or skin.

  He took in a deep breath, then let it out. There were flowers blooming nearby. He could taste it on the moisture in the air. And Tracey…

  She ran over to him, grabbing his arm to help him to his feet. His skin blazed where she touched it, his dick throbbed with need. She taste/smelled amazing.

  “Are you okay? That was—”

  He swallowed the rest of her sentence in a kiss.

  This was heaven. He slid his tongue into her mouth. The heat, the wetness, the smooth texture of her skin sent pulsing shockwaves of pleasure through him. He grabbed her ass, lifting her from the ground so that he could walk them back to one of the cars parked nearby. He pressed her against the door of it, wondering if the hood could take their combined weight.

  Her fingers dug into his back—through his shirt, but it still drove him crazy with need. He ground against her, grabbing the edge of her shirt so he could pull it off. She pulled her mouth from his, so he latched onto her neck instead.

  “Oh God,” she groaned. “Wait, wait. Kyle, stop.”

  She spoke forcefully enough to cut through the haze of lust driving everything else from his mind. He leaned back to look into her face, seeing how her eyes widened as she looked at him.

  What is she seeing?

  His skin… His skin had changed. And his hands. He was some kind of monster. Some thing.

  “I’m sorry.” He released her, letting her slide to her feet. “I shouldn’t have—”

  He looked at his arms again. Even the texture of his skin had changed. All the fine hairs were gone, and it was smoother. Not like scales, but something else.

  What the hell am I?

  “Come back to the car,” she said.

  He couldn’t believe she still wanted to be near him. Maybe she just felt obligated to help. He hated the thought, but at the same time, he didn’t know who else to turn to.

  They quickly crossed back to the car. Thankfully, the truck that had almost run him over had kept going and no one else was around on the quieter side street.

  Once they were back in the car, they both stared out the front windshield. He didn’t know what to say. Tracey broke the silence.

  “So, last night, when you said you reacted to Earth like a Martian…”

  “I’m not a Martian.” His stomach—if he had a stomach—lurched. “Shit. Maybe I am a Martian.”

  “You don’t know?”

  He turned to look at her, once again catching how her eyes widened, pupils dilating. What did he look like now? He could check himself out in the mirror on the back of the sun visor, but…he was afraid to.

  “I have no idea what’s going on,” he said.

  He couldn’t believe she wasn’t freaking out. He was freaking out.

  “Are you okay?” Her voice was even and level, like someone trained in triaging situations. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

  He did feel better. The fact that she’d noticed—that she actually cared—triggered another flood of warmth all over his body. He was used to feeling emotions mostly centered in his chest—there was a reason people associated emotions with the heart, after all. This was different. It was like he felt everything all over—on his skin.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I feel… I feel great, actually. I’ve never felt better.”

  “You said your mom is a geneticist, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Any chance she’s some kind of mad-scientist geneticist?”

  “No way.”

  He thought about the incredibly plain and normal childhood he’d experienced in their suburban home. Their upscale suburban home. On a huge plot of land, far away from anyone else. Where Carol worked from home…in a lab…in the basement.

  “Oh…”

  “What ‘oh’?” Tracey asked.

  “I think I need to talk to Carol.”

  “I know you need to talk to Carol.” Tracey put the car in gear and drove back down the street. “Where does she live?”

  “You don’t have to take me. I mean, you didn’t sign up for this.”

  “Are you kidding?” She grinned over at him. “A great Sci-fi plot like this—I want to see what happens next.”

  Chapter Six

  They drove up a long driveway flanked by trees that grew thick enough to block out the yard behind them. When the house finally came into view, Tracey was surprised at how normal it looked.

  Gorgeous, yes, with the entire front wall of the building made up of windows, and a sloping roof that rose two stories in the front to let in tons of light, then angled sharply to nearly reach the ground in the back. But there were no lightning rods on the roofline, no weird dog-things guarding the door, and no spaceships on the immaculate front lawn.

  “Weird,” she said.

  “After everything that’s happened this morning, you think the house is weird?”

  “No, it looks normal. And that’s weird.”

  “At least I’ll blend in with the lawn,” Kyle muttered.

  “Well, you know what they say about being green.”

  “That it’s good for the planet?”

  “I was going for...”

  His lips quirked up on one side in a sardonic smile. He was probably messing with her, which was great. With what he was going through, he needed some levity. They both did.

  The skin on his arms had settled into a deep olive green, with mottled patches of dark brown here and there. His face and the front of his neck was a lighter color—almost yellow.

  His features were the same. Chiseled jaw, sensual lips, strong nose, broad shoulders… His eyes were still that unnaturally vibrant green. As she mentally listed her favorite of his physical traits, the color of his eyes brightened, almost as if they were starting to glow.

  “Tracey, whatever you’re think
ing, you need to stop.”

  She must have been more obvious than she’d thought in ogling him. Now that they were here, though…

  She leaned a little closer, resting her hand on his thigh. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want to have sex with you in the car in front of my house.”

  “The back seat is pretty spacious. Or we could run into the woods. We didn’t pass any other houses for miles.” She let her palm smooth over the lines of his muscle, feeling them flex beneath the thin fabric of his pants.

  He sucked in a breath, grabbing her wrist. He entwined their fingers, then pressed a quick kiss to her knuckles before pulling her hand close to his heart.

  The gesture was so sweet, so unexpected, even after everything they’d talked about the night before. Her heart felt like it was in a sudden freefall—not dropping through her stomach, but somehow outside of gravity. The only pull it felt was toward him.

  “Carol is in there,” he said. “And she might come out here.”

  It took Tracey a moment to process what he was saying. She shifted her attention away from her pounding heart and focused on their current situation.

  “Right,” she said. “That would be awkward.”

  “Beyond awkward. I’ve never brought anyone home with me before. That plus this,” he gestured toward his chest with his free hand, “and I’m already kind of pushing the limits of what my psyche can handle.”

  “I can wait in the car.”

  “What about seeing what happens next?”

  “You can fill me in later.”

  He arched an eyebrow at her.

  “Wow, that sounded dirty,” she said.

  He laughed, then kissed her hand again. Her stomach joined her heart in its fluttery dance.

  She cleared her throat, and said, “It’s more important to me that you’re comfortable. And bringing someone home to meet your mom for the first time, that’s a big deal.”

  “I wish the circumstances were different.”

  “Well, you know what they say. ‘Some have green-ness thrust upon them…’”

  Both eyebrows went up that time.

  “Why does everything I say sound so dirty right now?” she said.

  He leaned over and kissed her cheek. Her skin tingled and she could feel a huge, dopey grin on her face, no matter how hard she tried to play it cool.

  “Later,” he said. “Right now… I’d really like for you to meet my mom.”

  Her ‘one-night-stand’ had given her one of the best conversations of her life, followed it up with the absolute best sex of her life, and then turned green and started sticking to walls, but this—this—felt like an absolute revelation.

  “Are you sure?” she said.

  “Yeah.”

  Her smile must have doubled. She turned toward the door so he wouldn’t see just how bad she had it for him. Hopefully, by the time they reached the door, she’d be able to regain some composure.

  “Okay.” She pulled her hand away so she could grab her purse.

  Before she could open the door, Kyle was there doing it for her. When she stood, his arms were caging her in—not that she minded at all.

  She’d never been drawn to beefy guys, but being next to him, having him close, she felt a thrill shoot down her spine. He’d enveloped her last night. Taken her to heights she’d never dreamed of, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. He was the whole package.

  The whole green package.

  “How did you get here so fast?” she said.

  He shrugged. “I jumped over the car.”

  “What?” The word tumbled out, along with a tight laugh. She realized she was tucking the same lock of hair behind her ear—even though it hadn’t fallen forward again—and forced her hands to still.

  “If I have to deal with the drawbacks of…whatever this is, I might as well enjoy the perks,” he said.

  “That makes sense.”

  “One of them is a heightened sense of smell.” He leaned in closer, eyes heavy-lidded and glowing faintly.

  “Is that a drawback or a perk? I didn’t get a chance to shower this morning.”

  “You smell amazing. Especially when you’re thinking about what you were earlier.”

  “And here I thought it was written all over my face.”

  “It was written all over your scent.”

  “I have mixed feelings about that.”

  “I don’t.”

  He captured her lips with his, moving faster than she could register. His hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. He deepened the kiss, letting out a moan as her tongue twined with his.

  She could feel his dick pressing against her stomach. Damn, she should jump up and wrap her legs around his waist. Before she could, he thrust his thigh between her legs, sliding one hand to her ass to keep her pinned.

  Her fingers dug into his back as he rubbed his leg against her pussy, squeezing her flesh. Sweat trickled down her neck as the summer day seemed to crank about a hundred degrees. Kyle let go of her mouth and ran his tongue along the spot.

  He shuddered, and said, “Moons, you taste so good.”

  “Moons?” she gasped, surprised that she was still capable of speech with what he was doing to her. She vaguely remembered him mentioning his family’s weird astronomy ‘swears’ the night before.

  “I know it’s weird. I picked it up from Carol.”

  Carol. His mom. Who was in the house. Possibly watching them through those huge windows that made up the front of the place.

  As if summoned by the mention of her name, a woman’s voice rang out over the yard. “Kyle?”

  He froze, his body stiffening in a much less enjoyable way.

  “Busted,” Tracey breathed.

  Chapter Seven

  This was not the way Kyle wanted to introduce Tracey to Carol. He let out a sigh and looked over at the door. Carol’s eyes widened when she saw his face, but she gave him a forced smile before stepping further onto the porch.

  “Are you all right, Miss?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah.” Tracey grinned up at him. “Better than all right.”

  “Carol, this is…” Kyle’s voice trailed off as he thought about Carol’s question. “Wait, why wouldn’t Tracey be all right?”

  Carol shifted her weight from one foot to another. “From the looks of things, you’re probably dealing with strange urges. I just want you to know that you’re stronger than your instincts. I believe in you.”

  ‘Stronger than my instincts’? What the hell does that mean?

  His hands were sticking to Tracey’s clothes, like they’d stuck to that building earlier. He didn’t have an excuse for the rest of his body. Seeing Carol standing on the front porch, staring at him as if she was about to start crying, helped him finally force himself to get some distance between them.

  He backed away from Tracey. Beautiful, intelligent, funny, delicious Tracey.

  He shook his head, trying to clear some of the fog from his thoughts. What had he been doing, making out in the front yard like some hormone-crazed kid?

  “There you go,” Carol said. “I know you can do it. Just…a little farther, please.”

  “I think he needs a minute,” Tracey said. “Or a cold shower. You know how it is.”

  She smiled at him, waggling her eyebrows.

  “I am going to die of embarrassment,” Kyle muttered.

  Tracey laughed. “Come on. She gave birth to you. She knows what’s what. Unless she grew you in a petri dish or something.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Carol said. “Why would you think such a thing?”

  Tracey stared at Carol for a moment, then at Kyle, then back again. “Your mom is terrible at bluffing.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Carol said. “The logistics alone would preclude—”

  “Mom,” Kyle snapped.

  Carol immediately quieted. He only used that “outdated relational title” when he was really upset, and she knew it. />
  He sighed, and said, “That’s your first question? Not, ‘why are you green’?”

  “I…” Carol clenched her lips tightly shut, like she did when he asked questions she didn’t want to answer. Like about his dad.

  She had known about this all along. She’d known what would happen if he didn’t take his “allergy shots”. And she’d kept it from him.

  The silence stretched on. Tracey looked back and forth between them, then lifted her hand and waved.

  “I’m Tracey, by the way.”

  She was smiling, but her scent had an acrid edge to it. He didn’t know what it meant. He was just grateful that it was dampening his reaction to her proximity—and the rich scent of her arousal.

  “I’m Dr. Addison.”

  “I think under the circumstances she can call you Carol.”

  Carol ignored him. “He’s never mentioned you.”

  Tracey shrugged. “We only met last night.”

  “Last night?” Carol glared at him. “You’ve known her for one night, and you bring her here in the middle of a family crisis?”

  “Technically, I brought him here—and you guys seem like you could use some help managing your family crisis, Carol.” Tracey made sarcastic air quotes around his mom’s name. “Besides, I’m not the one who’s been lying to him his whole life. Because I’m pretty sure turning green and sticking to walls is not the sign of an allergy.”

  “I was protecting him.” Carol lifted the hand that she’d been keeping behind her back as she took a step forward, pointing it at Tracey to emphasize her words.

  Kyle had never seen Carol look so…menacing. The gun in her hand heightened the effect.

  “Were you going to shoot me?” Kyle said.

  Carol quickly put the gun behind her back again—as if that would make Kyle un-see it.

  “Only if I had to,” she said. “And it’s a tranquilizer gun.”

  Kyle snorted. “Thanks. I feel so much better now.”

  Tracey rested her hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “It sounds like you guys have a lot to talk about. Maybe we should do that inside.”

  “Yeah.” He reached up to take Tracey’s hand in his, then led her to the porch. When he was standing right next to Carol, he said, “Can I hold her hand, or is that one of the circumstances where you’ll have to shoot me?”