Tentacles: An Anthology

by Haley Whitehall

  Every … Even there. Oh God, there.

  She let go and screamed into Kas’s mouth as the most intense orgasm she’d ever experienced vibrated through her. It pounded her body like a tsunami, bearing hundreds of quivers and shakes in its wake.

  He held her steady through it all, still spearing her mouth with his tongue. Still laughing.

  She’d get him for that. As soon as her liquid bones could move. Her eyes closed, and she let her body float…

  ..................

  Hands gripped her shoulders and hauled her up as soon as her head broke the surface.

  “We’ve got you, Captain. Are you all right?”

  Kasan’s body appeared in a Swiss-cheese hole across from hers. Still fully clothed, she noted. A shudder ran through her, straight down to her toes, but she couldn’t pinpoint the source of the sudden jolt of fear. Never mind. She had a job to do. “They’re down there. Get your samples. Now. Hurry.”

  Kas shot her a pensive look and she sent back her best ‘stuff-it’ glare. If he wanted her to gather answers, she had to do it her way. A tentacle coiled around the right ankle she dangled in the water, caressing. She resisted the urge to kick it away and held still while Fronson snipped off a piece. The thing let go. Bluish blood trailed its downward path. Disgusting.

  “Got it.”

  “Good. Now let’s get the hell out of here.” And by out of here she didn’t merely mean back to the ship. No. Oh hell no.

  She needed to run screaming a lot farther than that.

  ..................

  “Report, Captain.”

  “Aye, sir. The data I’m sending now was taken from a sample a little over three hours old.” It was the middle of the night now, and Zaural fought a sleepy yawn. She forced her mind to stay focused. “Comparing that with the water analysis, we do find low levels of nitrogen in the creature’s tissue, which would confirm our theory that the colony’s farming practices are having a detrimental effect on the Gramica and their environment.”

  “Or it could be,” Vorle stroked his chin as he stared at the results, “that this proves nothing. It could be nothing more than a baseline reading for this species and this microcosm.”

  “But, sir. The creatures told us …”

  “In a dream,” Vorle cut in. “They talked to you in a dream.”

  She wanted to smack the smirk right off his fat face. If he were only ten thousand light-years closer… God, was it hot in here? Her hand tugged at the collar of her uniform. Her skin itched all over. What she needed was a nice, long, cool shower. Shaking away those thoughts, she put some teeth in her answer. “Yes, sir. That’s their only communication method.”

  “Well,” Vorle’s chair creaked as he leaned back, “it’s not much to go on, but it’ll have to do, given the circumstances. What’s the status of the evac preparations?”

  “Going according to plan. We should be ready for lift-off by T-minus fourteen, which will give us plenty to time to exit the system ahead of the particle shower.”

  “And it’s current location?”

  “We’re tracking it, sir. It’s currently thirty degrees outside the system and still moving along the same trajectory at the same speed. For now, there’s no reason to assume the solar winds will not behave as forecasted.”

  “Good. Well.” He humpfed and looked at the data again. “This is spotty evidence, but I’m ordering you to proceed with the evacuation for the safety of the colonists, Captain.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  ..................

  Two hundred and sixteen. All those too young to have been stung since the last shower

  huddled under the nose of her ship in makeshift refugee tents. The rest were slower coming. Not willing to give up their land, unsure of their new destination. Some still arguing over whether to stay. She couldn’t say she blamed them.

  While the land wasn’t much to look at – its rocky surface proved hard to pry a living from –

  the water had to be the bluest, the cleanest in the galaxy. Its appeal grew on her daily. To the point where she snuck away from her duties at least once a day to swim in it. To feel it all around her.

  Of course, she took precautions. She never swam in the same place twice. And she always stayed alert. No more surprises. No more Kasan.

  She shook her head. They’d almost come to blows when she’d told him that the evac order had been approved. Her job was to move this colony – now. Him included.

  Her disagreement with Kasan had come to a head when he told her he wasn’t leaving. He’d grabbed her arm and told her she wasn’t either. As if she’d choose to stay with him! Here. On this rocky nowhere. Unh uh. No fucking way.

  Then he’d started spouting some crack about how she was ‘one of them’ now and how she needed to watch for the ‘signs’ to appear. Yeah, right. He probably needed another drink worse than he let on.

  “What an ass,” she muttered.

  At least he’s gotten the hint when she threatened him with the brig and hadn’t been around to bother her the last few days. She slipped into the water and closed her eyes, letting the coolness wash over her too-hot skin. A measure of relief she desperately needed sank into her bones.

  The bright sunlight swirled orange and yellow patterns on the backs of her eyelids. Her skin softened and grew tingly all over. A few more minutes, and she might just melt into bliss. Her comm. crackled to life.

  “Captain? Captain, it’s Fronson. Come in. Over.”

  She opened her eyes, reached out a hand to snag it, and paused. Her right arm and hand was black. Coal black and shiny. Wet. More a rubbery outer shell than skin. What the hell?

  She managed to get her trembling fingers around the comm. button. “Yes, Fronson?”

  “Captain, we’ve got a problem. I think you’d better see this. In person.”

  Her head tilted back and she gazed up at the sky for no reason. None that she could see. “On my way.” When she snapped her attention back to her body, she sucked in a breath. The black had traveled up her arm, over her torso, and down her thighs. Her whole body had turned black.

  Her skin no longer her own.

  Had they said this would happen? What the hell was this? Damn it. “Get if off me,” she whimpered, rubbing her arm. “Get it off!” But it didn’t rub off.

  Fear contracted her, and she slipped into her suit like a bent old man. Afraid of how her skin felt different against the fabric, her movements were jerky, uneven. She sat in the rover and turned the key, her fingers suffering a numbness she’d never experienced before. The black stuff

  – what was it?

  A shiver turned her spine to liquid as the sky changed colors. No, not the sky. She touched her eyes. A weird thick covering had descended over them. Like window shades, they muted the sun’s light. Made her feel alien in her own body. She wanted to scream, to tear away and run to the ship, but she forced herself to drive. Those were the longest minutes of her life.

  Fronson greeted her at the base of the ramp. “Good, you’re back. All hell’s—” He stopped and gaped. “Oh shit! What the hell happened to you?”

  “I don’t know. I was in the water and …” She glanced up from her hands to see Fronson give her a worried look. “Fronson, what is it? What’s happening?”

  “Imet and his goons say this is the prelude to the shower. It’s here. It’s started.”

  She narrowed her eyes, wishing she could change them back. “It’s too early.”

  “Yeah, it’s still twenty degrees off the planet, but it’s changing course fast. Things are going to get a lot worse pretty damn quick if we don’t blast off. Some of the crew are already feeling the effects. A few look pretty bad.”

  “The serum. Disburse it to the crew. Now.”

  “And the colonists?”

  She shook her head. “Load the rest of ‘em up. We’ll take off at oh-nine-hundred.” She followed Fronson’s gaze and checked out her hands. Solid black. Crap. “Where’s Imet?”

  H
e inclined his head. “Port side, with the first group.”

  “Thanks.” She had a few questions she wanted answered.

  “Do you want me to call medical?”

  “No,” she snapped. “Just get those colonists loaded.”

  ..................

  Imet saw her, turned his head away, and then looked back, his upper lip curled in a sneer. He watched her walk toward him and set down the shipping container he’d been holding. “So it’s true. You’ve gone native.”

  She glanced around the colonists. Noted their flushed skin edging toward violet. Their solemn expressions that held fear and distrust. Of her? Or of the shower? She didn’t know. But she’d had enough of games. “What are you talking about, Imet?”

  “You’re as bad as him,” he spat. “Those damn creatures did something to you. You’re one of them now.”

  “I’m not one of anything. I’m still the captain of this vessel – the one ferrying you away from here I might add – and I need to know what’s going on. Why has the storm come early?”

  He shrugged. “I think they can call it. They must do something. They make it come when they’re ready.” He tossed an empty cylinder away. “Not when we are. Last time they…”

  She took a step closer. “They what?”

  He jumped back as though she’d struck him. She hadn’t even touched him. “It came before they’d stung all of us.” Sadness clouded his eyes. Angry sadness. “So many died.”

  Zaural wondered not for the first time how much revenge factored into Imet’s call to her base. Everybody here, it seemed, had an agenda. “And the rest?”

  “Have you ever seen a storm victim? Do you know what it does to you?”

  She bit her lip and shook her head.

  “Watch. Here they come.” He gripped her arm, seemingly oblivious to the color of her skin below the fabric, and led her toward the group of colonists – some of the stragglers and holdouts

  – now making their way to the ship. Most walked slow, many limped. Their bodies were covered in shapeless cloth sacks with long hoods.

  As they neared, she could start to make out their faces. Her eyes widened at their

  pockmarked skin. No, not pockmarked. But as though a million lasers had penetrated their skin all at once, leaving millions and millions of tiny holes. She knew without asking that the particles had gone straight through them. Tearing their way inside them, exiting out the back. Leaving behind rent flesh and pierced bone. She drew back, but Imet held her steady.

  “Look real good, Captain. Now do you understand why we want to leave? What they did to us?”

  She nodded, unable to speak. A few of them stopped. Stared at her. Their eyes glaring, accusatory. Full of hate. She sucked in a breath as they pointed to her black hands. She wanted to scream.

  Imet pulled her aside to let them pass, his grip on her arm intensifying. After they passed, he spun on her, his mouth spouting anger. “But you. You they gave the full dose to, didn’t they?

  You’re safe to stay. How luck you for, captain.”

  “But I’m not staying. I’m leaving. With my ship.”

  Imet’s eyes grew wide, then he threw his head back and laughed.

  The sound thrummed along her black skin, dancing like pebbles on a snare drum. Her eyes burned with tears. She yanked her arm from his grasp and headed up the ramp. Past the people dressed in billowy rags. Past the onlookers loading up their miserable lives. No, she’d never be one of them. She was no terrorist. She was a captain. Captain of this ship. Not some damn colonist. She’d never live here, if it was the last place in the galaxy.

  Her crew snapped to attention though they hugged the walls, clearing a path to the bridge, their eyes huge with shock. She couldn’t blame them. Hell, she couldn’t even explain what had happened to her. But she wanted answers. And she wanted them now.

  Four corridors later, she rounded the corner to medical. Not where she’d intended to go, at least consciously. Dr. Bristol rushed right to her side. Seconds later, she sat under the med-scanner, the machine gently whirring above her.

  “What is it, doctor? What’s wrong with me?”

  “Nothing,” Bristol said softly. “But you’re showing advanced exodermal mutation. Far more advanced than the other colonists.” She frowned. “I’m not sure why, but it doesn’t seem to be causing you harm. Any symptoms?”

  Other than being dehydrated? Thirsty? Well, that never happened on a mostly dry, rocky planet, did it? And the extra horniness? Well, that could take a back seat for now. Zaural blinked as the scanner was switched off and the light above her returned to normal. Wait. No light seemed normal. “What about my eyes, doctor?”

  “The protective coating? I’m not sure why it’s there, unless you plan to be exposed to a nice, long dose of the shower. Do you?”

  “Hell, no. I’m leaving in the morning. As soon as I can get this ship off the ground. And no way in hell am I ever coming back. Will it go away?”

  “There’s only one way to find out.”

  ..................

  “Captain, engine ignition sequence initiated. Power-up proceeding normally. Hayes out.”

  “Thank you, engineering. Colby? How are our guests doing?”

  There was a scratch on the comm., then some feedback. “Just fine, captain, er … sir. The natives have settled down for the most part. We managed to get the food translators to spit out something they’d eat.”

  “Excellent. Let’s all sit back and enjoy the ride.” Zaural snapped the comm. off and turned her attention to the navigation reports. Six thousand light years away, two star systems to choose from. It would come down to detailed planetary analysis, which she knew her crew could handle.

  Getting recent reports from the area was near impossible. Star base personnel hadn’t set foot in either system since their initial outreach determined a low-tech population, unable or unwilling to embrace interplanetary travel. “Should be perfect for these folk,” she muttered.

  The sooner she got these dim-witted terrorists off her ship, and got back to her regular life, the better.

  Her arm tingled, and she looked down. Yep, still black. Once she got out of the path of the oncoming shower, it would fade. Right? A shiver worked up her back. Being here creeped her out. “Time to lift off, Arty?”

  “Sixty minutes and counting.”

  “Excellent. Double-check our take-off trajectory, make sure we have enough—”

  “Captain. We’re picking up readings of additional life forms near the observatory.”

  She swiveled in her chair. “More colonists?”

  “Unknown. Nine life forms. Humanoid.”

  “What’s our count on the colonists?”

  “Twenty-three-hundred and eighty-four.”

  “Damn it.” Their initial scans had been higher than that. Not that some couldn’t have died in the meantime – she shuddered, all the sudden thankful for her very black skin. But even with that possibility, she knew not all the colonists would be accounted for. She knew one for sure wasn’t anywhere on board. The thought tightened her jaw as she stood and jammed her pistol farther into the holster. “Damn it. I’ll go.”

  “Captain—”

  “Stick to the plan, Arty. If I’m not back in thirty, take off. Don’t wait. Get these colonists and the crew out of here. Understood?”

  Arty looked as though he’d rather cough up a fish than agree.

  She glared to make her point clearer.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Fronson, you have the bridge.”

  ..................

  The heels of her boots echoed on the metal gangway all the way to the bottom. When her feet hit the soil, she turned and looked back. Arty was raising the ramp. Good. Those people were her responsibility. Her orders stood.

  A deep breath later, she pulled her pistol from the holster just to hold. Truthfully, she didn’t know what to expect when she got there. If this was one of Kasan’s tricks… She’d have no compulsion about b
lowing his head off.

  Her skin began to itch and heat the closer she got to the observatory. The moisture in her mouth dried. Her black skin tightened uncomfortably, and the urge to dive into the pool intensified. Instead, she pulled out her scanner. Yep. Nine life forms. Straight ahead.

  The observatory doors swung open slowly and she pushed the pistol in first. “Hello?

  Anybody here?”

  No answer.

  She checked readings again and sighed. Were those blips ghosts, or were they real? It was her duty to find out, despite the urgency to turn and run for the ship. “I’m coming in,” she hollered.

  In the weak morning light, the colors on the water danced. Twinges of orange. Light yellows.

  Rays and dots of sun. But the water itself lay quiet. She tiptoed around the closest opening and worked her way the edge of the pool. “Hello? I’m here to help you.”

  Water rushed up like a funnel at the far corner of the pool. From inside it, a black figure emerged. Black skin. Black all over. Black like her.

  Her own skin grew cold as she froze, watching. Identifying the creature’s movements. Kasan.

  As soon as his feet landed on the plexi-glass, he knelt at the edge of the opening, lowering his hand. While his attention was elsewhere, she rushed him, pistol up. “Kasan. Stop. What are you doing?”

  He turned his head but didn’t stop. His black arm pulled another shape from the water. A perfectly black tentacle slithered out of the opening. After it cleared the water, the tentacle formed a limb. An arm. A human arm. Black just like Kasan. Black just like her. Seconds later, Kasan pulled a full human-looking body from the water.

  “What. The. Hell.”

  “Welcome,” Kasan told her. “Welcome to your new home.”

  She bit back most of a hysterical laugh but her gun arm shook like a tree in a hurricane. “This is not my home, Kas. I’m not like you.”

  “Oh, but you are.” He walked toward her. “Don’t you see? They’ve chosen you.” His voice hushed. “I’ve chosen you.”