Invasive Species Part One Read online

  INVASIVE SPECIES PART O1

  BY DANIEL J. KIRK

  © Copyright 2014 Bride of Chaos/ All Rights Reserved to the Author.

  First electronic edition 2014

  Edited by A.R. Jesse

  Cover by Turtle&Noise

  THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION.

  In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes) prior written permission must be obtained from the author and publisher.

  For more information on this series please visit www.brideofchaos.com

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  INVASIVE SPECIES

  PART 01

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  1. IN THE WAKE OF TITANS

  “You’re acting strange.”

  “Me? What do you mean?”

  Melinda looked suspiciously at her fiancé Derek. Something was off about him but she didn’t know what.

  Derek reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders. He couldn’t quite feel the act. He knew it was happening, but it felt like he was in the back of his head looking out. Derek couldn’t remember coming to meet with his fiancé. He couldn’t remember much at all actually, and now he could see he was scaring her.

  He spoke, at least his voice was saying something. His mind was still detached. No, it wasn’t Derek speaking at all. It was someone, something else.

  “It’s fine, Melinda. It’s me. You can believe that.”

  Derek screamed inside his head.

  Gone were Melinda’s soft features, her golden skin and hair had become a greenish blue haze. He could feel his arms and legs again. They were dangling, suspended in some form of gelatin. His movements were slowed, but he was able to move his hands into his line of sight and press them against the glass tube. Then he found the breathing apparatus attached to his nose.

  He screamed and pounded against the glass. The dull thuds attracted dark blurry figures.

  The beings spoke. But it was not English.

  Then they did something and Derek’s vision went white, his mind blanking a blink later.

  Derek was in the shower. He could hear his fiancé yelling for him, “Hurry up, what are you doing in there? We’re going to be late.”

  Derek watched as his hand appeared and turned off the shower, and removed the curtain. He stepped in front of the mirror and now Derek saw what had spooked Melinda. Something was different about him. It was the way his eyes looked dull, almost plastic.

  “Coming,” Derek’s voice responded.

  Inside his mind Derek panicked. He knew it wasn’t him. He wasn’t in control. He could remember the greenish blue goo and he could still feel the tubes shoved up his nose. Something was terribly wrong.

  It felt like lightning struck. Suddenly, Derek was ripped around. His body stumbled and met a hard ground. Darkness surrounded him as the warm gelatin squirmed off his body. He felt the cold air of the empty room embrace him like a kick in the pants. He collapsed, tugged himself into the fetal position and hoped to warm himself.

  There was a fizz and a pop. Something electric still hung on, flickering every couple of seconds. The strobing light revealed a sterile gray room filled with bodies suspended in glass pods. Derek’s had broken open and he lay naked on the ground. Quickly regaining his senses was not beneficial. Everything was wrong, the smell, the temperature, the sounds. It was like smelling a busted muffler while baking cookies.

  He had no clue where he was, but it was not a place he could’ve ever imagined. Unearthly would’ve been the correct description if Derek had been willing to admit it to himself.

  But he was still trying to stay rational. His mind worked to tell him it was just some strange government experiment. That would make sense. Derek worked for the government. He’d probably signed some document when he got his last pay raise that allowed them to mess with his mind and run strange experiments. He was sure it was all perfectly legal if he’d read the fine print in his contract.

  If he passed the test, whatever it may be, they might appreciate his potential and grant him a more sizeable raise. Derek quickly nixed that thought. The key was to stay rational.

  He looked around the room in between the flickering light, hoping to see a phone or a page that he could let the scientists know he was up and out and needed medical attention and an explanation. He kept trying to convince himself that if he just acted calm and cool they would let him go and they could be high fiving it over beers after work later. It’d be one big happy joke.

  It’s the ones that panic that end up dead.

  Derek stood up and navigated over the broken shards of glass looking for something to cover his private parts. But the more he looked the more he knew there would be nothing in this room. There was nothing vaguely human except for the other bodies suspended behind him.

  He didn’t recognize any of the faces and decided not to be a pervert and stare at the naked women too long, afraid there was a camera hidden somewhere. And if he learned anything in his time working special operations for the government, it was that even when the power was out there was the chance that the cameras were working fine.

  He decided to look for the camera, hoping to wave some help his way.

  And then he heard it.

  It was alive whatever it was, it breathed and growled. It matched the hum of the room but felt wetter, like a drooling animal, rabid and anxious.

  Then it attacked.

  Derek caught a glimpse as the light revealed the strange beast. Its shoulders were like boulders squishing its slender face and forcing it’s massive jaw open like a snake with a thousand fangs. The rest of its form was humanoid except for what Derek thought was a tail. But Derek didn’t have time to stare. He fought for his life instead.

  Derek had been trained for hand-to-hand combat. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu was his forte, but his body was weak and he’d never used it in an actual fight. It had always been as a part of training and exercise. Still, the practice came in handy as he grappled the beast and dragged it to the ground where its thrashing couldn’t do much damage. He wedged himself beneath the beasts gnashing jaw and dug his elbow into its throat, hoping it was like most animals.

  The beast moaned and tried to force the fight back up to their feet, but Derek locked its legs and began to twist, feeling the bones close to snapping point. Then he jabbed with his elbow repeatedly until he heard the last breath knocked out of the beast.

  The beast jerked limp and then its dead weight was suddenly too much for Derek. He squirmed himself free and quickly remembered he was still naked making the fight and the memory of the beast’s hairy, scaly skin feel that much more revolting.

  A sharp searing pain struck his mind.

  Trees whipped passed the passenger side window. Derek couldn’t turn his head to see who was driving. But he could almost smell Melinda. He knew it was her and he knew whoever was in control of his body was with her. He tried with all his might to reclaim it. He raged inside his own mind trying to reach out, smash his head through the glass, anything.

  Derek coughed and he was in darkness again. Something about his body felt different. Warmth radiated between him and the body of the beast. It felt as if he was getting stronger. He couldn’t help but stand back up. He had more energy than he knew what to do with it. It was such a strange sensation after feeling trapped inside his mind, watching a scene play out that he couldn’t quite see or interact with. He just knew Melinda was in danger.

  “Put these on,” a voice surprised him from the darkness.

&nb
sp; In the flickering light the owner of that voice skirted back into the shadows of the pods.

  “Where did you go? Where am I?”

  “You’ll feel better once you put on the clothing, earthling.”

  “Earthling?”

  “Clothe yourself, Special Agent Derek Vogt. You don’t have time to question my word choice.”

  “I’m questioning a lot of things,” Derek said kneeling and picking up the jumpsuit. It was white with a single diagonal blue stripe from the left shoulder to his waist. It didn’t zip or button up instead it folded itself together as it formed to his body. As if things could get any stranger, even clothes didn’t seem the same. There was no doubt in Derek’s mind. He’d been a part of some strange government experiment and now he had lost his mind. But then again crazy people didn’t know they were crazy, right?

  “Better. This jumpsuit will protect you against the dangers that await and should prevent injury in the events to occur.”

  “What?” Derek stuttered, “Am…Am I crazy?”

  “Mental health is not something I am prepared to diagnosis Special Agent, however, you seemed the most fit physically for the demands that are required.”

  “Slow down there, Ace. Who are you and where the hell am I?”

  “I am friend of humanity. That is all you need to know. You are on an interstellar craft piloted by the enemy of humanity.”

  “Aliens?”

  “Yes, I understand your culture is hesitant to believe. It is something they have worked hard at in preparation for this day.”

  “You’re an alien.”

  “Yes, in the terms of your understanding”

  “And you’re betraying your people to help man, why?”

  “They are not my people who are invading your home, Special Agent. I come from a planet they took the same as they will take yours. You see, I know what you have been going through, how your mind has not felt like your own. How you’ve been seeing glimpses of your life that you can’t seem to control, but you know are really happening. They are, and you are right. You are not in control of them. They are.”

  The room shook and the last spark of flickering light had been defeated. The room was black.

  “Quick we must get you out of here. Trust my eyes and follow me.”

  “I can’t see you,” Derek said.

  “Take my hand.”

  Derek let out a squeal. Clammy digits nuzzled out of a spongy palm and suctioned onto Derek’s hand.

  “It’s gross for me, too, but your life depends on you trusting me. No, Special Agent, not just your life. But all of humanity’s.”

  “Wake up.”

  Derek shook. A moment ago he had been holding Melinda’s hand but he couldn’t remember anything else after that. Now he was holding the disgusting spongy palm of an alien. Now, he could at least make out a silhouette of it as it dragged him through a metal-like tube, dimly lit with an ambient brown and gold. The light was not stagnant, but it did not pulse, it felt more like it was flowing.

  “Use your feet, I can’t drag you all over this craft, Special Agent.”

  “I was there again. Trapped in my head.”

  “Not your head, idiot. They have a body same as yours, they wear it like clothes and walk among those you know.”

  “Then why do I keep feeling like it’s my body they are in control of?”

  “It’s not. It is theirs; your body is here on their craft. How do I say this?” The large headed being stopped dragging and let go of Derek’s hand as it thought. Then it turned and started crawling through the shaft again, “Keep pace as I speak. We don’t have time, do you understand? Okay then let me try and explain for you as we go.”

  Derek followed feeling a similar loss of control as he did in his terrible visions. But at least he could feel himself making the movements and he knew he could turn around. And the only other comforting thought was that he could choke the bigheaded alien if it didn’t start providing real answers. At least he hoped he could.

  “They are stealing your memories. They have made a connection to your mind so they can reference how to act in a given situation. They want to mimic your personality so that no one suspects you have been switched out. Does that make sense?”

  “And how do I see what they are seeing?”

  “When the connection is made, you experience what they are seeing. If your mind was strong enough, you might be able to dig through their memories and thoughts, but you are just a human. Don’t waste your time trying. Stay in the here and now, Special Agent. Your planet depends upon it.”

  “But what about Melinda, is he going to kill her?”

  “I don’t know the details of their plan and your motivation may be squandered if I tell you she will be fine. But the truth is if you don’t stop them up here, I can guarantee her experience on your planet will not be pleasurable for you.”

  Derek knew the alien was right and followed. Hoping more would be revealed.

  “I thought you liked the Senator, that was a little rude, Derek.”

  Melinda looked like she was ready to cry. She was embarrassed and there was nothing Derek could do about it. Maybe. Didn’t the alien tell him that he was in the doppelganger’s mind as well? Maybe he could find out what it did.

  He tried, but the being posing as Derek was stronger. Every turn his body made was a distracting array of information. Derek knew they had gone to the gala for all the higher ranking intelligence officers. Derek was supposed to be attending as part of the protection of all attending, but was meant to look as if he was a part of the party. That’s why Melinda had to come. And now she would likely die.

  Derek should’ve told her, he should’ve—

  “Stop!” The alien’s spongy palms had suctioned onto Derek’s forehead and it shook him. “You can’t do anything for her in its head and you’re only helping it out. Try and block it out.”

  “I can’t control it. It just happens.”

  “I know, but it’ll only distract you. Don’t let it distract you.” The alien’s words were tinged with something Derek understood. The alien had experienced the same thing on his planet. He had watched someone he cared about duped and then destroyed. The pain of the being had transcended their physical and cultural differences.

  They crawled down into a much wider and green-lit corridor. Tracks of orange light sprung out from beneath their hands and knees.

  “They destroyed your planet?”

  “They destroyed everything that made it mine, yes.” The memory agitated the alien, “Move softer, you’re sending out pulses. They’ll know we’re in here.”

  “The orange light?”

  “I knew you weren’t all brawn. That’s correct now keep moving. The chamber we need to reach is just ahead.

  “I killed one of them in the pod room. Are they all that ugly?”

  “Killed one? No, that was not one of the invaders. It was sent in like a guard dog to kill you, but that is not the beast’s purpose on this craft.”

  “It’s an experiment, genetic right?”

  “It’s not an experiment. It is training. The enemy is very strong not just in mind and technology, but also in fighting. They are better fighters than your Bruce Lee.” The Alien paused and looked at Derek as if he was hoping he made the right reference. Derek acknowledged it.

  “You said training?”

  “Yes, They fight the beasts as training. It enhances their muscles and minds with every fight they win, another muscle is trained and improved depending on how they approached the match. Every fight they get stronger. You understand?”

  Derek remembered the strange warmth he felt and the sudden energy. “Will it make me stronger?”

  “It has already, hasn’t it? A little. But don’t waste your time trying to fight those beasts. There are ones that would tear your Bruce Lee and your Navy to bits and unfortunately they don’t wear any obvious labels.”

  The alien opened a hatch at the end of the green corridor and dropped down into a d
arkened chamber. Derek knew it was going to be a pretty good drop from the delay in hearing the alien land. Still he followed.

  His knees hit and buckled and for a second he saw Melinda crying. But the pain was too jarring and he couldn’t shake his place inside the chamber.

  “Pain,” he moaned.

  “Yes, your body, I forgot. Gravity on this craft is heavier than you are used to.”

  “No, I mean, pain blocks it. The one pretending to be me, he tried to connect but the pain kept me here.”

  “Interesting, if that works for you then it is a method worth repeating.” The alien switched on a light and the room turned bright white, like a wedding dress made of glass. The alien touched the air and a translucent screen drifted down from the ceiling. Colored lines shot across it in three dimensions, the being twisted the shapes at different angles with a growing concern.

  “Forget what I said about not fighting the beasts. One is headed this way. She is all yours.”

  “All mine? What?”

  A tall seam, three stories high formed in the white room, parted with the speed of an autumn leaf. A gruesome and asymmetrical shape soon distorted the clean lines of the seam.

  The beast was like a giant Hershey Kiss, with the color of a rotting peach. The bright light accentuated every callous-like growth that fell from its body like a hippie’s long hair. There was no sign of a mouth, no sign of legs or even fists until it twisted its form into a single protruding fist.

  That was about as much detail as Derek wanted to analyze. He dodged the first strike. Where was his friend the alien? Why couldn’t he help out?

  The beast hit the floor like a wave on a beach. It spread fast, spiking up tall pillars that fell at Derek as he ran into the sides of the white room. It was much smaller than he had assumed. Derek jumped at the last moment, the beast’s expanding flesh missed beneath him. Then he landed.

  The beast reared back, sucked in its flesh and staggered along the far wall. Derek had hurt it. Its strings of calloused hair shook at him like spit that wouldn’t leave the spitter’s lips. It sounded like the rattling of muffler on pavement.