by L. S. O'Dea
She flopped back down on her side of the bed.
“Louis and Charlie will be here in a moment to clean up.” He sat on the bed, running the cool rag over her burning skin. “How long have you been sick?”
“I fell asleep after breakfast and when I woke...” She stared up at him. “I hurt bad. Real bad.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m scared.”
“You’ll be fine.” He brushed the cloth over her face, cleaning around her mouth. “I promise. This pain is temporary.”
“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to go through what he did.” She rolled her head toward Jocko.
“You’re stronger than you think.” He brushed her hair off her face. “You can do this.”
“Will you read to me? Something to take my mind off the pain.”
“Of course.” He grabbed the book on architecture.
“I finished that.”
“Sorry.” He should’ve chosen someone else. The world would be a worse place without her in it. “Since you didn’t seem interested in the book about legends, I bought a different one. It’s about the forest and nature. I’ll be right back.” He left the cage and prepared the syringes. He was digging in his backpack for the book when Charlie and Louis came into the lab.
“Fersia is not well. Please clean up the mess.”
“Yes, sir.” Louis hesitated a moment at the door to the enclosure.
“It’s fine. You’re safe,” he said quietly. Her eyes were closed and her tiny face was wracked with pain. “It’s not contagious,” he said loudly. Just in case she was paying more attention than he thought.
He grabbed the book and followed the Guards into the cage. He sat next to her on the bed. “I need to take a sample of your blood and then I’ll read to you.”
She nodded, eyes still closed.
He’d left off the part about the serum but she knew it was coming. After caring for Jocko, she knew exactly what was coming but she didn’t complain or plead.
After drawing their blood and injecting them, he handed the syringes to Louis. “Put these on the counter and then feed the Gastropodas. I’ll check on them later but I’ll be here most of the day.” He was going to spend every moment he had studying her blood. Perhaps he could ease her transformation.
“Yes, sir,” said Louis.
He grabbed Charlie’s arm. “Take every precaution. Nothing is too foolish when it comes to safety.” Luckily, he’d already taken care of his other projects. The Slug-Mugs, as the Guards called them, were the least deadly creature here.
“I’ll make sure we follow all procedures,” said Louis.
“Read please.” Her voice was a whispered groan.
“Of course.” Okay, he’d spend every moment he had when he wasn’t reading to her. Her comfort came first. However...“Louis, get Laddie. He can help you with my other projects.”
Louis nodded but moved a step closer to his brother.
“What about me, sir?” Charlie’s eyes were wide with fear.
“You’ll help me in here.” He turned toward Louis. “You can go now. Charlie will be fine.”
“Yes, sir.” The large Guard left, sending one more concerned look at this brother.
McBrid took her hand. “Fersia, I need to study your blood. See if there’s anything I can do to make this easier on you.”
She opened her eyes and hope flickered in the pain like a small flame surrounded by fog. “Do you think that’s possible?”
“I don’t know, but I can try. Charlie can read to you while I work.”
“Ah...I can’t read, sir.”
“I know she’s been teaching you.” At the Guard’s surprised look he added, “I don’t care. Just read to her.”
“I can’t read too good yet.” Charlie’s face heated.
“Do the best you can.”
“I could talk to her instead. Tell her stories. I know a lot of stories.”
“Would that be okay, Fersia?”
“Yes.” She clasped McBrid’s hand. “But will you read to me later? When you have time?”
“I’ll make time.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead.
CHAPTER 27: McBrid
MCBRID WAS GOING TO have to move Jocko to another enclosure. He should’ve done it the first day Fersia fell ill, but she’d pleaded with him to let them stay together. He hadn’t had the heart to disappoint her but he could delay no longer. Fersia continued to get sicker but Jocko was in full metamorphosis. He couldn’t risk the male waking while she was weak.
He opened the door and stepped into the lab, freezing in mid-stride. Jocko was lying on the floor next to the bed. Outwardly, he appeared the same, but his blood told a different story. There was nothing left of the House Servant in that shell of a body. Aranea54 waited inside, growing and feeding on the host while he slept, but soon the new creature would emerge.
He moved to the counter and prepared the syringes. He’d spent days going over her samples, trying to find a way to ease this process, but he’d failed. He had isolated a difference in her blood that may have caused her slow reaction. She’d been pregnant. Her body must’ve used everything it had to fight the change and to protect the young, but it too had failed.
He could inject her with more Servant hormones in an attempt to save her and her young, but during the early days of performing these experiments, they’d learned that fighting the transformation always led to death. Once the host passed the regression factor, there was no reversing it.
He opened the cage and went inside, stepping over Jocko’s body to sit by her. He put the syringes on the table near the bed and grabbed the rag from the pan. He squeezed out the excess water before washing her face. “How are you today?”
“Awful.” She clutched her stomach. “I hurt everywhere.”
There was some bleeding between her legs. She may have miscarried but if not it’d be fascinating to see what would be born. Servant? Aranea? A little of both? If she survived the transformation, he’d have to monitor her twenty-four hours a day. Spiders were known to cannibalize their young.
He ran the cloth over her naked torso, wiping off the sweat. At this stage even the weight of clothing was too painful. Her skin was pale and soft, no fissures and no blood yet. She was progressing at a rapid rate and soon she’d either die or start changing. “It won’t be much longer before you’ll be feeling better.”
“Promise?” She stared up at him. Her green eyes trusting and hopeful, but there was a slight distortion in the pupil. It was larger and glassier than before. Her transformation was beginning.
“Yes.” He wiped her neck again and took the syringe from the table.
“No. Please. I can’t take any more.” She tugged trying to pull away from him but she was too weak.
“I have to.” He ran his hand over her long, dark hair and a clump came out. He pushed it off the bed and kicked it underneath. No reason to add to her worries. Hair loss usually happened during the cocoon phase, but she’d been unique since the beginning. “If I don’t, you won’t ever feel better.”
“I’m scared.” Her lips trembled, a drop of blood slipping from the corner. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?”
“No. You’ll be fine. I swear.” He took her hand but let go at her moan. If this were an experiment meant to truly make them better, he’d have hope that she might survive but he had no prayers to pray. If it worked she became a monster and if it didn’t she died. Neither outcome was acceptable but there was nothing he could do except try and ease her worries. “I promise. You’ll be feeling better soon.”
“I want my mom.” Tears tainted with blood trickled down her cheeks.
“I-I can’t bring her here.” He wiped her face. “You need to be strong now.”
She cried harder. He should’ve lied. He straightened her arm and injected the poison into her system. She whimpered as the fluid filled her veins destroying and building in its wake.
“It’ll be better soon.” He bent and kissed her forehead before kneeling on th
e floor next to Jocko. The poor male was shaking with tremors. “I’ll be right back, Jocko. I’m going to move you to another cell.”
“No,” she cried out. “Don’t take him.”
“Shhh.” It was a good sign that she still cared for her mate. “He’s not going far.”
“I don’t want to be alone.”
“You won’t be. I’ll stay tonight and Jocko will be right over there.” He pointed to the other side of the cage. He would lower the glass divider used to separate the Araneas. “He needs his own bed. The floor is hard.”
“Oh, yeah.” Her breath came out in a shudder. “I didn’t mean to push him out of the bed but I hurt so bad. I couldn’t stand anything touching me.”
“I know and it’s okay. You can both be together later, when you’re feeling better.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.” He forced himself to smile at her. He wasn’t lying but it felt like one. “Rest while I get some help to move him. I’ll be right back.” He left the cage, locking it behind him.
CHAPTER 28: McBrid
MCBRID SEARCHED THE BUILDING until he found Louis and Charlie. They were on Level One cleaning the mess left over from breakfast. The chef was also fond of the two young Guards and often gave them jobs that were tedious but safe.
“I need your help moving the male to the other cell.”
“It’s happening?” asked Louis, his solemn brown eyes worried.
“Yes. He should finish his transformation within a day or so.”
“Fersia?” asked Charlie.
There was no reason to sugarcoat the truth. Charlie knew what happened on Level Five. “Not yet, but soon she’ll either die or change. I need the male in the other section of the cage when he wakes. If he emerges and she’s still like she is...”
Charlie nodded, his hands trembling at his sides.
“It’s okay. The male is still catatonic.” He patted Charlie’s shoulder. “But we need to do this before he’s not.”
The two Guards went to the storage room and then met McBrid in the lab. They’d grabbed another cot and blankets. He started to tell them that Araneas didn’t use blankets but there was truly no point. Having a few blankets in the cage wouldn’t hurt anything.
He helped them set up the cot on the other side of the cage from Fersia. “Put him here.”
The Guards walked stiff legged toward the still form on the floor. The male’s seizures had stopped. It wouldn’t be long now.
Louis grabbed Jocko under the arms. “I got him. You keep watch.” The Guard shifted the body upward until he cradled the male Servant against his chest.
“He isn’t heavy?” McBrid grabbed the syringes from the table. Louis was strong but Jocko hadn’t been that little.
“No,” said Louis. “He’s really light just like...” He hurried to the cot and placed Jocko on the mattress before backing away.
Aranea18 had been oddly light and apparently this weight change happened when they still looked like the host species. He placed the syringes on the cot and sat on the bed, running a damp rag over the male’s torso. This would be his last bath. The cloth snagged on something. He looked closer. There was new hair sprouting all over the body. The shorter pieces were hard, probably to break through the dermis, but although the longer strands looked bristly, they were soft, just like the hair on Aranea18. The water turned a rusty color as he rinsed the rag. The growth of hair had come with a price. There were pinpricks of blood spattered across the male’s face and body. “You’ll feel better soon. I promise.” He picked up the empty syringe and withdrew a sample of blood.
Jocko’s eyes opened and McBrid almost dropped the syringe. The irises were gone, replaced by a black lens. There were markings on his forehead and face—concave little areas where the new eyes would appear. His instincts screamed for him to run, but the male wasn’t dangerous yet. He slipped the blood sample into his pocket and grabbed the serum and Jocko’s arm.
“No.” Jocko’s voice was whisper soft as he fought to keep his arm near his body.
McBrid’s hand shook as he struggled, trying to stretch out the male’s limb.
“No.” Jocko opened his mouth and hissed his displeasure.
This was no longer a Servant’s mouth with teeth and fangs. It was a gaping, black hole, but red, angry indentations on the side of his face pulsed with the male’s fury. The fangs would break through the surface soon. He couldn’t be here when that happened. He plunged the needle into the young male’s hip. Jocko screeched, a high pitched sound that made McBrid want to cover his ears.
“Get out of there, sir.” Louis hovered near the cage door, the scent of fear overpowering the room.
Jocko convulsed, foam trickling from his wide, empty mouth. McBrid staggered backward. Something large and heavy touched his shoulder and he jumped, spinning around. Louis tightened his grip, pulling McBrid outside the enclosure and slamming the door closed.
“What’s the matter?” whispered Fersia. “Is Jocko alright?” She was trying to lean up on the bed but her arms shook from her slight weight.
“He-he’s sick.” McBrid’s heart raced. The transformations were always terrifying and amazing. “Rest. He’ll be better tomorrow. I promise.”
She glanced at the Guards and him. It was clear she no longer believed his promises but she was too weak to do anything. She dropped back onto the bed.
“Sir,” Charlie hovered near the door. “Do you need anything else?”
The two Guards wanted to leave and he didn’t blame them. He wanted to leave too, but he had work to do. “I need you to check on my other projects and let me know if there are any issues–any sick, injured or dead.” He hated putting them in charge of his other experiments but he had no choice. He needed to stay here.
“O-okay,” said Louis.
Charlie just stared at him, his eyes wide.
“Be very careful with the Phasmatodeas.” At Charlie’s confused look he added, “The Brush-Men. They’re fast and some are very small. Make sure none escape.” Damn Scottsmoor had taken the Guards who were used to working with the Brush-Men with him when he’d been reassigned, leaving McBrid with a new experiment and untrained Guards.
“Yes, sir.” Louis’ voice was more confident but his eyes were still frightened.
“Get Laddie, Jorge or Scar to help you.” Those Guards were older and had been working here for years. “Then you can quit for the day, but stay close. I may need help later.” His eyes darted to Fersia. He’d have to go inside the cage to feed her. The glass divider would protect him but he hated being that close to an Aranea especially the new ones. They were always extremely hungry.
CHAPTER 29: Fersia
FERSIA WRITHED ON THE bed. Her entire body hurt—her back, her skin, her bones, even the beating of her heart. A sharp jolt rolled through her arm followed by a soft snap. Another bone broken. She braced herself for what came next. The location near the injury heated slowly as if in a pan of hot water and then...burst as if someone lit her blood on fire. She prayed for death as wave after wave of pain crashed through her.
McBrid moved about the lab, talking to her as he worked. She could barely understand him, his words gibberish in her fog of hurt, but the sound of his voice brought comfort, giving her something to focus on besides what was happening to her. She hoped her words had done the same for Jocko. She wanted to look over at him to see how he was doing, but moving meant pain.
She screamed as the bones in her face seemed to melt. The sound was shrill, not at all like her voice. McBrid hurried to her side. His hand hovered near hers. Her eyes were closed but she could feel the vibrations of his movements.
“Don’t touch me.” Her throat quivered and her words came out a garbled high-pitched sound. He must’ve understood and moved away because the pulsations from his breath and the heat from his body lessoned.
“Ah...soon...It’ll be better soon.” His voice trembled. He was scared.
If he gave her another shot, she’d kill him. She a
lmost laughed. She couldn’t move; it hurt too much but she’d find a way and kill him.
He hovered nearby for a few moments. “I swear. You’re going through this quickly. You’re in one of the last stages. You’ll sleep soon.”
She breathed in shallow pants, like she’d been doing for days, but her brain screamed for air. She struggled not to give in because when she breathed deeply her bones shattered, but she couldn’t fight it forever. She braced for the pain but McBrid was right. There was less agony and more...peace. She was warm and tired. She tested a deeper breath and her body almost melted from the pleasure of the oxygen filling her system. She breathed deeply again and again.
“That’s it, Fersia. Sleep now. You won’t hurt when you wake.”
“Promise,” she said, the sound almost a chirp.
“I promise.”
He couldn’t have understood her. Her own ears hadn’t understood her word but perhaps her ears were broken too. Darkness cocooned her in its warmth and she slept.
CHAPTER 30: Fersia
FERSIA COULD HEAR VOICES. No. She could more than hear them, she felt them. The sound vibrated around her. She opened her eyes, but they wouldn’t move. She was on her back, staring at the ceiling, her eyes frozen in place. She took deep breaths to forestall the panic. Someone moved toward her and the air caught in her throat. She was looking at the ceiling but she could see him too. That wasn’t possible but it was happening. Something scurried nearby, making a tapping sound as it went. It was fast and dangerous. She didn’t know how she knew it was dangerous, but she did.
She sat up, almost falling back down as the room came into focus. She could see everywhere at once—on both sides of her and in front. There was something in the other cage. It was large, black and hairy with four, long legs and pincers protruding from its face. It raced toward her.
“Help!” But no words met her ears, only a high pitched screech. The creature kept coming closer, making that clicking-tapping sound as it approached. She jumped off the bed, running across the cage until she was pressed against the bars as far away from that thing as she could get. It stared at her, or she thought it did. It had a lot of eyes—two rows of four—spread out along its face. The largest two were in front with four smaller ones below and two other largish ones on the side of its head. It had two giant fangs near its mouth and they looked sharp. It walked on all four—she’d say legs but they didn’t look like legs—they were long, thin and hairy and the noise it made when it moved came from the claws at the end of its appendages.
