Metamorphosis: Science Fiction Adventure: Book 1

by Kimberly Smith

  Before they got back to the highway, Markus spoke from the back seat. “We have an address for Arthur Jackson. It’s not far from where the truck was first caught by the traffic cam.”

  Neil listened as Markus gave him information as he found it. Arthur Jackson rented a modest house in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. He and his family had lived there for seven years. Before that, he lived in a small town in Arkansas for a few years. Arthur and his family had moved around quite a bit. There was no record of him or the women before they lived in Denver, Colorado, in nineteen seventy-three. It was apparent that it was a fake identity, and so was his wife and daughter. I can’t be that lucky, Neil thought to himself. There was no way that he had found more of the aliens that he had been looking for.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Shopping with Sandra and Allison had been more fun than Kyla had thought it would be, but she was glad when it was over. It had reminded her of the times she had spent with her friends and family in Bolivar. Would her life ever return to normal? Would she and Crystal get to hang out the way they used to? Would she get the chance to go on a date with Taylor? Would Kyla be able to ask her mother for advice? It didn’t seem as though she would ever get to do any of those things again, and that made her sad.

  Kyla tried not to be so gloomy, but she couldn’t do anything about the dark cloud that had settled over her life. She would have to learn to live with it for now. Kyla snapped out of her reverie as Arthur turned the car onto the street they lived on. The hair on her body felt as if it stood on end. Kyla began to look around as they passed house after house. Something was wrong: she could feel it.

  The feeling intensified as Arthur turned into the driveway of their house. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and focusing on the sense of dread in the center of her chest. Images of the men in black military gear filled her mind. Arthur had stopped the car and was getting out. The men were in the house. She could hear them as they crept into position, signaling each other that she and her family had arrived.

  She got out of the car quickly, rushing around it, Arthur, and Allison to the door leading into the house. She stopped at the door, holding her hand up to halt the family’s movement. She had her other hand on the doorknob. Her instincts took over, causing a chain reaction of things to happen. Time slowed down, or she sped up. Kyla wasn’t sure which was the case, but it didn’t matter.

  She opened the door, entering the laundry room. Kyla moved past the appliances and through the entrance to the kitchen. Just as she came in, she caught the slowed movements of one of the men standing beside the entry to her right. She turned, aiming her hand at him. An electrical beam arced out of her hand, causing him to shake and convulse until he dropped his weapon and hit the floor.

  Kyla continued through the house, finding and disabling a man in the dining room, two in the living room, one in the hall, and one in Allison’s bedroom, in the same way. She was about to enter Arthur and Sandra’s bedroom when the image of two men entering the garage from the street came to her. She turned and quickly went back through the house to get to them.

  When she reached the garage again, the men were still approaching from the street. Even though they were moving in slow motion, Kyla’s sense of danger and dread increased. She couldn’t lose Arthur, Sandra and Allison too. Kyla frantically processed thoughts of how to get them to a safe place as the two men continued to approach them.

  An image of the needle building in Seattle popped into her head, the wall of the garage near them dissolved into darkness. Had she just opened a portal? She didn’t know, but she felt that it was the way to save her family. She turned to put her hand on Allison’s shoulder. The contact brought her out of the slowness. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t have time to explain. Touch Arthur and Sandra.” Allison didn’t hesitate. As soon as she touched her mother and father, they too came out of the slowness. “We have to go now. Through the portal.”

  Arthur and Sandra looked from Kyla to the portal and then back. “Now!”

  The four of them moved together. Arthur disappeared through the wall first, then Sandra and Allison followed. Kyla was stepping through the hole when she felt a bit of pain in the center of her back. Kyla couldn’t move, and she could feel a tingling sensation in her head. Time went back to normal as Kyla lost her grip on Allison’s shoulder, falling to the floor of the garage. She could hear the voices of Arthur, Sandra, and Allison calling out to her as the hole closed. The pain in her back intensified as the men’s shoes appeared in front of her face. Darkness started at the outer edges of her vision, quickly moving in until she could no longer see. The pain in her back eased, and sound faded away in the same fashion until she was surrounded by darkness and silence.

  ***

  Neil smiled as he stood over the girl. “Check on the others,” he said to Markus as he squatted to get closer to F1’s offspring. He had been right in his assessment that she would be dangerous. He and Markus had remained outside the house, hidden from sight. Watching her as she got out of the car, he could see the bluish glow around her body. He and Markus crossed the street as the girl entered the house. He had expected his men to capture her, but then she appeared back in the doorway quickly.

  They stepped closer to the group in the garage. The girl moved from the doorway, appearing between them in the blink of an eye. Then the girl’s blue glow brightened, and she pushed the others through the wall in the garage. He had grabbed the special taser from his hip holster and pressed the button once he had aimed it at her. Once it connected with her body, it disrupted the electrical output. Now he had her.

  He removed the spikes and put his knew favorite tool away. The girl was still staring at the wall. He hated that the others had gotten away, but he knew that he would find them too later. He reached down, checking his subject’s pulse. “Fuck!” he grunted, standing up.

  “They’re all dead,” Markus said, appearing in the doorway.

  “So is she,” Neil said, putting his hands on his head and walking back and forth.

  Markus stepped out of the garage and knelt over the girl’s body. “She’s breathing,” he said, looking up at his boss.

  Neil squatted again. “I just checked her pulse. There wasn’t one.”

  Markus put his fingers to her neck, “It’s faint, but she is alive.”

  “You’re sure,” he asked softly? Markus still had his fingers to her neck, but he nodded. Neil used his radio, calling the other two members of their team who had been parked a few blocks away. “Bring the van in. We have the girl.” He didn’t tell the guys about the rest of the team. He preferred to deliver that news face to face. “I need to get her back to the facility as quickly as possible. You’ll stay and take care of the house and our team,” he told his second in command.

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  Sneak peak of Metamorphosis 2

  Her eyes popped open as she sucked air into her lungs. Heart pounding, Kyla felt between her legs. The penis that had been a part of her body for the last two years was gone. Something was covering her face. Most likely, she was in the morgue. She closed her eyes again, listening. She couldn’t hear anyone near her. There were ambient sounds, air flowing through vents, slight squeaks, and electrical currents.

  Kyla reached up, snatching the sheet from her head. She was in a hospital hallway. She didn’t want to move too much until she had assessed the state of her new body. This body had recently been damaged, and it felt sore. She focused, pushing her energy through her new body to repair an aortic tear. Then, she did the same for the two ribs were cracked, and the left leg was broken just below the knee. While the bones knitted themselves back together, she assessed the rest of the body. A few cuts, but those were easy to repair. Kyla also healed the surgical scar on her chest. It had been closed with stitches. It would look as good as new by the time she was fully healed.r />
  She sat up with some effort; she swung her legs over the edge. The bones were healed and would support her weight, but it would be painful. Kyla stood frowning, her bare feet registering the coldness of the tile floor as a draft of air brushed her naked skin. Looking around the hallway, she saw a sign outside of a set of doors labeled as the morgue.

  Kyla checked the bed, searching for the belongings of the body that she now resided in. She found a large leather bag inside of a plastic one at the foot of the bed. The clothes were covered in blood and torn. She opened the leather bag and glanced inside, finding a wallet, cell phone, keys, make-up bag, and a few other inconsequential items.

  She opened the wallet, checking the identification. Her new name was Meghan Moss. She also noted that there were several credit cards and some cash. All she needed now was some clothing.

  She noticed that there were two other bodies parked in the hallway as well. She lifted each sheet checking the bodies for clothing and anything that she might be able to use. One was a large man, and though his clothing was in perfect condition, they were too big for her to use. She went through his wallet and removed the cash she found there. It might come in handy later. The second bed contained an elderly woman. Fortunately, the dress in the plastic bag with her personal items was in good condition, and it would fit a little snugly, but that was okay.

  She dressed quickly, checking the shoes against the feet of her new body. They wouldn’t fit. Her new feet were too big to wear the woman’s shoes. She stuffed the shoes back in the bag and then went through the woman’s purse, taking anything that might be of use to her later. She put it all in the large leather bag and moved down the hall, away from the morgue. She turned left then right, seeing the elevator a few yards away. A wave of sensory overload hit her, causing her to stumble.

  She leaned against the wall waiting for it to pass. This had happened to her once before. It had taken a few minutes for the aligning of the body’s electrical impulses to fully mesh with her mind. When it did, the body acted as if it had been shocked. She needed to sit down. There were no seating areas in the hall that she could see, and it might look strange for her to be there. She turned her head and saw the sign for the lady’s room. She moved slowly in that direction while supporting herself by keeping her hand on the wall. Once inside, she locked the door and sat on the toilet, dropping her bag to the floor nearby.

  Her spine tingled from bottom to top as if a zap of electricity shot from her neck through her brain, forcing her eyes closed. It almost felt the same as when she’d left her body. She remembered the last few moments of her previous life.

  She was sitting in the cabin in the woods before the hunters came for her. They had parked on the road a mile away from the place that she had taken refuge, but she had heard their vehicles as they approached. Three cars were carrying four men each. This hunting party was bigger than the last one. She had no idea how Neil had figured out where she was. This body had provided her with a great place to hide. That is why it had taken him so long to find her.

  Waking up in Thomas Wayne’s body had been a big surprise. He was an elderly man. Something her previous bodies had not been, old and male. She was happy to learn that Thomas had no family and virtually no friends. She didn’t have to pretend that she had amnesia. It had also been one of the few times that Kyla hadn’t woken up in a hospital. Thomas had died in his apartment just when she needed a place to take up residence.

  Thomas’ body had been the perfect place for her to hide. Now, Neil had found her. She was positive that it was time to find a new home.

  She moved the old man’s body as quickly as she could, putting on a bulky white snowsuit, white gloves and the white timberland boots she had placed by the door to the back of the cabin. In those clothes, she would blend into the snow-covered landscape.

  She left the fire burning. With some luck, she could escape Neil and get to the snowmobile, she’d hidden beyond the woods, a mile from the cabin. She left the house through the back door, moving as fast as she could, she grabbed the snowshoes that were on the back porch.

  She left the cabin and disappeared into the trees. She didn’t slow down until she was some distance from the house. Turning towards the clearing, she closed her eyes and listened. They were moving faster than she thought. Neil and his team had already made it to the cabin, and they would no doubt find her prints in the snow behind the house. She didn’t have much time.

  She wasn’t going to make it to the snowmobile, she would have to make it to the old jeep off the mountain trail. It was closer, but there wasn’t nearly enough vegetation to hide her as there was by the clearing. Instead of going to the right towards the clearing, she went to the left. When she reached the edge of the woods, she stopped long enough to put the snowshoes on. Then she began the trek through the open space. All she had to do was get to the other side.

  She was almost at the edge of the field when someone called out from behind her, “Stop right there.”

  The truck was just on the other side of the wooded area, but he was closer than she expected. Neil was getting smarter. He’d obviously found her truck, and possibly the snowmobile to have someone waiting nearby. She would never get away from this guy. She turned to face him. He was young, younger than most of the men working with Neil since he’d been chasing her. He most likely had no idea who she really was.

  Neil would never stop until he caught her and all of her people. There was only one way for her to get away. She turned, facing the young man who had a real gun, not one filled with sedatives, pointed at her. “Why are you doing this?” His hand shook a little. Perfect, she thought, trying not to smile.

  “I’m just following orders,” he said, looking directly into her eyes.

  She sensed his emotion, he was nervous. This was the perfect opportunity for her to escape Neil. “Just shoot me and get it over with,” she said, moving towards him.

  “Stop right there.” His hand shook ever so slightly.

  Pull the trigger. Kyla willed him to put a bullet through her heart. A twig snapped behind him as he squeezed the trigger. She heard the shot and felt the pain explode in her chest. Falling backward, sinking into the snow, she listened to the young man groan. “Oh geez, what did I do? Don’t die,” he said, coming closer to her.

  She could see the anguish in the young man’s eyes. He leaned over her, looking into her eyes. Everything grew darker, narrowing to a pinpoint, and then she was in complete blackness. She thanked him silently for saving her.

  ***

  "No," Neil yelled, racing towards the sound of the gunshot ahead of him! Crunching through the snow, he ran as fast as he could. Edward was kneeling beside what could only be the old man's body. Neil looked down at the entrance wound and then at the blood flowing from beneath Thomas Wayne's body. "You fucking idiot," Neil said, pushing Edward down in the snow, aiming his gun at the fool's head. "I told you not to kill it."

  Had Edward heard him correctly? He'd said it, he thought as he lay there cowering. He knew that he'd made a mistake the minute Edward fired his weapon. He had drawn the wrong one. It wasn't the dart gun with the tranquilizer darts. He'd fucked up, and he knew that he should beg for forgiveness, but he never got the chance.

  Neil fired the gun, shooting Edward between his eyes, just as the other members of their party came upon them. He put his weapon away, raising his head to look into the eyes of the members of his team. "Edward made a mistake. He killed our target. If any of you make the same mistake, you can expect a bullet to the head. Now clean this shit up. I've got a phone call to make." He turned away from the men who stared at Edward and the black man lying on the snow beside him and then at Neil's retreating back.

  When Neil was far enough away that his conversation couldn't be heard, he pulled his phone out and hit the speed dial number for his employer. The phone was answered on the first ring. Neil didn't expect any pleasantries. He spoke first, "We had a problem. It hopped."

  "I told you I wanted it a
live," said the voice on the other end? "Did it take its own life?"

  "Someone made a mistake. Don't worry, he'll never make another one," Neil said, gritting his teeth. Neil spoke again. "I will find it."

  "You had better, and soon. Time is running out." The line went dead.

  Neil took a deep breath and then made his second call. "Start a search. It got away. This time, change the parameters to include both men and women." Neil ended the call. "Where did you go," Neil said to himself as he raised his head to the sky as if the stars would give him a clue? It wasn't an easy task finding the hopper once it hopped to a new body. It had taken Neil nearly two years to find her this time.

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