Author Topic: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)  (Read 4564 times)

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Offline NecrosisDemon

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Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« on: February 05, 2012, 03:27:57 PM »
My name is Daniela. And that is all I can tell you. I wish I could tell you my last name, where I live, who my family members are like a normal person introducing herself in a normal fashion... but I can't. It's for my own safety and for the safety of others.

You see, my life has been completely turned upside down. Three months ago to be exact, when we moved from Italy to the States. I didn't want to go but hey, I had nothing to say in it. My dad had gotten promoted but for him to actually get it we needed to move. I miss Italy. America is fun I guess but... I don't know. It lacks. I miss the sun, I miss the culture and the beautiful architecture of Rome and Venice. And I miss the nice people. I'm not saying that the people here aren't nice but... I don't know, it just seems like a lot of people simply don't care. Or something.

It hasn't been easy. I had to leave all my friends behind, and I don't make friends easily. I'm too shy. I can't just walk up to someone and say "Hi. What's up? I'm this-and-that-person, wanna hang out?" I just can't. I'm a pretty average person. Just your typical fourteen year old girl. I'm not especially beautiful; my hair is of simple shoulder length, brown and in what I call curtain-styled, meaning that it's straight and always hangs partly in front of my eyes. I do like my eyes though. They're a pretty green. Mom always says I need to get a hair cut, or at least get it styled properly instead of hiding my eyes behind it. But I like it this way. I don't need it to look fancy.
I spend most of my free time either drawing, writing or reading, and in class... well, I'm not ashamed to admit that my grades suffer because I tend to day dream all the time. I have a vivid imagination apparently.

Have you ever looked at the sky and wondered if there is something more out there? I'm not talking religion, no. I mean other life forms. I heard that they found fossilized bacterial remains on Mars! Can you believe it? Three months ago that news would have excited me. But that was before my parents shipped me off to the Sharing under the motto 'you can make friends there!'

The Sharing is some kind of club for people of all ages. It's very popular around here and they organize things like big barbeque's and camping trips. It's fun and once you've signed up and have attended a few times they invite you to join what they call the inner circle. You'll get more privileges and the like.

I should never have said yes. Never. But I did.

They took us, me and a small group of other new members, to a shack in the woods. There would be some kind of ceremony, we were told, and then we'd be full members. The shack didn't look like anything fancy. It seemed ready to fall apart by just looking at it and it was so small it would be cramped once we were all inside. How were we supposed to hold a ceremony there, I wondered?

So imagine my surprise when one of the Sharing members revealed a hatch in the floor, with a stairway going down. I was ready to back away at that point. I didn't feel like going down there, it didn't feel right. But actually saying no out loud? No. Either way, there was something fishy about this and it made me nervous.

We were ushered down the narrow steps. There seemed to be no end to them and it was after a few minutes that I heard it: screaming. Crying. Panicked yelling. And I was beginning to feel more than scared. Where were they taking us? Was this really part of the Sharing?

The steps widened finally and opened up to reveal a large cavern. Large wasn't even the right word, it was huge. Enormous. The air was thick and heavy and in the center was a huge pool filled with a bubbling liquid. It resembled molted metal of some kind and I hoped that whatever the ceremony involved, it wouldn't involve swimming in that stuff. It didn't look healthy.
There were two piers as well.
As I looked around I saw a lot more entrances and exits similar to this one. I saw what resembled some kind of cafeteria, and a lounging corner with TVs and comfy sofas. And I saw cages filled with people clawing at the bars. Locked away like they were nothing but animals, begging and screaming to be let out. But what shocked me the most were the monsters.

Yes. Monsters. That might be heard to believe but I swear I am not lying. Some were huge, easily pushing seven or eight feet, looking like they had stepped straight out of Jurassic Park. They had sharp blades growing out of their heads, elbows, wrists, knees, ankles and tails and they all carried some kind of weird looking gun. Not that they needed it, they were walking Swiss blades already!
The others looked like... like something straight out of a nightmare. Huge, thick, shuffling around on way too many legs, they mostly resembled some kind of monstrous centipede.

Emphasis on the monstrous part.

As I watched, one of the centipedes brushed against one of the Swiss blade dinosaurs. I guess it wasn't really paying attention to where it was going. It must have injured itself on one of the blades because suddenly there was a lot of screeching and growling and the dinosaur shoved the beast away. More centipedes came shuffling forward fast and for a second I thought that they were going to help their injured comrade. Until they jumped him. Razor sharp teeth flashed and tore at the still living flesh and no one did a thing to help. Humans and dinosaurs alike walked around it in a wide arc, all acting like it was something they had seen before, and all the while that one centipede screeched in pain as it was eaten alive.

"Oh god." I whimpered and quickly clamped my hand over my mouth as my legs buckled. I was going to throw up if I didn't get out of here fast. I have a pretty strong stomach, I can take a lot of nasty stuff. But not this. Definitely not this. "I can't do this. Forget it! I'm out of the Sharing! Forget the inner circle, I'm going home!"
I tried to turn around and run back to the stairs past the other equally freaked people who were with me, but my path was quickly blocked by one of the older Sharing members who had brought us here. He was wearing a blue cap, I recognized him as the cashier of the grocery store I had visited with my mom yesterday. He didn't say anything. He just grabbed me by my arm and dragged me back.

I didn't struggle. I guess I was just... too scared. I was vaguely aware that I was crying. Can you really blame me?

The centipedes had moved away again. There was nothing left of the one they had eaten: just a big wet spot on the cold stone floor. The others that had come with me were now held at gun point by some of the humans. The guy who had been right behind me on the stairway on our way down here tried to threaten them, that they were all in serious trouble if they didn't let us go because his older brother was in the army.

I don't think they were very impressed.

Blue Cap was still holding on to me when one of the dinosaurs came towards us and gave us all a look-over.

"Fit ghafrash. This new hosts?"

Oh Christ, it could talk as well! I must have looked incredibly stupid gaping up at that thing. I weakly pulled on the tight grip Blue Cap still had on me, my eyes (had to look as big as golf balls by now) on the monster, but even if I did manage to get him to let go I was still too terrified to move out of fear the big lizard would turn me into instant shiskebab.

"Yes, these are fresh ones." Blue Cap said and nodded his head towards me and the others. "Take them to the infestation pier prompto. There's another group of new hosts coming in right behind us. Voluntary ones, but it's still best to get this done nice and smoothly. Get going."

To my utter horror the dinosaur reached out and grabbed my other arm. Blue Cap let go and walked back to the other group to assist there. The lizard took the lead and I stumbled along behind him. He was taking us to the large pool.

'Oh please this isn't funny anymore. I want to wake up now. Please let me wake up! If this is punishment for my constant day dreaming in class I've learned my lesson! Please!'

But even if I did speak the words out loud, there would be no one coming to our rescue.

No one.

Offline Darth Revan

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2012, 04:42:28 AM »
My name is Sean. You don't need to know my last name. Frankly, the only thing you need to know is that we're all in danger. Names don't mean a thing when your identity has been stolen. I'm not talking about credit cards, on-line accounts, or even Social Security numbers. I'm talking about YOU. Your body, your personality, your mannerisms, the way you talk, walk, and even the way you roll your eyes at your parents. That's of course if you're lucky enough to have any.

My parents are... dead. My dad was afraid of flying, so he forced us to go by ship. Yeah, they still do that. Unfortunately, there was an altercation that ended with my mother accidentally falling over a rail and into the water. My dad reacted immediately by jumping in after her. Neither one of them can swim, so they died. I showed up in the States completely alone and newly orphaned. I was ushered into the American Foster Care system almost immediately. I was nine years old. I didn't know anything about my parents' finances, and my name was too commonplace to really find any records. So I was put in a home. They were an okay sort, the folks I was put in with. They were obviously only in foster care for the money; but they kept to State law and we lived as comfortable as any family. We weren't close in any real way. It was more like having flatmates, really.

I was a good kid; but after 5 years of having rather apathetic parents, I couldn't stay there anymore. In all reality I only ever slept there. The rest of the time I spent with friends I made at school. Their parents sucked too. Some more than others, but we all agreed on one thing: we all hated our parents. Except for Marleen, she loved her parents; but she had her issues too. I'm not entirely sure how she fit into our group, but she did.

One day Obbie tells us about a group called The Sharing. He hypes it up so much, we couldn't help but go. They had some really cool beach parties, community out-reach programs, and the best part, tons of free food. My foster parents were the most bland people when it came to food. The Sharing's barbecues were the best. Tri tip, hot dogs, ribs, you name it, it was there. There were some cute girls there too. One girl I liked was one of those that were a "Full Member". I assumed it was like volunteering at a campaign office for some politician; boy was I wrong.

My induction into becoming a "Full Member" was not fun. It was at one of their centers. I was lead to a room I was previously told was a water closet. You know, a closet just for the water heater. When I entered the room, there was no water heater. There was a sink with a chair next to it. The chair had straps and come weird kinky contraptions. I tried to back out of the room, but they blocked the exit. They held what looked like a Star Trek phaser at me. I didn't want to test whether or not it worked. I sat in the chair and got a good look at the sink. It was a weird gray, lead-like liquid. Inside, was something swimming around. It looked like a slug. The men told me about what it was. A "Yeerk", that's what they called it. It crawls into your head, wraps itself around your brain, and takes complete control of your body.

That what I meant by they take your identity. They take over your body. You become nothing but a spectator at your own life. Never do you look where you want, say what you want, or even scratch your leg when it randomly itches. If there's a hair in front of your eye, you can't idly blow it away. If there's a hot chick crossing your path, you can't turn your head to appreciate the view. It's maddening.

At first I fought and fought. I would spit threats and taunts at the alien living inside my head; but the slug wouldn't respond. When the slug would leave my head to feed, I would be dragged away by these seven foot godzilla monsters. Every three days. I had control of my body once every three days. That's when those Yeerks need to swim in their gray water to recharge. Then they go back to taking over your life. After a couple of months of fighting and screaming, being dragged to and from a cage like cattle, I accepted my fate. I stopped yelling and screaming at the one controlling my body. I knew it was ignoring me. I stopped crawling and clawing at the freaky dino guys that took me to and from the cage. Truthfully, after a while of cooperating, the Yeerk would begin to take my suggestions. He could sense what I wanted. He could read my thoughts, almost before I could think them. After a while, he actually would glance at a few hotties that would cross our path.

It wasn't all too bad being "voluntary". It was kinda cool. When my Yeerk fed, I was able to chill at a lounge, and play video games. I ate decent food and visited with the other hosts. Sure, I hated that I couldn't control my body, and that I no longer had any control over my life; but playing Final Fantasy and eating burgers every three days was a lot nicer than crying in a cage, sitting on the ground. My apathetic parents barely noticed any change in me. My friends didn't see a difference either. Though eventually, they all became hosts too. A couple of them actually became voluntary. Now we hung out every three days; provided our Yeerks' cycles lined up. Whenever I could, I would look around for a way to escape from the Pool. I had to disguise it like I was just taking a walk of course; but every three days I would play a bit of Final Fantasy, have lunch and actually enjoy being able to eat food on my own, and then case the Pool for anyway out. After six months of being voluntary and searching for a way out, I couldn't ever find anything.

My Yeerk, Inniss 5839, was in charge of recruiting new members at The Sharing. We would gain the trust of low lifes, losers, and the generally depressed and recruit them to the Yeerk cause. It was a weird balancing act the Yeerk would play. From prodding for info to giving just enough info to keep them interested. Then, when the Yeerk had them eating out of his hand, bad mouthing humanity, he would let them in on the secret. Then we would either infest them with the chair and sink contraption I was infested with; or we would take them straight to the Yeerk Pool under the city.

Today, we were taking a couple of voluntary hosts to receive their first Yeerk. The group of involuntary recruits had already started their way down before us. We were just waiting for them to clear the staircase before we headed downward. As I saw a girl get passed over to one of the godzilla things, I started ushering the new members down into the Yeerk Pool. I couldn't wait to try beating Final Fantasy VIII without leveling my characters. It was going to take some time.
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Offline NecrosisDemon

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2012, 11:33:28 AM »
As we moved closer to the piers I noticed that they were both different. Both had rows of people waiting in line, yes, but only one of them also included one of two of the bladed dinosaurs; they were closely monitored and held in place by their kin. They seemed sad. It was hard to tell on their reptilian faces, but they seemed different. Not on the outside but how they acted I mean. Defeated, at a loss, not at all like the others, like the one holding onto me.

The people on the first pier all knelt down one by one, helped by two men on each side. They held onto their arms so they wouldn't topple over into the lead colored sludge as they leaned forward and turned their heads to the side. I couldn't see what they were doing exactly but their calm demeanor about it all quickly changed. After a few seconds of kneeling they all seemed to snap to their senses and started struggling as they were hauled onto their feet again and dragged towards the cages.

On the other pier, the one we were going to, it all seemed to go in reverse. The people who were dragged onto the pier were all fighting and screaming and when it was their turn, their were pushed down onto their knees and their heads were shoved under the surface of the pool. Their struggles seized withing seconds and when they stood up again they were completely calm and walked away like nothing extra ordinary had happened.

So that's what the strange water of the pool did? It turned you into some kind of zombie?

We were shoved in line and the reptile finally let go of my arm, stepping back and watching us all, a clawed finger on the trigger of his weapon. I rubbed my arm and winced. Yeah that was going to bruise. Then again, I wondered if I would even care once I was turned into a zombie. The others of my group were lined up behind me. In front of me, a man and a woman. The man already had his head shoved into the sludge and the woman was softly crying and muttering to herself, her shoulders shaking. I felt sorry for her.

The man now raised his head out of the sludge and slowly got onto his feet. He turned and after giving us all a filthy stare he walked past us; my eyes followed him and it was then I saw another group approaching. I recognized some of them. They were members of the Sharing like we were and I knew that they were part of a group who had been given an invitation to join the inner circle as well. But unlike us they didn't seem nearly as freaked out. Nervous, but not on the brink of panic. My eyes fell on the guy leading the group to our pier. I had seen him at the Sharing as well, though he had been a member far longer than I was. He looked like he knew where he was going. Knew what he was doing, like he had done this many times before.

He was one of them.

I quickly looked away again and bit on my lower lip. There would be no help coming from him. The woman in front of me was now forced onto her knees as well and pushed forward. She didn't struggle much but she kept whimpering and pleading for them to let her go. "Please, don't put that thing back in my head. Please please, I have a daughter, please." Her words were drowned out when her head too was shoved into the liquid.

I quickly tore my eyes away from the scene and looked up. It would be my turn next. Would I ever see my parents again after this? Would I ever be able to leave this place, step outside and feel the sun on my skin and the wind through my hair? Or I would I spend the rest of my life here in this large underground cavern, like a mindless drone, forcing people to undergo the same fate?

I clenched my hands into fists, hoping that the sting of my nail digging into my palms would somehow wake me up from this nightmare. I was trying so hard to keep control of myself. I couldn't stop the tears, or the trembling, or the clattering of my teeth, but I couldn't let myself break down completely. That wouldn't do me any good either. But control was quickly slipping away from me.
'If I get out of this, I swear I'll do better. I'll try harder.' I swallowed thickly. Far above me I saw something move. A dark silhouette against the dark ceiling. A bird maybe. Free.

"These are the new hosts fresh from the Sharing." I heard someone say but I kept my eyes up, trying to find the bird again. "These are for Temrash 1458 to 1467."

"Fine. You. Come forward. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

My eyes snapped down again. My vision was blurry with tears but I could see that the two men at the end of the pier were looking at me. The crying woman was already gone, and now they wanted me to take her place. I shook my head and planted my feet firmly against the ground. Come forward? Hell to the no!

The men sighed and came towards me, reaching out. Frightened I stepped back and bumped against the girl behind me. There was no where to go!

"Stop holding up the line." one of the men hissed and they grabbed my arms again, dragging me to the end of the pier and muttering about how first-time-hosts were always the most annoying. I struggled against them, but really, what could I do? I was just a girl against two grown armed men.
One of them kicked my legs out from underneath me and I fell onto my knees. I tried to resist the relentless push on my head and shoved my hands against the pier, but to no avail. I barely had enough time to notice that the sludge seemed to be... moving, little grey things flashing just underneath the surface.  Before my head was shoved in.

I quickly closed my eyes and held my breath, feeling my heart beat pound in my ears. The liquid was warm, almost pleasantly so, but things kept bumping against my face. Cold and small. The grey things, I realized. Something touched my ear and I tried to jerk away, but the tight grip in my hair refused to let go. It was an almost tickling sensation, like how cold spaghetti clings to your skin, but different. It felt like something was probing it, moving closer and closer to my ear canal.

I couldn't breath. I needed air!

The hand in my hair suddenly let go. I wasted no time and jerked up, pulling my head out of the sludge. Coughing and gasping for air I reached up for my ear, feeling something cold and slimy dribble down my face and fall back into the pool with a splash. And it was then that I noticed the screaming. Not the same screaming and cries of despair, but louder... screams of pain.

I looked over my shoulder. The people who had been in line behind me were gone, running away in all directions. The men who had held me down were gone as well, had disappeared into the chaos of humans, lizards and centipedes.

"It's the Andalite bandits! They're here!"

"Get them! Visser Three wants them alive!"

I saw bright beams of light shoot through the air and realized that they came from the strange weapons they all held here. Almost like Star Trek phasers. Not that I know anything about Star Trek but even I could see that it looked like something straight out of a science-fiction movie. So did the monsters I guess. But what made it all the weirder was the large grey figure barreling into view. Legs like tree trunks, big leathery ears and two tusks on either side of a long nose. It was an elephant.

It was a frikkin' elephant!

And it was angry.

It swung it's head and gored one of the centipedes on a tusk while trumpeting in triumph. I saw one the bladed lizards aim his weapon at the elephant but before he could shoot another flash of grey shot forward, lower to the ground. A wolf. It leaped and snapped its jaws shut around the lizard's throat, biting down to crush its wind pipe.

I had no idea what these animals were doing here but I welcomed them. They provided enough distraction that no one paid attention to one girl sitting on the end of a pier, with sludge dripping from her hair and into her shirt. I stood up, stumbled on shaking legs and moved off the pier as fast as I could. I needed a place to hide, a way to get out of here!

I passed the cages, frantically looking around for a safe place, dodging lizards and centipedes and humans shooting at the animals. The elephant. The wolf. The... "Gorilla?"
A gorilla calmly knuckle-walked over to one the cages and stopped in front of them. It looked at the humans trapped inside and straightened. And then it bowed down. It actually bowed, deeply, with lots of extravagant over the top hand waving before it gripped the lock and ripped it clean off. Then it held open the door and motioned for the people inside to get out before it moved to the next cage to do the same there.

That's it! I was going crazy! If I ever got out of here alive it would be straight to the nut house for me! And I'd go willingly!

I heard the elephant trumpet in pain and anger as one of its ears was burned clean off. As I ran for the lounge area I saw how it grabbed the tail of the lizard responsible with its trunk and yanked it up into the air, swinging it around like a deadly bladed flail. I dived behind one of the sofas to hide.

And I swear that I could hear the elephant laughing.

Offline Darth Revan

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2012, 03:44:57 AM »
As we guided the new hosts down the stairs, I mentioned to Inniss, <<Aren't you due for a swim? You're pushing your three day limit more and more lately.>>

He answered back, <<Shut up slave. I will feed when I am ready.>>

<<I'm just sayin', we're here now. We've given the new hosts to the dino guys for infesting. I want to play my game, and you need a fix.>>

<<Kandrona Rays are not a drug, Ignorant child; and you know they are Hork-Bajir, not dinosaurs.>> Inniss was starting to give in to my tauntings, that meant he was really jonesing for his Rays; and he knew it. I smiled inwardly as we walked to the deposit pier, that's what I've come to call it. I deposit my Yeerk on one pier and withdraw him on the other. It's like the bank from hell. Inniss must've been impatient tonight, because he pushed by the line straight to the front. A Hork-Bajir stopped us and he yelled out, "I am too near my three days, and this is a voluntary host! I don't have time to wait, and this body won't run anywhere!"

The Hork-Bajir let us pass and we knelt down at the end of the pier. I could feel control returning to my body as Inniss started to let go of his control over me. I could breathe on my own again, I wiggled my toes, clenched my hands, and as the Yeerk finally left my ear, I lifted my head and stood up proudly. The damn thing was gone for a few hours. I turned around and the Hork-Bajir stood directly in my way. I looked up with an eyebrow raised and said, "I know where I'm goin' big guy, you don't have to drag me."

The Hork-Bajir nodded and let me pass. I went by the line of waiting controllers who were going to deposit their Yeerks and headed to the lounge. There better not be anyone playing on my memory card. Not that it matters anyway, I'm starting a new game. I hate going by the withdraw line, it's so depressing hearing the screams and begging. I can't do anything for them, and they know that. Why do they continue this charade? It's not like the Andalite bandits are ever really do any good when they come down here. Last time they collapsed the ceiling and exploded a huge amount of oatmeal in the Yeerk Pool. Unfortunately for me, Inniss was already back in my head when that happened. I'm just glad I was nowhere near the action. We froze like a good soldier, listening to his C.O.

By the time I got to the lounge area, I heard the familiar, chaotic sound of controllers running around panicked. Then the reason for the panic sounded, RRROOOAARRRR! Again, familiar. It was the sound of a tiger. The Andalite bandits had actually returned. I wonder if they had a particular reason this time. I stared as people ran for cover, for weapons, and some just ran. I guess they didn't want to be an easy target, so they stayed on the move. I, personally just stood and watched. I've become rather apathetic in these situations of late. I mean I've only encountered the Andalites three times before, and each time it was always Inniss that was piloting me. This was the first time I was in control of my own body.

I looked around and saw a couple of bandits breaking into the cages of people. The others were all running around causing chaos. I looked up and a bird was dodging and keeping the new sentry bots busy. It had been a while since they came to the pool, so only one was in use. It seemed as though this raid was just to cause chaos and free some Humans. My eyes widened in an amazing revelation. They were here to free us, I was currently not being controlled! This was my chance! I jumped with glee and started to run toward the crowd. There was no way, in all this mess that someone would notice me exiting the Pool! I ran by a couch when suddenly a woman tackled me to the ground.

I had the wind knocked out of me, and after getting my breath, I looked down. It wasn't a woman at all. It was a girl, my age, maybe younger. I was speechless, but I managed to say something after gasping air back into my lungs, "...uh, hi."
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Offline NecrosisDemon

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2012, 01:31:16 PM »
I saw him too late. My attention had been on the rampaging elephant. If I had actually paid attention to where I was running I could have avoided him. Instead I ran straight into some guy, hard enough we both toppled over in a bundle of flailing limbs, right onto the dirt covered stone ground. Fortunately I landed much softer than the guy did - right on top of him. Not that I am that heavy - quite the opposite, mom keeps nagging at me that I could do with a few more extra pounds - but apparently I was still heavy enough to knock the breath right out of him.

I quickly pushed myself away from him and brushed some of my wet hair out of my eyes. It was clinging to my face and smelling of whatever it was that filled that pool. I desperately needed a long hot shower after this. If I made it out of here in one piece. Fortunately we had both landed right behind the couch and were mostly out of sight. For now. But I knew that we couldn't stay here for much longer.

"...uh, hi."

I looked up at the face the guy I had just ran over and blinked. "... hi." I muttered. He looked older than I was but not by much. A couple of years at most. Then again I could be totally off, I suck at reading people. He looked confused as well but perhaps that was just my imagination. And... I recognized him. My body stiffened. I had seen him before! When he led one of the new groups down towards the pool, he had passed me! "You. You're one of them! Stay away from me!"

I scrambled to get onto my feet and away form him at the same time, and barely managed to get my feet under my when I heard another voice.

<Everyone to the stairs! Everyone who can still run; get out of here!>

I had no idea where the voice came from or who had said it but I was taking his or her advice to heart. I shot the guy one last glare. He could do whatever he wanted, I didn't care. I turned and ran towards the nearest exit, mingling with the panicked crowd. A group of those bladed dinosaurs came towards us, no doubt to stop us from escaping. I was glad I was a small person. It was easier for me to squeeze myself past the other panicked humans because of it and get to the front but I still risked being trampled by the ones behind me. Humans in panic only cared for themselves after all.

This wasn't the same staircase we had used when we came down here so I had no idea where we would end up, but it was nearly as long as the other one. By the time I could finally see the door by sides were cramping and my lungs were burning. I was running on pure fear-induced adrenaline now, because we were being followed. Those dinosaurs were too big for these stairs, but not for the other humans of the pool, the ones with the phasers. And they hadn't been afraid to use them, to shoot us down to stop us from escaping. I could hear the people behind me scream in pain, and I could smell flesh burning.

There were only a handful of people behind me now but I didn't bother to look over my shoulder to see who they were. I rammed my shoulder against the door and banged it open, stumbling through and ending up in what seemed to be some kind of dressing room.

Complete with a half dressed woman who had been right in the middle of changing outfits. She screamed, a high pitched "EEEEK!" but I ignored her and ran past her, out of the dressing room and into the clothing store.

"Hey! Hey! What are you doing here?" One of the store managers I guess. He made a grab for me but I dived under a clothing rack and ran towards the back entrance. I burst through and found myself in a back alley, complete with smelly dumpsters courtesy of the restaurant located next to the clothing store. It was already dark out - how long had I been down there - but the darkness just gave me a better chance of hiding.

I wedged myself between two dumpsters and pressed against the wall, trying to make myself as small as possible. I was shivering, a mixture of fear and cold. I grabbed my arms, pulled my legs up to my chin and squeezed my eyes shut. I wanted to disappear, to make this nightmare end. I didn't dare to go home now. Not yet. And as long as no one found me here I was content to just stay here and try to pretend that this hadn't happened.

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2012, 02:09:13 PM »
The girl freaked out as she apparently recognized me. She didn't look familiar at all. After months of recruiting, the faces sort of melded together. She had a doused head, which meant she was meant to have a Yeerk in her head; but she reacted as though she didn't. She must've just been pushed under when the bandits started the ruckus. She sprang up as a voice filled the air, <Everyone to the stairs! Everyone who can still run; get out of here!>

The Andalite bandits were withdrawing. They probably wanted to get out before Visser Three returned. Smart. I ran after the girl, if she lived, she'd need someone to explain all of this. She may not trust me now; but I don't care. If they ever find either of us again, we'll be dead. I followed her through the crowd. She was amazingly quick moving through a crowd. A couple of free Hork-Bajir were fighting a couple of Hork-Bajir controllers trying to stop the exodus. An andalite was jumping through the crowd as well, disarming any controllers trying to shoot those fleeing. I ran as fast as I could while pushing my way through. I ran up the stairs leading to the outlet mall. I passed a topless woman covering herself, frozen in shock. I called out, "Sorry," and ran on. I passed a woman who looked both pissed and confused. She must've worked there. I ran out of the back of the store and ducked between a couple of dumpsters.

I felt my leg graze something. I looked down and saw the girl that tackled me. I breathed out with relief and said, "Fancy meeting you here." I looked out past the dumpster and saw more people pouring out of the store. I shook my head and said, "We're too close, they'll find us here."

I grabbed the girl's arm to pull her to her feet and said, "We need to get further away if we're gonna stay hidden."
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Offline NecrosisDemon

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2012, 02:45:32 PM »
It was only because I was exhausted of running and crying and screaming and acting terrified that I didn't jump a hole into the ozon layer when, out of all people, that guy wedged himself in the already cramped space between the two dumpsters, and I didn't scream put loud enough to alert everyone in the vicinity. Could things get any worse? I seriously doubted it. What was he going to do? Drag me back down to that hell hole and make the nightmare start all over again? Had all my running and praying that I would be able to get out been for nothing?

"Huh?" Oh yeah, I must have sounded real intelligent right now. There was nothing fancy about this. This was my smelly hiding place where I could wallow in self pity about how my life sucked right now. And I preferred to do that in private, thank you very much. "What are you doing here?" I hissed, trying to keep my voice is low as possible because I too could hear more people pouring out of the store. I did not want to be found because this guy insisted on butting in.

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" But of course I had no say in the matter, had I? I was always pulled around, back and fro, this and there. Enough with the dragging already! As I was pulled onto my feet I really felt like smacking the back of his head, but I didn't. He was one of them. Who knew what he could do if I made him angry? He could have hidden one of those phaser things under his shirt or something and plan to drag me back!

"Find them! Find them or I'll have you lot explain things to Visser Three!"

Then again the alternative wasn't very appealing either. I sighed and clenched my hands. "... Fine." Only because I had no other choice. "Where to then?"

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2012, 03:47:43 PM »
"Find them! Find them or I'll have you lot explain things to Visser Three!"

The sound was coming from inside the store. I looked straight in the girl's eyes, pleading and panicked, "Look, just follow my lead. We won't get away if I have to fight you the whole way okay?"

The girl relented and I held her hand firmly in mine. I lifted our hands up in front of our faces so we both could see, "I won't let go of you, don't let go of me."

I squeezed us back out of the dumpsters and ran further down the alleyway. There was a break between buildings where I knew a side entrance to another store was. I guided us into the store and ran through. Employees stared blankly as we passed, curious as to why a couple teenagers were in such a hurry. After vaulting a couple boxes lying around, we made it through. At the other side of the store was an emergency exit. I lowered my head and braced my shoulder for the impact. I hit the door's bar and forced the door open. The alarm didn't sound, seems that warning sticker was just for show. I ran back into the alleyway and checked behind us. A number of dumpsters and a delivery truck was covering our escape, no one could see us.

I yelled back, "A little further, we need to get out of the plaza." We came to the edge of the outlet shopping area. It was lined with bushes. I aimed between two of them and pushed through. On the other side, I found myself staring the backside of a giant gorilla. I froze in fear as he turned around. Past the gorilla, I could see four others, they were all half-human, half-animal; and they were changing. Morphing. It was the Andalite bandits.
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Offline NecrosisDemon

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2012, 04:53:27 PM »
I had no idea where we were going. I could only hope that this guy knew. To me it all seemed random. Left. Right. Left again. A side entrance. Into a store, me almost tripping over a pile of boxes because I was already having a hard time keeping up with him. I'm no athlete, I'm not that fast! The only reason I didn't fall flat on my face was because he still held on to my hand and kept on running.

We were back in an alleyway now after busting through an emergency exit, a different one this time. "W-wait. Stop! I have to stop." My sides were killing me! Every intake of breath hurt. I don't think I have even spend this much time running in such a short amount of time in my life!

Oh you can't imagine how relieved I was when we finally stopped after pushing through a row of bushes. I leaned forward and pressed my free hand against my knee for support, coughing to catch my breath. I was so pre-occupied with trying to breathe again I didn't immediately notice we weren't alone anymore.

<Oh-oh.>

My head snapped up. My body froze. My eyes widened. I was staring at a giant gorilla, standing only a few feet away from me. Behind them, four others. And while the gorilla was freaky enough he still looked like a normal gorilla. The other four were... freakish, half animal, half human deformed mutants! I saw a large grey lump with long blond hair and as I watched, the creature's trunk shlooped back in its face like someone sucking down spaghetti. I could feel a scream bubbling its way up my throat before I even realized it. It was too much. On top of everything else I had seen tonight, this was too much!

The gorilla made quick shaking movements with his large hands. <No no no no no no! Don't->

I screamed. Loudly.

One of the gorilla's large hands pressed over my mouth to cut me off and I watched the beast raise a finger to his lips to shush me. Can you believe this? I was being shushed by a monkey! And I did the only sensible thing my panicked mind could come up with: I bit down. Unfortunately the blunt teeth of a human were too weak to pierce the thick leathery skin of a gorilla's palm and fingers. He probably didn't even feel it.

<Huh, she bit me.>

<Serves you right, Marco.>

<Gee thanks, Rachel. You're so nice. Wanna kiss it better?>

<Not in your wildest dreams.>

"Mhfhmpf!" That was me, and it shut them up. Or maybe that wasn't the right word, because they hadn't really been talking in the first place. Strange as it sounds it was almost as if I could hear the words directly in my mind.

I squeezed the hand that was still holding onto my own. I may not trust the guy one bit, but right now, even though the three mutants had changed back into perfectly normal looking kids wearing the oddest collection of tight fitting clothes I had ever seen - not to mention I was still being shushed by a gorilla! - he was the most normal person out of all of them. I'd take my chances with the pool boy.

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2012, 02:44:25 AM »
I squeezed the girl's hand in return, affirming that I was still there and still going to help her. My eyes couldn't leave the scene before me. The Andalite bandits were Human. They were Humans who could morph! Not only that, but kids, younger kids at that. Though they certainly didn't act or really look like it. They all looked "seasoned" I think is the correct term. One kid walked up to us and looked us over. He looked into the sky; I'm not sure why. Then a bird came down and settled on a branch on a small tree in the yard we were standing in. The kid looked at the bird and said, "What happened Tobias?"

I thought it slightly odd he was talking to a bird, but of course it probably wasn't really a bird. It answered, <I'm sorry, I just got out. I was forced out of a different exit and had to backtrack.>

The kid nodded understandably and said, "Okay, just keep an eye out for anyone else, alright?" The bird nodded. It actually nodded, and flew off. It was weird, watching this unfold. The kid looked at us as though he was looking at a math problem on the board. Suddenly the bird, Tobias's "voice" rang back in our heads, <Jake, three controllers headed your way.>

'Jake' asked us, "Friends of yours?"

I shook my head quickly and answered, "I escaped after my Yeerk returned to the pool, and she's never been infested. She was about to receive her first Yeerk when you guys broke the place open."

A boy in the background spoke, "Prince Jake, the female's head appears wet. It is possible that she could actually be a controller if her head was submerged long enough."

'Prince?' This kid was a Prince? How could that be? He looked at the girl and asked, "Is that true?"

Tobias's voice returned, <Jake, the controllers are going around the hedge line. They'll be on your position in a matter of minutes.>
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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2012, 02:13:57 PM »
The arrival of the bird almost didn't surprise me anymore. Maybe it was because I had already seen so many strange things today that I was becoming immune to surprises. It was some kind of hawk or eagle. I wasn't sure, it was already too dark to tell. Still it was weird to see that one guy talk to it like it was the most normal thing in the world. Even though this world was far from normal anymore.

Again I heard a voice in my head. It seemed to be coming from the bird - what did he call it? Tobias? I watched it (him?) take off and fly away, and they all looked at us again. I didn't like it. They were all acting too serious, like we were in trouble or something, or a big problem that they now had to solve.

<Jake, three controllers headed your way.>

Three what? Oh this was getting more and more confusing by the second! And when Pool Boy whatever-his-name-was answered it became even more clear that I was the only one who really didn't have a clue. Not that something like that had never happened before but that didn't mean I had to like it. Infested by what? A Yeerk? I didn't even know what a Yeerk was!

I hated when I was the center of attention, I hate having eyes on me. It always makes me feel awkward and nervous. And in this situation, scared because we were obviously not dealing with normal human kids here. They could change into animals and talk to birds for crying out loud!

The gorilla finally removed his hand so I could answer and stepped back to the side. I reached up and fumbled with my wet hair without even fully realizing it, glancing from Jake to the two girls standing behind him, to the gorilla (who was beginning to change, I quickly averted my eyes) to the boy standing further away, and back to Jake again. They called him Prince. Just another piece to the puzzle.

"Is what true? I don't even know what you mean by controller." I pulled my hand free and jabbed a finger at... well, I guess I could call him my accomplice. "He's the one you should be asking questions! You were the animals attacking that place and the people and monsters who run it, right? Well, he's one of them! I saw him lead a group of new Sharing members down!"

"There is only one way to know for sure that they're not lying about being controllers." One of the girls spoke up. I looked at her. She was very pretty, beautiful even, with long blond hair and large blue eyes. She looked like an air head to me though, like one of those fashion-obsessed model types. "It only takes three days." she continued.

"Rachel, no. We can't do that."

"Why not? We did it to Jake."

"But that was different."

"How was that different, Cassie?" The gorilla had completely changed back into a human; a boy, maybe around my age, dark skinned, somewhat cute and short. Definitely not as intimidating as he had been before, in big monkey form. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm with Rachel on this one. It's the only way to know for sure that he is not lying about his Yeerk, that it just happened to be soaking up Kandrona rays while we were attacking, and that she isn't pretending either. They've seen us now. We have to know for sure." He shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the back of Jake's head. "It's your call, fearless leader."

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2012, 05:04:51 PM »
Jake was their leader. I guess it made sense, he definitely acted like it. It was strange, here I was in front of kids who were younger than me, and I was the one feeling small and scared. Jake looked to both of us, "Alright, we don't have time for this. You're both coming with us. When we're all safe, we can discuss this further. Stay with us, and don't stray."

I nodded my head silently. I was just glad to still be alive. We saw their secret, they couldn't be sure whether or not to trust us. It was well within their rights to kill us; but they didn't. I guess I'm that much more glad that they're Human rather than Andalite. If we stumbled upon Andalites, they probably would've just killed us to be safe and safeguard their identities. Jake was the first person to walk off he passed the black girl, I think they said her name was Cassie, and muttered something to her, "You stay behind those two. If they run, you can morph to wolf fastest to track them down, okay?" I couldn't hear what he said, but he moved on.

I looked to the girl I escaped with and said, "Well, looks like we're gonna be spending some quality time together. Three days and we're home free." I smiled weakly. I didn't really know if we were going to survive the next three days; hell, I didn't know if we were going to survive the journey home. I waited for her to start walking before I followed her and said, "I'm Sean by the way. I'm sure you have a lot of questions."
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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #12 on: February 09, 2012, 08:46:06 AM »
Well, that was that then. From the tone in Jake's voice I could tell that there was no room for arguments on the matter. All I wanted was to go home and not get dragged further into this mess than I already was, but it seemed like I had no choice but to see this through to the very end. And hope that I would live long enough to see it.
I began walking and glanced over my shoulder. Sean, eh? For a second I wondered whether I should give him a false name, could I trust him my real name? But we were in this together, weren't we? I didn't like him, I didn't trust him, but it was still just us versus everyone else.

"Daniela. And yes, I do have questions but I don't think I want to know the answers so I won't ask. I just want to go home and pretend that this nightmare never happened." Surely once we arrived at our destination I could get Jake to let me go, once I had convinced him I was not a controller or a Yeerk or whatever. It was the truth after all. Wasn't that an American saying or something? Truth will prevail?

I noticed that Cassie slipped behind us. The pretty blonde, Rachel, walked on Sean's side and Marco stayed on mine. Jake led the group, and next to him walked that strange boy who had called him Prince. Looking up I saw the silhouette of a bird flying over our heads, Tobias, no doubt to keep an eye on us and the area. Aw man I had so many questions I could barely contain my curiosity! I didn't want to know what all that chaos in the pool had been for and why, but I did want to know how they managed to turn into animals! And how it was possible for the bird to talk, and speak in our heads! Telepathy maybe?

But I didn't want to ask.

As we neared the edge of the city the tightly-packed houses and large office buildings were slowly being replaced by rustic farm houses and open areas more and more. Were we going to the forest? At night?
I stared at the back of Jake's head. I noticed that Marco and Rachel kept shooting us sideway glances and I'm sure that Cassie was doing the same behind us.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked. I had to know! "I can't stay long. My parents are probably getting worried by now."

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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #13 on: February 09, 2012, 06:42:17 PM »
I replied, "Fair enough." She was delusional. Considering what she just went through though, I guess she can hold onto that false hope for a while. The walk was so weird. To the casual oberver, it probably looked like a group of mismatched hooligans; but to me it felt like prison transport. I could almost hear that line from The Green Mile, "Dead man walkin'." Realistically though, if we were going to be killed, it would've happened when we encountered the gorilla. I've seen him crush his fair share of spines.

"Oh my god," I whispered. I couldn't hold in the shock of the realization. I doubt anyone heard me. These young teenagers killed people. Mostly odd aliens; but still. They've taken lives. Sure I have too; but I was under influence. They've done it consciously. How that must be changing them, I couldn't tell you. I can at least reason that it was ME doing the killing. They don't have that luxury.

I must've pondered that thought for a long time, 'cause the next thing I know we're in rural territory and Daniela breaks the odd, tense silence. Jake turned his head and simply said, "We're almost there." He pointed ahead to a house with a barn on its property. I said passively, "Nice place."
« Last Edit: February 09, 2012, 06:50:25 PM by Darth Revan »
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Re: Extramorphs (1x1 for Darth Revan)
« Reply #14 on: February 10, 2012, 06:16:13 PM »
I wasn't sure what to think of the house and the barn. It all looked innocent enough but I knew by now that appearances were deceiving. The proof of that was walking all around me.

"My parents are at some vet conference right now." I heard Cassie say behind Sean and me. So this was her place then? Why take us to her house? Not for drinks and movies, that was for sure. "We still have about two, maybe three hours before they come back."

"That should be plenty of time to figure out what to do with them." Rachel. "Though why we can't just take them to the shack where we held Jake, tie them up and let them starve for three days is beyond me." she added darkly. I kept my eyes on the dirt path we were walking on, leading up to the house and barn. She was talking about kidnapping and starving us like it was nothing! I couldn't help myself, I shot Sean a worried stare. I had been kidnapped once and that had resulted in the nightmare at the underground pool. I did not want that to happen a second time!

I inhaled shakily and wrapped my arms around myself. How did you deal with something like this? How did Sean deal with this? He seemed so much calmer than I was. Or maybe he was just better at hiding it. I mean, I still like Disney movies, and I still cry when I see Mufasa die, or when Bambi's mom gets shot, or when Beast turns back into a prince after nearly dying, and I end up screaming at my TV that he should change back immediately because he's absolutely hideous as a human being. Yeah, I'm not exactly impressive on an emotional level.