The Sharing: Rebellion From Within

[Qwerty the Charliecorn]

"My work here is done," Kaitlyn said with a satisfied smile. She turned away from Denise and left the room without another word, held held high and chin turned up. For once, Illrid had done something right, and she couldn't have been more nauseatingly proud of herself. Kaitlyn didn't feel as sorry for the woman as she thought she would. She had grown used to seeing people taken against their will to be made into slaves. But she could almost feel Illrid's excitement fade a little as she realized she still owed an explanation for the traitor situation...

[Myitt]

"Before we head off into the wild blue yonder, I'm afraid there's one last thing we've got to do in California," Myitt said, piloting the ship over the less populated parts of Utah and into Arizona.  "We need to pick up a tabloid newspaper."  Streaming from the ship's control panel is a stream of indecipherable chatter, breaking occasionally into English.  "The news channels aren't reporting anything other than some lame Hollywood movie shoot coverup.  We need to know what people are really saying.  Don't worry, we won't get too close to The Sharing for comfort."

"You'd better get used to this sort of ridiculous life threatening bollocks, just letting you know," Corliss added offhandedly from his seat.

[Terenia]

"You're making us risk our lives for the National Enquirer?" Aurora asked, raising an eyebrow. She eyed the goopy ropes that had wound around her in disgust. "What is this stuff?"

[Myitt]

"Yes, yes we are," Myitt sighed, distracted. 

Corliss pulled a bit at one of the stringy opaque restraints.  "It's a sort of filamentous version of living metal, feels like rubber, yeah?  It's the same stuff the hull of the ship's made of.  Not your usual seatbelt."

[traycon3]

"Which admittedly may or may not be a comfort, a living metal, that is. It's not, by the way. Actually I think it's cool. You would." Tia rolled her eyes while saying "you would", just to make a point. Norpo was an idiot sometimes, in her humble opinion. "Oh, hey, quick question," she added, "who loses and gets the paper?"

[Myitt]

Myitt shrugged.  "I'm the one who wants the damn thing, I'll make a packie run."  She grinned.  "You know, a convenience store.  Liquor store.  Whatever, she's not from around there."  She taps her host's chest.  "I'd rather not risk your lives any more than you've already been forced to do."

[Myitt]

The ship cruised, alarmingly quickly, down toward California.  The entire trip, in atmosphere, had taken less than half an hour.

Below the invisible Bug fighter people went about their morning routine.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  No evidence that an alien invasion was occurring.  Just normal people. 

"This is a good enough place to land as any," Myitt said, carefully taking the ship down on top of a small brick building--it looked like a RadioShack--on a downtown street.  A big blue dumpster sat next to the building, filled with cardboard and who knows what else.

No one in the store appeared to notice.  After all, the ship was invisible...it's just the ceiling pipes knocking, right?...

Unfortunately, they had ended up just around the corner from the wreck of The Sharing--not in plain view of it, but a little too close for comfort.  The firefighters and cops and police tape and reporters were mostly gone, replaced by cleaning crews and construction workers trying to patch up the wrecked building that 'lightning' had supposedly damaged.

"Right, I'd recommend you lot stay inside, unless you'd like to jump off a roof into a dumpster?" Corliss asked pleasantly, arms crossed.  "'Course, that doesn't mean you can't..."

[traycon3]

Norpo and Tia had spent most of the trip arguing amongst themselves. Finally, Tia voiced her concern. "She should have someone go with her," she said flatly. "Which would be a huge risk to anyone here," Norpo snapped at her. "She seems capable enough on her own." They both looked at Myitt and Corliss with raised eyebrows. "I'm a fairly decent shot, and he knows it. That's besides the point. Half of the Sharing has at least a vague idea of who you are!"

[Myitt]

"I'm just gonna get the damn newspaper, particularly from that guy down there, I don't care if you all come with me as long as we don't look like a bunch of tourists," Myitt griped, checking the power cells on her Dracon and stepping away from the ship's control panel toward the hatch wall.  She muttered to the shipboard computer, putting the gun away, and the wall melted open again, letting in the warm California air.  Quite a change from the cold isolation of Yellowstone. 

"Yeah, seeing as I may just be the most recognizable bloke out of you all, I'm gonna stay in here," Corliss sighed, pulling the gooey living restraints off of himself.  He spoke a few non-English words to the chairs Aurora and Michael were sitting in, and their restraints released them.

[traycon3]

"Give me a Dracon beam, and I'll be happy to follow you," Tia replied calmly. <There really no stopping you, is there?>
Tia flashed him a mental grin. <Nope.>
<Great...If we die, I am so blaming you.>

[morfowt]

"Hey, I'm coming too. Give me one of those Dracon things" Michael said quickly.

[Terenia]

"Um..." Aurora hesitated. She had been incredibly eager to get home several hours ago, but now being in the familiar area sent a wave of confusion through her. She wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or frightened. After all, it certainly didn't look like an alien invasion. "I can stand watch up here on the roof I guess." She decided. That was a good compromise. She wasn't cowering in the ship, but she wasn't taking the biggest risk.

[Myitt]

"Whoa, whoa, this isn't time for the party favors, I don't have enough Dracons to go around," Myitt said sourly, hopping out onto the gravelly rooftop from the invisible ship.  Its landing gears made big deep rectangular impressions in the dirty roof.  "Besides, I don't entirely trust humans who have never fired a gun before with an extremely dangerous laser weapon.  Corliss, give Tia and Norpo the broken one."  She flashed a grin and crouched down on the roof, gazing down at the alley and the dumpster below. 

"Here you go, mate," Corliss said, leaning cautiously out of the hatchway and handing Tia/Norpo a Dracon with the usual power level indicator snapped off.  "Sorry, it's stuck on stun until further notice.  No hard feelings, eh?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll leave mine on stun, too," Myitt said grudgingly, clicking her Dracon's dial down.  "And try to keep quiet, will you, we don't want anyone noticing a bunch of punks on the roof with an invisible spaceship."  She particularly eyed Aurora, then took a steadying breath.

<Here goes nothing.>

<If you break my legs, so help me...>

Tara/Myitt jumped the relatively short distance off the roof into the metal dumpster filled with cardboard.  She landed with a crumpled clanging noise.  She cursed hissingly, more at the loudness of it than any significant pain, then climbed out of the thing into the alley, brushing off her jeans. 

[traycon3]

"Eh, I only let her kill when I have to," Norpo replied as Tia checked the sites on the thing. Satisfied, she stuck it in the back of her pants before following Myitt off the ship and then off the roof. Her landing was about as soft as Myitt's. However, the pile of cardboard had sunk enough that getting out of the Dumpster was going to be a bit more difficult. Rather than stating this, she motioned for Michael to lower Aurora down to her, rather than risk making more noise. They'd figure out how to get out later.

[yrkd88]

After what seemed an incalculable passage of time, Denise's conscious slowly bubbled to the surface. Her memories were vague and hazy, but she dimly recalled a room of some sort...and a young girl and these armed men trying to grab her.

Wha...? her thoughts came a bit unintelligibly. Where was she? What had happened? Was she having some sort of weird dream? Suddenly she felt her eyes open, and the blackness lifted. Only, she wasn't the one that opened them. It was as if something else made them open.

Through her open eyes she could see what looked like some sort of metal pier by a sludgy grayish-brown lake of some sort. She noticed that her body was lying prostrate on the ground, and could see people's feet crowded around her. She wasn't positive, but it appeared as if the sludgy lake was teeming...with slugs? Denise tried focusing more closely on them but found that she couldn't. Suddenly she witnessed herself push up from the ground and stand on her feet.

{What? What the hell?!} she demanded as she felt her body being puppeted like some marionette on invisible strings. {What's going on? What can't I move my own body?!!!} Denise yelled in anguish.

{Hush, slave!} answered a voice. A voice that was very different from her own. {What was that? Who said that?!} she demanded. She could feel fear and helplessness bubbling up within her. A feeling of vulnerability that she absolutely despised.

{Ah yes, my little Human pet} it mocked in a cold cruel voice. {Allow me to introduce myself, I am Reshnar 212} the strange voice in Denise's head replied. {I'm a Yeerk...an assassin actually}. {And you} Reshnar said with a laugh, {Are my new slave...your body all mine to do whatever I please with!}.

{WHAT!!!!!!} Denise screamed inside her own mind. {I am NO...repeat nobody's f***** slave!} she began to struggle, making futile attempts to control her own arms and legs. {Ahaha! you are a fool...just like all the others} it crowed. {You can struggle all you like...but no matter what you do, my power to control you body is stronger} said Reshnar easily moving Denise's wildly thrashing arm calmly back to rest on her side.

{Go to hell and rot there!} Denise hissed as Reshnar nonchalantly dusted off her host's jeans, and began walking away from the infestation pier, the screams and cries of hundreds of host bodies echoing behind her.