Marilyn floated inside a tank of concentrated hallycium, a gas native to her home planet that helped with cellular regeneration in high-temperature environments. It reminded her of harsher days but it was also a beacon of hope following her recent mental and physical torture. She was awake, peering beyond the protective layers that separated her from the outside world. The circular patterns on the walls and the blinking lights everywhere made her surroundings clear. Councilwoman Wikktory had brought her inside a ship that was now hovering The Bahamas, invisible to the human eye and any radar or known sensor.

The extraterrestrial didn’t remember dying but also had no recollection of ever being alive either. Everything was hazy and disconnected. It was as if someone had plucked her memories and experiences one by one, tossed them into a blender, and turned them into an unrecognizable mush. Certainties were a thing of the past. Truth and falsehood were virtually indistinguishable from one another.

There were two tubes attached to her body. One was a filtering system to help her breathe and other an evacuation mechanism. Despite its beneficial properties, hallycium was poisonous in high dosages and her debilitated systems couldn’t process it without external help. Marilyn had never been inside a healing tank before but she couldn’t complain. It was a soothing sensorial fest within.

She could no longer hear or see the ghostly manifestations of the Pendertons. Whether that meant the Rinnidyan infection had been eradicated or the connection was dormant remained to be seen. She wanted answers but was willing to wait for them while she healed.

For the next couple of hours, she faded in and out of consciousness, trying to piece together the fragments of her existence in the few moments of absolute clarity. The threads were still there, hiding beneath the haze and discarded genetic material. The more she pushed back against the assimilation process the stronger she became.

After a few more hours, the hallycium in the tank was replaced with a new mixture chock-full of nutrients. That was a good sign. Her recovery was going faster than expected.

Marilyn dozed off for a bit and when she woke up again, the Councilwoman was looking at her and smiling.

“Welcome back,” she said. “The doctors told me you should be able to talk now, so how are you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been through Hell and back,” Marilyn replied.

“That’s because you were. Your readings were off the chart for a while. The parasite did a number on you.”

“Is it gone? Were you able to kill every trace?”

“The Rinnidyan inside you is dead, yes, but there are still leftovers of it in your system. It will take a while before they’re either expelled from your body or absorbed into it.”

“How long?”

“The doctors don’t know for sure. It could be days, months, or more. The good news is that your immune system wasn’t compromised, which gives you a better fighting chance. As for the organ damages...”

“What about them?”

“They’re still being assessed but it’s already obvious you’ll be experiencing an inevitable decrease in physical performance. There’s internal scarring we can mitigate but never heal. You’ll live the rest of your days with dizzy spells, shortness of breath, and decreased sexual appetite.”

“Well, shit! Sex is one of the best things about this planet. I’d rather be dead now.”

“Don’t say that. You’re lucky you’re not and should be thankful for that, but if I hadn’t come...”

“So you got my signal...”

“It wasn’t me that received it but yes, the information was relayed in time. I was ready to leave the planet when that image of you forced me to come back. I’m sorry I left you to fend things for yourself. That was wrong.”

“Damn right it was! The Council’s cowardice only emboldened our enemies, but I fucked things up too.”

“How did you get infected?”

“I was distracted, I let my guard down for a few seconds and that was enough. They mess with you. They fuck with your mind and perception of things to fabricate the ideal outcome for propagation. I understand that now. My hopes were used against me and I fell for it. This is why we can’t falter. We need to stop them before there’s nothing left to stop.”

“If only it were that easy. I’m here and so are a few people I can trust but the rest of the Council... they don’t care. They’ll never change their mind and without their support, there’s not much we can do.”

“We can cut off the head of the snake at least. The one that took over Natalia is running the operations and all the other infected came from her. Taking her out is our best chance.”

“The problem is we don’t know where she is. We’re not even sure if she’s still in the country.”

“What about the people at the resort? Were you able to contain them or eliminate the infection?”

“Our resources are stretched pretty thin but we’re doing the best we can. Human anatomy differs from ours and responds to the Rinnidyan threat in unexpected ways. We have most of them trapped but we can’t save them all.”

“They’re all connected so they know what the plan is. Natalia has all but confirmed this is all leading to an invasion. The question is: how does it begin?”

“So, what do you want to do? interrogate them? Try to make them crack?”

“Do you have a better idea, Councilwoman?”

“No, I don’t, but that’s not my specialty and you’re in no condition to...”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong!” Marilyn growled, her natural feistiness shining through. “I’m up for it. I’ve a got a score to settle, so why don’t you get me off this tank, a.s.a.p. so we can get started?”

“You’ll need medical clearance before anything else.”

“Then get it for me. I don’t care if they have to put me in a suit but I want to get out of here and finish what I started. That bitch is going down.”

“You’re making things way too personal, Marilyn. That’s dangerous,” the Councilwoman noted.

“Of course it’s fucking personal! She ravaged my entrails and tried to wipe out everything I am. If you think I’m going to sit idle, then you don’t know me as well as I do. Put me in a room with one of the infected and I’ll get all the information we need.”

“Torture isn’t your game either, Marilyn. What if you fail? Then what?”

“We’ll figure something out, but we need to be ready to explore every angle. Are you with me?”

“I came back for you, didn’t I?”

“After you betrayed me but that’s not what I’m asking now. Can I count on your support if things go south?”

“They’ve already gone south, Marilyn. If we get out of this alive, we’ll be lucky if we don’t get deported to the farthest regions of the galaxy, so fuck it! I’m with you but I won’t risk my life any more than necessary. If things get too complicated, this ship and everyone in it will be out of here in the blink of an eye.”

“Fair enough. Now, about that doctor clearance...”

“I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, don’t go anywhere,” the Councilwoman chuckled.

“Hilarious!” Marilyn took a deep breath to allow more of the gas into her system and took it all in. “Whatever it takes...” she muttered.

* * *

An hour later, the two aliens stood together outside a holding cell on the back of the ship. Three security guards were in the room with them, guarding the main entrance and the secondary corridor. They sported tactical uniforms with chameleonic properties, and deadly blasters on their hips.

The cell was a square padded room protected by an electrified force field that could be expanded and contracted at will. Inside, sat a blonde man in his late-twenties that Marilyn remembered seeing as she approached the resort. He was a valet, or had been. The Rinnidyan parasitic infection had already spread to his brain, and was rewriting his DNA from the inside out. While he still had a human body, it was more of a meat sack than anything else now. He had blood on his lips and neck and half of his naked body was covered in fluorescent green tendrils. Uncontained fury could be seen past his sunken eyes.

“Poor bastard,” Marilyn thought. After getting clearance from the chief physician on the ship, she had been equipped with a special mask and a portable hallycium pump to continue her treatment on the go. She wasn’t allowed to exert herself for too long or she would have to be confined again.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” the Councilwoman asked. The prisoner couldn’t hear them, but if the plan went forward they would all be hearing his screams.

“Yes. We don’t have a choice,” she pointed at a prismatic control to her right. It had an array of red and white buttons and a 3d display on top that replicated the room they were in. “Can you tell me how this works again?”

“Sure. This is the primary force field generator for the entire holding area. It’s already been configured for that cell. The first row of buttons controls the intensity of the field and the second allows it to move it in all directions. Right now, it’s set for containment only but if you increase the intensity, it becomes a high-powered laser. You can use it to target specific parts of the body to... hmmm... facilitate the interrogation. Use the right stick for minor adjustments. It’s advisable to limit exposure to only five seconds each time or you may cause his internal organs to combust... Fuck, Marilyn! I’m getting sick just thinking about it.”

“You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.”

“That’s okay. What’s one more crime after all the rules we’ve already being broken by still being here? Do what you must but if I tell you to stop, you stop, okay? Promise me you’ll obey this time.”

“I promise,” Marilyn clenched her teeth but there was no conviction in her voice. She was no longer in the presence of an actual human, That thing was just a mask, so she shouldn’t feel bad about doing what needed to be done. Pain was a necessity if they were to have any hope of saving the planet.

Marilyn tried out the controls for a few seconds. She was a fast learner and had no trouble adjusting to the various functions on the fly. With the press of a button, she disabled the sonic blockade for her voice to be heard and looked at the converted drone, saying,

“The one known as Natalia... Tell me where she is.”

The husk raised its head, grinning like a madman, and said,

“You! Why aren’t you...? You should have become one of us already!”

“Not in the mood for assimilation. Your plan failed. Now tell me what I need to know,” she began tinkering with the force field, increasing its intensity by ten percent. If the prisoner touched it either voluntarily or by accident, he would experience a jolt of pain in every nerve end but not enough to cause permanent damages.

“I don’t have to tell you a thing. You can’t stop what’s coming so don’t even bother trying.”

“And let your kind take over? No! We’ve put a lot of work into this planet already and its inhabitants don’t deserve the pain of assimilation. You will tell me everything.”

“Or what?” the thrall spat, blood hitting the field and vaporizing almost immediately. “Are you going to chop me into little pieces? I don’t care. All Rinnidyans are ready to die for the cause. We will prevail.”

“I very much doubt that. Your primary instinct is to spread and infect others. You can’t do that if you’re dead, can you?” Marilyn increased the intensity of the field again, reducing its width and height in the same measure. The cell began shrinking, leaving less room for the prisoner to move in.

“You know nothing! Your ignorance is a blight upon the Universe. We should have consumed you all a long time ago.”

“And you should only answer my questions instead of pretending you have any power in this situation. I’m going to ask you one more time and then I begin to cut: where is she?”

“Fuck you, bitch!”

“You first.”

Marilyn fiddled with the controls, raising the intensity to 50%. Now, instead of mild discomfort, the field was strong enough to induce third-degree burns on tender flesh. She adjusted the radius and selected a target. A luminous beam of concentrated energy descended from the ceiling of the padded cell and burned the converted drone’s left arm as she counted: “One, two, three...”

She stopped at four seconds and focused on the right stick to choose another area to strike. For the sake of symmetry, the right arm was the ideal candidate. Without saying another word, she activated the laser again.

The Rinnidyan screamed as the body it was a part of writhed in pain. Its cells were in flux, blood boiling from within.

“Shall I do a leg next? Or maybe leave my mark across your chest?” Marilyn gnarled before adding, “The info, please.”

“I already told you to fuck off!” the Rinnidyan stood up and contorted his arms and legs in a crab-like fashion.

“Have it your way,” Marilyn upped the intensity once more. At 60%, she could slice one of his limbs with a single hit and the prisoner knew it. The adamant defiance wavered the moment she pointed at one of his ears. With most of the parasite latched on the host’s brain, such a close hit would prove excruciatingly painful, perhaps more than it could handle. The Councilwoman glanced at Marilyn and gave her approval. Marilyn adjusted her aim and fired the shot one inch away from the top of the Rinnidyan’s ear who, against his better judgment, cowered in fear. “I guarantee you the next one will hit the target,” she concluded.

“Please don’t,” he said, the façade of bravery all but broken.

“What happened to being ready to die for the cause?” Marilyn said. “Think carefully what you’re about to say because the quality of your intel will determine your fate. Where’s Natalia?”

“She’s still in the country, but hiding. You’ll never find her if you don’t know where to look,” the wounded thrall replied.

“And where’s that?”

“Underground. We have a base of operations in the city’s sewers. It’s where the most critical phase of the plan is being developed.”

“Which is...?” Councilwoman Wikktory took the lead. “What are you filthy creatures up to, anyway?”

“If I tell you, I need you to do something for me,” he said.

“You’re in no position to make demands but what the hell do you want?” Marilyn asked.

“Allow this body to continue existing. There are still parts of it to assimilate. Please, that’s all I ask.”

“Afraid of death, Rinnidyan?”

“No, but I don’t this to be the way I depart from this world. I don’t expect you to understand but we have our ways, too. Allow me to honor them with one last meal.”

“Eww... whatever. Just tell me what she’s after.”

“The sewers connect every part of the city and all important facilities. They’re the perfect place for infiltration.”

“Infiltration? Where are you going to strike?”

“In places that will hurt humans the most and permit rapid assimilation. Taking them down one by one is too consuming. It’s easier to launch a full-scale assimilation and attack the hosts from within. Do you understand now?”

“I think I do,” Marilyn said, the horror of the plan almost making her throw up.

“I don’t,” the Councilwoman Wikktory said. “What’s he talking about?”

Marilyn turned off the laser and gulped. One Rinnidyan wasn’t enough for the job but a small army of thralls would be strong enough to unleash the parasitic entities on a larger scale, using mankind’s infrastructures and basic physiological needs against them. They were going to target the water supply and convert everyone at the same time.

“Fuck!”

((to be continued))