Attack of the Beast
by Anon Allsop
Part 3

Chapter 8

(Changing perspective slightly from Christian’s view to relay what he could not see)

Captain Donaldson held his plasma cannon up near his shoulder as he caught Margie's arm. "Damn it Margie, why couldn't you wait for all of us?"

"That thing killed my only friend here... I will not let it live another day!" She swung her arm in the direction she was heading, "Don't stop me, Captain! I'm going on...one way or another!"

Margie VanVleet pulled away from him, "If you want me to return, it'll have to be at the end of a plasma cannon... because I'm not returning without knowing that that thing is dead!"

He stood and sighed, then pointed into the brush. "Okay, Margie, I'll help you."

Each time they would trade places, moving as they had been taught by the military, all the while they hunted the creature, drifting further and further into the woods. Then behind them a twig snapped, and they each turned quickly, fingers hovering over their trigger pad.

"That damn thing is close, I can feel it!" She scowled and motioned for the Captain to slip past her as she covered his back. "It'll make a mistake and show itself to us, and then we'll blow it off this planet and into oblivion."

"Or it'll get us first." He muttered under his breath.

Margie frowned, crouching low and looking for signs of its passing. "Not very optimistic, are you?"

They continued on in silence, exchanging places as they watched for the illusive creature. Suddenly their communicators crackled, "You have to come back to the craft! It's too dangerous for you to be out there alone with that thing!"

Elmer looked toward Margie, "Who the hell is that talking?" Margie shrugged, shaking her head 'no'. Donaldson hit the pad on his chest, "Who is this?"

"It's Eric!" The voice said, "Something is happening to me that it’s a direct result of my contact with that creature!"

"Like what?" The Captain again touched the pad on his chest.

"I don't have time to explain, just get the hell out of the forest!" relayed Eric’s short reply. "Your very lives depend on it!"

"Well, there you have it, Margie... we should head back."

Just ahead of the two, they heard steps. Their cannons were trained on the spot. Suddenly it was heard behind them, causing their attention to focus back there. Now it was beside them, just behind the dense foliage.

"Can't talk now Eric, I think we're closing in on it!" The woman shouted, and then turned with her back to the Captain, "There may be two of them. Or it's damn fast..."

Suddenly, in one fluid motion it was upon them, completely knocking VanVleet to her knees. Captain Donaldson spun his Cannon around only to have a raking claw rip it from his grasp, then throwing him aside as if he were nothing more than a rag doll. It wheeled around as Margie was scrambling toward her own dropped plasma cannon.

"The plasma cannon…set it to detonate!" The Captain shouted from where he lay. Before her, the creature stepped on the cannon, pinning it beneath its long, two-talon, claw like foot. Its wide triangular head lowered closer to her terrified face, and long strands of blue tinted saliva hung from its mandibles as each one clicked together slowly. It glared at her sullenly through the mirror-like surfaces of its eyes, but as she scrambled to her feet... it was upon her instantly.

Elmer Donaldson struggled to stand and began to strike out at the beast as it held Margie within its grasp. But he could see the horrified look upon her face as it began to slowly suck the life from her body. Within moments the woman who had entered the woods with him was no more than a thin husk of her former self! Her face and eyes had sunk in as her once-beautiful mouth drew back to reveal the entire gum line. She was gone; the creature had killed again.

Donaldson spun quickly away from the beast, leaving his plasma cannon lying on the forest floor. He had only taken two steps when he was dragged down from behind. He lashed out with his boot as the creature pulled him slowly toward its hulking body, its little mandibles clicking with ferocity and anger.

The Captain's foot was held fast by the creature, but he continued to kick at the face of the monster with his other foot. In one quick movement it bit down, and its mandible buried deep into the calf of his leg. Donaldson struck out again, with his full force striking again and again into the beast’s face. Finally he was able to break himself free, scrambling to his feet he staggered off, and limped in the direction of his remaining crew members and the craft.

As the Captain ran, he could feel the blood trickling into his boot. He had been injured by the beast, but he was alive and he wanted to stay that way! He quickly tapped against his chest on the pad and he began to shout out as he ran.

"It attacked us! VanVleet is dead... like Lunette!" He panted, his breath laboring for air.

"We're coming in!" Parker's voice shouted over the Captain's communicator.

"No!" He shouted, gasping for air. "Get the ship ready, this mission is scrubbed!"

Donaldson stumbled over a fallen log, throwing his hands out to catch himself he landed in the lush vegetation. Behind him in the distance, he could hear the beast following. As he struggled to his feet he looked down at his hands, slowly being transformed, becoming slender and feminine.

"Wha...what's happening?" He gasped.

A terrified glance over his shoulder revealed the beast as it slowly stalked its prey, as if waiting for its predetermined moment to strike. Donaldson continued racing toward the craft, fearing and cursing the very beast that now hunted him. He tripped and fell, but when he staggered to his feet, his shoes were still on the ground where he had fallen, for he had stepped out of them completely! His breath came out in short gasping pants, each audible wheezing breath elevating higher and higher in pitch. To his left the beast ran parallel of him, its intent to cut off his escape from the woods.

Again he scrambled, but now, the longer pant legs impeded his ability to run effectively. Elmer was slowly shrinking in size, allowing his pants to envelop his feet in the process. As he seemingly shrank in stature, the pants fell about his knees causing him to stumble awkwardly to the ground.

He struggled off the uniform pants and raced through the woods, now smooth feminine legs propelling him forward in desperation as his undergarment fell lower and lower off his womanly hips. He kicked them free, the wound in his leg all but forgotten; terror propelled him onward, terror and the innate desire to live!

He fell and rolled along the odd surface of the woods, above and just beyond him the beast raced on, turning slightly toward his direction. As Donaldson crawled up the hill, he could feel breasts begin to swing freely upon his chest, unfettered under his uniform. In a panicked horror, he realized then that the creature’s bite was transforming him into a female!

Now, it was as a realization dawned upon him that this strange beast had an appetite for only females and was just waiting its chance to kill yet again; only this time he would be the main course for this alien creature. No longer did he care whether they colonized this planet, no longer did he care whether his good friends had been killed…no, he only cared about escape…his own.

The faster he, now she, ran, the more she could feel the changes to her body! Her breasts bounced and jiggled, her hips and legs had altered enough that she could feel that her gait was now that of a female! She now had slender arms that were much shorter, causing her hands to be covered by her uniform jacket! Her heart was racing, almost as though it would burst through her chest. Self-preservation, more than anything was propelling her onward, as she stumbled over a thick branch and fell. Scrambling to her feet she ran on, burning tears coursing down her dirt covered face, each one falling upon her oversized shirt, which now covered her naked bottom like a dress. On and on she stumbled through the vegetation, pitiful cries and sobs the only vocalization she could squeeze out from her terrified feminine lungs.

Tears were streaming down her soft cheeks as she raced toward the edge of the woods, between the trees she could just make out the craft as it sat upon the hill.

She struck the pad upon her breast, "I can see the ship, and I’m almost there!" She cried out in her now feminine voice. "I’ve got to hurry, its right behind me!" She screamed out in panic.

Chapter 9

(Returning perspective to Christian)

The three of us had fanned out and stood facing the woods; between Park and me stood the feminine form of Eric. His budding breasts were heaving from the tension of our ordeal.

Ever since we heard the strange voice of a girl, we had been vigilant, knowing that it was most likely, the altered form of our Captain fleeing for his very life from the creature.

I saw movement flashing through the trees. It was a female, but close behind her raced the beast! She fell just short of the meadow. Crying out, her voice, now horse from screaming, she began to crawl through the grass toward safety.

Suddenly, the beast was upon her! Just in front of Eric, she fell halfway into the meadow, halfway in the tall brush. Her blood-curdling scream was like fingernails on a chalkboard that slowly died away, just as the life in her once beautiful eyes.

Eric threw himself at the beast, which flung him away in one fluid motion. He struck his back against a tree and he fell in a great heap at its base. Parker took a quick shot at it, but the creature easily dodged it, then turned and grabbed onto Eric's leg.

I raced alongside, trying to turn it back toward Parker where he could hopefully get a shot off at it. In the meantime, I saw Eric being dragged along as if he were a helpless stuffed animal in a child's arms.

Slowly the beast began to veer to its left, back toward Park. Within a minute we had it between us, its retreat thwarted by the blast of Parker’s plasma canon. It held out Eric as if tempting us to fire, but it seemed to know we couldn't shoot one of our own. The beast’s great barrel lungs were working like a bellows, each rib flexing with its breathing.

Eric yelled out, screaming in pain, his feminine sounding voice crying, "Shoot it! Shoot the damn thing!"

"We can't! If we shoot at it, we'll hit you!" I cried out.

Parker stood, hands braced on a tree, his chest heaving from our running. I cupped my hand to my mouth and shouted across to him, "Narrow the Plasma beam…that should allow you to place a pinpoint shot!" I could see Park begin to twist the base of his cannon.

"No!" Eric shouted, "If you do that, you'll have to move in too close! The thing will kill us all, instead of just me!"

I quickly began narrowing the beam, ignoring what Eric was saying. As both Park and I moved in, the beast clutched Eric tighter. Parker took a shot, hitting it in the arm causing it to drop Eric. As the beast howled in rage and pain, I closed in, grabbing Eric by his now slender hand and began to pull him toward me.

"No, Christian!" He screamed at me, struggling against my efforts.

The great beast wheeled on me and with one shove from his claw-like hand, flung me almost twenty feet into the woods. I rolled until the brush brought me to a halt.

As I slowly staggered to my feet in pain, I watched as Eric picked up my fallen Plasma Cannon.

"Shoot it!" We both yelled to him.

Instead, Eric twisted the dial and made eye contact with both Park and me. "I can't let it get you guys too!" He gasped in pain; his hand hovered over the trigger pad of the cannon.

I watched him close his eyes as his index finger fell upon the pad. Instantly a white-hot blast permeated the entire area for almost twenty square meters in every direction. Both Park and I were flattened by the energy pulse, numbing us as it washed over our prone bodies.

Not a sound came to my ears as I lay in the grass, staring mindlessly at the canopy of the forest. Both of the twin suns were visible within my range of vision, and it seemed that thousands of the strange saw-like leaves swayed in the humid breeze, my eyes slowly closed, shutting away the view.

For the briefest of moments I could feel someone near me, my eyes struggled open and I watched Park quickly begin to tear his shirt and rip open my own shirt. He began to stuff the torn pieces under my arm, rolling me slightly to one side so he could tie up his field bandage.

He looked down at me and saw that my eyes had open; the pain I was feeling was as intense as anything I had ever felt. “Don’t you die on me, Christian!” He spoke as he was pouring a packet of medicine into my mouth, and washing it down with water.

I tried to speak but coughed out the water instead, finally I was able to choke out a whisper. “I’m not dead yet.” I managed as a great black void engulfed me.

Chapter 10

I opened my eyes slowly; Parker was closing the hatch to the craft. He walked past me and smiled, "You feeling better?" I nodded and tried to sit up, "Stay lying down, I can handle the lift-off. We're getting the hell out of here."

I felt the retaining straps which held me to the medical table, “Am I bad?”

“You got a hell of a cut just below your armpit, on your right side.” He quickly began to shine a small lit into my eyes, “Other than that, you seem healthy enough.”

I have known Park for a long time and I could tell when he wasn’t giving me the complete story. I rolled my eyes to the window as he passed me and headed toward the front of the craft, "What happened out there?" My voice sounded raspy.

Parker swiveled the Captain's chair toward me, "Eric set his plasma cannon on the blast mode, both him and that damn creature were vaporized in the blast. You were knocked unconscious by the plasma wave, and I was thrown, but unhurt, I don’t know, maybe it was because I was further away from the blast than you were."

I nodded, and again tried sitting up, but my head reeled from pain. Park said, "Better stay still, it knocked you for a hell of a loop!"

I groaned, "The blast or the creature?" As I spoke, I touched my throat. "What's wrong with my voice?"

Parker flipped some switches and the little craft broke away from the surface of the strange planet. As we sailed out into the blackness of space he guided us high above the planet into an orbit of our own. Once he was satisfied of our distance, he set the flight path then locked it in, letting the computer guide us homeward.

He stood up and slowly made his way back to the bed that I was convalescing in, "I found Eric's notes." He placed a cold rag on my forehead, "He figured out what was causing us to only find female mummies. I put two and two together, after I realized what had happened to the Captain, Eric…and…."

Again I tried to sit up, pain shot through my side. Park gently pushed me back into the medical cot. "Lay still." He chewed on his lip as he concentrated on what he was going to say next. "I'm not going to let you up until I've had a chance to talk to you." I stopped my struggles, and wondered what he had to say.

He sat quietly for a moment, then spoke softly, "When you tried to rescue Eric, what did the beast do?" As he waited for my reply, he began to unfasten the hold-down straps on the medical table.

I thought about it, "It struck me in the chest, right about there." I pushed my hand into his thick chest, freezing at what I was seeing! My slender hand was splayed out against his chest, each feminine finger tipped with a narrow white sliver of nail! Quickly I brought the other into my view, "My God! What has happened to me?" I gasped at seeing something so strangely feminine on my own hands.

He looked away quickly, then stood, holding his hand out for me to grasp. Without thinking, I laid my tiny hand in his, slowly rising to my feet.

"We sat on the planet for three days, while you were...changing." He spoke as I stood before a tiny wall mirror.

"Your Uniform was swallowing you inside, so I... uh... used one of Margie’s to give you something that would be proper... uh, fitting."

I pulled a lock of my hair away, swinging it before my eyes; its length evident that it had grown considerably since I had been out.

"I... it changed me into a girl?" I began to hyperventilate, looking at the silky tresses contained in my hand, "Just like what happened to Eric... but... but, oh God, what am I going to do?" I felt the tears streaming down my cheek. “How…how is this possible?”

Park looked down at the floor, "It has something to do with its saliva, according to what I found in Eric's notes, but you already knew that, didn't you?" He never made eye contact with me, "Damn, I'm so sorry, Christian."

"Why should you be sorry? You didn't do this to me!" I tearfully looked down at the full bosom that now perched upon my chest; somehow now my emotions were more female than male. My head began swimming, the uneasy feeling left me unsure whether it was from the Plasma wave I had received on the planet days ago, or my recent reveal of the changes upon my body. I felt myself lurching forward, as Parker quickly caught me from falling when my knees buckled.

"I guess I should get used to being the helpless female, shouldn't I?" I cried bitterly, wiping my teary eyes upon his chest. Park gave me a sideways glance; he knew my feeling helpless was so unlike anything I had ever considered of me before.

He shook his head, "Nah, you'll never be helpless, Christian." He smiled as I steadied myself, holding on to the wall as he was taking a seat in the Captain's chair. “I have a feeling that no matter what your outer shell will be, you will always have that strength I admire so much on your inside.”

I gingerly made my way to beside him, "Thanks Park…I guess I'll sit up here in Lunette's chair." Parker nodded and studied the instrument panel. I sat quietly for a few minutes, a question burning in my mind until I could hold it in no longer. Why it seemed to bother me was beyond belief…but somehow it did nag at my mind.

"Park, when you changed me into this uniform, uh... how far along was I?"

His face reddened, a slow boyish smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. I knew he was honorable, but he was a man and I also knew he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a peek.

"Uh... pretty much, completely." He glanced at me quickly, his smiling eyes darting to the swell under the uniform, then just as quickly away. He tried to not be caught; it was strangely obvious to me what was on his mind well before he had answered.

"Then you saw me naked?" I cried, feeling my face grow warm…although I shouldn’t have been surprised.

He held up his hand, "I promise that I never let my eyes linger... much."

"Oh...my...God!" I buried my face into my slender palms. "You act like you enjoyed it or something!" I sobbed into my slim hands, and then recalled what Eric had told me about his own reaction at seeing me. I felt defeated and looked at the floor, almost afraid to admit that had the shoe been on the other foot, I would have probably done the same.

He replied honestly, "If I said I didn't enjoy the view, and the way you know me...you'd know I'd be lying." He spoke evenly and sincerely, never looking at me. "I have to admit this to you though; you make a far better-looking woman than you ever looked as a man!"

I glared at him, got up and staggered to the medical table where I lay back down. “God, I’m so sore!” Park swung around and walked back slowly, taking a spot, leaning against the counter.

"It’s from the tumble in the woods you took...and where it clawed you.” He grew quiet as he studied my reaction. “So…Christian, have you given much thought to what you’re going to do when we get back home?"

I frowned; my eyes had quickly darted toward his muscular chest, then back to my slender, feminine looking thighs. It angered me as I took that moment to look at him, but I fought through it and answered my friend. "I really have no clue. It's not like I can just dive right back into my old life... looking like this!" I tapped my hand against the youthful breasts which now adorned my chest as if to emphasize my point.

He looked at the floor, "It's just a thought... and you don't need to answer right away, but you'll need a place to stay while you figure this all out, especially since your ID chips won't let you back into your old apartment."

He looked at the floor nervously, "If you want, you can bunk at my apartment until you can get your identification in order."

I stared out the cabin window, as stars streaked past and contemplated his offer. "Well... thanks for the offer, Park, but I won't let people think that I'm some sort of live-in girlfriend of yours. You must be forgetting... I already know your reputation."

His face flushed with anger, but he couldn’t control his frustration for long, "I'm not asking you for sex, Christian! I'm just trying to be a friend and offer you a place to stay for a few days!" He spat with anger, and then slowly calmed back down. "Just think about my offer, will you? And, damn it; forget all about my so-called reputation, those are just a bunch of lies spread around by an old pissed-off girlfriend!"

I let my eyes drift to the floor, "I'll give it some consideration, Park..."

"That's all I ask." He replied, interrupting me.

"I'm sorry." I sighed, realizing that I had hurt his feelings by how I responded. "I shouldn't have implied…that you'd treat me like... one of your old flames."

Park walked over and gave me a friendly hug, "It'll be okay, Christian. You may like it at my place, stay as long as you like, I won't mind. I promise I won't ever try anything!" He made a cross over his chest as to emphasize his point, and then returned to his gentlemanly hug.

I bit my lip, suddenly noticing strange feelings that were flooding my senses as he held me. "We'll see..." I sighed, knowing that the creature's saliva was still having its continued effect upon my transformed body.

As soon as he released me, I stood and walked to the port hole, so I could see outside. The planet was dropping into the distance and was becoming just a bright, greenish dot in the middle of a myriad of stars, its twin suns continuing their strange dance just beyond.

"What do you suppose will happen to that planet?" I asked.

He stood, then moved beside me and sighed, "My guess will be that once they find out in our ship logs, they will be back there with intention of settling and colonizing the planet as soon as they can."

"What about the creatures that are left?" I shuddered, thinking about what those beasts were capable of.

"Once the scientists figure it out, I'm guessing that its days are numbered." He leaned against the hull and watched me, "Then again, there are possible benefits to society that may propel us to keep them around…isolated, but around nonetheless."

I could feel his watchful gaze, but I chose to ignore it as he continued, "There are those who would pay a great deal of money to have what you now have, Christian."

I blurted out, "Well, I wouldn't have been one of them! It wasn't like I asked for all of this to happen to me! I don't remember asking to be turned into a woman when I agreed to come on the mission!"

He nodded and gave me a tempered smile, "I know, but until someone can figure a way of reversing it, you’re stuck in that form." He watched me, knowing that I would hate hearing the blunt truth that he revealed.

I felt my eyes begin welling up with tears, "I can never tell anyone about this! Trapped in this form and have to remain silent like some... some... good little girl! It would have been better if it had just killed me like it did Lunette and the others!"

He spun me toward him and held my chin, pulling my face upwards, forcing me to look at him directly. "Damn it, Christian! You have to stop talking like that! We both went through that ordeal on the planet, I was just lucky enough to not have been affected like you...but I was there!"

He pointed toward the hull, indicating the direction of the planet. "Hell, Christian, we barely got out of there with our lives intact! You ought to be damn happy that you didn't have the life sucked out of you like the others!"

I felt embarrassed for my self-pity. I pulled away slightly and looked back out the portal, into the darkness. It was then I remembered what happened to crews who caught dangerous alien bugs. "What if they think my transformation is contagious? They'll send me to a quarantine colony for life!" Suddenly, what I had just said seemed to envelop me with sheer terror! "Park, nobody can know what happened to me back there. Somehow, we have to keep it hidden." I said, shuddering with fear.

He stood just blinking at me as what I pointed out slowly sank in. "My God, you're right! How the hell are we going to explain how you climbed aboard the ship as a man, then returned as a woman?" He rubbed at his temples, trying to massage out an idea.

"Tell them that Christian died; tell them that I was rescued off of the planet!" I blurted out, "Tell them that I somehow survived there for years and years…alone."

"It might work, only... how would it be just we two that survived? They would probably wonder about the answer to that little question." His eyes lit with the possible explanation for our story.

I felt my heart jump with excitement, as a possible answer leapt into my mind. "Tell them a partial truth, that I helped you and Eric finally kill the beast that killed everyone else!"

He bit his lip and frowned, "What of Christian? How are you going to explain away him?" It felt strange talking of my old self as if he was someone else.

I felt my face wash with sadness; I knew that for my plan to work, Christian would have had to die back on the planet…but would I be able to allow that to happen?

"I... I don't know... everything I was, everything I am... will cease to be if Christian is no longer living."

"With him... goes your name." He shot me a paternal look. "I can't keep calling you Christian if he was killed back on the planet; you have got to realize that! The people back home may be dumb, but I doubt it if they'll be that dumb!"

He sighed and slowly began to walk toward the front of the craft with me following. “What will I call myself then?" I fell into the copilot's chair, completely dejected. "I have to give them a name when they ask!"

"We'll have to think on it later, we'll be at our colony in a little over 12 hours. Both of us need some rest, and that's where I'm heading as soon as I get the coordinates programmed in." He began to adjust the flight computers, and I closed my eyes and prayed for any kind of possible answer to my dilemma.

Chapter 11

Parker eased the craft over the pad, and then gradually throttled back the engines to allow the craft to settle down. As I listened to the winding down of the powerful hum, I opened my eyes.

"Good Morning!" He smiled, "Looks like we made it home!"

I felt fear suddenly leaped into my throat, all the while he sat quietly looking through the thick, tinted craft windows to the city we left behind, seemingly... long, long ago. I swallowed hard, my voice broke the silence, "Did you think of anything yet? Please Park; you have to think of something!"

He inhaled deeply, frowned and sadly shook his head, "Nothing. I’ve got nothing at all." I felt my heart drop into my lap, as we both grew silent waiting for the hull to cool.

We began to bounce ideas off one another, but nothing concrete presented itself to aid in our ruse. As the time to unveil ourselves to the colony approached, panic and sheer terror began to push further and further into my mind.

For over three hours we waited for the craft's skin to cool, watching them as they watched us. Finally a gentle spray began to mist the surface of our craft, and a soft vapor rolled away from the cooling hull. I exchange a worried glance with Park, he frowned and sadly shook his head at me.

The entire time we sat a great agony enveloped me, my mind slowly filled with fear. It has been a long standing rule of the colony that anyone affected by an alien organism, must be removed from the colony and isolated until their death. Both Park and I knew that the organism that transformed Eric, the Captain and I into females was not threatening to anyone other than the one who was attacked. We knew this from Eric's notes, but their draconian rules had been adhered to for eons.

I swallowed hard, the ache in the pit of my stomach being nothing more than raw nerves brought on by the fear of being found out and isolated by the scientists that would swarm us as soon as we stepped away from the ship. Park sat with his arms folded across his chest as we waited for the hull temperature to cool. He glanced at me, "You’re going to be okay…I promise!"

I shrugged in despair, "I know I’m lost…they’ll find out and isolate me somewhere off the colony…I’m certain of it." I felt tears welling up in my eyes. It was so strange to have such feminine responses to worry, and the inability to control them.

"I won't let that happen... we'll figure something out!" He smiled and patted my diminutive hand.

"I'll die if they find out about what happened!" I wiped away a stray tear, "Look at me! I’m already blubbering like some weak female!"

Park sighed, "Female... well, at least yes for now; but weak? Never!"

I took a deep trembling breath and attempted to steel my nerves, "The last thing I needed was for something like this to happen!" I said, indicating what I had become. “Thank God my parents can’t see me!”

"We'll do okay, don't worry..." Park touched my shoulder; his hand felt warm and sent a slight tremor through my body.

"Somehow, we'll figure out a way to keep you on the colony." He glanced at the hatch, "You know it's time." He flipped the toggle for the ramp and pointed to the door. "Let’s go out and face this together."

I quickly wiped away the tears that had collected and with his help, made my way to the door. At the last minute he paused, and held on to the hatch arm. "No matter what happens, I'll be there for you, Christian!"

Park gave me a hopeful glance, and then slowly opened the external door. Warm air slowly began to filter inside, and we stepped from the craft. I was terrified... I had experienced the debriefing they would require many times in the past, but not as a strange woman! Again my mind raced, 'How will people react if they find out my real identity? Will they treat me as a freak?' I tried my best to hide behind Park's wide shoulders, afraid of saying anything that would result in my unveiling. My eyes fearfully danced from the specialists to the official receiving crew heading toward us. Still, my trembling form remained hidden behind Park, using him for shelter from their prying eyes.

As usual, the team of specialists ignored both of us and walked past on their way to check for parasites hitching a ride on the hull of our craft. Then once that was done, they would reseal the craft to depressurize everything, which in turn would kill anything that may have attached to the interior of the ship. Then, they would work on the outside, making sure that no micro-organisms would survive long enough to create havoc in our colony.

As they began working, Park and I were whisked down a long hall by the others and through a series of decontamination stalls together by two members of the large contingent. My life as I had known it was over, never again could I face my friend as the man he once knew...and that thought scared the hell out of me!