Gwen started as yet another pair of cold hands grasped her upper arms. She knew what was coming, but that didn't stop the fear – it only made it worse. It was always the same: hands grabbing, fumes filling her nose, and then blackness – there was always a sharp pain followed by the blackness. She tried to open her mouth, to scream, but her lips seemed to be sealed shut, her voice gone. Gagged, the small voice in her head said. Eyes flying open wide Gwen whipped her head back and forth, attempting to get the voice from her head.

Shhhh, the voice murmured, attempting to sooth her. Calm down, darling.

Never, Gwen hissed back, still unable to move her mouth. You can't control me… I control me. The little voice in her head laughed as Gwen plunged into the darkness of unconsciousness.


Floats Above Water looked down at the girl who had finally stilled and said, "She seems to have blurred the lines between reality and fantasy." The tall black woman looked down at the body that was lying on the table and observed the roughly shorn head of the girl. Floats nearly fell to the urge to touch the human, but drew her hand quickly away.

"Yes," replied Bertha, choosing to ignore her companion's reaction. "She has been like this for a few months now. Her body is useless as a host, but her mind is still useful. Any soul that can break through is bound to crack any wild human that is thrown their way."

"I agree," noted Floats, "but at what risk?" The woman flipped open a manila folder and slowly read in contents. "She was harvested during the second wave of souls arriving on Earth. She was given as a host, but within two months the soul was removed." Floats glanced at Bertha and asked, "Why is there no cause for the soul's removal written in this report?"

Bertha cleared her throat and said in an uneasy voice, "There is a lot of information about Subject 12 that was never placed in the files."

"Such as?"

Closing her eyes, Bertha tapped the file that was still in Floats' hands and said, "When Subject 12 was first issued as a host, she seemed to be in perfect condition. It wasn't until after the soul had been inserted for almost two months that the Healers noticed that something was amiss. It seemed that Subject 12 had some mental issues…" Bertha tapered off but at Floats' impatient glance continued. "Subject 12, upon further review was diagnosed with what the humans use to call 'Anxiety Disorder' but now it has seemed to have morphed into a sense of schizophrenia. Subject 12 can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy and that has been our main roadblock. The anxiety caused the first soul to incorrectly connect with the host, and those loose connections allowed Subject 12 to begin to tear apart the soul." Bertha shook her head and sadly said, "By the time we got them out, they were torn in multiple places and the host body was very close to being un-useable. We now use it to see how strong the souls are and if they can be placed into the captured humans."

"Is a soul in her now?" asked Floats as she wrapped her head around the very short narrative that Bertha had given her.

"No," replied Bertha. "The last soul was taken out three days ago and we usually allow the host body at least two weeks to heal before another soul is placed inside."

Floats shook her head once again and said, "I don't think any soul in their right mind would go into that host. She is much too unstable, and think of all that could go wrong."

Bertha nodded her head in agreement, but didn't say anything. She knew that if she told Floats that the last soul who was implanted into Subject 12 had died the final death that the host body would be disposed of, and that was something that Bertha couldn't do. She had too much invested into Subject 12 and wasn't about to give it all up because of one weak soul.


Gwen woke to a dim glow and the comfort of the familiar surroundings of her cell. The cell itself was not comfortable, but being inside of it meant that no one was inside of her. That little bit of knowledge made her smile. She was alone in her head and that felt wonderful. She had learned early on how to fight the parasites that invaded her body and her mind, but she learned also that when she did fight against them, they fought back.

The first parasite to enter her body had been interesting. Gwen hadn't known exactly what was happening, but she was still inside her brain, locked up in a tiny corner, unable to make a peep. She saw what the parasite saw and felt what the parasite felt, but Gwen had no control over her own body – that was until her body began to go into one of its nervous breakdowns. The stress of two minds inside of one body had sent her system into a tizzy, allowing Gwen to crawl out of her corner and take control of a small portion of her mind. She soon found out that the parasite wasn't as fully connected as it should have been; the stupid mutant had left its mind open for Gwen to see. Gwen took her opportunity and slowly began to rip apart the soul from inside her body, but the dangers of doing so had allowed the soul to twist parts of Gwen's own brain.

That first parasite was removed quickly and Gwen was sent to a facility far in the north. It was always cold where she was at, but her body had grown use to it. The souls came and went, never lasting for more than a few days, but each time they entered, a little bit more of Gwen's already fragile mind was shattered. Soon, she knew that there would be nothing left but the illusions that already haunted her every moment.

She shuddered and slumped against the hard wall. She wished so badly for freedom, but that seemed like a pipe dream. She was the parasite's own little science project, and as long as her body was in perfect help, she would be used as they desired. She knew this, and yet she still had the feeling that her end was near, that the last soul who had been placed inside of her, hadn't made it out alive. Gwen knew that the dawn would bring her death, and for some reason, that knowledge saddened her.


Floats Above Water pursed her lips at Bertha, showing her disagreement of her fellow soul's conduct. "The last soul that was placed inside of the host was killed," Floats hissed, anger bubbling up inside of her.

"Yes," said Bertha softly. "The soul died the final death while inside of the host. Subject 12 was stronger than the soul. It wasn't the host's fault."

Floats scoffed and hissed, "Do you care more about some warped human mind than the lives of your brothers and sisters?"

Bertha, shame crossing her brow, whispered, "I have worked so hard to fix her…"

"She is un-fixable," Floats nearly shouted. "Dispose of the body." Bertha began to object, but Floats yelled the words, "This is un-negotiable." With that, the soul stormed out of the room, her anger consuming her, and left Bertha in her misery with the knowledge that she would have to kill her project.